Surprise below

Songino Khairkhan Uul

Text & photos © Andreas Buchheim

Ice-mushroom in the sewage stream,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

On 16 January I went to the riparian area below Songino Khairkhan Uul. By car it is about a 35-minute drive west from where I live. I crossed the river by 9:30 am. Virtually the first passerine I saw was flying towards me. This turned out to be a female Güldenstädt’s Redstart, most likely the one that was seen here recently (photo of the flying bird at the Mongolian Bird Watching Clubwebsite). This was a nice start despite the bad conditions. A north-easterly breeze was blowing all the city smog exactly to the area (and beyond) where I wanted to watch birds. As the redstart was not approachable by any means I decided to scrutinize the woodland and try my luck later the day. After a while I found a group of about 50 Bohemian Waxwings, but photographing them was impossible, thanks to the aforementioned facts. At about 11:00 am the wind changed to the opposite direction and soon I found myself birding in bright sunlight. A (the) flock of Azure-winged Magpies was on show again, but—again—it was on the other side of the river. During wintertime rivers don’t pose any problem to birdwatchers as they can be criss-crossed ad lib, simply because they are deeply frozen. But I was birding along the never-freezing sewage stream (quite incredible that there is no appropriate waste-water treatment in the capital of Mongolia!) and thus it was impossible to get close enough to the magpies. So I was driving around looking for a nice place with lots of birds and when I found it, I waited. And waited. I waited even more for the birds coming close enough to the car. After more than 45 minutes the waxwings came back to the bushes to feed on the berries and I began to take some shots.

Female Bohemian Waxwing,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Bohemian Waxwing with berry,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Bohemian Waxwing with frosty cap,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Suddenly I heard familiar calls and soon 4 White-cheeked Starlings joined the waxwings. This species is very rare in winter in the country.

Three of the four White-cheeked Starlings,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

While I was photographing the starlings I heard other calls. Those I knew from Europe: European Greenfinch. Was I dreaming or getting mad? Greenfinch? Here? Impossible! But, surprise, surprise: There was a flock of European Greenfinches feeding below the trees. The flock consisted of two males and three females and I could take some pictures. This species has been recorded just a few times in Mongolia and all sightings came from the west of the country.

Four of the five European Greenfinches,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Male European Greenfinch,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Female European Greenfinch,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Another finch dropped to join the greenfinches. This was a male Common Chaffinch but he was too wary and I could obtain not more than a poor record shot of this rather rare winter visitor to Mongolia.

Record-shot of the first-winter male Common Chaffinch,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Female Güldenstädt’s Redstart,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Male Güldenstädts Redstart,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

After this I tried on the redstart again, but the bird was not cooperating well. While I was waiting opposite its favored fruiting-tree I got aware of a male Güldenstädt’s Redstart which was attending the very same tree every now and then. The flocks of thrushes either had left the area or I just did not find them. Nevertheless a few (less than 10) Red-throated Thrushes were still around. After 4 hours I went back home.

Red-throated Thrush,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Bohemian Waxwing, dropping part one,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012

Bohemian Waxwing, dropping part two,

below Songino Khairkhan Uul, Jan 2012