Yunnan, China (Jan/Feb 2024) - Kunming, Yingjiang, Hornbill Valley and Baihualing (1 Viewer)

[samnew]

In January 2024 I was fortunate enough to go to Yunnan birding. This will be a multiple post report of the trip.

Location 1: Kunming

I flew into Kunming January the 27th and met my birding companion in the city. The next day we headed to Kunming botanical gardens and arrived as the gates opened at 8:30am.


Once inside we could hear a number of bird calls, and walked a little way along and encountered birds such as crested finchbill and black-streaked scimitar babbler. There are a number of differnt routes to take around the park, each with a different 'theme' or habitat. From cultivated lawns to waterfeatures. It's also quite popular with visitors, by 9 or 10 it was quite busy. Though there are plenty of quiet spots in the gardens. The most numerous bird was probably brown-breasted bulbul, followed by mountain bulbul, and then indian white-eye. Highlights for me included the white-throated fantail (such a showy bird) and blue-fronted redstart (great colours).





In total we saw 35 species in the 3 hours 30 we were there.


Feral Pigeon
Rufous Turtle Dove
Spotted Dove
Little Egret
Crested Honey-buzzard
White-throated Fantail
Ashy Drongo
Long-tailed Shrike
Asian Tit
Mountain Bulbul
Crested Finchbill
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Yellow-browed Warbler
Pallas's Warbler
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler
Black-throated Tit
Spectacled Fulvetta
Indian White-eye
Rufous-capped Babbler
Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler
Yunnan Fulvetta
Blue-winged Minla
White-browed Laughingthrush
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch
Chinese Blackbird
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Red-flanked Bluetail
Blue-fronted Redstart
Hodgson's Redstart
Daurian Redstart
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail
Rosy Pipit
Brambling
Black-headed Greenfinch


After lunch we headed to Xishan, a large hill/mountain that overlooks the city.



We arrived at 2PM and started the ascent up the hill. There is just one long road going up the side of the hill with a walkway for pedestrians. It's possible to get a bus up to 'dragon gate' and then walk down but we preferred to walk up and down to maximize birding opportunities. Being one of the main tourist attractions in the city there were also a number of people here. Given the elevation it was also possible to look down over a lake at the bottom of the hill. Using binoculars and a teleconverter on my camera it was possible to identify waterbirds such as gadwall and falcated duck. On the walk up there were numerous black kites soaring above, at least 25. The path going up is dotted with tourist attractions, similar to carnival rides, such as a water slide and 4D cinema experience. It was actually around the base of the water slide where we had our best birding. Flocks of yuhinas (white-collared) and fulvettas (spectacled, rusty-capped, david's, yunnan) were feeding and passing through. Near the top we had a stunning encounter with a himalayan bluetail. Both of us live in China and have regularly encountered the red-flanked bluetail, the himalayan bluetail blew both of us away with its vibrant colours. At the top we reached 'dragon gate', had a brief rest and headed back down. On the way looking out over various vantage points, at one stage seeing a flock of warblers (buff-barred, pallas, yellow-browed, and sichuan leaf) mixed in with blue-winged minla, red-billed leothrix, and a single red-tailed minla. At the bottom we had the best vews of a chestnut-vented nuthatch.


We walked 9km and it took around 4 hours to go up and down.


Gadwall
Falcated Duck
House Swift
Black Kite
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
White-throated Fantail
Ashy Drongo
Green-backed Tit
Barn Swallow
Mountain Bulbul
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Yellow-browed Warbler
Pallas's Warbler
Sichuan Leaf Warbler
Black-throated Tit
Spectacled Fulvetta
White-collared Yuhina
Indian White-eye
Rufous-capped Babbler
Rusty-capped Fulvetta
David's Fulvetta
Yunnan Fulvetta
Blue-winged Minla
Red-billed Leiothrix
Red-tailed Minla
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Himalayan Bluetail
Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail

 

[samnew]

Location 2: Yingjiang

The next day, we took a train to Baoshan and met our friend/guide. At Baoshan train station we collected a car and began the drive to Yingjiang.


Although not our final destination there had been reports of a bronze-winged jacana, apparently the only one in China at the time, so decided to stop off there.

Upon arrival at a small 'pleasure lake', we rented a pedalo boat to better explore the area. It didn't take long before we located the bird and got good views. Other highlights included indian spot-billed ducks and citrine wagtails.




In total, at this little pool we saw:

Indian Spot-billed Duck
Tufted Duck
Common Moorhen
Bronze-winged Jacana
Little Grebe
Great Cormorant
Black-crowned Night Heron
Little Egret
Eastern Cattle-Egret
Medium Egret
Grey Heron
Eastern Buzzard
Common Kingfisher
Asian Tit
Plain Prinia
Red-vented Bulbul
Dusky Warbler
Oriental Magpie-Robin (Oriental)
Amur Stonechat
Citrine Wagtail (Black-backed)
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail


We finished in the evening with a meal at a local restaurant, the speciality being water buffalo hotpot.



We did manage to spend a short while birding around the Yingjiang area, in the 'Daying river'. The calls of blue-throated barbet could be heard quit frequently, however, our target was small pratincole. Fortunately, they were numerous and not hard to see, flying down (or up?) the river. However, they proved almost impossible to get a picture of due to the sun and small size!


Goosander
Spotted Dove
Little Ringed Plover
Common Snipe
Wood Sandpiper
Small Pratincole
Great Cormorant
Chinese Pond Heron
Eastern Buzzard
Eurasian Hoopoe
Common Kingfisher
Blue-throated Barbet
Common Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
White-throated Fantail
Ashy Drongo
Long-tailed Shrike
Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher
Asian Tit
Grey-throated Martin
Barn Swallow
Eastern Red-rumped Swallow
Red-vented Bulbul
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Verditer Flycatcher
Siberian Stonechat
Siberian/Amur Stonechat
Pied Bushchat
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Grey Wagtail
Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail
Richard's Pipit
Rosy Pipit
Water Pipit

 

[samnew]

Location 3: Hornbill valley
Hornbill valley is on the border of China and Myanmar. As such it's quite a sensitive area. During covid the Chinese installed an 'iron wall' that stretches the length of the border, literally for miles. However, this was a few years ago now and parts of it have collapsed due to landslides. The drive up to hornbill valley is stunning. Great views for miles around. There are still signs of covid restrictions including checkposts, thankfully all unmanned. It is only recently foreigners have been allowed back into the area. One day when we were eating a meal, local police came to check everyone's documents. They continuously filmed us as we ate and showed our passports. Though it was all fine, it was a little disconcerting.




At the top there are a number of guesthouses that cater to birders. The whole local economy seems to be geared around birding. There are lots of bird hides available to rent, advertised by signs with phone numbers to book a space.



In total we would spend 2 nights here. We wished we could have stayed longer but didn't have that much time.

There are 2 ways to bird hornbill valley. The first is to drive up and down the only road in the valley. Stopping and looking out for birds on the way. The second is to rent a place in a bird hide. We did both on this trip. It would be too long to detail each hide and what we saw, so I will end this post with the first method, driving along.

We spent the morning of January the 30th driving along the valley road. In this part of the world sunrise is rather late so we started at 8:30am. From our accommodation we could see a couple of minivets, these turned out to be short-billed minivets. The calls of great barbet also filled the air. A little drive down the valley we encounted large flocks of yuhinas, fulvettas, and about 30 common rosefinch. As we were driving down our friend and guide told us that a rufous bellied eagle had been seen previously, but not for a few days. To cut a long story short, we did see it! As we were watching it, two hornbills flew over our heads - a wreathed hornbill and an oriental pied hornbill. Unfortunately I was too slow with the camera and didn't manage any pictures. It still haunts me to this day.

Near the bottom of the valley was a fantastic opening which had a stream. We were fortunate to see black-backed forktail, slaty-backed forktail, and white-capped redstart. In the trees around it were a whole number of leafbirds and bulbuls. As we made our way back to the top we also located another one of our targets, collared falconets, a pair sitting in a tall tree.

In total we saw 58 species.

Spotted Dove
Barred Cuckoo-Dove
Pin-tailed Green-Pigeon
Green-billed Malkoha
Crested Serpent-Eagle
Rufous-bellied Eagle
Black Eagle
Crested Goshawk
Oriental Pied-Hornbill
Wreathed Hornbill
Blue-bearded Bee-eater
Blue-eared Barbet
Great Barbet
Blue-throated Barbet
Great Slaty Woodpecker
Collared Falconet
falcon sp.
Grey-chinned Minivet
Short-billed Minivet
Scarlet Minivet
minivet sp. (red minivet sp.)
Maroon Oriole
White-throated Fantail
Ashy Drongo
Bronzed Drongo
Hair-crested Drongo
Long-tailed Shrike
Grey-backed Shrike
Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail
Asian Tit
Common Tailorbird
Grey-breasted Prinia
Barn Swallow
Asian House Martin
Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Striated)
Grey-eyed Bulbul
Ashy Bulbul
Black Bulbul
Black-crested Bulbul
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-vented Bulbul
Indian White-eye
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta
Nepal Fulvetta
Long-tailed Sibia
Common Hill Myna
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Black-backed Forktail
Slaty-backed Forktail
Little Pied Flycatcher
White-capped Redstart
Grey Bushchat
Streaked Spiderhunter
Blue-winged Leafbird
Golden-fronted Leafbird
Orange-bellied Leafbird
White-rumped Munia
Olive-backed Pipit
Common Rosefinch

 

[samnew]

Location: Hornbill valley hides

As mentioned before, birding from hides is another way to bird watch here. It is definitely the most popular method. Most people who come to hornbill valley do so for the hides. We spent the afternoon of the 30th and all day of the 31st of January in different hides. These are best booked in advance in busy times of the year apparently, we didn't, rather talked to our accommodation on what they recommended based on what had been seen recently.






There are far, far too many birds to mention individually here so I will combine the list below. At times it was overwhelming. Wave upon wave of bird action. Didn't know where to point your camera or binoculars.

Here is a list of birds we saw in each hide.
Hide 16:
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
Red Junglefowl
Asian Emerald Dove
Grey-backed Shrike
Common Tailorbird
Flavescent Bulbul
Red-vented Bulbul
Rufous-capped Babbler
Brown-crowned Scimitar-Babbler
Large Scimitar-Babbler
Grey-throated Babbler
Puff-throated Babbler
Buff-breasted Babbler
Nepal Fulvetta
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush
White-crested Laughingthrush
Black-throated Laughingthrush
Rufous-bellied Niltava
Hill Blue Flycatcher
Siberian Blue Robin
Blue Whistling-Thrush
White-crowned Forktail
White-tailed Robin
Silver-eared Mesia

Hide 11
Rufous-throated Partridge
White-cheeked Partridge
Kalij Pheasant
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
Asian Emerald Dove
Greater Flameback
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Bronzed Drongo
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
Common Green-Magpie
Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher
Common Tailorbird
Black Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-vented Bulbul
Yellow-bellied Warbler
Whiskered Yuhina
Rufous-capped Babbler
Brown-crowned Scimitar-Babbler
Red-billed Scimitar-Babbler
Grey-throated Babbler
Puff-throated Babbler
Buff-breasted Babbler
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta
Blue-winged Laughingthrush
Silver-eared Mesia
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush
White-crested Laughingthrush
Black-throated Laughingthrush
Black-breasted Thrush
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Large Niltava
Rufous-bellied Niltava
Verditer Flycatcher
Hill Blue Flycatcher
Blue Whistling-Thrush
White-tailed Robin
Blue Rock Thrush (pandoo)
Streaked Spiderhunter
Common Rosefinch

Hide 10:
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
Asian Emerald Dove
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Bronzed Drongo
Grey Treepie
Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail
White-throated Bulbul
Striated Bulbul
Crested Finchbill
Flavescent Bulbul
Red-vented Bulbul
Buff-barred Warbler
Sichuan Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus sp.
Red-billed Scimitar-Babbler
White-browed Scimitar-Babbler
Grey-throated Babbler
Rusty-capped Fulvetta
Puff-throated Babbler
Nepal Fulvetta
Blue-winged Laughingthrush
Red-tailed Laughingthrush
Rusty-fronted Barwing
Silver-eared Mesia
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush
Black-throated Laughingthrush
Large Niltava
Rufous-bellied Niltava
Hill Blue Flycatcher
White-tailed Robin
Streaked Spiderhunter

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Nice report and great pictures. It brings back memories of visiting Hornbill Valley in 2017. Absolutely brilliant place.

 

[samnew]

Location: Yingjiang wetland park

One thing I forgot in my last post was that on the drive from hornbill valley back to Yingjiang was also eventul. It was in the dark and in the car lights we saw small leopard cat, later a barn owl!

Back down in Yinjiang we headed to Yingjiang wetland park. To be honest it looked in a little bit of disrepair, broken walkways and unmaintained paths. Also a little strange with giant monuments.



Nevertheless it was great for birding. We quickly got one of our targets, Alexandrine parakeet. Unfortunately we dipped on another target, the Asian green bee-eater. The rufous-necklacked laughinghtrush was our next tick. There were also plenty of leafwarblers, including tickell's, buff-throated, and greenish. On the river were ruddy shellduck, goosanders, and even a river lapwing, a real treat. Like most places in Yunnan, there were lots of barbets. The most common being blue-throated, at least 8 of them calling. The call of coppersmith barbet could also be heard, we saw 2. A highlight was a black-winged kite eating its breakfast.

Unfortunatley we couldn't stay that long as we had a long drive to Baihualing.
Ruddy Shelduck
Goosander
Spotted Dove
River Lapwing
Common Snipe
Green Sandpiper
Great Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Black-winged Kite
Black Kite
Coppersmith Barbet
Blue-throated Barbet
Eurasian Wryneck
Rufous Woodpecker
Alexandrine Parakeet
Maroon Oriole
Common Iora
Black Drongo
Ashy Drongo
Burmese Shrike
Long-tailed Shrike
Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail
Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher
Asian Tit
Common Tailorbird
Grey-breasted Prinia
Plain Prinia
Striated Grassbird
Grey-throated Martin
Barn Swallow
Asian House Martin
Black Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-vented Bulbul
Tickell's Leaf Warbler (Alpine)
Buff-throated Warbler
Greenish Warbler
Indian White-eye
Rufous-necked Laughingthrush
Collared Myna
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Verditer Flycatcher
Siberian Stonechat
Siberian Stonechat (Przevalski's)
Pied Bushchat
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail

 

[samnew]

Location: Baihualing / Gaoligongshan

Baihualing is one of the most renowned birding locations in the whole of China. However, like hornbill valley access for foreigners can be tricky. Our guide had to arrange permits from the local government to allow us in. Local Chinese just need to turn up, fill out a form, and show their ID. Even with the permit from the local government guards were reluctant to allow us access. On a few occasions our friend had to argue with them.

Also like hornbill valley the drive to baihualing is beautiful. Great scenery all around. Baihualing leads to Gaoligongshan, a UNESCO site and heavily protected. We couldn't go to Gaoligong and stayed in the 'baihualing' section. It seems here that the majority of birding is done from hides, again like hornbill valley!

As we arrived in the afternoon this gave us a little while to walk around the accommodation and the general area.



Species around the accommodation we saw:
Large-billed Crow
Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail
Flavescent Bulbul
Ashy-throated Warbler
Buff-barred Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Chinese Leaf Warbler
Pallas's Warbler
Sichuan Leaf Warbler
Chestnut-crowned Warbler
Whiskered Yuhina
Indian White-eye
Rufous-capped Babbler
Yunnan Fulvetta
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch
Large Niltava
Himalayan Shortwing
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher
Blue-fronted Redstart
Daurian Redstart
Grey Bushchat

 

[samnew]

Location: Baihualing / Gaoligong
For the first morning we decided to go to a bird hide (number 8). For a small fee the accommodation owner will drive you to the hide. This is useful as the roads are poor, unless you have a 4x4 it could be quite tricky.

Hide owners will come around occasionally to refresh the water/food and maybe whistle to attract birds. If you want to spend all day in the hide that's also possible as there's a food delivery service! All of the birders we saw were bird photographers, with massive lenses. It put mine to shame!



Rufous-throated Partridge
Great Barbet
Blue-throated Barbet
Yellow-rumped Honeyguide
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Necklaced Woodpecker
Bay Woodpecker
Grey-chinned Minivet
Scarlet Minivet
White-browed Shrike-Babbler
Green Shrike-Babbler
Maroon Oriole
White-throated Fantail
Ashy Drongo
Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail
Yellow-cheeked Tit
Striated Bulbul
Black Bulbul
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Buff-barred Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Grey-crowned Warbler
Indian White-eye
Rusty-capped Fulvetta
Yunnan Fulvetta
Red-tailed Laughingthrush
Long-tailed Sibia
Blue-winged Minla
Rusty-fronted Barwing
Red-tailed Minla
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch
Hume's Treecreeper
Grey-winged Blackbird
Large Niltava
Little Forktail
Himalayan Bluetail
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher
Plumbeous Redstart
White-capped Redstart
Daurian Redstart
Orange-bellied Leafbird


After a morning in the bird hide we needed to stretch our legs. We walked the 'fairy pool' path, an amazing trail through the cloud forest. The weather wasn't great, it rained quite a bit and on a number of occasions we had to try and find shelter under a rock or large tree. On the route there was a natural hotspring (hence the name, 'fairy pool' path). Though we had not brought our swimming trunks. Once again, the scenery was stunning.




The highlight was a yellow-rumped honeyguide we saw feeding on a massive honeycomb!

The loop was about 6km in length and we walked it for 5 hours. We saw:

Rufous-throated Partridge
Great Barbet
Blue-throated Barbet
Yellow-rumped Honeyguide
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Necklaced Woodpecker
Bay Woodpecker
Grey-chinned Minivet
Scarlet Minivet
White-browed Shrike-Babbler
Green Shrike-Babbler
Maroon Oriole
White-throated Fantail
Ashy Drongo
Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail
Yellow-cheeked Tit
Striated Bulbul
Black Bulbul
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Buff-barred Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Grey-crowned Warbler
Indian White-eye
Rusty-capped Fulvetta
Yunnan Fulvetta
Red-tailed Laughingthrush
Long-tailed Sibia
Blue-winged Minla
Rusty-fronted Barwing
Red-tailed Minla
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch
Hume's Treecreeper
Grey-winged Blackbird
Large Niltava
Little Forktail
Himalayan Bluetail
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher
Plumbeous Redstart
White-capped Redstart
Daurian Redstart
Orange-bellied Leafbird

 

[samnew]

Location: Baihualing / Gaoligong
Our final morning at Baihualing we went to another bird hide. What was special about this one was the encounter with a golden-bush robin. We had seen one the day before, but it was really shy. Unbelievably so. Today couldn't have been any more different. A golden-bush robin actually came inside the hide! It was helping itself to the mealworms the hide owner would put out. Dipping in and out of the feeding bucket.

We also saw our only golden-throated barbet and hill prinia of the trip here. In total we saw:

Rufous-throated Partridge
Great Barbet
Golden-throated Barbet
Blue-throated Barbet
Ashy Drongo
Hill Prinia
Crested Finchbill
Flavescent Bulbul
Phylloscopus sp.
Swinhoe's/Indian White-eye
Rufous-capped Babbler
Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler
Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler
Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler
Rusty-capped Fulvetta
Yunnan Fulvetta
Scaly Laughingthrush
Blue-winged Laughingthrush
Red-tailed Laughingthrush
Long-tailed Sibia
Rusty-fronted Barwing
Silver-eared Mesia
Scarlet-faced Liocichla
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch
Grey-winged Blackbird
Black-breasted Thrush
Large Niltava
Rufous-bellied Niltava
Blue Whistling-Thrush
White-tailed Robin
Himalayan Bluetail
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher
Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
Mrs. Gould's Sunbird
Streaked Spiderhunter
Orange-bellied Leafbird
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail

 

[samnew]

EDIT:
Forgot the final trip back to Kunming.

Location: Kunming

After driving from Baihualing to Baoshan train station we caught a train back to Kunming. We decided to go back to Xishan, but this time, to the foot of the mountain around the 'Dianchi Caohai lakefront'. Getting there was a little strange, the taxi dropped us off in what appeared to be a shopping street. It took some navigating to actually get to the water. We were also distracted by a strange bird call, really perplexed us. That was until we saw an old man with pet budgies!

Anyway, at the waterside there are a number of paths around the lake edge. There were masses of coots, over 200. In the grass we saw paddyfield pipit, a species that had elluded me in Thailand so I was happy to get it here. Further along the lake were common pochard, again in great numbers, at least 100. There may have been red creasted pochard as well, however, too far away for our binoculars and cameras. A scope would have been useful. Another cute and interesting find was a small group of ashy-throated parrotbills. Fleeting glimpses again but enough to ID with pictures.

Total species for this spot:
Northern Shoveler
Common Pochard
Spotted Dove
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
White-breasted Waterhen
Black-headed Gull
Mongolian Gull
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Little Egret
Chinese Pond Heron
Grey Heron
Black Kite
Eurasian Hoopoe
Long-tailed Shrike
Oriental Magpie
Plain Prinia
Barn Swallow
Asian House Martin
Brown-breasted Bulbul
Light-vented Bulbul
Red-vented Bulbul
Yellow-browed Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Ashy-throated Parrotbill
White-browed Laughingthrush
Chinese Blackbird
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Siberian Stonechat
Amur Stonechat
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Citrine Wagtail
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail
Paddyfield Pipit



Summary

Phew! Apologies for the long post, and hastily done. I feel I have not done this trip justice with these posts. I will go back and edit them, adding more detail when I have time. I need a break from writing all this. There are also many more pictures I would like to post but it seems I am limited. This trip was fantastic, and although I have only been birding a few years, I already feel it will never be topped. I really regret we had such little time. Only 2 nights at Baihualing wasn't enough. 2 nights at hornbill valley wasn't enough.

 

[samnew]

Nice report and great pictures. It brings back memories of visiting Hornbill Valley in 2017. Absolutely brilliant place.

Thanks. It would be interesting to know how it's changed. When we were there our friend and guide, who had been before, kept saying 'it's not as good as before', which we found hard to believe! It seems that the establishment of many bird hides has reduced the 'wild' bird population, in his opinion. However, it's tricky. Without the income from bird hides and bird tourism it's likely the habitat would have been destroyed to make way for agriculture - as was evident in many places. Apparently this happened during the covid years when visitor numbers plummeted and villagers had to make ends meet.

 

[foresttwitcher]

Nice report, great photos and some stunning birds.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Thanks. It would be interesting to know how it's changed. When we were there our friend and guide, who had been before, kept saying 'it's not as good as before', which we found hard to believe! It seems that the establishment of many bird hides has reduced the 'wild' bird population, in his opinion. However, it's tricky. Without the income from bird hides and bird tourism it's likely the habitat would have been destroyed to make way for agriculture - as was evident in many places. Apparently this happened during the covid years when visitor numbers plummeted and villagers had to make ends meet.

That's interesting, although also a bit worrying. It looks as though you saw a similar selection of birds to me, so maybe there aren't big changes, but perhaps the numbers of some things are down. Were there any pittas? I saw Blue-naped Pitta there.

I was also surprised to hear about the difficulties for foreign visitors accessing Baihualing. I had a guide who did the organising, but everything seemed simple and I don't remember any officials or police bothering us.

 

[samnew]

That's interesting, although also a bit worrying. It looks as though you saw a similar selection of birds to me, so maybe there aren't big changes, but perhaps the numbers of some things are down. Were there any pittas? I saw Blue-naped Pitta there.

I was also surprised to hear about the difficulties for foreign visitors accessing Baihualing. I had a guide who did the organising, but everything seemed simple and I don't remember any officials or police bothering us.

I'm afraid times have changed since 2017. Especially since covid times. There's been a few times where being a foreigner has prevented me from birding. I can understand the police checks at hornbill valley as it's so close to the border. But at baihualing it seems strange, there was a Spanish gentleman at baihualing a week or so before me, he didn't get the permits and essentially had a wasted journey. I wouldn't recommend going unless you can get everything sorted before.

No pittas unfortunately.