part six:

Along the Khalkh gol - The Plantation

text by Armin Schneider

( links to previous posts: part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 )

Camp Khalkh gol Plantation

Jun 2014, © Armin Schneider

After our group had had a lot of fun at Buir Nuur, we even had more fun at Khalkh gol (“Khalkh River”) which is Mongolia’s easternmost river. For the next couple of days we had three different camp sites along the river.

At first, we spent a night very close to Khalkhgol village where we arrived on 1 June. Our campsite was just beside the bundle of huts near the remains of a former agricultural plantation. A few dozens of poplars and other trees as well as bushes plus the dense vegetation along the river made this place a very good choice, although the willows near the river were full of mosquitoes. It took not too long until we recorded some more interesting bird species. One of the many unexpected observations was a small group of three male Mandarin Ducks flying along the river on 2 June. They even landed close to the camp but somehow disappeared totally undetected by us. During our breakfast on 3 June a male Crested Honey Buzzard flew by our camp and we also found a nice Black-naped Oriole.

Record shot of the 3 male Mandarin Ducks

Khalkh gol , Jun 2014, © Armin Schneider

Male Crested Honey Buzzard

Khalkh gol, Jun 2014, © Thomas Langenberg

Black-naped Oriole

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © T. Langenberg

Above our tents a few Amur Falcons had their nests and they sometimes disputed ownership with Daurian Jackdaws. We also observed a pair of Chinese Grey Shrikes. This species is known to breed in eastern Mongolia since several years (contra Gombobaatar et al. 2013). In fact, members of the Eastern Specialties Tour had found a nest as early as 2011 but did not even consider it to be the first one ever that had been found in the country (see here). Insofar it was not a real surprise when Abu found a nest just 200 m from our campsite.

Bush with the nest of Chinese Grey Shrike

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Kirsten Krätzel

Clutch and nest of Chinese Grey Shrike

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © T. Langenberg

Chinese Grey Shrike

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Mathias Putze

Chinese Grey Shrike

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © T. Langenberg

By checking the surrounding area, Armin flushed a Grey Nightjar from the ground which made it possible to get daylight photos of the flying bird. Besides the already mentioned species we also logged commoner birds like Two-barred Warbler, Black-faced Bunting, Sooty Flycatcher, Common Rosefinch, Daurian Jackdaw and White-cheeked Starling.

Grey Nightjar

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Armin Schneider

Male Amur Falcon and its abundant prey

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Armin Schneider

Dispute between Daurian Jackdaw and Amur Falcon

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Mathias Putze

Daurian Jackdaw in flight

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Mathias Putze

Daurian Jackdaw

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © A. Buchheim

Hoopoe

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © T. Langenberg

Two-barred Warbler

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © A. Buchheim

Two-barred Warbler

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © A. Buchheim

Youngster Daurian Pika

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Armin Schneider

Unbelievable, the guys at their siesta!

Khalkh gol plantation, Jun 2014, © Kirsten Krätzel

After our short stay here we went on to camp near Sumber where we found some very good birds. So keep checking BirdingMongolia!


Literatur cited

Gombobaatar, S., Shirihai, H. & Dorjlkhagvajantsan, G. 2013. The first breeding record of the Chinese Grey Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus Cabanis, 1873) in Mongolia. Ornis Mongolica 2: 31-34.