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China: Sichuan See also Northern China, South China: cranes at Christmas , and China: Crested Ibis and Terracotta Warriors Sunday 25 May to Saturday 14 June 2008 Date Change
Cost £4220 Maximum group size: 10 with 1 leader
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Sichuan province, right in the heart of the Middle Kingdom, is a fabulously bird-rich region, home to the bulk of China's endemic birds and the majority of its Giant Pandas. On this exciting trip we’ll concentrate on seeing the endemic and near-endemic species as well as sampling the cuisine, genuine hospitality and dramatic scenery for which this region is rightly famous. Although the wild mountainous terrain and torrential rivers have combined to keep the province isolated until relatively recently, today the rich diversity of habitats and a well-developed tourist infrastructure make Sichuan an appealing destination for a birding tour. We’ll visit four main sites on the tour, each one is different, each has its own charm and each its specific bird life. We’ll start our explorations on the magnificent Emei Shan Mountain, a 3099 metre peak that rises abruptly out of the Red Basin. Moving north we’ll visit Wolong National Park, famed as the home of China’s few remaining Giant Pandas, but also renowned as a haven for a large number of spectacular birds. Next we’ll venture into the rolling grasslands at the extreme eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau where we’ll search for specialities such as Black-necked Crane and Rufous-necked Snowfinch before descending to the strikingly attractive Jiuzhaigou National Park, with its dramatic alpine scenery, turquoise lakes and myriad waterfalls which have to be seen to be believed. Day 1: The tour begins in London with an overnight flight to Chengdu. Day 2: Arriving in Chengdu, Sichuan's attractive capital, at around midday we'll transfer to our comfortable hotel. We should arrive in time for an optional afternoon birding excursion. We’ll aim to visit the luxuriant, bamboo-thronged gardens surrounding the cottage of Du Fu, a celebrated Tang Dynasty poet. Birds here include Rufous-faced Warbler, White-browed Laughingthrush, Grey-headed and Vinous-throated Parrotbills and Yellow-billed Grosbeak. Night in Chengdu. Day 3: Leaving Chengdu we’ll drive south across the Red Basin making our own pilgrimage to Emei Shan, one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains. Straddling the boundary between the Palearctic and Oriental regions Emei Shan, the towering mountain that dominates this part of southern Sichuan, harbours a remarkable variety of species. Over the years the numerous monasteries and ancient shrines have served to protect its forests, much to the benefit of it’s near-unique avifauna. Several species, Emei Shan Leaf Warbler, Emei Shan Liocichla and Emei Golden-Spectacled Warbler bear the mountain’s name while at least one other, Grey-hooded Parrotbill, is almost endemic to this site. We’ll spend five nights at four different altitudes on the towering 3099 metre high peak. Our first will be close to the base, where we’ll search the sub-tropical forests close to our hotel for species such as Tiger Shrike, Swinhoe’s Minivet, Brown-breasted and Ferruginous Flycatchers, Collared Finchbill, Hwamei and Ashy-throated Parrotbill. Night near Emei Shan city. Day 4: Today we’ll drive up the mountain to Leidongping. After a short walk, we’ll take a cable car up to the ‘Golden Summit’ where we’ll spend the night. Target species here will include vociferous Spotted Nutcrackers, Chestnut Thrush and showy Golden and White-browed Bush Robins. Many warblers, including eight bush warblers and no fewer than 17 species of Phylloscopus warbler, can be seen on this tour and a good number of each, breed on the mountain. The summit area holds healthy populations of Chestnut-crowned and Aberrant Bush Warblers, Buff-throated and Buff-barred Warblers in particular. Other possibilities include Red-winged Laughingthrush, Maroon-backed Accentor, Spot-winged and Vinaceous Rosefinches, Grey-headed Bullfinch and several species of parrotbill. Night on the Golden Summit. Day 5: After a morning exploring the stunted conifers, rhododendron and bamboo thickets adorning the summit we’ll return to Leidongping. Here the species diversity is even greater and the forests ring to the sounds of Oriental, Lesser and Large Hawk Cuckoos, making it a challenge to distinguish more subtle vocalists such as Emei Shan Liocichla, Bar-winged Wren Babbler and Slaty Bunting. Night in Leidongping. Day 6: We’ll spend the whole day around Leidongping walking one of the pilgrimage trails down to the spectacularly imposing Xixiang Chi monastery. We’re sure to see many of the mountain’s pesky Macaques and would hope to encounter a good variety of birds, perhaps including Speckled Wood and Wedge-tailed Green Pigeons, Purple Cochoa, Russet Bush Warbler and if we are very lucky the gorgeous Black-headed Sibia. Golden-spectacled Warbler has recently been split into a number of different species, four of which occur on Emei Shan, and we’d expect to encounter three of these today. Night at Leidongping. Day 7: Today we’ll descend further to spend much of the day birding close to Wannian temple at just over 1000 metres. The avifauna here is very different to that experienced earlier and new species should include Chinese Bamboo Partridge (much easier to hear than to see), Hodgson’s Hawk Cuckoo, the endemic Chinese form of Blue-throated Flycatcher, Vivid Niltava, Emei Shan Leaf and Sulphur-breasted Warblers, the recently described Plain-tailed Warbler, Dusky Fulvetta and Golden Parrotbill. Night in the comfortable monestary guest house at Wannian. Day 8: After a final morning around Wannian we’ll take a cable car back down to our waiting vehicle and leave Emei Shan to head back to Chengdu. Night in Chengdu. Day 9: Leaving Chengdu and the over-populated lowlands behind, we’ll head west and climb back up into the mountains. Winding our way through deep valleys and narrow gorges we’ll eventually reach Wolong. World-renowned as the headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund’s project to save the Giant Panda, Wolong has much to offer the birder. It’s a scenically stunning area and, although we’re unlikely to see a wild Giant Panda (though we have seen Red Panda in the reserve), the spectacularly forested mountains, extensive stands of bamboo, stunning alpine meadows and rugged snow-capped peaks harbour some truly outstanding birds. We’ll spend four nights inside the reserve.
Days 10-12: We have numerous options during our time at Wolong. On at least one, probably two days, we’ll use our four-wheel drive vehicles to good effect and head above the main village to explore the mighty Balangshan Pass. We’ll start early in the hope of finding Wood Snipe displaying over some of the higher alpine meadows immediately before dawn. Koklass Pheasant and Kessler’s Thrush both breed close to the tree line here and while the former is elusive and difficult to see, we are sure to hear its unpleasant barking calls ringing across the valleys. With luck, we might also find a covey of spectacular White Eared Pheasants or perhaps even a Chinese Monal. Continuing still higher we’ll spend a while around the summit of the pass that, at almost 4500 metres, is the highest point we’ll reach on the entire tour. Small coveys of scurrying Snow Partridges and Tibetan Snowcocks are regularly seen on the scree slopes besides the road, as are Grandalas, the males resplendent in their cobalt blue plumage. Other high altitude specialities could include Lammergeier, Red and Yellow-billed Chough, Alpine Accentor, Brandt’s Mountain Finch and Red-fronted Rosefinch. Targets on the mid-slopes will include both Barred and the mighty Giant Laughingthrush, while lower down we’ll scan the skies for White-throated Needletails. On another day we’ll venture up the hillside close to our hotel where we’ll search for the stunning but remarkably skulking Golden Pheasant. One of Wolong’s premier avian jewels is Firethroat, and we should be able to find at least one of these truly world class songsters. Chinese Leaf Warblers, Rufous-tailed Babblers, Chinese Babax and Slaty Buntings could all follow, with Temminck’s Tragopans as another distinct possibility. Nor will we neglect the mammals – the park boasts reasonable populations of Himalayan Marmot and both Blue Sheep and Takin. Nights at Wolong. Day 13: We should have time to do some more birding close to our hotel before visiting the new Panda Museum and then the Panda Breeding Centre where we’ll have the opportunity to study these magnificent creatures. Heading away from Wolong we’ll drive to Miyaluo where we’ll spend the night. Day 14: Continuing north, we’ll spend the morning searching for birds on the Zhe Gu Shan pass. Chestnut-throated Partridge and Blood Pheasant are both reasonably regular here and other targets include the strikingly patterned Przevalski’s Nuthatch, gorgeous White-browed, and the even more appealing, Crested Tit Warblers, Chinese Fulvetta, Crimson-browed Finch and Tibetan Siskin. We will also have our first chance of Three-banded Rosefinch here. Further on we’ll stop again just as we crest the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau where, amid the more gently undulating grasslands we’ll explore a couple of isolated stands of conifers, searching in particular for the endangered endemic Sichuan Jay as well as Songar and White-browed Tits, and Plain and Elliot’s Laughingthrushes. Night in Hongyuan. Day 15: Moving further onto the plateau, past tented camps and fields of yaks we’ll constantly scanning for more specialities such as comical Hume’s Groundpecker, hulking Tibetan Larks and both White-rumped and Rufous-necked Snowfinches. Our destination will be Ruoergai, a relatively modern Tibetan settlement right in the heart of some exciting plateau birding. In the afternoon we’ll head off to search the surrounding steppes for parties of majestic Black-necked Cranes and, with luck, we might also find a Saker Falcoln or Chinese Grey Shrike. Day 16: We’ll leave the plateau this morning and take a minor road over the spectacular La Ma Ling pass to Jiuzhaigou. We’ll make numerous stops to search for species such as Sichuan Jay, Daurian Jackdaw, Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush and Pink-rumped Rosefinch. Night close to Jiuzhaigou National Park. Days 17 & 18: Spending two days at Jiuzhaigou, we’ll have time to explore a number of sites both inside and just outside this spectacular sanctuary. Scenically, Jiuzhaigou must rank as one of the most spectacular mountain areas in Asia. Startlingly jagged snow-capped peaks flanked with alpine meadows, extensive stands of bamboo and large tracts of dense coniferous and mixed forests abound. But in truth it’s the myriad waterfalls, the pools, and especially the multicoloured small lakes for which this park is rightly famous. A few Tibetan villages also survive, each with their own attractive wooden dwellings. Unable to take our own vehicles inside the park we’ll use the reserve’s frequent shuttle bus services to explore a number of the better birding sites. Rufous-headed Robin is virtually unknown away from here, so we’ll spend time searching an area of mixed forest for this fabulous songster. Other sought-after species include Chinese Nuthatch, Rusty-breasted and Sooty Tits, and the noisy Spotted Laughingthrush. We’ll venture back into the coniferous forest on another day to search for Chestnut-throated Partridge, Chinese Grouse, Three-toed Woodpecker, the enigmatic Sichuan Wood Owl, Himalayan Orange-flanked Bush Robin, Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush and White-winged Grosbeak. On one day we’ll also look for the tiny Spectacled Parrotbill. Day 19: On our final morning around Jiuzhaigou we’ll explore an area outside the park where both Snowy-cheeked and Barred Laughingthrushes are more regular, and where we’ve also seen Three-toed Parrotbill. In the afternoon we’ll start our journey back to Chengdu. Night in Maoxian. Day 20: After some local birding we'll continue south to Chengdu, arriving in time to make a return visit to the cottage of Du Fu. Night in Chengdu. Day 21: We’ll catch a flight back to London where the tour concludes.E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated January 2008 |
Photos by Paul Holt |
Tour Report
On the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau we should find Chinese Grey Shrike. 
