‘Rarely encountered’ bird species spotted in Kazakhstan — some for first time. See them
In the plains of northern Kazakhstan, swampy forests meet grasslands as rivers cut through the landscape.
The region hosts “remarkable diversity” of both flora and fauna, and thousands of lakes provide oases for traveling species.
However, the birds that call the West Siberian Plain home, whether as residents or travelers, have been poorly documented — until now.
A group of researchers and ornithologists set out to document the birds of northern Kazakhstan through a long-term study, and their results were just published March 11 in the peer-reviewed journal Acta Biologica Sibiriea.
“The study details long-term observations conducted in the North Kazakhstan region from 2016 to 2024, focusing on bird species that were either previously unrecorded or rarely encountered,” according to the study.
The study documents sightings of more than two dozen bird species, including six recorded in Kazakhstan for the first time, researchers said.
Great white pelicans were recorded intermittently before 2016 as a vagrant, or transient, species, but a flock of 37 birds was recorded on a lake in February 2016 only to be beaten by a flock of 102 birds in 2021, researchers said.
The birds were “likely diverted from their migration route” after bad weather, forcing them to gather at an “unusual location,” according to the study.
The lakes were all frozen in April 2021, cutting off the pelicans’ food supply.
“To assist the birds during their stay, which lasted approximately 10 to 15 days, local residents collaborated with conservation organizations to provide supplemental feeding with fish,” researchers said.
A barnacle goose was spotted in the country for the very first time in 2018, according to the study. A single goose was seen on its own near the village of Selekti, then the species wasn’t spotted again until 2022 when a goose appeared among a flock of a different species following a temporary flood.
The bird is “considered a rare migratory species,” and researchers believe “it is likely we are witnessing the expansion of the barnacle goose’s eastern range beyond its primary breeding grounds and the establishment of new migration routes to wintering areas shared with other Arctic goose species,” according to the study.
Members of the community also helped with the survey, researchers said. (bean goose)
Bean geese were spotted throughout the survey time period and were recorded by both the director of the Zhambylsky district hunting and fishing society, as well as a local hunter who saw 1,000 of the geese around a lake a feeding field ahead of the first severe frosts of the year, according to the study.
The study included a wide range of bird species, between local inhabitants and those just stopping by, as well as birds both small and large.
Bewick’s swans, or tundra swans, were spotted feeding and in a flock in a wheat field, and are considered “very large,” according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They can grow up to 4.8 feet long with a wingspan of 5.5 feet, their large bodies reaching weights of more than 20 pounds.
Black redstarts, on the other hand, were also spotted in city environments and appear to be establishing breeding populations, including in abandoned buildings in town centers, according to the study. Black redstarts are less than 6 inches long and weigh only 0.03 pounds, according to The Wildlife Trusts.
The study also recorded fearsome hunters, like the boreal owl and peregrine falcon, the former found in an abandoned house and the latter found on a high-voltage power line, according to the study.
Other species recorded in the study include ferruginous ducks, white-headed ducks, osprey, Eurasian honey buzzards, European honey buzzards, greater spotted eagles, golden eagles, willow ptarmigans, Siberian cranes, little bustards, Eurasian golden plovers, ruddy turnstones, terek sandpipers, jack snipes, Eurasian whimbrels, gull-billed terns, Pallas’s sandgrouses, European nightjars, European bee-eaters, hoopoes, black woodpeckers, Eurasian three-toed woodpeckers, grey wagtails, rosy starlings, carrion crows, taiga flycatchers and Eurasian blackbirds.
“The newly documented species underscore a significant range expansion toward the southeast and north, reflecting their adaptability to changing environmental conditions,” researchers said. “This information not only enhances the study of avifauna but also establishes a strong basis for future ornithological research.”
Kazakhstan is in western Asia, sharing its entire northern border with Russia.
The research team includes Ivan A. Zuban, Alexey Y. Timoshenko, Pavel S. Dmitriyev, Sergey N. Gashev, Mikhail N. Kalashnikov, Bakhytzhan M. Suindykov, Vladislav S. Lunyov and Stanislav V. Shnel.
