I wanted to thank those of you who provided information about birding in the Longzhou/Nonggang area. I recently made a short trip there, and wanted to post the following trip report, which may prove helpful for others looking to visit the area. If there is a better place to submit or post this trip report, please let me know.
Michael W
Longzhou Birding Trip Report by Michael W., March 29-30, 2019
Longzhou is located in the Southern part of Guangxi province, bordering Vietnam. It was just about 15 years ago that the Nonggang Babbler was first “discovered” and since that time a small birding industry has developed in the area.
A friend and I drove down to the area on March 29th, 2019 for a quick 24-hour visit. We arrived in the tiny village of 汪那 just after noon. Upon our arrival there was a large group of government officials who had just returned to the area around the 弄岗鸟舍 (translated on their sign as “Nonggang Aviary”), the guesthouse and base for our lodging, meals, and birding for the next 24 hours. After connecting with 小鹏, one of the bird guides whose father was one of the men who started the birding industry in the area, we parked our car. It was clear that 小鹏 was quite busy and didn’t have much time to chat with us; he suggested we do a bit of birding on the small road that passes the guesthouse while we waited for lunch. It wasn’t long before we had located a pair of
Yellow-bellied Warblers that appeared to be gathering nesting material in the forest on one side of the road. On the other side of the road were expansive sugarcane fields. While not many birds were seen in the fields, a pair of
Rufescent Prinia were bouncing around on some of the electric wires nearby. Other birds seen in the next 20 minutes included a
White-throated Bulbul and
White-throated Fantail.
We returned to the guesthouse for lunch, after which we discussed our plans more fully with 小鹏. Given that it was the heat of the day, he said we would set out at 2pm, but I was too excited about a new place and the new possibilities to just sit around. So I walked up the same woodland path again finding some of the same cast of characters, but adding a
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler and a
Plain Flowerpecker singing from the highest perches on tall bamboo.
At 2:00, 小鹏 hopped in our SUV and directed us to our first location where we hoped to find the White-winged Magpie. We stopped in the middle of a field and took a short hike into the woods where we soon found ourselves inside a small photo blind, overlooking a break in the woods where a branch with beautiful 木棉 (Bombax/red cotton tree) flowers were strategically placed. It was quite warm in the blind and mosquitoes were present, so we were very happy that in no more than 15 minutes, a lone
White-winged Magpie made a brief appearance. Given that this bird may only come to the location once or twice in a matter of hours, we were thankful for some good timing.
We got back in the car and drove back past 往那 , dropping off 小鹏. He had given us directions to a feeding station/photo setup just off the road on the way towards another small village called 龙亨. Just a couple minutes down the road we ascended some short but steep stairs to join a group of four Chinese bird photographers to wait. It didn’t take long for the star of the show, an
Indochinese Green Magpie to make an appearance. I knew this species was a very bright and beautiful bird, but when I saw it in person I was really surprised by its size and strength, as well as the interesting combination of lime green body and red-orange wings. I also found it interesting that it so enjoyed the raw pork that was being put out for it to eat. We stayed at this feeding station for nearly two hours, enjoying good looks at a variety of species such as
Pin-striped Tit Babbler,
Rufous-capped Babbler,
Gray-throated Babbler,
David’s Fulvetta,
Black-throated Laughingthrush,
Hainan Blue Flycatcher, and
White-rumped Shama. It was great to be able to see so many of these birds which typically skulk through the underbrush in plain sight and be able to even observe some birds bathing in a small pool of water.
After 小鹏 rejoined us, around 5pm he took us out to a forest edge next to some fields to search for the White-browed Piculet. We were unsuccessful in finding it, and birds were generally pretty sparse, though we did hear (but not see) a
Pale-legged Bush Warbler, while a male
Fork-tailed Sunbird danced around in a tree’s upper story.
We returned to the guesthouse just before 6:00pm. Dinner was served shortly after 7:00. For the most part everyone got to bed fairly early and the guesthouse was quiet at night (which was good, because it’s the kind of place where if someone was noisy, everyone would be able to hear it).
Day 2 began with breakfast of noodles and fried eggs at 7:30, after which we left for our first birding destination with the cousin of 小鹏 who goes by 小黄. He was quite a bit older than Xiao Peng, with a more relaxed and laid-back personality. Our first stop was to seek the famed Nonggang Babbler. Once again, we drove for about 5 minutes before stopping along the road and walking along a field edge and up rocky past through the forest for about 100m. There we found an area in the forest where the undergrowth was cleared, where there were stools on one side, and where the feeding station was set up. Before we got there, Xiao Huang was already whistling, a signal to any nearby babblers that it was breakfast time. Apparently, they have been feeding the birds for six years in this location, so the birds are quite trained to come when they hear the signal for food. Even so, it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to see the Nonggang Babbler, which according to some estimates may only have a population of about 1000 birds. Xiao Huang said that during the fall it is more certain to see them, but during the spring, as birds pair up to nest, the chances of seeing it are not as high.
After sitting for 15 minutes, with Xiao Huang expressing concern the birds weren’t nearby, I was worried we might miss the famed babblers. We only had one morning in Longzhou which meant just one chance to see them. My fears were cast aside when out of nowhere a
Spot-necked Babbler appeared, grabbing mealworms from the feeding station, shortly followed by a single
Nonggang Babbler. The Nonggang Babbler came back a couple times, and was joined by a second individual. Between the low light and my poor point and shoot camera, my photos were not great, but it was fun to watch these birds that were unknown to humans about 15 years ago. As we waited a bit longer we also had good views of
Buff-breasted Babbler and
Streaked Wren-babbler. We were very happy as we descended the hill back towards the car, and the list of birds continued to grow as Xiao Huang pointed out
Rufous-capped Babblers in marsh grasses by some water, as well as a
Yellow-eyed Babbler just before we got back in the car. Finally, he heard a singing
Crested Bunting just a bit down the road, and we stopped briefly to get a distant view.
I was aware that there was a pair of Long-tailed Broadbills building a nest in an area nearby, and I really wanted to see this stunningly bright species. We drove for about 15 minutes and stopped in a breathtaking area located between tall mountains with some small ponds and streams running through the valley. After we parked, a
Yellow-bellied Warbler greeted us immediately from bamboo overhead. A group of 10 female
Scarlet Minivets flew over and landed in some distant trees. We first passed a previous Broadbill nest before rounding a bend to see the nest they were currently working on, which was dangling from an electric wire just above the dirt road we were walking along. We waited for just 10 minutes before the pair of
Long-tailed Broadbills made their first appearance. This really has to be one of the most breathtaking birds I have seen, especially in flight! They came back three more times in the space of about 30 minutes, providing ample and very close views. During the in-between periods a
Cinnamon Bittern flew past and a
Limestone Leaf Warbler on the hillside above us responded to playback and gave us decent looks.
Red-headed Trogons were heard calling in the distance.
With our list of target birds dwindling, we still hoped to find the diminutive
White-browed Piculet. Xiao Huang suggested stopping at an area where they are more frequently found in other seasons, when the cicada noise is not so loud. He figured we could give it a shot. It was a gift from God when in no more than 5 minutes, a piculet hopped across the bamboo just next to the road and sat for a full minute, giving us plenty of time to get good looks and even a not-so-good photo of this tiny woodpecker relative!
Our time was quickly drawing to an end, but before lunch we continued walking in the area and added a
Crested Serpent-Eagle to our list, which launched off of an overhead cliff and circled above. Xiao Huang heard a distant
Blue-bearded Bee-Eater, but it was not to be seen.
We returned to the guesthouse, very thankful to have spotted most of the sought after birds we had hoped to see in a period of about 24 hours.
Additional info & Comments
Contact info: Xiao Peng can be contacted through WeChat at w13457972745 or by phone at 1737719274.
Housing: The 弄岗鸟舍 charges 130RMB per person per day. This includes not only the room (which has very basic shower with hot water, two twin beds, A/C, and WIFI) but also breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The accommodation is quite basic, so don’t expect a five-star B&B. There are mosquitoes around in the rooms, no towels are provided (at least weren’t in my room), and the beds are literally wood with a sheet on top (and a warmer blanket as well). But the surroundings are beautiful, the birding is nearby, and the village setting is memorable.
Meals were all Chinese style, with a mix of meats and green vegetables, served with rice and often a soup. The flavors were generally good (if not a little bland) and the food overall was not spicy.
Bird Guiding: The cost of a bird guide (to accompany you to various sites) is 100RMB/day. This price is charged regardless of whether it is just an afternoon or morning or a full day. If you don’t want to pay this fee, they will direct you to some of the birding spots that you can find on your own without too much trouble (many of them have signs along the road), but some spots would not be possible without a guide (or having been there previously). In addition to the bird guide charge, there is a charge for each of the bird blind locations (for us it was 20 yuan/location, though depending on the spot it could be up to 100 yuan). This I believe is at least in part passed on to the villagers who discover birds or nest locations on their land and allow birders to come to observe.
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed my time in the area. The natural beauty of the karst landscape is breathtaking, and the slow pace of life in the area is refreshing if you are coming from a fast-based city environment. Ideally you might have three days to see the entire area’s birds. While both Xiao Peng and Xiao Huang knew their birds, I was surprised that both of them don’t carry binoculars or cameras with them! Xiao Huang said he has never carried binoculars. His skill was impressive, but there were a couple occasions where having binoculars might have helped him to better identify a bird.
At times my Chinese friend and I (a foreigner with conversational Chinese ability) had trouble understanding Xiao Peng when he was using bird names in Chinese which we were unfamiliar with (myself because of my limited knowledge of Chinese bird names; my friend because this was his introduction to birding). We personally preferred the more patient attitude of Xiao Huang, but both guys did a great job getting us to birds and would be recommended. They are not the only people doing bird guiding in the area. Xiao Huang said that up to 20 people serve as bird guides. It is also worth noting that neither Xiao Peng nor Xiao Huang speak English, though they have guided people in the past using just a phone translator.
Overall, it was encouraging to see how the people and government in Longzhou had really gotten behind this birding industry and the stream of visiting birders and photographers was helping the local people as well as protecting the birds.
Additional Resources:
Much better and more thorough reviews of birding in this area were previously posted online here:
• Matthew Kwan, Nov. 2017,
http://matthewkwanbirding.blogspot.com/2017/11/nonggang-guangxi-november-2017.html
• Craig Brelsford, Dec, 2015,
https://www.shanghaibirding.com/2015/12/25/nonggang-babbler-from-unknown-to-science-to-automatic-tick/
• John Holmes, May 2016,
https://johnjemi.blogspot.com/2016/05/southwest-guangxi-home-of-nonggang.html
Additional thanks to Matthew Kwan and Tim Woodward for helpful information they provided before my trip.
Species List with number of individual birds seen/heard
Total Species: 42
1. Greater Coucal 1
2. Cinnamon Bittern 1
3. Chinese Pond-heron 3
4. Crested Serpent-Eagle 1
5. Red-headed Trogon 2 (heard only)
6. White-browed Piculet 1
7. Long-tailed Broadbill 2
8. Scarlet Minivet 10
9. White-throated Fantail 2
10. White-winged Magpie 1
11. Indochinese Green-Magpie 1
12. Japanese Tit 4
13. Red-whiskered Bulbul 20
14. White-throated Bulbul 2
15. Pale-footed Bush Warbler 1 (heard only)
16. Yellow-bellied Warbler 4
17. Limestone Leaf Warbler 2 (1 seen)
18. Common Tailorbird 1
19. Rufescent Prinia 4
20. Yellow-bellied Prinia 1
21. Yellow-eyed Babbler 1
22. Indochinese Yuhina 12
23. Japanese White-eye 15
24. Chestnut-capped Babbler 3
25. Pin-striped Tit Babbler 4
26. Rufous-capped Babbler 6
27. Streak-breasted Scimitar
Babbler 2
28. Gray-throated Babbler 1
29. Spot-necked Babbler 2
30. Nonggang Babbler 2
31. Buff-breasted Babbler 1
32. Streaked Wren-babbler 1
33. David’s Fulvetta 4
34. Black-throated Laughingthrush 1
35. Oriental Magpie-Robin 2
36. White-rumped Shama 2
37. Hainan Blue Flycatcher 3
38. Plain Flowerpecker 2
39. Olive-backed Sunbird 2
40. Fork-tailed Sunbird 1
41. White Wagtail 6
42. Crested Bunting 2