Mongolia 2025

Introduction

For those interested in photographing the birds of Asia, Mongolia has a great deal to offer: in the north is the southern edge of the great Siberian boreal forest, the centre consists of the seemingly endless steppe and the south holds the Gobi Desert. With its tiny population of only three million scattered across a huge area, Mongolia has one of the lowest population densities on our planet, a true wilderness where most of the land is inhabited by wild creatures rather than man. This Bird-Photo-Tours Asia trip focusses on enjoying close photographic encounters with three special Mongolian birds: Black-billed Capercaillie, Altai Snowcock and MacQueen's Bustard. These three species are difficult birds to photograph in East Asia. However, with the right tactics, timing and knowledge, close photographic encounters can be enjoyed. The Black-billed Capercaillie gathers at lekking sites in the pine forests outside of Ulaanbatar during the breeding season and for a few short weeks only these shy birds can be observed at close range as they compete with rival males for mating rights. Macqueen’s Bustards migrate to their breeding grounds in the Gobi desert of southern Mongolia. They too compete with rival males at display sites for a short window of a few weeks only providing a golden opportunity to film this normally reclusive species. The habitat of the Altai Snowcock is high-altitude ridges and the difficulty with this species is accessing their mountainous habitat. But, we have identified an accessible location for this species, meaning chances of obtaining portraits of this normally tough-to-film bird are significantly increased. This Bird Photo Tour also holds a a fabulous supporting cast of birds to photograph including Demoiselle Cranes, Oriental Plover, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Long-toed and Temminck's Stints, Asian Short-toed Larks, Blyth’s and Richard's Pipits, Kozlov’s, Brown and Altai Accentors, Güldenstadt’s and Eversmann’s Redstarts, Red-throated, Dusky and Naumann’s Thrushes, Mongolian Ground Jay, Saxaul Sparrow, Père David’s Snowfinch and Desert Wheatears.