Mongolia Birding Tour

16-30th June 2025: Mongolia birding tour highlights include Henderson’s Ground Jay, White-naped Crane, Oriental Plover, Mongolian Lark, Azure Tit, Swan Goose, Pere David’s Snowfinch, Black-billed Capercaillie, Altai Snowcock, Amur Falcon, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Himalayan Griffon, Mongolian Accentor, Relict Gull, Godlewski’s Bunting,  Guldenstadt’s Redstart, Asian Dowitcher, Stejneger’s Scoter – £4350

Azure Tit - Central Mongolia Birding Tour

Trip Details
  • Dates: 16th – 30th June 2025
  • Cost: £4350
  • Single Supplement: £520
  • Deposit: £550
  • Tour length: 15 Days (13 days birding)
  • Min/Max group size: 5 / 10
  • Start/Finish: Ulaanbataar
  • Tour Type: Birding
  • Photo Opps: Good
  • Physical Classification: Fairly Easy
  • Leaders: Nick Upton & Local Guides

If you have any questions about this trip please feel free to ask by contacting us at info@calidrisbirdingtours.com

Mongolia Birding

It is not every day that there is the opportunity to go birding in a country that is almost entirely undeveloped, consisting of some of the largest open spaces in the world. Mile after mile of steppe, grazed by the herds of the nomads for centuries, amazing expanses of wetlands popping up in any habitat type, rolling, open taiga on the northern hills and dry, thorny scrublands against the backdrop of enormous sand dunes and the Altai mountains. Birding in Mongolia is a real adventure and a throwback to days gone by.

Mongolia has characteristics of Central and Eastern Asia as well as Europe, making for a diverse and interesting avifauna that include key Central Asian species, rare European breeders and exciting East Asian migrants. The numbers and variety of birds is a surprising strength of this trip but those key Mongolian birds are the ones that will form the focus of our attention whether birding in steppe, wetlands, taiga, mountains or desert. In such a wild and untamed land travel and accommodation can provide a logistical challenge but comfortable ger camps will form the bulk of our accommodation and sites that require the minimum of travel have been selected so that we can enjoy being immersed in the landscape with the most comfort and convenience that can be provided.

For birders who like to see birds on their breeding grounds, in full song and activity then this tour ticks those boxes. Seeing shy species such as Chinese Bush Warbler performing and Siberian Rubythroat in full song is a rare treat for most birders while locating species such as Black-billed Capercaillie, Stejneger’s Scoter, Mongolian Lark, White-naped Crane, Henderson’s Ground Jay, Altai Snowcock and Azure Tit should stick long in the memory. For those that enjoy an identification challenge and to learn about a difficult group of birds there will be a good selection of singing Phylloscopus warblers to get to grips with. Any birders who love raptors will not be disappointed in Mongolia with Saker Falcon, Steppe Eagle, Amur Falcon, Cinereous Vulture and Lammergeier just a few of the species we can look forward to. Add amazing scenery, a supporting cast of finches, wildfowl and woodpeckers and it is clear that this is a birding tour to be excited about.


Tour Details

Tour Cost: £4350

Single Supplement: £520

Included in the tour cost: All transportation within Mongolia including airport transfers and two internal flights plus road tolls; all services of expert local bird guides, trackers, drivers, camp staff and Calidris Birding Tours guide; all accommodation, meals and bottled drinking water plus entry fees to national parks and other protected areas. 

Not included in the tour cost: International flights, travel insurance, entry visa, alcoholic/soft drinks, laundry, tips, mini bar items, phone calls from hotels or any other items of a personal nature. There are no camera fees expected for any of the areas we are visiting but if the Mongolian government should impose such fees at short notice then these will be at your own cost.

Accommodation: We use 3-4 star hotels in Ulanbataar. For the remaining nights we will stay at ger (the Mongolian word for yurt) camps. These are simple but clean and comfortable, with two to four beds within each one and a stove for heating. There are shared bathrooms and meals are eaten in a communal ger/building. This is the traditional Mongolian nomad’s accommodation and while they do not provide luxury they will provide a good night’s sleep in spectacular locations. We expect to have wifi on nights in Ulanbataar but not at ger camps for most of the tour. Single accommodation is possible but cannot be guaranteed.

Physical effort: This is not a particularly physically demanding tour in terms of walking. However, participants require reasonable level of fitness to be able to go on birding walks of several hours on fairly flat terrain. There will be one or two optional harder walks to locate a couple of target species if we cannot find them more easily. This tour has been designed to require far less travel than many other tours to Mongolia but participants should be able to deal with journeys over rough terrain.

Weather: Sunny but cool weather is normal at this time of year although rain showers are possible at times. After sunset the temperature is likely to drop considerably so that some warm clothing is required. Most of the time the temperature should be pleasant and there should be blue skies. However, participants will need to prepare for both cold and hot weather periods, as well as rain.

Food: Traditional Mongolian cuisine relies heavily on meat but years of catering to tourists means that vegetarian food is available. Vegetarians should notify us in advance so that some ger camps can order supplies in advance. Please notify us in advance if you have any food allergies so that these we can cater for these.

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Tour Leaders

Nick Upton - Bird Tour Leader

Nick Upton

Nick Upton has been birding since the age of seven and leading birding tours full-time since 2007. After travelling extensively in Asia he settled in Thailand in 1997, teaching English and science while establishing thaibirding.com. With a BSc (Hons) Wildlife & Countryside Conservation he is well placed to understand the ecology of birds as well as the conservation issues that affect them.

Nick is co-founder/director of Calidris Birding Tours.




While we will make every effort to adhere to the advertised itinerary, we reserve the right to make changes in the case of unforeseen circumstances that are beyond our control. These include problems with accessibility, flight schedule changes, national park closures, unseasonal weather events or any other reason that may demand an itinerary change.


Recommended Field Guide

Birds of Mongolia - Mongolia Birding TourBirds of Mongolia

Published in 2019 this field guide was a long time in coming for this increasingly popular birding destination.  Containing all the species we are likely to see on this Mongolia birding tour we highly recommend that all birders joining us on this tour obtain a copy of this field guide. This is the publication the guides will be using on this tour and obtaining a copy in advance of the tour will allow participants to familiarize themselves with the birds we will see in Mongolia.

The checklist that Calidris Birding Tours will issue for this trip will use IOC taxonomy while also referring to the taxonomy used within this field guide so that it is relevant to both.

Read our full review of the book here – Birds of Mongolia.


Terms and conditions: Please read the full Calidris Birding Tours terms and conditions which apply to the Mongolia Birding Tour.