Er La Pass & the Holy Grail

We were on the road by 5am. It was horrible weather! However, the further east we drove, the weather slowly cleared, to reveal a bright crisp, but freezing morning. We stopped at the pass, to have a coffee & look at the high slopes above us. White-winged Snowfinches distracted us for a few minutes, before we once agian, looked up at those slopes and that ridge! Errm!

White-winged Snowfinch

The team from left to right:

 Mike; Barry; Alan; Pete;

Chico the clown & Andy.

My mummy always told me to wrap up well

and wear sunscreen before I go out to play!

Pete, is under there- somewhere!

So far, we had been gaining height each day: we started the trip around 2,000m, generally birding up to 2,800m, then 3,200m on the plateau & up to 3,600m around the Chaka area. This was a good move & all of us were feeling good at altitude. But the ridge and plateau where we were going today, were at a dizzingly 4,800m! This is quite a jump. I set off up the ridge slowly walking through scree and a few snow patches. Full winter gear was the order of the day. Despite the intense sun, it was freezing!

The scale of the scenery is really immense.

 I soon learned not to look ahead, or up. Instead, I counted my steps in a series of 50 paces, before stopping. This was a regular rythm, but slowly, as I gained height, the number of paces dropped to 40, then 30 before my increasingly frequent stops. The scenery was truely magnificent and I kept reminding myself, this was why I was here. It was strange to survey the scene & hear nothing but a distant seabird calling this far inland! The sound of Puffins were eveywhere!

Searching for the Holy Grail!

I plodded on, eventually cresting the ridge - it was a mangificent sight! Towering, snow-clad peaks were all around, including one in the distance, which as over 6,000 m. Whow! Time for a bite of chocolate and a few photos. I started to scan and now I was on a more level area (relatively speaking) I could start to search for what we were here for. There are certain birds which are rarely seen by birders,(usually for very good reasons)! They are often talked about in hushed, almost reverentional tones, in crowded bars across the globe, where birders gather. These are enigmatic, charasmatic species, in remote places, often where few have ventured before. I was standing in one such place now - this was the site for Tibetan Sandgrouse, everyone's most wanted bird of this trip. It lives  on these high, barren windswept plateaus, perfectly camouflaged amid the mosiac of snow and bare rocks. I look around in awe, the place is immense and superb, this is why I am on this trip! The scale of the scenery is beyond belief, as I look around in absolute wonderment. There is however, one slight catch! I can't see or hear a bird of any kind, never mind a distant sandgrouse calling. I slowly realise the reason why so few birders have actually seen this bird. High altitude, inhospitable, harsh terrain, remote location all add up - a needle in a haystack! But, today we have one thing on our side - the weather is perfect! Bright sunshine, crisp, dry conditions, we have a good chance. I look at a passing dark cloud, it passes over my heart, as I realise that our good fortune may not last. So far on this trip, I had learnt one thing, the weather can change in an instant and usually for the worst! The old addage if you don't like the weather today, just wait a minute is very true here! I renew my scanning with slightly more purpose and a little bit of haste!

Still searching!

I move on across the plateau, birds are few and far between. Did I see some movement? 

The rocks are moving!

Tibetan Sandgrouse, at last!

But, there are tiny movements ahead, amid the patches of snow. I pick up my binocualars and see 2 perfect Tibetan Sandgrouse shuffling across a small snow patch! I am sure my heart stopped beating and then pounded loud in my ears. I need a scope! I need a scope! Luckily a scope was at hand and I enjoyed prolonged views of this Holy Grail of the birding world! It is smiles all round! I smile so widely that my lips crack in the rarified air and blood starts to drop all over my binocular lenses! We all watch these birds for a long time and eventually another pair are revealed. Brilliant! We eventualy get a little too close and they fly away across the vastness of the valley. We won't be seing those birds again today!

Chico is smiling! He has ticked it!

The three Doncaster boys: Pete, Andy & me.

We now have to think about getting back down the mountain. All possible routes look kind of severe! We take it easy and slowly start to descend. It is hard going, no-one wants to slip!

The sandgrouse were where the snow is!

 But the sun is shining and everything is perfect in the world! Birds are thin on the ground, but include Guldenstadt's Redstart (a high altitude specialist).

Guldenstadt's Redstart

A Himalayan Griffon Vulture casts a giant shadow over us as we descend, no doubt anticipating a fatal fall or slip!

Himalayan Griffon

Blue Sheep are on the distant skyline and we flush a lone Tibetan Gazelle from its resting place.

The strange Tibetan Gazelle

We eventually arrive back at the pass & meet up with our drivers. We then motor a short distance through fantastic scenery until we arrive at the dismal village/town/shithole called Wenquien. How is it that humans can thoroughly trash such a lovely place?

The village - looking quite nice from a distance!

The hotel entrance!

Our lovely hotel rooms.

The surroundings are stunning but the buildings in the town are truely dismal! We enter our lodgings for the next two nights. Oh my God! The rooms are very basic and that is being kind! Water is from a well in the yard. You have to fish for it and then pull it up! A pleasant surprise is that the water is hot! We have a hot water well! Amazing! I look across the extensive yard, the toilets are in the far corner. Now, when I say toilets this is a general descriptive term! It is not quite what I expected! Communal shitting & pissing areas, with holes at irregular intervals in the floor. Did I mention the majority of the village can look in on you as well? The stench is bad, even in the cold mountain air. I quietly resolve to try and organise my bodily functions so that I am in the wilds when I have to go!

The beautiful valley behind the village.

We start on a leisurely afternoon walk down a lovely mountain river valley. The light is superb and the sun is warm. My mood lightens with ever step I take away from the village! I see movement ahead and a superb Tibetan Fox hoves into view! It has a rectangular head! Absolutely brilliant! What a beast!

Tibetan Fox

Plateau Pikka

The Black-lipped (Plateau) Pikkas which are it natural prey, bolt down their burrows, uttering a high pitched squeak of warning to all. The fox eyes us wearily and slowly moves off, increasing the distance between us. But what a great encounter!

He slowly moved off, up the valley

I sit on top of a ridge looking down at the pure crystal waters of the river far below. It is a great spot (providing you don't look behind you at the distant village)! I spy an Upland Buzzard perched on the cliff across the valley. It sees me & leaves the ledge, spiralling upwards amid blue skies with fluffy white clouds. What a great bird!

Upland Buzzard

We return along the valley, back to the welcoming village! We dive into a hovel. It turns out to be a restaurant! I look around at my non too clean environment! Ermm! The food arrives and it is hot and tasty! I think all of us are surprised at its quality. Not bad at all. I make my way back across the yard, dodging aggressive dogs and the stuff they leave behind with the aid of my torch. As I am unlocking the door to my room, I hear a sharp cry of pain from Jesper. He has in the dark, walked straight into the top of the door! The doors were built for midgets and African pygmies, not for tall Danes and Englishmen!

I sit on my bed. It is rock hard. There is no mattress on it. Just a cover over the bare boards! I open my beer & survey my more than modest surroundings. It is pretty glum in here, not much to cheer me up! I sip my beer and reflect on the day. What a fantastic day it has been! One of the best days ever! I have seen the Holy Grail! I turn off the torch, sip my beer and smile into the darkness.

The Chaka depression area

It is dark, very cold and raining heavily outside! As we jump into the vehicles, our prosects for the day do not look good! We drive out of the deserted town, not a soul in sight. After around twenty minutes, we pull over to view a large flat saltbush dominated plain. If anything, it seems to be raining heavier!

The snowy mountains are never far away.

Recluctantly, we leave the dry comforts of the vehicles and scan the saltbushes. Our quarry is a bizarre bird of this not very inviting habitat, the hard to find, Henderson's Ground Jay. We decide to walk in, the ground is muddy and very slippy. We all slip slide along!

Looking for ground-jays in the rain!

 Then we see it, a large, beige shaped bird flips up on top of a bush and starts calling! It is bigger than I expected, but quite wonderful. I drink in all the details, before I realise I have my camera at hand. I start shooting! As if on cue, the rain stops and the weak sun attempts to shine. Things are looking up.

Henderson's Ground-Jay

A star Asian bird!

Other species around us, include many breeding Asian Short-toed Larks, song flighting and singing from the tops of bushes. They sound just like Lesser Short-toed Larks! This is probably a debatable species and just a race of the Lesser Short-toed. Both Desert Wheatears and Isabelline Shrikes are also dotted around. Everyone is impressed by the antics of the ground-jay and we return to the vehicles much happier than when we set out!

Mountains covered with snow on one side of the plain

- arid sandstone on the other side!

We drive a short distance into an arid, sandstone valley, reminiscent of wadis in the Middle East. By now it is getting warmer and the sun is shining brightly. We start hiking up the ascent into the wadi. Brown Accentors sing from boulders, but prove hard to photograph.

Brown Accentor.

We hear Mongolian Trumpeter Finches but they prove difficult to see at first. Persistance pays off & we all enjoy great scope views of birds on the nearby cliffs. We scan the heights and spot a Wallcreeper - always a fantastic bird to see. What's more, it is singing! Brilliant!

Wallcreeper!

Photo courtesy of Derrick Wilby.

We hike out in good spirits and drive across town again, this time to a vast plain, with sparse vegetation cover, next to a giant salt lake. We are searching for an Asian mega- a species everyone has heard of, but few have seen: Pallas's Sandgrouse! The weather takes a turn for the worst. At this altitude, the weather changes are fast and sometimes furious. The temperature drops and the wind increases, with nothing to stop it, but our slender bodies. I just know it is going to be an interesting walk!

The desolate plains around the Chaka Salt Lake.

And so it proves! We spread out and almost immediately see Blandford's Snowfinch. A pair performs well, right in front of us. But then we see very little. The birds dry up and we walk and walk. We spread out further and further. After several hours we make our way back to the car and then it happens! Out of nowhere, a Pallas's Sandgrouse explodes from the ground, and flies directly away and lands about 500m away. It once again becomes invisible! However, we track it down and enjoy good, if distant, scope views. Mission accomplished, but only just!

Possibly the worst photograph ever

of a Pallas's Sandgrouse?

We move on to an area of farmland, which used to be a Gulag Prison for political prisoners. The whole area is in decay and matters are made worse by the cold, strong wind, blowing across the wide open fields. This must have been hell on Earth for those prisoners, dressed in flimsy prison clothes, with only one blanket at night. It was bad enough for us in June, with all our cold weather gear! Thousands didn't make it of course, the cold and meagre prison rations usually did the trick, over a prolonged period of time. There is no fence around the place, there is nowhere to run to. We are starting to get into the remote frontier areas now.

There is a small copse of poplars, 2 Chinese Blackbirds rocket out and we are all entertained by an Arctic Warbler, which proves very watchable.

Arctic Warbler

Still moving north in June!

We then fan out and start to comb the extensive and barren looking fields. Another explosion from below our feet and more Pallas's Sandgrouse shoot out and fly around the area. We all get good views this time, albiet only in flight. The fields contain a few Pine Buntings and Common Cuckoos call from seemingly everywhere. Even more surprising for me, was a lone Great Spotted Woodpecker in the avenue of trees. The nearest forest must be several hundred kilometres away.

Common Cuckoo

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The attractive Blue Hill Pigeon.

 Blue Hill Pigeons are quite common near the farm buildings. A more attractive bird than its cousin, the familiar Rock Dove. A male Red Turtle Dove looks cold, sat on the wires. It is getting colder and a little dark. Time to head off to our basic & mediocre hotel accomodation in Chaka.

 A typical Tibetan town!

 A shop-a -holics paradise!

Everything you need is here!

Not derelict. It is in use!

  

The next morning is another cold one, dark & gloomy. We decide to bird a small area of Poplar trees in town, looking for late migrants. It proves to be a good decision and the couple of hours we spent there were quite birdy. Several Common Cuckoos were again in evidence. A Daurian Starling was unusual here. A small group of taller trees held quite a few Phylloscopus warblers: 6 Hume's; 2 Greenish and best of all, 2 Pallas's Warblers.

We then returned to the former Gulag Farm, for a more thorough exploration. The weather was getting better and we had a very pleasant few hours. Pallas's Sandgrouse were again flighting around the fields. This looks to be a top site for them, better than tramping the barren plains anyway! A showy male Brambling was a good find in one field. At least 3 male Black faced Buntings were singing and at least one showed well. The buckthorn thickets held over 22+ Tickell's Leaf Warblers, obviously these birds were migrants on their way further north. They looked very different from the Tickell's I have seen before and it was no surprise to learn that this race has now been elevated to full species status: Alpine Leaf Warbler.

Alpine Leaf Warbler

We were to see many more in the coming days, high up on the sides of mountains, flitting about in small bushes. Walking around the area, produces fewer birds than yesterday, even though the weather conditions were much better. However, it was a pleasant, easy mornings birding, with a few migrants on show.

We departed this area with the sun shining, but quickly the weather deteriated into dark gloomy skies and torrential rain. We visited an area of farmland, mainly wet pastures, with a couple of small ponds nearby. It was a very green area, surrounded by a ring of arid hills. Birding was hard going in the heavy rain, but we persevered and slowly racked up a few nice species: A Eurasian Hobby sat on wires; several Citrine Wagtails dotted the wet pastureland (of both races). More Common Cuckoos were in evidence.

Common Cuckoos migrating north, in large numbers.

 Best of all, were a large group of Mongolian Trumpeter Finches which gave us good views, perched on nearby wires and generally flying around feeding & calling.

Mongolian Trumpeter Finch.

It was a very soggy afternoon, but despite the conditions we decided to explore the nearby sandstone hills. We flushed a Crested Lark, from the side of the track (a good bird here) and by checking all the bushes on the hillside we saw several Margenlenic Lesser Whitethroats. The odd Brown Accentor was also present, singing from the ridgetops.

Several Brown Accentors were in song.

But, as the rain fell harder, we called it a day and beat a retreat to our hotel. We soon found out, that we would need our energy for what was in store for us the next day!