Birds with Alyona Fionina
A Russian ornithologist's bird diary: owl walks at night, a nutcracker invasion from Siberia, tricky buzzard morphs and feathers drawn in wax crayons.
What it is
"Idu lesom, nesu dich" — roughly "Walking through the woods, carrying game", a play on a Russian idiom — is the Telegram channel of ornithologist Alyona Fionina. In her bio she says she has studied birds for more than twenty years in Russia's Ryazan region and elsewhere, and that she leads birding trips and weekend outings. When we checked, the channel had around 4,000 subscribers and had posted the day before. It is written entirely in Russian.
The format is simple and warm: bird photos, short field notes, trip announcements and recaps, the occasional local TV interview and plenty of personal touches. Most of it is about the birds of central Russia through the seasons.
Why we picked it
It teaches you to notice birds close to home and explains things people see but rarely understand. Every autumn, for instance, tits start pecking at window insect screens. Fionina explains why: once the frosts arrive, insects hide in cracks and crevices, so birds go looking in new places. The practical takeaway — bring your screens in for the winter.
Some stories turn an ordinary walk into an event. This autumn central Russia has seen an invasion of spotted nutcrackers from Western Siberia. She explains that roughly every seven or eight years the Siberian pine crop fails and the birds head west; the last time was 2018. After reading that, you start scanning park trees for nutcrackers yourself.
We also like her honesty. In one post she admits her group mistook a pale buzzard morph for a short-toed snake eagle and only spotted the error in the photos — with a real snake eagle posted alongside for comparison. Beginners learn that even experts slip, and that bird ID is a skill, not a gift.
There is a cosy side thread, too: a feather collection drawn in children's wax crayons — a Mediterranean gull, a hen harrier, an azure-winged magpie — now more than thirty drawings, while colleagues mail her real feathers, including nutcracker and crane.
Where to start
- Read the post about the nutcracker invasion before your next autumn walk.
- Look at the recap of September's night walks in search of woodland owls.
- Study the buzzard-versus-snake-eagle comparison as a quick ID exercise.
- Browse the wax-crayon feather drawings — a great idea to try with kids.
- If you are near Ryazan, follow the trip announcements, which list what birds to expect.
Who it's for
New birdwatchers and anyone who has just bought binoculars. Parents who want to show children wildlife near the city. People living in or visiting the Ryazan region. And anyone who wants a calm feed of birds, forests and changing seasons — provided you read Russian or use a translator.
Quick answers
Who runs it? Ornithologist Alyona Fionina, who says she has studied birds for over twenty years.
Is it only about one region? Most observations come from the Ryazan region, but the seasonal patterns and ID tips apply across central Russia.
Is anything paid? She announces guided trips in the channel, but the main feed is free notes and photos.
