Mongolia part 2!

On our way to a new Snow Leopard site we covered many square miles of seeming empty desert searching for Oriental Plovers.  

 2 Greater Sandplovers got us excited from a distance, though very nice not our main quarry.

 Oriental Plover

After several hours scouring the desert Alan spotted a mixed flock of Oriental Plovers, Greater and Lesser Sandplovers. To my shame I spent all my time with Oriental Plovers thinking we would see more Sandplovers which was not the case.  

 Oriental Plover

Juvenile Oriental Plover

 Oriental Plover

 Oriental Plover

 Oriental Plover

Oriental Plover

 Dave & Gill nearly at the top

Our back up crew made the climb look so easy, they said it was only a 70mt climb, I struggled to the top with aid of several stops and there was no way I was going to do it again.  

 From the top, Mongolian 70mts

 Building one of the 2 hides over looking the drinking pool which we were going to spend the night!

 View from hide to the drinking pool where the horse is!

Fast approaching dust/sand storm!

When the hides were complete, we tried to make ourselves comfortable in them. They were to small for me put my legs out, sharp rocks were digging in our backs and other places, causing us to constantly fidget trying to get comfortable. As dusk began to fall a dust storm appeared several mile away but steadily came towards us. As the dust storm hit us it turned to rain and gales which was somewhat scary being stuck in the open on the top of a mountain. Our back up crew managed to erect some tents for us to spend the night in about 20mts below the summit, getting absolutely drenched for there trouble, they were marvels. I managed to fall over struggling down to the tents with camera gear and optics but only dented my pride. Even in the tents it was a long night laying on sharp rocks which ever way way you laid. At first light the storm had passed and we moved back to the hides for a few hours, unfortunately there was no sign of a Snow Leopard at the pool, but Ibex came in, asa well as Chough, Ravens, Rock Thrush, Hill Pigeons, Black Redstarts, Pied Wheatears, Crag Martins and Beautiful Rosefinches.

We made our back to the valley floor for breakfast and to discuss our next move. No amount of persuasion would get me to climb that mountain again and I wasn't alone in feeling that way. Our crew did some scouting and found a much lower vantage point from another mountain that was much easier for us to reach.

The 2 hides as viewed from near the drinking pool the day after the storm

 Godlewski's Bunting

While our brilliant back up crew built 2 more hides and put out camera traps we kept out of the way, trying to get good views of elusive Godlewski's Bunting. Pied Wheatears were all around but mainly camera shy, Lammergeirer and Griffon Vultures sailed over.

 Juvenile Eastern Black redstart

Pied Wheatear

 Ibex from the new hides

 Ibex from the new hides

 Ibex from the new hides

In the afternoon the crew drove us up in the Land Cruisers over a rock strewn valley across wadi's to a new camp near the new hides, if the cars had been mine I'd have made everyone walk.

It has to be said the new hides were still far from luxurious and definitely not comfortable, once again far to small for me stretch my legs. As darkness fell I made the decision that I was going to go back to the tent to sleep, only Alan decided to remain in the hide all night with the guides. At 04.30 the next morning we went back to the hides for another 5 hours but no sign of the Leopard, though we had superb views of Ibex, also a flock of 13 Hill Pigeons came in to drink.

When the camera traps were retrieved they show no sign of any Leopards, it was my belief that the heavy rain the night before had left plenty of rock pools for them drink from. We offered the opportunity to spend another night on the mountain but we politely declined.   

 These 2 Ibex were on the summit but something spooked them, probably the Leopard we were looking for, it took them just a few seconds to descend several hundred feet to the valley floor and up the other side, how they did it without injuring themselves I don't know.

Lammergeirer

Leaving probably our best chance of seeing Snow Leopard we moved back into the desert around the Khongor Dune system where we stayed overnight in a very comfortable tourist camp

Juvenile Desert Wheatear on the roof of my Ger early morning

An early morning stroll around the camp saw several Pallas's Sandgrouse fly over, a couple of Lesser Kestrels, some Desert Wheatears and the ever present Tree Sparrows.

 Saxaul Sparrow

When we left the tourist camp for base camp, our first stop was for Saxaul Sparrows, several pairs of these gorgeous Sparrows were nesting in some old derelict walls. While there a Booted Eagle flew over, as did some more Pallas's Sandgrouse and Upland Buzzards.

 Saxaul Sparrow

 Saxaul Sparrow

Saxaul Sparrow

1

1 of the Desert Warblers seen showed well enough for a few images to be taken 

Although our base camp was only a c100KM away it took all day to get there with numerous stops for birds, rodents and a Wild Ass  

Mongolian Ground Jay

 Mongolian Ground Jay was one of my target species, although several were seen in the Gobi all of them were camera shy.

Steppe Grey Shrike

 Mongolian Wild Ass

Daurian Ground Squirrel?

Toad Head Lizard sp.

 Pallas's Sandgrouse

Juvenile Black Vulture on it's nest

 Garden Warbler

A few migrants around The Point today with 40+ birds trapped and processed by the observatory. A sea watch by AJG this morning was a very slow with nothing of note.

 Common Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

 Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the observatory garden

At the ARC the Wood Sandpiper still present along with the Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpipers and 3 Garganey along with the many eclipse wild fowl.

 Juvenile Black-headed Gull K13A colour ringed in Latvia

From Firth late afternoon apart from a Black Tern and a couple of Common Sandpipers, the main interest for me was colour ringed Gulls and Common Terns. There are still only small numbers of Sand Martins around the peninsular.

Juvenile colour ringed Common Tern 6L4
It was ringed at 2 weeks old at colony near Arnhem, Netherlands.
Many thanks to Jeroen Nagtegaal for his prompt reply to my sighting.

Colour ringed adult Common Tern 5.63 probably ringed in Yorkshire

Mongolia part 1

At c10.00 A.M 4th July the 6 of us (Chris Townend tour leader, Dave Walker, Gill Hollamby, Alan & Brenda Fossey and myself) made the 3.75 hr flight from Heathrow to Moscow, a 2hr lay over there followed by a 6hr flight to Ulan bator arriving at c06.00 local time. We were met by Tumen Khumba and his wife who was to be our excellent cook for the next 2 weeks, also our 3 drivers in their very comfortable Toyota Land Cruisers. After a drink and introductions we set off on the 570 Kilometre drive to Dalanzadgad in the South Gobi Desert.
Around the airport car park Pacific Swifts, House Martins, House and Tree Sparrows. As we left Ulan Bator flocks of Choughs wheeled around, Steppe Eagles, Upland Buzzards, Black-eared Kites, Himalayan and Eurasian Griffon and Black Vultures were all seen well, along with 100s of Horned Larks, a few Mongolian Larks,  Demoiselle Cranes, Ruddy Shelducks and all just a few miles from the airport.

Steppe Eagle

Horned Lark

Demoiselle Crane family by the road.

 Mongolia had been experiencing a long drought making the landscape quite barren,  so after a few hours driving and several stops for more birds and mammals we stopped by pool which was a magnet for birds and mammals alike, it  held more Horned Larks, Rock and Tree Sparrows, several Green Sandpipers, a Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers and several Pallas's Sandgrouse which had come into drink, while watching these our first Saker of the trip flew through flushing everything.

  Pallas's Sandgrouse

 Pallas's Sandgrouse

Our hotel for the first night in Dalanzadgad

After the very long and slow drive we reached our first overnight stop, 50 KPH seems to be the maximum speed limit on the paved roads where as off road anything goes. By the next morning the drought was broken as heavy rain was falling most the night. I was up early and walked to a nearby park to see what I could find. Tree Sparrows were abundant in the park and a few feral Pigeons were seen, after a short while I heard an unfamiliar song, which sounded to me like a cross between an Acrocephalus and a Locustella, eventually I got a couple of glimpses of a passerine moving around in dense vegetation, which didn't help much apart from appearing to have a rufous rump. On my return to the hotel Alan played me the song of Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler which I recognised as being the same as I'd heard in the park. Unfortunately on my return to the park with the others all was quiet.

 Daurian Shrike

On our way to our base camp just a few minutes drive from the hotel, we stopped at some allotment like fields where a pair of Daurian Shrikes were feeding young, Hoopoe's were flying around, a couple of skulking Barred Warblers were seen as were several Hawfinches and a Long-eared Owl before the rain set in again.

Barred Warbler

 Our Base Camp, my Ger was the one in the centre.

Inside my Ger basic but very comfortable

Our base camp was at c2,300mts and many miles from any settlements. Facilities were basic, a shower was available powered by one of the Land Cruisers batteries, as I was invariably the first up in the mornings, I chose to go native, by walking along the valley bottom to a small stream, where I scraped a hole out big enough for me to sit in, in the gravel bed of the stream stripped off and had a cold refreshing bath in the early morning being joined by many Snowfinches which were abundant around the base camp.

Snowfinch by the stream

 Snowfinches around the base camp

Pacific Swifts, Crag Martins, Brown and Kozlov's Accentors, Twite, Isabelline Wheatears, Beautiful Rosefinch, Lammergeier, Griffon and Black Vultures and more could all been seen from our base camp.

 Lammergeier

In the past I'd only seen Lammergeier's as distant very high specks so I've always wanted to get good views of Lammergeier's, on this trip we had many good close sightings of them, none more so when 2 flew down a gorge a few feet above us there wings making a memorable deep whoosh whoosh as they sailed over us. 

Black Vulture

 The Twite were very tame around the camp

A juvenile Isabelline Wheatear

 Being woken and bathing to the sound of Brown Accentors singing

 Pacific Swifts

Upland Buzzard

This beautiful landscape went on for many miles 

Alan and Brenda looking out for a Snow Leopard in the vast landscape

We spent several days in the base camp area as herders had found a Foal that had been recently killed by a Snow Leopard. The site was impossible to view but it was we may see the Snow Leopard making it's way down to feed on the kill. Camera traps were put in place and we spent hours staring out into the ravines without seeing any Snow Leopard but did see plenty of Ibex and Vultures. The camera trap revealed that the Snow Leopard had not returned and the corpse was being eaten by Ravens and Vultures.

When we weren't staring into the ravines we went out lamping at night and walking along nearby valleys for new birds and mammals.

Eagle Owl

As we walked these valleys we came across Beautiful Rosefinches, Pere Davids Snowfinches, Rock Thrushes, many Isabelline Wheatears and Snowfinches, more Brown and Kozlov Accentors, Daurian Shrikes, Chukars, Vultures, Lammergeirer's, Sakers, Gerbils and Jerboa's that I am still trying to sort out.

Adult Pere Davids Snowfinch 

Juvenile Pere Davids Snowfinch

News came to us of another Snow Leopard sighting at a very remote spring the best part of a days drive away, it was quickly decided to abandon base camp and move to the new area. I will hopefully cover that in my next post.

A slow sea watch this morning as the hoped for repeat of yesterday mornings Shearwater passage failed to materialise.

05.45-08.15 from the sea watch hide with MH & AJG who kindly collated the numbers:

Common Scoter: 30E  11W

Great-crested Grebe: 1 around

Fulmar: 3W

Sooty Shearwater: 1W

Shearwater sp: 1W

Gannet :108E   225W

Mediterranean Gull: 2E

Kittiwake: 1W

Sandwich Tern: 5W

Common Tern: c100 on patch   44E

Swift: 4W

Mid morning on Burrowes Pit saw 8+ Common Sandpipers, c200 Common Terns and a few Swifts and Sand Martins that quickly melted away as the sun came out.

In 3 visits to the ARC from Hanson not much change from recent days, of note a Wood Sandpiper, a Ruff, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Ringed Plover, 4 Garganey, a brief appearance of Black Tern, an equally brief Bittern and a Great White Egret.

Reed Warbler from Hanson

1 of at least 4 Garganey from Hanson

An even quieter sea watch with AJG this afternoon:
14.15 15.15 from the fishing boats:
Common Scoter: 2W
Gannet 19 down
Sanderling: 1E
Mediterranean Gull: 1W
Sandwich Tern: 52 down
Sand Martin: 13 coasting down

Sea watching is tough. Turn your back and you miss the big one. Congratulations to Andy Lawson for keeping at it and reaping his reward in the form of a Great Shearwater, one of the most sought after sea bird by the Dungeness locals.
However my reward was as I stared through my scope, a Thresher Shark which breached vertically, it's long tail whipping at least a metre clear of the waves just a couple of hundred yards off shore 
06.00 - 08.45, 09.30- 11.30, 14.00 - 16.15,
Shoveler: 1E
Common Scoter: 18E    5 on   14W
Great-crested Grebe: 1 around
Fulmar: 2E   4W
Manx Shearwater 7E   18W
Balearic Shearwater: 12W
Sooty Shearwater: 3W
Shearwater sp: 2W (Balearic/Manx)
Gannet 874W   522E
Sandwich Tern: 39W
Common Tern: 57W
Swift 18W
Harbour Porpoise: 4+
Grey Seal: 2
Thresher Shark: 1