**All pictures on this itinerary taken by Summer Wong and are copyright by her. Not to be used without her permision.
Saturday 28 May – Depart Brisbane at 10-50am on Qantas flight to Hong Kong; arrive Chengdu on Dragonair flight at 10pm.
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Giant Pandas at the Panda Base
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An early start if we can! We begin by
travelling to the Chengdu Panda Base to visit Giant Pandas at this research and
breeding centre. Here we will begin our Chinese birding as the panda base is
actually a large, well vegetated park!
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Qingyang Temple
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After dinner we will watch the Sichuan
Opera and Folk Arts Show in a traditional tea house. We will book VIP seats
which include [believe it or not] a full body massage – perfect for the tired
jet lagged international birder! The show features a variety of local and
traditional theatrical arts such as puppetry, hand shadows, music, acrobats and
dance. The highlight is the face changing show. The programme finishes about
9-30pm when we will return to our hotel. O/n – Chengdu
Target birds in Chengdu park/s : Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Black-throated
Tit, Yellow-billed Grosbeak ( Chinese Grosbeak ), White-browed Laughing
thrush.
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Day 2 [M – 30 May] – Chengdu to Longcanggou, birding enroute O/n - Longcanggou
On the access road leading into the
park you climb up through areas of traditional smallholding agriculture –
scrubby areas here, especially those containing long grass or bamboo (lots of
cultivated bamboo) are good for Ashy-throated Parrotbill and other Sichuan
Basin farmland species,
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This area features upland natural
primary forest with areas of bamboo and secondary forest, the latter regrown
since logging. The area also holds some plantation timbers and secondary scrub.
Some of the native forest is coniferous.
On the road to Longcanggou will look for Ashy-throated
Parrotbill.
Longcanggou is the best place for the parrotbills: Grey-hooded
Parrotbill, Three-toed Parrotbill, Great Parrotbill, Fulvous Parrotbill,
Golden Parrotbill, Brown Parrotbill and Gold-fronted Fulvetta. Longcanggou
is also good place for :Temminck's Tragopan, Lady Amherst's Pheasant and Golden-breasted
Fulvetta, Streaked Barwing, Sichuan Treecreeper, Red-winged, Spotted and
Elliot's Laughingthrush, Emei Shan Liocichla, Chinese Blue Flycatcher,
Yellow-throated Bunting, Forest Wagtail, Chinese Bamboo Partridge,
Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler, Firethroat, Spotted Bush Warbler, White-bellied
Redstart. And Red Panda!
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Day 6 [F – 3 June] Whole day birding
in Erlangshan
Erlangshan is the best place for Lady Amherst's
Pheasant, also good place for Chinese Song Thrush, Barred and
Black-faced Laughingthrush, Streaked Barwing, Firethroat, Yellow-bellied Tit,
Black-browed Tit.
Day 7 [S – 4 June] Erlangshan - Rilong, drive to Rilong, birding
on the way, overnight in Rilong.
Day 8 - 9 [S & M – 5 & 6 June]
- Two full days birding in Balangshan
The steep winding road that takes you up onto Balang rises
through mixed forest of the lower valley into sub-alpine conifer, through to
Yak pasture and eventually into a harsh alpine habitat of rocky ridge tops and
scree.
Balangshan is the best place for many game birds: Chinese
Monal, White-eared Pheasant, Tibetan Snowcock, Snow Partridge, Golden Pheasant,
Chestnut-throated Partridge, Koklass Pheasant, Blood Pheasant.
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Other good birds include: Grandala, Wallcreeper, Firethroat,
Orange-flanked Bush Robin, White-browed Bush Robin, Giant Laughingthrush,
White-tailed Rubythroat, Crested Tit Warbler, Collared and White-winged
Grosbeak, Spotted Bush Warbler, Sichuan Tit, Kessler's Thrush, Chestnut Thrush.
Day 10 [T – 7 June] - Balangshan -
Maerkang, birding in Balangshan in the morning, then drive to Maerkang, birding
on the way, overnight in Maerkang.
Day 11 [W – 8 June] - Whole day
birding in Mengbishan
Mengbishan is the best place for Sichuan
Jay, Verreaux's Monal-partridge ( Chestnut-throated Monal Partridge
), Blood Pheasant, Giant Laughingthrush. Other good birds possible include
Orange-flanked Bush Robin, Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, Pink-rumped
Rosefinch, White-browed Rosefinch. Three-banded Rosefinch, Black Woodpecker.
Day 12 [T – 9 June] Maerkang -
Ruoergai, drive to Ruoergai, birding on the way, overnight in Ruoergai.
The Tibetan Plateau
extends into Sichuan and the Ruoergai Grasslands are found on its eastern edge. – This
vast montane grassland and marsh is habitat to a unique avian ecosystem, where
we find Tibetan specialties such as Black-necked Crane, Hume’s Ground Tit,
White-browed Tit, Przevalski’s Finch, Tibetan Lark and Tibetan Grey Shrike. The
grasslands also house large colonies of burrowing Pika, an abundant food source
that is exploited by an array of raptors that include Saker Falcon, Upland
Buzzard, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Steppe Eagle and Black-eared Kite, while their
burrows are also used by nesting White-rumped and Rufous-necked Snowfinch.
Grassland mammals also make use of the plentiful food supply and it is possible
[although rare] to spot Tibetan Fox, Pallas's Cat, Chinese Mountain Cat and
Tibetan Wolf.
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On the road from Maerkang to Ruoergai, will look
for Tibetan Partridge, Pere David’s Laughingthrush (Plain
Laughingthrush), Azure-winged Magpie, Saker Falcon, White-browed Tit Warbler,
Sichuan Tit, White-browed Tit, Tibetan Snowfinch, Przevalski’s Rosefinch
(Pink-tailed Bunting), Little Owl, Black-necked Crane.
Baxi forest is the best place for Blue-eared
Pheasant, Chinese Grouse, Three-banded Rosefinch, White-Cheeked Nuthatch
(Przevalski's Nuthatch), Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush (Sukatschev's
Laughingthrush), Slaty-backed Flycatcher.
Flower Lake: Tibetan Lark, Rufous-necked Snowfinch,
White-rumped Snowfinch, Horned Lark are the main target birds
there, and many other water birds on the lake.
Day 14 [S – 11 June] Ruoergai - Chuanzhusi,
drive to Chuanzhusi, birding on the way and Gonggangling forest, overnight in
Chuanzhusi
Day 15 [S – 12 June] Chuanzhusi -
Jiuzhaigou, birding in Gonggangling forest, then drive to Jiuzhaigou
On the road from Ruoergai to Chuanzhusi, will look for Siberian
Rubythroat.
Day 16 [M – 13 June] Whole
day birding in Jiuzhaigou National Park
Jiuzhaigou National Park, it is the place for Rufous-headed
Robin, Spectacled Parrotbill, Spectacled Fulvetta, Sooty Tit, Fujian Niltava,
Sichuan Treecreeper, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Indian Blue Robin,
Rusty-breasted Tit ( Pere David's Tit ), Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Chinese
Nuthatch, Eurasian Nuthatch, Black Woodpecker, White-bellied Redstart, Brown
Deeper, White-throated Deeper.
Day 18 - 19 [W & T – 15 & 16
June]Two full days birding in Tangjiahe, O/n Tangjiahe.
Tangjiahe is the best
place for: Temminck's Tragopan, Golden Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Tawny Fish
Owl, and also good for: Sooty Tit, Rusty-breasted Tit, Golden-breasted
Fulvetta, Spotted Laughingthrush, White-throated Laughingthrush, Great
Parrotbill, Three-toed Parrotbill, Spectacled Parrotbill, Fulvous Parrotbill.
Tangjiahe is also a
very good place for mammals: Takin, Tufted Deer, Wild Boar, Golden Snub-nosed
Monkey
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A long drive today to a very special place with a very
special specie. Yangxian Reserve is home to the beautiful and endangered
Crested Ibis plus a variety of other species. Golden Pheasant, Chinese Bamboo
Partridge, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Chinese Hwamei, Great,
Long-tailed, Black-throated and Yellow-bellied Tit, White-browed and Great
Necklaced Laughingthrush, Blue Whistling Thrush, Grey-capped Greenfinch,
Collared Finchbill, Common and Crested Kingfisher, Daurian and Plumbeous Water
Redstart, Oriental Magpie Robin, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, White-crowned
Forktail, Durasian Blackbird, White-rumped Munia and Collared Owlet are all
recorded here.
We begin
this day with some additional birding at Yangxian, hoping for additional views of
Crested Ibis and perhaps other species, before departing for a two and a half
hour drive to Foping Panda Base. Here we
will visit some special mammals – a unique brown Giant Panda and wild golden
monkeys.
Lunch will be taken in a grand hotel within the park.
Following
lunch much of the afternoon will be taken driving to Xi,an where we will enjoy
a traditional dumpling banquet. This will be our final night with our guide
Summer.
Day 22, [S – 19 June] Visit
Terracotta Warriors. O/n Xian [lunch & dinner at own expense]
Terracotta Warriors
The figures,
dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in
1974 by local farmers in Lintong
District,Xi'an,
Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the
tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007
were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000
soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of
which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in
other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.
Tonight we
will have an opportunity to go walkabout in the city of Xi,an and look for some
more authentic Chinese market food and souvenirs. Souvenirs are better purchased
in the market rather than the museum apparently.
Day 23 [M - 20 June] Taxi and shuttle to airport for
departure at 3-45pm to Hong Kong. Arrive Brisbane at 7-35am on Tuesday morning
[21 June]
This morning
you will have the opportunity to have a few hours wander around our hotel’s
area before leaving to make our flight.
Our Guide – Summer Wong
