2024 Narrative
Mongolia is one of the World’s unique bird tours. There are few places where you spend this much time off-road, off-grid and just following your nose when choosing which tracks to follow. It’s a truly special place, where people are scarce and wildlife is everywhere - if you stop and look! Our highlights were many, including Black-billed Capercaillies and Pallas’s Rosefinch in the forests of the north; Kozlov’s Accentor, Oriental Plover, Saxaul Sparrow and Henderson’s Ground Jay in the deserts of the south; Baer’s Pochards, White-naped Cranes, Mongolian Larks, Mongolian Short-toed Lark and Sakers in the steppes and lakes and Güldenstädt’s Redstart, Hodgson’s Bushchat, Altai Snowcock and Asian Rosy-Finch in the central mountains. All this while “glamping” in style with our amazing camp crew.
The 15th WINGS tour of Mongolia began with us meeting up at the famous Chinggis Khan statue a few miles east of Ulaanbaatar. This, the largest equestrian statue in the World, gazes out east and I like to think he’s considering Siberian migrants, not so much World domination. Our first birding stop was just as the Boreal forest meets the steppes, some of the most southerly trees in the taiga. Here, in clearings in the larch forest, one of the main targets for the tour can be found strutting and clicking his way around. The Black-billed Capercaillie was once a truly mythical bird but can now be almost expected on a decent Mongolia itinerary. After explaining that the search could take several hours and to not dismiss distant sticks as simply sticks, we were all amazed when our first strode out from behind a tree within 20 meters of the cars! After enjoying him for a while, a clicking sound deeper in the forest drew us and resulted in one of the sights of the tour - a lekking capercaillie! With its head held high and tail fanned, it strutted around its chosen lek site for several minutes, giving us ample opportunities to drink in every detail. These birds seem completely unconcerned by our presence, but even so we kept a respectful distance. On top of the clicking of the caper, we were treated to the song of a few Red-flanked Bluetails, eventually managing to see one.
Moving onwards to our Ger camp for the next two days, the forests and scrub around Jalman Meadows produced many fine offerings. Oriental Cuckoo eventually showed, as did Siberian Rubythroats, a brief Red-throated Thrush, a lovely male “Siberian” Long-tailed Rosefinch and several each of Blyth’s Pipit, Amur Stonechat, Daurian Redstart and Black-faced Bunting. The Black Grouse lek next to our camp failed to produce a sighting this year, but the evocative bubbling calls drifted up the hillside to us nonetheless.
From here it was a short drive to our next destination, the lake, marsh and hills of Gun Galuut. Here we encountered our first ducks and shorebirds of the tour, including a rather distant Smew and a small group of Stejneger’s Scoters. Flocks of White-winged Black terns graced the wetlands, and it was delightful to see a few pairs of White-naped Cranes with newly hatched chicks in tow. Unfortunately, the harsh winter meant that the Argali sheep had departed for distant pastures, but a Saker feeding chicks on a nest was ample compensation. The bushes at the camp here often produce migrants, and this year was no exception. A mega flock of 32 Hawfinch was unexpected, but Asian Brown and Dark-sided Flycatchers were also present, along with a handful of Thick-billed, Pallas’s and Two-barred Warblers. The Siberian House Martins were once again nesting on the reception building, allowing for close inspection of their diagnostic white upper tail coverts.
Our long drive south from Gun Galuut to Dalanzadgad was indeed long, but the early stages were through some quality steppes habitat that produced our first Mongolian Gazelle, along with lots of Mongolian Larks fleeing the track, flashing white wing panels resplendent. When steppes gave way to semi-steppes, then semi-desert, we finally arrived at our ger camp near Dalanzadgad. Here, Daurian Shrikes nested in the camp grounds and Hoopoes called at dawn. Our reason for being down here was the nearby valley of Yolyn Am, a deep gorge into one of the final emergences of the Gobi Altai before they dwindle into the desert. The main avian target here is
Kozlov’s Accentor, and one showed admirably for us alongside hordes of stupidly tame White-winged Snowfinches, Eastern Black Redstarts, Brown Accentors, a Sulphur-bellied Warbler, many Chinese Beautiful Rosefinches (whose taxonomy and identification is still controversial but seem to conform best to Chinese rather than Himalayan), Crag Martins and, of course, the eponymous Lammergeiers and Himalayan Griffons - Yolyn Am meaning ‘valley of the vultures’. A frustratingly brief Wallcreeper was seen by some but could not be relocated after it flew around a rock face. A nearby valley gave us a gorgeously barred Barred Warbler, as well as a Daurian Shrike bringing food to its nest and a pair of Sakers cavorting in the skies. Finally, a brief look around some trees in the centre of Dalanzadgad produced a tree full of Pallas’s (Leaf) Warblers, and a tired looking but very welcome Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler skulking under some bushes.
The next day was one looked forward to by many, as this was to be Oriental Plover Day. These gorgeous plovers seem to just spring from the desert, their beacon-like white heads glowing from afar. That said, they are frustratingly low density and require either a large dose of luck or a bit of knowledge on the best places to find them. Thankfully, we have found a good area for them and were treated to two males for an extended period, doing their thing. One even indulged in a spot of display flight as it finally disappeared into the distance. From here we indulged in a spot of migrant watching near Bulgan, before heading off to find the local Snow Leopard man in one of the more surreal episodes of the tour. Finding no one home at his ger, we headed off into the desert, eventually seeing a man on a motorbike who just happened to be our guy! He and his wife gladly agreed to show us the leopard’s cave, jumped in our jeeps and off we went into a nearby range of hills. Unfortunately, there were no leopards home this time, it’s always a long shot to see the ghost of the Gobi, but still, it was a privilege to know that somewhere near they may well have been a Snow Leopard watching us eat our lunch within a few meters of his lair.
Onwards and westwards we went, to our next camp at the Hongorïn Els - a long series of mighty sand dunes stretching through the desert. Dawn the next day saw us at a small corral near the camp, and three male Saxaul Sparrows and a delightfully confiding Desert Wheatear were our pre-breakfast entertainment, along with our first real looks at Pallas’s Sandgrouse flying around.
From here it was a long drive through the desert to our next camp at the large reed-fringed lake of Orog Nuur. The journey provided an all-to-brief Henderson’s Ground Jay for some of the group, but it was to be another few days before everyone had satisfactory views of this enigmatic bird. Orog Nuur was surprisingly dry and bird free. It’s an ephemeral lake but given that the surrounding area was much wetter than usual, we were left wondering what strange hydrological factors were at play that kept the marshes wet but the lake dry. We had great views of a Red-necked Phalarope here, and the wicky-wicky calls of Black-tailed Godwits was a delight to hear as ever. We spent the whole of the next day slowly ascending a long canyon on the flanks of Ikh Bogd, taking in the many Pied Wheatears, Mongolian Finches and others on our way to the alpine plateau. Up here, the weather was decidedly snowy, but we managed great views of Güldenstädt’s Redstart. The take-home memory from Ikh Bogd however, were simply the views. It’s known as the “many-coloured mountain” in Mongolian, so we named it the Painted Mountain. It seemed appropriate, with a gorgeous palette of colours over the hills as they faded into the distance.
Leaving Orog Nuur behind, we had a fruitless search for ground jays but did find a couple of Steppe Grey Shrikes, then made lunch at a small marsh part of the way to Boon Tsagaan Nuur. Here, the reeds were lush and a good number of ducks were present, including our first Falcated Duck. Slavonian (Horned) Grebes were also present, as were a few pairs of Oriental Reed Warbler singing from the reeds. Moving on to Boon Tsagaan Nuur, we moved into some small log cabins for two nights rather than our tents. This proved a good move as the nights were incredibly windy here. The first evening here saw us fail to find a Baer’s Pochard that had been present for a week or so prior to us arriving, but we did find an Eastern Cattle Egret, a Brown-headed Gull and a gorgeous if distant Pallas’s Fish Eagle. With the whole of the next day planned at the lake, we enjoyed the large numbers of waterbirds on offer including Pallas’s Gulls, Swan Geese and another Falcated Duck (this one keeping company with a hybrid Falcated Duck x Gadwall), flocks of White-winged Black Terns contained several Whiskered Terns, Ferruginous Ducks and three vagrant Black-crowned Night Herons. Some of us decided to spend the afternoon hunting for Henderson’s Ground Jay nearby, and thankfully this proved a great move with four birds being found, as well as a handful of Asian Desert Warblers. Meanwhile, those of us at the lake enjoyed the huge Cormorant colony complete with a nesting pair of Whooper Swans, a Smew, a flock of seven Mute Swans, four Greater Sand Plovers and some incredible views of Pallas’s Gulls checking us out.
An early start on the 5th June was called for, as this was to be a long driving day, all the way to Khukh Nuur, high in the Khangai Mountains. The drive may have been long, but once again the scenery made the time positively fly by. We had lunch in a wide valley near the village of Gurvenbulag, then ascended through the valley to Khukh Nuur. A flock of migrating Siberian House Martins drew our attention, as did a small group of Hill Pigeons and a gaggle of Black Vultures on a carcass.
Once at our camp spot, the call of Altai Snowcock immediately flowed down from above us. Scanning the cliffs, we located 5 of them, eventually all of them interacting and flying across the cliff face to meet each other. A wonderful experience! Surprisingly, we would not hear them call again in the following two mornings, although a pair were located high above the camp simply by dedicated scanning. Also here were Eversmann’s Redstarts, a pair of Asian Rosy-Finches, a lost-looking Red-throated Thrush, several Pallas’s Reed Buntings, Dusky Warblers and Hume’s Warblers. A couple of male Stonechats were interesting in that they may have been Siberian rather than Amur, the area where they meet is very close to here. Our main task the following day was to ascend up onto the plateau above the lake and search for Hodgson’s Bushchats, and very successful we were too! At least two pairs were located, and seeing this, the ultimate Saxicola, on its remote and stunning breeding grounds is always a highlight.
Our journey continued north and through the mountain passes to the Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur and its surrounding woodlands. Here, in really stunning surroundings, some of us managed brief views of a female Pallas’s Rosefinch, along with many breeding Common Rosefinches, nesting Red-throated Thush, singing Siberian Rubythroats and such unexpected western species as Tree Pipit and Mistle Thrush. The number of Hume’s Warblers here was also unexpected, they were seemingly everywhere! A bonus pair of Eversmann’s Redstarts gave closer views than we had managed at Khukh Nuur and the local Stonechats once again looked to be Siberian rather than Amur. It was soon time to move on once again, and an afternoon drive to Uggi Nuur saw us driving through some nice steppes. Here we were firmly back in lark territory, and Mongolian Larks abounded with their striking wing patterns. Upland Buzzards were also prominent, and a nice pair of Pere David’s Snowfinches finally got on to everyone’s life lists.
The next day proved to be one of the highlights of the tour. We had the whole day to explore the lake, and after enjoying large duck flocks at the western end that included three Falcated Ducks, and a flock of Common Cranes that had three White-naped tagging along, we found a saline lake that held hundreds of nesting Mongolian Gulls, Avocets and Black-necked (Eared) Grebes, along with a large amount of Pochard. After lunch, we checked out a bay of the main lake, separated from it by a gravel bar. On here were a large number of Pochards, several Smew and best of all, three drake Baer’s Pochards! This critically endangered duck is often seen in Mongolia in the spring, but usually in the far east. Its rapid decline has turned it into one of the rarest birds in Asia, and we were truly privileged to see three together, interacting with four Ferruginous Ducks. From here, we drove east, stopping for a successful search for Mongolian Short-toed Lark at one of the few sites for them west of Ulaanbaatar.
Our arrival at Hustai NP saw us head straight for a nearby valley where we had distant but evocative views of Przewalski’s Horses, a rather mournful-looking Wapiti and a nice female Amur Falcon close to a likely nest site. The following morning, our final day, we went up the main horse valley and scored our main target of Meadow Bunting, although Daurian Partridge were to prove invisible to us. Perhaps a result of the harsh winter? A superfast Mongolian Gazelle amazed us as it disappeared into the steppes, and then that was that. The relatively short drive back to Ulaanbaatar was uneventful and we enjoyed our final evening together watching the wonderful “Tumen Ekh ensemble” of traditional music and dancing and reminiscing of our time spent in this truly unique country and landscape.
- Paul French
Created: 25 June 2024