We were up at 4.30 and moved as quietly as we could back to the shelters. We stayed on the mountain until about 10.00 with breakfast of hard boiled eggs, fruit chips and chocolate biscuits being brought up from Oyunna in Base Camp two. There wasn’t much about but a few Hill Pigeons flew in for a drink to the pool and a couple of Pied Wheaters and Godlewski’s Buntings flew through the rocks. There were a few Ibex dotted around the hillsides. We were offered the chance of spending another night here but the collective decision was that once was enough. I did suggest that they looked for an alternative site that was lower and easier which they then proceeded to do.
Checking the valley opposite the crew found a better site and spent the next couple of hours building two more rock shelters which were much easier to access.
We were called in for our second breakfast of fried eggs and sausages. We spent the rest of the time looking for the Godlewski’s Bunting, Pied Wheatear and anything else that was around the base tent. The tent was home to some amazing centipedes which seemed to live in the window squares of the tent.
The decision was taken to drive to a Tourist Ger Camp for the night, leaving the area to settle after all the activity and maybe encouraging the cat to return. We were called in for lunch of Tuna salad, a bowl of vegetable and sweet corn and then we walked to the edge of the valley before being collected and driven through the valleys and sand dunes to the Buren Camp, leaving the food tent and the cooking gear all zipped up in the valley.
The driving was spectacular travelling through steppes, dry river valleys and sand dunes. On the way there were a couple of sightings of Black-tailed Gazelle which we didn’t really see because we were in the last car and Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel, which we eventually got good views of.
A few sparse bushes held an Asian Desert Warbler and one site we stopped at also had a Steppe Grey Shrike.
On the drive through the valleys we saw a Rock Thrush and we had an exciting drive through the Khongor Dunes before joining the tracks which led to the Buren tourist camp. This was an official tourist camp with en-suite Gers and a restaurant. We settled in, had a quick look round, a shower and then met up at 8.00 for dinner of meat strips, noodles and vegetables. We took a little time to record some of the bats that were flying over the camp which we will send to the Ulaanbaatar University for identification. We then set off on a night drive. Our first sighting was of a flock of Pallas’ Sandgrouse most of which flew off but a youngster stayed and allowed us to photograph it before it flew off to join the others. Further sightings were of more sandgrouse, Five-toed Pygmy Jerboa, Hairy-footed Jerboa and Siberian Jerboa before we returned to the camp.
As we were turning in, Tumen called out that he had a Long-eared Hedgehog so we all walked over to the wall where the hedgehog was before letting it go about its nightly activities. As we turned in another one was found in another part of the camp.
Checking the valley opposite the crew found a better site and spent the next couple of hours building two more rock shelters which were much easier to access.
We were called in for our second breakfast of fried eggs and sausages. We spent the rest of the time looking for the Godlewski’s Bunting, Pied Wheatear and anything else that was around the base tent. The tent was home to some amazing centipedes which seemed to live in the window squares of the tent.
The driving was spectacular travelling through steppes, dry river valleys and sand dunes. On the way there were a couple of sightings of Black-tailed Gazelle which we didn’t really see because we were in the last car and Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel, which we eventually got good views of.
A few sparse bushes held an Asian Desert Warbler and one site we stopped at also had a Steppe Grey Shrike.
On the drive through the valleys we saw a Rock Thrush and we had an exciting drive through the Khongor Dunes before joining the tracks which led to the Buren tourist camp. This was an official tourist camp with en-suite Gers and a restaurant. We settled in, had a quick look round, a shower and then met up at 8.00 for dinner of meat strips, noodles and vegetables. We took a little time to record some of the bats that were flying over the camp which we will send to the Ulaanbaatar University for identification. We then set off on a night drive. Our first sighting was of a flock of Pallas’ Sandgrouse most of which flew off but a youngster stayed and allowed us to photograph it before it flew off to join the others. Further sightings were of more sandgrouse, Five-toed Pygmy Jerboa, Hairy-footed Jerboa and Siberian Jerboa before we returned to the camp.
As we were turning in, Tumen called out that he had a Long-eared Hedgehog so we all walked over to the wall where the hedgehog was before letting it go about its nightly activities. As we turned in another one was found in another part of the camp.
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