White-throated Bushchat breeds only in Mongolia—a fact I did not know on the cold morning of May 30, as we tracked down several of these gorgeous birds at the base of the Khangai mountains, not far from our campsite near Khukh Lake. All I knew in that moment was that it was a beautiful bird and I was thrilled to get such good looks.
eBird’s description of the species’ breeding habitat fits many of the areas that we birded in Mongolia: “high altitudes in open areas with rocky outcrops and clusters of vegetation.” Below, members of our group scanning for the bushchat. We were just under 3,000 meters (9,800 feet), and for me, the greatest challenge wasn’t the altitude, but the trek uphill on the spongy, almost tundra-like, uneven terrain with ruts, rocks, and clumps of grass.
Our efforts were rewarded with the bushchat and an Altai Accentor. The accentor was not a life bird for me as I had seen one ten years earlier in India, but I don’t remember that first sighting, so this felt like a life bird.
As in so many places across Mongolia, there was beauty everywhere. On the mountain, I found pretty flowers tucked into crevices in the rocks.
We headed to warmer lowlands to camp for the night, with a stop on the way at a random little lake. It held nothing new for the trip list, but it was nice to watch a few shorebirds and a group of Pied Avocets while we ate our lunches.
The next day was mostly a long travel day, with a detour to see Oriental Plovers again in a different spot than earlier in the trip. Even the most serious world birders don’t say, “I’ve already seen that bird. I don’t need to see it again.” This time, we saw a lovely female in addition to two males.
Nick reports that we stayed at “a really great, modern hotel for the night at Arvaikheer.” I don’t remember that hotel at all, absolutely nothing about it, but our nights camping are still vivid in my memory. My advice for anyone going to Mongolia: Don’t look for a fancy trip that promises minimal camping. You want to camp. It’s the best way to experience the beauty of dark night skies and awake to the sound of birds singing, to feel the calm and peace that only exists in remote areas far from civilization.
June 1 was another travel day as we made our way toward Hustai National Park. I don’t remember much about that day other than beautiful landscapes like that below.
But I do remember camping by Bayan Lake that night. My journal entry from that evening reads: “Campsite tonight is full of mosquitoes. They tried to find a better site or hotel, but nothing was available. It’s miserably hot and we had soup (mutton, I think) for dinner. They are burning cow dung in the dining tent to keep away mosquitoes.”
Nick’s trip report notes that we relocated from the first campsite to a site farther from the lake, but it made no difference with the mosquitoes. A few of us were desperate to sleep anywhere else. Nick compared the mood to something out of Mutiny on the Bounty. Yet, we all survived, and miraculously, once zipped into our little tents, we were relatively mosquito free.
Just earlier, I said that the camping was magical, didn’t I? Well, not every night and I preferred camping at higher elevations. Still, it’s a worthwhile experience and one that I would not have wanted to miss.
The next day, we arrived at Hustai National Park before lunch. I had been looking forward to this park and it lived up to my expectations. Somehow, Puje got us into a part of the park that is usually off-limits to tourists. After extensive scanning with the scope, he found a pair of Daurian Partridges, another range-restricted species, limited mostly to Mongolia, northern China, and Kyrgyzstan.
We also saw quite a few other birds in the park, but I was most excited to see a couple of Przewalski’s Horses. I had thought that they were the only wild horses in the world, but have since learned that they were once extinct in the wild and have been reintroduced at Hustai NP. Their evolutionary history and taxonomy are complicated and there is no scientific consensus. If you enjoy a good biological mystery, Wikipedia has an interesting write-up on Przewalski’s Horse.
Beyond the birds and horses, I also found many wildflowers, bugs, and an adorable family of Tarbagan Marmots at Hustai NP to amuse myself.
We stayed at the ger camp right outside the entrance to the national park that night. As much as I loved camping most of the time, I’m sure that we all appreciated the hot showers that evening.
The next morning, we began the drive to Terelj National Park, returning to a different part of the forest we had started in two weeks earlier. We stopped in Ulaanbataar at a spot by the Tuul River, where we quickly found a White-crowned Penduline Tit, and then continued on to Terelj NP.
It was a wonderful afternoon. The trek up the steep mountainside was slow going for me, but it was worth every step. We found our target: Gray-headed Chickadee, and everyone had incredibly close views of a pair that practically sat on Nick’s speaker.
Another highlight of the day occurred after we were all settled in our tents for the night. Nick’s shout of “Ural Owl” had us scrambling back outside. The owl flew overhead and then perched on top of a tree at the edge of our camp in clear view. Yet another reason for camping!
June 4 was the last official day of the trip. We had a few more hours to bird at Terelj NP that morning. I was happy to see another singing Siberian Rubythroat, a gorgeous species that I had only seen once before this trip. Higher up in the dense forest, Nick found an Oriental Cuckoo. Luckily, I was able to get a good view of the bird through the thick trees.
In the photo below: our birding group of six with the five incredible people who supported us (our local guide, Puje, and his hardworking ground crew). Can you believe that they managed to fit eleven people, all our gear, and camping supplies into just three Toyota Land Cruisers? It felt like a magic trick. These folks took excellent care of us and made this adventure possible.
We returned to Ulaanbataaar through some of the worst traffic imaginable and ended the day with a lovely dinner at the Mongolica Hotel.
The trip was officially over, but most of us stayed one extra day. I am so happy that I opted for this bonus day, which gave me a second chance for two special birds that I had missed earlier.
We had a lot of rain, heavy at times, but we managed a couple of short outings. I was absolutely thrilled to see this Azure Tit. I can’t describe it better than eBird does, “Frosty, pale bundle of joy.”
My final life bird of the trip was another beauty, a Long-tailed Rosefinch. It was fitting to end this amazing trip with these two special birds. I couldn’t have been happier.
After a lazy afternoon resting and one more night at the Mongolica, we headed to the airport early on June 6 for our flights home. Our eBird trip report lists every species, and location, and displays all of our photos. Nick’s trip report is packed with details and entertaining descriptions of the birds, locations, and birding moments. I did my best to document Mongolia’s flora and fauna without missing birds. All of my iNaturalist observations in Mongolia can be seen here.
This was truly a trip of a lifetime and I’m deeply grateful to Nick Bray and Zoothera Birding for making it all possible.
Birding for Life 