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Sichuan Birding (2 Viewers)

We're out in NE Sichuan at the moment - far off the normal beaten birding track. Our usual hotel is full - so after a little scouting around we found a new one that borders a rather grotty looking river that is used as the local rubbish dump. But not too worry - as long as that waste isn't toxic birds don't seem to mind shuffling around empty instant noodle-pots and what-not - and we've been watching the likes of Citrine Wagtail from our hotel window. But this morning we got something that really took us by surprise.

Its been raining heavily - and the river is in flood - and the the most interesting bird of a pre-breakfast scan was a Crested Kingfisher. Down bellow there were some farm ducks, of which I obviously hadn't taken too much notice, but when a passing farmer on the river bank walked by - something pretty fantastic popped out of that group of ducks - Lesser White-fronted Goose!!!!

At first I couldn't believe my eyes - and then there was a mad scramble to get the camera, which was cardless - find a card - and then get off some pics before our goose disappeared. Meggie and me get a bit volatile in situations like this, but we managed not to hit each other in our desperate camera panic - and obscene language both in English and Chinese was kept to a minimum.

That was far too much excitement for a start of a day which is supposed to a free-one for us - and we had to relax with another sensation of our trip - our new toasted sandwich machine - and a nice breakfast of toasted cheese, tomato and onion.

There are two pics of that Lesser White-front - the pic of it in the water shows a little of the eye-ring - the other pic is of an Asian Barred Owlet in yesterday's rain storm - the likely reason why the goose decided to stop-off at this unlikely location.
But we mustn't get too cocky - after reading Shi Jin's posts - were guessing he's probably already seen a whole flock (or should that be a gaggle) of these birds at his local gas station or walking around the cash-desk of some Beijing supermarket ;)

Gretchen - We've yet to see Spot-wing Grosbeak - I reckon we'd have to go out on the Kham (Sichuan Tibet) to get them - we'll be keeping our eyes open for those beauts.
 

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the the most interesting bird of a pre-breakfast scan was a Crested Kingfisher.
Yeah for kingfishers!
Shi Jin's probably already seen a whole flock (or should that be a gaggle) of these birds at his local gas station or walking around the cash-desk of some Beijing supermarket ;)
What a picture that brings to mind!
Gretchen - We've yet to see Spot-wing Grosbeak - I reckon we'd have to go out on the Kham (Sichuan Tibet) to get them - we'll be keeping our eyes open for those beauts.
You know I'm clueless as to what is easy to see and what's not. If you guys haven't seen it, it must be hard to see! Good to know there are still some new things for you all to look forward to.

Nice view of owlet in the rain - wow no cover or anything! I guess they are daylight hunters?
 
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The more to see still out-balances the have seens - I'm looking forward to the day we can post up a pic of Spoon-billed Sandpipers passing through Sichuan - wonder if we'll ever find that????

Our Lesser White-front is still around - we managed to get some better shots - by virtue of hanging out of hotel windows and other extreme acts of dangerous dare-devil birding.
 

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Love the random birds which turn up in odd places out of the blue. The one that springs to mind is Chinese Pond Heron close to the petrol station just outside Ma'erkang.

Cheers
Mike
 
Well that Lesser White-front sighting was more than just random - it turns out that it was only the second for Sichuan - the first being from a specimen collected in Chengdu in 1955!!!!!

It's not often I get to be younger than the age of a last sighting B :)

Thanks a lot to to Metroplex - another Chengdu birdforum member for giving me the info :t:
 
After a couple of weeks in NE Sichuan our present visit is almost finished - and we'll be starting to head back towards Chengdu tomorrow. This morning yet more rain - in these two weeks we've seen a fair bit of the wet-stuff and these damp conditions mean we sometimes have to take the longer surfaced road routes instead of using the shorter mud track alternatives. Even though we've got 4WD - steep gradients on highly rutted, wet clay surfaces ain't much fun and those small roads are very prone to landslides when it gets wet!!!

Birding out here, although not in the same class as the premium Sichuan sites is interesting - we've seen a couple and heard lots of Golden Pheasant - and spring migrants are passing through. There's a lot of Sichuan - and much of the NE is one of the many hardly been birded areas of this province. For those who like to explore - there's still a well off the beaten birder's track Sichuan - that's often well worth a bit of exploration.

Here are pics from the last few days -
Bonelli's Eagle - third time we've seen this species in this area.
Crested Kingfisher - had to put this one on for Gretchen since she seems a Kingfisher freak. That crown looks like a paper hat you get to wear a 6yo's birthday party - also note the rain.
Another rain pic - Grey Faced Buzzard - here the chronic lighting and soft focus have given us GFB as Monet or some 19th century impressionist would have painted this bird.
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - these hang around the farm houses. If this aggressive little bird could wear boxing gloves it would happily give you a black eye!!!!
And one of those spring migrants in a rare sunny situation - Greater Short-toed Lark - this one is just showning that black upper breast stripe.
 

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Thanks for the crested's pic ;) - he looks a bit like he's been pulling out crest feathers lately (maybe facing deadlines like me?). (Actually, this species seem rather unique among crested birds in having a very uneven line.) I really like the pic of the grey-faced buzzard - a lot to see despite any "impressionistic" qualities. That yellow-rumped flycatcher is quite a looker! He wouldn't want to hurt anyone, would he? (Funny how people were talking about another small yellow bird, goldcrests? I forget, as being quite aggressive too.) Nice to see the lark - I had just been studying the short-toed one, and this is a bit of a contrast.

Hope you continue safe on your back roads and the rain lets up a bit. In the past we toyed with living in Sichuan (could happily live on Sichuan food), but we've never been attracted by the weather.
 
We've just got back - now a few days in so-called civilization - and then on the road again.

Gretchen - to live in Sichuan and beat the weather you have to travel away from Chengdu, since Chengdu lies within the Sichuan basin, which is a humid, misty, damp hole in the ground from where you rarely see the sun and into which rolls some very nasty pollution. Although, during the winter, it's far warmer than the N of China - it feels far colder, since average winter temps are chilly 4C, but none of the houses have any insulation and no efficient heating systems. A wise 'gent' once told his minions that nobody needed winter heating south of Yangtze - and whatever that guy said was done!!!!
To escape the basin weather - get up onto the plateau - there you go into an alpine climate - much more sun that gives of a lot of warming radiance - but also leads to some pretty bitter frosts during the winter.

As for Sichuan food - our trick to enjoy it is not to eat it all the time!!!!!! But for those who are traveling through, the food is one of those great pleasures. To find some of the better eateries - don't go too much on restaurant appearance but on how many folk are eating at the place. If you see crowds you know something good is going into hungry tummies. To discover what it is - well just wonder around the tables and peer over diners shoulders to see what they're eating - this is perfectly acceptable and common behavior out here. To order - just point at one of those dishes!!!!!!

here are some more pics from that last trip -
Yesterday more Bonelli's Eagle - and the solving of a winter mystery. Back in January we got a very distant pic of a Bonelli's which seemed to be carrying prey. This time we saw the same bird - but this time discovered the supposed prey to be a gammy, sticking out leg. It seems that the bird can survive with this impediment - and in this second observation it was part of pair. Lets hope that leg doesn't stop it from doing its mating 'business".

Spring is here - we saw Eastern Crowned Warbler hard at work in nest production. In that pic I've included all those useful ID pointers for this species - bulky bill, a very insignificant wing bar and that median crown stripe.

More spring - one a this year's young from a pair of Little Forktail.

And a spring migrant - Taiga Flycatcher showing why its Taiga and not Red-breasted. These two species used to lumped under Red-throated - but now we have split our birds to Taiga where the red is limited to chin and throat rather than spreading down to the breast area.
 

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Yeah, hard to say if we'd love Sichuan food all the time or if I would really manage the "real" thing frequently - I remember literally crying through a "hot" pot. Have very vivid memories of that time, I didn't speak much Chinese and so was taken back to the kitchen to point out what we wanted to put in our hotpot - and not recognizing a lot of the available items :-O It is a different cuisine. I'm glad its easier to get in more places now, but not so genuine I'm sure...

The young forktail is sooo cute (excuse me, please). Wow, it's got a ways to go until it achieves "fork"! I guess it was a fledgling hopping around?

Thanks for the compilation on pointers for the Eastern Crowned, though honestly I'm sort of missing the coronal stripe (I often find birds reluctant to show it off). Fascinating about your eagle's foot - very interesting to have such a distinctive feature to recognize an individual!! Very lovely red-throat on the Taiga, and a good review for me ... I believe I saw some in Thailand, but don't think I saw such a clear marking.
 
The young forktail is sooo cute (excuse me, please).
Actually we took the pic at the local hotpot - those young birds are very tender - and if you give them a little more time in that nice bubbling oil, they come out very crispy :t:
Nawwwwwwwwwwwwwww - only kidding!!!!!

But here's a couple of hard-core dishes I enjoy - tripe and pigs trotters.
 

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Hello. Has any one experience of visiting the Phag Mo Gling monastery? Ive seen its included in some tour itineries and just wondered if its worth visiting, independently. Cheers, John.
 
John,

Sorry for the late reply, I just came back from a trip.

Phag Mo Gling - in Chinese Pamu Ling is the No. 1 site of birding areas recommended by Chengdu Bird Watching Society. Main reason is that gamebirds are very tame at this site... and hungry - they get food by the locals.

Buff-throated PArtridge, Blood Pheasant, White-eared Pheasant are (not the only) birds for this place.
From Xinduqiao you can reach it in 2h by car, relatively good road and on the Gao'er Si Pass there is much more to see: Tib. partridge, Sib. Rubythroat, etc.

But of course, birds to see depend on season and wheather. These days (May), it would be difficult to see any buff throated partridge as they hide very carefully in order to protect their chicks (particularly this bird)

Good Luck
Roland
 
we were at Pamu Ling just over a week ago -but a disappointing visit only gave us Blood Pheasant and a single Buff-throated Partridge, which quickly scuttled into the nearest cover. To visit this site we stayed at Yajiang - and in the area our best birds were on the high pass between Yajiang and Xinduqiao - which included White-eared Pheasant, Tibetan Partridge, Himalayan Rubythroat and White-browed Tit warbler.
Pic is of an unusually visible Tit Warbler near to top of the pass and a Tufted Deer we got coming down in the direction on Xinduqiao.
 

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Thanks for the info. I guess to visit there we would need to sort out a taxi from either Xinduqiao or Yajiang. Would you know which is closer to Pamu Ling and which route goes over Gao'er pass? I also noticed the township of Bajiaolou being closer, but I guess access/accommodation may be difficult?
Sorry for all the questions! Any thoughts very gratefully received.

Just spent three days on Emei Shan, which was beautiful once the weather final cleared up. Vinaceous Rosefinch captured our hearts in terms of bird beauty. I couldn't find any pheasants though, although may have heard Lady Amherst's up from Wannian.

John
 
May be Xinduqiao is the best place to stay - here there are many Hotels that cater for tourists and you may be able to find someone who will arrange a van or car to transport you to Pamu Ling. The route from Xinduqiao takes you over the pass - at the top make sure to look out for Tibetan Partridge.
Since the birding at Pamu Ling is best in the early morning it could also be an idea to overnight there - but accommodation will be primitive at best - and you have to watch out for the affects of altitude since you'll be sleeping around the 4000m mark.
Here are a couple more pics we took from the pass on the 13th of this month - a Horned Lark and a couple of White-eared Pheasant. which were seen from the road, just above the tree-line on the Yajiang side of the pass.

On another note - today we're at Wanglang reserve in N Sichuan - but I'm afraid for all intents and purposes this birding site is closed until at least October - since some mastermind has decided to literally rip up all the tracks and start on a road building project. The mess is pretty nasty - we could just about drive to the accommodation area - but had to rent park transport to take us further into the reserve (only the right hand branch road is drivable by 4WD).
But at least Wanglang is still giving birds - here's a Blue-eared Pheasant - from a frosty this morning.
 

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Thanks china guy. Im looking forward to the trip through western Sichuan, down to Yunnan, and hopefully can catch up with a few of the specialities despite the limitations of public transport.

Any recent experience of Jiuzhaigou nature reserve? We head that way tomorrow.
John
 
Love the Blue-eared Pheasant! - I can't imagine better views than those in your pic.

White-eared Pheasants somehow look more like livestock than wild birds -can't explain why - but I had the same feeling when I saw them a few years ago.

PS very sad to hear about Wanglang - is this to open the reserve to mass tourism?

Cheers
Mike
 
Sid,
Blue-eared Pheasant - nice shot !
Like Mike K., sorry to hear about the road building. There is an artificial waterfall a few kilometres outside the reserve entrance... I hope they're not going to build any more inside the reserve as "attractions".
John
 
Hi again - I'm afraid road building has been an extreme problem this year in many parts of Sichuan!!!!!!! Today we had a call from a couple of Belgian birders who have found that the road from Maerkang to Hongyuan has suddenly been closed to small cars (the route to Ruo Er Gai - we could travel this road just a couple of weeks back)!!!!
As for the road building in wanglang - well that's due to be finished for the mass tourism horror of the October holiday - and its being built to a size that will allow two big busses to pass side by side!!!!!!!!!!!
Saying that, i dont think no normal tourist groups are interested in Wanglang - even with that joke of a false waterfall at the gates - so I suspect the same old story of a project a day helps pad out the old wallet ;)
On a more cheerful note - some pics from Balang - Red-faced Rosefinch and Blue sheep
 

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