Urban birding with beginners. Shrikes, Sparrowhawks, Blue Whistling Thrushes.

I posted the message in Facebook with invitation to join to my birding in Republic Square. Three person joined to me. Given that ordinary citizen of Almaty never awakes at 7am in weekend, three beginners is a large number. In the Square we watched Isabelline and Turkestan Shrikes which were very good models, nesting couple of Carrion Crows, the Bluethroats (I took photos but beginners noticed only the moving from one bush to another one), Chiffchaffs (hard viewable in the crowns of birch-trees). The we went to park where I showed the nests of Sparrowhawks, but birds were not visible. But when we had talking the male Sparrowhawk came with the prey (firstly we guessed the mice but in photo I recognized the female of Chaffinch) and then female appeared too. Birds didn't pay attention to us, were making sounds and doing something probably coupling, I didn't see if be honest. After the watching of Sparrowhawks we went to Blue Whistling Thrushes, and noticed couple of Grey-headed Goldfinches in road. We saw both male and female Thrushes, I was glad because last visit I saw one only bird. By the way, we noticed one of Thrushes faced us immediately after we arrived to spot (it chased Magpie), then it came closer and gave us possibility to take photos. This fact is confirmed the Chinese thesis that not only human watches bird but the bird watches human too. In this case Blue Whistling Thrush came to watch beginners. The birding duration was 2,5 hours, we saw 16 species of birds.

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