Birdwatching Club at Kozybayev University

Birdwatching originated in England in the eighteenth century and gradually evolved from a pastime of naturalists into a cultural phenomenon that combines hobby, science, sport and recreation. It became especially popular in Western Europe and North America, while interest in birdwatching has also been steadily growing in Central Asia. In Petropavlovsk, more people are discovering ornithology as an engaging activity. A simple walk through a park can turn into a real photo hunt where participants search for rare species, photograph them and share their observations with others who share the same interest.

Interest in birds in Northern Kazakhstan did not appear spontaneously. It is the result of many years of work. In 2007 the Kazakhstan Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity established the Northern Kazakhstan Birdwatching Club at the Department of Biology of Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University. The club was founded by university lecturers and biology students and later expanded to include graduates, school biology teachers and local residents who care about nature. The club is led by Ivan Zuban and Mikhail Kalashnikov, for whom birdwatching has long become much more than a hobby.

The scientific work of the club has gradually grown beyond the regional level and has become part of international ornithological research. For many years Ivan Zuban has studied the migration routes of waterfowl passing through the forest steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan. This region represents an important section of the Eurasian migratory flyways that until recently remained insufficiently studied.

Since 2017 club members have been implementing a bird marking program using metal rings and GPS transmitters. The project is carried out in cooperation with the Kazakhstan Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds and ornithologists from China. During this period researchers have marked more than 100 Red breasted Geese, 20 Greylag Geese, 15 Greater White fronted Geese and 15 Eastern Imperial Eagles. Satellite tracking has provided new information about migration routes, key stopover areas and threats that birds face throughout the year.

Special attention is given to the Red breasted Goose, a species listed as Vulnerable on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Research has shown that this species is closely associated with seasonal water bodies of the forest steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan. These wetlands serve as important stopover sites during migration. At the same time most of these areas are located on agricultural land and have little or no conservation status.

The results of many years of research have been presented in more than one hundred scientific publications. One of the most notable results was a paper published in March 2025 in the international journal Acta Biologica Sibirica. The study led by Ivan A. Zuban confirmed six bird species for the region for the first time. These discoveries increased the total number of reliably recorded bird species in the forest steppe zone of the North Kazakhstan Region to 273.

In October 2025 students of Kozybayev University and members of the Northern Kazakhstan Birdwatching Club Andrey Stepanyuk, Bakhytzhan Suindykov and Vladislav Lunev participated in an expedition to Kenderli Bay near Aktau. The expedition was organized together with the German conservation organization NABU and the Kazakhstan Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity. The aim of the trip was to assess potential risks of green energy development for wildlife in the region. Participants counted waterfowl in the bay and also monitored birds of prey, particularly the Steppe Eagle.

The club works in several directions at the same time. These include scientific observations, bird ringing, participation in international research projects and environmental education. An important aspect of the club’s philosophy is that anyone can contribute to science, even beginners. For example Kozybayev University student and club member Bakhytzhan Suindykov once photographed a bird and sent the image to his lecturer Ivan Zuban because he thought it was an ordinary species. The bird turned out to be a Black Redstart, a species recorded in the North Kazakhstan Region for the first time. Similar stories occur regularly in the club. For this reason the organization actively works with the public and organizes events open to everyone.

In February 2026 the Department of Biology at Kozybayev University hosted an event called Living Library in the World of Birds. The format was unusual. Instead of books the visitors met people who shared their personal experiences related to nature. Nature photographer Andrey Krasnikov demonstrated that photographing wildlife does not require traveling to distant countries because nature exists right next to us. Irina Fishbukh spoke about leaving her business career to create a farm with exotic birds. Birdwatcher Amir Karimbay explained that birdwatching is far from a boring activity. Hunter Askar Bakin who has more than fifty years of experience spoke about the responsibility of people who spend their lives in nature and emphasized that a true person of the forest is first of all its protector. The meeting generated many questions and a lively discussion about how people can coexist with the world of birds.

Another important event was a free mini course on birdwatching organized by the club together with American Corner Petropavlovsk in January 2026. The course was open to everyone. During three days participants moved from theory to practice. On the first day at the Sabit Mukanov Regional Library they learned about bird species living in the city and participated in interactive activities and a quiz. The second day focused on wildlife photography. Nature photographers Andrey Krasnikov, Igor Travkin and Roman Turchenko presented their work and explained the basics of photographing wildlife. Club member Bakhytzhan Suindykov showed that good bird photographs can even be taken with a smartphone. On the final day participants visited the First President’s Park and recorded fifteen bird species including the Grey headed Woodpecker which is rarely observed in urban environments. More than forty participants received certificates after completing the course.

All these activities are based on a simple idea. Birdwatching changes the way people see the world around them. A person who once learns to recognize birds by their calls or by their silhouette in flight begins to notice nature in places where it previously seemed invisible. A park, a vacant lot or a river bank becomes a living environment with its own inhabitants and stories. For almost two decades the Northern Kazakhstan Birdwatching Club has been doing exactly this. It turns city residents into observers and observers into people who truly care about nature.