BIRDING MONGOLIA: March 2016

March 30, 2016

Volunteers needed to find remaining

endangered Yellow-breasted Buntings
in Mongolia

Populations of Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola are rapidly declining across their range and have recently been classified as endangered by IUCN. They were common in the northern Palearctic from Finland and Belarus, eastwards to northeast Asia. Mainly due to excessive hunting in China and several other reasons, the species which once was a common bird has declined across its range and become quite rare. However, ecological aspects of the decline remain unclear.

photo © G. Amarkhuu

It is vital to understand breeding ecology and migratory behaviour of this species to help identifying conservation actions in the future. During the breeding season (June) in 2016, we want to find and identify locations suitable for deploying geo-locators next year and establishing a long-term population study and monitoring for this species.

We are looking for volunteers who can help us to find breeding localities of Yellow-breasted Bunting in north-eastern Mongolia. However, due to lack of funding and urgency of the issue, Mongolian biologists cannot do this on their own. We need volunteers who are able and willing to pay for costs related to their travel and their participation in field surveys in Mongolia in the first half of June 2016. We can help arrange the logistical support you will need while you are in Mongolia. The field survey will last 2-3 weeks in June, as we would appreciate volunteers willing to contribute their time and resources during this period.

If you are interested, please contact:

Mr. Batmunkh Davaasuren
at the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia
batmunkh@wscc.org.mn

or

Mr. Alex Ngari
at BirdLife International
Alex.Ngari@birdlife.org

March 3, 2016

part 16:

Ikh Tashgai

text by Kirsten Krätzel

( links to previous posts:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 ,12, 13, 14, 15 )

Ikh Tashgai Camp

Jun 2014 © K. Krätzel

After we passed a surprising wide agricultural area we arrived at our next main birding destination on 9 June: the lakes and swamps of Ikh Tashgai! For the first night we camped at one of the more open salt lakes in the northeast of the site. This held a good selection of waders (Common Redshank, many Marsh Sandpipers, breeding and chick-attending Pied Avocets, breeding Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, 2 Pacific Golden Plovers, c50 Northern Lapwings, 5 Red-necked Stints, c100 Eastern Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Far Eastern Curlew), ducks (2 Mergansers, c50 Common Goldeneyes, and >100 Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks, a minimum of 5 Falcated Ducks, at least 10 Eurasian Wigeons and the set of ducks was completed by Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Garganey, Northern Shoveler and 11 Asian White-winged Scoters). Terns were represented by Gull-billed and White-winged Terns. Further on these salt lakes we saw Swan Geese and Whooper Swans while Eastern Marsh Harrier cruised around. Then there were the lots of larks and pipits but all those had not been our target species.

Far Eastern Curlew

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

2 male Falcated Ducks

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

From our campsite we made several walks through a swampy depression towards the main lake with its vast reed vegetation. We had opted for Ochre-rumped Bunting aka Japanese (Reed) Bunting and found them in the boggy meadows surrounding the freshwater lake. They were singing and we counted six territories. Other reed buntings breed here as well: Mongolian Reed Bunting aka Pallas’s Reed Bunting breeds in the stands of what we-for obvious reasons-call “toilet grass” (livestock does not like this hard grass hence in the flat steppe, the tussocks of this species remain quite long and can be much welcomed at certain times, its scientific name is Achnatherum splendens) and the more Common Reed Buntings reside in the reeds proper. While walking around we flushed the one or the other Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler from the ground but the real surprise came in the morning: amazingly, many of them were singing quite in the open everywhere around us.

Male Ochre-rumped Bunting

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © T. Langenberg

Female Ochre-rumped Bunting

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © T. Langenberg

Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © T. Langenberg

Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

Common Cuckoo

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

In the reeds and sedges there were also many Eastern Yellow Wagtails (here macronyx or alike) and Citrine Wagtails. We more than double-checked the reeds of which some stood c4 m tall! Bearded Tits/Reedlings and several species of reed warblers (few Paddyfield, lots of both, Black-browed and Oriental) were easily bagged but we were after another species and-bang-there it was: Japanese Marsh Warbler!

Bearded Reedling

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © A. Buchheim

Black-browed Reed Warbler

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

2cy Eastern Marsh Harrier

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

Male Citrine Wagtail

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

As our first Japanese Marsh Warblers (also called Japanese Swamp Warbler or Marsh Grassbird; Locustella pryeri or Megalurus pryeri) were discovered on the far side of the big reed, we decided to camp closer to the reeds at the central lake the next day. So after we had enjoyed the obligatory “goat in the churn” of the trip here (хорхог as it is called in Mongolian is a traditional Mongolian dish which consists mainly of-you would have guessed it-meat, but originally sheep meat is used for this; we always use goat meat, not only because it has less fat but also because of the still rising number of desertification-promoting goats in the country; the good side is that one needs lots of alcohol to digest all that meat), we set of for the change.

The realization of this, to change the camp location, took us some time because several detour loops of driving had been necessary.

Detouring in Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014

Finally we found a dry camp site at the western edge of the reed lake where we spent the next two nights till 12 June. From here we just had to cross a small muddy stream to reach the part of reeds where up to ten (or even more) singing Japanese Marsh Warblers had their territories. A nice find of this little-known and near-threatened species.

Khorkhog

Eye of Japanese Marsh Warbler (groupshot!)

Japanese Marsh Warbler

At night, Brown-eared Rails aka Eastern Water Rail were calling close to the tents and we also logged Grey Heron, Great Egret, several Great Bitterns, Eurasian Spoonbill, quite many families of Greylag Goose. Further on show were Common Coot, Common Moorhen, 1 Baillon’s Crake, >50 Demoiselle Cranes and a flyby Great Bustard.

The “Eastern” Little Grebe might well still have been on migration as certainly were a Pallas’s Warbler, 2 Two-barred Greenish Warbler and several Arctic Warblers of which the warblers had interrupted their migration to stopover in the “toilet grass”.

Record shot “Eastern” Little Grebe

Record shot Red-crowned Cranes

On the last day, 11 June, Armin discovered a pair of “white” cranes but as they were very far away he could not identify them at first sight. Sönke reacted quickest on Armin’s radio call and confirmed them as non-adult Red-crowned Cranes. So we all rushed to see them. Unfortunately they were quite shy and soon flew off only to land within a thick and far-away reed bed not to be seen again. Instead we discovered a pair of White-naped Crane (only). We finally had to leave this productive area despite one of our target species, Northern Parrotbill, had eluded us and we headed back towards UB. This will be reported next, so stay with us!