Birding Mongolia

2008-06-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Avian influenza surveillance training in Hovsgol aimag

Hello All,

I thought you might appreciate the attached photo taken at the conclusion of our avian influenza surveillance training session held in Hovsgol aimag, Mongolia on 22-23 June 2008.

The initial concept had simply been to initiate our Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) field team in bird survey and sampling techniques in order to prepare them for the summer fieldwork. However, following discussion with Erdenetsetseg, head of the aimag (provincial) veterinary laboratory in Moron, it became clear that there was also considerable interest among the local veterinary and environmental departments to join the sessions. Thanks to support from Murray MacLean (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), and Ts. Purevkhuu (Department of Veterinary Service, Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Mongolia), we were able to secure funds to extend attendance to representatives involved in influenza surveillance at the district, provincial and national level.

In total 38 people joined the training including 17 from the WCS surveillance team (plus seven support staff), six from the Veterinary Departments in Hovsgol and Bulgan, four from the National Environment Office and one from the Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, two from the Veterinary Research Institute and a visiting researcher from the University of Iowa. Among the attendees were three veterinarians from our WCS-Afghanistan programme as well as Chea Sokha, a member of our WCS surveillance team active in Cambodia.

The two-day course began in Moron, with indoor sessions including introductions to avian influenza, bird identification and colour marking, before relocating to Sangiyn Dalai Nuur, the lake where WCS field surveillance will begin this summer. The following day included practical sessions in bird identification, mortality surveying and GPS navigation.

The highlight of the whole course came during the bird identification practical, when the first waterbird observed by the team turned out to be a Bean Goose wearing a WCS neck collar that had been tagged during our work in July 2007! This species will be the focus of our early work in the 2008 field season, and together with our collaborator Thomas Heinicke in Germany (who supplied the collars), we will increase awareness of this species in potential wintering quarters in China with the intention that resightings of collared birds during the winter will further define the migratory routes and wintering areas of this little known Mongolian species.

Best wishes to all,

Martin

Martin Gilbert M.R.C.V.S., B.V.M.S.
Wildlife Veterinarian, Associate Director - Asia,
Global Health Program, Wildlife Conservation Society

2008-06-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

100s of Mongolian Gazelles died

© Seen in the latest edition of e-Browser
from the Large Herbivore Foundation (LHF)

In May 2008 hundreds of Mongolian Gazelles were caught and died in the 2-meter high barbed wire barriers on the border of Russia and Eastern Mongolia. At least 30,000 Mongolian Gazelles have concentrated recently on the border of Mongolia and Russia in their search for food and water. Because of continuing droughts in Eastern Mongolia, the animals are migrating to the north, hoping to find food and water in Russia/ Dauria. From their long journey over hundreds of kilometres, the animals are already much weakened, when running in to the border barriers. (Barriers that in fact are mainly meant to prevent cross border cattle theft!). With help of the Russian army and border patrol, Russian rangers, supported by WWF Russia, are making temporary openings/ corridors in the border fencing over a length of 40 km, to create a safe passage for the gazelles. Also drinking water and supplementary food is provided, together with pens for wounded animals. LHF has given emergency financial support to Dauria Zapovednik and is working with WWF Russia, UNESCO MAB Russia and WWF Mongolia to tackle the crisis.

The Mongolian Gazelle is a migrating species, living in herds of tens of thousands of animals, moving over great distances in the Asian steppes, originally in a vast area, covering all of Mongolia, and adjacent areas in Russia and China. The mass migrations of the Mongolian Gazelle are a unique phenomena, comparable only to the migrations still occurring in Africa. Because of increasing border barriers (Mongolia/ Russia/ China) and increase in - fenced out - infrastructure like railroads (e.g. Trans Siberia line Russia/ Mongolia to Beijing), the essential seasonal migration of Mongolian Gazelle becomes harder and almost impossible. The extreme droughts in Eastern Mongolia, this early in the season, may be due to predicted climate change that will have major consequences for the steppe ecosystem and Mongolian wildlife.

LHF has been collaborating with other parties over the last years to find structural solutions and sustainable protection for the endangered Mongolian Gazelle. Besides protected areas (like Daurskii Zapovednik, RU; Eastern Steppe reserves, MN), unrestricted seasonal- and climate migration should be guaranteed, e.g. in creating controlled corridors for gazelles to cross the borders. The Mongolian Gazelle has declined sharply during the last decades. From some 1.5 million in mid 20th century (ranging Mongolia, Russia and NE China), only 500,000 remain nowadays, limited to E Mongolia and adjacent Russia. In Russia the species became extinct in the seventies, by over hunting, poaching and competition with domestic cattle. Since 1993, when a group of Mongolian Gazelles migrated (!) to Dauria, the species is back in Russia. Thanks to strict protection measures the population has now increased to over 1,000 animals.

Fred Baerselman & Joep van de Vlasakker

------------------------------------------------------

Mongolian Gazelle. Photo © R. Reading

Note (A. Braunlich): The Mongolian Gazelle Procapra gutturosa is currently not considered to be globally threatened (Least Concern). IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/. Downloaded on 25 June 2008.

2008-06-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Genetic analysis of migration in

Tufted Duck and Common Pochard

Tufted Duck. Photo © Martin Semisch

The current knowledge about migration patterns in Eurasian Aythya ducks is entirely based on the limited information available from the analysis of bird counts and ring recovery data. In Europe, bird ringing activities are coordinated by the European ringing scheme EURING, where the data are centrally governed. These data suggest movements between different duck populations, which would facilitate the spread of viruses. However, the extent of these interactions is difficult to quantify with ring recovery data. I'm carrying out a project of the detailed genetic analysis of migration in two Eurasian Aythya species, Tufted Duck A. fuligula and Common Pochard A. ferina to provide exactly this missing information.

Common Pochard. Photo © Martin Semisch

From genetic data, it is possible to assess the extent of gene flow between different populations and to assign individuals to particular genetic subpopulation. In other words, we can simultaneously estimate the long-term average rate of gene flow and document actual dispersal events. The primary goal is to provide a solid basis for assessing the risk of H5N1 introduction into Switzerland by migratory ducks. The two target species from the genus Aythya are prime candidates as long distance vectors because of the large number of birds migrating between Central Europe and Asia each year, the potential mixing of birds wintering in Southeast Asia and Europe on their Northern Asian breeding grounds, and the high incidence of H5N1 in Aythya in Switzerland. Detailed knowledge about the population of origin of infected birds, the time of arrival of birds from populations in high risk areas, and the relative proportion of such birds among the winter guests in Switzerland will allow the efficient monitoring of infection risks, and consequently a much more informed and sensible implementation of protective measures for poultry.

Tufted Duck. Photo © Martin Semisch

Feather/ tissue/ blood samples from two species will be collected from different locations across the entire distribution range of the two species in Eurasia. The coverage of both breeding grounds and wintering grounds will provide representative samples of the genetic diversity in these ducks. We are highly appreciated anyone who is likely to provide our samples.
Common Pochard. Sketch © Nikolai Kranais. www.birdsart.de

The followings are what we need and some information concerned with sampling protocol.

1) Our main interest is in samples from birds' breeding or wintering area. As we will mainly focus on very large-scale patterns the exact sampling location within this region is less relevant. Therefore, the samples can be from one or several locations depending on what is easier for you.

2) The samples should be collected during wintering or breeding period, but samples collected at other times will also be very welcome.

3) Feather samples will be sufficient for all our analyses. I assume that feathers will also be easier to collect in the field than blood or tissue samples. If samples of tissue and blood are possible, they are highly welcome because of their high DNA concentration.

4) It is important that the feathers (rectrices or inner primaries are ideal parts) are plucked from the bird. This is to ensure that small amounts of tissue are attached to them which can be used for the DNA analyses. As long as the feathers are dry they can simply be stored in paper envelopes for each individual separately. The number of feathers required per individual depends a bit on their size. Four large feathers or 10 small feathers should be sufficient.

5) I'm interested in all individuals (males, females, 1st years, adults). Depending on the number of samples that can be collected it may then be possible to look at sex- or age-specific differences. 15~30 individuals from each age or sex group for each species are perfect if possible.

To summarize, it would be very helpful to have any samples from these two species that you may be able to obtain. It would be important to know the following information for each sample:

- species of the bird
- sampling location (ideally coordinates, or the name of the nearest town)
- sex of the bird
- age of the bird (if possible)
- date of sample collection

Tufted Duck. Photo © Martin Semisch

All samples can be sent to

Yang Liu, PhD student
CMPG, Zoologisches Institut
Universitaet Bern
Baltzerstr. 6
CH-3012 Bern
Switzerland

Email: yang.liu at zoo.unibe.ch

Please feel free to let me know if you have additional questions. Comments
related to this project are also welcome. Thanks very much for your
attention and assistance of sampling for this project.

Sincerely yours

Liu Yang

2008-06-20T02:03:00.000-07:00

travel / birding companion wanted

Dear all,

Two colleagues of mine are getting married in Mongolia this summer (she originally from Ulaanbaatar) and have invited me to the wedding. I have decided to take this opportunity to do some birding in Mongolia while I'm there. I am arranging a tour by 4WD with guide etc to the Gobi with a loop by the big lakes to the west, and back through the Khangai Mountains. After that, a couple of days in Terelj NP, and after that the wedding with a traditional Mongolian festival.

I'll arrive in UB around the 14th of July, and will spend a fortnight birding before the wedding. I realize timing could be better, but I didn't really have a say in the wedding date unfortunately ;-) There does seem to be a full solar eclipse on the day of the wedding, so that might be interesting.

If anybody is interested in joining me for birds like Saxaul Sparrow, Mongolian Ground-jay, Relict Gull, Altai Snowcock, Black-billed Capercaillie, please contact me. At the moment I'm on my own and wouldn't mind sharing some of the cost. And if you really would want to I could probably sneak you on to the guest list of the wedding too.

Kind regards,

Jan-Joost Bouwman
Gouda, The Netherlands

Jjbouwman at hetnet.nl

2008-06-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

The Future of Mining in Mongolia:
Protecting and Managing Biodiversity

Mongolia, like many developing countries in the world, is currently experiencing a significant expansion in mining development. Mongolia still retains some of the most extensive natural ecosystems in Asia, with expansive areas of natural habitat supporting traditional livelihoods and both migratory mammals and birds, many of which are globally threatened. How can Mongolia realise the benefits of mining development with its associated infrastructure while conserving what is most important about the country’s wildlife? This presentation, followed by a panel discussion, will explore examples of best practice from around the world with regard to mining legislation, mine design and planning, operation and habitat rehabilitation. It will look at the assessment of the primary and indirect impacts of mining and the creation of opportunities for impact avoidance and the offsetting of negative impacts. It will consider some examples of where mining and associated development could impact some of the most important sites and habitats in Mongolia, and what can be done to reduce the impact of such development while bringing benefits to the country as a whole.

Download (path: Mongolian River Resources – Science & Conservation – Resources):

Protecting and Managing Biodiversity, Nyambayar Batbayar -Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre (WSCC), Jonathan Stacey -BirdLife International - In English (5.75 MB; click here)

Mining and Important Bird Areas, Nyambayar Batbayar -Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre (WSCC), Jonathan Stacey -BirdLife International - In Mongolian (2.87 MB; click here)

The Text above is from the Mongolian River Resources website. A link has been added to the sidebar of Birding Mongolia.

2008-06-08T02:33:00.000-07:00

New publication on Siberian Crane

The Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus is one of the most threatened waterbird species in Asia (with less than 15 individuals left in Central and West Asia, and about 3,000-4,000 in East Asia). Based on long-term interest to protect this species, an international agreement and programme of work has been developed under the UNEP/Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) that involves a number of governments, international organisations and interested experts. This species also serves as a flagship to promote management of migratory species and their habitats in the region.

A new publication, entitled, Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane, Fourth Edition. 2008 has been published by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS); downloadable from http://www.cms.int/publications/TechSeries/SibCrane16/siberian_crane_TC16.htm

This publication outlines the results of recent work and priorities for the future for management of this species and its habitats. The programme of work was developed at an international meeting in May 2007 in Almaty, Kazakhstan (which I was fortunate to attend). The meeting was led by the International Crane Foundation and a major UNEP GEF programme (see http://www.scwp.info/).

The GEF project that covers Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran and China as a primary focus, but in reality also includes all the other countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) where the Siberian Crane is found.

The publication makes very interesting reading and the editors are to be commended.

For those interested in disease issues, there are sections that relate to avian influenza surveillance in Siberian Cranes and wild birds that were identified as priorities by the countries and hopefully will be addressed during the period 2007-2009. This would be a useful reference to consider in discussions involving these countries, as AI programmes are developed/refined.

Best wishes, Taej

Taej Mundkur, PhD
Deputy Wildlife Coordinator for Avian Influenza
Infectious Disease Group / EMPRES, Animal Health Service
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
website: http://www.fao.org/avianflu/en/wildlife/index.html

2008-04-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

5th ARRCN meeting in Tam Dao National Park in Vietnam

(the next meeting will be in Mongolia!)

ARRCN, the Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network holds a symposium once every two years. It brings together a multi-faceted group of raptor experts, including field biologists, environmental educators, captivity specialists, researchers, veterinarians, governmental authorities, politicians, students, bird watchers and other people who are interested in Asia and beyond. Therefore, it is an important gathering of people who share common interest in research and conservation of birds of prey in the region.

The symposia provide a unique opportunity for the Asian raptor community and members of ARRCN to share and exchange information, experiences, and results from their activities. Since the first symposium which took place in 1998 in Shiga, Japan, succeeding symposia were held in Bandung, Indonesia in 2000, Kenting, Taiwan in 2003, and Taiping, Malaysia in 2005. Vietnam was the host of 5th symposium which has been held from 3-6 April 2008 in Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc province, Vietnam. Tam Dao NP is located in a beautiful mountainous area located not far from Hanoi and is one of the most important raptor migration sites in Vietnam. The symposium was organized by ARRCN members in Vietnam and hosted jointly by Tam Dao National Park. Congratulations for their hard work that made this symposium a successful one like previous meetings.

In this 5th symposium, over 100 people from 18 countries participated and discussed a total of 45 papers. They were divided into 6 sections including 27 oral presentation and 18 posters. The guest speaker of the symposium was Dr.Keith Bildstein of Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in USA. He masterfully delivered a presentation about geography, ecology, migration paths, and conservation of the world’s migratory raptors. He has studied raptors on a more global scale and authored a worldwide known book on migration of birds prey "Migrating Raptors of the World: Their Ecology and Conservation".

One of the events that painted the symposium was the international bazaar night. That evening, participants were selling or giving away products or items that were used to raise funds for their activities. The products ranged from delicately wrapped chopsticks to a world class book on raptor identification written by Asian raptor experts.

During the symposium Japanese and Taiwanese raptor experts presented second hand digital cameras, binoculars and spotting scopes donated by people of their country to young raptor researchers from Indonesia, Cambodia, and Mongolia. Also, a student from Indonesia was awarded with new Kowa spotting scope for her excellent presentation of her work with raptors.
The last day of the symposium was highlighted by watching migrating raptors and a farewell party that organized in the evening. From 10 am to 14 pm participants of the symposium recorded 16 different raptor species migrating to northern breeding grounds.

Weather during the symposium was overwhelmingly dominated by super mist that covered everything from morning till evening with very few hours of clear sky. So it was at the beginning of the last days’ raptor watch activity. Fortunately, not sooner participants arrived the sky started clearing and provided five hours of pleasant condition to watch migrating hawks.

During the raptor watching event local school children greeted the international participants. Guests from Japan and Taiwan gave short lectures on raptors, its conservation importance, and demonstrated how to use binoculars and spotting scopes to watch raptors.

Mongolia will host the next symposium in 2010

Mongolia was one of the two countries that wished to host the next symposium. The other country was Thailand. On the last day of the symposium, it was officially announced that next symposium will be held in Mongolia in 2010. Although number of members from Mongolia is not high, it is a great opportunity for Mongolia to show its dedication on raptor conservation and research to international raptor community.

Participants at the meeting in Vietnam from Mongolia were Nyambayar Batbayar (in the photo above on the right) and Gankhuyag Purev-Ochir (left) of Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia. WSCC is a NGO with a great dedication on research and conservation of birds of preys, and can be visited at http://www.wscc.org.mn/. They presented their work on Cinereous Vultures and Saker Falcons in Mongolia.

text and photos contributed by Nyambayar Batbayar

2008-03-27T02:42:00.000-07:00

Waterbird photos needed

B. Nyambayar is making a waterbird photo identification poster for soum (district) and aimag (province) veterinarians and environmental officers as part of FAO/USAID funded avian influenza project. The poster will be double sided and will contain colour plates that consist of some 30 of the most common birds that can be found at lakes and other wetlands of Mongolia, such as cormorant, gulls, shorebirds, cranes etc. He needs good photos of the following species. The poster will be used at local level avian influenza surveillance by local people. So, if you have photos of any of the species listed below he would appreciate your contribution to this important project. Photographers will be acknowledged in print on the poster.

Great Cormorant
Great crested Grebe
Common Goldeneye
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Bean Goose
Grey Heron
Mallard
Garganey
European Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Green-winged Teal
Common Pochard
Common Crane
Black-winged Stilt
Pacific Golden Plover
Kentish Plover
Spotted Redshank
Black-headed Gull
White-tailed Eagle
Pallas's Fish-eagle

Please contact Bnyamba at magicnet.mn for more information

2008-03-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hybrid Red-throated x Black-throated Thrush

B. Nyambayar has sent the photo of a male hybrid Red-throated x Black-throated Thrush, take at the little park just to the north of the government building in Ulaanbaatar on 2nd March.

The superspecies Dark-throated Thrush Turdus [ruficollis] consists of the allospecies Red-throated Thrush Turdus [ruficollis] ruficollis and Black-throated Thrush Turdus [ruficollis] atrogularis.

2008-03-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

next MBWC outing, 16 March 2008

Erkhem shuwuu ajiglagchidad,

Ta bukhnii ajil turul, hicheel surlaga sain baigaa gedegt itgej bna. Manai ene udaagiin aylal 2008.03.16-nd 10:00 tsagt Baigali Orchnii Yamnii uudend uulzaj Tuul goliin khundiin shuwuudiig ajiglakhaar yavakh bolno. Ta bukhen khotsrolgui ireerei.

Saikhniig husiye,
Huyagaa,

Dear participants,

We hope you all are well. Our next trip will be to the Tuul river. We are meeting in front of the Ministry of Natural and Environment of Mongolia at 10:00 o'clock on 16th March 2008. Please come on time.

Best regards,
Huyagaa

2008-03-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

Mongolian Bird Watching Club established

Long awaited, the Mongolian Bird Watching Club (MBWC) has started its activities for birdwatchers finally. The club's activities are led by Ganhuyag, a graduate student at the National University of Mongolia (NUM), who is keen to learn about birds and active in bird watching. At the moment, the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center (WSCC) is supporting the Club with logistics and bird books etc. Recently WSCC received several pairs of binoculars and a spotting scope, donated to MBWC from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the partner of BirdLife International in the UK. Currently members of the Mongolian Bird Watching Club are all young people from different fields. I would like to encourage everybody to support this Club and its young members and enjoy bird watching together.

In the past few weeks, the Club members made several trips to Tuul River and Bogdkhaan mountains near Ulaanbaatar. Last time, on 24 February 2008, the club members watched birds in some green spots of Ulaanbaatar. They visited gardens near the Ecological Education Center, the Government Building, the garden south of Sukhbaatar square, and the Central (Nairamdal) Park. The day was warm but not very sunny. Birds observed included a good number of Bohemian Waxwing, Eurasian Hawfinch, Common Redpoll, Azure Tit, Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, and Long-tailed Rosefinch. Also Carrion Crow, Common Raven, Eurasian Magpie, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, pigeons, House Sparrow, and Great Tits were observed at every place visited. Aditionally there were 4 Red-throated Thrushes in the garden north of Government Building.

Nyambayar of WSCC helped the Club to create a web blog. It is online now and you can visit it here: http://mongolbirdwatchclub.blogspot.com. It is another nice informative web page like Birding Mongolia. Currently, the website is in Mongolian language only.

Members of the MBWC birding the Tuul river.

Information provided by Nyambayar Batbayar

______________________________________

This is a most welcome development. Excellent! Congratulations and good luck with all forthcoming activities of MBWC!

Axel

2008-03-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

BirdLife News Round-up: February 2008

A pair of Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwings was observed to fly more than 5,000 miles, from Kazakhstan to central Sudan, where they have been spending the winter (Sociable Lapwings tracked to Sudan, 27 February).

This, and other intersting conservation related news can be read at BirdLife International´s round-up for February 2008.

2008-03-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

Raptors Conservation (journal)

Dear Colleagues,

The Raptors Conservation 11/2008 - The Newsletter of the raptors of the
East Europe and North Asia ISSN 1814-0076 (Print), ISSN 1814-8654
(Online, PDF 9.6 MB) is available from:

http://ecoclub.nsu.ru/raptors/RC/

Contents

Editors - 3
Events – 5

Raptors Conservation

Matsina A.I. Short Review of Techniques for Preventing Electrocution of Birds on Overhead Power Lines. - 10

Karyakin I.V. Lines-Killers Continue to Harvest the Mortal Crop in Kazakhstan. - 14

Levashkin A.P. Monitoring Results of Nestboxes for Ural Owl in the Bogorodsk Region of the N.Novgorod District, Russia. – 22

Raptors Research

Karyakin I.V. The Greater Spotted Eagle in the Volga Region, Ural Mountains and Western Siberia. - 23

Bakka S.V., Kiseleva N.Yu. The Greater Spotted Eagle in the N.Novgorod District. - 70

Zhimulev I.F., Ananko N.G., Andreenkov O.V., Kosterin O.E. Distribution of Nests of Birds of Prey in Akademgorodok of Novosibirsk and its Vicinities, Russia. – 73

Short Reports

Bakka S.V., Karyakin I.V., Moskalik L.N. The First Record of the Osprey Breeding on the Electric Pole in Povolzhye, Russia. - 76

New Publications and Videos - 77

Best wishes,
Igor Karyakin
__________

Previous issues of this excellent journal, with all articles in Russian and in English, can be downloaded as PDF files from the website listed above. Several papers were dealing with birds of prey in Mongolia and adjacent regions in Russia and China.

Axel

2008-02-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

Deep winter birding in Khovd – Andrew Laurie

It has been a cold few weeks, with minimum temperatures regularly below -35 deg C and maximum temperatures rarely going above -20 deg C and often staying below -30 deg C. We have had a couple of days of heavy snow, and smaller amounts on other days. The cold weather eased off a bit for a few days around 5th February but has now (18th February) returned.

Bird watching has been a challenge, with eyes freezing to the binoculars, and digital camera autofocus ceasing up because of the cold. Fingers get cold too, so that using the manual focus is also difficult! I have been amazed at the bird activity in this cold weather.

White-throated Dipper

Particularly striking has been the sight of White-throated Dippers zipping along their mainly frozen stream, landing at the open patches and walking into the water to feed as if it was a beautiful summer day!

White-throated Dippers

The dippers spend quite a lot of time under ice overhangs along the stream, which rises from a spring and then flows for up to two kilometres before it is completely frozen over. It is a narrow stream with tiny tributaries fed from other springs, and the dippers use even these little channels of less than 50cm width.

The Dipper Stream

I have heard them singing away to themselves their sub song under the ice on several occasions. I have visited the stream on eight occasions between 14th January and 9th February and numbers counted have varied from 6 to zero (Axel and I counted 11 on one day in early December 2007).

On 26th January there was only a single pool open on the stream, and only one dipper and one Common Goldeneye in the pool. I saw the goldeneye (assuming it was the same bird) on both the 19th and the 26th January: it made a wide circling flight of well over a kilometre diameter each time I disturbed it, and then returned to the stream.

Common Goldeneye

White-throated Dipper

Although I cannot be sure that I counted all the dippers each time I visited, because of their habit of hiding under the ice, I am almost sure that there were none there at all on the 1st February when there was not a single open stretch of water on the stream. Where they went I do not know but they were back again by the 4th (one) and 7th (four).

White-throated Dippers

Horned Larks are pretty well ubiquitous on the walk out to the stream, with their calls a constant backdrop. There were Red-billed Choughs on occasion too, but not in large numbers. One was particularly unafraid of me as it searched for something to eat among the snow.

Red-billed Chough

I noticed many of the passerines too had a shorter flight distance when it got really cold. On 8th February I was out early at the Otzon Chuluu site, and was able to get much closer than normal to flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrows with several Horned Larks, Rock Sparrows, and the odd Pere David’s Snowfinch, feeding together on the ground in a large open patch in the plantation.

Pere David's Snowfinch (top left) and
Rock Sparrow

They, and separate large flocks of Meadow Buntings were extremely active – in sunlight, but at a shade temperature of -30 deg, the Sea Buckthorn still has some freezedried berries on it, and attracts rosefinches – Spotted Great, Red-mantled, and Long-tailed Rosefinch, but in much smaller numbers than the Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Godlewski's and Meadow Buntings.

Red-mantled Rosefinch

Godlewski's Bunting

Twite were also present on several occasions, and three times I saw a Merlin swoop over feeding areas releasing a cascade of alarm calls from the birds below. Other birds sighted regularly: Carrion Crow almost every trip, Common Raven, Eurasian Magpie, Great Tit on the trees on the way out of town. There was a Brambling on 12th January, and an unidentified thrushlike bird on 8th February. I saw a Hare too on three occasions, twice at Otzon Chuluu and once at the Dipper stream.

Twite

See pictures (all photos © A. Laurie) of some of the birds active here in Khovd in such severe winter weather – and some of the general scenery too, and the ice overhangs under which the Dippers shelter and sing.

2008-02-09T01:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Lunar Year!

Dear friends,

Ta buhendee sar shiniin mend hurgeye. Saihan shinelcgeegeerei.

I wish all a happy and prosperous Year of the Rat! Happy Tsagaan Sar!

Axel

2008-02-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

China Bird Report

Another interesting publication from Mongolia’s huge southern neighbour.
________________________________________
source: http://www.chinabirdnet.org/report.html

China Bird Report is an annual report published by the China Ornithological Society which complied and vetted bird records, based on bird watchers' observations.

To obtain a copy of China Bird Report, please contact chinesewildbird@hotmail.com for information. Bird watchers outside China mainland who wish to buy a copy could contact the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (hkbws@hkbws.org.hk) for arrangement. The price is HK$100 (not including handling fee and postal fee) and the money will be treated as donation to the China Ornithological Society for producing the next China Bird Report.

Message from the 2006 report editors:

Publication of China Bird Report 2006

In line with previous reports dating back to the inaugural China Bird Report 2003, the present report provides information on the distribution of birds in China in the form of bird records for the year in question (in this case 2006) and acts as a platform for the exchange of relevant information. The China Bird Report editorial team welcomes the increasing number of records of both common and rare birds received this year and recognizes that these reflect the activities of a growing band of competent observers and the rising popularity of birdwatching in China.

China Bird Report 2006 incorporates bird records from 22 Provinces, five Autonomous Cities, four municipalities and one Special Administrative Region (Macao), rendering it structurally comparable to the reports of the previous two years which also categorized bird records at provincial level (but does not include records from Hong Kong or Taiwan). This year’s report provides records of 1078 species (55 more than in the previous report), from 17 orders and 70 families, representing 80% of all bird species in China as listed by Zheng (2005), including two species new to China and dozens of species with first records at provincial level. Records of species of conservation concern are highlighted in view of the importance of such data to inform international efforts aimed at protecting bird species, for instance in assessing species conservation status and identifying important bird areas. This report publishes records of three “Critically Endangered”, 11 “Endangered” and 44 “Vulnerable” species, as categorised by BirdLife International (2004), and also 27 species listed in China under “National Protection Class I”.

Editors, China Bird Report, 1 December 2007
___________________________________
In the UK and the EU the report can also be obtained from Richard Stott (non-profit-making). For information about ordering details contact him at Hkbwsuk at aol.com

2008-02-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Birds of Central Asia. vol 1.
(in Russian)

The first volume of the monograph contains data on the distribution and biology of 119 birds species from 14 orders: Gaviiformes, Podicipediiformes, Pelecaniformes, Ciconiiformes, Phoenicopteriformes, Anseriformes, Galliformes, Gruiformes, Cuculiformes, Strigiformes, Caprimugliformes, Apodiformes, Coraciiformes, Upupiformes.

Information about the distribution of each species in the Middle Asia Territory, seasonal activity, migrations, breeding, fertility, feeding, daily activity and so on, is given. A short characteristic of every order is also given. The book has a full reference and an index of bird names in Latin, Russian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrghyz, Turkmen and Tajik.

The book is intended for specialists-zoologists, rangers, hunters and nature conservation workers, teachers of biology in secondary and high schools and everybody who is interested in birds.

For more info click here.

2008-02-03T03:10:00.000-08:00

Climate Change Will Significantly Increase Impending Bird Extinctions

By 2100, climate change could cause up to 30 percent of land-bird species to go extinct worldwide, if the worst-case scenario comes to pass. Land birds constitute the vast majority of all bird species. Read more...

2008-02-01T04:26:00.000-08:00

Resightings of Mongolian tagged Bar-headed Geese in India

Dear All,

A while ago I forwarded some information on Mongolian tagged Bar-headed Geese resightings to Birding Mongolia. Now Martin Gilbert from the Wildlife Conservation Society has sent more information and photos, including some fantastic shots from our Indian friends. Have a look, enjoy!

Many greetings from Vietnam,
Axel
_________________________________________

C6 at Pune. Photo © Adesh Shivkar.

Hello to All,

Thank you to everyone who has written with resightings of Bar-headed Geese marked with yellow neck collars. The responses over the last few weeks have been phenomenal, and it is wonderful to receive information on the travels of these birds to their wintering quarters in India!

Collared bird at Nagpur. Photo © Aditya Joshi.

As many of you will now be aware these birds were marked in Mongolia during the summer 2007.

In total fifty Bar-headed Geese were fitted with yellow neck collars in mid July, in the Darkhad valley (N: 99.41078, E: 51.19736) in the northern Mongolian province of Hovsgol (lying south west of southern tip of Lake Baikal).

Capture location in northern Mongolia.

These birds were captured as part of a larger programme of surveillance for avian influenza led by the Wildlife Conservation Society, and partners from the Mongolian Central Veterinary Laboratory (for more information please see http://www.gains.org).

Darkhad field camp. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

Although outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 have occurred in northern Mongolia in the past, no outbreaks were reported in 2007, and these geese were captured as part of routine monitoring.

The Darkhad valley is a wide floodplain criss-crossed by rivers and dotted with a network of lakes and ponds. Bar-headed Geese arrive during early April, and pairs breed throughout the valley. By late June geese begin to congregate in flocks to moult, with most birds flightless through early and mid-July. Bar-headed Geese are one of the first species to leave northern Mongolia at the end of the summer. The geese begin to move on after moulting, with numbers declining during the first and second week of August. By the end of August almost all Bar-headed Geese had left the northern Mongolian lakes.

Darkhad valley in April. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

The geese were caught along rivers at night from a boat using spotlights and nets. The birds were secured in canvas jackets and brought to the shore where samples were collected and collars fitted. The birds were then released to rejoin the flocks.

Geese in canvas jackets. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

Over the last few weeks there have been several reports of neck-collared geese from Karnataka and Maharashtra in India. These have included one bird (with collar E6) near Mysore, Karnataka, another (with collar C6) close to Pune, Maharashtra and a third close to Nagpur, Maharashtra (where number could not be read clearly).

Resighting sites in India.

The information on the two birds of known identity is:

a.. C6 is a female, tagged on 18 July in the Darkhad valley.

C6 caught in Mongolia. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

C6 at Pune. Photo © Pallavi Joshi.

b.. E6 is a male, tagged on 19 July in the Darkhad valley.

E6 caught in Mongolia. Photo © M. Gilbert, WCS

E6 direct line capture - resighting.

E6 at Mysore. Photo © Nirianjan.

Once again thank you to all who have written with information, and please continue to share reports of further resightings.

Best wishes,
Martin

Martin Gilbert
Field Veterinarian - Asia
Wildlife Conservation Society
Field Veterinary Program

mgilbert at wcs.org
www.fieldvet.org
www.gains.org

2008-01-25T04:59:00.000-08:00

Don't blame wild birds for H5N1 spread: expert

Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:29pm GMT BANGKOK (Reuters) -

There is no solid evidence that wild birds are to blame for the apparent spread of the H5N1 virus from Asia to parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, an animal disease expert said on Wednesday.

There was also no proof that wild birds were a reservoir for the H5N1 virus, Scott Newman, international wildlife coordinator for avian influenza at the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, said at a bird flu conference in Bangkok.

After H5N1 was found in 2005 in a huge lake in central China where it killed over 10,000 wild birds, it turned up in parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, leading some experts to believe migratory birds may be to blame.

But Newman said there was no good reason for thinking so.

"We know that some wild birds have probably moved short distances carrying viruses and then they died, but we have not been able to identify carriage of H5N1 across large scale spatial distances and then resulting in spread to other birds and mortality in poultry flocks," Newman told Reuters.

He said fecal tests on some 350,000 healthy birds worldwide had to date only yielded "a few" positive H5N1 results.

Furthermore, in instances and places where wild birds were found with the disease, there were no concurrent outbreaks of the virus in poultry.

"So we don't have at this point in time a wildlife reservoir for H5N1 ... so they can't be a main spreader of the disease," Newman said.

He stressed the need to focus attention on the poultry trade, and particularly smuggling, adding that these factors may instead be spreading and sustaining the deadly disease.

"We recognize that poultry production, trade, both legal and illegal, and other bio-security issues are probably more important as far as being a mechanism that promotes the sustaining and spread of H5N1," he said.

Experts have warned for years that a flu pandemic was long overdue and they stressed at the three-day Bangkok conference that the H5N1 bird flu virus remained a key candidate.

The virus has killed millions of chickens and ducks and despite the slaughter of millions more and vaccination campaigns, it remains entrenched in many poultry populations.

Although the virus has infected only 351 people around the world since 2003, it has killed 219 of them, according to the World Health Organization.

(Editing by Darren Schuettler)

source: Reuters

2008-01-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

BirdLife Review of 2007

BirdLife International published a review of 2007 online. Click the links below.

Part 1: Climate change

Part 2: Preventing extinctions

Part 3: Rediscoveries and reintroductions

Part 4: Fights for sites

2008-01-03T03:05:00.000-08:00

Mongolian ringed Bar-headed Goose in India
Mongolian ringed Whooper Swans in China

Dear readers of Birding Mongolia, dear friends,

I wish all of you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2008, including many fantastic observations!

Just at the begin of the new year we received some exciting news of wildfowl ringed in Mongolia. Read below and follow the links for photos.

Many greetings from Bangkok,

Axel
______________________________

From the mailinglist Oriental Birding:

Dear all, A very Happy New Year to you all.

This year has started on a positive note for understanding more about bird migration routes in Asia. A Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus caught and marked with a neck collar in Mongolia was photographed by M. Niranjan in Somnathpur, Karnataka, India (Latitude: 12 deg 16' 0 N, Longitude: 76 deg 52' 60 E) and a photo is uploaded here.

This the probably the first evidence of migration of the Bar-headed Goose from Mongolia to India, previous ringing and satellite telemetry work demonstrated migration between disconnected breeding populations in Qinghai Lake in northwest China and southern Tibetan as well as in Kyrgyzstan. There is information on migration of ducks and Greylag Goose Anser anser between India and Mongolia. The Bar-headed Goose was marked by a team lead by Martin Gilbert of the Wildlife Conservation Society and he writes:

Judging from the photo, the bird is a male tagged with the collar E6. He was caught on 19 July 2007 in the Darkhad Valley in the northern Mongolian aimag of Hovsgol (N: 99.41078, E: 51.19736). He was one of 50 Bar-headed Geese we fitted with collars in July, and is the first for which we have received resighting information. Based on the information given, the bird has travelled a direct line distance of ~4,780 km! I am attaching a couple of images that might be of interest to the photographer including one of the bird himself at capture, a map indicating the area of capture, and direct line track between the two. [The image has been uploaded on http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=34412] I'd be grateful if you could pass them onto him and am also including a GAINS fact sheet for general information. Congratulations to the photographer and WCS for this information. More information has been uploaded on a website Birds, birdwatching and conservation in Mongolia — by Axel Braunlich http://birdsmongolia.blogspot.com/2007/08/alert-colour-marking-of-swans-and-geese.html

Best wishes,

Taej Taej Mundkur, PhD
Deputy Wildlife Coordinator for Avian Influenza Infectious Disease Group / EMPRES Animal Health Service, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, ITALY 00100. email: taej.mundkur at fao.org

______________________________

Dear Taej and friends,

18 of the Mongolian banded Whooper Swans were recorded in China: Five birds at the Yellow River Delta of Shandong Province, and 13 birds at Sanmenxia Reservoir in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, Henan Province. Here and here are the photos of the banded swans, all taken by birdwatchers in China.

It is encouraging to see more and more Chinese citizens take part in birdwatching and care about bird conservation.

Best wishes,

Simba Chan
Senior Conservation Officer
BirdLife International, Asia Division

2007-12-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

Away on holiday

Before finally leaving Mongolia in February 2008 we are on holiday in SE-Asia at the moment, following the Siberian migrants south and escaping the fiercely cold Mongolian winter for a while (we had a 60 deg C difference between Ulaanbaatar and Bangkok!).

But blogging will resume later, watch this space!

Axel

2007-12-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

Asian Waterbird Census

Several Mongolian rivers remain open and provide habitat
for wintering waterbirds. Khovd river, 31 Dec 2006. © A. Braunlich

The Asian Waterbird Census focuses on monitoring wetland and waterbird in January is the largest biodiversity monitoring programme in the Asia-Pacific region initiated in 1987. It has so far covered more than 6300 wetlands in 27 countries with active support by tens of thousands of volunteers. The AWC 2008 will be carried out from 5 to 20 January 2008; I would like to call you active participation to the census.

For more information on the AWC visit our website here. Download AWC guidelines and forms here.

Besides, the latest AWC newsletter (No.14, December 2007) is now available and can be downloaded from Wetlands International website.

The newsletter provides an update to the AWC since June 2007, highlights including the launch of the AWC strategy 2007-2015, alarming new figures for coastal waterbirds in Southeast Asia, AWC 2005-2007 results update, news of the AWC in the Asia-Pacific region, announcement of the International Black-faced Spoonbill Census and the report for the 2nd Meeting of Partners of the East Asian- Australasian Flyway Partnership.

Thank you very much and I look forward to a success and fruitful AWC 2008 with your great support.

Best regards,

David Li
AWC International Coordinator
Wetlands International
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asianwaterbirdcensus

2007-12-04T08:50:00.000-08:00

Lingering autumn migrants in Khovd and Tsetserleg
Konrad Schleicher (Khangai Mts) & Axel Braunlich (Altai Mts)

In Khovd there was a female Common Chaffinch and a Masked Wagtail on 2nd December. The last observation for Chaffinch in Khovd in 2006 was similar (1st Dec) while the last Masked Wagtail was seen much earlier (13 October 2006 versus 14/15/19/30/31 Oct, 3/28 Nov and 2 Dec 2007).

An exiting record comes from Tsetserleg, where on the same day an extremely late Red-throated Pipit was found by Konrad.

Red-throated Pipit, 2nd Dec, Tsetserleg.
Photo © K. Schleicher

Red-throated Pipit, 2nd Dec, Tsetserleg.
Photo © K. Schleicher

There were also 2-3 White-throated Dippers and a female Guldenstadt’s Redstart, both firsts for Konrad’s local spot.

Guldenstadt’s Redstart. Tsetserleg.
Photo © K. Schleicher

Guldenstadt’s Redstart. Khovd.
Photo © A. Braunlich

Further species seen near Tsetserleg on 2nd Dec include Grey-headed and White-backed Woodpecker, Daurian Partridge, Common Magpie, Willow and Great Tit.