Classic China: Beijing & Sichuan May 10—Jun 02, 2011
Posted by Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft has been working for VENT since 2001. He has led many tours to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Bhutan, India, Southwest Pacific, Philippines, Cambodia, Th...Related Trips
Our 2011 Classic China tour was yet another outstanding success. The birds were simply phenomenal, and we connected with many of the rarest, most spectacular, and most elusive species China has to offer. Better environmental protection, including a ban on rifle hunting, is having an enormously beneficial impact on mammals and large birds. We observed 15 species of mammals and 11 pheasants and partridges on this tour.
Our first morning at the Summer Palace turned out to be quite interesting as some migrants were found in the quieter corners of this vast park. Best was a great view of a male Tristram's Bunting, a declining species. We also enjoyed Little Bunting, Pallas's and Yellow-browed warblers, some glowing Taiga Flycatchers, colorful Eurasian Kingfishers, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and an abundance of showy Azure-winged Magpies. We made a quick stop at Ho Hai and enjoyed a fine pair of Mandarin Ducks, thanks to a tip from Gordon and Marianne. After lunch we walked through Tiananmen Square before ending up at the Forbidden City.
On our second full day at Beijing we enjoyed some excellent birding at Wild Duck Lake. Most of the waterfowl had already passed through this latitude, but we found a few Tundra Swans, a lingering Swan Goose, a showy male Red-crested Pochard, Black-necked Grebe, fabulous Amur Falcons and Eastern Marsh-Harriers, our only Marsh Tit of the tour, our first Vinous-throated Parrotbills and brilliant Eastern Yellow Wagtails among the many highlights. After lunch it was off to The Great Wall at Badaling where we stretched our legs to various degrees. A displaying male Ring-necked Pheasant, a Songar Tit (my first one at Badaling), and a handsome Daurian Redstart were among the interesting birds.
The bustling city of Chengdu turned up some good sightings in a bamboo city park, with super Black-throated Tits, an elusive Chinese Grosbeak, and wonderful Rufous-faced Warblers, including one preening in the scope. A visit to the Leshan Buddha, a memorable experience in itself, also provided sightings of many species with the spectacular Yellow-rumped Flycatcher eventually giving good views for all, and the localized Ashy-throated Parrotbill giving excellent views while feeding chicks at a nest. We finished our afternoon in some secondary forest near the base of Emei Shan. This location has always been very bird-rich and it did not disappoint this year when in quick succession we enjoyed several Brown Dippers, White-breasted Waterhen, Asian Drongo-Cuckoo, Collared Finchbill, point-blank views of Rufous-capped Babbler, Fork-tailed Sunbird, and skittish Fire-breasted Flowerpeckers.
Our Sichuan forest birding commenced at Emei Shan, the sacred Buddhist peak at the crossroads of Chinese bird distribution. Conditions were excellent at The Golden Summit this year and we came through with some good sightings. Crimson-breasted and Darjeeling woodpeckers, nesting Long-tailed Minivet, Gray-sided Bush-Warbler, wonderful male White-bellied Redstarts, Elliott's Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, White-collared Yuhina, stunning male Gould's Sunbird, and a brilliant male Vinaceous Rosefinch were amongst the highlights. Some of us trooped downhill to see the spectacular Tibetan stump-tailed macaques that sometimes frequent the area, and we were rewarded with great views of these impressive woolly primates. We finished the day with a quick dash to connect with a Slaty-backed Forktail at a regular stake-out, having missed it the previous day. It performed well!
The next morning we did a bit of birding around our hotel. Oriental Honey-Buzzards, Chinese Goshawks, and a Black Baza were flying low over the forest on migration, and Bill found a cracking Black-capped Kingfisher. Our next move was to Wawu Shan where en route we found a lovely Gray-faced Buzzard. Wawu Shan is a must-visit superb forest birding location. On the summit we found excellent Brown, Great, a shy Three-toed, and very obliging Fulvous parrotbills, and the recently described Sichuan Treecreeper. Bush-Warblers were in great form, with the skulking Brown sneaking around us like a rodent, and we enjoyed a superb performance from the Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler that places so much energy into its dramatic song. Lower down, the mountain was alive with the skulking endemic Emei Liocichla, Golden Parrotbill, and an unforgettable male Lady Amherst's Pheasant. What a bird! As if this weren't enough, we had views of the scarce Red-winged Laughingthrush, beautiful Wedge-tailed and Speckled wood-pigeons, a delightful pair of Short-billed Minivets, and our only Chestnut-crowned Warbler amongst a multitude of other warbler species and Himalayan Swiftlets.
The devastating earthquake of 2008 caused us to change our normal itinerary and we headed to Dujianyang. In the late afternoon we picked up some low altitude forest birds which included great views of Sulphur-breasted Warbler, Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, the tuneful Dusky Fulvetta, and the spectacular white-headed Black Bulbuls of this region in China. We managed to get our bus through some amazing roadworks and into the Wolong Biosphere Reserve. The damage of this massive earthquake continues to be repaired and your leader still struggles to recognize the road into Wolong where whole villages had been buried and house-sized boulders lay next to the road.
We checked into a new hotel at Wolong which was delightfully comfortable and warm. Taking advantage of good weather, we birded up to the Balan Shan Pass and experienced some fabulous roadside birding. We bumped into another birding group who placed us straight onto a fabulous Tibetan Snowcock (thanks Hannu!). Wallcreeper, beautiful Grandala, Snow Partridge, Streaked Rosefinch, Yellow-billed Chough, Plain and Brandt's mountain-finches, Golden Eagle, Himalayan Griffon, Alpine Accentor, White-tailed Rubythroat, Gray-headed Bullfinch, Blood Pheasant, Chestnut-crowned Bush-Warbler, Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, and Snow Pigeon were among the rich pickings on either side of this 4,500 meter pass.
The next two days were spent hiking up to the Wuyipeng panda research camp. The camp was all but abandoned and without electricity. It is to be rebuilt this year. Our slow wander up turned up some excellent birds with great views of Sooty Tit, Fire-capped Tit, Yellow-bellied Tit, Yellow-browed Tit, Ferruginous and Slaty-backed flycatchers, the beautiful Rufous-bellied Niltava, and Barred Laughingthrush. We had great views of a female and, for the leader, a male Temminck's Tragopan, a skulking male Firethroat for some, and the delightful Golden-breasted Fulvetta.
Leaving Wolong behind us we made the spectacular drive through to Maerkang, enjoying the altitudinal variety of conifers and other tree species, incredible gorge country, and dazzling Tibetan villages. Kurt found a great male Temminck's Tragopan beside the road on our final crossing of the Balan Shan. Hill Pigeon, Eurasian Crag-Martin, and Blue Rock-Thrush were new for the list. Snow at the pass at Mengbi Shan made for some great birding. Best of all was a fine flock of six White Eared-Pheasants that were scoped up. Crested Tit-Warbler, Giant Laughingthrush, Chinese White-browed and Pink-rumped rosefinches, Maroon-backed Accentor, and Collared and White-winged grosbeaks kept the momentum and the binoculars on focus mode. Leaving Maerkang we finally made it up onto the Tibetan plateau and onto Hong Yuan. We finished the day with 28 Black-necked Cranes, watching a pair mating for the benefit of a flock of inexperienced juveniles. A red fox pounced on a Chinese zokor and led us to her den of cubs.
The next day we explored the plateau further afield, making it to the town of Rouergai. It was another excellent day with great views of plenty of robust Upland Buzzards; the peculiar Hume's Groundpecker; glowing Citrine Wagtails of the Tibetan breeding population; Rufous-necked, Tibetan, and White-rumped snowfinches; several Little Owls; a nesting Saker Falcon; a flock of Bar-headed Geese; at least 50 Black-necked Cranes; a Black Stork; a Pallas's and several Brown-headed gulls; Pere David's Laughingthrush; Godlewski's Bunting; Hodgson's Redstart; and Eurasian Hoopoe. An excellent sighting of a huge male Chinese desert cat gave everyone a lengthy scope view of this ginger lynx-like felid hunting Alpine pika.
We spent the next morning at the romantically named Flower Lake. All hell broke loose when your leader spotted a peculiar mammal running across the grassland—a Pallas's cat: one of the most peculiar of the world's wild cats with tiny ears, a broad head, and a plush coat. We enjoyed lengthy scope views of this amazing cat stalking pikas—our second great cat sighting in two days. Flower Lake was a delight and turned on some great birds with excellent sightings of the enormous Tibetan Lark, superb views of Ferruginous Duck and Red-crested Pochard, Graylag Geese, a distant Steppe Eagle, and finally a Lammergeier that flew right over us in brilliant light.
It was time to head for the luxury of Jiuzhaighou, but we made a few last-minute stops obtaining good views of Daurian Jackdaw and Dusky Warbler. Jiuzhaighou was simply spectacular, and we made the most of this incredible reserve with its sparkling blue lakes, complex waterfalls, scaleless fish, and alpine scenery. We tried to seek out some quieter corners and found a few good birds for our effort. Indian Blue Robin, White-throated Dipper, Little Forktail, the scarce Sukatschev's Laughingthrush, and a Chinese Thrush rounded out a day of amazing scenery.
Finally it was time to head back to Chengdu. At Cuckoo Shan we had a wonderful break with a crunching view of Verreaux's Monal-Partridge beside the road, singing its clarion call from a roadside stump. The pheasants were really falling into place now. We spent two nights in the Wanglang Nature Reserve and it was well worth it, with a Blue Eared-Pheasant making a regular appearance near the headquarters and giving spectacular views. The back paddock was alive with birds ranging from Tiger Shrike, Tibetan Siskin, Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Chinese Babax, White-throated Redstart, Himalayan Bluetail, and Dark-sided and Slaty-backed flycatchers to mention a few. A family of wild boars with tiny piglets was a lucky sighting.
We returned to Cheng Du enjoying a night at the Sichuan Opera, a highlight for the tour, especially the shadow puppet master. Our final morning of birding was spent with the giant pandas at a breeding center, where we were able to get up close with this most charismatic vegetarian carnivore. The birding was also excellent, with a great view of a male Golden Pheasant, and a white-morph male Asian Paradise-Flycatcher being the final bird added to our Classic China tour list.
I appreciated the wonderful help from Mr.Gao, our superb driver, and our interpreter-guide Jiheng, who both did a wonderful job.
I wish to thank most sincerely all the participants who came along for this adventure. While at times physically demanding, I am sure you will all remember this tour as being one of the all-time greats.
I look forward to traveling with you again in the future.