Visit Mongolia with OBC and Rockjumper

The seldom seen Relict Gull, one of the specialities we hope to find on the OBC-Rockjumper tour to Mongolia in 2014 (c) Jon Hornbuckle

The seldom seen Relict Gull, one of the specialities we hope to find on the OBC-Rockjumper tour to Mongolia in 2014 (c) Jon Hornbuckle

OBC has teamed up with Rockjumper Worldwide Birding Adventures to offer members a unique chance to visit Mongolia from 24th May to 11th June 2014...a remote destination with some truly spectacular bird life on offer...

In the heart of remote Central Asia lies a country that conjures up images of nomadic horsemen striding across barren, wind-swept plains with the grand Altai Mountains rising up above the endless expanse of the Gobi Desert. This land is Mongolia, a country of fascinating legend and history; a picturesque and awe-inspiring land largely unchanged over the years, the heart of the once expansive Mongol Empire and a true wilderness!

Our Mongolia birding escapade offers the very special opportunity of venturing across the vast lake-covered steppes and through the verdant Taiga forest with the ever-present backdrop of the lofty Altai Mountains. We can look forward to superb birding in this gloriously scenic landscape with mouth-watering specialties such as Altai Snowcock, Relict Gull, Stejneger’s Scoter, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Black Woodpecker, Amur and Saker Falcons, spectacular Wallcreeper, White-naped and Demoiselle Cranes, Kozlov’s Accentor, breeding flocks of Oriental Plover, Mongolian Lark, Siberian Rubythroat, Saxaul Sparrow, Hodgson’s Bushchat, Henderson’s Ground Jay and many more on offer. This really is a birding trip like few others and promises to be a most memorable adventure!

OBC Small Grant Offer for 2013

Cheer Pheasant (c) Richard Thomas

Cheer Pheasant (c) Richard Thomas

OBC makes an annual offer of small grants for bird conservation projects in the Oriental Region. The grants are particularly aimed at people resident in the region, to promote greater involvement in conservation. Grants can cover both research and practical conservation work and results are reported regularly in BirdingASIA.

We currently offer small grants of up to GBP 1500 (USD 2370 at today's exchange rate).

The deadline for the 2013 offer is 31st March and final decisions on funding will be announced in early July. Full details (including funding priorities and how to apply)

Proposals should be submitted by email to mail@orientalbirdclub.org We confirm the receipt of all proposals by email (regretably, emails from Asia are often lost in transit, so please contact us again if you receive no response).

If members, at any time, learn of promising conservationists with good ideas for projects then please point them in the direction of the various grants offered by OBC.

Posted on behalf of Dave Buckingham, Chair OBC Conservation Committee

Latest issue of BirdingASIA published

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OBC members will soon receive or have already got the latest issue of the Club's biannual publication, BirdingASIA. As ever, the issue is packed with the latest information and ornithological sightings from the Oriental region. It includes articles on the exciting rediscovery of Sillem's Mountain Finch in China (see news item below), all the latest taxonomic changes and updates proposed for Asian birds plus updates on conservation breeding efforts to conserve the Spoon-billed Sandpiper right through to notes about the nesting of the rarely seen Hoogerwerf's Pheasant in Sumatra.

The full contents and sample articles from each issue are posted here on the OBC website, but it's a publication you simply can't afford to miss: so join OBC today and you will receive two issues of BirdingASIA every year, plus once a year, Forktail, the Club's peer-reviewed journal publishing original ornithological research from the region.

Rediscovery of Sillem's Mountain Finch

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In early June 2012, Yann Muzika photographed many finches during a difficult trek in Yeniugou Valley in western Qinghai, China (1500km east of Kushku Maidan), including one he could not identify. In August, he sent a batch of photographs to Krys Kazmierczak, the maintainer of OrientalBirdImages.org, who immediately identified the mystery bird as the long-lost Sillem's Mountain Finch. Read more...

Birding trips to raise funds for OBC

For more information on forthcoming OBC Tours, please contact Mike Edgecombe, OBC Promotions Officer via mail@orientalbirdclub.org. Laos and Cambodia, 24 February - 10 March 2013 The sixth Oriental Bird Club tour to Cambodia again includes the equally fascinating Laos, adding more rarities to this exciting tour.

Mishmi Hills, Dibru Saikhowa & Nagaland, 26 April–11 May 2013 Join Sujan Chatterjee for a visit to these little-known areas. Travel is now easier than in the past and good accommodation and food are available at most of the locations visited!

North-east Tibet, Koko Nor, Roof of the World & SE Qinghai, 23 June – 14 July 2013 This popular tour will run again in 2013. Contact Mike Edgecombe for details.