BIRDING MONGOLIA

December 5, 2013

BeDeMon at the UB Ponds

text & photos by Abu

UB Ponds in August 2013

On 9 August 2013 I was picked up by Amarkhuu of the Mongolian Birdwatching Club and we then teamed up with Luc and Hilde, two birdwatchers from Belgium. Our destination was the area commonly known as UB Ponds aka The Green Pond. This is an area which has been frequently featured in this blog (see, for example, here or here or here) and it lays within the city limits along the Tuul Gol. There are many ponds located around the main pond (that’s the one which is connected to the sewage stream and hence lives up to its name, becoming green during the summer, thanks to the rich nutrition). We arrived there after a short drive and started birding.

The ponds were full of duck families, most of them were Tufted Ducks, but we also saw several female Common Pochards and Gadwalls guarding their respective chicks and sometimes also the chicks of others! There was a family of Swan Goose as well plus some additional adults in moult. This species has been breeding in UB for three years in a row now. The two rarest duck species were Northern Pintail and Common Goldeneye, thus there was no real rarity among the ducks. Wader migration had started but most of the snipes we flushed we had to leave unidentified (we identified 3 Common Snipes and the other 10 or so were either Pintail or Swinhoe’s Snipes). Other waders around were Common Sandpiper (1 heard only), Wood Sandpiper (15), Green Sandpiper (2 or 3), Common Redshank (the local breeders), Spotted Redshank (8), Black-winged Stilts (local breeders) and Eastern Black-tailed Godwits (5). We walked around the main pond by following the rail track and soon found a group of White-crowned Penduline Tits and a family of Demoiselle Cranes and about 120 Grey Herons.

West of the main pond is a kind of wet bushland and this is the site where the globally threatened (Vulnerable) Yellow-breasted Bunting breeds and we headed there to check them out. Here, the water is not polluted by sewage and rich in other life (not only algae). Most obvious now were hundreds of dragonflies and damselflies, many of them oviposting already. I took a bunch of pictures but had to leave most IDs open. I could just guess (qualified comments are most welcome!). Another nice species, but also not a bird, we found to be quite common in the bogs, was Spiranthes amoena, a tiny species of orchid.

Spiranthes amoena, UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Male Black Darter Sympetrum danae, UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Common Darter S. striolatum, UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Common Darter, same individual as above.
UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Suddenly a very small bird tried to escape from us on its feet. At first glance it looked like a quail but it was way too small. This tiny ball of feathers was indeed a chick of one of the pairs of Yellow-breasted Buntings and Amarkhuu could not resist in picking it up for a closer inspection. We also had some strange Yellow Wagtails and few Long-tailed Rosefinches, the latter also breeding in the bushes here. The bush land is already under threat from land reclamation and it is to be feared that the only known UB breeding population of Yellow-breasted Bunting will be wiped out soon!

Portrait of the Yellow-breasted Bunting chick,

UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Yellow-breasted Bunting chick, UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Yellow-breasted Bunting chick, UB Ponds, Aug 2013

With an Arctic Warbler on show and a juvenile Common Whitethroat in the bushes it was clear that also songbirds were on the move already, although we could not find any other migrants and also there were no raptors to be seen. On the way back to the car we saw a Common Tern (many just fledged chicks and their parents hanging around) chasing a Demoiselle Crane. Apparently this tern has to improve its ID skills... After that we went back to the city centre. Always nice to be out for birdwatching!

Juvenile Common Whitethroat,

UB Ponds, Aug 2013

Demoiselle Crane, UB Ponds, Aug 2013

November 2, 2013

part three:

This Khukh Nuur again...

text by ABu

Links to previous Mr. Hodgson and the Gull Calls 2013 on Birding Mongolia: part 1, part 2

Adult Saker Falcon, near Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, May 2013, © A. Buchheim

Khukh Nuur during/in/behind a snow shower,

Bayankhongor, May 2013, © A. Buchheim

Our arrival at Khukh Nuur in Bayakhongor aimag (province) was graced with another Saker Falcon on 31 May. Very soon after we were in the centre of a heavy snow shower which showed us that we were high up in the mountains. Several other showers followed until nightfall but the snow melted away very quickly. We chose to camp at exactly the same spot near the gull colony as the Mountainbirds 2012 Group did last year (see here).

Our camp (red circle) near the gull island in the last light,

Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © P. Franke

Despite the many approaching snow showers I climbed up half of the slope to see what was around and with ease I found several Asian Rosy Finches (sushkini) and then even a pair of Hodgson’s Bushchat, the latter not far from our camp. In fact, later we found that there were even two pairs around. Because hard winds were driving the snow I hadn’t taken my camera (anyway the light was fading already) and I had to take shelter every now and then. Nevertheless, it was a kind of relief to see the aforementioned species, ready to be bagged by my friends the next day.

Indeed, the next morning everybody was out for the bushcats, the rosy finches and also for Altai Snowcocks. For me that meant I had to wait for my companions to return before we could start to catch the gulls. From the camp I saw that Patrick was very close to a group of six snowcocks which I could hear from the distance (about 1 km away). The rosy finches came down to the lake shore where they took advantage of the mass emergence of flies (as did other birds like Citrine Wagtail, Brown Accentor and Northern Wheatear). While sitting in our camp, with a cup of tea in my hand, I managed to see all three target species (the bushchats were at the same spot still and were also spotted from the camp).

Female Asian Rosy Finch, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Male Asian Rosy Finch (sushkini), Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Brown Accentor, Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor,

Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

58 adult Mongolian Gulls were captured and processed which kept us busy for two days. With 115 gulls tagged this year the grand total stands now at almost 950 (tagged in 10 colonies across Mongolia plus in one colony at Lake Baikal, Russia), so watch out! See also here for reporting wing-tagged gulls. We invested two more days to explore this pristine alpine region and by doing so we found a third pair of bushchat. Unfortunately, last year’s territory was not occupied and all the chats we saw were not bearing rings until we caught and ringed one of the males that resided above our camp on 4 June, the day we left the lake.

2cy male Hodgson’s Bushchat, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Same bird and Zegi, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Female Hodgson’s Bushchat, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

The resident species performed well but we also found some migrants: there was a Common Coot on the lake on 31 May, a small flock of Ortolan Buntings, 7 migrating (?) Demoiselle Cranes on 1 June, 1 adult and a 2cy Black-crowned Night Heron (a rare migrant and exceptional breeder in Mongolia) were flushed from the bushes on 2 June, a single Dunlin was near the camp the same day, about 10 very elusive Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers successfully avoided being photographed on 3 June when we also logged a pair of Red-crested Pochard, 5 Pied Avocets, 1 Siberian Chiffchaff and a Two-barred Greenish Warbler. On 4 June we had 3 Common and a single White-winged Tern. Another noteworthy bird was the singing Common Nightjar on 2 June.

Adult Black-crowned Night Heron, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Siberian Marmot, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, June 2013, © A. Buchheim

Siberian Marmot enjoying the sun, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Remains of an Altai Snowcock in the hand

of tribal-photographer-costume-wearing Abu, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © P. Franke

The Altai Snowcocks were recorded daily in the rocky parts of the slope not far from the camp but occasionally they ventured out into the more grassy areas. Patrick was taking a lot of sound recordings and while he was leaning against a larger rock one morning, a snowcock came around the corner and he could literally have caught it with his hand. He was too baffled to do this, unfortunately. Presumably, the snowcock was at least as baffled as he was!

Group of four Altai Snowcocks, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Calling Altai Snowcock, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

This Altai Snowcock landed on the rock below me,

Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Altai Snowcock, Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor,

June 2013, © A. Buchheim

Although both species of Mongolian Lagopus occur at Khukh Nuur it again proved impossible to get Willow Grouse photographed. They always flew off too early and landed well out of sight in “their” bushland. In contrast to that, the Rock Ptarmigans could only try to hide behind rocks and this made it easier to follow and photograph them. While the females were already wearing the summer dress all males were still in complete winter plumage.

Female Rock Ptarmigan, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Male Rock Ptarmigan, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Several pairs of Stejneger’s Stonechats were found, some even within the territories of the bushchat and telling the females apart is not always straightforward. Of the three species of redstarts that breed around the lake we failed to find Eversmann’s. The other two species, Black and Güldenstädt’s Redstarts were even recorded near our camp.

Male Stejneger’s Stonchat, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Male Güldenstädt’s Redstart, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © P. Franke

Other resident species seen were Merlin, Saker Falcon, Bearded Vulture, Golden Eagle, Alpine and Altai Accentors, Whooper Swan and Brown Shrike.

Bearded Vulture, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © P. Franke

Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon, Khukh Nuur,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2013, © A. Buchheim

Sunset at Khukh Nuur, Bayankhongor,

June 2013, © P. Franke

There's more to come, so stay tuned!

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,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2012, © J. Langenberg

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,

Bayankhongor, Jun 2012, © A. Buchheim

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!