StuartReeves
Local rarity
Absolutely!
-
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Mongolian Owls @ minus 50C (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Frogfish
- Start date
Absolutely!
Great stuff
Great report Kevin and as others have said superb photo of the Snowy Owl. I'll never get Sarah out in -50C (-35C was coldest she said she would ever go), so a report to enjoy for us rather than use for planning a future trip.
David
Great report Kevin and as others have said superb photo of the Snowy Owl. I'll never get Sarah out in -50C (-35C was coldest she said she would ever go), so a report to enjoy for us rather than use for planning a future trip.
David
rockfowl
Mark Andrews
I agree, and Kev's gallery is also fabulous, the cormorant fishermen just mouthwateringly good!
Thank you very much for those kind comments Gentlemen, very much appreciated ! B
I'm also very pleased to hear you are enjoying the report - support like this is great encouragement when deciding to write, and complete, a trip review. As I'm sure some of you commenting know only too well :t:
Thanks for the mention of my photo website (SmugMug) Mark - I sold two photos from the 'Cormorant Fishermen' gallery last week ! Maybe one day I'll make enough to actually pay for one of these trips ! *wishful thinking*
Two more Day reports to come plus equipment lists & appraisals for anyone planning a cold weather trip; Alaska, Siberia, Norway, Antarctica, Iceland etc.
rockfowl
Mark Andrews
They have the Nat Geo Wow factor, so I'm not surprised!
Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
Just want to echo everyone's comments. Those landscape shots are just astounding!
Day 8 : Saturday 7th February 2015 (distance covered 265 kms).
After The Highs ....
After yesterday we were really pumped up and excited for another day shooting Snowy Owls & Co. ! Our guide was 30 mins late though as ice had caused an issue with the 4x4 and had frozen solid into a mass on the underside of the car too - a quick stop for a mechanic to check it out got us the OK to set off, to our relief. First stop was a pretty awful little restaurant for breakfast - I forewent the ‘dripping-in-oil’ offerings (I’m not a breakfast person anyway so this was no hardship).
We mentioned that we wanted to see the Asian Rosy Finch and Père David's Snow Buntings, to which our guide responded that we would try to find a male Snowy first and then go for the finches / buntings later. That plan suited us just fine ... but I’ll revisit it below !
Our first stop was close-by and we turned off the road and drove down a track for 5 mins. Upon stopping our guide got out, indicating we should wait in the car. This process cost us views of a bird I’d been excited to see & photograph, the lovely Daurian Partridge. When Shuang Long went to check out an old grain storage building he ended up flushing them out through the other end of the building - out of our sight as we sat waiting in the Pajero
We went around the other end of the barn and then into and around the nearby scrub, but the birds had vanished and so had any chance of ticking Daurian Partridge. We also dipped on Rock Sparrows that were supposed to be in the vicinity. An inauspicious start to the day though we did manage some OK shots of both Mongolian and Horned Larks that landed close to the 4x4 just as we were about to turn off this track and onto the main road.
Shuang Long then set us off on the road towards the locations on the steppes where we had found the Snowy Owls yesterday. The smaller, pure white, male our target. We crossed plain after plain, field after field, passing by remote farms along the way, without even a glimpse of a Snowy, or much else. Though our ride was not without it’s highlights, Mongolian Horses being one of them - with Shuang Long dropping us off and driving off way behind the herd to turn them in our direction and helping us get far better shots of the horses than we could otherwise have managed, even at 600 - 800mm !
A little later came one of the more memorable episodes of the day as we passed by a remote farmhouse in the distance. Two Tibetan Mastiffs took offence to our 4x4 and, despite our being hundreds of metres away, came over at high speed, seemingly determined to bring it down, or at least race beside it for as far as they had the stamina for … which was not only a long way but highlighted the strength and power of these very large, and feared, dogs (each year there are numerous deaths in China attributed to attacks from these extremely powerful and very protective dogs) as they were running at high speed in the snow ! The dogs seem to absolutely love this work out ! I did not put my arm out of the window as our guide Shuang Long suggested I do.
Birds were few and far between on the plains today though a large flock of small birds alighted on the ground ahead of us and off to our left, but as we closed in were spooked by the car and were up and away, Lapland Longspur was a new Lifer and trip tick though !
After 4 hours driving over the steppes we came across what proved to be our only Snowy of the day (was yesterday just freakishly successful or had, unbeknownst to us, conditions changed and the birds moved to a new location ?) and it was a male ! However true to the nature of the males (we were told not to get out of the car as this would surely spook him) it proved incredibly difficult to get anywhere near him, once he took off when the car was 60-70m away and the next time at circa 80m. Finally he settled in an area that had been fenced off …. leaving us at what was his comfort zone, a distance of about 100m and unable to get any closer.
We could see through our bins how spectacularly beautiful this bird was - but were frustrated at getting good shots of him, despite loading our lenses up with teleconvertors and in my case doubling up on the TCs (x1.4 and 2.0) and switching from a 36MP full frame to a 24MP APS-C camera (giving an effective 35mm focal length of 1,260mm). Balancing on a bean bag, across the rolled down window, proving to be a little too unstable for clear shots at that effective focal length.
After that encounter we realised it was going to be very tough today and we encouraged Shuang Long decided to try some other locations for different species, to which he reluctantly agreed (meaning he didn’t go straight back but spent another hour searching for Snowies and a 15 mins nap) very disappointingly though this did not include the location of the Asian Rosy Finch and Snow Buntings, which he now claimed was too far away (2 hours) to go to in the remaining time. This was frustrating as we had told him clearly on the first day that we wanted to include these species in our trip.
As another birder had warned me, Shuang Long likes to be in control and no matter what you say he will continue to do things his way. He certainly knows the area extremely well and knows how to best approach, and how close we can get, to each of the different owl species, but he seems to be totally focused on Snowies and doesn’t seem to find small birds that interesting.
On the way back, as dusk was falling, a small very dark backed hawk was spotted close-by, certainly it was no Kestrel. As it flew past a few times it was difficult to get shots of, though finally we agreed on another trip tick, Merlin it was.
At the end of the day I have mixed feelings about our guide, he is very well known in this area and seems to have the bird guiding in XiQi nailed down - he is certainly extremely good at spotting the birds and knows when and how to approach them and apart from the car trouble on the 2nd morning he was reliable too. The hotel he booked (which we suspect he has an interest in) and the 2nd restaurant he took us to, were pretty poor though.
I have all the GPS co-ordinates (from another birder and also some taken by myself during the trip) but considering the extreme conditions you are birding in even if you did hire a 4x4 (an absolute necessity on the Steppes) in Hulun Buir, and drive down here yourself, it’s not something I’d recommend as you often have no mobile phone signals out there and even if you did …. in an emergency (e.g. engine failure, snow-bound in a drift, illness, lost) how can you even describe where you are (GPS co-ordinates aside) when you are out there on thousands of square kms of flat, snow-covered, plains ?
Pics attached below :
1. Typical Snowy Owl setting - bird sitting on a slightly elevated mound, partially hidden or sheltered by a small reed bed
2. Snowy Owl
3. Snowy Owl
4. Snowy Owl
5. Snowy Owl Pellet
Day List : 9 No number given means numerous viewings.
Buzzard, Upland (3)
Kestrel, Eurasian (3)
Lark, Horned
Lark, Mongolian
Longspur, Lapland (40-50) * L
Merlin (1) *
Owl, Little (1)
Owl, Snowy (1 x M)
Sparrow, Tree
Trip List finalised at : 43
* New For The Trip
L = Lifer
After The Highs ....
After yesterday we were really pumped up and excited for another day shooting Snowy Owls & Co. ! Our guide was 30 mins late though as ice had caused an issue with the 4x4 and had frozen solid into a mass on the underside of the car too - a quick stop for a mechanic to check it out got us the OK to set off, to our relief. First stop was a pretty awful little restaurant for breakfast - I forewent the ‘dripping-in-oil’ offerings (I’m not a breakfast person anyway so this was no hardship).
We mentioned that we wanted to see the Asian Rosy Finch and Père David's Snow Buntings, to which our guide responded that we would try to find a male Snowy first and then go for the finches / buntings later. That plan suited us just fine ... but I’ll revisit it below !
Our first stop was close-by and we turned off the road and drove down a track for 5 mins. Upon stopping our guide got out, indicating we should wait in the car. This process cost us views of a bird I’d been excited to see & photograph, the lovely Daurian Partridge. When Shuang Long went to check out an old grain storage building he ended up flushing them out through the other end of the building - out of our sight as we sat waiting in the Pajero
We went around the other end of the barn and then into and around the nearby scrub, but the birds had vanished and so had any chance of ticking Daurian Partridge. We also dipped on Rock Sparrows that were supposed to be in the vicinity. An inauspicious start to the day though we did manage some OK shots of both Mongolian and Horned Larks that landed close to the 4x4 just as we were about to turn off this track and onto the main road.
Shuang Long then set us off on the road towards the locations on the steppes where we had found the Snowy Owls yesterday. The smaller, pure white, male our target. We crossed plain after plain, field after field, passing by remote farms along the way, without even a glimpse of a Snowy, or much else. Though our ride was not without it’s highlights, Mongolian Horses being one of them - with Shuang Long dropping us off and driving off way behind the herd to turn them in our direction and helping us get far better shots of the horses than we could otherwise have managed, even at 600 - 800mm !
A little later came one of the more memorable episodes of the day as we passed by a remote farmhouse in the distance. Two Tibetan Mastiffs took offence to our 4x4 and, despite our being hundreds of metres away, came over at high speed, seemingly determined to bring it down, or at least race beside it for as far as they had the stamina for … which was not only a long way but highlighted the strength and power of these very large, and feared, dogs (each year there are numerous deaths in China attributed to attacks from these extremely powerful and very protective dogs) as they were running at high speed in the snow ! The dogs seem to absolutely love this work out ! I did not put my arm out of the window as our guide Shuang Long suggested I do.
Birds were few and far between on the plains today though a large flock of small birds alighted on the ground ahead of us and off to our left, but as we closed in were spooked by the car and were up and away, Lapland Longspur was a new Lifer and trip tick though !
After 4 hours driving over the steppes we came across what proved to be our only Snowy of the day (was yesterday just freakishly successful or had, unbeknownst to us, conditions changed and the birds moved to a new location ?) and it was a male ! However true to the nature of the males (we were told not to get out of the car as this would surely spook him) it proved incredibly difficult to get anywhere near him, once he took off when the car was 60-70m away and the next time at circa 80m. Finally he settled in an area that had been fenced off …. leaving us at what was his comfort zone, a distance of about 100m and unable to get any closer.
We could see through our bins how spectacularly beautiful this bird was - but were frustrated at getting good shots of him, despite loading our lenses up with teleconvertors and in my case doubling up on the TCs (x1.4 and 2.0) and switching from a 36MP full frame to a 24MP APS-C camera (giving an effective 35mm focal length of 1,260mm). Balancing on a bean bag, across the rolled down window, proving to be a little too unstable for clear shots at that effective focal length.
After that encounter we realised it was going to be very tough today and we encouraged Shuang Long decided to try some other locations for different species, to which he reluctantly agreed (meaning he didn’t go straight back but spent another hour searching for Snowies and a 15 mins nap) very disappointingly though this did not include the location of the Asian Rosy Finch and Snow Buntings, which he now claimed was too far away (2 hours) to go to in the remaining time. This was frustrating as we had told him clearly on the first day that we wanted to include these species in our trip.
As another birder had warned me, Shuang Long likes to be in control and no matter what you say he will continue to do things his way. He certainly knows the area extremely well and knows how to best approach, and how close we can get, to each of the different owl species, but he seems to be totally focused on Snowies and doesn’t seem to find small birds that interesting.
On the way back, as dusk was falling, a small very dark backed hawk was spotted close-by, certainly it was no Kestrel. As it flew past a few times it was difficult to get shots of, though finally we agreed on another trip tick, Merlin it was.
At the end of the day I have mixed feelings about our guide, he is very well known in this area and seems to have the bird guiding in XiQi nailed down - he is certainly extremely good at spotting the birds and knows when and how to approach them and apart from the car trouble on the 2nd morning he was reliable too. The hotel he booked (which we suspect he has an interest in) and the 2nd restaurant he took us to, were pretty poor though.
I have all the GPS co-ordinates (from another birder and also some taken by myself during the trip) but considering the extreme conditions you are birding in even if you did hire a 4x4 (an absolute necessity on the Steppes) in Hulun Buir, and drive down here yourself, it’s not something I’d recommend as you often have no mobile phone signals out there and even if you did …. in an emergency (e.g. engine failure, snow-bound in a drift, illness, lost) how can you even describe where you are (GPS co-ordinates aside) when you are out there on thousands of square kms of flat, snow-covered, plains ?
Pics attached below :
1. Typical Snowy Owl setting - bird sitting on a slightly elevated mound, partially hidden or sheltered by a small reed bed
2. Snowy Owl
3. Snowy Owl
4. Snowy Owl
5. Snowy Owl Pellet
Day List : 9 No number given means numerous viewings.
Buzzard, Upland (3)
Kestrel, Eurasian (3)
Lark, Horned
Lark, Mongolian
Longspur, Lapland (40-50) * L
Merlin (1) *
Owl, Little (1)
Owl, Snowy (1 x M)
Sparrow, Tree
Trip List finalised at : 43
* New For The Trip
L = Lifer
Attachments
edenwatcher
Well-known member
Gorgeous!
Rob
Rob
Day 9 : Sunday 8th February 2015 (distance covered 3,015 kms)
The Trip Home
Sadly every trip has to come to an end and we were nearing ours. No time for any birding in the a.m. we were packed, ready to go and on the road with the same car and driver as on the drive down here, before 09.00. The road from XiQi to DongQi is basically just one long (100kms+) stretch, with the plains on either side. The only interesting thing of note is that whenever a driver passes one of the occasional ‘prayer mounds’ they would sound their horn out of respect !
As we approached DongQi there were a number of small buddhist temples & prayer mounds, the largest in the area so the driver informed me, and if travel photography is up your street then I’d leave XiQi a couple of hours before you really need to (making sure you have arranged this with the driver beforehand) thereby giving yourself time to explore this area and maybe get some unique shots. Sadly we hadn’t and as we had passed this area in the dark on the way down to XiQi we were unaware of the potentially interesting cultural structures we had missed.
As we drove along I spotted a horse & rider galloping in the snow along the edge of a Wind Turbine farm, it would have made a wonderful photo, snow flying around the hooves, head down and clothing streaming out behind him with the fantastic juxtaposition of the wind turbines against a native Mongolian rider. Another best-selling, award-winning, photo remains in my head. *sigh*
Overall the trip was a resounding success, we had ticked all of our ‘5 Most Wanted Owls’ (Great Grey, Snowy, Northern Hawk, Eagle, and Ural) and even though the GGO sighting was highly unsatisfactory (flying across us and then a rear view as it disappeared into the forest) it was still a tick, though I really must consider coming back for it when better viewing is near guaranteed, June being a strong possibility as my wife will be cruising Europe with her mother for a few weeks that month.
We can also add superb birds such as ; Baikal Bullfinch, Arctic (Hoary) Redpoll, Hazel & Black Grouse, Golden Eagle, Rough-legged & Upland Buzzards, Siberian Jay, 5 species of Woodpeckers, the confiding Little Owl and lovely Mongolian Lark and of course the simply gorgeous Long Tailed, and especially Pallas’, Rosefinches. Really we only dipped on 3-4 species we had hoped to see.
However without a doubt the highlight, for me personally, was the ‘Day of the White Ghost’, a day on which we encountered 7 incredibly beautiful Snowy Owls and of which the outstanding memory will be of laying in the snow photographing a Snowy Owl against the setting sun, in a howling gale that dropped the temperature to a bone-numbing, wind-chilled, Minus 50C.
The huge smile on my face (under 3 layers of protective covering), as I eventually walked back to the car in the semi-darkness, bearing witness to the emotion of the moment, of facing the extreme elements to achieve one of the highlights of my, so far, relatively short birding life.
I can only now understand just how addictive this adrenaline pumping Arctic-weather lifestyle can become, whether racing dog-sleds in Canada/Alaska, trekking to the Antarctic, photographing Polar Bears out on the Alaskan ice or the Northern Lights within the Arctic Circle ! I’ve had a little snifter .... and will be back for more as I am no longer just a warm-weather junkie.
Equipment Taken (in addition to my own I’ve also listed the Cameras/TCs/Lenses used by my cohorts) :
Firstly it should be noted that I am addicted to ‘Redundancy’ (as it applies to, for example, Scuba Diving etc., i.e. duplication for the sake of safety). Therefore I always end up carrying far more than I ever need, though to me it is always conceivable that I could contrive to somehow require it all ! Note that * in the list below equals Unused. In my case I’ve listed the items in the order that they were most used, for Dev & Kai just the gear I noted them using.
Leica 10x42 Ultravids
D800E (KSH) used for 90% of bird/wildlife shots.
Sony A7 (KSH) for environmental pics and videos. I used a Zeiss FE 55/1.8 and an Olympus Zuiko 24/2.8 on the A7.
D7100 (KSH) hardly used at all
D3s * (KSH)
Canon HS50SX * (in case of long lens failure).
Nikon 300/2.8 VRII
Nikon TC20IIIE
Nikon TC14IIIE
Zeiss FE 55/1.8 (by far my most used ‘environmental’ lens, on the Sony A7)
Olympus Zuiko 24/2.8 (used on the Sony A7)
Nikon 70-210 D f4-5.6 (for use on the Sony A7) *
Olympus bins (Dev)
Canon 6D (Dev)
Canon 400/2.8 IS (Dev)
Canon x2.0 TC (Dev)
Sigma 12-24 (Dev)
Canon IS bins (Kai)
Nikon D810 (Kai)
Nikon 400/2.8 VR (Kai)
Nikon TC20IIIE (Kai)
Luggage
My luggage consisted of a soft sided 28” expandable (expansion unused) case with wheels (when packed it weighed 28kgs going out and 26kg coming back), 0.5L Thermos Flask (this was great), Sunglasses (the light reflects strongly back off the snow - which is everywhere of course - I used yellow clip-on ‘Fog Lenses’ too, which worked really well), ca. 250GB of SD/CD cards (I used about 60%), Nest Gimbal, Benro Monopod, Leica Ultravid 10x42 bins, Manfrotto Tripod (used only a couple of times), lots of batteries and rechargers (way too many of both), Flash *, 1st Aid Kit *, iPad, Compass *, Garmin GPS, USB Hard Disk *, USB Power Recharger (50k) *, Duct Tape *, Hiking Knife *, lots of Silica Gel packs (far too many) and lots of Chemical Heat Pads (also far too many), 2 x very powerful torches, assorted bits ’n’ pieces and finally a FlyLeaf Backpack (a cheap but very very good Chinese brand - it took all of my cameras/lenses/iPad and batteries and still fitted easily in the overhead compartments on the planes), when packed it weighed 10-11 kgs. I also bought a cheap 75rmb ‘luggage trolley’ that collapses down very small, to wheel the backpack about in airports. If anyone had complained about the weight/size I was happy to ditch it but it passed muster and saved my back some pain.
Clothing Used and my personal ratings (nothing rated less than 4 stars IMHO) :
Do not wear cotton (as the saying goes 'Cotton Kills' ) as under (next to the skin) or mid layers since it does not wick moisture away and so acts as a conduit to heat loss.
5 Star Performers
RAB Neutrino Plus Down Jacket US$340.00
Brilliant. Incredibly warm, superb - very deep - pockets (comfortably took the Sony A7 with FE55/1.8 which was kept in one of these pockets all day every day), excellent deep hood, extremely light and doesn't feel too warm at all when sitting in a warm car. Only gripe would be larger zips to help get a grip of when wearing mittens.
Swany Toaster Arctic Mittens US$75 (discounted from US$150 online)
For a photographer these were heaven-sent, having a zip that runs down the top inside of each mitten. This enables fingers (& thumb too if you wish) to be slipped out of the mitten, though still inside the glove-type liner, to operate cameras etc. then quickly slipped back inside to warm up slowly or quickly by holding the chemical heat pad I added each day.
Minus 33 Merino Long Johns (Katmai Expedition) US$81.00 and long-sleeved top (Kobuk Expedition) US$85.00
Make sure you have loose fittings garments, a tight fit will not only restrict your movement and be very uncomfortable over long days but also prevent air from circulating inside the layers, reducing effectiveness. These were simply fantastic. Very very comfortable, none of the usual wool scratchiness, and very effective indeed. Only warning is that my bum isn't that big for my size, yet the seat felt a little low and I'd have preferred it sitting higher.
Quechua Fleece trouser liners US$8 (½ price sale).
Quechua is a Decathlon brand (a French sports goods global superstore retailer) that produce some very good value for money gear. These were a substitute for Down that I couldn't find in my size over here (China). Buy Down if you can but these were very effective, soft, very comfortable substitutes and very easy to wear, too.
Red Wing’s ‘Irish Setter Elk Tracker Boots’ (1,000g Thinsulate lining) US$125 (½ price sale)
These were excellent throughout, no moisture got in and, along with the two pairs of socks and a 12 hrs chemical heat pad I added to each boot each morning, kept my feet toasty and dry throughout, even at -45C to -50C. I didn't once feel any cold whatsoever. However do note you need to buy at least one size larger (I bought 2 sizes larger which were a near perfect fit) than your usual shoe size to accommodate the extra thick socks and 3 layers of trousers !
Minus 33 Merino Wool Neck Gaiter US$19.00
I would often pull this up over my cheeks and nose and fix it in place with the mouth/nose protectors of the Outdoor Research (OR) hat and / or the OR Gorilla Balaclava. Even when I forgot to zip my jacket all the way up it kept me warm. Merino wool is incredible !
SportChief Aquatex Hunting Jacket ca. US$135 (2015 price)
I've had this for 3 years, though it still looks like new despite the hard wear it's seen. It's big and bulky but has many excellent, large, pockets, has a large hood and is wind and rain proof (though obviously the later function was not required on this trip).
I wore this every day over the other layers, including the RAB down jacket, and it easily carried all those bits n pieces, glasses, phone, both TCs etc. etc. making them easily accessible when required. Didn't even feel the very strong winds we encountered at XiQi on a couple of occasions.
4 Star Performers
Outdoor Research (OR) Gorilla Windstopper Balaclava. US$20 (in a sale)
The only improvements here would be an interim size between the two available (S/M & L/XL) as I took the larger but it was a little on the loose side, and the forehead area not quite deep enough. I typically wore this underneath as the first layer with the OR hat on top.
However it was superb at it's intended primary purpose, keeping the wind out. The two wraparound pieces (chin/mouth and mouth/nose) were very good, and I'd fasten these (easy to find and use strong Velcro tabs) over the pulled up Minus 33 neck gaiter, to secure it in place. Especially useful was the nose/mouth piece which helped deflect my warm/moist breath down and away from the camera screen - which would otherwise frost over very quickly !
Outdoor Research Frostline Hat (XL) US$37.00
This was brilliant. Just like a dog-sled driver's cap, covered the ears and was faux fur lined, very warm.
511 Cargo Trousers, US$50, bought a couple of years ago.
My one item of cotton clothing. Worked well in conjunction with the above however may get a little wet in the knees/thigh areas if you crawl around in the snow trying to get 'the shot' as we did. In the wind did barely feel a little cold once or twice, through this and the two inner layers..
JB Extreme Technical Explorer Socks (Merino & Coolmax, rated -30C) US$14.00 a pair
JB Field’s Arctic Trail Socks (rated -40C Below) US$15.00 a pair
These two pairs of socks, in conjunction with the boots above and a small heat pad place in the boot before wearing, kept my feet toasty all day every day and never once did I feel any cold at all, even at -40C, or uncomfortable when indoors in heated rooms or in cars.
Mountain Hardwear Ski Pants. US$60 (in a sale)
For keeping the wind off and helping insulate the other layers these worked great, also for crawling around in the snow !
I did think the pockets could have been better, more naturally located and larger as they weren't always easy, or big enough, to unzip and get my hands into easily. I also couldn't get these on without taking off my boots so a zip at the leg bottoms would have helped too.
Quechua (from Decathlon) Top US$15 (½ price sale).
This was worn on top of my Minus 33 merino underwear top, it worked very well at insulating though I would have preferred some form of elasticated, rather than open, cuffs and a chest pocket. Nit-picking though.
Quechua (from Decathlon) Fleece US$8 (½ price sale).
Just a very cheap fleece top (more like a soft jacket) though it had plenty of pockets and elasticated cuffs) that did the job perfectly, no complaints at all for the money !
Pics attached below :
1. Mongolian Larks
2. Snowy Owl close to sunset
3. Snowy Owl at sunset
4. Snowy Owl close to sunset
5. Snowy Owl close to sunset
The End (bar a few more pics)
The Trip Home
Sadly every trip has to come to an end and we were nearing ours. No time for any birding in the a.m. we were packed, ready to go and on the road with the same car and driver as on the drive down here, before 09.00. The road from XiQi to DongQi is basically just one long (100kms+) stretch, with the plains on either side. The only interesting thing of note is that whenever a driver passes one of the occasional ‘prayer mounds’ they would sound their horn out of respect !
As we approached DongQi there were a number of small buddhist temples & prayer mounds, the largest in the area so the driver informed me, and if travel photography is up your street then I’d leave XiQi a couple of hours before you really need to (making sure you have arranged this with the driver beforehand) thereby giving yourself time to explore this area and maybe get some unique shots. Sadly we hadn’t and as we had passed this area in the dark on the way down to XiQi we were unaware of the potentially interesting cultural structures we had missed.
As we drove along I spotted a horse & rider galloping in the snow along the edge of a Wind Turbine farm, it would have made a wonderful photo, snow flying around the hooves, head down and clothing streaming out behind him with the fantastic juxtaposition of the wind turbines against a native Mongolian rider. Another best-selling, award-winning, photo remains in my head. *sigh*
Overall the trip was a resounding success, we had ticked all of our ‘5 Most Wanted Owls’ (Great Grey, Snowy, Northern Hawk, Eagle, and Ural) and even though the GGO sighting was highly unsatisfactory (flying across us and then a rear view as it disappeared into the forest) it was still a tick, though I really must consider coming back for it when better viewing is near guaranteed, June being a strong possibility as my wife will be cruising Europe with her mother for a few weeks that month.
We can also add superb birds such as ; Baikal Bullfinch, Arctic (Hoary) Redpoll, Hazel & Black Grouse, Golden Eagle, Rough-legged & Upland Buzzards, Siberian Jay, 5 species of Woodpeckers, the confiding Little Owl and lovely Mongolian Lark and of course the simply gorgeous Long Tailed, and especially Pallas’, Rosefinches. Really we only dipped on 3-4 species we had hoped to see.
However without a doubt the highlight, for me personally, was the ‘Day of the White Ghost’, a day on which we encountered 7 incredibly beautiful Snowy Owls and of which the outstanding memory will be of laying in the snow photographing a Snowy Owl against the setting sun, in a howling gale that dropped the temperature to a bone-numbing, wind-chilled, Minus 50C.
The huge smile on my face (under 3 layers of protective covering), as I eventually walked back to the car in the semi-darkness, bearing witness to the emotion of the moment, of facing the extreme elements to achieve one of the highlights of my, so far, relatively short birding life.
I can only now understand just how addictive this adrenaline pumping Arctic-weather lifestyle can become, whether racing dog-sleds in Canada/Alaska, trekking to the Antarctic, photographing Polar Bears out on the Alaskan ice or the Northern Lights within the Arctic Circle ! I’ve had a little snifter .... and will be back for more as I am no longer just a warm-weather junkie.
Equipment Taken (in addition to my own I’ve also listed the Cameras/TCs/Lenses used by my cohorts) :
Firstly it should be noted that I am addicted to ‘Redundancy’ (as it applies to, for example, Scuba Diving etc., i.e. duplication for the sake of safety). Therefore I always end up carrying far more than I ever need, though to me it is always conceivable that I could contrive to somehow require it all ! Note that * in the list below equals Unused. In my case I’ve listed the items in the order that they were most used, for Dev & Kai just the gear I noted them using.
Leica 10x42 Ultravids
D800E (KSH) used for 90% of bird/wildlife shots.
Sony A7 (KSH) for environmental pics and videos. I used a Zeiss FE 55/1.8 and an Olympus Zuiko 24/2.8 on the A7.
D7100 (KSH) hardly used at all
D3s * (KSH)
Canon HS50SX * (in case of long lens failure).
Nikon 300/2.8 VRII
Nikon TC20IIIE
Nikon TC14IIIE
Zeiss FE 55/1.8 (by far my most used ‘environmental’ lens, on the Sony A7)
Olympus Zuiko 24/2.8 (used on the Sony A7)
Nikon 70-210 D f4-5.6 (for use on the Sony A7) *
Olympus bins (Dev)
Canon 6D (Dev)
Canon 400/2.8 IS (Dev)
Canon x2.0 TC (Dev)
Sigma 12-24 (Dev)
Canon IS bins (Kai)
Nikon D810 (Kai)
Nikon 400/2.8 VR (Kai)
Nikon TC20IIIE (Kai)
Luggage
My luggage consisted of a soft sided 28” expandable (expansion unused) case with wheels (when packed it weighed 28kgs going out and 26kg coming back), 0.5L Thermos Flask (this was great), Sunglasses (the light reflects strongly back off the snow - which is everywhere of course - I used yellow clip-on ‘Fog Lenses’ too, which worked really well), ca. 250GB of SD/CD cards (I used about 60%), Nest Gimbal, Benro Monopod, Leica Ultravid 10x42 bins, Manfrotto Tripod (used only a couple of times), lots of batteries and rechargers (way too many of both), Flash *, 1st Aid Kit *, iPad, Compass *, Garmin GPS, USB Hard Disk *, USB Power Recharger (50k) *, Duct Tape *, Hiking Knife *, lots of Silica Gel packs (far too many) and lots of Chemical Heat Pads (also far too many), 2 x very powerful torches, assorted bits ’n’ pieces and finally a FlyLeaf Backpack (a cheap but very very good Chinese brand - it took all of my cameras/lenses/iPad and batteries and still fitted easily in the overhead compartments on the planes), when packed it weighed 10-11 kgs. I also bought a cheap 75rmb ‘luggage trolley’ that collapses down very small, to wheel the backpack about in airports. If anyone had complained about the weight/size I was happy to ditch it but it passed muster and saved my back some pain.
Clothing Used and my personal ratings (nothing rated less than 4 stars IMHO) :
Do not wear cotton (as the saying goes 'Cotton Kills' ) as under (next to the skin) or mid layers since it does not wick moisture away and so acts as a conduit to heat loss.
5 Star Performers
RAB Neutrino Plus Down Jacket US$340.00
Brilliant. Incredibly warm, superb - very deep - pockets (comfortably took the Sony A7 with FE55/1.8 which was kept in one of these pockets all day every day), excellent deep hood, extremely light and doesn't feel too warm at all when sitting in a warm car. Only gripe would be larger zips to help get a grip of when wearing mittens.
Swany Toaster Arctic Mittens US$75 (discounted from US$150 online)
For a photographer these were heaven-sent, having a zip that runs down the top inside of each mitten. This enables fingers (& thumb too if you wish) to be slipped out of the mitten, though still inside the glove-type liner, to operate cameras etc. then quickly slipped back inside to warm up slowly or quickly by holding the chemical heat pad I added each day.
Minus 33 Merino Long Johns (Katmai Expedition) US$81.00 and long-sleeved top (Kobuk Expedition) US$85.00
Make sure you have loose fittings garments, a tight fit will not only restrict your movement and be very uncomfortable over long days but also prevent air from circulating inside the layers, reducing effectiveness. These were simply fantastic. Very very comfortable, none of the usual wool scratchiness, and very effective indeed. Only warning is that my bum isn't that big for my size, yet the seat felt a little low and I'd have preferred it sitting higher.
Quechua Fleece trouser liners US$8 (½ price sale).
Quechua is a Decathlon brand (a French sports goods global superstore retailer) that produce some very good value for money gear. These were a substitute for Down that I couldn't find in my size over here (China). Buy Down if you can but these were very effective, soft, very comfortable substitutes and very easy to wear, too.
Red Wing’s ‘Irish Setter Elk Tracker Boots’ (1,000g Thinsulate lining) US$125 (½ price sale)
These were excellent throughout, no moisture got in and, along with the two pairs of socks and a 12 hrs chemical heat pad I added to each boot each morning, kept my feet toasty and dry throughout, even at -45C to -50C. I didn't once feel any cold whatsoever. However do note you need to buy at least one size larger (I bought 2 sizes larger which were a near perfect fit) than your usual shoe size to accommodate the extra thick socks and 3 layers of trousers !
Minus 33 Merino Wool Neck Gaiter US$19.00
I would often pull this up over my cheeks and nose and fix it in place with the mouth/nose protectors of the Outdoor Research (OR) hat and / or the OR Gorilla Balaclava. Even when I forgot to zip my jacket all the way up it kept me warm. Merino wool is incredible !
SportChief Aquatex Hunting Jacket ca. US$135 (2015 price)
I've had this for 3 years, though it still looks like new despite the hard wear it's seen. It's big and bulky but has many excellent, large, pockets, has a large hood and is wind and rain proof (though obviously the later function was not required on this trip).
I wore this every day over the other layers, including the RAB down jacket, and it easily carried all those bits n pieces, glasses, phone, both TCs etc. etc. making them easily accessible when required. Didn't even feel the very strong winds we encountered at XiQi on a couple of occasions.
4 Star Performers
Outdoor Research (OR) Gorilla Windstopper Balaclava. US$20 (in a sale)
The only improvements here would be an interim size between the two available (S/M & L/XL) as I took the larger but it was a little on the loose side, and the forehead area not quite deep enough. I typically wore this underneath as the first layer with the OR hat on top.
However it was superb at it's intended primary purpose, keeping the wind out. The two wraparound pieces (chin/mouth and mouth/nose) were very good, and I'd fasten these (easy to find and use strong Velcro tabs) over the pulled up Minus 33 neck gaiter, to secure it in place. Especially useful was the nose/mouth piece which helped deflect my warm/moist breath down and away from the camera screen - which would otherwise frost over very quickly !
Outdoor Research Frostline Hat (XL) US$37.00
This was brilliant. Just like a dog-sled driver's cap, covered the ears and was faux fur lined, very warm.
511 Cargo Trousers, US$50, bought a couple of years ago.
My one item of cotton clothing. Worked well in conjunction with the above however may get a little wet in the knees/thigh areas if you crawl around in the snow trying to get 'the shot' as we did. In the wind did barely feel a little cold once or twice, through this and the two inner layers..
JB Extreme Technical Explorer Socks (Merino & Coolmax, rated -30C) US$14.00 a pair
JB Field’s Arctic Trail Socks (rated -40C Below) US$15.00 a pair
These two pairs of socks, in conjunction with the boots above and a small heat pad place in the boot before wearing, kept my feet toasty all day every day and never once did I feel any cold at all, even at -40C, or uncomfortable when indoors in heated rooms or in cars.
Mountain Hardwear Ski Pants. US$60 (in a sale)
For keeping the wind off and helping insulate the other layers these worked great, also for crawling around in the snow !
I did think the pockets could have been better, more naturally located and larger as they weren't always easy, or big enough, to unzip and get my hands into easily. I also couldn't get these on without taking off my boots so a zip at the leg bottoms would have helped too.
Quechua (from Decathlon) Top US$15 (½ price sale).
This was worn on top of my Minus 33 merino underwear top, it worked very well at insulating though I would have preferred some form of elasticated, rather than open, cuffs and a chest pocket. Nit-picking though.
Quechua (from Decathlon) Fleece US$8 (½ price sale).
Just a very cheap fleece top (more like a soft jacket) though it had plenty of pockets and elasticated cuffs) that did the job perfectly, no complaints at all for the money !
Pics attached below :
1. Mongolian Larks
2. Snowy Owl close to sunset
3. Snowy Owl at sunset
4. Snowy Owl close to sunset
5. Snowy Owl close to sunset
The End (bar a few more pics)
Attachments
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Paul Chapman
Well-known member
Ridiculously stunning images - yet again.
All the best
All the best
Warixenjalka
Birdwitcher
Great story and superb pics!
And putting the equipment list was fine thing. :t:
And putting the equipment list was fine thing. :t:
foresttwitcher
Virtually unknown member
Nice report & great photos.
Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
Wish I could have seen the juxtaposition shot. I love those.
I have one from Alaska last year with a herd of musk oxen grazing around an old rusty gold dredger with a brand new, modern multi-storey hospital building in the background,
I have one from Alaska last year with a herd of musk oxen grazing around an old rusty gold dredger with a brand new, modern multi-storey hospital building in the background,
Thanks Paul ! :t:
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Thank you ! I'm glad you liked the equipment list, that was something new for me I thought I'd start adding to reports.
Thank you ! :t:
I could see the shot so clearly in my head Jeff ...... c'est la vie :-C
One more post to come ... tomorrow perhaps
