BIRDING MONGOLIA: Khovd observations

Showing posts with label Khovd observations. Show all posts

April 3, 2013

part two: The Khovd days

text by Andreas Buchheim

The group arrived at Khovd Airport in western Mongolia on 6 June and decided to stay for one night at the Otzon Chuluu Plantation to check for late migrants and to relax a bit after the tiring travel from Germany to Khovd. Although most migrants had left the plantation we found a male Eurasian Chaffinch, an Olive-backed Pipit, an un-ringed Siberian Chiffchaff and a group of 11 Rosy Starlings. Local birds included pairs of Black Stork, Booted Eagle and Eurasian Hobby. Several phylloscs were singing: Hume’ s Leaf Warblers plus Arctic and Greenish Warblers, what a nice concert! In the evening the sounds changed and we heard a new arrival adding its voice to the night concert: Common Nightjar, two singing males of which one was caught, subsequently ringed and then released.

Portrait of a male Common Nightjar

Otzon Chuluu Plantation, Khovd, Jun 2012

This Black(-eared) Kite was really eye-catching

Otzon Chuluu Plantation, Khovd, Jun 2012

Eurasian Hobby with its hapless prey,

a just fledged Horned Lark

Otzon Chuluu Plantation, Khovd,

Jun 2012, © Thomas Langenberg

On the next morning we had a female Rubythroat inside the shrubs, but we left for Khar Us Nuur after our tents had dried. There was a singing Yellow-browed Warbler, a quite rare bird here in the west, but the gullivers had ringed two in the plantation the days before: see here. (A. Bräunlich saw only 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, compared to c. 2800 Hume’s Leaf Warblers in Khovd from May 2006 to October 2007; a similar ratio has been recorded by Hungarian ringers in western Mongolia). In the large colony of Eastern Rooks (pastinator) the chicks were out of the nests already but another species was still trying its best to attract a mate (may be it had one, but we didn't see it): A male Eurasian Greenfinch was singing in the western part of the city. Could it be that the species is about to colonize Mongolia?

Common Starling, Khovd, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim

Eastern Rook, Khovd, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim

Eurasian Greenfinch, Khovd, Jun 2012, © T. Langenberg

The entrance to Khongil IBA (between Khovd and Khar Us Nuur) was as difficult to find as always, but finally we went down through that beautiful canyon and saw birds like Common Rock Thrush, Grey-necked Bunting and the complete set of wheatears, namely Northern, Isabelline, Desert and Pied. Unfortunately, not a single Lesser Kestrel was seen there.

Northern Wheatear, Khongil IBA,

western Mongolia, © T. Langenberg

The western shore of Khar Us Nuur,

as seen from the plane. © T. Langenberg

The watchtower camp, Khar Us Nuur,

Down at the lake we pitched our tents near the watchtower and went birding. It did not take long and we found a Slender-billed Gull, this time a pinkish adult one, Mongolia’s third ever! No time for celebrations as we actually were looking for another gull species: Relict Gull. The two we found were much admired as we could not know by then what we would find some time later (watch this site!). Another “gull thing” we did, was reading wing tags from our photographs and by doing so we identified three of the gulls which had been wing-tagged at the same spot in 2006.

Adult Slender-billed Gull, Khar Us Nuur

Wing-tagged Mongolian Gull (wingtag AD62),

this tag could easily been read from the photo.

Khar Us Nuur, © A. Buchheim

Wing-tagged Mongolian Gull (wingtag AD87),

the tag can be read without any difficulties

on this head-on gull, Khar Us Nuur, © A. Buchheim

Wing-tagged Mongolian Gull (wingtag AD63),

even if the gull is photographed from behind the tag

can sometimes been read, Khar Us Nuur, © A. Buchheim

There were a lot of ducks and other waterbirds spread out in the shallows: 500 White-winged Terns, 300 Northern Shovelers, 150 Gadwalls, 70 Garganeys, 40 Eurasian Spoonbills, 30 Northern Pintails including a leucistic one, 10 Eurasian Wigeons and about 10 White-headed Ducks. Further there were 6 Lesser Kestrels, 25 Rosy Starlings and a calling Eastern Baillon’s Crake, the latter heard when it was already dark.

Male Lesser Kestrel

Khar Us Nuur, near the watchtower

Asian Short-toed Lark

Khar Us Nuur, near the watchtower

White-headed Yellow Wagtail (ssp leucocephala)

Khar Us Nuur, near the watchtower, © T. Langenberg

On 8 June we did some birding before we started for the Altai Mountains and could relocate the first summer Slender-billed Gull that was seen earlier: see here. Among the territorial Yellow Wagtails of the white-headed subspecies leucocephala we found a paired male macronyx, a subspecies which is widely distributed in Mongolia but not known to breed that far to the west. The female of the macronyx was not identified down to the taxon!

Then we went for our mountain birds, but this will be reported about later…
_____________________________________________
Mountainbirds, part one: Almost the UB Ponds as a starter

February 23, 2013

Gullivers’s Travels 2012

text by Andreas Buchheim

part four (final): The Birding Days

Our first site was the gorge of the Khovd River, near the border between the three provinces Khovd, Uvs and Bayan-Olgii, a site that had been recommended to us by Axel Bräunlich. It was not that easy to get there as we had to navigate through an agricultural area along the river but near a reservoir we came across a group of Rosy Starlings. At the entrance to the gorge we found a party of 6 Siberian Ibex and virtually the first birds were two female Spotted Great Rosefinches aka Severtzov’s Rosefinch. After having pitched our tents at the nice “camp ground” we started ringing and did birdwatching as well. This all happened on 28 May.

Khovd River Gorge, May 2012, © L. von der Heyde

Khovd River Gorge, Sept 2006, (photo not from

the Gulliver tour). © A. Bräunlich

Male Pied Wheatear, Khovd Gorge, May 2012,

Pair of Isabelline Shrike,
the male is linking to Turkestan Shrike by plumage,

Khovd Gorge, May 2012, © A. Buchheim & L. von der Heyde

The next day Lutz spotted a pale “thing” that just had landed in the cliff. We put our scopes on it and it turned out to be a male Barbary Falcon, the desert relative of the Peregrine. The bird was paired with another falcon. This female falcon was not much bigger than its male and hence quite small for a female and looked like a hybrid between a Peregrine and a Barbary Falcon: There was no orange on the head and the moustache was rather broad (for a Barbary) and triangular. The cheek patch reached the eye, nevertheless (not typical for the local breeding Peregrines). Its underside was more densely barred than that of the male (which is normally the case in both Peregrine and Barbary Falcons) but not as barred as in a pure Peregrine so the underside looked quite white (a bit peachy). Interesting! (note: Axel Bräunlich observed at this site a Peregrine on 13 May 2006).

On 30 May we went to a valley where we had found Mongolia’s first Pied Flycatcher in 2006 and but this time we found the usual birds like Chukar, White-winged Snowfinch, Brown Accentor, Godlewski’s and Grey-necked Buntings, Barred Warbler, Sulphur-bellied Warbler, Great Reed Warbler (a migrant as there are no reeds) and more common stuff only. It was nice to see a mixed group of ortolan-type buntings (1 Ortolan and 2 Grey-necked Buntings, all females) along the road.

Then we headed for Khovdijn Khar Us Nuur to find some Relict Gulls for Lutz and Tuvshin. We arrived at the lake shore in the early afternoon of 31 May and camped at the watchtower (this is at the south-western corner of the lake). There was a huge flock of Common Swifts over the lake and we estimated that it consisted of about 3000 individuals with only a handful Pacific Swifts among them. On the muddy areas large numbers of White-winged Terns (about 700 pairs) were attending later breeding sites (just a guess) and there were a further 2000 hunting insects above the reeds. Our quick check for Relict Gull was unsuccessful; only 400 Black-headed plus 500 Pallas’s and around 300 Mongolian Gulls were the only Larids we saw.

On 1 June we tried again for the Relict Gull but failed again to find one. Lutz and Tuvshin were quite desperate but white-headed birds like 20 White-headed Ducks and the Yellow Wagtails of the nice taxon leucocephala cheered them up.

Male “White-headed Wagtail”, Uvsijn Khar Us Nuur,

Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim & L. von der Heyde

Male “White-headed Wagtail”,
a different individual, Uvsijn Khar Us Nuur, Jun 2012,
© A. Buchheim & L. von der Heyde

Then came gulls' day: 2 June 2012: The gulls had been coming to the meadows every morning to feed on insects giving us the brilliant chance to check each of them very carefully. So they did today. Wham! Something unusual was spotted through the scope – a first winter Slender-billed Gull, the second for Mongolia! Lutz and I went down to take some record shots and while doing so we found 8 Relict Gulls! Happy guys returned to the camp for a liquid breakfast.

A nice trio (left to right):
Pallas’s, Slender-billed and Relict Gulls feeding on
the meadow, Uvsijn Khar Us Nuur, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim

Nice duo (left to right): Black-headed and Slender-billed Gulls,

Uvsijn Khar Us Nuur, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim

The same day we visited Khovd city for having a shower and buy provisions.

Approaching Khovd City from the east,
Jun 2012, © Lutz von der Heyde

We camped in the famous Otzon Chuluu plantation, not far from Khovd hot (c. 4 km north of the city centre).

Otzon Chuluu plantation (green circle), north of

Khovd hot (Khovd city). © Google / Digital Globe

Otzon Chuluu from the air, Nov 2007,

(photo not from the Gulliver tour). © A. Bräunlich

We stayed there until Tuvshin and Lutz went back to Ulaanbaatar on 6 June, and ringed many songbirds, i.e. two Yellow-browed Warblers among the many Hume’s Warblers plus much more.

Otzon Chuluu plantation (in the background right, at the

foot of the mountain), Jun 2012, © Lutz von der Heyde

Inside Otzon Chuluu plantation, Sept 2006,

(photo not from the Gulliver tour). © A. Bräunlich

Yellow-browed Warbler (left) and Hume’s Warbler,

Otzon Chuluu, Jun 2012, © L. von der Heyde

Siberian Chiffchaff: not all have all black bills.

Otzon Chuluu, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim & L. von der Heyde

Blyth’s Reed Warbler, a local breeder in Otzon Chuluu,

Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim & L. von der Heyde

ssp margelanica of Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca,

ssp margelanica of Lesser Whitethroat, another individual,

Masked Wagtail (personata), Otzon Chuluu,

The trip was very successful and the gullivers want to say a big “thank you” to our driver Banzai and tour cook Ayush for completing the team. Bye, Bye!

Gulliver Tuvshin Unenbat with gull AJ23,

Gulliver Lutz von der Heyde with gull AL24,

Gulliver ABu (with a handful of gulls ready for release),

Links to previous posts:
part one: Terchijn Tsagaan Nuur
part two: Oigon Nuur
part three: Uvsijn Khar Us Nuur

February 28, 2008

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.