Mongolia Day 15 - Going Home

We were up at 4.30, collected at 5.00 and driven to the airport. They gave us a packed breakfast of ham rolls, apple and a bottle of water which we ate in the queue. We checked in after a bit of a queue and went through to departures. At one point a man came over and spoke to Martin, taking him away to retrieve his power pack from his luggage. We kept an eye on the departure gate, apparently all flights go from the same gate and when things started moving, asked if this was the Moscow flight to be told ‘no, later’. This happened twice but it was obvious that it was the Moscow flight, despite the sign stating Busan. Eventually we were called forward through the business boarding and we found our seats, settled down and took off on our journey home. Our flight went through Moscow where we had a three hour wait. There had been an earlier flight but the stop over was only an hour and luckily we chose the more relaxed times as going through security was quite time consuming with only one machine and at least two flights converging. At one point one of the officials lost her calm and started shouting ‘Shoes, NO SHOES!!!’. However, we all got through OK, went to our check in gate area, found  somewhere to eat a cheeseburger and drink before our onward flight was called and we eventually landed in Heathrow. The view of the countryside as we flew up the Thames was a real indication of how dry the UK had been while we were away with brown fields in every direction.
We landed, walked through security, collected our bags, said good bye to Alan and Brenda, caught our bus and were on the road home within an amazingly short time after an amazing and truly memorable trip full of different experiences and an introduction to the lovely country of Mongolia.
A special thanks goes to Chris of Wise Birding and Tumen, his wife Oyunna and all the drivers and guides from Tum-Eco Tours that gave us such a great time.

Day 14 - Terelj and the Chinghis Khan Monument

Because of the late night yesterday we agreed to meet up with the crew at 10.30 for our drive to Terelj. I didn’t get up until around 7.00 and then I went out to look for Daurian Jackdaws. I met up with David and Martin who had been watching a flock in the trees at the edge of the hotel but they flew just before I got there. We looked around the other side of the hotel but couldn’t find anything other than a Black Kite in a tree. There were a pair of Long-tailed Squirrels which were very entertaining, attracting the attention of a trio of dog who chased them back down their burrows. As we made our way back towards the hotel we noticed a couple of lads up in the branches of the bushes so we went over to see what they were doing. They were picking some berries and the two girls on the ground had buckets with berries in them which they let us try.

Back to hotel David found a lovely lily in the grassy area at the back, with clumps of a different species of geranium and pinks. A High Brown Fritillary was also seen.

Following breakfast we set off for Terelj. Because of the late night and lack of water we gave Gun Galut a miss in order to be able to visit the Chinggis Khan monument and be back around 6. We drove out the way we came in so were able to photograph the wooden bridge over the Tulle.

The drive highlighted the difference between the arid, desert area south and the greener, wetter northern areas with trees on the hillsides. We arrived at Terelj hotel and took an early lunch before walking down to the lower riverside area. It had this interesting sign in the toilets.

The first surprise was a Siberian Chipmunk foraging just beside the path.
As we crossed the bridge there were birds everywhere, including Taiga Flycatcher, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Siberian Nuthatch and a very orange red squirrel was on the grass. Poplar Admiral, a glider species and Silver-washed Fritillary flew by and it was nice to see a yak cart driving round the area.

Further on were Daurian Jackdaws and another squirrel, this time a dark one. We were heading to an area for Siberian Rubythroat but the rain over the last few days meant that the path was difficult so we turned back to the vans, finding a juv Red-throated Thrush on the way which proved quite difficult to see well.

We then drove back down the valley to another spot for Rubythroat and Pine Bunting. Parking in a space opposite a nice looking boggy area, we heard a bunting but couldn’t see it. There were some fritillary butterflies flitting around the puddles and then a Dusky Warbler was found just up the valley in some scrub. We had reasonable views among the branches and could hear it but difficult to see enough to photo. Further up the valley, Tumen found a Brown Shrike and there were a couple of nice flowers in the field edges.

We then drove on down and turned left at a junction for a while before the amazing sight of the Chinggis Khan statue appeared around the shoulder of a hill. It was certainly an impressive sight and got better as we approached closer. There is a statue to his mother on the opposite hill. The entrance was through an archway with the nine Royal Guards on top before parking and getting out to admire this amazing, and large statue. We didn’t have time to go up the statue but we took some photos, looked at the accompanying horsemen statues and spent a little bit of time in the memento ger. We celebrated with an ice cream before setting off back to the Mongolica.

The traffic around Ulan Bataar was very congested so the decision was made to stop at a restaurant and eat before heading back, letting the traffic die down. The meal was excellent and we took the opportunity to say thank you to our really top class team. They then thanked us for a great trip and gave each one a pair of slipper and a key ring as mementoes of our visit. The trip back was much easier except for negotiating back along the edge of the river Tulle where Tumen saw a Corsac Fox but it disappeared before anyone else got to see it. A very sad farewell to our drivers and team before we went in, packed up ready for our early call in the morning for the airport and home.

Day 13 - Hustai, Lake Bayan and back to Ulan Battaar

We were up and about around 6.00 before a 7.00 breakfast, which was the most extensive of any that we had had during the trip.

We packed up quickly and set off around the park. There were was a stop at the Deer stone, a prehistoric column with deer carvings and a moon depicted on it. There were Long-tailed Ground Squirrels and Siberian Marmots all over the place and I was lucky enough to get some really good pictures of a couple before they disappeared behind their stone.

We drove around the tracks and valleys seeing a good variety of birds, including Hoopoe, Blyth’s Pipit, Black Vulture, Amur Falcon, Kestrel, Northern Wheatear, Mongolian Larks, Upland Buzzard and singing Skylarks. As it had rained, the tracks were quite slippery but our crew were excellent and drove us safely back to the visitor’s centre for coffee and some retail therapy. We managed more sightings of the Przewalski Horses but not much closer and still with a lot of heat haze.

We left the park on the tracks out the road, stopping for more views of Sakers and buzzards before heading off for Lake Bayan. We stopped at Urikhan for lunch and a comfort stop at a fast food place. The road crossed a river just before the car park and we spent a bit of time looking at the Swallows, including rusty swallows and waders in the water.

We decided to take away lunch as the time was going on and we were worried we wouldn’t have time for everything we wanted to see. We stopped on the road side just beyond a bridge as a Marsh Harris flew around up the road, and then spent time scanning round. There were a couple of pairs of White-naped Cranes with a chick each, in the reeds, which is where they stayed. Swallows and Sand Martins flew around, some of the swallows were Rusty swallows with a lovely red breast. Across the fields were a nice selection of waders including Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Wood Sandpipers, Curlew, and Greenshank, Black-winged Stilts, Spoonbills, Avocets and a Grey Plover. We also saw Greylag Geese, Reed Bunting and various Yellow Wagtails. Chris was scanning a group of Black-tailed Godwits when he found three Asiatic Dowitchers. The flock took off and flew across the road to the fields in the other side, giving a chance to see the size difference.

We then spent a little while driving round the other side of the water, trying to see the cranes better but they were too deep into the reeds. As we walked we came across lots of frogs of different sizes from small froglets to full sized frogs. We parked up in a drier, sandier area and it wasn’t long before we found our target, Pallas’s Reed Bunting, giving good views sitting up on the tops of bushes. There were the odd Midday Gerbils hopping about and a stunning male Eastern Marsh Harrier quartered an area a little distant but giving great views.

We then made our way back to the Mongolica Hotel, stopping at Urikhan again for dinner before arriving back around 12.30 and heading straight to bed.

Day 12 - Hustai Park Research Centre

We were up early for a walk along the river looking for Azure Tits and White-headed Penduline tits. The level of the water was quite high but David found a White-breasted Waterhen on the opposite bank but it disappeared before we could catch up with it. We found some European and Azure-winged Magpies but still no sign of Daurian Jackdaws although we could hear jackdaws calling. As we made our way back towards the hotel David was investigating some odd sounds and I checked out the flowers, finding wild delphiniums.

The sounds turned out to be a Pica and as I scanned the trees, I found a couple of Azure Tits. Views were Ok but photographs were difficult. They then flew to another tree where they were easier to see but no easier to photograph.

We made our way back, exploring the area nearer to the hotel when David heard penduline tits calling. After a bit of searching, David found a small family party of juveniles feeding in the tops of the aspens. We spent a bit of time trying to photograph them then i made my way into breakfast and to tell the others.

David appeared eventually and after breakfast we all went back outside to see the Penduline. We also found an Azure Tit which gave really good views as it flitted around the docks and plants in the field area in the hotel grounds. There were also some nice flowers including three different Alliums, a yellow poppy and some pinks.

We got called back to the hotel to set off so we loaded up the cars and set off. We drove out a different way to our arrival and drove parallel to the river, crossing an old railway line with a dismantled bridge, to some pools with lots of terns feeding over them. Some of the Common Terns were of the race longipennis. White-winged Terns were also present. There were also Redshanks and lots of Gadwall, Tufted Ducks, Pochards and Goldeneyes.

The way out was tricky but brought us to a paved road near an industrial complex. We then drove west to Hustai National Park. We turned off the road onto the Park track and then stopped for a walk around. There were various larks including the striking Mongolian Lark as well as brilliant views of Demoiselle Cranes, Upland Buzzards and Saker Falcons using the posts as vantage points.

We stopped at the visitors Centre for lunch which was a self-service buffet, eaten outside and included Mongolian Tea, which is very milky and sweet. We found our first Long-tailed Ground Squirrels and Siberian Marmots.

After lunch we drove along the tracks, stopping for distant views of Przewalski Horses on the tops. We drove round to a hot spot for Daurian Partridge. We spent some time searching through the rocks and slopes. There were some lovely flowers dotted about, including a very blue gentian.

Just as we were giving up, David came along the slope to say he’d had a partridge, so we made our way back to the rocks the partridge had disappeared into. We spent quite a bit of time searching but no luck. We were making our way to the cars when it suddenly appeared out of the rocks in front of Chris, flew a short way towards Alan, checked and then went back the other way and was lost to sight over the hill. More searching was unlucky so we made our way to the Research Station for dinner and bed. As we approached the camp we noticed some Magpies mobbing something near some rocks. As I scanned a small, grey cat came into view, slinking along and then disappeared into the rocks, Pallas’ cat! We called the others back and spent some time watching the area but there were no more signs of the cat and the Magpies went quiet so we headed on to the camp. The station wasn’t quite what we had imagined, expecting a group of researchers and a scientific establishment. Instead, it was a wooden building housing the caretaker and family plus a dining/activity room. There were several small buildings dotted about as accommodation and there was a recently installed solar-powered shower. The toilets were a long-drop, three cubicle block situated up the bank on the opposite side of the valley. The grassy areas between the buildings and toilets made it a very pleasant walk to and from the facilities, but not sure what it would be like in winter.