Sichuan Birding (4 Viewers)

Top stuff Sid!

Looking forward to the report and photos.

Cheers, alan

Also looking forward to hearing more. Sounds like the birding is still very good at this time of year, even high up in western Sichuan - interesting as I hadn't a clue what it'd be like as winter was setting in.

Although birding for a big list in autumn Sichuan can be a bit like pulling teeth - slow and painful - we did very well at around 213 species of which 120 were new ticks for Noah.
Spring/summer watching gives at least 20, straightforward, extra ticks - while many species that are fairly easy to see/hear during months of breeding activity are now, being flocked, more local or, as with gamebirds, spending more time concealed in scrub. With just 6 full days of birding we were very pleased with the 200+ total.
Noah was a great person to spend time with. I'd describe the trip with him as Bill Bryson meets Lonely Planet rather than a Jon Hornbuckle meets HBW - his quest is an experience of travel by birding rather than a mad blinkered, list-focused twitch. I reckon the major discovery of his 'mission' will be if the human body can survive 365 days of continuous birding - a far more difficult task than achieving a 6000 year list !!!!

Well said, Sid!

Although the birding may be more difficult, looks like this is at least partially compensated by places like Balang pass looking even more stunning than usual in the snow!

Ruoergai trip report

For your information, I have recently mailed a trip report on a June 2015 visit to Ruoergai (Zoige), Hongyuan and Songpan regions to club300.se and bongariliitto.fi. It should soon appear at Cloudbirders, too.

The best discoveries included Sichuan Wood Owl and Maroon-backed Accentor territories in Baxi, and a breeding pair of Tibetan Grey Shrikes in Waqiexiang.

Thanks again, for your help, Sid, and my greetings to ZZ!

Thanks for that excellent report Petri - the link to it at club300 is -
http://www.club300.se/Files/TravelReports/Sichuan15.pdf
We look forward to your next Sichuan trip.

I've been busy this autumn. Noah Stryker and his world big year was my third autumn trip - and I'm not finished yet. After a few days home I'm out again on a couple more tours - both mammal trips.
This autumn has been especially successful for cats -Pallas's Cat seen twice at Rouergai and two Chinese Mountain Cats spotted during one night. We got Asian Black Bear at Tangjiahe.
But the pic that comes with this post - by Paul Carter at Baxi - shows one of China's least seen animals. A great candidate for guess the mystery animal.

Here's Noah list -
1. Chinese Bamboo-Partridge Bambusicola thoracica
2. Tibetan Snowcock Tetraogallus tibetanus – heard only
3. Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus
4. Koklass Pheasant Pucrasia macrolopha - heard only
5. Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
6. Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus – heard only
7. Blue Eared Pheasant Crossoptilon auritum – heard only
8. White Eared-Pheasant Crossoptilon crossoptilon

9. Greylag Goose Anser anser
10. Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
11. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
12. Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha
13. Pintail Anas acuta
14. Common Teal Anas crecca
15. White-eyed Pochard Aythya nyroca
16. Common Merganser Mergus merganser

17. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos canicapillus
18. Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
19. Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus
20. Bay Woodpecker Blythipicus pyrrhotis - heard only
21. Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius

22. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
23. Crested Kingfisher Megaceryle lugubris

24. House Swift Apus nipalensi

25. Collared Scops Owl Otus lettia
26. Northern Boobok Ninox japonica
27. Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodiei
28. Little Owl Athene noctua

29. Speckled Wood Pigeon Columba hodgsonii
30. Red Collared Dove Streptopelia tranquebaric
31. Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis

32. Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis

33. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus

34. Long-billed Plover Charadrius placidus
35. Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
36. Common Redshank Tringa totanus

37. Brown-headed Gull Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
38. Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
39. Pallas’s Gull Larus ichthyaetus

40. Black-eared Kite Milvus lineatus
41. Oriental Honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
42. Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis
43. Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus
44. White-tailed Sea Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla
45. Bonelli’s Eagle Aquila fasciata – 2 birds on passage Balang
46. Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
47. Grey-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus
48. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
49. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus
50. Eastern Buzzard Buteo japonicus
51. Himalayan Buzzard Buteo burmanicus
52. Upland Buzzard Buteo hemilasius
53. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
54. Amur Falcon Falco amurensis
55. Saker Falcon Falco cherrug



56. Chinese Pond-Heron Ardeola bacchus
57. Little Egret Egretta garzetta
58. Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

59. Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
60. Tibetan/Chinese Grey Shrike Lanius sphenocercus

61. Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius
62. Red-billed Blue Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha
63. Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyana
64. Black-billed Magpie Pica pica
65. Spotted Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes
66. Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
67. Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus
68. Daurian Jackdaw Corvus dauurica
69. Carrion Crow Corvus corone
70. Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
71. Collared Crow Corvus torquatus
72. Common Raven Corvus corax

73. Hume’s Ground Tit Pseudopodoces humilis

74. Long-tailed Minivet Pericrocotus ethologus

75. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis

76. Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus

77. Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii

78. Blue Whistling Thrush Myophonus caeruleus
79. Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius
80. Chinese Blackbird Turdus merula mandarinus
81. Kessler's Thrush Turdus kessler
82. Chestnut Thrush Turdus rubrocanus

83. White-browed Shortwing Brachypteryx montana – female Pingwu Park

84. Slaty-backed Flycatcher Ficedula hodgsonii
85. Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher Ficedula strophiata
86. Himalayan Bluetail Tarsiger rufilatus
87. White-browed Bush Robin Tarsiger indicus
88. Golden Bush Robin Tarsiger chrysaeus

89. White-throated Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus
90. Hodgson's Redstart Phoenicurus hodgsoni
91. Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus
92. Blue-fronted Redstart Phoenicurus frontalis
93. White-capped Water-Redstart Chaimarrornis leucocephal
94. Plumbeous Water-Redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosus

95. Little Forktail Enicurus scouleri
96. Spotted Forktail Enicurus maculatus
97. White-crowned Forktail Enicurus leschenaulti
98. Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus

99. Grandala Grandala coelicolor

100. Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus

101. Red-billed Starling Sturnus sericeus
102. White-cheeked Starling Sturnus cineraceus
103. Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus

104. Przewalski's Nuthatch Sitta przewalskii

105. Hodgson's Treecreeper Certhia hodgsoni

106. Sichuan Tit Poecile weigoldicus
107. White-browed Tit Poecile superciliosus
108. Rufous-vented Tit Periparus rubidiventris
109. Coal Tit Periparus ater
110. Yellow-bellied Tit Slyviparus venustulus
111. Grey-crested Tit Parus dichrous
112. Japanese Tit Lophophanes minor
113. Green-backed Tit Parus monticolus
114. Yellow-browed Tit Sylviparus modestus
115. Black-throated Tit Aegithalos concinnus
116. Black-browed Tit Aegithalos bonvalotis
117. Sooty Tit Aegithalos fuliginosus
118. Fire-capped Tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps

119. Sand Martin Riparia riparia
120. Asian House-Martin Delichon dasypus

121. Collared Finchbill Spizixos semitorques
122. Brown-breasted Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthorrhous
123. Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis
124. Himalayan Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus
125. Mountain Bulbul Hypsipetes mcclellandii

126. Japanese White-eye Zosterops japonicus

127. Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
128. Striated Prinia Prinia criniger

129. Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler Cettia fortipes
130. Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler Cettia acanthizoides
131. Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler Cettia major

132. Alpine Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus occisinensis
133. Buff-throated Warbler Phylloscopus subaffinis
134. Yellow-streaked Warbler Phylloscopus armandii
135. Buff-barred Warbler Phylloscopus pulcher
136. Ashy-throated Warbler Phylloscopus maculipennis
137. Sichuan Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus forresti
138. Hume's Warbler Phylloscopus humei
139. Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus
140. Claudia's Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus claudia
141. Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides
142. Kloss's Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus ogilivie-grantii

143. Rufous-faced Warbler Abroscopus albogularis
144. Goldcrest Regulus regulus

145. Crested Tit Warbler Leptopoecile elegans
146. White-browed Tit-Warbler Leptopoecile sophiae

147. Sukatchev's Laughingthrush Garrulax sukatschewi – heard only
148. Moustached Laughingthrush Garrulax cineraceus
149. Barred Laughingthrush Garrulax lunulatus
150. Giant Laughingthrush Garrulax maximus
151. Spotted Laughingthrush Garrulax ocellatus
152. Plain Laughingthrush Garrulax davidi
153. White-browed Laughingthrush Garrulax sannio
154. Elliot's Laughingthrush Garrulax elliotii
155. Black-faced Laughingthrush Garrulax affinis
156. Red-winged Laughingthrush Garrulax formosus
157. Hwamei Garrulax canorus
158. Emei Shan Liocichla Liocichla omeiensis

159. Black-streaked Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus gravivox
160. Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus ruficollis
161. Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
162. Chinese Wren-Babbler Pnoepyga mutica
163. Pygmy Wren-Babbler Pnoepyga pusilla
164. Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea
165. Rufous-capped Babbler Stachyris ruficeps
166. Black-headed Sibia Heterophasia melanoleuca

167. Blue-winged Minla Minla cyanouroptera
168. Blyth’s Shrike Babbler Pteruthius flaviscapis

169. Golden-breasted Fulvetta Lioparus chrysotis
170. Spectacled Fulvetta Fulvetta ruficapilla
171. Chinese Fulvetta Fulvetta striaticollis
172. White-browed Fulvetta Fulvetta vinipectus
173. Grey-hooded Fulvetta Fulvetta cinereiceps
174. David's Fulvetta Alcippe davidi
175. Dusky Fulvetta Alcippe brunnea

176. White-collared Yuhina Yuhina diademata

177. Great Parrotbill Conostoma aemodium
178. Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthora webbianus
179. Ashy-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthora alphonsianus
180. Grey-hooded Parrotbill Sinosuthora zappeyi

181. Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula
182. Elwes horned lark Eremophila elwesi

183. Fork-tailed Sunbird Aethopyga gouldiae

184. Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
185. House Sparrow Passer domesticus
186. Rufous-necked Snowfinch Pyrgilauda ruficollis
187. White-rumped Snowfinch Pyrgilauda taczanowskii
188. White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata

189. White Wagtail Motacilla alba
190. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

191. Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni
192. Rosy Pipit Anthus roseatus
193. Blyth’s Pipit Anthus godlewskii

194. Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris
195. Rufous-breasted Accentor Prunella strophiata
196. Maroon-backed Accentor Prunella immaculata – Sid only
197. Robin Accentor Prunella rubeculoides

198. Grey-capped Greenfinch Carduelis sinica
199. Twite Carduelis flavirost
200. Plain Mountain-Finch Leucosticte nemoricola
201. Crimson-browed Finch Propyrrhula subhimachala

202. Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
203. Pink-rumped Rosefinch Carpodacus eos
204. Three-banded Rosefinch Carpodacus trifasciatus
205. Vinaceous Rosefinch Carpodacus vinaceus
206. Chinese White-browed Rosefinch Carpodacus dubius
207. Streaked Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilloides

208. Grey-headed Bullfinch Pyrrhula erythaca
209. Collared Grosbeak Mycerobas affinis
210. White-winged Grosbeak Mycerobas carnipes
211. Chinese Grossbeak Eophona migratoria

212. Slaty Bunting Latoucheornis siemsseni
213. Godlewski's Bunting Emberiza godlewskii
214. Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla

Note the Maroon-backed Accentor was only seen by me -unfortunately it would have been a tick for Noah if he'd also got hold of it

Problem with just 6 days and a lot of birds to be seen is that you just don't have any time to stay behind to clean up single birds. No Sichuan Jay although we were after it at Mengbi and Baxi and had it without problems on the two previous trips!!!! Parrotbills were also touchy - nothing showing from the monorail track on the top of Emei apart from a lone Grey-hooded Parrotbill. Golden were also absent from a track we use lower down on the mountain - Roland had been there days before and had picked a flock of 40 but hadn't got a sniff of the Liocichla. We had Liocichla all over the place!!!!!
Our first day on the mountain coincided with some mega VIP making a visit - amazingly, with private vehicles totally forbidden, we wangled a trip to our birding track from the manager of the tourist area. When we got there it was being guarded by a policeman from who we had to get further permission to bird!!!!
Balang was beautiful in the snow but that and the cloak of mist certainly didn't help us in our search for gamebirds - for which we only had a single morning.

Sid

Some sort of mole rat type thing? I'd need to check the books.

cheers, alan

Alan - nearly right - it's a Chinese Zokor.

Lovely quote from the Wikipedia page on Zokors - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zokor

Zokor bone is sometimes used as a more environmentally friendly alternative to tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine.

Click to expand...

Doubt very much if the Zokors find anything environmentally friendly about them subbing for the Tigers. And who was the genius who first imagined that out of all mammalian skeletons that a Zokor bone could replace a Tiger's in a 'witch-doctor brew?'

The pictures show how to go on a Zokor hunt -
1 - find a Zokor mound - they look very much like a mole-hill
2 - level the earth and find the entrance of tunnel. excavate and open the entrance - Paul liberated a desert spoon from our kitchen equipment for this purpose!!!!
3 - wait around the hole - maybe for 20 minutes - for a p#**!d-off Zokor - who turns up and fills in the entrance to his subterranean kingdom. You can view the snout of the beast for around 40 seconds.

Well not quite a Takin or a Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, but a rather fabulous thing! I've never heard of a Zokor until today. Thanks Sid.

cheers, alan

Gripped. Always wanted to see a Zokor - thanks for the tip, Sid, I'll try it next year!

Hey Alan - if you want Takin try the attached pic. Another Paul Carter Photo - what a beautifully posed animal- obviously this Takin can read and is trying to warn passers by of its suspect nature.
It was on the tourist path going up Moatianlin at Tangjiahe - apparently it had charged at a group of tourist that had come up after us and on our way down a park guy was trying to shoo it away.

James - looking forward to seeing Zokor as a more regular item on trip lists - then we've got to start on other obscure Sichuan mammals like the niviventers or jumping mice.

Here's a mammal list from the 'Zokor' trip - 28th September to 6th October

Participants - Paul Carter, Holly Faithfull, Dominique Brugiere

Sites visited -
Tangjiahe - T
Ruoergai – R
Baxi – BX
Balang - BG


1. Plateau Pika - R
2. Moupin Pika - BG
3. Himalayan Marmot - R
4. Chinese Zorkor - BX
5. Woolly Hare - BX
6. Hog Badger – T, BG
7. Tibetan Fox - R
8. Red Fox – R, BX
9. Tibetan Wolf - BX
10. Himalayan Palm Civet - T
11. Pallas's Cat – R – single animal found during night-drive
12. Leopard Cat – T
13. Chinese Mountain Cat – R – two animals seen, on scoped at dusk another lamped after dark - one dead found
14. Red Panda - BG
15. Asian Black Bear - T
16. Tibetan Gazelle - R
17. Reeve's Muntjac - T
18. Tufted Deer - BX
19. Siberian Roe - BX
20. Sika Deer - BX
21. Sambar Deer - BG
22. Chinese Goral – T, BG
23. Chinese Serow – T, BX
24. Takin - T
25. Per David's Rock Squirrel - T
26. Swinhoe,s Striped Squirrel - BG
27. Perny's Long-nosed Squirrel – road between T and Pingwu Town
28. Complex-toothed Flying Squirrel - BG

we also have an as yet to be identified Flying Squirrel from Balang

Notable absentee from list is Himalayan Macaque - it seems they have been 'moved off' from their normal site at Tangjiahe - maybe making too many problems for the tourists.

Making any trip during the start of October - with Chinese October holiday, the busiest time of the whole tourist calendar - is about the very worst time to make a visit. Luckily we managed to circumnavigate the worse of the mayhem and our hotel friends charged us bellow the normal astronomical holiday rates that other travelers have to pay.

And one more fantastic creature - picture 2 - that's daddy lamping a baby Badger. I've just bought the new Fenix TK75 (4000 lumens) - it, or an equivalent hand held lamp, are near a must if you're after those cats - and its inspired Saker to compose this fine piece of art. However the badger looks to be of a whole new genus!!!!!

A budding natural history illustrator perhaps?

An amazing number of birds and mammals seen in your trips. I was wondering if you've ever seen a Dhole? I read this Guardian article about their plight earlier on in the year (http://www.theguardian.com/environm...15/jun/25/dhole-asia-endangered-tiger-ignored) and I meant to check if they were found in Sichuan. I've just done so and the Wikipedia article on Wolong does say they are found in the area. I've always liked them since I saw them in a David Attenborough documentary when I was little. The article does describe them as extremely elusive so certainly one of the harder mammals to find!

china guy said:

James - looking forward to seeing Zokor as a more regular item on trip lists - then we've got to start on other obscure Sichuan mammals like the niviventers or jumping mice.

Click to expand...

Don't need Chinese Jumping Mouse, Sid! I've trapped that, and plenty of niviventers (primarily Confucius) in Shaanxi and northern Sichuan - it was a real ache measuring the hindclaws, ears etc to confirm ID's.

In response to post 1063

I have traveled with Jon and I feel I must respond to this post. A quick look at his website shows some, but not all of the work he has done to contribute to bird conservation and study in South yorkshire, his many years studying birds in remote parts of the world (e.g surveying birds in Bolivia with Earthwatch) he has led tours for Naturetrek to Papua New guinea and probably knows as much about birds in this region than anyone.
Laterlly he has concentrated in travelling to see and yes to 'tick' birds around the world. But these trips as can be seen in each of his reports show him to be an experienced and excellent birder and all the birds are recorded. I fail to see the difference between Jon's activities and many of the customers you will take around Sichuan. many of whom will be bursting to see new birds. Should Jon really be denigrated for this??

Hi Woodrip - I think you misunderstood the context of my comments in post 1063 - I was just trying to illustrate that in my opinion, after traveling with him, that Noah Stryker wasn't an out and out lister and world-birder but a writer who was using a world bird tour as vehicle to write a book about his experiences. In my comments I used Mr Hornbuckle as an example of the ultimate world-birder - which if anything can be taken as a compliment over the excellence of his achievements rather than any kind of insult.

Apologies if I caused any offence.

Here's s report from a recent trip - my birding trip with Dan and Honey Jones - http://antshrikesichuantrip.blogspot.com/

-

Finally I made the mammal list for my recent trip to Tangjiahe from a few weeks back.

Luckily weather was clouded and drizzling throughout, so most of the desired animals showed well.
Even a group of 8-10 Snub-nosed Monkeys could be seen on the last day. The record shot below proofs that it is quite difficult to find them on slopes or even higher up far beyond tourist's range: they prefer to move on the ground most of the time, rather than jumping from tree to tree.

Birding highlights were 4 male Temminck's Tragopan that posed very well while feeding on berry trees, (picture attached). Daily views of Crested Kingfisher and White-crowned Forktail. Tawny Fish Owl was visible night and day. A whole family of Barred Laughingthrush (6 Birds) was screening the forest floor. And two times good views of Sichuan Treecreeper - just above the Hotel; it was joining a wave of Woodpeckers which included Crimson-breasted, Darjeeling, Great Spotted, Rufous-bellied and Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker.

Although we tried very hard to find flying squirrels and Asian Black Bear, they remained invisible to us.
Furthermore there was a number of bats, mice, shrews and niviventer crossing the road. However, definite IDs of those still have to be made.

The number in brackets is the (approx) number of totally seen individuals.
Tibetan Macaque (25+)
Snub-nosed Monkeys (8-10)
Per David's Rock Squirrel (10+)
Swinhoe's Striped Squirrel (2)
Chinese Birch Mouse? (5)
Malayan Porcupine (3)
Leopard Cat (3)
Masket Palm Civet (8+)
Hog Badger (10+)
Yellow-throated Marten (2)
Wild Boar (3)
Tufted Deer (1)
Reeve's Muntjac (plenty)
Chinese Serow (3)
Chinese Goral (4)
Takin (plenty)

Golden snub-nosed monkeys are up there as one of the species I'd most like to see. If that's the kind of location they are typically found then they really will be difficult to spot, especially if they are usually under cover.

A wave of woodpeckers with so many species must be quite a sight!

Wonderful tragopan shot!

Cheers
Mike