AZERBAIJAN - Mini Birding break!

Plan on arriving into Baku today and no birding activities are planned. We will have our first dinner together and time to look forward to what the next few days will bring. Night in Baku.

In the morning, we will drive straight for the Shirvan National park 120 km south of Baku. You will see many birds, an excellent start to get familiar with the birds of the steppe habitats on the first day. The national park was established to protect and increase the numbers of endangered Goitered Gazelles that occur within the park. There is also a large lake where we will search for such interesting species as Purple Herons, Marbled Teal, Ferruginous Duck, Western (Grey-headed) Swamphen, White-tailed Lapwing, White-winged & Whiskered Terns, Lesser Kestrel, Black Francolin, Blue- cheeked & European Bee-eaters, European Roller, Olivaceous & Menetriés's Warblers, Isabelline Wheatear, Turkestan short-toed Lark and more in the surrounding steppes. Late afternoon we will drive to Mahmudchala Lake which is only 30 min away from the park. Besides quite similar species we will look for White-headed duck and for other shorebirds. After spending some time nearby the lake we will head to our hotel in Lankaran.

After breakfast we will drive to Mastail village in Lerik (2 hours), where we will begin the search for our main target species - Caspian Tit. Other possibilities here include Semi-collared Flycatcher, Black Stork and some interesting subspecies that might prove to be full species in their own right one day. Lunch will be served by the local family in the guesthouse in Mastail. On our way back to the hotel we will stop in a couple of beautiful forests, where with luck, we can find Shikra (another rare WP species)..

After enjoying our breakfast we will have a short ride to Gizilagaj National Park, visiting the coastal lagoons of the park with potential for numerous wetland species. There's going to be a fantastic variety of shorebirds including Terek Sandpipers, White-tailed Lapwings, Caspian Stonechat, terns, gulls, egrets & herons. If we are lucky we may spot Buff-bellied pipit among the many other pipits present. After lunch at a nearby restaurant we will head back towards Baku, stopping at Gobustan Rock Art Preserve for Western Rock Nuthatch, Rock Sparrow, Finsch’ s Wheatear and Chukar. Night in Baku.

Start the day with a scenic drive to Khinalig, stopping at birdwatching hotspots like Beshbarmag, a Wallcreeper site, and Gudialchay Canyon for vultures. After a traditional lunch in Khinalig, we will head to the slopes of Gizilgaya (2700m) in a 4x4 to spot species like the Caucasian Snowcock, Great Rosefinch and White-winged Redstart. Other species present at this high altitude include Griffon Vulture, Lammergeier, Golden Eagle, Black Redstart, Red-billed & Alpine Choughs, Shorelark and White-winged Snowfinch.

Once finished here we will return to Khinalig for dinner, then continue to Laza village for an overnight stay in a private house.

Begin with early morning birdwatching from the guesthouse yard, followed by breakfast and a drive to a Caucasian Grouse spot. Following a short hike to observe the grouse, we also hope to find both Green Warbler and Mountain Chiffchaff in the surrounding area. Other species see include species such as Red-backed Shrike, Marsh Warbler, Red-fronted Serin, Rock Bunting, along with a variety of raptors that sometimes include Cinereous Vulture.

After lunch, it depends what species we still need but we may well head for the Candy Cane Mountains in Khizi to admire the unique landscape and search for birds like Finsch’s Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear and others. Return to Baku by evening.

After breakfast we will head to the airport and conclusion of an action-packed tour.