After the round trip in the Almaty region there is a possibility to fly to the vast grass steppes near Astana, the capitol positioned in the north of Kazakhstan. Prolonging your stay in Kazakhstan with 4 days. During this extension we will be lodging in the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve, a truly idyllic location.  During migration the park is known for its large numbers of waterfowl and Palaearctic specialities. Birds like Sociable Lapwing, White-headed Duck, Booted Warbler, Black Lark, White-winged Lark and Pine Bunting make most of us birders believe we are in a dream world. All can be found during the 4 day extension.

We will leave Almaty with an early morning flight to Astana, arriving in Astana around ten. We will depart immediate to the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn NR, birding en route. Just outside the city we can expect the first Sykes Yellow Wagtails, Short-eared Owls, Steppe Gulls and the first of many Black and White-winged Larks. We will arrive after a 2 hour drive in the camp in Tengiz-Korgalzhyn. The reed beds near the camp are the homes to Moustached Warblers, Savi’s Warbler, Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Red-spotted Bluethroat. The nearby steppe lakes harbour great numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes. Present also on the lakes are Black-throated Divers, Red-necked and Slavonian Grebes, Great Bittern, Greater Flamingo, White-headed Ducks, Slender-billed Gulls, Gull-billed Terns and Ospreys. We will visit the surrounding grass steppes for Black-winged Pratincoles and the endangered Sociable Lapwing.

On our last day we will do some more birding around the camp and depart to Astana around noon. We will visit a spot near Astana for Pine Bunting. At last we will arrive in Astana in the afternoon and have a last final big dinner before flying back to Almaty.