White-naped Crane (2)
Demoiselle crane
Eastern Mongolia
White-naped crane
Vulture
Biggest bird you may encounter in Mongolia
Pine bunting
North Mongolia
Red Breasted Merganser (Goosander)
In the Northern Mongolia at Eg river
Oriental plover
In South Mongolia
Chukar
near Ongi Monastery
Mongolia is one of the remotest bird watching tour destinations in the world lying at the heart of the vast Asia continent and about as far from the world’s oceans as you can get. If you have a vision of Chinggis Khaan riding across a landscape of vast windswept deserts and steppes with no end to the horizon, then you won’t be disappointed. Still, you may be surprised to see vast snow-covered mountain ranges and huge wetlands as well because this is a country of great contrasts. You can see an equally wide variety of exciting birds in these different natural habitats, including such evocative species as Altai Snowcock, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Oriental Plover, Mongolian Lark, Kozlov’s Accentor, Asian Desert Warbler, and Mongolian Ground-jay and Saxaul sparrow.
Day 1. Arrival in Ulaanbaatar and Nogoon Nuur
Upon your arrival, you will be transferred to a centrally located hotel in UB. After breakfast, you will visit Nogoon Nuur or Green Pond and Songino Mountains, which are found near to UB and takes approximately 30minutes, given the en-route traffic condition in Ulaanbaatar allows. At the Green pond, you can watch some of breeding water birds such as Swan goose, Whooper swan, Mallard, Tufted duck, Great Crested Grebe, European Wigeon, Common Tern and also possible to see breeding Yellow-breasted bunting, Padyfield warbler, etc. In Songino Mountain, you can watch breeding Azure-winged magpie, Amur falcon, Black-eared kite, Cinereous vulture, Steppe eagle, Hill Pigeons, Pallas’s Rosefinch, Isabellina, Northern and Pied Wheatears, etc. This is also the perfect place to see migratory birds during the spring and autumn as well. In the afternoon, you will return to Ulan Bator, where hundreds of Pacific and Common Swifts will be soaring overhead, and take dinner in a typical Mongolian restaurant.
(Hotel***; L, D)
Day 2: Hustain Nuruu National Park (NP)
You will drive to Khustai Nuruu national park in the morning, where Przewalski’s Horses has been re-introduced; also, you can see Red Deer and Siberian Marmots as well. You will take walks through cultivated areas and steppes searching for Mongolian and Greater Short-toed, Horned Larks, and Pere David’s Snowfinch. All the time, you will be keeping a lookout overhead for soaring Upland Buzzards, Saker Falcons, and Steppe Eagles. You will have lunch in the park’s restaurant followed by a drive to the Hustain 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. You will also visit a spring where the horses come to drink in the afternoons. An overnight stay will follow dinner back at the restaurant in a ger camp.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 3: Tsegeen Lake near Dashinchilen
After having breakfast in the National Park restaurant you will drive west to Tsegeen Lake, (from NP to the lake roughly 120 km) where there are Demoiselle Crane, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Whooper Swan breed and Steppe Eagle, Upland Buzzard, Saker Falcon, Lesser Short-toed and Mongolian Larks and Pallas’s Reed Bunting. You 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, you 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 you are fortunate, you may also see a breeding pair of White-naped Cranes here.
(local hotel; B, L, D)
Day 4: Lake Ugii
You will reach Lake Ugii Lake after driving 100 km and have lunch in a ger camp. At the southwest end of the lake, you 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. This site also gives us our best opportunity of seeing Pallas’s Fish-eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Osprey. You will return to the ger camp for dinner and an overnight stay.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 5: Kharkhorin
From the south end of the Lake Ugii, where you will stop to look again for eagles and gulls, you will head south through mountain steppes to Kharkhorin (or ‘Karakhorum’) (85km), the 13th century imperial capital of the Mongol Empire. The area is recognized as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site due to its historically important monasteries, sites, and centuries-old nomadic culture. In the afternoon, you will pay a visit to Erdenezuu Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Before we reach the monastery, we will see Isabelline Wheatear, Short-toed Larks, Mongolian Larks, Demoiselle Crane, and Steppe raptors, and visit the monastery and will have a chance to see a Golden Eagle on the hand of Kazakh eagle hunters.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 6: Bayanhongor via Sangiin Dalai
After early breakfast, continue your journey to south, you will drive through mountain steppes to Sangiin Dalai steppe lake (79km), where you will look for Black-throated Diver (less common in this area), Eurasian Spoonbill, Bar-headed Goose, Whooper Swan, Eurasian Coot, Blyth’s Pipit, Richard’s Pipit, Citrine Wagtail, Mongolian Lark, Hill Pigeon, Pied Avocet and Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Mongolian Gull and Fork-tailed Swift. After packed lunch, you will head to Bayanhongor, a provincial centre town of Bayanhongor aimag on a rather easy tarmac road (209 km). The lake is just on the way; no reason do not go to this place.
(Local hotel; B, L, D)
Day 7: Buuntsagaan Nuur
You will head to one of the largest lakes in the Gobi Desert- Buuntsagaan Nuur (160km), known as a reliable place for spotting Relict Gull, one of the rarest birds in Asia. Rare, long-necked Swan Geese and pretty Bar-headed Geese will be grazing in the wet meadows, and in drier areas, you will encounter our first Demoiselle Cranes. Pallas’s Fish Eagles and Asian Dowitchers can be found. Baillon’s Crake can be spotted in Buuntsagaan. Amongst the many other species you may encounter with Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes, Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, Whooper Swan, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Ruddy and Common Shelducks, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common and Red-crested Pochards, Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks, Common Goldeneye, Youstern Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Coot, Common Crane, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Kentish Plover, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Redshank, the impressive Pallas’s Gull, Black-headed and Brown-headed Gulls, Mongolian Gull, Gull-billed, Caspian, Common, Little, Black, Whiskered and superbly elegant White-winged Terns, Eurasian Skylark, Pale Martin, Barn Swallow, Richard’s Pipit, Citrine and Eastern Grey-headed Wagtails, and Pallas’s Grasshopper, Paddyfield and Oriental Reed Warblers. Migrant shorebirds, in their smart breeding dress, are an attractive feature of the wetlands. You will have a traditional Mongolian dinner at our tented camp in the middle of the wilderness.
(Tented camping; B, L, D)
Day 8: Lake Orog
After lunch at the Lake Buuntsagaan, we will drive for another 150 km eastwards, approximately 4 hours drive to the Lake Orog. We will reach our next destination with tall reed grass along Lake Orog late afternoon. Before sunset, we will be able to see Mongolian or Henderson’s Ground Jay in scattered bushy areas near the lake. The lake is a suitable habitat for Larks (Mongolian, Horned, Greater Short-toed Lark) and waterfowls. Breeding Desert Wheatear and little owls can be found in the local herder’s cattle fences and the walls of the campsite. It is full of birds in the lake. There are a few reed beds near the lakes, which are the best sites to see White-naped Crane and breeding Black-tailed Godwit, Redshanks and other waders. Whooper Swans prefer to breed there. The most frequently encountered species include Mongolian Plover, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Temminck’s and Long-toed Stints, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstone, while less commonly encountered species include Pacific Golden and Grey (or Black-bellied) Plovers, Sanderling, Red-necked Stint, Broad-billed and Green Sandpipers. Less regularly observed wildfowl include Falcated Duck, Chinese Spot-billed Duck, and Smew. Another typical bird is Asian Desert Warbler.
(Tented camping; B, L, D)
Day 9: Baga Bogd
On the way to Baga Bogd (100km), we will be able to see Long-legged Buzzard. The site is an excellent place to see high mountain species such as Black Redstart, Godlewski’s Bunting, Chukar, Mongolian Finch, White-winged Snow Finch, Wall Creeper, Beautiful Rosefinch, Common Rosefinch, Crag Martin, Bearded Vulture, Himalayan Vulture, Pied Wheatear, Rock Thrush. This is a good place to take photos of unusual high mountain species at close distance. Around midday, they will arrive at the open water stream to drink. Although Baga Bogd Mountain is elevated at 3,590m, we can drive up to tundra zone at 3000 m above sea level, a part of the Gobi-Altai mountain range is the best place to spot Altai Snowcock during our previous trips without any strenuous walk. It may require a moderate yet vigorous hike on the terrain with an average steepness to see other species. You can spot threatened Hodgson’s (or White-throated) Bushchat, Güldenstädt’s Redstart, and Brandt’s Rosy-Finches, where the snow patches linger on well into June.
(Tented camping; B, L, D)
Day 10: Baga Bogd and Khongoryn Gol
Early in the morning, we will follow the mountain spring for spot more species followed by descending from the mountain range for less than an hour to reach Ulmus trees, where we can see Long-eared Owl and Little Owl. As we drive to the south, you will come across vast steppes of Hatan Suudliin Tal, where we may well encounter Mongolian Gazelles and, if we are lucky, the shy Goitred Gazelle or even the rare Kulan or Mongolian Wild Ass. The area witnesses a long geological process, including a dormant volcano, colourful igneous rocks of the Gobi Desert. You will drive approximately 180 km on dirt road today.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 11: Khongoryn Gol
After further birding around the stream in the morning, you will head west to Khongoryn Els, the largest sand dunes in the country. This is a wonderfully photogenic landscape situated in the Gobi Desert. You will have lunch at a local restaurant of a ger camp 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, Desert Wheatear, Asian Short-toed Lark and Pallas’s Sandgrouse can be found nearby. Overnight in a ger camp.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 12: Yolyn Am
Early in the morning, you will reach Yolyn Am after driving 170 km, where you will start our search for the near-endemic Kozlov’s Accentor. Other species you will look for include Alpine and Brown Accentors, Great, Beautiful, Common, and Red-mantled Rosefinches, Mongolian Finch, White-winged Snowfinch, Twite, and Wallcreeper. You should see other high altitude species, including Water Pipit, but you would have to be extraordinarily lucky to see Snow Leopard, which still occurs in the area; more likely is its prey species: Ibex. You will have lunch in the valley and go birding along a stream, which is the right spot for digiscoping some of the high mountain species.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 13: Dalanzadgad to Ulaanbaatar
You will drive to Dalanzadgad early in the morning and fly back to Ulaanbaatar. We will look for Mongolian Plover and breeding pairs, near Dalanzadgad. Planted trees near the airport will offer you to spot some spontaneous migratory species. Upon arrival, you will transfer to a centrally located hotel to check-in and have dinner, where you will spend the night.
(Hotel***; B, L, D)
Day 14: Terelj National Park
You will spend all day looking for Taiga forest species in the Terelj area. You 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 you will experience “Khorkhog”, a traditional meal.
(Ger Camp; B, L, D)
Day 15: Khenty Mountain Range
After breakfast, you will drive over the Khentii Mountain Range 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 afternoon, you will drive back to Ulaanbaatar, where you will have the opportunity to visit the local shops before our farewell dinner in a restaurant.
(Hotel***; B, L, D)
Day 16: Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, you will transfer to the Chingis Khaan International Airport for your return flight to London.
(B)
BOOK NOW
Tour Length: 16 Days
Tour Dates: May-September
Tour Price: $ 3,649
Group size: Max-12 persons
Tour Grade: Moderate
Private tour option: Available
