Ulaanbaatar Children’s Park, 20 April 2009
Axel Braunlich

After one ear of absence one of the first places to visit in Ulaanbaatar was the Children’s Park close to the city centre. A few migrants were present, notably thrushes: Brambling 1, Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1 female, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 1, Greater Spotted Woodpecker 1, Red-throated Thrush c.20, Black-throated Thrush 2, hybrid Red-throated x Black-throated Thrush 2, Dusky Thrush 1, Naumann’s Thrush 2, Northern Wheatear 1 male singing + 2 females, Daurian Jackdaw 2, and several Red-billed Chough, Common Magpie, Carrion Crow and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

The park is in a devastated state, fenced, with all equipment (merry-go-round, fairy tale statures etc) destroyed, paths bulldozed and trenches (cable trenches?) being dug out. Apart from a few workers and a pack of wild roaming dogs nobody visited the park (apart from the Korean restaurant located close to on of the entrance).

To learn more about the park, its fate and action to save it read Michael Kohn’s blog: Save the Ulaanbaatar Children’s Park - A blog to stop of the destruction of Ulaanbaatar’ open spaces:

“The Children’s Park was boarded up three years ago and has been closed ever since. The Japanese firm Itochu (along with Golomt Bank) said it planned to build an amusement park, which never came to be. Now, rumour has it, the park has been divided up and sold to developers (including MCS) who plan to turn it into another drab gated apartment complex. …” To read more click here.