April 25, 2016

Gyr Falcon:
first photos from Mongolia

text & photos © BirdingMongolia


White morph Gyr Falcon
Khentii Aimag, October 2014
© anonymous photographer

Gyr Falcon had been mentioned as wintering in Mongolia by Davaa et al. (1994). Gombobaatar & Monks (2011) stated that “Recent winter records were in lower Ulz River valley, Hentii Mountain Range (Tseveenmyadag et al., 2005) and Borig del and Altan els of Uvs province (Sh. Boldbaatar pers. comm.).” Yet, none of the above claims had been substantiated by any form of evidence. Furthermore, Potapov & Sale (2005) wrote the following in their Gyr Falcon monograph: “In Mongolia two records exists for November visits by Gyrfalcons (Bold and Boldbataar 1999). However, having discussed these observations with the authors, we are convinced that both were of Saker Falcons.

The accompanying pictures had been taken “somewhere” (location withheld) in Khentii Aimag in north-(eastern) Mongolia on 25 October 2014. These comprise the first documented occurrence of a Gyr Falcon for the country.


White morph Gyr Falcon
Khentii Aimag, October 2014
© anonymous photographer

It is very likely that Gyr Falcons are indeed regularly taking winter residence in the vast steppes of Mongolia, but so far no proof had been made available. This poor bird however, was documented properly although its fate wasn’t so nice. As our readers can see, it was taken by a falconer and subsequently sold to a falcon keeper in Arabia.

We sincerely hope that not all Gyr Falcons which come to Mongolia will share this bird’s doom. Our thanks go to Amarkhuu Gungaa of the Mongolian Birdwatching Club for providing the info about this remarkable record.


White morph Gyr Falcon
Khentii Aimag, October 2014
© anonymous photographer


References

Gombobaatar, S. & Monks, E.M. eds. 2011. Mongolian Red List of Birds. Regional Red List Series Vol. 7. Zoological Society of London, National University of Mongolia & Mongolian Ornithological Society, London & Ulaanbaatar.

Dawaa, N., Busching, W.-D., Sumijaa, D., Bold, A. & Samijaa, R. 1994. Kommentierte Checkliste der Vögel und Säuger der Mongolei. Teil 1: Vögel. Köthen, Germany: Naumann-Museum. [in German]

Potapov, E. & Sale, R. 2005. The Gyrfalcon. T. & A. D. Poyser, London, UK.

1 comment:

Oliver Richmond said...

Mongolia is surely one of the last, most remote and most pristine frontiers on this planet. I am very excited about this and I have a hobby to share thinks about birds and I am a writer works through a writing service. Mongolia is the home of Chinggis Khan. It is a vast country with breathtakingly beautiful landscapes, skyscapes and habitats, ranging from deserts (notably the Gobi) to alpine forests and mountains, from grasslands as impressive as the Serengetti in Africa to salt and fresh water lakes like Huvsgul. There is a rich flora and fauna, even though the country may seem to be a vacant desert to many people. Only 10% of the country is forested. I am very happy to be in this blog and thank you so much for sharing.