Uzbekistan: Birding the Silk Road in Central Asia - Alan Peter
A spectacular and little-visited country lying on the famous Silk Road that once connected the East with the West and one of the group of former Soviet republics which border it on three sides - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan while it’s southern border touches Afghanistan.
Birding is spectacular and Alan's talk takes us from the mountains of the Zaamin National Park for mid- to high-altitude species such as Yellow-breasted and Rufous-naped Tit, Blyth’s Rosefinch and White-winged Grosbeaks. Then west to the old city of Samarkand and the mausoleum of Amir Timor (Tamerlane) the great builder of culture after the excesses of Genghis Khan where Alpine Swifts nest between the turquoise tiles of the mosques and madrassas of the hugely impressive Registan Square.
Onto the Takhta-Karacha Pass with its Juniper forest and mountain meadows with Eastern Rock Nuthatch, Red-Headed Bunting and Upchers Warblers. Then another ancient city of Bukhara and from here to explore the Kyzyl Kum Desert in search of the scarce and range-restricted Panders (or Turkestan) Ground Jay along with Giant Gerbils and some spectacular desert reptiles.