On the way to Mongolia for the Cuckoo Project, I spent three days with Josh Jones, Ben Wielstra, Jocko Hammar and Chris Campion in Wuerqihan. This small logging town is situated in northern Inner Mongolia on the edge of the taiga forest. It is a wonderful place to spend a few days in summer as it’s a breeding area for many Siberian birds including Japanese Quail, Great Grey Owl, Siberian Rubythroat, Radde’s, Dusky, Thick-billed Warblers, Lanceolated, Pallas’s Grasshopper, Gray’s Grasshopper and Pale-legged Leaf Warblers, Siberian and Eyebrowed Thrushes, Pacific Swift, Common, Indian and Oriental Cuckoos, Common Rosefinch, Yellow-breasted Bunting and many more. Swinhoe’s Rail was recently discovered here and Far Eastern Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit breed in the wet meadows.
Early morning and evening, a cacophony of bird sound fills the air and the beautifully still mornings enabled me to capture a sample, recorded from three different locations around the town. One of the first things to strike me was the abundance of Common Cuckoos; it was impossible to make a recording without hearing the wonderful “cuck-oo” call, as if it was ‘on repeat’.
Listen carefully and a rich array of species can be heard including flycatchers, thrushes, warblers and rosefinches.
How many species can you hear? I believe there are at least 17 species vocalising in this clip.. but there are probably more!
Please leave a comment with any species you can name…
Oriental Cuckoo too? (near the start).
Correct! Oriental Cuckoo is a commonly heard species in Wuerqihan in summer.
I can’t name many species but I just enjoyed listening to this on repeat while getting some work done 🙂
Thank you for your comment, Mike! I’m glad you enjoyed the recording..
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.