Into the fiels of Kazakhstan

16.06.2014

Today I am going into my fieldwork area in Kazakhstan. The next three month I will work in the Balkash area. The Balkash Lake is located 400 km in the northwest of Almaty. It is about 600 km long and really shallow. The Ili river flows into the Balkash Lake. In the south east of the lake, at the mouth, there arises the big Ili Delta. And this is my fieldwork area!
Today in the early morning we start our trip from Almaty. I'm going together with Niels Thevs, who is the superviser for my masterthesis from the Greifswald University in Germany. My masterthesis is funded by CABNET – Central Asian Biodiversity Network. It supports the establishment of university partnerships for research and conservation of biodiversity in arid regions of Central Asia. Therefore we work closely together with the working group of Professor Nurtazin in the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology of the Kazakh National University (KazNU).
The students of the working group pick us up from our hotel this morning and bring us to the house of the professor. There is our official meeting point. I get to know Евгений (Jewgeni), who is a local ornithologist and will help me with my bird observations in the first days. While waiting for our driver, we organise to get the last important fielwork materials like antimosquitospray.
Then we are ready to start ...

We are driving northwards towards Капчага́й (Kapshagai)
and I get a first impression of the landscape here.



Капчага́й (Kapshagai) is 75 km in the north of Almaty.

The artificial lake of Капчага́й (Kapshagai) also gets stored by the Ili river. It covers an area of 1800 km² and serves as water supply for Almaty. It is also used as a power plant.

The usual landscape in the Balkash area is arid steppe.

After 3 hours of driving, we have a lunch break in Бақанас (Bakanas).

Mosque in Бақанас (Bakanas)



Евгений (Jewgeni) and Sayyid
are using the stop for a quite bird watch.



After another 40 km driving along the Ili river in northwest direction
we stop at the Кунаева мост (Kunawski Bridge).



The bridge is approximately 800 m long and
runs over the Ili, which comes from Bakanas.



Our excursion cars



After the bridge the Ili Delta area arises.



We are always bird watching (:



Actually we stopped at the bridge to messure the water level of the Ili river.



Аяан (Aiyan) and Евгений (Jewgeni)



Корова (Cows)



Риба (Fishies)

From the Кунаева мост (Kunawski Bridge) one road leads westwards to the village Куйган (Kuygan). The other road, which we take, goes in north direction to the village Караой (Karaoy). It takes us about 2 hours to drive the 130 km from the bridge to Karaoy.

In Караой (Karaoy)

In Karaoy we can all stay at the place of Professor Nurtazin's friend. Alina and I get a nice room in the house. The seven boys have to share the room next to the kitchen.

In the evening Jewgeni and I go bird watching and learning behind the house.



Stock Dove
Hohltaube
Columba oenas



Common Kestrel
Turmfalke
Falco tinnunculus



Almost everywhere where there is water here,
reed (Phragmites communis) grows.
It is used for feeding livestock and for building houses.



Котёнок (Kitty)









Black Kite
Schwarzmilan
Milvus migrans



A kazakh cemetary



Masked wagtail
Motacilla personata



Reed
Schilf
Phragmites communis



Margulan and Sayyid caught some fish!






Azure Tit
Lasurmeise
Cyanistes cyanus

So, those are enough impressions for today! Tomorrow is coming much more.

спокойной ночи! Good night! Gute Nacht!

____________________