Vast landscapes of mountains, farmland, stony plains, semi-desert and steppe have been the backdrop for the last few weeks in Kazakhstan where the birds have been superb in some amazing settings incredible for their scale. Before the trip I was asked if we would see many raptors on this birding tour of Kazakhstan and it [...]

I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Almaty, looking back on the last few days of the recent Kazakhstan birding tour that I have just finished leading. Our trip ended in the capital city of Kazakhstan, Nur Sultan (recently renamed from Astana), where we spent a few days birding in steppe and wetlands, enjoying [...]

I have just finished a three-night stay in Ile-Alatau National Park in the snow-capped Tien Shan mountains just outside of Almaty, Kazakhstan. I wanted to spend some time walking in the mountains and taking some photos of birds, not really being fussy about which species I saw, just enjoying the scenery and clean air. I [...]