Sichuan Birding (6 Viewers)

thrush said:

Thanks for this, James. I haven't met Hutchinson, Dowell, and Wilkinson. You're welcome to give them my e-mail address and phone number, which I'll send you shortly in a private message. I've been getting good info from other birders, but I still don't know whether the S216 has been completed.

Simple, cheap alternatives are often the best, as you have shown with your use of Google Earth to find new habitats.

The bad news out of Vietnam doesn't make me feel more positive about China, but it does make me feel less negative.

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I have details from my Muli visit a few years ago hidden away in old notebooks, happy to pass on anything useful once I'm back home again.

Rob

Ben King wrote on a trip he made to Muli in the late eighties. This was the report that Bjorn Anderson based his 2008 visit on - and I suspect that Bjorn's report is the gen that subsequent Muli birders have used (found in Surfbirds). John and Jemi Holmes were also out there during the same dates - so they most likely have also written on the site.
Interestingly Ben King wrote that Derbyan Parakeet were common during the time of his visit - we saw none during 2008 - it would be interesting to find out if the species has been totally wiped out in this area

I met Roger Wilkinson and Simon Dowell together with He Fen Qi - two or three summers back after they had made one of their Partridge surveys. I'm pretty confident that they had not visited Muli - but, on another highly interesting tack, at the sites visited had heard Silver Oriole.

The last birders I know to have been to the area were Roland and Phil Edwards - 2 winters back.
At that time there was no construction on the Xichang to Muli Road - but this is Sichuan and roads are quickly rubbished. If worried - maybe googling up a Muli Hotel and then asking about the state of the road would seem one of your most vital contacts

china guy said:

... I met Roger Wilkinson and Simon Dowell together with He Fen Qi - two or three summers back after they had made one of their Partridge surveys. I'm pretty confident that they had not visited Muli - but, on another highly interesting tack, at the sites visited had heard Silver Oriole. ...

At that time there was no construction on the Xichang to Muli Road - but this is Sichuan and roads are quickly rubbished. If worried - maybe googling up a Muli Hotel and then asking about the state of the road would seem one of your most vital contacts

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Sure enough, road construction is going on between Xichang and Duli. I called the bus station.

Not quite following the thing about He Fen Qi, Wilkinson, and Dowell. They had not visited Muli, but heard silver oriole--if not in Muli, then where? And if He Fen Qi and company weren't in Muli, then why mention it in a discussion on Muli? Thanks for clearing that up.

Questions such as whether the Derbyan is holding on in Muli are just the sort of thing I'm wanting to find out.

the subject of Silver Oriole came up in one of James' posts -

Any old-growth forests would be worth checking for such specialties as Silver Oriole as that is not far from the known breeding locality in southern Sichuan.

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Simon and Roger were surveying Sichuan Hill Partridge, when they ran into the Oriole - sites for the Partridge, all south of the Dadu River, and in the general vicinity of Muli indicate that you to should also be looking out for Silver Oriole.
Other birds of interest-Yunnan Nuthatch will be there but maybe Giant Nuthatch is a possibility.

china guy said:

... Simon and Roger were surveying Sichuan Hill Partridge, when they ran into the Oriole - sites for the Partridge, all south of the Dadu River, and in the general vicinity of Muli indicate that you to should also be looking out for Silver Oriole.
Other birds of interest-Yunnan Nuthatch will be there but maybe Giant Nuthatch is a possibility.

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Every time someone sends me a possibility for Muli, I'm a bit more fired up about getting there. So please, help me fill out the target list. What other birds would you be on the lookout for if you were doing Muli? Also, Muli County is large; when we're talking about "in Muli," what are we meaning? Near the town of Muli? Up the S216 into the high country?

If your intention is to make a general survey then I suppose the more sensible place to base yourself is Muli Town - which has accommodation - although there should still be a few homestay type guesthouses out in the countryside.
As for prime birding sites, it looks like your most interesting habitat, just like much of Sichuan, will be native forest with bamboo. James has already made the excellent suggestion of looking at Google Earth -although this software can't readily identify wild forest from plantation it does give you an idea over areas of forest cover, from which you plan likely routes to check out from ground level.
As for species to be expected - birdtalker only has one very incomplete list for the area (just one report) - but a search for lists from neighboring areas may help draw up an initial list of likely ticks.

best of luck
Sid

thrush said:

Every time someone sends me a possibility for Muli, I'm a bit more fired up about getting there. So please, help me fill out the target list. What other birds would you be on the lookout for if you were doing Muli? Also, Muli County is large; when we're talking about "in Muli," what are we meaning? Near the town of Muli? Up the S216 into the high country?

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If you find old-growth deciduous then Streaked Barwing would be likely. On top of the birds Sid and I have already mentioned, I wouldn't expect too many other stand-out species really, as it's not an area filled with a unique habitat or of high elevation. If you got to areas above 2500m (I don't know if that is possible there having not studied the areas well-enough) then it would be worth looking for Sichuan Treecreeper if you find coniferous forest with a bamboo understorey, or even Grey-hooded Parrotbill, though unlikely.
One bird that could possibly be hiding away there is even Mrs Hume's Pheasant - you're only 150km due east of a locality where they are still 'locally fairly common'.

That list of birds, google earth and a sense of adventure should all be that is needed to head over there and have a good search around.

Have fun!

James

Thanks, James, Sid, and the others who've written in. The expedition begins Saturday.

Why Sichuan? Why go to Muli? Let me explain. As many of you know, I'm putting together a photographic field guide to the birds of China.

It's amazing the extent to which a book about the birds of China is a book about the birds of Yunnan and Sichuan. Yunnan alone has 919 of the 1,436 birds recorded in China. Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time in Yunnan and Sichuan these past few years.

Muli attracts me because it's under-birded and because it holds Garrulax bieti.

I'm aware of the precarious position of G. bieti. Even though I doubt trappers commonly study birders' reports written in English, I'll nonetheless treat the species just as Björn Anderson treated it in his 2008 report. Anderson didn't make known the exact location where his team found G. bieti, and neither will I. I'll even send a report on our findings to Birdlife International. (Can anyone tell me how to do that?)

Any photos I publish will not reveal exactly where the photo was taken. I'll write, "Muli County, Sichuan." I will not display my photos of G. bieti on birdnet.cn. I'll photograph the environment, and I'll ask local people whether trappers are active in the area. Habitat shots and the results of my interviews with locals will go into my report. With your help, I'm hoping to make a good update to Anderson's 2008 report.

I'm working hard to make a great field guide to the birds of China. The need for adequate coverage of Sichuan's birds is particularly acute. In Yunnan, one can use Robson's Birds of SE Asia, and here on the coast we can use Brazil's Birds of East Asia. But in Sichuan, Robson's book is like a distant radio signal fading in and out, and MacKinnon's book, though a pioneering work and worthy of respect, is out-of-date and in many places inaccurate.

I know that some birders aren't in love with the idea of photo field guides. Let me say two things in this regard. First, look at the quality of some of the recent photo field guides. Try Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair and Ryan, for example--that book being my model. What a job they did! Second, you find me a painter I can team up with, and maybe I'll do a traditional field guide. I think I'll be waiting awhile before you find someone who can paint all 1,436 Chinese birds.

I'm going to Muli and other places in Sichuan to further my education and acquire images worthy of a world-class photo field guide. Thanks to everyone for their kind support.

I think there's a chance that birding sites are scanned by persons wanting to obtain specimens of rare birds.
Last year i received this mail from the Ukraine -

++++++++ Commercial dept
10/28/2013
To: chengduuk


Greetings,

I found your contacts on request "birds India" in Internet.

My name is XXXXXXXXX. I am the head of the zoological direction of XXXXXX Company (Kiev , Ukraine).

Our company is interested in establishing contacts with suppliers of local bird species from your region to Ukraine. We interested in legitimate export.

I understand that your work is different from that interests us, but it's close enough.

It is difficult to find fully responsible suppliers. Perhaps you know such suppliers or breeders in India and can give their contacts? I would be very grateful for the assistance provided by you.


Our company is interested in next species:

Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus)

Henderson's Ground-jay (Podoces hendersoni)

Henderson's Ground-jay (Podoces hendersoni)

Biddulph's Ground Jay or Xinjiang Ground Jay (Podoces biddulphi)

Hume's Ground-tit (Pseudopodoces humilis)

Silver Oriole (Oriolus mellianus)

Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola rufiventris)

Plain-backed Thrush (Zoothera mollissima)

Long-tailed Thrush (Zoothera dixoni)

Dark-sided Thrush (Zoothera marginata)

Black-breasted Thrush (Turdus dissimilis)

Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis)

White-collared Blackbird (Turdus albocinctus)

Grey-winged Blackbird (Turdus boulboul)

Kessler's Thrush or White-backed Thrush (Turdus kessleri)

Grey-sided Thrush (Turdus feae)

Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus)

Chinese Thrush (Turdus mupinensis)

This list is not exhaustive. Just to understand what birds we are interested in.

Sincerely++++++++++++
names and Email of sender have been ommited

They write about Indian suppliers and a legitimate supply - but those are Chinese species - note Silver Oriole is included. I hardly think the Ukraine is a hotbed of avian DNA research - while I have a feeling that taxidermy and cage bird collecting is a far more popular pastime.
Skins and stuffed examples of near extinct birds maybe seen as good invest opportunities - write with care!!!!!!

china guy said:

I think there's a chance that birding sites are scanned by persons wanting to obtain specimens of rare birds ... write with care!!!!!!

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Will do.

Agree Sid,

Caution at all times methinks. Just an example.... amazing number of to me, obvious Chinese specimens on sale from Kent. I find all sorts on auction sites including some of the above mentioned!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAXIDERMY...les_AnimalCollectables_SM&hash=item4d1b33ac26

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAXIDERMY...les_AnimalCollectables_SM&hash=item35d3aef2e8

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAXIDERMY...les_AnimalCollectables_SM&hash=item4d1a829ced

I agree with James that Google Earth is the key to finding good habitat - if you have good habitat at the right elevation then any birds within range should be there. We used this succesfully to determine the best strategy for seeing a rare quail-dove in Mexico.

Good luck on the trip and the photos.

cheers, alan

Capture for the international bird-trade is massive, and I cant emphasize enough just how big it is across Asia - trappers are far more aware of where rare birds are found than birders themselves - Biet's is a classic example, though it still persists in Sichuan, the largest population found was in Yunnan, due to them being discovered in trade and them finding the actual trapper (who I have been out in the field with).

So yes, we should be vigilant but let's not kid ourselves, some trappers are far more savvy in the field than any birder could hope to be. The illegal bird-trade is huge (for example, a single shipment of 20,000 Liothrix and 5,000 Black-throated Laughingthrushes passed through Malaysia last year), birds-of-paradise are passed through Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on a regular basis, I could go on and on. Having studied bird markets and trade in some detail nothing would surprise me any more!

Craig, I agree, with the quality of photos now available, producing a detailed field guide using photos I think is very realistic, though getting photos of females and immatures, which would be the most important I assume would be trickier to fill. China would be ideal to cover, as the majority of the birds occur in fairly open habitat so can be photographed with relative ease (comparing to the tropics, which has far more elusive species occurring in often poorly-lit understorey). I guess the main issue would be the western Himalayan and central Asian birds occurring in west and south Xinjiang and western Tibet - would you photograph them in China, or allow yourself visits to Nepal, India and Kazakhstan?
The vast majority of China's birds have already been lavishly illustrated - in HBW, so you might not be waiting as long as you think for that to be produced...

James

lewis20126 said:

... Google Earth is the key to finding good habitat - if you have good habitat at the right elevation then any birds within range should be there. ...

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That's the plan in Muli. Thanks, Alan, and congrats on that quail-dove.

With the unavailability of a number of Sichuan sites, maybe not the best year to visit? Or will waiting only be worse?! As Sid says, there seems to be plenty of habitat, but access is the real issue. The challenge for visiting birders like myself is that there are always time pressures, and this militates against finding new places, while those "facilitating tours" (or whatever the euphemism is currently to avoid the "tour guide" label!) are obviously busy doing just that... Hoping things work out, Craig!

James Eaton said:

... some trappers are far more savvy in the field than any birder could hope to be.

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They're savvy because they have an economic incentive to be. The key is to offer an economic incentive to preserve birds rather than trap them. I've seen few glimmers of hope in China in this regard. The closest may have been at Baihualing, Gaoligongshan, where a system of blinds has been set up, attracting photographers, who hire local young men as guides. If poachers entered Baihualing, those young men would probably chase them out, because the poachers would be threatening the young men's livelihood.

Jon Gallagher said:

With the unavailability of a number of Sichuan sites, maybe not the best year to visit? Or will waiting only be worse?! As Sid says, there seems to be plenty of habitat, but access is the real issue. The challenge for visiting birders like myself is that there are always time pressures, and this militates against finding new places, while those "facilitating tours" (or whatever the euphemism is currently to avoid the "tour guide" label!) are obviously busy doing just that... Hoping things work out, Craig!

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It's an interesting question, Jon. In China, you really never know which sites will close and for how long (Wuyishan, Giant Panda watching at Foping, Changqing, Wawu Shan, even Wolong has been tricky to enter at times), so you have to gen up well and be ready with alternative sites.

No year for several years now has appeared to be the best year to visit - we've run an annual tour every year since 2005 (bar the tragic earthquake year) and not once have we been able to run the same itinerary the following year due to a variety of reasons that has meant certain sites have closed. However, this has led to a number of 'new' sites, or older sites becoming reused so the actual number of specialities possible on a time-restricted, say 3-week, trip has remained pretty much the same (gain a couple, lose a couple each year).
If Wawu Shan, and then Labahe had remained open, would any birders have visited Longcanggou for example, which is a great spot - if that closes, which is likely, then what? I'm sure another site will be visited instead, with equally good birding opportunities (or Dafanding might return to a birders itinerary). With Wawu and Labahe scheduled for reopening next year in theory 2015 should be great - but what if the habitat along the roads and trails has been altered to an extent that it will require 3-4 years of regeneration before they return to their former glories.
A site with just about everything, Emei Shan could be visited for a longer period of time (still ranks as one of favourite all-time birding destinations - I still don't get why so few birders go there any more).

Regarding the habitat - Much of it is accessible, and access has only been restricted to a certain number of familiar sites, just needs more birders to try something new and be more adventurous. I remember on my first visit to Sichuan, over 10 years ago now, and we didn't have a clue where to look for Chinese Monals, so we scouted many, many hillsides (getting chased by park officials up a slope at Jiuzhaigou during our 10 days there, way above Long Lake lingers long in the memory!) - and then we finally found the several at a site that birders still see them at now, at km91 at Balang Shan (as we stayed with the yak-herders just below the pass - a horrid though unforgettable experience) - I find it amazing that even now other sites for this species are not on standard itineraries (as we found them at other sites too) - Wood Snipe too - I bet they are much more widespread!

James

Hi, we are still considering if it's worth going this year for mammals in November. Specifically we are after tibetan fox, wolf and red Panda. I know Sid is expecting Labahe to reopen of this season, though has made us aware that there are no guarantees and disturbance could be a problem too. If we do make it we are looking for one other to join us.

I'm not exactly hopeful with this ID request, but I thought I'd ask on the off chance. This is a rodent I saw in forest at Danjing Shan a couple of years back, probably at about 800masl. I was curious about it's identity as most of the common small mammals I'm used to seeing in the UK are brown, and this is more of a grey. My current thinking is that it's a species of vole, as it looks to have a blunt face, but I'm not really sure that it's not a mouse. Grateful for any ideas.

Ed

Dahe said:

I'm not exactly hopeful with this ID request, but I thought I'd ask on the off chance. This is a rodent I saw in forest at Danjing Shan a couple of years back, probably at about 800masl. I was curious about it's identity as most of the common small mammals I'm used to seeing in the UK are brown, and this is more of a grey. My current thinking is that it's a species of vole, as it looks to have a blunt face, but I'm not really sure that it's not a mouse. Grateful for any ideas.

Ed

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Hi, your rodent is more like a Apodemus sp. than a vole. Noting that its tail obviously has ringed scale.

Robbi