Support Us

As a sensitive and wary bird, Great Bustards serve as indicator and flagship species for steppe (prairie) conservation projects. Here: A steppe road at sunset. Photo: M. Kessler.

A Great Bustard takes wing. Reaching weights of up to 44 pounds (20 kg), this is the heaviest species capable of flight. Photo: J. Tallant.

Our students imitate the breeding display of the Great Bustard. Your support helps us to further the education of young researchers. Photo: G. Natsag.

Our home base in northern Mongolia, on June 3. Our team does not have expensive infrastructure; we live in simple accommodations. Photo: M. Toomey.

Help us to continue our environmental outreach programs. Here we are teaching bird identification using optics donated by Celestron at an ecological summer camp for rural schoolchildren and young Buddhist lamas. Photo: M. Kessler.

Great Bustards typically have low reproductive rates. Their simple nests, on the ground, are vulnerable to predators, and in agricultural areas may be crushed by machinery. Photo:B. Nyambayar.

Children cluster around team member Natsag as he explains how to identify local birds. Photo: M. Kessler.

Our team is in need of support, be it monetary or donated items. Photo: M. Kessler.

An unusually close photo of a Great Bustard, taken during a late snowstorm in June. Photo: M. Gilbert.

Our research has revealed a high rate of illegal hunting. Your support can help us to bring our environmental outreach programs to a wider audience. Photo: M. Kessler.

We translate our research findings into conservation recommendations and policy. At the 13th Conference of parties to the Convention on Migratory Species, Dr. M. Kessler worked with the Government of Mongolia to extend a period of Concerted Action for Great Bustards in Asia, and increase protections for the Little Bustard in Asia.

Team members G. Natsag and B. Dashnyam settle in for a long ride, amid supplies needed for our work in the remote countryside. Photo: A. Kessler.

A view of one of the small northern Mongolian towns in which we work. Photo: Eurasian Bustard Alliance.

We encourage a sense of stewardship for these incredible birds. Photo: M. Kessler.

Mongolia is one of the coldest countries in the world, with winter temperatures dropping to -50C (-58F). We are expanding our work to include winter surveys, to determine the number of birds overwintering in the region and their conservation needs. Photo: U. Tuvshin.

An ovoo - a roadside religious site in northern Mongolia: M. Kessler.

A full moon rises over our field site in northern Mongolia. As some of our research activities require darkness, full moons signal an opportunity for us to catch up on lost sleep. Photo: M. Kessler.

A small truck carts away hay gathered to feed livestock over the harsh Mongolian winter. We are investigating the impact of changing agricultural practices on the Great Bustard. Photo: M. Kessler.

A steppe (prairie) road in Kazakhstan. Travel in these remote regions is roadless, slow, and rough. Photo: M. Kessler.