Well the Great Fire Wall of China has stopped posts for some time now, but here goes the story of my Sichuan tour so far......
We eventually arrived at a sunny Chengdu airport after
a long flight from London via Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific were excellent as
always, but must admit I’m really sick of airline food right now! Anyway, we
got picked up and transferred to a lovely hotel and soon after walked down the
street to the local park. It’s a nice little spot here and we quickly picked up
a pair of Yellow-billed (Chinese) Grosbeaks feeding on the floor of one quiet little side trail.
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| Chinese Grosbeak |
A Chinese Blackbird was then picked up
and we spent a little time noting down the structural differences which surely
prove this is a good split from its European cousin! A flock of Black-throated Tits was nice, as was a Plumbeous Water-redstart, but not as
good as an immature Red-billed Starling
feeding along one of the drainage channels. We also enjoyed the antics of
several White-browed Laughingthrushes
here, and it is a species that is far easier here than elsewhere. So with that
done we walked back to the hotel to get ready for our first experience of the
excellent local cuisine.
The following morning we drove down to Emei Shan where the plan was to stay at the base of
the mountain to pick up some low elevation species.
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| Chinese Hwamei |
We had Rufous-faced
Warbler, at least 11 Chinese Hwamei, Slaty-backed Forktail, a brief Fork-tailed Sunbird, more
Vinous-throated Parrotbills, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Brownish-flanked
Bush-warbler, White-capped River-chat, and a flock of Pacific & House
Swifts were joined by a Himalayan Swiftlet.
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| Slaty-backed Forktail |
But I won't make the mistake of coming here again as there's far too many people - something it shares with Jiuzhaigou, but more of that later.
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