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Mongolia Mongolia Ramsar wetland

Khar-Us Lake

145 bird species recorded; the most in June.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec121at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

B Batsukh · Public domain

This month here

0 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

No records for this month.

  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

145 species, counted.

73out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 145Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 98Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 5ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 2,754Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 1,160 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 12Raptors
  • 1Owls
  • 21Waders
  • 11Gulls & seabirds
  • 24Ducks & geese
  • 9Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 2Storks & cranes
  • 56Songbirds
  • 9Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 145 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Eurasian Black VultureAegypius monachusNT
  • Upland BuzzardButeo hemilasius
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
  • White-tailed EagleHaliaeetus albicilla
  • Lesser kestrelFalco naumanni
  • Steppe eagleAquila nipalensis
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • Eastern Marsh-harrierCircus spilonotus
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Little OwlAthene noctua
Waders21 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Greater Sand PloverCharadrius leschenaultii
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinus
  • Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
  • Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
  • Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
  • Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
  • Pin-tailed SnipeGallinago stenura
  • Broad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellusVU
  • Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
Gulls & seabirds11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Common TernSterna hirundo
  • Pallas's GullIchthyaetus ichthyaetus
  • White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • Little TernSternula albifrons
  • Black-throated DiverGavia arctica
  • Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
  • Black TernChlidonias niger
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Common GullLarus canus
Ducks & geese24 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferruginea
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
  • Red-crested pochardNetta rufina
  • Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
  • White-headed duckOxyura leucocephala
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Swan GooseAnser cygnoides
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • Northern PintailAnas acuta
  • Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
  • Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
  • Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
  • Ferruginous DuckAythya nyrocaNT
  • GarganeySpatula querquedula
  • Bar-headed GooseAnser indicus
  • Mute SwanCygnus olor
  • Taiga Bean GooseAnser fabalis
  • Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
  • GoosanderMergus merganser
  • Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
  • Chinese Spot-billed DuckAnas zonorhyncha
Herons, ibises & grebes9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
  • Horned GrebePodiceps auritusVU
  • Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
  • Eurasian BitternBotaurus stellaris
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
Storks & cranes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Demoiselle CraneAnthropoides virgo
  • Common CraneGrus grus
Songbirds56 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Asian Short-toed LarkAlaudala cheleensis
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • Shore LarkEremophila alpestris
  • Pale MartinRiparia diluta
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Citrine WagtailMotacilla citreola
  • Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
  • Isabelline ShrikeLanius isabellinus
  • Carrion CrowCorvus corone
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Isabelline wheatearOenanthe isabellina
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • Desert wheatearOenanthe deserti
  • Paddyfield WarblerAcrocephalus agricola
  • Bearded ReedlingPanurus biarmicus
  • Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • Pallas's Reed HuntingEmberiza pallasi
  • Rock SparrowPetronia petronia
  • Mongolian FinchBucanetes mongolicus
  • Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
  • Richard's PipitAnthus richardi
  • Greater Short-toed LarkCalandrella brachydactyla
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • BluethroatLuscinia svecica
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Rosy StarlingPastor roseus
  • Ortolan buntingEmberiza hortulana
  • Savi's WarblerLocustella luscinioides
  • Eurasian Crag MartinPtyonoprogne rupestris
  • Pied WheatearOenanthe pleschanka
  • Siberian stonechatSaxicola maurus
  • Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
  • ChoughPyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
  • Blyth’s PipitAnthus godlewskii
  • Eastern Yellow WagtailMotacilla tschutschensis
  • Mongolian LarkMelanocorypha mongolica
  • Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
  • Desert WarblerSylvia nana
  • Hume’s leaf-warblerPhylloscopus humei
  • Tawny PipitAnthus campestris
  • Common Rock ThrushMonticola saxatilis
  • Yellow-breasted BuntingEmberiza aureolaCR
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Pallas’s grasshopper warblerLocustella certhiola
  • Mongolian Ground-jayPodoces hendersoni
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • TwiteLinaria flavirostris
  • Northern ShrikeLanius borealis
Other birds9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • CootFulica atra
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • Pallas’s SandgrouseSyrrhaptes paradoxus
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Hill PigeonColumba rupestris
  • Pacific SwiftApus pacificus
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • European NightjarCaprimulgus europaeus

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in June.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan0-12°/-21°2 mm
  2. Feb0-8°/-18°3 mm
  3. Mar93°/-8°5 mm
  4. Apr212°/1°8 mm
  5. May8019°/6°15 mm
  6. Jun12125°/13°28 mm
  7. Jul9727°/16°31 mm
  8. Aug10124°/13°24 mm
  9. Sep8118°/6°10 mm
  10. Oct519°/-1°6 mm
  11. Nov0-1°/-10°4 mm
  12. Dec0-11°/-18°3 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Khar-Us Lake.

Lake

Khar-Us Lake is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Mongolia, 1,160 m above the sea.

145 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,754 open records.

The most recorded are the Greylag Goose, the Great White Egret and the Great Cormorant.

93 species come for the summer, 0 for the winter and 5 only pass through.

5 are threatened worldwide, including Common Pochard, Horned Grebe and Grey Plover.

The most species are recorded in June.

Jargalant Mountain2
B Batsukh · Public domain

Get there and watch

  • Khovd Airport (HVD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 49 km in a straight line

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Khar-Us Lake seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

    • bird hides within 6 km
    • observation towers within 6 km
    • marked trails within 4 km
    • visitor centres within 6 km
    • viewpoints within 5 km
    • car parks within 3 km
    • restaurants and cafés within 3 km
    • campsites within 10 km
    • places to stay within 10 km

    Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

    In our other atlases

    Around Khar-Us Lake.

    The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

    Darkskyas1 dark-sky places within 30 km
    Khar-Us LakeBortle 1 · this place

    Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

    Other places nearby.

    Khar-Us Lake

    Mongolia

    • 73Birdyas Score
    • 145Species
    • 98Migrants
    • 5Threatened

    Airag Lake

    Mongolia · 131 km

    • 31Birdyas Score
    • 25Species
    • 0Migrants
    • 1Threatened

    See the guide

    Where these figures come from

    Name and typeWikidata (Q1323267) · CC0
    Birds2,754 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
    See these recordsgbif.org
    SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
    AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
    Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
    What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
    ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
    Sister atlasesDarkskyas

    Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

    The family

    Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

    Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.