BirdLife of Lake Ugii in Central Mongolia

Every birder should go Lake Ugii while your birding in Mongolia. The freshwater lake with ecosystem and an internationally important wetland, surrounded with grassland and mountain steppes, and most of all, the number of iconic birds drawn to this rich feeding ground. The area offers us great birding and good photographic opportunities. The best time to birding at Ugii lake is during the spring and autumn migratory period, May to June, August to September. 

The lake is located in the Orkhon River valley, about 350 km west of the capital city Ulaanbaatar.  Some more than 200 species of birds have been registered in the Lake Ugii, and where there’s that many fish there are bound to be loads of aquatic birds; Black-tailed Godwit; Swan Goose; Great Crested Grebe; Whooper Swan; Bar-headed Goose; Ruddy Shelduck; Common Goldeneye; Common Crane; and Northern Lapwing. Migratory birds arrive May to June, from as far away as Siberia and Himalayas.

The area offers us also to watch and photograph iconic raptors, such as rare Pallas’s Fisheagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) (VU); Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) (VU) and Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) (NT). 

We can also observe some of the iconic mammals during our travels near Ugiil lake, such as Siberian Marmot (Marmota sibirica) (EN), Grey Wolf (Canis lupus), Corsac Fox (Vulpes corsac), Red Fox (V. vulpes) and Pallas's Cat (Felis manul) (NT).

Uglii Lake is also one of the hottest travel destinations in central Mongolia. Fishing, birding and other outdoor activities are offered to locals and foreigners. Travelers can stay in tourist Ger camp or tented camp around the lake area. Get to know more about information on accommodation in Mongolia and other travel information is here.