We left Chaka early doors
and drove along the expressway some 120 kms to the town of Gonghe – most of the
way it rained! We had a great breakfast of porridge and dumplings (not
together!) in a little restaurant before checking out an area just outside of
town. Well, we couldn’t find any whitethroats, but were entertained by a Grey-headed Woodpecker and several Eurasian Hoopoes. Then we walked out
into the semi-desert area and found a nice wadi where we eventually scored with
Mongolian Finch, a bird that we had
been looking for ages for over the past 3 afternoons. We also had a pair of Meadow Buntings here, as well as a Ground-tit,
whilst nearby a Crested Lark sang
from some telegraph wires. Then we checked out the poplars again for any sign
of whitethroats without any luck, and had to content ourselves with a Eurasian Wryneck.
Then we set out on the drive
to Er La Pass (4500m), reaching here by mid-afternoon, only to find ourselves
in the middle of a blizzard. The whole area was covered in a layer of snow, but
we still had a nice walk amidst such spectacular scenery you just have to
experience to believe. We did find a pair of Guldenstadt’s Redstarts, Brandt’s
Mountain-finch for some, and Rufous-necked,
White-rumped and Henri’s Snowfinches.
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| Rufous-necked Snowfinch |
The undoubted highlight was
this Pallas’s Cat watched for a good
half an hour as it hunted across the barren hillside above the road. At one
stage it crouched right down and stalked a pika, which it duly caught and
devoured – all the while being watched by a very appreciative audience. I must
admit to getting the old ‘shaky hand’ syndrome as we watched this mega-rare
mammal.
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| Pallas's Cat |
Whilst watching this amazing creature a pair of Golden Eagles locked talons and tumbled earthwards, only to pull up
at the last moment and just after this, a Lammergeier
flew over.
We stayed in a run-down, old hotel tonight - and it has apparently been renovated. Lucky us! But the outside toilet was only for the brave!
Bring on the Sandgrouse
tomorrow.
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