This departure is built around three difficult East Asian birds: Black-billed Capercaillie at spring leks in the pine forests outside Ulaanbaatar, MacQueen's Bustard on its Gobi display grounds, and Altai Snowcock at an accessible high-ridge site. The supporting cast includes Demoiselle Crane, Oriental Plover, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Long-toed and Temminck's Stints, Asian Short-toed Lark, Blyth’s and Richard's Pipits, Kozlov’s, Brown and Altai Accentors, Güldenstädt’s and Eversmann’s Redstarts, Red-throated, Dusky and Naumann’s Thrushes, Mongolian Ground Jay, Saxaul Sparrow, Père David’s Snowfinch and Desert Wheatear.
Black-billed Capercaillie: timed for the peak of the lekking season maximizing the chances for close photographic encounters.
Altai Snowcock: accessible locations for photography have been identified for this difficult-to-see bird.
MacQueen’s Bustard: photographing these birds on their mating grounds in the fabulous habitat of the Gobi desert is quite simply a once-in-a lifetime experience.
(i) Guiding Fees (ii) Ground Transportation (iii) Domestic Flights (iv) Accommodation (v) Meals (vi) Entrance Fees (vii) Hide Fees.
(i) International Flights (ii) VISA Fees (iii) Travel Insurance (iv) Tips for Local Guide (v) Items of a Personal Nature.
Pricing is based on 2-4 participants. Solo travellers, i.e. tours with 1-PAX only, are subject to an additional Single Participant Surcharge.
Days 1-2 (1N, 0D, 0S). Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, transfer to hotel [Overnight: Ulaanbaatar]. Photographic Targets: Siberian Long-tailed Rosefinch / Eurasian Wryneck / Mandarin Duck / Taiga Flycatcher / Yellow-breasted Bunting.
Days 2-5 (3N, 2D, 5S). Drive 3 hours to Tov Province [Overnight: Camping]. Photographic Targets: Black-billed Capercaillie / Red-throated Thrush / Naumann's Thrush.
Days 5-8 (3N, 3D, 7S). Drive 6-7 hours to Ovorkhangai Province [Overnight: Camping]. Photographic Targets: Altai Snowcock / Wallcreeper / Alpine Accentor / Mongolian Finch / Pere David’s Snowfinch / Oriental Plover / Cinereous Vulture.
Days 8-12 (4N, 3D, 7S). Drive 10 Hours to Omnogovi Province [Overnight: Camping]. Photographic Targets: MacQueen’s Bustard / Saker Falcon / Short-toed Snake Eagle / Desert Wheatear / Temminck’s Stint / Long-toed Stint / Pallas’s Sandgrouse / Naumann’s Thrush / Demoiselle Crane / Oriental Plover.
Two extra days for photographers requiring more time to focus on portraits of their target species [Overnight: TBC].
[Key: N: Night / D: Full Day / S: Session / Half-Day]
Nick has been living in Asia for over 15-years and in this time has conducted over 125 bird photography trips across the whole of the Asian continent ranging from Kazakhstan in the west, through India and China to Japan in the east, and from the Kamchatka coastline in the north to as far south as Indonesia. In China alone Nick has photographed to portrait-quality standard over 1,200 of China's bird species taking him to all of China's provinces as well as most of those nations bordering China. These bird photography trips have ranged in length from a few days to many months, including a three-month bird photography expedition to China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region, becoming quite possibly the most travelled foreigner in this region over the past decade. Nick has also conducted a four-month bird photography trek across the Himalayas, ranging from the Indian States of Ladakh and Kashmir in the west, into the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, then onto the Indian States of West Bengal and Sikkim, ending in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the eastern Himalayas. Nick has had his images published across numerous media channels including the BBC and Chinese state-owned media outlets, various bird magazines and journals including the Oriental Bird Club's BirdingASIA. He has his own website on the Birds of China at www.BirdingInChina.com and his book 'Portraits of the Birds of China' is due for publication in 2025. Furthermore, Nick has presented films on photographing birds both in Asia and Europe, has his bird images published across many social media platforms within and outside Asia, and has led a number of bird photography lectures and walks, particularly targeted at children.
Consequently, Nick has accumulated significant experience of photographing birds within the Asian continent and this expertise has formed the backdrop to setting up Bird-Photo-Tours Asia, trips designed by bird photographers for bird photographers.
(i) There is camping throughout the trip apart from the first and last night (ii) Walking is at a light pace (iii) There is some requirement to hike (iv) None of the locations are at altitude. Summary: as this is a camping trip and as there is some hiking, this trip has been graded as 'Medium'.
