My mom was on a call with my aunt when she suddenly asked me if I wanted to fill the last slot for their business? family? tour trip in Inner Mongolia. Naturally, I said yes.I managed to visit the scenic grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
I visited Mongolia in August, so it was during the summer breeding season, which is a good season for hosting quite a number of bird species.
Here's a quick run through of birding adjacent places I visited in Inner Mongolia.
Table of contents:
A note on identification: I borrowed this field guide, "A Field Guide to the Birds of Mongolia" by Dorj Ganbold and Chris Smith. Though Inner Mongolia is part of China, it is closer to Mongolia geographics wise and this book is amazing with different illustrations of birds in perching, flight, or different subspecies, making it a great guide for field ID. I also used INaturalist, an identification app with a built in AI to identify your pictures, plus human birders to give reliable results. relied on the community there to help with some birds' identifications.
As we rode the train south towards Hulunbuir, I kept my eyes peeled out for any roadside birds and I was pleasantly rewarded with the following birds:
If you pause at the right time, it looks like the bird has a fairly normal amount of tail, hence I'm more inclined to think that it is a Western HM (if these 2 birds are even the same species).
We took a transfer flight through China Eastern Airlines from Singapore to Shanghai Pudong (~5.5h) and lastly to Harbin (~2.5h). The flights from Singapore to Shanghai and vice versa were good, with food, blankets and entertainment provided. The short flights to and fro Harbin were slightly worse, the flight back lacked entertainment entirely, and the plane was unusually warm, though the food was good.
Harbin/the journey
Before we got on the bus to our hotel, I spotted a couple Eastern Red-Rumped Swallows flying around as we took a group photo at the carpark, showing their pale rumps as they swooped close to the ground. I'm just glad that the first bird for this trip is at least a cooler bird rather than a boring Pigeon.
Nothing else was spotted on the first day, except for a couple sparrows that flew past my hotel window. I tried to watch for any movements outside, though the trees were shaking in the wind so I didn't find anything.
- 3 Raptors of some sort. 2 were perching on a wire and roadside pine, another was flying over the fields
- 2 Doves of some sort perched on a wire
- A Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)!! that flew away from the road, quite similar to how the only few coucals I've seen are those flushed off from the road of Malaysia and Thailand
- 3 Crows of some sort. I think they were a family.
Toilet breaks are of course necessary in long bus rides. Any birder should definitely alight, not only to stretch their legs, but also to see fledglings and nests of Hirundininae species, such as swallows and martins. While the adults are often fast and flighty thus difficult to identify, their children are much more polite, waiting patiently in their mud houses.
We managed to see House Martins (Delichon sp.) though other bird species may be present at other rest stops.
Siberian/Western House Martin (Delichon sp.)
Siberian, Western and Asian House Martins look really similar, but thankfully, we can strike out the Asian as Inner Mongolia is not part of its range. The former 2 were previously considered the same species, though they've been split into separate species. Western House Martins have a much smaller patch of white on it's rump/butt as compared to Siberian House Martin. I think of it this way: Western HM has more of its (black) tail visible, whereas Siberian HM looks like it has a smaller tail as the white extends lower down its tail.
Here is a video i took at another rest stop where I borrowed a cousin's phone to record (I didn't bring the camera down).
Bugs in the convenience store
We visited a convenience store near one of our hotels, looking for snacks on the journey. The floor was littered with bugs, a problem of having light sources in rural areas. Lucky for us, we liked to look at the cool bugs, and you can scroll through the carousel of bugs.
Mo'ergele River Platform Viewing Platform 莫日格勒河观景台
To be honest, I didn't realise the purpose of this grassy hill was to put you on higher ground so you can view the Mo'ergele river. I was too caught up in looking at the numerous butterflies fluttering about the flowers and searching for any signs of bird movements. The only birds i saw were at the top of the hill, where you can see the river from high above. At first there were only a group of Eurasian Tree Sparrows chirping in the center circle, then i noticed that on the bunch of dead branches on the outside of the platform was this myna-sized bird.
Isabelline Shrike (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus) daurian subspecies
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Generally, Isabellines are sandy coloured with slightly shorter and oranger tail, and males also have a white patch in the middle of their wing. Browns are a darker brown, and juveniles may show thicker barring on their breast. Identification for these species can be especially difficult among female and juvenile birds, since the plumage can vary, leading to slightly darker isabellines. Because of its pale back, I shall claim this to be an Isabelline Shrike.
Non-bird creatures
I think the star creature of this location were the Sedanov's Bush-cricket (Gampsocleis sedakovii) creating the background soundtrack of the location-- a continuous chrrrr. Here is one abnormally pink individual for your viewing pleasure.
We also saw a Steppe Ratsnake (Elaphe dione), some succulents, robber flies, Decarantha otos and others.
White Birch Forest Scenic Area 白桦林景区
While waiting at the entrance for the tour guide to get our tickets, I spotted 2 types of birds! Unfortunately, there wasn't any birds in the forest itself. Quite disappointing, as I expected the forests to be filled with wildlife, not tourists.
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) buff-bellied subspecies
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The only blue and orange birds of this style of birds (small, always seen flying) are the swallows. Thankfully, there are only 2 species: the barn swallow, and eastern red-rumped swallow. In flight, the adults can be differentiated by the presence of a contrasting light red rump in the latter, which is absent in the barn swallow. We can't see the rumps of the young, so we rely on their heads. Barn swallows have blue helmets and a rufous face and cheek, while ERR swallows have red ears and cream chins.
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Whilst I was photographing the Barn Swallow nests, a movement over the roof caught my eye. This black and white bird is a white wagtail. I find that this species is pretty common in China (albeit I only visited twice after getting into birding). Its distinctive black and white plumage, along with its habbit of wagging its tail as it walks on the ground, makes it easy to recognize.
Shiwei Port Scenic Area 室韦临江界河风景区
This was a pretty chill place to gaze out over the river and look at OMG THAT'S RUSSIA? At night, the bridges are lit up with rainbow lights, and you can hear the horses neighing and snorting. If you looked under the shelters of the little paviliion, you would see Barn Swallows resting in the nooks. In the morning, there are more tourists, but it's good lighting to look at the Gadwalls swimming at the pond and I was also lucky enough to spot a Black Kite.
There were a small group of these big ducks in the pond. Pretty average looking, the female gadwall stands out by being mediocre. Many ducks have this patch of iridescent blue or green feathers on the wings, called the speculum. But the gadwalls speculum is just white. With its yellow bill, I determined that it's a gadwall.
First raptor! Black kites are a common raptor in this area, so it makes sense that I would see it first. Their main characteristic is the forked tail, where the middle feathers look shorter than the outer feathers. However, when fully spread, you might not be able to see it. I've heard birders in Singapore identify them by its rectangular tail (they're rare migrants here), so take that tip if you want.
Along the way to HeiShanTou, we stopped for a bit to look at the wild medicinal plants growing along the hills. There, I spotted some movement in the trees far away.
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)
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You can tell how much browner they are compared to the Isabelline Shrike.
HeiShanTou 黑山头
We visited a local herder's pasture, where it had been converted to a tourist attraction, with games like archery, tug of war, wearing Mongol outfits called deel and others. While it was fun, I think it was poorly managed. Some sheep would just roam right to the archery targets (thankfully nobody got hurt), and we accidentally went out of bounds while riding the go kart (stopped to see birds, then our car couldn't start up and the workers finally caught up on a motorbike). You also get to try using a non-modern toilet, just a wooden cubicle where you do your business into a hole in the ground.
Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) + 1 unknown
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Harrier sp. (Circus sp.)
I believe this is either a Pied Harrier or an Eastern Marsh Harrier. Males of both species are white raptors with a contrasting black head and wingtips, but Eastern's black head transitions to a white breast through speckles and spots. My picture quality isn't good, so I can't say what it is for certain.
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Far up in the sky was another black kite, this time showing what I call the eye spots on the wings (don't they remind you of a moth's fake eye spots?). I identified it based on its square-cut tail, and this species is also the most common raptor after all.
Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi)
For the horse ride nearer to our Mongolian Yurt hotels at a different part of HeiShanTou, I only brought my binoculars along, so I don't have any pictures. I did see 20+ Great Cormorants (they stood along the banks), 3 White Wagtails, a noisy Little Ringed Plover, and 10 Common Terns. We were having a picnic but it started raining heavily so we left, drenched on horse carriages. Other than the terrible feeling of being wet and cold, I was bummed as I wanted to look for more birds.
Hulun Lake 呼伦湖
We took a 4 wheel drive to the lake. Along the way, we saw 50 or so white things on the ground that flew off as the vehicles approached, which the driver told us were seagulls. Quite cool, I've never seen so many seagulls on the ground before.
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Zhalong wetland nature reserve 扎龙国家级自然保护区
This was one place that I expected to see many birds and I was right. An important bird wetland area, it is home to the vulnerable Red-crowned Crane, which I counted to be at least 36. Perhaps the tourists were too noisy, or we arrived too late at around 9am, for I only spotted 8 species:
- Eurasian Coot x26
- Red-Crowned Crane x36
- Black-headed Gull
- Oriental Magpie x7
- Eastern Red-rumped Swallow x20
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow x12
- Great Crested Grebe
- Heron sp.
Here are the birds I managed to get good enough pictures of.
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
Unmistakable evil look with a black body, red eyes and a clean white beak. We saw some that seemed to be having a fight hidden behind the tall grass.
Red-Crowned Crane (Grus japonensis)
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Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
This was a lone juvenile, swimming along some Coots. Juveniles have this black stripe running along their eye and neck, and are unmistakable.
Final thoughts and checklist
Inner Mongolia was an awesome area to experience grasslands. Though my tour group was less wildlife-focused, I still managed to spot quite a few different birds. Totaling 27 species, I have collated them in this checklist:
| Common name | Scientific name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gadwall | Mareca strepera | |
| Great Crested Grebe | Podiceps cristatus | |
| Common Swift | Apus apus | Can be spotted from high-rise |
| Pigeon sp. | ||
| Dove sp. | ||
| Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra | |
| Red-crowned Crane | Grus japonensis | |
| Great Cormorant | Phalacrocorax carbo | |
| Little Ringed Plover | Charadrius dubius | |
| Black-headed Gull | Chroicocephalus ridibundus | |
| Little Tern | Sternula albifrons | |
| Booted Eagle | Hieraaetus pennatus | |
| Harrier sp. | Circus sp. | |
| Black Kite | Milvus migrans | Common |
| Common Hoopoe | Upupa epops | Common |
| Brown Shrike | Lanius cristatus | |
| Isabelline Shrike | Lanius isabellinus | |
| Heron sp. | ||
| White egret sp. | Common | |
| Eurasian Magpie | Pica pica | |
| Black corvid sp. | Corvus sp | |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus | Common |
| Richard's Pipit | Anthus richardi | |
| White Wagtail | Motacilla alba | Common |
| House Martin sp. | Delichon sp. | |
| Eastern Red-rumped Swallow | Cecropis daurica | Common |
| Barn Swallow | Hirundo rustica | Common |
Thank you Joleen for being my beta reader!
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