Crested Ibis

A four hour drive took us to Yangxian where we checked into a nice hotel and then had a delicious dumpling lunch in a restaurant along the high street. At 2pm we met up with a chap who works for the Crested Ibis Reserve and we drove out into a narrow valley surrounded by pine trees and scrub, and followed a narrow lane alongside the rice fields in search of one of the rarest birds in the world.

Crested Ibis

Crested Ibis

Crested Ibis

Crested Ibis

Classified as Endangered by BirdLife International the tiny population of Crested Ibis numbered maybe just 7 individuals in the 1980’s has now risen to almost 1,000 individuals (500 individuals according to BirdLife International) and this is the only place in the world you can see wild birds. It is certainly a long way off the regular birding circuit following yesterdays drive and another morning travelling but we were finally here. Our first sighting was of a couple of birds below us in a rice field, an adult and juvenile, and was a huge relief to get to grips with! Amazingly, when they were feeding these huge pale birds could almost disappear when their heads were down but then the adult stood up and walked onto a raised bank revealing his blood red tipped bill and shaggy crest. We worked the rest of the valley and saw up to 21 birds including many fine adults, and on several occasions birds flew past us at close range and some landed in the trees opposite us. One pair even flew down through the valley towards us and the adult landed on the rice paddies immediately below us giving superb views. Definitely one of the major highlights of a tour brimming with quality birds and a fine way to round off proceedings. 

Other birds here included Grey-capped Woodpecker, Collared Finchbill, Red-billed Starling, Russet Sparrow and a very nice Chinese Sparrowhawk watched hunting over the rice fields on numerous occasions. So that was it and all that remained was to have a huge banquet in the evening and prepare for the long drive to Chengdu and the end of a spectacular tour.