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Spring in the Chatkal State BioReserve
It is wildflower season in the mountains of Uzbekistan. My daughter Ocean and I went hiking in the mountains around the village of Nevich and here are my photos from the two days of walking. Spotting a huge Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) in the Chimgan Mountains of Uzbekistan is always excited. During our hike…
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Tavaksay Canyon Spring Wildflowers
Iris tubergeniana is an iconic iris of Central Asia, once featured on an Uzbekistan postage stamp. The perennial bulb is found in the early spring in the foothills of the Chatkal Nature Reserve and throughout the Tien-Shan Mountain range. The species name is Dutch, referring to a bulb company from Haarlem that introduced it to…
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Spring Flowers
I am trying to find time to stop and smell the roses, or at least spring flowers. I’ll be trying to post flowers I see on my walks with Obi. Thankfully my wife is blessed with a keen sense of smell. She noticed on our bike ride on Thursday the sweet odor of the Common…
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“Tashkent Sea” Birding
I explored the Tuyabuguz reservoir or as it is commonly known here as the “Tashkent Sea”. It is an artificial reservoir made from damming the Angren River. It was definitely underwhelming on a warm, overcast day in mid-March. Villages, agricultural fields, and livestock grazing filled the landscape around the water. It was an overcast day…
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Chirchiq River Birding (Wagtails and a Thrush)
I photographed this beautiful White Wagtail (Motacilla alba personata) yesterday on the Chirchiq River underneath the appropriately named, “Bird Bridge” near the highway leading to Parkent. This male is in his breeding plumage. Wagtail species tend to interbreed and so often, they are named according to the population, hence the third Latin name. This particular…
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Corsac Fox
In August of 2023 we went camping near the Tavaksay Canyon outside of the city of Chirchiq. On a morning walk, I photographed this Corsac Fox (Vulpes corsac) across a ravine. They are nocturnal so it was probably ending its night when I started my walk at daybreak. The fox meandered its way up the…
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Varied Tit
On a New Year’s Day hike to Katsuoji Temple this afternoon, I photographed this beautiful Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius). Along the trail, someone put some bread crumbs on a bench and there was also a bamboo bird feeder above the bench. A pair of Varied Tits were hopping around the lower branches and onto the…
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Japan Birds: Saito Suburbs
On my walk today from Ibaraki to Saito and back, I spotted a couple of birds. The first was a Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus), a common resident of Japan. The shrike is known for impaling its insect prey on a thorn, either to save for later, make it easier to rip apart, or mark its…
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Refuge Japan – Winter Ducks
Japan in many ways is a refuge for wildlife in East Asia. It is a mature economy and habitat loss and hunting are less than in other east Asian countries. This is evident with Sika Deer and Blackiston’s Fish Owl, two animals I have blogged about before. It is even becoming more of a refuge…
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More Mkomazi Mammals
The Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx) is the second largest antelope in the world. They can form herds of up to 500, but we only saw them twice in small groups. “Eland” is Dutch for “elk” or “moose” and an unfortunate name for an antelope; they deserve better. They are the slowest of antelopes and probably…