I returned to China with Dave Woodford in May 2013 for a month. We were joined by Phil Heath (who had accompanied me on my first trip to Sichuan in 2000) for most of the trip and Craig Brelsford (who we had met in China in 2012) for the 12 days from Xian to Sichuan. The itinerary was wide-ranging, seemingly traveling over most of the country - possibly a little too tortuous in the first week. It was designed mainly to find a number of scarce birds not seen on our previous trips to China. The cost was fairly cheap (except for the 2 day trip to see the Rusty-throated Parrotbill) as the logistics were all well planned and arranged by DW. Transport during the 12 days spent with Craig (an American living in China) was by hire-car driven by him – very convenient, safe and fairly straightforward as he can speak and read Chinese. The rest of the time we mainly used trains (including 5 over-night) and taxis, with 6 internal flights and a few buses - I'm a veteran of sleeping over-night on trains now. On a few occasions without Craig we had to ring him to act as interpreter for us with taxi drivers and hotel staff – many thanks to Craig for being such a great help and companion.
Apart from a key reserve (Labahe in Sichuan) being shut due to the major earthquake two months earlier, the trip went very well with relatively little birding time lost due to bad weather. I had the serious disappointment in losing a memory card containing 10 days of bird photography, including good shots of birds such as Biet's Laughingthrush, Derbyan Parakeet and Silver Oriole – Craig kindly sent me some of the lost species so I could fill in some gaps in the China 2013 folder on my website www.jonathanhornbuckle.webs.com/apps/photos . I was relying on some of these photos to help me when compiling the Species List as my knowledge of the songs of many passerines was poor and we were without a knowledgeable guide throughout the trip.
We had good views of my top target, Blackthroat, now known from two breeding sites in the Qinling mountains, Shaanxi. All other foreign birders this year went to the Changqing National Nature Reserve site as it is easier to arrange a visit there, but entry is very expensive - we had excellent views in Foping. All 3 of us failed to see Hainan Peacock-Pheasant, another star bird, but we did see almost all other specialities such as Baer’s Pochard, Chinese Monal, Chinese Crested Tern, Derbyan Parakeet, Biet's Laughingthrush, Rusty-throated Parrotbill, Gold-fronted Fulvetta and Silver Oriole, with the unexpected bonus of a Red Panda at Wolong. My only other “missed ticks” were Sichuan Partridge and White-eared Night-Heron, both of which are very difficult to see at the sites we visited, and Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl which has been seen at Tianchi resort, Hainan.
Most birders visit China on tours with professional companies or guides so there are few trip reports with site details. We found those by Bjorn Anderson and Paul Holt to be the most useful. We are also grateful for help from Prof. He Fen Qi, Dai Bo, the guides at Foping, Tangjiahe, Xining, Jiulianshan, Fuzhou, Mangba, Roland Zeigler, and Pete Morris and friends. I am also indebted to Phil Heath and Dave Woodford for additions and correction to the text of this report and help throughout the trip.
Itinerary
May 10 JH and DW fly from UK to Beijing via Amsterdam.
May 11 Arrive Beijing, metro trains to city, collect pre-booked train tickets from agency, buy sim card. Train from Beijing to the Baer’s site. OVN at hotel near there.
May 12 Baer’s Pochard site. Overnight train to Jiujiang.
May 13 Arrive Jiujiang in morning, taxi to bus station, bus to Jingdezhen, taxi to another bus station, bus to Wuyuan, taxi to Xiaobi (7+ hr journey): Pied Falconet. Taxi to island 8km from Wuyuan for Blue-crowned Laughingthrush. Bus to Jingdezhen 17.00 -18.15, OVN sleeper train to Dingnan 00.09-11.30.
May 14 Taxi Dingnan to Jiulianshan via Longnan, Yangcun and Daqiutian (in Jianxi) for $30. OVN at reserve’s hostel.
May 15 Jiulianshan: White-necklaced Partridge (JH), Blyth’s Kingfisher but no White-eared Night-Heron.
May 16 4x4 vehicle in heavy rain from reserve to Leiping 0500-0900. Bus to Guangzhou 1010 -14.10, taxi to airport, 17.00 flight to Fuzhou delayed till 18.50 due to bad weather, arrived 20.20. PH arrived at 2130 from Hong Kong. Taxi to Rongcheng hotel, Fuzhou.
May 17 “Forest” arrives late at 0815, takes us to Fuzhou Forest Park; hike 250m elevation up hillside but few notable birds. Back to city then to Minjiang Estuary but no boat available so coast not reached till 15.45 – high tide at 15.00! 4 Chinese Crested Tern seen, then flushed by Chinese photographers. To airport for 21.20 flight to Xian only to find it cancelled. Booked on 08.00 flight on 18th and given free hotel with buffet.
May 18 Fly to Xian, meet Craig at 1100. Drive to Foping, collect Mr Gong, the guide for final stretch to Liangfengya reserve hotel at 17.00 (instead of scheduled 10.00). Spend 2 hours birding, hear c.5 Blackthroat singing.
May 19 Liangfengya 05.00 - 12.00: Blackthroat, Emei Leaf-Warbler, Fulvous Parrotbill, Golden Pheasant (DW). Drive to Yangxian by tortuous route: Crested Ibis at long bridge outside Yangxian. Drive to Hanzhong en route to Tangjiahe, problem finding cheap hotel.
May 20 Arrive Tangjiahe 10.00 as scheduled, drive 10km to reserve building (declined lunch). Trek 600+m elevation up to cabin: Rusty-throated and Spectacled Parrotbills, Koklass with chicks, Takin. Hear invisible Himalayan Owl close-by at night. OVN together on inflatable beds in large cabin.
May 21 Return trek down to Tangjiahe after big brunch: Three-toed Parrotbill, Sichuan Treecreeper, White-backed Woodpecker. Drive 3hrs south. OVN in pleasant village hotel.
May 22 Drive to Wolong. Afternoon in tunnel area, later at Balangshan: Chinese Monal, Széchenyi's Monal-Partridge, Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Wallcreeper, Snow Partridge, Grandala, Hog Badger. OVN hotel 8km before Wolong village.
May 23 Drive 0430-0520 to the tunnel: Wood Snipe, White-eared Pheasant, then to Balangshan and beyond: White-tailed Rubythroat. Pm at lower elevation nearer Wolong village: Red Panda,. Blue-fronted Robin (PH).
May 24 Lie-in till 0700 as rain forecast but it was dry! Lower elevations: Chinese Babax, Firethroat, then higher - Blue-fronted Robin (PH) - to tunnel, Balangshan and beyond to Rilong: Alpine Leaf-warbler, Red-fronted Rosefinch, OVN Rilong.
May 25 0530 drive back to mid-elevation via Balangshan, then nearly to Chengdu and on to Yinjima, arriving at 6pm. OVN hotel in Yinjima
May 26 0615 drive to Forest Park: Gold-fronted Fulvetta, Golden Parrotbill, OVN Longcanggou.
May 27 Morning at Longcanggou: Grey-hooded Parrotbill, miss Red Panda in tree. Punctured tyre repaired with difficulty (for $3). Drive south, including extra 100km due to map error, to Leshan and on to Qianwei, staying at 3* hotel for $10 a room b & b.
May 28 Late start on drive to Xining via Yibin, lose 2 hours by taking old road over mountain instead of new tunnel and one hour by Craig ignoring local advice, arrive 5pm. Invited to good dinner by Mr Wang, the Forestry Manager. OVN in forestry hotel, Xining.
May 29 Yangsiba valley a.m. but track too wet and dangerous, ridge trail 1200 -18.20: Silver Oriole, Chinese Blue-flycatcher, but Sichuan Partridge not even heard. Another free dinner.
May 30 Ridge trail 0600 -1500: Silver Oriole, Streaked Barwing (JH), 17.30 -21.00 drive back towards Kunming for fear of missing tomorrow’s train, OVN at cheap hotel in Yongxing with Egret colony in nearby trees.
May 31 Drive to Yibin 0930 –1130, farewell to Craig. OVN train to Kunming, Yunnan 1615 -0730.
June 01 Taxi to Kunming airport, fly to Simao 1000 -11.15. Drive to Mangba with lunch stop, arrive 1530:
Many Derbyan Parakeet. OVN in houses at Mangba.
June 02 Birding at Mangba 0630-1030, return to Simao in 2 hours drive. Flight to Kunming delayed 2hr by bad weather to 1730 -1830. OVN train to Lijiang 20.53 – 0610.
June 03 Taxi for 1hr, after breakfast in Lijiang, to forested hills: Biet’s Laughingthrush at 0945. Return to Lijiang with stops for Moupinia. Check in at Bruce Chalet, Shuhe. JH and PH taxi to Black Dragon Pool, Lijiang but too late to go up Elephant Mt: Chinese Song Thrush. OVN at Bruce Chalet.
June 04 PH to Yangze River first bend and Elephant Mt: Brown-winged Parrotbill. JH to Puji and Shuhe for ethnic photos. OVN train Lijiang to Kunming 20.00 – 05.21.
June 05 Taxi to Kunming airport for 07.45 flight to Sanya, Hainan. Pre-booked transport to Tianchi resort fails to arrive for over 60min, then taken to Tianchi in 1h 45 mins, more delay in getting rooms. Pm on Ming Feng boardwalk, OVN Jianfengling NFP: Chinese Barbet, Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Hainan Leaf-Warbler.
June 06-07 Both days on boardwalk: Hainan Hill Partridge for PH.
June 08 Boardwalk 0500-0830: Hainan Peacock-Pheasant calling close, Hainan Hill Partridge for JH after play-back duals. Minibus to Sanya for mid-day flights to Nanjing (DW) and Hong Kong (PH); pm in town and on coast for JH then 20.00 flight to Beijing, OVN on seats at Beijing airport.
June 09: JH flies home.
June 10: DW flies home.
DAILY LOG
May 11 Took the subway with Dave Woodford from Beijing airport to Central railway station, 16 min walk to agency to collect pre-booked train tickets. Bought sim card from local shop for $5 plus $7 of load, $10 cheaper than at the airport. Back to subway for 40 min journey to Beijing West station to catch afternoon train to the Baer’s Pochard site.On arrival we took a taxi to look for a suitable hotel to stay at, and succeeded thanks to Dave’s homework - $17 for a large twin-bedded room. Walked along the road near the lake from 6 to 8pm, saw distant female Baer’s Pochard and many summer-plumaged Whiskered Terns. Crashed after shower at the hotel.
May 12 Awoken by day-light at 05.30, breakfasted on hot-pot noodles then explored the lake from 06.00 till noon, by which time we were rather hot in the sunny weather. Failed to find any Baer’s Pochard or Schrenk’s Bitterns - rather disappointing - but did see parties of Reed and Vinous-throated Parrotbills, along with a single male Amur Falcon and many rod-fishing locals. After an hour’s siesta at the hotel we returned to the lake and soon had a good view of a pair of Baer’s Pochard and a few Ferruginous Ducks. Play-back of Eastern Water Rail prompted a Reed Parrotbill to start singing loudly but no Rail. The few other birds included Hoopoe, Cuckoo and Buff-throated Warbler in the lakeside trees and Acrocephalus warblers including Blunt-winged Warbler in the reedbeds. We checked out of the hotel at 7pm and returned to the station by taxi to catch an overnight train to Jiujiang.
May 13 Arriving at Jiujiang, we took the 07.30 bus to Jingdezhen, arriving at 09.45, then a lengthy taxi ride to the bus station to Wuyuan, arriving about noon. We decided to go by taxi first to the Pied Falconet site at Xiaobi, a 45 minute journey. Here we were lucky to have a sighting of a perched Falconet fairly quickly so that we could return to Wuyuan to spend the afternoon at the island inhabited by the critically endangered Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (which I had seen a year earlier). We were able to watch the activities of at least 20 Laughingthrushes till 4pm when we returned the 8km to Wuyuan. Other birds seen today included Crested Goshawk, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Grey-capped and Grey-faced Woodpeckers, Whistling Thrush at nest high in a tree, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Red-billed Starling and Grey Treepie. At Wuyuan we caught a bus to Jingdezhen (17.00 -18.15) where we took a hotel room till 11pm and then went to the station for the midnight 20 carriage overnight sleeper to Dinguan, the nearest station to Jiulianshan Nature Reserve according to Dave [were told later that it only takes about 1.5 hours to drive from Jiulianshan to the high-speed train station on the edge of Shaoguan.]
May 14 We reached Dingnan at 11.30, then took a long taxi journey to Jiulianshan Reserve via Longnan, Yangcun and Daqiutian (in Jianxi) for a modest $30. The last part of the drive was up a mountain, the concluding few km to the reserve’s offices and hostel being along a surprisingly rough dirt-track. Here we were shown to a room by the manager Cao’s wife. We then set about exploring the nearby trails and tracks along the fast-flowing river in search of Blyth’s Kingfisher and White-eared Night-Heron, in rather wet conditions. No joy with either and we had to wait till 8.30pm for a meal, but it was good when it came.
May 15 Cao had offered to take us to the electricity station, apparently a good site for the Night-Heron, at 4am provided it wasn’t raining. Unfortunately it was raining so we stayed in till 6am then I went out on the track to site C and found some birds including one Blyth’s Kingfisher, a Brown Dipper, a pair of Slaty-backed Forktail and a flock of Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush. Dave and I spent the full day on the trails in the reserve, going backwards and forwards to our room as it rained on and off all day. The highlights for me were having a reasonable view of a White-necklaced Partridge I flushed off a wet trail, sightings of 2 separate Blyth’s Kingfishers flying along the river and into the forest, and Huet’s (or were they David’s?) Fulvettas, but there was no sign of a White-eared Night-Heron. At dusk Cao took us to a large reservoir some 4km away where we had a good view of a spot-lit Grey Nightjar but again no Night-Heron.
May 16 We had to leave today; Cao said he would take us some distance to a large town with a bus terminal. We had agreed to leave early to look at the reservoir at dawn but as it continued to rain very heavily, we only stopped for 10mins, and to no avail. It was a good job we were in a 4x4 vehicle as the heavy rain continued as we travelled down the mountain from the reserve to Leiping, fording swollen rivers and sliding along muddy, slippery tracks. At 0900 Leiping was in sight but the road was blocked by a waterfall cum “river” crossing the road. We had to wait 30 mins or so till an old mobile digger arrived to clear the blockage before we could drive into the town. Several streets were under water and a large brown river was flowing rapidly through the middle of town. Sluice gates were being wound up to try to prevent the river from over-flowing its banks. We had breakfast at a local café and bought tickets for the 10.10 bus to Guangzou. The journey through flat countryside for 3 hours was pleasant enough but it took another hour to enter the city and reach the bus station - quite a relief that we’d made it. It had been a relatively expensive trip to Jiulianshan with a lot of travel and we’d missed the main quarry, but we were fortunate to have caught our flight in such wet conditions.
A taxi to the airport for the 17.00 flight to Fuzhou was soon arranged but the flight was delayed till 18.50 due to the bad weather. We reached Fuzhou at 20.20 expecting to find Phil Heath waiting for us from Hong Kong but his flight was also delayed - he didn’t arrive till at 2130. Then we taxied to Rongcheng hotel for a welcome sleep, after a meal of street food.
May 17 Our guide “Forest” arrived rather late at 0815, and drove us straight to Fuzhou Forest Park some distance away. We hiked 250m elevation up the hillside, seeing a few birds, eg Grey-sided Scimitar-babbler, “Fujian” Fulvetta and Fork-tailed Sunbird. Then back to the city and on to the Minjiang Estuary. After some messing about it became apparent that no boat was available to take us to the coastal island of Shanyutan. We needed to be there in time for high tide at 15.00 to be sure of seeing the tern roost but we didn’t make it till 15.45 when the tide was going down! May be we should have used Lin Chen, not Forest. Fortunately there were still some Great Crested Terns there, with a group of Chinese photographers nearby. It took some time before we spotted a distant pair of Chinese Crested Tern, soon flushed by the photographers as we walked on the mud to get closer views. They returned a little later and were soon joined by another pair, but we couldn’t get much closer because all the terns were flushed again, for good. Numbers of waders were disappointing but there were a few “White-faced” Plover, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Avocets, with a smart black male Spotted Redshank, plus a Chinese Egret. Best of all were two Wandering Tattler spotted by Phil. We returned to the hotel to clean-up and collect our baggage, then drove to the airport to catch our 21.20 flight to Xian. After parting with Forest at the airport we found our flight had been cancelled! We were eventually booked on the morrow’s 08.00 flight and given free beds and a good buffet meal at a quality hotel near by.
May 18 After an early transfer to the airport we found our flight was delayed again, but we finally arrived at Xian and met Craig at 1100. We drove on the motorway through the Qinling mountains before turning off for a lengthy drive on a country road to Foping. Here we collected our guide Mr Gong for the final stretch to the reserve’s hotel at Liangfengya, arriving at 17.00 (instead of the scheduled 10.00). We spent 2 hours birding in the adjacent forest, hearing possibly 5 Blackthroat singing in the undergrowth along a ridge trail, but only PH saw one. I did see an Emei Warbler though, a tick for me. We had a decent supper back at the hotel.
May 19 We had an early breakfast and trekked up to the ridge as before. It was surprisingly quiet with no Blackthroats singing but as the day warmed up a few birds did start up including eventually 3 Blackthroats, one of which was very responsive some 5 – 10m up a tree, surprisingly. I was able to take good photos of this bird, a subadult male, as he continued to sing for at least 20 mins, whereas the other two were much shyer. Other birds of interest included several Sooty Tits, a Fulvous Parrotbill for me, and a male Golden Pheasant for DW. We had to leave the forest earlier than I wanted because the others needed to see Crested Ibis and we were unsure where best to go in the Yangxian area. It was noon before we left the hotel. We dropped Mr Gong off in Foping after a quick lunch, then drove to Yangxian by a tortuous route, trying to find the active Crested Ibis nest I had found last year in a hillside plantation. I eventually realised where it was – the countryside seemed to have changed in appearance - but the nest was not occupied. We continued to the large town of Yangxian, drove through it and stopped at the long bridge over the river on the Xian road. There were several Ibis in the river and we spent some time walking closer to them so that Craig could get good photos. I borrowed his big lens to try for bigger images of the Ibis but found it too heavy to handle successfully! Then we headed west towards Sichuan, the home of our next birding sites, stopping in the vicinity of Hanzhong to find a cheap hotel. Unfortunately this proved to be surprisingly difficult as such hotels had evidently been told by the police not to accept foreigners. It was after 11pm before we found one that could accept us!
May 20 An early departure ensured that we arrived at Tangjiahe (Tang jia he) Reserve at 10.00 as scheduled. We were met by a large party of friendly Chinese and were told that the cost of our overnight trip to see Rusty-throated Parrotbill would be Y10,000. After some haggling they agreed to accept Y8,000 = £200 each, expensive but acceptible. We drove 10km along the attractive Daotizi river valley to a new reserve building. The Chinese said we would stop here for lunch but we insisted on starting the trek up the mountain, to their disappointment. It was an attractive climb of at least 600m elevation in fine weather, with a stop halfway up at a large cabin. We saw a Koklass Pheasant with chicks, Spectacled Parrotbills and 2 Takin. Nearing the top PH saw a Rusty-throated Parrotbill in an extensive growth of bamboo. At 5pm we reached another large cabin, still under construction, our “hotel” for the night. Eight Chinese, mostly youngsters, were already there, having just overtaken us. While they were unpacking and cooking we returned to the bamboo just below the cabin and were rewarded by a pair of Rusty-throated Parrotbills. After supper we learnt that one of the locals had just spot-lit a Himalayan Owl close-by the cabin and flushed it! We tried play-back and it responded invisibly from a nearby large conifer. The dual continued for some time but the owl won. We returned to the cabin and settled down on the inflated air-beds. After a while the owl renewed its calling so we again tried to see it, but to no avail. Very frustrating!
May 21 On another fine day we returned to the bamboo below the cabin and after a while found the pair of Parrotbills actively feeding, very close at times. There was not much action further down, so we returned to the cabin to find the Chinese had prepared a big “brunch”. After this we started the return trek down to the road. Birding highlights included Great and Three-toed Parrotbills, Sichuan Treecreeper, White-backed Woodpecker, Golden Bush-Robin, Baikal Bush-Warbler, Vinaceous Rosefinch and Slaty Bunting. We reached the road at 2pm but the porters did not arrive till 3.20 as they had climbed to the top of the mountain and cleared up at the cabin. We said our farewells and started the long drive south to Wolong. After 3 hours we found a pleasant village hotel for the night.
May 22 A long mornings drive to Wolong - the penultimate section was a very poor, dusty track, still under repair after serious damage by the 2008 earthquake. We eventually reached the tunnel below Balangshan Pass in the early afternoon, and spent most of the remaining birding time aound here. This was very rewarding, with Chinese Monal (a tick for me) on the hillside, with a pair of Verreaux’s Monal-Partridge nearby, Dark-breasted Rosefinch and Wallcreeper by the tunnel, and a fine Hog Badger hunting in the grassland. We continued up to the pass (at 4481m asl) and found 3 Snow Partridge (the other tick I needed), both Plain and Brandt’s Mountain-Finch and several photogenic Grandala. At dusk we went back down towards Wolong village, and checked in at a good hotel 8 km before the village.
May 23 We drove back to the tunnel in the dark (0430-0520) and soon heard Wood Snipe displaying pre-dawn and saw another active Hog Badger. Two male Monals and two White Eared Pheasants were feeding on the hillside; a female Monal flew down, landed just below us and started to feed. We continued up to Balangshan pass, where overnight snow covered much of the ground, so we carried on a little way down the other side until we saw a White-tailed Rubythroat perched up, singing. Another pleasant surprise here was meeting Pete Morris, Alan Lewis and Barry Read, undertaking an independent trip, driven by Roland Zeigler. While we chatted, a Tibetan Snowcock was active on the ridge above us. We returned to the tunnel for more sightings of Monal, White Eared Pheasant, Wallcreeper and rosefinches, before continuing down to lower elevations to look for Sharpe’s Rosefinch and Crimson-browed Finch, recently found by PM and co. We failed to find these birds but did all see a Red Panda walking on the ground. PH also saw a rare (female) Blue-fronted Robin, other birds included Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Elliot’s Laughingthrush and Hume’s Leaf-Warbler.
May 24 We decided to have a lie-in this morning as rain was forecast, but in the event it was dry when we got up! After birding in the valley, seeing Chinese Babax then Firethroat and Indian Blue Robin, both fine males, we continued to the tunnel, where another surprise was a Birdtour Asia group of my friends led by James Eaton. The usual birds showed well, with a Wood Snipe singing from the ground giving great views, along with a pair of Snow Pigeons. Back to Balangshan Pass, where visibility was spoilt by low cloud/fog so I walked down the road, finding a few birds including Rosy Pipit, Red-fronted Rosefinch and Rufous-breasted Accentor. We drove further down the other side to escape the fog, stopping to look for Crested Tit Warbler without success, though DW saw a Slaty-backed Flycatcher, then had a long session birding the mixed woodland above Rilong. Here we had a few good birds such as White-throated Redstart, Przevalski’s Nuthatch and Grey-headed Bullfinch, before going back a little way to the deep forested valley. On the cliff we could see the large nest of a Golden Eagle or Lammergeier, bird-less alas, but Alpine Leaf-warblers and Rosefinches were numerous. We drove down to Rilong and stayed the night at a traditional hotel there, PH and DW seeing a male Three-banded Rosefinch at close range.
May 25 At 05.30 we drove back to Balangshan and down through the tunnel to the mid-elevation area where we looked for a few missing species. Then we continued down to Wolong and along the flat dusty road nearly as far as Chengdu, before heading south to Yinging. We arrived here at 6pm and stayed in a hotel in the town. The reason we came here was to visit nearby nature reserves that were reputed to hold some of the key birds found at the closed Labahe reserve.
May 26 Departing at 06.15 we drove on a dirt track for an hour to a “Forest Park”. We were surprised to be told by the guard at the entrance that another car-load of Westerners had passed by at 05.00! We drove on a rough road for 12-14km as far as a car park then walked on the trail that meandered up the mountain. Our main aim was to see the rare Gold-fronted Fulvetta – we saw Golden Parrotbill and several warblers then decided to go down again. PH went ahead and when we caught up with him he was excited to tell us that he had seen two Fulvettas there. We waited for a while, only seeing Chinese Blue Flycatcher and a Fujian Niltava for DW, when who should arrive from the same direction as us but Pete Morris and co! They had seen one Fulvetta further up the trail. While we were talking, one called and we soon had good views of it. We eventually returned to the car and drove back to Yinjima and on to a village at the base of Longcanggou National Nature Reserve. We stayed in a new homestay here, a good choice as we knew that the small hotel up the hill was likely to be full and expensive. After a good supper, I had a lift up to the hotel to see if any friends were there. Sure enough it was crowded, with a Birdtour Asia group led by Frank Lambert, and others including PM and co. Frank was busy with his group so I chatted to Pete and Alan, and briefly to Per Alstrom.
May 27 We set off up the Longcanggou mountain, only to discover after 25km that we had fairly flat tyre but no means of undoing the wheel nuts! We continued up to the car park on the mountain, hoping another vehicle would have the right spanner, but to no avail. We then looked for the nesting Grey-hooded Parrotbill I had been told about and were soon able to watch the pair collecting food and feeding their nestlings deep in the bamboo. This good news was rather spoilt by hearing of a Red Panda in a nearby tree just after it had left. We limped back down to the village below and found a workshop that was able to remove the wheel and repair the puncture, for $3! This all took a long time so it was 4pm before we drove south to Leshan, and an extra 100km due to a map error, then on to Qianwei where we stayed at the best hotel in town: 3* for $10 a room b & b.
May 28 After last night’s late arrival, we had a late start on the drive to Xining via Yibin. On the way there we took the old road over a mountain pass, hoping to find some good habitat as it was near Laojunshan, a very good reserve Laojunshan, a very good reserve. We stopped at the start of this road, seeing a couple of Hwamei and Ashy-throated Parrotbills, but saw little else. This was the wrong decision as it took two hours driving through degraded habitat instead of a few minutes through the short new Erlang? tunnel,. We lost another hour due to Craig ignoring local advice and driving the wrong way (a rare error), then were delayed by major road-works so did not arrive at Xining until 5pm. We were met by Mr Wang, the Forestry Manager, and escorted to the Forestry Hotel. He invited us to a good dinner, complete with free beer, then walked with us through the town to the old prison that formerly held 20,000 inmates, mainly political prisoners according to Mr Wang.
May 29 We had come here to look for Silver Oriole and Streaked Barwing, with an outside chance of Sichuan Partridge, in old growth deciduous forest, as described in a report by Bjorn Anderson. There were two possible access points, a long trail on a nearby ridge or a drive along the Yangsiba valley with a shorter walk to the forest. DW favoured the second option but the locals did not want to do this, saying the track was too wet and dangerous due to recent rain. Dave convinced them that it was worth trying so we did but unfortunately they were right. We had to abort the attempt as the hillside track we drove along was treacherous and the two locals with us did not know where the trail was! We rang Dai Bo, the authority on this area, who said he never used this route as it was potentially dangerous! The only notable birds were Yellow-throated Bunting and Russet Bush-Warbler.
We returned to base at 11.15 and had to accept a further delay of lunch with the locals. A 30 min. drive past the prison and up the nearest mountain, followed by a one hour trek took us to the ridge-trail at 1500m asl. The trail was very wet and muddy but the rain only light so we made our way slowly along it. An hour later we found a male Silver Oriole perched atop a burnt tree, singing. This was followed by a much closer female Oriole, spotted by DW, and the sweet, varied song of a Chinese Blue Flycatcher. The ranger accompanying DW and me insisted we had to turn back at 3.30 as foreigners were not allowed there in the dark. We felt obliged to agree but PH, behind us, continued and saw a flock of minlas, yuhinas and fulvettas. Back at base at 6.20, we were invited to another free feast with 5 of the forestry staff.
May 30 We departed for the Ridge trail at 0600 and stayed on it till 1500, with no sign of rain for a change. This time I proceeded as quickly as possible to try to reach mature forest to look for Streaked Barwing. However, as the terrain was so wet and muddy I realised there would not be enough time to go as far as the mature forest and back so I took to playing back the one recording I had of the Barwing wherever the trees looked fairly old. I had a few good views of a Silver Oriole, seemingly keeping company with Hair-crested Drongos, and a calling Collared Owlet. One tangle of trees surrounded by undergrowth on the edge of the ridge held a few birds including Rufous-capped Babbler, Chinese Blue Flycatcher and one crested bird that I later confirmed to be a Streaked Barwing. This was the only sighting of this scarce species. I heard Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Temminck’s Tragopan (seen by PH) and Chinese Bamboo-Partridge but we never heard, let alone saw, a Sichuan Partridge. Birds were surprisingly thin on the ground as it warmed up with Blyth's (White-browed) Shrike-Babbler, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Hwamei, Emei Shan Liocichla, and White-spectacled and Emei Warblers being the most notable for me. I left the ridge at 3pm, seeing Ashy-throated Parrotbills on the walk down. Back at the the hotel we were again generously invited to dine with the forestry staff.
I wanted to stay another night then have an early start at a new site where Sichuan Partridge were said to occur but the others decided we should check-out and start the long drive to Kunming to be sure of catching tomorrow’s train from Yibin to Kunming in Yunnan. The bill was surprisingly cheap, only $8 a night per single room with hot shower and a total of $30 for the local help, food and drink. We left at 17.30 and drove through road works, road-blocks and on very bad surfaces in places before stopping at 21.00 at a cheap hotel in the small town of Yongxing along the main road.
May 31 I was the first up at 06.30 on another cloudy, dry day. I inspected the nearby Little and Cattle Egret colony atop a tall tree above a couple of restaurants. The others eventually appeared and after a good local breakfast we drove to the large town of Yibin. We had hoped to stop along the way for some birding but could not find any suitable habitat so the drive only took 2 hours. We eventually found the station, near an impressive suspension bridge over the wide river. With nearly 4 hours to kill I walked along the river embankment, hoping to find something of interest. As elsewhere, there were many large cranes employed in building numerous large blocks. I returned to the station in time to say farewell to Craig – always fit and cheerful, he had done a great job in transporting us long distances and finding the various sites and accommodation. The train, long and full as usual, departed nearly on time at 16.15. While it was light I was able to view the countryside, except when passing through the many tunnels on this mountainous route.
June 01 We arrived at Kunming at 07.30 after a good night’s sleep. It seemed to be much bigger than when I was here before in 2002. We took a taxi the 31km to Kunming airport for the 75 min flight to Simao, the starting point for visiting the home of the endangered Derbyan Parakeet. The flight was scheduled to leave at 12.30 but we soon learnt we would have to wait another 2 hours for departure. Discussion with the airline, China Eastern, revealed there was an earlier flight at 10.00 but we could only go on it if our flight had been cancelled. We were able to establish that this was the case and so did make the transfer, with no time for our intended breakfast. We therefore arrived early, at 11.15, and had to wait a while before our driver “Elephant” was located along with the accompanying “translator” (who proved to be unnecessary). After a good lunch in town we drove to the village of Mangba in a hilly district, arriving at 1530: We immediately saw a few Derbyan Parakeet feeding in large fig trees in the village. We stayed around here watching the activities of the Parakeets until 7pm. As the light faded numbers increased to over 100, with more and more noisy parties arriving and flying about, then most of the birds departed to roost in the valley below. We had a good meal with the friendly villagers, complete with beer, after which I was shown to a room with a comfortable mattress on the floor. It was a brilliant starry clear night.
June 02 I was up at 06.30 in time to witness the arrival of the Parakeets in a few flocks of up to 30 at a time. It was a noisy scene with their raucous calls accompanied by pigs snorting and dogs barking. After preening for some time, most flew off leaving a few feeding on the figs along with Great and Blue-throated Barbets and Oriental White-eyes. After breakfast we walked outside the village and found Speckled Piculet, Grey-capped Woodpecker, Rosy Minivet, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Ashy-throated Parrotbill, Long-tailed Sibia, White-collared Yuhina and Fire-breasted Flowerpecker. We left at 10.40 and drove back to Simao in only 2 hours. After lunch at a restaurant we said good-bye to Elephant at the airport and awaited the flight to Kunming, delayed 2 hours by a thunder storm, finally leaving at 17.30. We took a number 2 bus to Kunming railway station and caught the 20.53 train to Lijiang.
June 03 Arriving at Lijiang at 06.10. DW had booked the car driver he had used on his previous visit last autumn; he met us and drove us to Lijiang for breakfast. Then we took us to the forested hills of Wanmu Bajuanyuen = Rhododendron Valley to look for the rare Biet’s Laughingthrush - eventually having good views of a pair at 0945. Other birds seen included Stripe-throated Yuhina, Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler, Chinese Babax, Gould's Sunbird and Black-headed Sibia. We returned to Lijiang with stops for Moupinia – only seen by DW – then continued to Ronghua Village, Shuhe Town, where we checked in at The Bruce Chalet, a very pleasant and friendly hotel ((enquiry@brucechalet.com) tel 151260944550). PH and I took a taxi at 5 pm to Black Dragon Pool park in Lijiang but were too late for permission to go up Elephant Mountain there. The trees around the dry lake held Chinese Song Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Verditer Flycatcher, White-browed, Black-browed and Black-throated Tits, and Long-tailed Minivet. Returning to Bruce Chalet at 19.15 as it had started raining, we found we had to eat at a nearby house as Bruce did not serve dinner, but the food was good.
June 04 PH left early by taxi to the First Bend of the Yangze River to see Brown-winged Parrotbill. He also saw Black-breasted Thrush and a Grey Nightjar perched in a tree. I decided against going as I had already seen the Parrotbill and it was said to be a 3hour journey. It was only half this time so Phil had time to go up Elephant Mt when he came back. I caught a bus to Puji, a traditional village I’d visited in 2002 with pine forest on the hills behind it. I spent some time there, photoing the village and seeing Moupinia, Fire-capped Tit and a few other birds in the hills. Then I took a bus to photogenic old Shuhe, quiet at this early hour, before returning to Bruce’s for breakfast. I walked back to Old Shuhe, much busier now, passing the trip’s only Hoopoes, and into the dry hills beyond. I saw a Yunnan Nuthatch at last in a clump of conifers. We rested at Bruce’s before taking a taxi to the station to catch the overnight train to Kunming at 20.00.
June 05 Arriving at Kunming at 05.20, we found a taxi with difficulty to take us to the airport for the 07.45 Lucky Air flight to Sanya on Hainan island. The transport to Tianchi resort, where we were to stay, pre-booked by Craig failed to arrive and my mobile had run out of credit. This crisis was eventually resolved by finding an English-speaking girl at a tourism desk. She found out that our driver had supposedly gone to the wrong place to pick us up. He turned after some time, having stopped to eat lunch on the way, then took us to Tianchi in 1h 45 mins. After more delay in getting rooms, we finally started birding on the Ming Feng boardwalk through Jianfengling NFP: This was rewarding with Chinese Barbet, Orange-bellied leafbird, Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Hainan Leaf-Warbler, Yellow-billed Nuthatch and Red-headed Trogon. After seeing a pair of Silver Pheasants, I had a long dual with a Hainan Partridge but the latter won. At 18.30 we had a nice meal with beer for only $4 each before being overwhelmed by a group of noisy Chinese tourists, so it was time to retire. Large-tailed Nightjars performed near our rooms but no owls were calling tonight or any other nights, though a Collared Owlet called during the day.
June 06 After seeing most of the target birds yesterday, today was disappointing as my only additional birds were Black-throated Laughingthrush, Huet’s and Dusky Fulvettas, Grey-capped Woodpecker and a party of Pacific Swifts. Phil saw a Hainan Partridge running down the hill near our rooms while I had unsuccessful play-back duals with Partridges and Dave heard a Hainan Peacock-Pheasant calling near the boardwalk.
June 07 Another day on the boardwalk, starting with the Peacock-Pheasant calling invisibly from a tree below the Sky Garden at 06.15, then the first of several play-back duals with a Partridge near the toilets. Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, Ratchet-tailed Treepie and Chestnut Bulbul were the only new species. Meals were the same as yesterday but quite edible.
June 08 The final hours here were spent on the boardwalk from 0500-0830. Below the Sky Garden two Peacock-Pheasants called close by but no movement was seen. I did at last see a Partridge flying low after a lengthy play-back dual. Back at the lodge we were shown a dark female Peacock-Pheasant in a small cage. We then took the minibus to Sanya airport for mid-day flights to Nanjing (DW) and Hong Kong (PH). After farewells and depositing my bag at the airport, I took a bus into town and walked to the harbour. Here a short ferry ride took me to an off-shore island where I tried to find a route into degraded forest on the hillside, but with no success. I watched rowing practice by the locals in very long boats then visited the fishing boat harbour and large fruit and veg market before walking along the fine sandy beach, sparsely populated considering it was a Saturday. My flight to Beijing was on time at 20.00 and I was able to find a row of empty seats at Beijing airport where I could spend the night rather than take an expensive taxi into town to look for a bed - the railway had closed down by then.
June 09 I flew home to Manchester on KLM in the morning, Dave the next day intending to visit a reserve near Nanjing to look for Fairy Pitta.
NOTES ON KEY SPECIES
Baer's Pochard:Terry Townsend told us where 4 pairs of Pochard had bred in 2012 along with 10+ pairs of Ferruginous Duck. We visited by train and taxi in May and had no real difficulty in seeing at least one pair of the ducks, and Reed Parrotbill, but we must have been too early in the year for Schrenk’s Bittern.
White-necklaced Partridge: a widespread bird in southern China but difficult to see like most Arborophila. We heard it calling in Fuzhou Forest Park and Wuyishan in 2012 but could not see it. This year I did have a reasonable view of one I flushed in wet conditions at Jiulianshan. It seems this site is a good bet for them along the trails when it’s wet. We did have some difficulty getting to and from Jiulianshan – we should have gone via Shaoguan but not even the reserve manager seemed to know of a route there through the mountains, although there must be one.
Hainan Peacock-Pheasant: calls at dawn and dusk at Jianfengling NR near Sanya but is very shy – between the toilet block and the Sky Garden seems to be the best bet for this and Hainan Partridge. It may be that the breeding season is a bad time to try to see them. The Tianqi Resort, also known as Mingfeng Gu, where we stayed is run by Mr Wang – his mobile is (86)13637625351, an alternative phone no. is said to be 152-0306-0000.
Derbyan Parakeet: we flew from Kunming to Simao and back in Yunnan. Dave had arranged for us to visit the village of Mangba (1500m asl) by contacting professor He Fen Qi on cn_0707@live.cn , phone 13651370916. He Fen Qi booked a car, driver and English-speaker to meet us at Simao airport. It was a 2-3 hour drive to Mangba, a small vlllage on a saddle along a mountain ridge in a remote area of south Yunnan. The parakeets were easily seen in the fig trees here. We stayed overnight in local houses and had good meals and beer at one of them. A bit of a slog but easy for such a rare bird, nearly trapped out of the wild now.
Black-throated Blue Robin: in June 2011 the breeding area for the poorly known Blackthroat was discovered in the Qinling mountains, Shaanxi province, north central China, by Per Alstrom’s team. Seven singing males were observed in Foping and seven more in Changqing National Nature Reserves. Nearly all of the birds were on mountain slopes at 2400–2500 m asl in large, dense expanses of bamboo in open coniferous and mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest. A few people saw Blackthroats at one of the two Panda reserves in 2012 but permission to visit Foping was difficult to obtain apparently because of issues with management of Giant Panda tourism. This year a number of groups visited Changqing, at considerable expense. DW was able to contact the authorities controlling Foping, via the reserve’s website, and obtain permission to go there. He was not certain that the visit would be successful but we decided to take the risk. The journey was fairly easy as we drove through the Qinling mountains on the motorway from Xian, turning on to a minor road to Foping town before reaching Yangxian. We phoned the guide and met him in Foping then continued to the reserve entrance and hotel at Liangfengya. As our flight arrangements to Xian had been delayed, we only had two hours of daylight left to explore the reserve that day and although we heard Blackthroats singing, only PH saw one. After a good night in the hotel, w e returned to the nearby reserve at first light and eventually had good views of 2 or 3 Blackthoats during the morning. In retrospect I wish we had spent more time there as the birding was good and the cost very reasonable ($ 95 plus $ 15 each for the hotel). The news in Jan 2014 is that the reserve is definitely closed for the forseeable future and we were lucky to be allowed in.
Silver Oriole and Streaked Barwing: the Oriole can be seen in south China, eg at Babaoshan in Guangdong, but Xining in south Sichuan seems to be the best known site for it. None of area is a nature reserve, so no special permits are required. However, it is prudent to inform the local Forest Bureau Station in Xining of when you intend to go there – they were very helpful to us and provided cheap food and accommodation. DW was helped by Dai Bo (Dai-bo@126.com ) in setting up this trip. A 30 min. drive past the prison and up the nearest mountain on the left, followed by a one hour trek took us to the Yangsiba ridge-trail at 1500m asl. The trail was very wet and muddy but the rain only light so we made our way slowly along it. An hour later we found a male Silver Oriole perched atop a burnt tree, singing, followed by a closer female Oriole, spotted by DW.
The next day we spent almost the whole day on the ridge, with a few more sightings of the Oriole and one lucky Streaked Barwing for me. We were unable to reach or find the mature forest where Bjorn Anderson had seen Orioles and heard a Streaked Barwing.
Gold-fronted Fulvetta: another scarce, beautiful bird occurring in small numbers at a few reserves, notably Wawu Shan, closed for the timebeing, and Laba He, closed due to the 2013 earthquake. Fortunately we learnt of another site for it in Sichuan from Roland Zeigler, a friendly German living in Sichuan who runs birdtours in China. We promised him not to divulge the whereabouts of the site; records from there are included in Longcanggou in the trip list. Access is fairly easy so I can only advise birders to employ Roland wstourix@gmail.com to guide them if they want to see this species while Wawu and Laba He are closed.
Grey-hooded Parrotbill: another Wawu speciality, also occurring at the top of Emei Shan but not common. We went up the mountain on the Longcanggou National Nature Reserve side near Yinging. The other side is Wawu. We climbed up by car to the car park and were soon able to find the Parrotbill because a pair was nesting near the car park. A Red Panda was also seen by others. The site is worth at least a full day but we had to leave to get our puncture repaired. The rare Streaked Barwing was seen well by PM’s group on the Erlang Road, a 3 hour drive away.
Rusty-throated (Przewalski’s) Parrotbill: the only known site now is Tángjiāhé Reserve, a long drive from any other well-known reserve. It can be visited on one or two day trip. If you’re fit and its dry, one day should be OK, and a lot cheaper, but rainy conditions will make it much more difficult to trek the 600m or more up to its bamboo home. Craig booked the two day option by phone as noone in the office spoke English. The cost, after negotiation, was $300 each for food, accommodation, guides and porters. Fortunately the weather was fine both days and we were able to see a good selection of species, including Koklass and Blood Pheasants, Sichuan Treecreeper, White-backed Woodpecker, Golden Bush-Robin, Baikal Bush-Warbler, Vinaceous Rosefinch and Spectacled and Three-toed Parrotbills, as well as at least one pair of Rusty-throated Parrotbills. Himalayan Owl called close-by the cabin in the night but could not be coaxed into the open.
Birds in capitals were new to JH, no site details means the bird was widespread or at the Baer's Pochard site, Longcanggou records include those from the Gold-fronted Fulvetta site. Few numbers are quoted for warblers because I was unable to distinguish many of the species by song so could not tell how numerous they were.
Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis: 2 at the Lake, 1 Fuzhou and Black Dragon Pool, Lijiang
Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus: 20+ at the Lake
Yellow Bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis: 1 at the Lake
Cinnamon Bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus: 2 near Sanya, Hainan
Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea: 6 at the Lake and 1 Fuzhou
Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea: 3 at the Lake
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
Intermediate Egret, Mesophoyx intermedia: a few
Chinese Egret, Egretta eulophot: 1 at Minjiang Estuary
Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
Chinese Pond-Heron, Ardeola bacchus: a few
Striated Heron, Butorides striata: 2 at the Lake
Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax: 10 at Minjiang Estuary
Crested Ibis, Nipponia nippon: c.10 Yangxian
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos: at the Lake
Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Anas zonorhyncha: 2 the Lake and Fuzhou
Common Pochard, Aythya ferina: 1 at the Lake
Ferruginous Duck, Aythya nyroca: 10 at the Lake
BAER'S POCHARD, Aythya baeri: 4 at the Lake
Black Kite, Milvus migrans: 1 at the Lake
Lammergeier, Gypaetus barbatus: 2 Wolong
Himalayan Griffon, Gyps himalayensis: 5 at Wolong
Oriental Honey-buzzard, Pernis ptilorhynchus: 2 Foping
Crested Serpent-Eagle, Spilornis cheela: 1 Jiulianshan, 2 Fuzhou, 3 Foping and 1 Jianfengling
Black Eagle, Ictinaetus malayensis: 1 Jiulianshan and 1 Wolong (PH)
Crested Goshawk, Accipiter trivirgatus: 1 Foping and Tangjiahe
Sparrowhawk sp., Accipiter sp.: 1 Foping and and Tangjiahe
Pied Falconet, Microhierax melanoleucos: 1 near Wuyuan
Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus: 1 near Jiulianshan, above Tambing, Shuhe near Lijiang, and Sanya
Amur Falcon, Falco amurensis: 1 at the Lake
SNOW PARTRIDGE, Lerwa lerwa: 3 Balangshan
Daurian Partridge, Perdix dauurica: 1 near Wolong (PH,DW)
Tibetan Snowcock, Tetraogallus tibetanus: 1 Balangshan (JH)
Széchenyi's Monal Partridge, Tetraophasis szechenyii: 2 on hillside near tunnel, Wolong (JH)
WHITE-NECKLACED PARTRIDGE, Arborophila gingica: 1 at Jiulianshan (JH)
HAINAN PARTRIDGE, Arborophila ardens: Heard daily at Jianfengling, 2 singles seen
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Bambusicola thoracicus: Heard widely
Koklass Pheasant, Pucrasia macrolopha: pair at Tangjiahe with young and widely heard
Blood Pheasant, Ithaginis cruentus: 1 Foping (CB) and 2 Tangjiahe (PH,DW), heard Wolong
Temminck's Tragopan, Tragopan temminckii: 1 at Longcanggou and Xining, heard at Foping, Wolong and near Lijiang
CHINESE MONAL, Lophophorus lhuysii: 4 Wolong tunnel
Silver Pheasant, Lophura nycthemera: 1 at Longcanggou, 2+ at Jianfengling
White Eared Pheasant, Crossoptilon crossoptilon: 4 Wolong tunnel
Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus: a few
Golden Pheasant, Chrysolophus pictus: 1 Foping (DW), heard near Yangxian and Wolong
Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Chrysolophus amherstiae: Heard at several sites
HAINAN PEACOCK-PHEASANT, Polyplectron bicalcaratum: 2 heard at Jianfengling (not split in Clements)
White-breasted Waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus: 1 at Fuzhou
Ruddy-breasted Crake, Porzana fusca: 1 at Yangxian
Eurasian Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus:
Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra:
Grey-headed Lapwing, Vanellus cinereus: 1 near Foping
Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola: 1 at Minjiang Estuary
Lesser Sand-Plover, Charadrius mongolus: Minjiang Estuary
Greater Sand-Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii: 1+ Minjiang Estuary
White-faced (Kentish) Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus: c.10 Minjiang Estuary
Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta: 6 Minjiang Estuary
Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos: 3 at the Lake, 2 at Minjiang Estuary
Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia: 2 at the Lake and Minjiang Estuary
Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis: 1 at the Lake
Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola: 2 at the Lake
Common Redshank, Tringa totanus: 1 at Minjiang Estuary
Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus: a black male at Minjiang Estuary
Grey-tailed Tattler, Tringa brevipes: c.8 at Minjiang Estuary (PH)
Wandering Tattler, Tringa incana: at least 2 of this rarity in China were identified with the Grey-tailed at Minjiang Estuary (PH)
Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata: 2 at Minjiang Estuary (PH)
Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus: Heard Minjiang Estuary
Red Knot, Calidris canutus: Minjiang Estuary
Red-necked Stint, Calidris ruficollis: 2 the Lake and common Minjiang Estuary
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata: 2 Minjiang Estuary
Dunlin, Calidris alpina: a few Minjiang Estuary
Wood Snipe, Gallinago nemoricola: 2 Wolong tunnel
Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago: 4 at the Lake
Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus: 1 first winter at Minjiang Estuary (PH)
Little Tern, Sternula albifrons sinensis: 1 Minjiang Estuary
Gull-billed Tern, Gelochelidon nilotica: 1 Minjiang Estuary
Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybrida: abundant at the Lake and 1 Minjiang Estuary
Common Tern, Sterna hirundo longipennis: 1 Minjiang Estuary
Caspian Tern: 1 Minjiang Estuary
Great Crested Tern, Thalasseus bergii: Minjiang Estuary
Chinese Crested Tern, Thalasseus bernsteini: 4 Minjiang Estuary
Snow Pigeon, Columba leuconota: 10+ Wolong
Speckled Wood-Pigeon, Columba hodgsonii: 3 Mangba
Oriental Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia orientalis: 2+ near Wuyuan and Lijiang
Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis: a few
Mountain Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula badia: 1 at Wolong and Jianfengling
DERBYAN PARAKEET, Psittacula derbiana: 100 - 150 Mangba
Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Hierococcyx sparverioides: Heard widely, 1 seen at Longcanggou and Mangba
Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus: 1 at the Lake and Longcanggou, heard in Wolong and Yunnan
Himalayan Cuckoo, Cuculus saturatus (optatus): Heard occasionally in Foping and Longcanggou
Lesser Cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus: 6 Foping, 1 Wolong
Plaintive Cuckoo, Cacomantis merulinus: 1 Jianfengling
Asian Koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus: 1 at Longcanggou and heard at several sites
Greater Coucal, Centropus sinensis: 1+ at Jiulianshan
Collared Owlet, Otus lettia: 1 at Longcanggou, Xining and Jianfengling, heard at Jiulianshan
Mountain Scops Owl, Otus spilocephalus: Heard at Jiulianshan
Asian Barred Owlet, Glaucidium cuculoides: Heard at Jiulianshan
Himalayan Owl, um: Heard at Tangjiahe
Large-tailed Nightjar, Caprimulgus macrurus: 3 at Jianfengling
Grey Nightjar, Caprimulgus indicus: 1 Jiulianshan, 1 Yangtze River Bend (PH)
White-throated Needletail, Hirundapus caudacutus: flock of 10 at Longcanggou
Himalayan Swiftlet, Aerodramus brevirostris: Wolong and Lijiang
Salim Ali's (split from Fork-tailed) Swift Apus salimalii: Wolong and Jianfengling
House Swift, Apus nipalensis: Wuyuan area and Hainan
Little Swift, Apus affinis: Longcanggou area
Asian Palm-Swift, Cypsiurus balasiensis: a few at Jianfengling
Red-headed Trogon, Harpactes erythrocephalus: 4 at Jianfengling
BLYTH'S KINGFISHER, Alcedo hercules: 3 at Jiulianshan
Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis: 2 at the Lake and Jiulianshan, 1 Fuzhou
Black-capped Kingfisher, Halcyon pileata: 2 at Yangxian
Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle lugubris: 1 Tangjiahe
Hoopoe: 1 at Lake Hengshui, 3 at Shuhe and heard at Jiulianshan
Dollarbird, Eurystomus orientalis: Wuyuan area
Great Barbet, Megalaima virens: a few at Mangba and Jianfengling, heard elsewhere.
CHINESE BARBET, Megalaima faber: common at Jianfengling, heard at Jiulianshan
Blue-throated Barbet: 2 Mangba
Speckled Piculet, Picumnus innominatus: 1 at Tangjiahe and Mangba
Grey-capped Woodpecker, Dendrocopos canicapillus: 1 near Wuyuan, at Jiulianshan, Xining, Mangba and Jianfengling
Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos cathpharius pernyii: 1 or 2 near Longcanggou and several at Xining
White-backed Woodpecker, Dendrocopos leucotos: 3 atTangjiahe
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major: 1 Wuyuan and Longcanggou, 3 Xining
Rufous Woodpecker, Celeus brachyurus: heard at Fuzhou
Grey-faced Woodpecker, Picus canus: 1 Wuyuan, Jiulianshan and near Lijiang
Bay Woodpecker, Blythipicus pyrrhotis: 2+ at Xining (PH)
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Hemipus picatus: 2 at Mangba
Scarlet Minivet, Pericrocotus flammeus: 2 at Fuzhou Forest Park
Rosy Minivet, Pericrocotus roseus: 1 male at Mangba
Grey-chinned Minivet, Pericrocotus solaris: a few Jiulianshan and Jianfengling, 4 Fuzhou and 2 Tangjiahe
Long-tailed Minivet, Pericrocotus ethologus: a few Foping and Lijiang
Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Lalage melaschistos: 1 near Wuyuan
Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus: 1 at the Lake
Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach
Grey-backed Shrike, Lanius tephronotus: 1 or 2 Jiulianshan, Wolong and Longcanggou
Blyth’s (split from White-browed) Shrike-Babbler, Pteruthius flaviscapis: 2 at Xining, 1 Longcanggou. 1 of the lingshuiensis form at Jianfengling.
Green Shrike-Babbler: 1 at Wolong (CB)
White-bellied Erpornis, Erpornis zantholeuca: Jianfengling
SILVER ORIOLE, Oriolus mellianus: 2+ Xining
Maroon Oriole, Oriolus traillii: 1 Mangba
Black-naped Oriole, Oriolus chinensis: 1 near Wuyuan, heard Longcanggou
Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus
Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus: 2 near Wuyuan, 1 Yangxian and Mangba
Bronzed Drongo, Dicrurus aeneus: 2 at Mangba (PH)
Hair-crested Drongo, Dicrurus hottentottus: 1+ Yangxian and 2 Xining
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus: a few Jianfengling
White-throated Fantail, Rhipidura albicollis: 1 at Mangba and Jianfengling
Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius
Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus: 6 at the Lake
Red-billed Blue Magpie, Urocissa erythrorhyncha
Grey Treepie, Dendrocitta formosae: 1 near Wuyuan and 2 at Jiulianshan
Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Temnurus temnurus: 2 at Jianfengling
Eurasian/Spotted Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes: 2 Foping and common atTangjiahe
Red-billed Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax: a few at Balangshan
Yellow-billed Chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus: several at Balangshan
Large-billed Crow, Corvus macrorhynchos: a few
Eurasian Crag-Martin, Ptyonoprogne rupestris: a few at Wolong
Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica
Red-rumped Swallow, Cecropis daurica
Asian House-Martin, Delichon dasypus: nesting at Wolong tunnel, seen Longcanggou
Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Culicicapa ceylonensis: 1 Foping and Wolong, 2 Xining
Songar/Sichuan Tit, Poecile songarus weigoldei: a few Wolong
White-browed Tit, Poecile superciliosus: 2 Lijiang
Pere David's Tit, Poecile davidi: 2 Wolong (PH)
Coal Tit, Periparus ater: 1 or 2 at Tángjiāhé, Wolong, Sichuan and Lijiang
Rufous-vented Tit, Periparus rubidiventris: 2 Wolong
Yellow-bellied Tit, Pardaliparus venustulus: 1 or 2 Foping, Tángjiāhé, Wolong, Longcanggou and Xining
Grey-crested Tit, Lophophanes dichrous: 1 or 2 Tángjiāhé, Wolong and Lijiang
Japanese Tit, Parus minor: 2 at Foping and Mangba
Green-backed Tit, Parus monticolus
Yellow-browed Tit, Sylviparus modestus: 1 or 2 Wolong and Longcanggou
Sultan Tit, Melanochlora sultanea: 2+ Jianfengling
Fire-capped Tit, Cephalopyrus flammiceps: 1 or 2 Foping, Wolong and Longcanggou
Black-throated Tit, Aegithalos concinnus
Black-browed Tit, Aegithalos iouschistos: 2 Wolong and Lijiang
Sooty Tit, Aegithalos fuliginosus: a few Foping, Longcanggou and Tángjiāhé
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Sitta nagaensis: 1 or 2 Wolong and Mangba
Przewalski’s Nuthatch, Sitta (leucopsis) przewalskii: 1 above Rilong
Yunnan Nuthatch, Sitta yunnanensis: 1 above Suche
Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Sitta solangiae: 2+ at Jianfengling
Wallcreeper, Tichodroma muraria: a pair at Wolong tunnel
Hodgson's Treecreeper, Certhia hodgsoni: Tangjiahe and Wolong
Sichuan Treecreeper, Certhia tianquanensis: 2 Tangjiahe
Oriental Skylark, Alauda gulgula: 1 or 2 Fuzhou
Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes: 2 Wolong
Brown Dipper, Cinclus pallasii: 1 Jianfengling
Collared Finchbill, Spizixos semitorques
Crested Finchbill, Spizixos canifrons: 1 Wolong
Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus: 2 Jiulianshan, Fuzhou and Mangba
Brown-breasted Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthorrhous: a few Mangba and Lijiang
Light-vented/Chinese Bulbul, Pycnonotus sinensis
Sooty-headed Bulbul, Pycnonotus aurigaster: a few Mangba
Puff-throated Bulbul, Alophoixus pallidus: a few Jianfengling
Black Bulbul, Hypsipetes leucocephalus: a few Longcanggou and Mangba, common Lijiang area
Chestnut Bulbul, Hemixos castanonotus: a few Jiulianshan, Fuzhou and Jianfengling
Mountain Bulbul, Ixos mcclellandii: 2 Jiulianshan and Fuzhou, a few Jianfengling
Goldcrest, Regulus regulus: 2 at Wolong
Chestnut-headed Tesia, Tesia castaneocoronata: 1 Foping (PH), Tangjiahe and Longcanggou
Black-browed Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus: several at Minjiang Estuary
Blunt-winged Warbler, Acrocephalus concinens: 2 at the Lake
Oriental Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus orientalis: common at the Lake, a few at Minjiang Estuary
Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis: 2 Minjang Estuary
Common Tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius: 1 Mangba (DW)
Hill Prinia, Prinia superciliaris: 2 Jiulianshan
Plain Prinia, Prinia inornata: a few at Shuhe
Southern Spotted Bush-Warbler, Bradypterus thoracicus przevalskii: 2 at Wolong
Brown Bush-Warbler, Bradypterus luteoventris: Wolong and Longcanggou
Russet Bush-Warbler, Cettia/Bradypterus mandelli: heard at Xining
Aberrant Bush-Warbler, Cettia flavolivacea: heard at Tangjiahe and Wolong
Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler, Cettia fortipes: Xining
BAIKAL BUSH-WARBLER, Locustella davidi: Tangjiahe
Buff-throated Warbler, Phylloscopus subaffinis: fairly common Xining, 3+ Longcanggou, 2+ at Lijiang
Chinese Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus yunnanensis: common at Tangjiahe and a few at Wolong
Pallas’s Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus proregulus: Wolong
Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus: Wolong
Blyth's Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus reguloides: common at Foping and Tangjiahe, a few Xining and around Wolong and Lijiang
Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis: 2-3 near Yangxian
Greenish Warbler, Phylloscopus trochiloides: Tangjiahe
Claudia's Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus claudiae: Tangjiahe and Wolong
Davison's (White-tailed) Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus davisoni: Wolong and near Lijiang
Alpine Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus occisinensis: common at Wolong at high elevation
Buff-barred Warbler, Phylloscopus pulcher: Wolong
Sichuan Leaf-Warbler, Phylloscopus forresti: Wolong
Hume's Warbler, Phylloscopus humei: Foping and Wolong
Large-billed Leaf-warbler, Phylloscopus magnirostris: Tangjiahe, Longcanggou and Wolong
HAINAN LEAF-WARBLER, Phylloscopus hainanus: common at Jianfengling
EMEI LEAF-WARBLER, Phylloscopus emeiensis: several at Foping, a few at Tangjiahe, Longcanggou and Xining
White-spectacled Warbler, Seicercus affinis: Wolong and Xining
Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Seicercus castaniceps: Xining and Lijiang
Bianchi's Warbler, Seicercus valentini: Foping (DW)
Common Tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius: Mangba (DW)
Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Lioparus chrysotis: Wolong, Xining and Lijiang
Moupinia/Rufous-tailed Babbler, Moupinia poecilotis: 2 singles near Lijiang
Spectacled Fulvetta, Fulvetta ruficapilla: Lijiang
Chinese Fulvetta, Fulvetta striaticollis: Wolong
White-browed Fulvetta, Fulvetta vinipectus: Lijiang
Great Parrotbill, Conostoma oemodium: 1 Foping (DW) and Tangjiahe (JH)
Grey-headed Parrotbill, Paradoxornis gularis: 2 Fuzhou Forest Park
Three-toed Parrotbill, Paradoxornis paradoxus: 2 Tangjiahe (JH)
Spectacled Parrotbill, Paradoxornis conspicillatus: 10 Tangjiahe
Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Paradoxornis webbianus
Brown-winged Parrotbill, Paradoxornis brunneus: 2 Yangtze River Bend near Lijiang (PH)
Ashy-throated Parrotbill, Paradoxornis alphonsianus: a few Longcanggou, Laojunshan, Xining and near Lijiang
GREY-HOODED PARROTBILL, Paradoxornis zappeyi: 3 at Longcanggou
RUSTY-THROATED PARROTBILL, Paradoxornis przewalskii: 2+ at Tangjiahe
Fulvous Parrotbill, Paradoxornis fulvifrons: 1 at Foping (JH)
Golden Parrotbill, Paradoxornis verreauxi: fairly common at the Golden-fronted Fulvetta site near Longcanggou and a pair at Longcanggou and Xining (PH)
Northern/Reed Parrotbill, Paradoxornis polivanovi/heudei: 6+ at the Lake.
Chestnut-flanked White-eye, Zosterops erythropleurus: a few Tangjiahe and Jianfengling
Oriental White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus: a few Mangba
Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler, Pomatorhinus gravivox: a few near Lijiang
Grey-sided Scimitar-Babbler, Pomatorhinus swinhoei: 1 Fuzhou Forest Park
Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, Pomatorhinus ruficollis: 1 or 2 at Jiulianshan, Wolong and Jianfengling
Pygmy Wren-babbler, Pnoepyga pusilla: Heard at Longcanggou and Xining
Rufous-capped Babbler, Stachyridopsis ruficeps
Spot-necked Babbler, Stachyridopsis striolata: 2 at Jianfengling
GOLD-FRONTED FULVETTA, Alcippe variegaticeps: 2 near Longcanggou
Huet's Fulvetta, Alcippe hueti: a few at Jiulianshan, Fuzhou Forest Park and Jianfengling
Dusky Fulvetta, Alcippe brunnea: a few at Jianfengling
Rusty-capped Fulvetta, Alcippe dubia: a few at Lijiang
Chinese Babax, Babax lanceolatus: 2 at Wolong and near Lijiang
Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Garrulax castanotis castanotis: 10 Jianfengling
Chinese Hwamei, Garrulax canorus: 2 at Laojunshan, 1 at Xining
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla monileger: 2-3 at Mangba (PH)
White-throated Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla albogularis: 1 Jiulianshan, Tangjiahe (DW), 2 Wolong
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla pectoralis: 8 Jiulianshan
Black-throated Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla chinensis monachus: 6 Jianfengling
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla courtoisi: 20+ near Wuyuan
Spotted Laughingthrush, Garrulax ocellatus: a pair at Wolong (PH)
Biet's Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla bieti: 2 near Lijiang
Giant Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla maximus: 1 or 2 Wolong and Lijiang – heard more often than seen
White-browed Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla sannio: widespread in poor habitat at lower elevations
Elliot's Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron elliotii
Long-tailed Sibia, Heterophasia picaoides: 2 at Mangba
Black-headed Sibia, Heterophasia desgodinsi: common near Lijiang
Silver-eared Mesia, Leiothrix argentauris: 2 at Mangba
Red-billed Leiothrix, Leiothrix lutea: a few Jiulianshan, Tangjiahe, Foping and Xining
Blue-winged Minla, Minla cyanouroptera: 2 Wolong, 1 at Xining (PH)
Chestnut-tailed Minla, Minla strigula: 2 near Lijiang
Indochinese (Striated) Yuhina, Yuhina (castaniceps) torqueola: 1-2 at Fuzhou and Mangba
White-collared Yuhina, Yuhina diademata: a few at Foping and all sites in Sichuan and Yunnan
Emei/Grey-faced Liocichla, Liocichla omeiensis: commonly heard in Wolong and elsewhere in Sichuan
STREAKED BARWING, Actinodura souliei: 1 at Xining
Asian Brown Flycatcher, Muscicapa latirostris: 1 at the Lake
Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Muscicapa muttui: 1 Tangjiahe
Ferruginous Flycatcher, Muscicapa ferruginea: 2 Tangjiahe, Wolong and Mangba
Oriental Magpie-Robin, Copsychus saularis
Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, Cyornis hainanus: 2+ at Jianfengling
Pale Blue-Flycatcher, Cyornis rubicolor: 2 at Jianfengling (PH)
Hill Blue-Flycatcher, Cyornis banumas: 1 Mangba
Chinese Blue-throated Flycatcher, Cyornis rubeculoides glaucicomans: 1+ Longcanggou, 2 Xining
Fujian Niltava, Niltava davidi: 1 Longcanggou (DW)
Verditer Flycatcher, Eumyias thalassinus: 1+ Lijiang
White-tailed Rubythroat, Luscinia pectoralis tschebaiewi: 3+ Balangshan
Indian Blue Robin, Luscinia brunnea: 1 seen at Foping, Wolong and Xining, others heard there and near Lijiang
White-crowned Forktail, Enicurus leschenaulti: 2 at Jianfengling
Slaty-backed Forktail, Enicurus schistaceus: 4+ at Jiulianshan
Firethroat, Luscinia pectardens: 1 seen well near Wolong, others heard
BLACK-THROATED BLUE ROBIN, Luscinia obscura: 3 seen at Foping
Blue-fronted Robin, Cinclidium frontale: female Wolong (PH)
Himalayan Bluetail, Tarsiger rufilatus: 2+ Wolong
Golden Bush-Robin, Tarsiger chrysaeus: 1 Tangjiahe
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Ficedula strophiata: 2 at Wolong and near Lijiang, 1 Longcanggou
Korean/Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Ficedula zanthopygia: 1 near Yangxian
Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Ficedula hodgsonii: 1 Wolong (PH)
Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Ficedula tricolor: 1 at Balangshan (DW)
Blue-fronted Redstart, Phoenicurus frontalis: a few Wolong, Longcanggou, Xining and Lijiang
Plumbeous Redstart, Phoenicurus fuliginosus
White-capped Redstart, Phoenicurus leucocephalus: a few Tangjiahe and Wolong
Hodgson's Redstart, Phoenicurus hodgsoni: 2 Wolong
White-throated Redstart, Phoenicurus schisticeps: 2 above Rilong
Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros: 1 Balangshan
Daurian Redstart, Phoenicurus auroreus: 1 or 2 Jiulianshan, Foping, Wolong and Lijiang
White-bellied Redstart, Hodgsonius phaenicuroides: 1 at Longcanggou (PH)
Grandala, Grandala coelicolor: c.10 at Balangshan
Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maurus: 1 Shuhe
Grey Bushchat, Saxicola ferreus: 1 or 2 Yangxian, Longcanggou, Mangba, Xining, Lijiang and Shuhe
Blue Whistling-Thrush, Myophonus caeruleus
Chinese Blackbird, Turdus merula mandarinus: 1 near Wuyuan and at Xining
Chestnut Thrush, Turdus rubrocanus: 2 Wolong
Kessler's Thrush, Turdus kessleri: 5 Wolong
Eye-browed Thrush, Turdus obscurus: 2 at Jiulianshan
Chinese Thrush, Turdus mupinensis: 2 Lijiang
Crested Myna, Acridotheres cristatellus
Red-billed Starling, Sturnus sericeus: a few around Wuyuan
Chestnut-tailed Starling, Sturnuia malabaricus: 1 at Suche
Black-collared Starling, Gracupica nigricollis: 1 near Minjiang Estuary
Orange-bellied Leafbird, Chloropsis hardwickii : 1 or 2 melliana at Fuzhou, 2+ hardwickii at Jianfengling
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectum: a few at Fuzhou, Foping, Longcanggou and Mangba
Olive-backed Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis: a few at Sanya
Gould's Sunbird, Aethopyga gouldiae: common near Lijiang and 2 at Sanya
Fork-tailed Sunbird, Aethopyga christinae: a few at Fuzhou and Sanya
Alpine Accentor, Prunella collaris berezowskii: common Balangshan
Rufous-breasted Accentor, Prunella strophiata: a few Balangshan
Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla tschutschensis: 1 near Longcanggou
Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
White Wagtail, Motacilla alba
Rosy Pipit, Anthus roseatus: 3 Balangshan
Olive-backed Pipit, Anthus hodgsoni
Russet Sparrow, Passer rutilans: 1 at Foping, a few at Xining and Lijiang
Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
Plain Mountain-Finch, Leucosticte nemoricola: a few at Balangshan
Brandt's/Black-headed Mountain-Finch, Leucosticte brandti walteri: common at Balangshan
Grey-headed Bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythaca: a pair above Rilong
Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Carpodacus nipalensis: at least 1 male at Wolong
Common Rosefinch, Carpodacus erythrinus: faily common at Wolong
Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, Carpodacus davidianus: 1 male at Wolong and Rilong
Pink-rumped Rosefinch, Carpodacus eos: 1 or 2 at Wolong
Vinaceous Rosefinch, Carpodacus vinaceus: a few at Foping, Tangjiahe and Longcanggou
Chinese White-browed Rosefinch, Carpodacus dubius: fairly common at Wolong
Three-banded Rosefinch, Carpogacus trifasciatus: 1 at Rilong (PH, DW)
Red-fronted Rosefinch, Carpodacus puniceus: 2 males Balangshan
Scarlet Finch, Haematospiza sipahi: a male at Wolong
Oriental Greenfinch, Carduelis sinica
Black-headed Greenfinch, Carduelis ambigua: a few near Lijiang
Red Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra: Heard near Longcanggou
White-winged Grosbeak, Mycerobas carnipes: 2 Wolong
Slaty Bunting, Latoucheornis siemsseni: 1 or 2 at Tangjiahe and Wolong
Yellow-throated Bunting, Emberiza elegans: a few at Xining
Black-faced Bunting, Emberiza spodocephala: 2 at Shuhe
Notable Mammals
Red Panda Ailurus fulgens: 1 at Wolong [1 just missed at Longcanggou]
Hog Badger Arctonyx collaris: 2 near the tunnel below Balangshan
Takin Budorcas taxicolor: 2 at Tangjiahe [other groups had many more there]