birding...

Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris ©Charlie Moores http://www.charliesbirdblog.com/~charlie/index.html

The Caucasus is generally thought of as consisting of the Republics of Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnia and Dagestan.

This region is not as large as many of the regions, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in its great multiplicity of landscapes.

The northern part of its foothills are occupied by feather-grass steppe, and, therefore, typical steppe birds, such as Demoiselle Crane, can be found here.

But the most interesting sites are to be found on the Great Caucasian mountain ridge. Dense deciduous forests are predominantly made up of nut-trees, cherry-plum trees, alder, ash and maple on the lowest level of mountainsides. The next level up is famous for its beech forests. There are a lot of vines, such as hop and grape, and dense bushes here, and sometimes it’s difficult to walk through these forests.

At about 900m height deciduous forests give way to Pine, spruce and fir. Coniferous forests are especially rich in the mounting river valleys. There are not so many bird species here in comparison with broad-leaved forest, but you can find such specialities of coniferous woods as Crossbills, Bullfinches and Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Above the forest zone, close to 2000m above sea level, the land of alpine meadows starts; the kingdom of grass and bushes, the most wonderful of which are juniper & rhododendron. Caucasian Blackcock, Caucasian Snowcock and Blue Rock Thrush can be found in this zone. On the highest peaks there is snow throughout the year.

The best time for birding excursions in the Caucasus is the end of March, April and May, when most of plants are flowering, and birds are easily discovered.