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Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan Volunteers welcome
Chokpak Pass Ringing Station
Operated by Institute of Zoology, Kazakhstan
Historic autumn migration bottleneck and ringing station at a narrow pass in the western Tien Shan foothills of southern Kazakhstan.
About the station
The Chokpak Pass ringing station has operated since the 1960s and is one of Eurasia's most important autumn migration monitoring sites. Located at a natural bottleneck between the Talas and Karatau ridges, it concentrates huge flows of passerines, raptors and near-passerines heading south to wintering grounds in South Asia and Africa. Each autumn a team of ringers from the Institute of Zoology of the Kazakhstani Academy of Sciences, supported by volunteers from around the world, operates mist nets and Heligoland traps at the pass. The station holds long-term datasets on migration timing, moult and biometrics for dozens of species.
Volunteering & internships
Ringers, ringing trainees and field assistants are welcomed each autumn. Basic accommodation and meals are usually provided on site; volunteers contribute to net operation, bird processing and data entry. Previous ringing experience is preferred but keen beginners are considered.
Target species
passerinesraptorsnear-passerineswaders