Panda Poopin' Way Out West...
Saturday 19th January saw us up bright and early and into the vehicle...quickly we passed through the leopard-woman's lair at park HQ and began to drive the track up the hillside, eyes and ears tuned for any hint of a chook or two...it wasn't to be...
About half-way there our luck ran out as we reached a snowy, icy bend in the road that wasn't going to let our vehicle past. De-camper-vanning we began to trudge slowly onwards on our own two feets with all we would need for our alfresco overnight stay in our rucksacks...
A quiet ascent saw us arrive eventually at a workers camp where we got our first glimpse of the spectacular scenery above us as the sun broke through the clouds of mist shrouding the frost-covered trees lining the slopes...we also had our first view of the “workers camp” plus the attendant “prettification” and the fencing of the deer enclosure Sid has mentioned previously on his thread...(
http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2471256&postcount=697)...
A natter with the carrot-splitting (they were frozen solid which was interesting thinking about our night ahead...) chap “on duty” established we could, if we wished, sleep in their lower dorm – a small tent with wood-fired central heating if we wished (for the usual fee of course) but would need to be scarce until late afternoon when the boss had driven up (ha!) to inspect the days labours...it gave us options...Jocko, having visited last Autumn was obviously keen on the higher hut while Chris and myself reserved our opinion until we'd seen both “rooms”...
The workers confirmed that the Red Panda was seen fairly regularly around the camp (but for how much longer with you trashing the habitat young man?!) and now we got to see our first birds of the day when a brief
Spotted Nutcracker was swiftly eclipsed by a troop of energetic large bundles of brown feathers gave themselves away as
Great (Giant surely)
Parrotbills...wow! Super birds...half a dozen or so worked their way through the low trees skirting the camp and road and flew across, down and away from us...sweet! Overhead invisible
Crossbills called on the way somewhere else.
Eurasian Siskin was also heard and poorly seen at this time.
Beginning our ascent along the gravel road it wasn't too long before we encountered a small feeding group of another lifer...
Grey-hooded Fulvettas...subtly-coloured and active, they expertly examined the moss and frosty saplings around us...a little further on a
Darjeeling Woodpecker gave brief views. Eyes and ears on full alter we walked the trail checking all the trees for pandas big and small...birds were in short supply...plenty of rest stops along the way but eventually we reached the first destination...the boardwalk...stunning views all along the route and the somewhat unwelcome company of a worker coming along at a rapid rate to check the mobile phone signal...lovely...true wilderness experience...
Quietly and stealthily we began to move along the wooden walkway...photogenic frosty bamboo and moss slowed our, already crawling, pace further...