Altai Republic

Daurian Jackdaw Coloeus dauuricus ©Machiel Valkenburg Website
Birding Altai

The Altai republic is located in south central Russia in the southwest of Siberia being one of Russia’s most attractive birding places. It covers 92600 km2 making it just a little part of the gigantic Siberian landmass which covers no less than 13.100.000 km2! The highest peak in the Altai Mountains is mount Belukha with 4506m. The republic is covered with Siberian Taiga, steppe zones and semi-deserts. Having a temperate continental climate with relatively short and hot summers and long and cold winters. The best time to plan your birding visit is end of May or during the entire month of June. Starting in Barnaul or NovosibirskAs the Altai republic has no major airport you are need to start in one of the larger cities north of Altai, such as Barnaul or Novosibirsk. This is absolutely no bad thing as you can stray into the rich south Siberian farmlands holding yet another set of interesting species to the WP birder. In the surroundings of Barnaul, which is the closest of the two cities to Altai, you may find several interesting habitats near the Ob river. Wetlands, marshes and Birch forests are located in the vicinity of this mighty river. Good species are Spotted Eagle, Sykes’s Wagtail, White-backed Woodpecker, Lanceolated Warbler, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Red-footed Falcon and White-tailed Eagles.

Birding the taigaTwo large rivers, the Katun and Biya, flow through this beautiful land. Originating in the mountains the junction of the two rivers eventually forms the Ob River, one of Siberia’s largest rivers. Holding both western and eastern Palearctic species a trip into this region can be very fruitful in the right period of time. Several Siberian gems as Siberian Rubythroat, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler and Yellow-breasted Bunting occur widely and are not difficult to find. Birding the taiga forests is a must do for every serious birder one time in their life. A true heaven with Thrushes, Flycatchers and many Warbler species. Black-throated Thrush is not rare and his loud call gives him away rather fast. White’s Thrush is a difficult to see species, a true skulker!, but present by it’s call, a mechanical second-long whistle with pauses of 5-10 seconds. A long list of Flycatchers and Warbler house the famous Siberian taiga forests: Spotted-, Taiga- and Dark-sided Flycatcher, White-browed-, Hume’s, Greenish-, Dusky- and Radde’s Warbler. The last two warblers being definitely the hardest to catch as they are situated on their most western range occurring more commonly to the east (Baikal and further). The forests holds naturally more to the eye speaking species such as, Crested Honey Buzzard, Ural Owl, Oriental Cuckoo, Pintail Snipe, Olive-backed Pipit, Brown Shrike, Red-flanked Bluetail, Eversmann’s Redstart, Siberian Tit, Black-throated Accentor and Pine Bunting! Almost all species mentioned earlier can be found around the Seminsk pass where a hotel is also present. Roads are good and hostels or guesthouses are available. Don’t expect to much from the accommodations as most places offer double-bedded rooms with shared facilities.

Altai MountainsThe high mountain zones are difficult to access and a good car with four-wheel drive capacities is definitely needed. These extra efforts could be rewarded with Altai Snowcock, Pallas’s Rosefinch and Altai Accentor. The illustrious ‘Altai Falcon’, closely related to both Saker and Gyr Falcon (Fox and Patapov 2001; Eastham and Nicholls 2002; ERWD 2006), occurs but like with all large Falcons the amounts are low. Next to good birding the views are simple stunning – the slopes have not been affected by the large forestry industry giving the Altai a very green appearance when looking from top of a mountain peak. The Steppe and semi-desertsThe steppe and semi-desert zones in the south bordering Mongolia hold yet another range of mouth-watering species. Upland Buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Heuglins Gull, Demoiselle Crane, Pied Wheatear, Bar-headed Goose, Fork-tailed Swift, Azure Tit and the hard to find Père David’s Snowfinch are all present. You need a special border permit to be birding south of Kosh Agash. Not many people birded the region, which is quite surprisingly considering the good connection with Moscow and the amount of desired species that can be seen in a rather short period of time. When visiting the area it is advised to hook up with a local birdtour operator as they know the best spots and else you have a good chance spending many hours in registration offices, fighting with only Russian speaking officials, to receive the right papers and stamps. As you need to register yourself in every large place during your visit which takes some organisational skills.

Top Sites
  • Altaisky Reserve

    InformationSatellite View
    Altai Nature Reserve (Russian: Алтайский заповедник, also called Altajskij Zapovednik) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (sanctuary, strict nature reserve) in the Altai Mountains of south Siberia, Russia.
  • Chumysh Rivermouth

    Satellite View
    This area consists of flat forest-steppe; typical of the countryside of the Altai region. It’s a unique wetland with floodplain willow forests and sedge marshes. A lot of waterfowl and waterloving birds have nest sites on the wetlands, but the most interesting time for breeding birds here is April and the first half of May. At this time river channels and flood reservoirs give places to rest during migration and many Geese, Ducks and other birds take advantage of it. Here you can find big groups of Great Crested Grebe, Great White Heron, Bean Goose and Whooper Swans. It is also noteworthy that a lot of waterfowl species spend winter in this territory.
  • Katunsky Reserve

    InformationSatellite View
    Katun Nature Reserve (Russian: Катунский заповедник) (also Katunsky) is a Russian zapovednik (strict nature reserve) located in the highlands of the central Altai Mountains of south Siberia.
Contributors
  • Machiel Valkenburg

    Almaty Oblast. Kazakhstan | machiel@centralasiabirding.com

    Website
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • NR Altaisky Reserve

    InformationSatellite View
    There are over 70 species of mammals in the reserve, including two endangered species, the Snow Leopard and the Altai argali. There are 19 species of fish, mostly in Lake Teletskoye, including pike, perch, and whitefish. In the streams the most common fish is the grayling. Of the 331 species of birds found in the reserve, most (48%) are passerine (159 species), waders (48 species), Falconiformes (30 species), and geese (29 species). The remaining 66 species account for only 20%.
  • NR Katun

    InformationSatellite View
    The reserve is located in the highlands of the central Altai Mountains of south Siberia. The Katun River runs down through a valley in the reserve, serving as the primary source of the Ob River. The headwaters of the Katun River originate on Mount Belukha, the highest mountain in Siberia at 4,506 metres (14,783 ft), which is located on the far eastern edge of the preserve. Katun is an internationally important center of biodiversity, forming part of the "Golden Mountains of Altai" UNESCO World Heritage Site supporting around 140 species of birds.
Guides & Tour Operators
  • Ecological Travel Center

    Tour Operator
    The Altai Mountain is a beautiful part of wildlife on the Earth. If you are interested in birds and Altai Mountain you may join to Bird Watching trip 'Listening to the sky'. The route passes through the alpine Ukok Plato and Teletskoe Lake. During the trip we may observe about 120 species of birds. Here you will be able to meet such rare species as Imperial Eagle, Sacer Falkon, Demoiselle Crane, Whooper Swan, endemic species Altai Snowcock, Brandt
  • Rubythroat Birding Tours

    Tour Operator
    Rubythroat Birding Tours is a fully specialised all-inclusive tour company with ventures throughout Central Asia and Russia
Trip Reports
  • 2016 [07 July] - Machiel Valkenburg - Russia & Mongolia

    PDF Report
    In these meadows, on earlier trips, we had found the endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting but unfortunately this bird has disappeared from this spot; the species has declined all over Siberia. We did however come across our only Common Kingfisher along the meandering river, singing Blyth’s Reed Warblers, several Pine Buntings and a stunning Black Stork flew over.

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