China Sojourn (1 Viewer)

Spot-breasted Parrotbill is a good bird there Dev - nice one.

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK said:

Spot-breasted Parrotbill is a good bird there Dev - nice one.

Cheers
Mike

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Thanks Mike. I could not believe myself as it was the first bird even before the Sparrows, Wagtails n Bulbuls.

Part 3- Tengchong

After a 12 hour bus journey, finally arrived at Tengchong. A small town part of Baoshan district. Weather was bit warmer than Dali. I checked for my body parts if all of them are in one piece as soon as i got out of the bus. The more i go towards south, the more i feel like i’m in India. “Alert” – tourist robbery. Eventhough the hotel was booked close to the bus station, no one seems to know (pretend) the hotel. I took a taxi n immediately the driver dropped me at the hotel which was around the corner. I was pretty shocked as this is my first experience of being a victim for tourist robbery in China. Lesson learnt. Don’t take the damn taxis in Tengchong.

Legs were already cramped due to hiking at Cangshan. I could not reach the top of the comparatively small Laifengshan park. Just birded around the entrance. Black-breasted Thrush were plenty. Black-headed Sibia, Large cuckooshrike, Grey-headed Canary flycatcher as usual in the canopies. A pair of Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher were pretty busy finding their morning breakfast. A wave of Blue-winged Minla, Silver-eared Mesia, Brown-winged Parrotbill, Red-tailed Minla passed by. I continued my way up and saw a Rusty-capped Fulvetta collecting nesting materials. One of the daredevil flycatchers, a Brown-breasted Flycatcher filled up my frame.

Pagoda...Summit...Walkers

Golden-throated Barbets were plenty near the Pagoda but always on the canopy. Little Pied Flycatcher, Grey-Bushchat, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch were so tame. They came to the ground after all the walkers had left. A female Large Niltava send me puzzling when it gave a cameo on the same perch were the female Grey Bushchat was sitting. The male Nilatava was definitely large but i was unable to get a record shot as the rain n bad light drove me for cover. A Snowy-browed Flycatcher was singing desperately for its mate.

Sight-seeing @ Tengchong ?

The next day was merely a sight-seeing day @ the famous Hotpspring Scenic area. Tengchong is famous for its Jade stones and the Hotsprings. Most of the Jade stone markets were deserted. So planned to visit the famous Rehai Hotspring Scenic area. A lovely 30 minute ride on one of the rural transport taxi which is also a rip-off and needs a very good bargaining skills.

60 RMB entrance fee, additional 10RMB for the battery operated pick-ups to go to the scenice area from the entrance gate which i didn’t buy. Once again the accidental birding begins. A Slaty-backed Forktail along the stream with his other habitat species Plumbeous Redstart, White-capped Redstart, Blue Whistling Thrush. Golden-throated Barbets were heard here also. There were numerous hotspring SPA’s with attractive prices all over the way. The only thing which was attractive to me was the nesting House Swifts.

Right past the main scenic area entrance, plenty of Oriental White-eyes and Japanese White-eyes and a lonely male Mrs.Gould’s Sunbird were feeding on the nectars.

The Hotspring…Definitely not for a bath.

Orange...Crimson...Colorful

Nothing was interesting more in this place just a bunch of regular tourists playing songs in loud speakers. I was returning to check on the Slaty-backed Forktail which i saw earlier. I was searching some flowering trees for the white-eyes and caught up with a stunning male Orange-bellied Leafbird.

There was also a Grey-backed Shrike and Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher in the little creek where i saw the Slaty-backed Forktail. The Forktail has made its way to an elevation where i could not reach. But looking up at the sky gave me the Oriental Honey Buzzard, Crested Goshawk and an Ashy Drongo.A lonely Tibetan Siskin was sitting very close to the Crested Goshawk. A brave fella!

Now, there is new addition to the flowering trees Crimson Sunbird and Fork-tailed Sunbird.

Laifengshan for one last time

The last day of birding. I visited Laifengshan for the last time. The new birds i saw are a flock of Whiskered Yuhinas, Maroon-backed Accentor, Mountain Bulbul, Chestnut-flanked White-eye, Eurasian Jay, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Black-throated Tit, Verditer Flycatcher. I tried to convert a Daurian Redstart to a Hodgson’s Redstart but finally settled with Daurian. A White-browed Laughingthrush was as usual feeding in its world of leaf litter, my only Laughingthrush of the whole trip.

How come, one can go to Laifengshan and miss one of its specialities. When i was about to pack-up, i suddenly realized the call of the Slender-billed Oriole, the beauty was sitting just above me. After all , a big target became a success.

Good stuff Dev.

Black-breasted Thrush is one of my favourites - any pix?

A nice selection of species - and a ripping male Grey Bushchat - never seen one with such a monster supercilium!

Cheers
Mike

Excellent report so far and some great shots of great species

Love the accentor. That yellow eye in the grey face looks kind-of evil.

FXM said:

Good stuff Dev.

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Thanks Frank.

MKinHK said:

Black-breasted Thrush is one of my favourites - any pix?

A nice selection of species - and a ripping male Grey Bushchat - never seen one with such a monster supercilium!

Cheers
Mike

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Sorry to disappoint you Mike. I have few record shots of the female. The light was totally out. I had some great views of two males not more than 5m from me.

viator said:

Excellent report so far and some great shots of great species

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Thanks Viator. That's the end of the Yunnan report. I will continue to post reports out of Shanghai in this thread.

Jeff hopkins said:

Love the accentor. That yellow eye in the grey face looks kind-of evil.

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Thanks Jeff. You will be seeing plenty of this devil during your trip. When is the trip coming? Are you planning to nail the Robins?

Extravagant Sanqingshan

Couple of friends were planning for a team building activity in Sanqingshan. There were couple of other places in their list but the “Shan” got my attention as I saw it as a birding opportunity. Sanqingshan belongs to the Shangrao district which also houses the most famous Wuyuan. How did I miss Sanqingshan before? The name says it for all. “Extravagant”. Details will follow as I write further.

18th May – took the high speed train D97 from Shanghai Hongqiao which was headed to Changsha. We got down at the Shangrao station after a four hour ride. Time to join the tourist parade. Guide was waiting for us with the “Loud Speaker” and “Flag”. My worst nightmare became true by joining a tour group. Now, I’m part of the stereotype tour.

15-20 minutes of bus ride in the traffic less streets of the town and another 20 minutes turned out to be lushing green on both sides of the mountain road. Reminds me of the “Wuyuan”scape. Arrived at the first stop of our itinerary, “Liangshan Mountain Scenic Spot”. By the time we got out of the bus, rain has started pouring. Fortunately, the scenic spot has caves, we took refuge in the caves.

After couple of hours, the downpour was reduced to slight drizzle which immediately followed by lot of bird calls. The only calls which I recognized where Collared Finchbill, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Hwamei, Great Tit and Vinous-throated Parrotbill. The hike continued through uphill, downhill. When we crossed a stream, a strange call got my attention and I was searching up the bushes and the bird darted out to the rocks on the opposite side, perched for couple of seconds to clinch the ID. First lifer of the trip came in the form of “Striated Prinia”. I patted myself as I wasn’t expecting that bird and clinching its ID in the field.

Hike got over right by the time of rain gods started showering again but that doesn’t stop be from another lifer. This bird was long coming, I briefly missed it in Wuyuan last year but I was so desperate to see it this time. A female “Russet Sparrow” took refuge in the tree from the heavy shower followed by a male, which stopped on an empty advertisement frame to check on me before getting into the shelter.

We headed to our hotel in Xanadu village for the dinner and night’s stay. Accomodation was arranged in Sanqingshan Mountain resort hotel. One of the three hotels at the base of the Jinsha cable car station. A beautiful stream was flowing behind the hotel, a very nice place but expensive though. A standard room costs 300RMB. As I was checking in my room, I heard the “Brown Dipper” calling in the stream just outside the Balcony. Plumbeous redstarts were plenty along the banks. Red-billed Blue Magpies as usual taking up the canopies.

To the Summit

Next day, about time to visit this UNESCO’s world heritage site under the notorious branding of “MostFamousChinaMountain”. There were two cable car station’s Jinsha Ropeway on the eastern side and Waishuangxi on the southern. Our team now got split into two. Hikers n non-hikers. I joined the hiking team in the hope of doing some birding but that was a big mistake with a huge waste of time. For me it seemed like Huangshan with people flooding the hiking path. I just cursed myself for a poor choice. After a 3 hours of hike, I reached the top end of the Waishuangxi cable car station. “Rufous-faced Warblers” were heard all around but none was seen.

A few metres down the ropeway was more active with Asian House Martin collecting mud and building nests, the colony consisted of several thousands of them. Some swifts passed by like a F18. Thanks to overcast sky, I could not get any details of it.

A berry tree gave me the first lifers of the day Buffy Laughingthrush and Grey-sided Scimitar Babbler. The grey-sided scimitar Babbler was not afraid of the human presence at all. It was so relaxed feeding on the berries and so the laughingthrush. Red-billed Leiothrix gave a cameo and disappeared. A bird wave passed by consisted of Mountain Bulbul, Black Bulbul and Black-throated Tit. Mountain Bulbul perched in a closeby branch and filled my frame for a while. I proceeded further to meet the rest of the team @ the hotel but got diverted by a pair of Chestnut-crowned Warbler. The bird wave lasted only for a couple of seconds after a couple of people joined me to see what I’m shooting. This cost me the Striated Yuhina. I came across three flocks with good no of birds but shooed away by the “Walkers”.

No one had a mind to reach the summit at 1819m. So all decided to head back to the Jinsha ropeway and call it a day. The walk to the Jinsha ropeway through the raised platform should be mesmerizing on a bright sunny day but on a dark, misty n rainy day it jus gave an eerie feeling.

Idyllic tourism

The next phase of stay was in Sanqingshan Idyllic Rural village tourism Zone. Tourist attraction in the front and comfy cottages in the back, again not a budget accommodation. Standard room was 400RMB, the most funny thing is the entry fee for the place is additional 90RMB if you don’t wish to stay inside. Plenty of Russet Sparrows, there was a nest next to my room window. No other noticeable birds were seen.

Pack up!

Next day was jus pack up things and head back to Shangrao to catch the D98 which was enroute to Shanghai from Changsha.
Bizarre granite cliffs named as “Women with Three Breasts”, “Man who went to Pee”. Watch it UNESCO, The mere 5 stars and World Heritage status is not any good for budget travelers, it merely adds up expensive entry fees(250 RMB for the ropeway) and expensive accommodation. Food was another joke, even a bowl of Tofu was priced at 68RMB. There could be better bird life at 1800m and other trails. With the cost involved, the no of birds seen, commercial exploitation, nasty crowd “Sanqingshan” is not worthy of a birding trip. But for Landscape photographers and hikers, it’s a good place on a bright day. Make sure you have enough Cash “To Burn”.

NEED A BIGGER COPYRIGHT SYMBOL:t:

Hi Dev,

I've begun to realize that if something in China is designated a "special tourist area" or National Park or some such you're going to be shoulder-to-shoulder with tour groups and their horrid loudspeakers. And if they put in a cable car it's going to be hellish. Now, if you can figure out a way to get off the tourist trail, you might find some birds, but based on Jiuzhaigou, everything in China is geared to force you onto that trail, i.e. past the souvenir stands, the expensive restaurants, etc. because that's where the merchants have paid the authorities to make you go.

And regarding your questions about the robins, I had a fleeting view of rufous-headed robin, but with a group of 10 other birders, a skulker like that was not going to give us good looks. And I missed Indian Blue Robin entirely. But I did have a great view of firethroat.

thirudevaram said:

... Watch it UNESCO, The mere 5 stars and World Heritage status is not any good for budget travelers, it merely adds up expensive entry fees(250 RMB for the ropeway) and expensive accommodation. Food was another joke, even a bowl of Tofu was priced at 68RMB. ... Make sure you have enough Cash “To Burn”.

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From my experiences, the accommodation prices you've mentioned earlier aren't outlandish, especially in a "touristy" spot (unless they are extremely simple), but those kind of food prices just make me crazy. (Where is that money going??? Cost of ingredients? cost of labor? I don't think so.)