North-eastern Mongolia, August – A. Buchheim

A trip through north-eastern Mongolia took our group from Ulaanbaatar to Chuluuhoroot at the Mongolian-Russian border and further south to Choibalsan along numerous rivers including Tuul, Kherulen, Onon and Ulz, plus via many steppe lakes including Hangal, Binder, Bus, Galuut, Khokh and Yakhi. We travelled between 14 and 31 August.



Eurasian Nuthatch, Terelj. Photo © A. Buchheim



White-backed WoodpeckerTerelj Photo © A. Buchheim

It was the fourth time that I took this route but this year’s trip was different. Not only was the steppe characterized by the draught, it was almost birdless. No longer are there any areas which could be called long-grass steppe, hence only a few Japanese Quails were flushed. Severe overgrazing in connection with the dry conditions in 2007 is obvious. The huge flocks of roaming Mongolian Larks, Lesser Short-toed Larks, and the large pipits which can be observed normally, not to mention the most numerous Mongolian bird – Horned Lark, showed up only at Yakhi nuur. This is somewhat surprising as Yakhi nuur is dry for many years now. May be this has reduced the number of livestock in this region, giving grass a better chance for growing (larger groups of Mongolian Gazelle were seen). Another phenomenon which might be connected with the desolate conditions of the steppe was the almost complete lack of the large grasshoppers. Thus the numbers of smaller raptors like Amur Falcon had been lower than during previous trips. Even the normally common Demoiselle Crane, likewise dependent on these hoppers, was not seen in large flocks.


Eastern Marsh Harrier, Tschoch nuur.
Photo © A. Buchheim


Hen Harrier. Khokh nuur Photo © A. Buchheim

For larger raptors relying on rodents it was a bad year as well. The mild winter had caused a high mortality among the hibernating rodents because early melt-water killed many of them in their burrows. Saker and Upland Buzzard were less common than expected though the former suffers strongly from catching for falconry. And the lakes were in bad condition too. Binder nuur was dry, as were Galuut nuur (the lake had received some rainfall recently and showed some puddles which attracted some waterfowl and waders) and Doroo nuur with the latter skipped from the itinerary because of this. At the other lakes the water levels had been extremely low.

Nevertheless we recorded 198 species of birds plus an unidentified juvenile cuckoo (Cuculus sp.). Best bird was a 2cy Mute Swan at Khokh nuur on 28th. Also there were 3 Gray’s Grasshopper Warblers on the former breeding island on the western bank of the lake on the same date. Rewarding was the observation of an adult male Pied Harrier on the same day. A single Eurasian Collared Dove at Choibalsan where the species has been seen displaying in spring is worth mentioning.


Red-necked Stint, Khokh nuur. Photo © A. Buchheim

Baikal Teal was recorded at Tschoch nuur on 24th (1 female, 1 juv.), Galuut nuur on 25th (1 male), Khokh nuur on 28th (1 juv.) and at a small pond about 1 km north of Yakhi nuur on 30th (2 females, 1 juv.) but proved to be as shy as usual. Noteworthy was a small group of 5 Oriental Plovers in the flood plain of the Ulz Gol (the river was dry) east of Tschoch nuur on 25th where a male hybrid Tufted Duck x Common Pochard was seen the day before. The old part of Tschoch held three (plus… ) Baillon’s Crakes on 24th, with one seen the next morning. At the same site a Hooded Crane was seen on 25th. Another hybrid, this time Common x White-naped Crane was recorded on 22nd. This bird was paired with a Common Crane, and three family-parties of White-naped Cranes were nearby in the Ulz (some water remaining in the river here) flood plain at Dalt uul. Other hybrids seen were the well known pigeon hybrids of Mongolia’s capital: Rock x Hill Pigeons can be easily seen at the Gandan Monastery but it is in some cases hart to tell whether a bird is some kind of hybrid or just a variant.


Hybrid pigeon, Ulaanbaatar. Photo © A. Buchheim

That the migration had not yet started (another factor influencing bird numbers) was clearly illustrated by Pallas’s Warbler: none was seen and other species had been observed in much smaller numbers than during the previous trips. I hope Mongolia will receive much more rain in the future.


Juvenile Daurian Redstart, Terelj. Photo © A. Buchheim

Andreas Buchheim and Birdingtours

Middle Gobi, mid-AUG / early-SEP - D. Mantle

In mid-August, I moved to a new camp in the Middle Gobi (about 4 hours southeast of Arvaikheer) to make geological maps of about 1200 sq kilometres of our leases. I was promised trees in this area but alas it is as treeless as the dryer areas of the Gobi that I worked in previously. However, I get to live in a ger and it is much greener here. There is a good covering of grass and a scattering of low bushes that provide some shelter for the passerines that are starting to move south. So far there have been good numbers of Asian Brown Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Dusky Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, a few Dark-throated Thrushes and Brown Shrikes and a lone Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler. The resident species include abundant Horned, Asian Lesser Short-toed, and Mongolian Larks, the usual wheatears, Blyth’s Pipit (absent from my previous field areas to the south), Rock Sparrow, Mongolian Trumpeter Finch, and Desert Warbler. Mongolian Ground Jays are also present in very low numbers.

Pallas’s Sandgrouse. Photo © D. Mantle

Pallas’s Sandgrouse are extremely common and I encounter hundreds everyday during my work. The largest flocks I have observed are up to 3-4000 strong. And I have found several freshly plucked sandgrouse, so they are clearly providing a meal for some of the local raptors, including several pairs of breeding Saker Falcons.

Pallas’s Sandgrouse feathers. Photo © D. Mantle

By far the most abundant birds of prey are the Upland Buzzards but I am not sure they would catch the fast-flying sandgrouse unless they can take them on the ground. The amount of downy chest feathers they are moulting across the desert/steppe is really impressive – easy to see how they survive the frozen winters here. Other resident raptors in the area include Steppe Eagle, Black-eared Kite, several Lesser Kestrel colonies and common Little Owls. Whilst migrating raptors include Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and singles of Steppe Buzzard, Japanese Sparrowhawk, and Amur Falcon moving south. Unfortunately I have also found several Upland Buzzard, Black-eared Kite, and Cinereous Vultures that have been shot by the locals. Not something I have noticed in previous areas.

Little Owl. Photo © D. Mantle

The big bonus of this new site is the number of small lakes in the area. Some hold nothing at all whilst others are stacked with waterfowl and waders. All the duck are really flighty, something I have noticed of the waterfowl elsewhere in the country. The highlights for me have been a single Oriental Plover, three Little Curlew, and good numbers of Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Temminck’s and Little Stint along with smaller numbers of Red-necked Stint.

Boon Tsagaan nuur
On the way to the new camp, I managed a detour to Boon Tsagaan nuur and found another Chinese Pond Heron (subadult) and had great views of Pallas’s Fish Eagle.

Little Ringed Plover. Photo © D. Mantle

Cheers,
Dan

More news on Great Bustard research in Mongolia

After a first note on bustard research (click here) on Birding Mongolia a little while ago the following news were sent by Aimee "Mimi" Kessler, School of Life Sciences Graduate Programs, Arizona State University, fresh from the field:

August 2007: The Great Bustard research team working in Northern Mongolia has caught two more bustards, a mother with her large chick. The mother was given a satellite transmitter and numbered wing tag. Her chick, a young male, has a numbered wing tag. The team will be monitoring these birds in the years to come to determine habitat use patterns and migration routes. We would appreciate news of any observations of Great Bustards with wing tags (contact: mimi dot kessler at asu dot edu).

Our team's Great Bustard research in Mongolia is supported by a generous donation of satellite transmitters by Microwave Telemetry, an US National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, an US National Security Education Program Boren Fellowship, and a Wildlife Conservation Society Graduate Research Fellowship.

We apologize for the quality of the photos. As the bustards were captured by spotlighting, they were taken in pitch darkness at night.

In the photos:
Young man: Dashnyam, undergraduate, National University of Mongolia
Mongolian woman: Erdenetsetseg, assistant
American woman: Mimi Kessler, graduate student, Arizona State University

New birding trip report from Mongolia

A new birding trip report from Mongolia has been added to Travellingbirder.com:

Birdquest: Mongolia 21 May – 8 June 2006 Tour Report. Leader: Mark Beaman
To see all trip reports from Mongolia click here.