Hotspots

Gun Galuut Nature Reserve 

About 80 miles southeast of UB, the Gun Galuut NR offers a good diversity of habitats, with mountains, expansive steppes, rivers, lakes and wetlands. We visit one wetland where the rare White-naped Crane  typically breeds, and also see several lakes that often hold waterfowl and waders. With luck we could encounter birds such as Demoiselle Crane, Stejneger’s Scoter, or Père David's Snowfinch, a regional special of the natural grasslands here. For mammals there are a number of rodents we could see, and fortunate visitors could see Gray Wolf or Argali (Mountain Sheep).


Terelj National Park 

Just 66km (41 miles) north of Ulaanbaatar (UB), nestled into the Terelj River valley lies this national park and birding hotspot, considered one of the most scenic areas in Mongolia. Here, we hope to connect with the Black-billed Capercaillie. A bird of larch forests, the males gather in select spots to display for females. We’ll need some luck to encounter them and we’ll listen for their odd crackling, popping call, but with some luck we could connect with this extremely large grouse. As we go, we’ll also keep eyes peeled for Taiga Flycatcher, Pine Bunting, Red-throated Thrush, Two-barred Greenish Warbler and Daurian Jackdaw. But a small fraction of the park is open to the public, others are drawn here for rock-climbing, the scenery, the hot springs, and the lake. Parts of it host Brown Bears.


Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountains & Yolyn Am

Among the nation’s newest and its largest national park, the Gurvan Saikhan Mountains are known as “The Three Beauties” for the three scenic if smaller subranges that comprise the Gurvan Saikhan. Well known as a dwelling place for Argali and Siberian Ibex, we shall visit the unique Yolyn Am. Resting within the Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Eastern Beauty) subrange, “Yol” is the Mongolian word for the Bearded Vulture (or Lammergeier), and thus this is “the Valley of the Vultures”. While we hope to bump into this bird somewhere along the way, we also seek Wallcreeper, Godlewski’s Bunting, Mongolian Accentor, Beautiful Rosefinch, Barred Warbler, and Sulphur-bellied Warbler. Yolyn Am is known for its ice field which by the end of winter may be several meter thick and several kilometers long. In route to the park, we will seek the dashing Oriental Plover, and hit a couple migrant hotspots. 


The Gobi Desert & Khongor Sand Dune 

The Gobi is the 6th largest desert in the world, bigger than Texas and California combined. It is a rather diverse desert, exhibiting a variety of habitats. Resting in the southern reaches of the Gobi, stretching up to 7 miles wide, 62 miles long, and rising up several hundred feet high, is Khongoryn Els, the Khongor Sand Dune, also called Duut Mankhanor the "Singing Sands". Due to wind, the enormous dunes here continually shift and re-shape, releasing small avalanches, and emitting a resonant sound, that sounds sort of like a plane taking off in the distance. On the way to the dune, we will look for rare mammals such as Asiatic Wild Ass (a.k.a. Onager), Goitered Gazelle and Mongolian Gazelle. Nearby we’ll explore hilly areas to look for Mongolian Ground-jay, and we will hit a small patch of Saxaul forest (Saxaul is a shrub/tree in the Amaranth family) to try and see Saxaul Sparrow, while looking too for Asian Desert Warbler, Southern Grey Shrike, Desert Wheatear, and Long-legged Buzzard.


Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs)

Named for their crimson glow at sunset, the sandstone Flaming Cliffs were so named by paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews of the American Museum of Natural History (alleged by as the inspiration for “Indiana Jones”), who found the first-ever fossilized dinosaur eggs in the region. He also discovered Velociraptor specimens here as well as several other significant specimens. For us, this area will be mostly sightseeing but with a little birding in the Saxual forest perhaps including Saxual Sparrow, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Mongolian Accentor or others.

Barig Mountain

A remote birding site, but one that offers us our best chance at connecting with the rare White-throated Bushchat. Also known as Hodgson's Bushchat, this is a vulnerable and declining species numbering perhaps as few as just a couple thousand individuals total. Breeding only sparsely in Mongolia and Russia, and wintering at threatened grassland sites within the Himalayas, it is seldom seen. We’ll need luck to find it, but this is a good area for the species and we could also connect with migrants like Black-faced Bunting, Little Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Pallas’s Bunting, Siberian Rubythroat, or others.

Bayan Lake & Takhilt Lake 

Two remote, beautiful lakes and well known birding spots, known as locations for threatened Dalmatian Pelican, Pallas's Fish-Eagle, and Saker Falcon. Other raptors are possible too such as Cinereous Vulture and Upland Buzzard, and we hope to find reedbed specialists and wetland birds like Pallas’s Reed Bunting, Bearded Tit, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Oriental Reed Warbler, Paddyfield Warbler, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Eastern Marsh Harrier and White-naped Crane.

Hustai National Park 

Established in 1993 to protect reintroduced Przewalski’s Horse, this park is a wonderful mix of forest, steppe, grasslands, and sand dunes. The horse, known locally as Takhi, is considered to be the only remaining wild horse species in the world. Once widespread across the steppes of western Europe and Asia, since the mid 1900s it has been confined just to Mongolia’s Gobi region. The park also supports other mammals such as elk, Tarbagan Marmots and out on the steppes of the park, Mongolian Gazelles. We’ll keep an eye out for raptors and could see Golden Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Saker Falcon, Amur Falcon, and other birds like Daurian Partridge, Meadow Bunting and the handsome Mongolian Lark. 

Gachuurt Forest & UB Outskirts

The forests outside of Ulaanbaatar can have Hazel Grouse, Siberian Jay, Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker, Eurasian Goshawk by the end of our trip some new spring arrivals may have pitched in, like Chinese Bush Warbler. We’ll also keep an eye out here for Siberian Rubythroat, Black-faced Bunting, Dusky Warbler and even possibly Gray-headed Tit. Nearby the Tuul River can sometimes offer encounters with Azure Tit, White-crowned Penduline Tit, Amur Falcon, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Azure-winged Magpie and White-cheeked Starling. 

Rigor & Pace 

Mongolia represents a vast an open country and we will cover a lot of ground. We will spend a good amount of time birding by foot, but also a good amount of time birding by car, while covering some distance. There are several days with long drives, sometimes of 250 miles in a day and this could include some time on rough roads. Mostly we travel in 4x4 SUVs, like Toyota Land Cruisers. Luckily we can see birds almost anywhere as we go. But there are a couple days of prolonged driving (4+ hours). 

Most accommodations are in yurts (also called “gers”). Mongolia is sparsely populated with few options for places to stay away from the capital, UB. The camps are comfortable and well located for scenery, birds and wildlife, but not luxurious. We mix in a few hotels too, particularly in UB, and with one also mid-tour. Camping spaces are limited such that single occupancy yurts are also limited. If you wish for a single room in the hotels, that can be arranged but for single space while in ger camps, please inquire with us and we can see if a single ger is possible 

Weather is quite variable in May/June, though normally is warm or even hot during the day. At night it cools down and often remains so early in the morning. On the days when we are higher up, it can be chilly. Rain and even snow are possible.

There is little hiking or strenuous activity during this trip. Mostly we are on flat terrain and when on foot are going at a reasonable (birder’s) pace, but there may be days when we spend several 3-5 hours on foot. There may be a couple of options for more strenuous hikes in places where there is time for it, but this would be optional.

 Sunset at Boon Tsagaan Lake by Louis Bevier