BIRDING MONGOLIA: threatened species

Showing posts with label threatened species. Show all posts

April 25, 2016

Gyr Falcon:

first photos from Mongolia

text & photos © BirdingMongolia

White morph Gyr Falcon

Khentii Aimag, October 2014

Gyr Falcon had been mentioned as wintering in Mongolia by Davaa et al. (1994). Gombobaatar & Monks (2011) stated that “Recent winter records were in lower Ulz River valley, Hentii Mountain Range (Tseveenmyadag et al., 2005) and Borig del and Altan els of Uvs province (Sh. Boldbaatar pers. comm.).” Yet, none of the above claims had been substantiated by any form of evidence. Furthermore, Potapov & Sale (2005) wrote the following in their Gyr Falcon monograph: “In Mongolia two records exists for November visits by Gyrfalcons (Bold and Boldbataar 1999). However, having discussed these observations with the authors, we are convinced that both were of Saker Falcons.”

The accompanying pictures had been taken “somewhere” (location withheld) in Khentii Aimag in north-(eastern) Mongolia on 25 October 2014. These comprise the first documented occurrence of a Gyr Falcon for the country.

White morph Gyr Falcon

Khentii Aimag, October 2014

It is very likely that Gyr Falcons are indeed regularly taking winter residence in the vast steppes of Mongolia, but so far no proof had been made available. This poor bird however, was documented properly although its fate wasn’t so nice. As our readers can see, it was taken by a falconer and subsequently sold to a falcon keeper in Arabia.

We sincerely hope that not all Gyr Falcons which come to Mongolia will share this bird’s doom. Our thanks go to Amarkhuu Gungaa of the Mongolian Birdwatching Club for providing the info about this remarkable record.

White morph Gyr Falcon

Khentii Aimag, October 2014

References

Gombobaatar, S. & Monks, E.M. eds. 2011. Mongolian Red List of Birds. Regional Red List Series Vol. 7. Zoological Society of London, National University of Mongolia & Mongolian Ornithological Society, London & Ulaanbaatar.

Dawaa, N., Busching, W.-D., Sumijaa, D., Bold, A. & Samijaa, R. 1994. Kommentierte Checkliste der Vögel und Säuger der Mongolei. Teil 1: Vögel. Köthen, Germany: Naumann-Museum. [in German]

Potapov, E. & Sale, R. 2005. The Gyrfalcon. T. & A. D. Poyser, London, UK.

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

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © A. Schneider

Eye of Japanese Marsh Warbler (groupshot!)

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © T. Langenberg

Japanese Marsh Warbler

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © A. Buchheim

Japanese Marsh Warbler

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

Japanese Marsh Warbler

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © T. Langenberg

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

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © A. Buchheim

Record shot Red-crowned Cranes

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

Record shot Red-crowned Cranes

Ikh Tashgai, Jun 2014 © M. Putze

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!

November 16, 2015

Steppe Eagle

now globally ENDANGERED

Steppe Eagle, Ulaanbaatar, May 2011. © M. Putze

In the 2015 Global IUCN Red List for birds the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, formerly treated as “Least Concern”, has been listed for the first time, under the threat category “Endangered”.

Steppe Eagle, Ulaanbaatar, May 2011. © M. Putze

From the BirdLife species fact sheet:

Justification
This species has undergone extremely rapid population declines within its European range. The majority of its range lies outside Europe where it was not thought to be declining at a sufficiently rapid rate to approach the threshold for Vulnerable. However recent information suggests that the population outside Europe may be exposed to greater threats than was previously thought and has also undergone very rapid recent declines across much of the range. It is therefore classified as Endangered.

Steppe Eagle, Bale Mountain National Park,

Ethiopia, Jan 2014. © M. Putze

Steppe Eagle, Bale Mountain National Park,

Ethiopia, Jan 2014. © M. Putze

Further changes involving species occurring in Mongolia:

formerly least concern, now near threatened:

Northern Lapwing (migrant breeder)
Bar-tailed Godwit (rare passage migrant)
Red Knot (rare passage migrant)
Curlew Sandpiper (common passage migrant)
Red-necked Stint (abundant passage migrant)

Redwing (scarce passage migrant)

Uplisted from least concern to Vulnerable:

Common Pochard (migrant breeder and passage migrant
Horned (or Slavonian) Grebe (migrant breeder and passage migrant)
European Turtle Dove (possible very rare migrant breeder)

Uplisted from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered”

Far Eastern Curlew (rare passage migrant)

January 21, 2014

Look out for colour-ringed

Saker Falcons from Mongolia!

Another great news from the Mongolian Saker Falcon Conservation Project which is implemented by the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia and International Wildlife Consultants UK under the Raptor conservation MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Mongolian Ministry of Environment, Green Development and the Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi, 5000 artificial nest had been erected in the central and eastern steppe regions of Mongolia in 2010.

In the first breeding season (in 2011), 12% of the nest boxes had been used by the Sakers and other species. Since then, this rate increased continuously and in 2013 68% of the boxes have been occupied. These boxes are used by a variety of birds: last year we recorded 1364 breeding pairs of Common Kestrel, 383 pairs of Upland Buzzard and 386 pairs of Common (Northern) Raven in the artificial nests. In addition to that, 574 pairs of our target species bred and 1707 Saker Falcon chicks fledged that year. All chicks that have fledged had been marked with a white colour ring showing a three digit black code to be read downwards. Each code starts with a capital letter, followed by a two digit number. All rings are on the birds’ right tarsus and the height of the ring is 25 mm. There is a contact info in Mongolian, English and Chinese on top of the ring. In the second line, a Mongolian telephone number is given: 94177341 and also an email address: info@wscc.org.mn

One of the colour rings for Saker Falcon, © Batbayar Bold

Colour-ringed T93 juvenile Saker Falcon,

central Mongolia, Aug 2013 © Batbayar Galtbalt

Although our priority aim of this project is to develop sustainable harvesting model based on the breeding monitoring data we are very much interested in getting a year round picture of the birds’ dispersal, distribution, dismigration and so on, hence every sighting will be highly valuable for us. All observers of Saker Falcons are kindly requested to check for the presence of colour rings and to try to read the inscription. This should be possible by the use of spotting scopes and on reasonable photographs.

Please report your sightings by giving the colour, code, location (including geographical coordinates) and any other information via E-Mail to: info@wscc.org.mn or you can send us text to tel: +976 94177341. All data will be greatly acknowledged and observers will get the life history of their respective individual due course.

Batbayar Galtbalt
Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia

September 8, 2013

part eight:

Hi(gh) Khangai!

text by ABu

Links to previous Mountain Birds 2012 on Birding Mongolia:

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

Adult Bearded Vulture, near Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim

Thomas high above Khukh Nuur,

From the very first e-mail exchange between Jörg and ABu about the next trip to Mongolia, it had been our plan to set up a tour for obtaining a long list of mountain birds and as we had not recorded all the desired species in the Altai mountain range (see the previous posts linked above), we were heading now (on 18 June 2012) for the high elevation lake Khukh Nuur in the northern part of the Bayankhongor Aimag (aimag=province). This lake, at an altitude of 2600 m a.s.l., is situated not very far east of the highest mountain of the Khangai, Otgon Tenger, and hence is almost in the centre of this mountain range. At the lake we hoped to see little-known birds like Hodgson’s Bushchat or Asian Rosy Finch. To our surprise and disappointment we had not seen either in the west.

As soon as we got off the cars we saw our first Asian Rosy Finches and we hurried to pitch our tents near the colony of Mongolian Gulls to have more time for birding. The rosy finches here belong to the almost unknown taxon sushkini and a publication about the plumages of this form is on the way—so quickly join the OBC to get a copy of one of the next issues of BirdingASIA in which more pictures will be featured!

Before sunset Jörg and I went scouting for the Altai Snowcock and about one kilometre from our camp we heard one calling from the ridge. Although it took us about 30 minutes to find it we were sure to be at the right place for seeing mountains birds. If not here, where else would we have good chances to find the bushchat? So back to the camp and arrange an early start for next morning to get the snowcock seen by the complete group.

Male Asian Rosy Finch, Khukh Nuur,

Female Asian Rosy Finch, Khukh Nuur,

Searching for Altai Snowcock,

And here it is: Altai Snowcock, digiscoped,

After having seen and heard several Altai Snowcocks with some fantastic observations like two birds fighting or a bird with small chicks, we began with the exploration of the site; after breakfast, of course. On the lake we had a couple of Stejneger’s Scoters, about 200 of moulting Bar-headed Geese and some Black-throated Divers aka Arctic Loons. The allegedly highest-altitude colony of large gulls held about 150 pairs and a handful (15 nests) of Great Cormorants bred there, too. Around our camp we logged Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, certainly a migrant, and the following breeding species: Citrine Wagtail, Brown Accentor, Black Redstart, Stejneger’s Stonechat and almost annoyingly numerous, Blyth’s Pipit. A Sulphur-bellied Warbler was also singing on the slope.

Claws 2, Blyth’s Pipit, Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor,

Blyth’s Pipit on the ground, Khukh Nuur,

Blyth’s Pipit in flight, Khukh Nuur,

Further along the lake we found areas with bushes and even some trees with a number of other breeding species like Common Rock Thrush, Common Magpie, Hume’s Warbler, Eversmann’s Redstart (min. 5 territories) and Red-throated Thrush. We heard Willow Grouse calling from the undergrowth repeatedly but never managed to see one.

Hume’s Warbler, Khukh Nuur,

Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Khukh Nuur,

Male Stejneger’s Stonechat, Khukh Nuur,

Male Red-throated Thrush, Khukh Nuur,

High above the lake, Armin came across yet another snowcock which was obviously guarding its chicks. No wonder that it immediately showed distracting display which Armin captured with his camera so nicely. On these higher plateaus we found more mountain birds. Altai and Alpine Accentors occur here side by side and the occasional Brown Accentor ventures up that high as well. Then a bird with lots of white was flying from rock to rock. No, not the bushchat, “just” a Güldenstädt’s Redstart. Finally everybody heard Jörg screaming through the radio: “I found a bushchat!” So we set up an improvised ringing camp and caught, measured, ringed and released a pair of Hodgson’s Bushchats (it actually needed two days!). No one paid any attention to the Rock Ptarmigans or the very common Water and Blyth’s Pipits anymore.

Altai Snowcock in distraction display, Khukh Nuur,

Altai Accentor, Khukh Nuur,

Improvised ringing camp above Khukh Nuur,

The most sought-after bird:

Claws 3: Mr. Hodgson, Khukh Nuur,

Female Hodgson’s Bushchat, Khukh Nuur,

The two bushchats were attending a nest and the male chased away other birds while the female was incubating their bluish eggs. Not much is known about these birds (see: Bräunlich, A. & Steudtner, J. 2008. Hodgson’s Bushchat Saxicola insignis in the Mongolian Altai. BirdingASIA 9: 70-71, PDF 225 kb: download) and we were extremely glad to contribute a small piece to the knowledge.

Other birds which we encountered were Himalayan Griffon (2 on 19 June) and almost daily we had views of Common House Martins (the subspecies lagopodum has darker underwing coverts than the nominate form and is therefore often thought to belong to Asian House Martin Delichon dasypus). Birding Mongolia will deal with this topic later; but for a thorough entry we first have to catch enough individuals of either of the taxa.

The weather at this altitude was soso, at best. We had daily hail showers and a lot of clouds but luckily the heaviest snow-/hail-/thunderstorms were directed to other sites so it could have been much worse!

Tolai Hare Lepus tolai, Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor,

Common House Martins (lagopodum), Khukh Nuur,

We stayed at the lake until 20 June and left for the famous Boon Tsagaan Nuur to see and possibly catch Saxaul/Steppe (Grey) Shrike as well as try our luck on Pallas’s Fish Eagle and…

We will continue with this saga soon, so watch out on Birding Mongolia!