Mengbi Shan

We spent the whole day on the slopes of the beautiful pine clad slopes of Mengbishan on the hunt for the very difficult Sichuan Jay – made even more tricky by the number of other groups and birders going to the same spot and blasting out the call! Needless to say these birds are no longer tape responsive anymore and there was no sign of them throughout our two-day vigil. 

Mengbi Shan

But there are a number of other special birds here and overall we did very well indeed. We began with an attempt at Koklass Pheasant which resulted in a calling male flying right over the leaders’ head and past the group. The first of many Blood Pheasants to be seen today appeared here as well and got the day off to a good start. So we drove up higher and parked beside the road for our picnic breakfast and as the mist lifted and the day warmed up plenty of birds began to sing, mainly Buff-barred Warblers and a few Alpine Leaf-warblers amongst others, but the distinctive buzzy song of a Hume’s Warbler led us to great views of this little sprite. 

Crested Tit-warbler

Crested Tit-warbler

Crested Tit-warbler

Crested Tit-warbler

But when a Crested Tit-warbler was spotted, everything else paled into insignificance compared to this little beauty. A Long-tailed Thrush was then seen and the first of many Himalayan Bluetails was much appreciated. After spending several hours on the jay vigil, some respite was needed so we walked down the road and soon found our first Chinese Fulvetta and Slaty-blue Flycatcher. 

Przewalski's Nuthatch

Przewalski's Nuthatch

Then a Przewalski’s Nuthatch appeared and sat on top of a small pine tree where it remained for several minutes – what a bird! As we watched this a Black Woodpecker flew in and landed in a dead tree nearby for a few seconds before launching itself off into the safety of the forest, and even came back for a second view just moments later. 

Giant Laughingthrush

Giant Laughingthrush

Giant Laughingthrush

There was also a few Rufous-vented Tits, White-winged Grosbeak, Goldcrest and a confiding Giant Laughingthrush that refused to go away. At the base of the mountain a Black-capped Kingfisher was seen perched on telegraph wires beside a fast-flowing stream.