17 and 18 September
(As I suspected, the Stonechats we saw were normal European ones, expanding their range further east it seems.)
Best laid plans and all that, my ideas of an early morning exploration of Goris’ town parks were scuppered as I couldn’t get out of the well-secured hotel courtyard!
So we pointed the Niva southwards from Goris on the twisty main road to Kapan, Meghri and Iran, progress was slow with the steep inclines and hairpin bends down into and then out of the deep Vorotan Gorge which made driving hard work (mind you, it’s worse for the Iranian lorry drivers with their heavy loads). Still the slow speeds and occasional water stops enabled us to see or hear a few passerines, including our first Chaffinch, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Sombre Tit, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat. We had a great view of two Egyptian Vulture wheeling over the gorge, an adult and a young bird and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was another addition.
At Kapan you have a choice of roads south, we chose the newer more easterly one which the lorries all avoid, it is a good road with gentler gradients than the old one, but has no petrol stations or towns/large villages which I assume is the reason they don’t use it. It passes through beautiful scenery that becomes more mineral as the road descends into the Arax valley, the river forms the frontier with Iran and perched on the barbed wire was a Roller (awaiting its visa perhaps) and a Chukar scuttled across the road in front of us. Around the B & B Haer where we were to stay we saw three Turtle Dove. I found a Spotted Flycatcher in the nearby cemetery and overhead picked out Blue-cheeked Bee Eaters calling as well as the more regular European ones. A light form Booted Eagle drifted across to the Iranian mountains. Meghri is renowned for its figs, almost every house with a garden or orchard had racks of figs drying outside in the shade and there were trees with ripe pomegranate fruit looking like red baubles on a Christmas tree. Our amazing host Marietta greeted us with tea and all sorts of fruit upon our mid-afternoon arrival and the evening meal was excellent.
Through Karen Aghababyan our Armenian Bird Council contact we had arranged to have a guided half day in the Arevik National Park, an area normally out of bounds without escort. Among the rare species in the park is Caucasian Leopard, the tiny population hanging on thanks to the efforts of the dedicated rangers.
Despite the scheduled 6am pick up Marietta provided us with breakfast (and hopefully went back to bed afterwards!). The Park ranger ‘Haro’ was a big guy with a big smile, dressed in army fatigues but he only spoke Armenian and Russian which made communication tricky (I suspect Karen had asked for one of the Park’s staff that speaks some English but there had been an availability problem). The area we visited was certainly off the beaten track (or any track for that matter) and birding tricky with all the bumping about. As the 4WD started climbing a group of four or five Black Francolin crossed the track and further up some of the usual high altitude species were seen, such as Red-billed Chough and Water Pipit ssp coutellii (one a very smart example with almost rusty flanks). The highlights, though distant (typically for this difficult to approach species) were two or perhaps three Caspian Snowcock, one having a dawn preen on a rock and later two having a bit of a chase round the ridge. It was pretty chilly so when Haro said “Tea” we didn’t say no! But instead of producing a flask from inside the vehicle it was back down the track to a little farm where we were treated like royalty by the couple and their friend from the only village in the whole area it seemed. More Stonechat, Red-backed Shrike, Black Redstart and Sombre Tit were seen as we regained the valley, passing a working gold mine just outside Meghri (no free samples available though). On reflection I think we should have asked to stay longer up on the mountain (we’d put on our walking boots for nothing it turned out!) and would surely have seen more than we did, but the overall experience, especially visiting the farm was one to remember.
All this meant we were back at the digs by 11 instead of the 2pm I had imagined, so after a quick wash and brush up (and change into ‘summer plumage’ clothes as it was warming up now) we crossed the centre of Meghri and turned up to the fairly open wadi just beyond the Primary School.
As soon as we got out of the car we saw what I presumed was a Persian Wheatear fly off! A few minutes of panic ensued until we relocated it and were able to watch it chasing a second one. A couple of Upcher’s Warbler were flicking and fluttering as they do and a cracking male Finsch’s Wheatear showed briefly. Both Western and Eastern Rock Nuthatch were present as was Sombre Tit and Chukar. A strange call was coming from the mountains flanking the wadi, I would describe the sound as half donkey, half bird!
We then pootled down to the Arax and passed a very pleasant hour eating crisps and drinking beer (in my case anyway) on a shaded pontoon floating in Meghri Pond, complete with feral ducks quacking away. Try as I might I couldn’t find any Crakes or Citrine Wagtail on the water’s edge, just Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe and White Wagtail. A lost-looking Woodpigeon flew over and an Isabelline Wheatear was on the border fence.
Photos of Lammergeier from earlier, Stonechat rubicola and Persian Wheatear