Wet and Verdant in Wild Mongolia

[Towlersonsafari]

it sounds like a real adventure @Kitsafarilooking forward to the rest of your report

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @michael-ibk @Towlersonsafari

 

The next morning, we start a long journey down south towards Baga Gazar, a mid-point between UBN and Dalanzadgad (DZ). It's a good point to break up the long journey to DZ. According to my Google timeline, our journey takes over 6hrs, half of it on a good straight sealed road until we break off from the main road to head inwards to Baga Gazar and our lodging for the night, the Baga Gazyrlin Chuluu Touris Camp.

 

As we leave Mongolica Hotel, about 4-5 red-billed choughs are at at low enough level to get decent shots despite the grey skies. Barn swallows weave through the abandoned buildings and look black against the dark clouds. 

 

 

 

 

 

On the fringes of the city, we stop for a mixed flock of rooks, Daurian jackdaws and carrion crows which are surprisingly quite skittish. Just outside of the city, our next call is a minimart where the team buys bottled water and snacks, and then we are finally on our way. We make a lot of stops for birds, lunch and toilet breaks in the grassland. 

 

A large statue of a Golden eagle snaring a huge snake waves us a good and safe journey at the fringe of UBN

 

 

 

Daurian Jackdaw

 

Rook

 

A minimart in a village

 

The village was surrounded by stunning views

 

Our favourite snack that keeps us awake and fed on long road travels - crispy rice cakes

 

 

 

 

The tarred road is busy with trucks and cars, the things of note being domesticated horses in the distance, and our first sightings of the upland buzzards which perch on rows of rocks alongside the road, but soon there are so many of the buzzards, we bypass several of them. The ground is green and verdant. I reckon we are still on the steppes and not in the greater Gobi desert region yet. The grassland stretches far into the horizons or mountain ranges in the distance. 

 

 

Upland buzzard

 

A dead goat along the road - probably a roadkill - attracts a cinerous vulture and a steppe eagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 6 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

Off the tarred road, the graded road seems well maintained and no major potholes are encountered. All around us are just grassland. At a large pond, a pair of tall graceful looking cranes elicit great excitement among us - Demoiselle Cranes - our first encounter with this beautiful and epic crane. These migratory cranes fly  across the huge Tibetan plateau and over the treacherous Himalayan mountainous range every year on their journey to India, and we have long wanted to see this charismatic and resilient bird. 

 

 

 

Further off the tracks, abandoned stone houses immediately remind me of little owls and, sure enough, we swing around them looking for that tiny bird. Tumen's sharp eyes see an unusually round shape on top of a rock wall. Unlike their cousins in Spain and the UK, this Little Owl is more accommodating and curious about us, allowing the vehicles to drive as close as we dare. 

 

 

 

 

A common buzzard flies into land on a pole nearby while an upland buzzard affords us a better look. 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Soon we enter a valley of sorts, surrounded by large rocky cliffs and hills. Tumen is unable to tell us what rocks these are. One of these cliffs I see a stunted tree, and it suddenly strikes me that all we have seen is grassland and farmland, some scattered short shrubs, but, really, no trees at all. Tumen says it's an elm tree, and a few of them are found in the region. 

 

 

We reach Baga Gazarin Chuluu camp well after 3pm. We are surprised that the camp is full of South Korean tourists, and in fact, Korean tourists make up the bulk of people at the camps, except for the camp at the sand dunes. Sugi explains that Koreans love to visit Mongolia mainly because of the short flights (about 4hrs) but all of them are often on tours which means that they hardly stay for more than one or two days. They are a very noisy bunch, and we have to chase off a handful of groups who drag out their chairs to place them right in front of our ger (not their own!) to chat and drink till late. Some camps have strict rules, and one of them actively goes around after dinner hours to tell the groups to disperse as they disturb other guests.   

 

The ger at the Baga Gazarin Chuluu camp is comfortable. though fairly close to the next ger. Food here is the best of all camps we stay in, and my sensitive tummy has no trouble with the meals here. The cons are that the camp only has 2 toilets open for ladies (another 2 for men, though I see men emerging from the ladies toilet) for a full camp of 22 gers, and the showers housed in a separate building with four more toilets for each gender are only open from 6-9pm. There is a huge scramble from all the guests rushing to shower during those hours that night. I tell Sugi to tell the camp that they cannot seriously think that a full camp of 22 gers is going to fight each other for 2 toilets in the morning, and that they have to open the toilets in the shower building. Sugi looks uncertain that the camp operator will do that, but if you don't ask, you won't get. The next morning, the toilets in the shower building are open! Hooray!

 

Its location is stunning. around it are rocky hills, and we explore them after we settle in. Wonderful views from the top of the hill, and we get our first sighting of a wild mammal!  

 

excuse the mess!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chuluu means rocks or stones

 

At the camp, we find a family of Mongolian Gerbils. These cute and tiny rodents live in grassland, shrubland and desert areas in China, Mongolia and the Russian Federation region. The gerbils have a patriarchal family, , the most recent litter and a few older pups. I'm very happy - I have been keen to catch sight of the tiny critters on this trip as well. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

We head out for an evening drive. It's summer in Mongolia so the sun sets in the late 8-ish hours. That gives us plenty of daylight hours out but it does mean we have dinners late well after 8pm, and a few nights at 10pm+!

 

The Baga Gazarin Chuluut mountains - as high as 1,7500 - lives up to its name - small place of stone or rocks. Everywhere we looked, the rocky hills are stacked up in flaky flat rocks that giants can peel one by one and swing towards enemies like a frisbee. The flaky granite stacks are moulded into rounded hill tops or marshmallowy tops, well moulded by millenia of rains and winds and we get a taste of the winds and light rains this evening.  There are some anicent sites in the are including burial sites, ruins of temples and petroglyphs. Archaeological digs suggest that the burial sites have been there more than 2500 years ago in the Bronze Age. 

 

A Little Owl resides in the rocks

 

 

 

 

An Argali skull

 

 

 

 

 

The silence, the wind, the stunning landscape. Some people had described this as Grand Canyon-like. 

 

 

 

Edited October 6 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

Fascinating as the geological and historical features may be, we are there to look for birds and find them teeny ones, we do.

 

 Adult Horned Lark - we see many of these all over Gobi Desert

 

An adult and a juvenile

 

 

A juvenile Pied Wheatear tries to blend into the folds of the hill

 

 

And around them beautiful little wildflowers under beautiful darkening skies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The night is wet and cold - i think it is one of the coldest during our stay but I fall asleep easily and sleep well. 

 

Day 3 dawns fair though the ground is still a bit wet. After a good breakfast, we are on our way to the next destination - the major city of Dalanzadgad or DZ as it is hard to remember the spelling! A flock of cinerous vultures is out to sun themselves on the chuluut hills, and we've never had them to close before. It is really great to see them doing well here. 

 

 

 

 

 

Our friends and Tumen now lead the way in the first car and they stop for a Daurian Pika but we cannot spot it as it is blocked. By the time we take their spot, the pika has vanished into the hole and I am bitterly disappointed. So imagine my complete satisfaction when I spy a cute little face on the rocks staring back at me, and I yell at Bagi to stop. Bagi hasn't learned the word stop and continues on before Sugi tells him to stop and reverse. And there it is, one of the cutest and friendliest Daurian Pikas, sitting on the rock and sunning in the warmth of the morning. 

 

If you can spot it!

 

Related to the family of rabbits and hares, the tailless Daurian pika is found in Mongolia, southern Russia and China, favouring mountainous areas that can go as high as 4000m above sea levels. This pika later scampers to the other side of the rock and finds delicious foliage to munch on. It provides us lots of photo opportunities. Our second mammal in the wild (keeping in mind that the camels and riding horses are domesticated). 

 

 

 

 

 

The third wild mammal is far in the distance in the grassland and only a pair of binoculars or a zoomed camera is able to get a reasonable identification of a Brandt's Vole. Looking like a mouse, the vole is also known as the steppe vole and is found in Russia, Mongolia and  northern China, favouring shrublands and grasslands. An interesting study mentions that these clever voles bite down tall grasses so that they have better and clearer views of any predator coming their way.  Shrikes, in particular, won't be able to perch to hunt the voles. (link here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/11/mongolian-rodent-brandts-vole-trims-tall-grass-to-foil-predators-study-finds  )

 

 

Along the way, we stop to check a lake for Ruddy Shelducks and the ever elegant demoiselle cranes, and a Eurasian Spoonbill poses nicely for us.  

 

 

 

 

On the way again and we are back on the tarred road. We stop mid-way for lunch and I think this is the place that gives me a really bad tummyache for the next two days. The restaurant doesn't have chicken or pork and although I try to eat just a little of the mutton or beef, the exotic meats don't agree with my tummy. The following day I am on a vegetable diet and thank goodness, Sugi is there to ensure my meals are taken care of. 

 

DZ in the distance

 

The Altai mountains in the background

 

 

The city of DZ is the capital in the province of Omnogovi Aimag with a population of around 70,000 and is the main gateway into the Greater Gobi desert and all its attractions.  We head to just outside the city to a project that is one of Tumen's babies - a project to rehabilitate a piece of land back into a wetlands and encourage native flora to flourish once again. There are plans to build a small dam in the area as well to supplement a small lake. An assortment of birds is found here, but it is fairly quiet, much to Tumen's disappointment, as the rains seem to have disperse the shorebirds. 

 

The project to bring the land back to life. 

 

Brown shrike

 

 

Isabelline shrike

 

crested lark juvenile

 

 

Tuen looking quite proud of his project

 

 

 We leave to enter the desert to stay at Khanbogd Ger Camp. We arrive late at night and the first thing I do is to check out the shared shower facilities which are - wonderfully clean, bright and spacious. There are even hairdryers! I think we'll be very happy and comfortable in this camp, well except that night we found out we can't close the door to the ger fully so we can't lock it. and it is too late to rouse anyone up to fix it. I place a chair next to it, and trust that the camp is secure. And so it is. I sleep well again after we chase off a group of noisy Koreans gathering and drinking and singing in front of our ger. 

 

Edited October 6 by Kitsafari

[TonyQ]

What an exciting adventure. Some stunning landscapes, beautiful birds and mammals. And your usual excellent writing!

[offshorebirder]

Wow @Kitsafari - what an amazing trip in outback Mongolia.

 

Too many great encounters and photos to comment upon, but I would love to see a Demoiselle Crane some day.   And I love the photo of the Pika with a mouthful of food.

 

Love the Mongolia Gerbils and Little Owl as well!

 

[Kitsafari]

Day 4 dawns clear and bright, and a happy discovery that the Khanbogd Ger Camp faces east. Getting out of the ger to the shared bathrooms before 6am, I catch a stunning sunrise - I stay a bit to watch that round orange blinding ball popping up above that horizon. We will stay 2 nights here. 

 

 

 

The camp, which is already about 2000 feet above sea level, is surrounded by a number of hilltops, and atop of each hill stands a statue of an animal iconic of Mongolia. In the first photo above, there is an Ibex that enjoys the sun rise every day, while on another hill stands an Argali and a third sees the very very rare Gobi Bear standing tall on the hill top. 

 

A closer look of the Ibex

 

An Argali statue stands as a sentry in the distance from the camp. 

 

The Khanbogd gers are great. A bit more spacious than the Baga Gazarin one, and a warmer tent as well with a big low table and a big bench - lots of places to put our luggage and barang barang (Malay for belongings or our knicks and knacks). Charging our stuff was easy as they provide a multi-pin adaptor on one of the poles supporting the ger - very thoughtful and well laid out ger. The night before, returning to the ger, I see in the light cast by my headlamp a jerboa scampering between the gers but having no camera, I am not able to take a shot. I would be happy to recommend this camp. 

 

Little choc bars at the end of dinner

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Today, we will enter the Valley of the Eagles in the oft-mentioned Yol Valley or Yolyn Am. The valley is named after the bearded vultured or lammergeier although the cliffs are the roosting places for the other vultures - Himalayan Griffons and Cinerous vultures - and other raptors are often found in the valley. 
Located in the Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain, a national park established in 1965, the walk, alongside the Yol stream, winds through a broad valley that narrows into a canyon flanked by high vertical walls. This is home not only to the raptors but also to the endangered Argali, Mongolian Ibex, pikas and red foxes, among others. 

 

Admission fees to be paid first

 

A sign that Google translates as exhorting visitors to love the park and not throw flammable stuff in the park

 

 

 

Passing rolling mountain slopes shrouded in short grasses, I wonder where is the desert that Gobi is supposed to be? I wonder if the unseasonally heavy rains did not occur, would the grounds be brown and dry as an arid region is supposed to look like? Sugi, who is from the mid-Gobi region, says the verdant greenery we see is unusually rich due to the unusual volume of rains. But Gobi desert is more semi-arid than arid and that only 5% of the region is made up of sand which forms the singing sand dunes in the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park rather than sand deserts like that in Sahara - a more typical picture in our minds of a desert. 

 

Wikipedia - not the most reliable of sources of information for everything but as a rough guide- says Gobi Desert (encompassing Mongolia and the China portion that stretches to the northern reaches of the Tibetan Plateau) is more of a cold desert and grassland region. With an area of nearly 1.3 sq km, the desert is the sixth largest desert in the world. Gobi is a Mongolian word referring to waterless regions in the Mongolian Plateau, while in Chinese, Gobi is used to refer to rocky, semi-deserts, rather than sandy deserts. The desert is situated on a plateau with a varying height of 2,990-4,990 feet above sea level and snow can fall on the sand dunes. I've read a bit about the increasing desertification in the country but that seems to be more concentrated in the area south of Gobi Altai, in the southern border with China. It is estimated that 1,390 sq miles of grasslands is being eaten up by the desert with more intense and frequent dust storms that have blown into China, as far down to Beijing. 

 

Driving then in the semi-arid grasslands of the Gobi desert, we make a couple of stops to walk around the area for birds before reaching the car park that marks the entrance to the Yol Valley. This is a fairly easy route for self-drivers by the way! I do wonder why I am having such a tough time walking up gentle slopes or even walking in the region but now that I know we are well above 2,000 ft, I wonder if that is partly a reason but I think it is mainly due to me being unfit. But I try to soldier on at my own pace. 

 

 

 

As we get out of the cars, wafts of scented herbs surround us. They smell familiar, almost like sage, and yet unfamiliar. Tumen points to a plant that smells like lemon balm. 

 

 

Some birds seen during the two stops - a barred warbler

 

common rosefinch

 

our first look at the Saker Falcon

 

while a long-legged buzzard flies above our heads

 

On our second stop, a white-winged Snowfinch is hopping around a small hole while a Mongolian PIka quickly vanishes into the hole. 

 

 

Further up, a very skittish hamster which I think is the Cricetulus sokolovi, also known as Sokolov's dwarf hamster, is hungrily stuffing its face after we tiptoe silently around to get clear shots and it decides we are just moving shadows. 

 

[Kitsafari]

And then, we look up to see three Siberian Ibexes watching us. They are close about a 100m up on the slope and two of them are among bushes while a third is standing on a boulder probably as a lookout. 

Siberian ibex is on the Near Threatened status and in Mongolia, there are two sub-species. Those in the western part of Mongolia are Altai Ibexes, which have become quite endangered, and then the smaller Gobi Ibexes. Mongolian authorities still provide licenses to hunt these endangered species but it appears that licenses are very limited in quota. IUCN said an estimated 36,000 ibexes were in Mongolia in 2016, a sharp decline from an 80,000 estimated in mid-1980s, due to exploitation (hunted and poached for its horns), habitat loss and competition for food. Later estimates dropped the number to a four-figure. A WWF update in 2019 estimated close to 6,000 in 10 "priority" mountains. The population of ibex is crucial to the survival of the snow leopards as the ibex is a major prey for the ghosts. 

The ones we are staring at are Gobi Ibexes, with a brown coat and a light patch on its belly. They are considered smaller than the Altai to cope with limited vegetation and water sources in the arid habitat. The three are pretty chilled and we take care not to startle them. They continue to browse but after a short time, they decide they can do without such piercing stares from our black long mechanisms that click so noisily, and they slowly walk away. Given the short horns on their heads, these are likely to be females or young adults. 

Woohoo! Ibex ticked. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

We reach the car park where a few enterprising Mongolians have set up shops to entice tourists to buy their wares. Horses are huddled at the end of the car park, offering rides to tourists but we give the poor horses a pass. White-winged Snowfinches, a bird that we are initially excited about earlier in the morning, are plentiful at the car park and so are the Mongolian Gerbils, running under the cars parked in the area. We start the walk from the car park, and it takes about half an hour to reach the mouth of the canyon. 

 

Snowfinch

\

Twite

 

 

Gerbil

 

 

Tumen quickly catches sight of the Alashan Ground Squirrel, a species that has landed on the rare status in the country's own redlist. There is no estimate of its population but its numbers are known to be rapidly falling. The mammal's worldwide range is very restricted, across the Ala Shan Mountains in China and the Gobi Altai Mountains. It is a very nervous squirrel. I think we had brief sightings of 3-4 different animals. 

 

 

 

 

 

Birds seen along the way include

Black redstart

 

Common Redstart

 

Brown Accentor

 

Mongolian Accentor

 

Alpine Accentor

 

Mongolian Finch

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

Just before we reach the canyon opening, some raptors are in the skies. Lammergeiers, steppe eagle and a golden eagle look like small dots in the skies. I can only take a couple of shots but looking through Tumen's scope is better. 

 

 

 

 

Gaegi carrying the scope for the boss at the entrance to the canyon.

 

The vertical walls hang over us as we navigate the narrow and wet banks of the canyon, avoiding the fast flowing stream. At times, the passageway widens and the cliffs sheer off into the skies, not closing in on us. Horses with their human baggage trot by and we make way for them. we scan every bit of the cliffs for what we have come to look for - the enigmatic wallcreeper.  After an hour, Tumen followed by the others decide to walk further into the canyon where the walls of the opposing cliffs look very close to meeting. I decide to sit and wait, which is probably a good choice as they return emtpy-handed. It looks like we will miss that wallcreeper after all. OH and I have seen this beautiful bird in Spain, albeit high up on the wall, but it is a lifer for our friends. A bit deflated, we begin to retrace our steps back to the vehicles. Just as the group is walking ahead, OH lingering behind pipes up - wallcreeper! and that friendly wallcreeper (it stays around for 15mins!) is low. and better yet, 2 of them! Though I fail to get 2-in-1 shot, I'm very pleased with what I get. 

 

 

 

 

[pedro maia]

I’m very envious of the wallcreeper, I failed twice to see it, once here and once in Spain.

 

Beautiful scenery.

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @pedro maia - I sure hope you'll see it very soon!

[Kitsafari]

With the Wallcreeper in the bag, it is time to head back to Khanbogd for lunch as it is way past 1pm. My slow walk back delays everyone. I feel I've become so easily exhausted in the last five years, a far cry from when I could dash around the jungle in Lopi chasing the mandrills. In another year or so, expeditions such as this are likely to stay in my past. 

That thought haunts my mind as we revisit the road through the park to the entrance. Mid-way, I forget about that thought. A car is stationary at the foot of the mountain. I glance towards the car and towards the mountain. Red Fox!

Tumen makes Bagi do a quick turnaround back to where the stationary car had been, and Gaegi has to adapt quickly too. I have to direct Tumen to where I have seen the fox, and luckily he spots it. I run up a slope and think Hey I still have a spurt of energy left. The fox is however faster than I and runs up the ridge and disappear over it. Tumen hurries us into the cars and we move forward to that side of the mountain. In a far distance, we can see the red fox running. It looks like it is moulting. Red foxes are still intensively hunted in Mongolia. In a 2016 study, it reports that harvesting for fur and body parts for the illegal wildlife trade is a major driver of declines in some areas. It's no wonder all he wants is to run away from us. 

 

 

 

We return to the camp for a late lunch at 2.30pm. Earlier in the morning on the drive to Yol Valley, Tumen mentions that there has been very heavy rains in the eastern steppes of Mongolia. He says he is very worried that more heavy rains are forecast for the area, and that is where we are headed in Gorkhi Terelj National Park and Khurkh. After lunch, he shows us the map where the rains are projected and he says he is trying to contact someone in the Khurkh bird ringing station to see if the areas are still passable. We tell him, if and when the areas are not passable, then perhaps we can spend more time in Gobi region but that we will leave him to rejig the itinerary if necessary and to run it by us. We hope the areas will not be flooded. 

 

Leaving the camp late at 5 or after 5pm, we are a bit excited and yet concerned about the late drive. Tumen will take us, finally, to a place to stake out the snow leopards. a few days before our trip even began, he has asked 3 or 4 herders to keep a lookout for the ghost or any sign of the ghost. Worryingly, nothing has been seen until this morning when one herder says he has seen it heading towards a certain direction. Tumen speculates it is going towards a spot south of our camp so we will go there and just wait to see if it appears. 

From what I have read and heard, August may not be the best time to find the ghost. Our fixed schedules however only opened up the month of August to travel to Mongolia, so I have come to the country with mixed expectations for the snow cat.

Along the road, Tumen sees a Himalayan Griffon perched on a mountain top and we made a stop for it. 

 

 

 

 

we don't stay long, we have a cat to catch. At least, we hope we do. It's not a very long drive, but the scenery is once again captivating. Tumen makes Bagi drive up and down hill slopes and once, Bagi drives up a steep hill, and then down a steep decline. But he is so steady and he doesn't show any lack of confidence but I always wonder if he ever questions Tumen's instruction!

 

 

 

We, well Tumen does, finally pick a spot. All hands on binos and cameras to scan the area but the area is so wide and so big, how can we spot a cat that camouflages for a living? We all bank our hopes on Tumen's broad but drooping shoulders. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tumen takes a walk to another hilltop for a better scan

 

while Bagi enjoys some zen moments after those steep climbs

 

we sit and wait on the stony grounds. the stones are sharp and small and I have to get up and move a bit. Bagi notices and fetches a couple of chairs, one of which I gratefully take. Our friends younger and kinder say they are fine on the ground but Bagi lays out his coat on the ground for them to sit.

I take shots of flowers and bits and bobs while waiting for the excited shout from Tumen... which does not come. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the west, the sun dips behind clouds and shows off its spectacular effects. It announces that it is on the brink of sinking behind that horizon and Tumen heeds its warning. Time to return empty-handed to camp for dinner. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

During the long drive to Gobi from Ulaanbataar, we discover that Tumen can't speak much English nor understand the language well. For the first two days, Tumen joins Herman and I in the first car driven by Bagi, while Sugi joins our friends in the second car driven by Gaegi. On the third day, Tumen and Sugi switches places to ensure each couple has a chance of being in the first vehicle, which always includes Tumen, and thereby has the first sightings and best positionings.

 

But Tumen in our car is non-communicative. He's not able to answer our questions and after a couple of attempts he simply says sorry. But he rattles non-stop to Sugi, and when Sugi joins our vehicle, we find out that that rattling actually contains a lot of information about the places we are in or the birds or animals seen since Sugi will translate to us the relevant details. But when Tumen is in our vehicle, whatever he tells Sugi is not conveyed to us. I tell Sugi she has to translate info to both vehicles at the same time, but it doesn't work and after a day or two, we just give up. 

 

Thank goodness though that Sugi remains a very critical conduit for us throughout the journey as she is so much help in ordering food and drinks for us and for other essential things. Still, I find a few major frustrations though, which will play out during the trip.

 

Back on day 4, Tumen is keen to make up for the missing cat and decides we will do a spot of night driving after dinner. Our friend mentions that we must spend more time staking the cat, and not just those couple of hours earlier in the day. I mention that perhaps we can forego Terelj and Khurkh and spend more time in Gobi for the ghost. No decision is made as we prepare for the night drive. 

 

It is a Sunday evening, and driving behind the camp reveals so many cars parked along the dry river bed. The locals are out on picnics with the families, so there goes our night drive along the river bed. we get out of the river bed but nothing appears until the night becomes pitch black. Tumen catches sight of a five-toed jerboa and Bagi races after it, with Gaegi and Sugi and our friends right behind us. 

 

Much as we love Bagi, the guy sucks at positioning the car for photographers. He drives headlong into the bird/animal, and as long as he can see it, he'll stop the car. He stops in front of the jerboa, but we cannot see nor take any photos of it from the back seat. Neither he nor Tumen understands it when we tell them to turn the car so that we can see it. It becomes a chaotic dance in the dark, - totally lost in translation - because Tumen will ask if we got it? and we say negative in frustration. and we start the chase anew. We notice that Gaegi is excellent in positioning the car for our friends. The poor jerboa is running in circles and in stress, so I say forget it, but Tumen insists we have to get it but the positioning remains impossible. 

Finally my frustrations boil over, I wind down the window and yell across to Sugi to tell Bagi how to position the car. Sugi shouts out to Bagi and Tumen, who finally gets the message and stops the car, bundling us all out to take our photographs. I take a couple of shots and get back in the car, feeling the poor rodent must be in a lot of distress.

 

So ends our day four.  and I continue to dream of the Ghost in white. 

 

Feeling so guilty about this poor chap. 

 

[TonyQ]

An amazing place, much greener than I thought.

We done with the Wallcreeper, and the other birds.

Gerbils and hamsters are very cute 

[janzin]

fascinating report, I certainly knew very little about Mongolia. Love all the little critters! Gerbils and hamsters and Pika! I had a gerbil as my only pet as a child (Scampy!), so they hold a special place for me. Looking forward to the rest.

[Atravelynn]

Big big skies and such little gerbils, hamsters, pikas, ground squirrels, and butterflies. Beautiful contrasting shots.  The wall creeper is impressive and so close.  Ibex and fox to boot.  I'd call that success in this wild, remote location.  I can understand your frustration with the communication problems.

Edited October 8 by Atravelynn

[Kitsafari]

thanks much @TonyQ @janzin @Atravelynn yes those little critters were wonderful sightings for me. 

[michael-ibk]

Shame about the Snow Leopard, but a lot of great sightings I would be very happy with. And just love that wonderful landscape! Great birds too - interesting how many of them are locals here in Austria. Always thought birdlife would be very different in Mongolia.

[Kitsafari]

@michael-ibk I thought bird species would be different in Mongolia too, so we were surprised at the number of species that are seen across Europe too. Not good for our global count. 

Edited October 9 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

I awake early at 5.30am on Day 5 to get ready ahead of other guests. I step out in the chill, but stop at what is before me. A thick, heavy dark cloud hangs over the entire sky. Against the brooding black clouds, a narrow band of open skies  in the east shines gold, blinding my eyes as I try to figure out if the sun is rising. Even as the blazing round ball peeks out, the skies are coloured into a brilliant painting of many hues. 

"Such a dazzling coat of many colors; It was red and yellow and green and brown And scarlet and black and ochre and peach..." from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

 

 

I am mesmerised. I tell myself, just be still for a few more minutes to drown in this splendour unfolding before me, to watch that golden fire spouting from that spot while around it layers and layers of orange and pink, and grey and black build upon each other. 

 

There's no time like now. Never again will I see such a grand display of nature. Let me bathe in it for one more second. 

 

Please excuse me for the overload

 

 

 

 

Sunrise in Gobi Desert

(please let me know if you can't see this)

 

[Kitsafari]

Is that big black cloud a harbinger of things to come, I wonder? Within two hours, that heavy hanging cloud dissipates and the sun cheerily shines against deep blue skies dotted with puffs of clouds once again. 
 

 

 

After breakfast, we are out on the vast grasslands of Gobi desert and marvel at the miles upon miles of greenery. It looks so empty but surely there are living things that we just can't see. We are seeking the beautiful Oriental Plovers but these birds - medium-sized creatures - are still short enough to be hidden by the many tufts of grasses and wildflowers. We crisscross the vast flat land. I can't even recall how long or how far as our eyes strain for any movement or shape that stands out from the tall grasses. Isabelline Wheatears are everywhere, and each time we stop for a bird, Tumen radios in - Isabelline. 

 

 

Isabelline Wheatear looking pretty against the wildflowers

 

 

Talking about radios, Tumen has set up both cars to communicate with each other with a car radio backed up by walkie talkies which are brought along on long walks for Tumen to bark orders at his team. Today, Tumen is in the lead car with our friends. We stop by to greet a pair of red-cheeked ground squirrels, also known as the Daurian Ground Squirrel, which is native to the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia, China and Russia. 

 

 

 

Dashing again across the grasslands, Bagi suddenly stops and points to a pair of birds. Pallas's Sandgrouses! A top target in our bird list, the sandgrouses are found mainly in Mongolia with scatterings in China, and central Asia. The lead car is far ahead so Sugi has to radio them to turn back. One of the jittery birds however flies off as the lead car races back, and the second bird follows suit soon after, but not before our friends manage to snare a shot or two.

 

 

 

Further along, Tumen has located the much-sought after Oriental Plover, with a small family still lingering in the country. We are lucky; many of the plovers have already flown off to begin their migration southwards. 

 

 

We have to stop in the middle of nowhere as one of the tyres of our vehicle has sprung a leak. Bagi has to pump up the leaking tyre, and this happens a couple more times in the morning, but this is finally fixed during lunchtime. Tumen finds a Toad-headed Agama which sits quite contentedly on his finger. 
 

 

 

 

Fixing the tyre - reminds me of the flat tyres we often face in the African bush too!

\

 

Tumen scans the grounds for any tiny critters