Observations in Nukht, 22 Nov 2008

by Konchog Norbu

I had a very enjoyable couple of hours, between 12:30-2:30PM, birding the valley above Nukht, south of Ulaanbaatar. I had forgotten that they had a fire in there last year. This proved very attractive to woodpeckers and, as in North America, esp. Three-toed Woodpeckers. The best bird, for me, was Eurasian Bullfinch, a lifer. Had a pair feeding on the grasses that had grown in the newly open areas of the burn. Interestingly, Brian Watmough told me he birded along the Tuul River and also had bullfinch! The other good bird for the day was one Siberian Accentor; I'd only ever seen this species in the Gobi before, though I suspect if I birded more, I'd see it more often. Altogether 15 species:

1. Carrion Crow - lots everywhere
2. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - dozens
3. Black-billed Magpie - maybe a couple dozen
4. Common Raven - 6
5. Eurasian Jay - 4
6. Great Spotted Woodpecker - 5
7. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - 3
8. Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker - 4
9. Great Tit - 10
10. Willow Tit - 1
11. Siberian Accentor - 1
12. Eurasian Nuthatch - 6
13. Eurasian Treecreeper - 3
14. Eurasian Bullfinch - 2
15. Common Redpoll - 40 to 50