My wife, and I were in the village of Vozensenkoya,
Russia ( about 250 miles East of Moscow) in May,2000. The first week we
had snow daily that melted quickly. No birding was done. The next three
weeks, we were able to bird in the village and take long walks in the beautiful
birch, lime, pine and alder forests surrounding the area when we were not
working on a volunteer project to help the craftsmen of the village. There
were unmarked trails throughout the forest. We seldom saw another person.
All the people were courteous and polite. There were two lakes in the area
that were not very productive for birds. We did see a Grey Heron and a
male and female Garganey, Black-headed Gulls, also saw a tern that was
too far away for I.D. on the lakes. The forest next to the lakes was the
best location for birds. We felt comfortable in roaming the area alone
looking for birds. We were, however, regularly approached by young girls
asking for autographs. We were the first Americans to have visited that
region since the collapse of the Soviet Union and were welcomed and treated
with friendly respect. We enjoyed their hospitality and their birding areas..
We used two field guides, Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East by Lars Jonsson and New Generation Guide BIRDS of Britain and Europe by Christopher Perrins, General Editor David Attenborough.
Gary and "Gene" Roberts
Austin, Texas
RUSSIAN BIRD LIST SEEN IN May 2000
DOVE, ROCK Coumbua livia
* CROW, HOODED Corvus corvus
* TIT, COAL Parus ater
TIT, BLUE Parus caeruleus
* LINNET Parus cannabina
STARLING Sturnus vulgaris
RAVEN Corvus corax
MAGPIE Pica pica
ROOK Corvus frugilegus
WAGTAIL, PIED Motacilla alba
* WAGTAIL, CITRINE Motacilla citreola
* SPARROW, TREE Passer montanus
JACKDAW Corvus monedula
CHAFFINCH Fringilla coelebs
SWALLOW, BARN Hirundo rustica
WARBLER, WILLOW Phylloscopus trochilus
* GOOSE, GREYLAG Anser anser
WHEATEAR, NORTHERN Oenanthe oneanthe
* THRUSH, NIGHTINGALE Luscinia luscina
* HARRIER, MONTAGU’S Cireus pygargus
* GOLDFINCH Carduelis carduelis
* WOODPECKER, GREATER SPOTTED Dendrocopos major
* DOVE, COLLARED Streptopelia turtur
* NIGHTINGALE Luscinia megarhynchos
* TIT, LONG-TAILED Aegithalos caudatus
HARRIER, HEN Circus cyaneus
* WARBLER, ICTERINE Hippolus icterina
* BLUETHROAT Luscinia svecica
HERON, GREY Ardea cinerea
CUCKOO Cuculus canorus
* PIPIT, TREE Anthus trivialis
* REDSTART Phoenicurus phoenicures
* THRUSH, BLACK-THROATED Turtus ruficoilis
* WARBLER, WOOD Phylloscopus sibilatrix
* FLYCATCHER, PIED Ficedula hypoleuca
* NUTCRACKER Nucifraga caryocatactes
* WARBLER, BOOTED Hippolais caligata
GREENFINCH Carduelis chloris
MARTIN, HOUSE Delichon urbica
EAGLE, GOLDEN Aquila chrysaetos
TIT, GREAT Parus major
* BUNTING, REED Emberiza schoeniclus
* ROSEFINCH, SCARLET Carpdacus erythrinus
* YELLOWHAMMER Emberiza citrinella
* EAGLE, BOOTED Hieraetus pennatus
* DUNNOCK Prunella modularis
OUZEL, RING Turdus torquatus
SWIFT Apus apus
HOBBY Falco subbuteo
* NUTHATCH Certia familiaris
* TREECREEPER Certhia familiaris
* WHITETHROAT, LESSER Sylvia curruca
* GARGANEY Anas querquedula
FLYCATCHER, SPOTTED Muscicapo striata
* WARBLER, GRASSHOPPER Locustella naevia
FIELDFARE Turtus pilaris
* SHRIKE, RED-BACKED Lanius collurio
REDSTART, BLACK Phoenicurus ochruros
* PIPIT, MEADOW Anthus pratehsis
* WARBLER, BLYTH’S REED Acrocephalus dumetorum
* WARBLER, MARSH Acrocephalus palustris
* WARBLER, GARDEN Sylvia borin
GULL, COMMON Larus canus
KITE, BLACK Milvus migrans
TERN, Common? (Too far away)
* GROUSE, BLACK Tetrao tetrix
* WOODPECKER, GREEN Picus viridis
* WARBLER, RIVER Lucustella fluviatilis
39 species
--------------------------------------SWITZERLAND -----------------------------------
* KITE, RED Milvus milvus 1 species
TOTAL FOR TRIP 71 SPECIES