June 26: Steve Rooke reports from Central Asia
Even after leading 31 tours along the Silk Road, I never tire of the avian and cultural wonders it has to offer. The weather did its best to disrupt us this year, but we managed to see all the highlights. We ended the tour in the northern steppe where a group of 9 Sociable Plovers were a highlight, along with lots of White-winged and Black Larks. Before that we had watched Rufous-naped Tits in the Zammin mountains, Pander’s Ground Jays in the Kyzl-kum Desert, Asian Crimson-winged Finch and Pallas’s Sandgrouse coming to drink at a small spring, Meadow Buntings on a high pass, and White-browed Tit-Warbler and Ibisbill in the snow-capped Tien Shan mountains. Add to that the wondrous ancient history, and the ancient buildings and bustling bazaars of Samarkand and Bukhara and you can see why I am already looking forward to my next tour there.
Sociable Plover
Pander's Ground Jay
Asian Crimson-winged Finch
Pallas's Sandgrouse
Meadow Bunting
White-browed Tit-Warbler
Posted: June 26, 2024