MONGOLIA 15–30 June 2011 Leaders: Dr Sundev Gombobaatar, Vaughan and Svetlana Ashby

Mongolia lies at the heart of Asia; it is about as far from an ocean at it is possible to be; and it is one of the most remote birding destinations in the world. If you have a vision of Genghis Khan riding across seemingly endless deserts and steppes you won’t be disappointed, but you may be surprised to see vast snow-covered mountain ranges and huge wetlands as well. This is a country of diverse natural habitats and an equally wide variety of exciting birds including such evocative species as Altai Snowcock, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Oriental Plover, Mongolian Lark, Kozlov’s Accentor and Mongolian Ground-jay.

Day 1 Overnight flight from London to Ulan Bator ( Ulaanbaatar) .

Day 2 Early morning arrival in the capital. After breakfast we will drive 50km south of the city to look for Amur Falcon, Japanese Quail, Isabelline Wheatear, Common Whitethroat rubicola, Thick-billed Warbler, Common Rosefinch and Yellow-breasted Bunting . In the afternoon we will return to Ulan Bator, where hundreds of Fork-tailed Swifts will be soaring overhead, and take dinner in a typical Mongolian restaurant.

Day 3 On the way to Khustai Nuruu National Park, where Przewalski’s Wild Horses Equus przewalskii have been re-introduced, we will take walks through cultivated areas and steppes searching for Mongolian and Greater Short-toed Larks and Pere David’s Snowfinch. All the time we will be keeping a lookout overhead for soaring Upland Buzzards, Saker Falcons and Steppe Eagles. We will have lunch in the park’s restaurant followed by a drive to the Khustai National Park Research Centre to meet a researcher and visit wonderful birding sites: Daurian Partridge, Eurasian Hobby, Amur Falcon, Golden Eagle, Cinereous Vulture, Lesser Kestrel, Daurian Jackdaw and Meadow Bunting are all fairly common in the park. We will also visit a spring where the horses come to drink in the afternoons. Dinner (with cold Mongolian beer!) back at the restaurant will be followed by an overnight stay in a ger camp.

Day 4 After having breakfast in the National Park restaurant we will drive west to Tsegeen Lake, where Demoiselle Crane, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shovel er, Northern Pintail and Whooper Swan breed and Steppe Eagle, Upland Buzzard, Saker Falcon, Lesser Short-toed and Mongolian Larks and Pallas’s Reed Bunting may also be seen. We will explore the lake’s reedbeds and marshes, looking for breeding Common Redshank, Citrine, White (Amur) and Yellow Wagtails, Paddyfield Warbler and Great Reed-warbler. After lunch near the lake, we will drive west, pausing at a river valley to see a large colony of House Martins and Barn Swallows. Our destination is another lake which, for the past few years, has been one of the best sites for Bar-headed and Swan Geese, Eurasian Teal, Asian Dowitcher, Northern Lapwing and Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns. If we are very lucky, we may also see a breeding pair of White-naped Cranes here. We will have a traditional Mongolian dinner at our tented camp in the middle of the open steppe.

Day 5 Continuing to travel west, we will reach the large Ugii Lake and have lunch in a ger camp. At the southwest end of the lake we should see thousands of Swan Geese together with Ruddy Shelducks, Bar-headed Geese, Common Goldeneyes, Common and Red-crested Pochards , Black-tailed Godwits, Common Terns longipennis, Mongolian Gulls, Rock Petronias, Pere David’s Snowfinches, Pallas’ Reed Buntings and possibly Dalmatian Pelicans. This site also gives us our best opportunity of seeing Pallas’s Fish-eagle, White-tailed Eagle and Relict Gull. We will return to the ger camp for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 6 From the south end of the lake, where we will stop to look again for eagles and gulls, we will head south through mountain steppes to Kharkhorin (or ‘Karakhorum’), the 13th century imperial capital of the Mongol Empire. In the afternoon we will pay a visit to Erdene-Zuu Monastery, one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia. Continuing south, we will drive through mountain steppes to Sangiin Dalai steppe lake, where we will look for Black-throated Diver, Eurasian Spoonbill, Bar-headed Goose, Whooper Swan, Eurasian Coot, Blyth’s Pipit, Citrine Wagtail, Mongolian Lark, Hill Pigeon , Pied Avocet and other waders. Overnight in a tented camp near the lake.

Day 7 After more birding around the lake we will head west to Aimag, the provincial capital. On the way we will stop to look for steppe birds including Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Asian Desert Warbler and Pallas’s Reed Bunting. Breeding Oriental Plovers and Greater Sandplovers will be our next target species en-route to our overnight camp.

Day 8 During early morning birding near the camp we will search for Brown, Isabelline and Southern (Steppe) Grey Shrikes, Desert Wheatear and Pallas’s Sandgrouse. After breakfast we will drive south until we reach the ‘flaming cliff’ of Bayanzag, where we will camp in Saxaul forest. This is the most famous site in the world for finding dinosaurs’ fossils. In the Saxaul forest we will search for Saxaul Sparrow and the rare Mongolian Ground-jay. The spectacular scenery includes sand dunes where Great Gerbils can be found. Overnight in a tented camp.

Day 9 Early morning will be spent near the camp, giving us a second chance to search for Mongolian Ground-jay. After breakfast we will head towards the Gobi-Altay high mountain ranges. In and around plantations near Bulgan Sum village Crested Lark, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Mongolian Finch can be found. The next stop will be at Gegeetiin Am, a spectacular birding site located between a high cliff and a stream. Many high mountain species occur here including Lammergeier, Himalayan Griffon, Chukar, Eurasian Crag-martin, Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush, Pied Wheatear, Black Redstart, Wallcreeper, Mongolian Finch and White-winged Snowfinch, Beautiful and Common Rosefinches and Grey-necked and Godlewski’s Buntings. There should be excellent photographic opportunities here as birds come down to drink in the heat of the day. Overnight in a tented camp.

Day 10 After further birding around the stream in the morning we will head west to Khongoryn Els, the largest sand dunes in the country. This is a wonderfully photogenic landscape situated in the Gobi Desert. We will have lunch at a local restaurant followed by a visit to a Saxaul forest to look for nesting Saxaul Sparrow and Isabelline and Southern (Steppe) Grey Shrikes; Ruddy Shelduck, Common Sandpiper and Pallas’s Sandgrouse can be found nearby. Overnight in a ger camp.

Day 11 W e will drive east towards Yolyn Am (valley of the Lammergeier). Because it is a long drive, we will stay overnight en-route in a tented camp. Our campsite is located in an excellent spot for watching large flocks of Pallas’s Sandgrouse coming to drink.

Day 12 Early in the morning we will reach Yolyn Am, where we will start our search for the near-endemic Kozlov’s Accentor. Other species we will look for include Alpine and Brown Accentors, Great, Beautiful, Common, and Red-mantled Rosefinches, Mongolian Finch, White-winged Snowfinch, Twite and Wallcreeper . We will have to climb high into the mountains to look for Altai Snowcock but it is worth the effort for this most difficult-to-see of the genus. We should see other high altitude species, including Water Pipit, but we would have to be extraordinarily lucky to see Snow Leopard, which still occurs in the area; more likely is its prey species: Ibex. We will have lunch in the valley and go birding along a stream, which is a good spot for digiscoping some of the high mountain species. Overnight in a tented camp.

Day 13 Today we will drive to Dalanzadgad and fly back to Ulaanbaatar. We will transfer to our hotel to check in and have lunch before driving west out of the city to visit a breeding colony of Amur Falcons and look for Black Stork, Eurasian Hoopoe, Daurian Redstart, Great Tit, White-crowned Penduline-tit, Eurasian Magpie leucoptera, Red-billed Chough and Rock Petronia in the valley of the Tuul River. Dinner will be at a restaurant in Ulaanbaatar, where we will spend the night.

Day 14 We will spend all day looking for Taiga forest species in the Terelj area. We will specifically look for Black, Grey-headed and White-backed Woodpeckers, Eurasian Wryneck, Oriental Cuckoo, Olive-backed and Richard's Pipits, Siberian Rubythroat, Dusky, Pallas’s and Yellow-browed Warblers, Chinese Bush-warbler, Taiga Flycatcher, White-cheeked Starling, Daurian Jackdaw, Azure-winged Magpie, Spotted Nutcracker and Pine Bunting. Overnight in a riverside tented camp where we will experience “Khorkhog”, a traditional meal.

Day 15 After breakfast we will drive over the mountains and drop down into a forested river valley. Birds, which can be found here, include Azure Tit, Dusky and (Two-barred) Greenish Warblers, Asian Brown and Dark-sided Flycatchers, Daurian Redstart, White-crowned Penduline-tit, Long-tailed Rosefinch and Black-faced Bunting. In the a fternoon we will drive back to Ulaanbaatar where we will have the opportunity to visit the local shops before our farewell dinner in a restaurant. Overnight at a hotel.

Day 16 Transfer to the Chingis Khaan International Airport for our return flight to London.

General Information The pace of the tour is moderate but with a reasonable degree of fitness required, as there will be walks of several miles including some at high altitude. The road conditions range from adequate to non-existent and some long drives are involved. The weather can be highly variable so appropriate clothing and footwear is required.

Group size Minimum number for tour to go ahead: 6; maximum group size: 12 with 3 leaders.

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