Longcanggou - still.....

Must admit I woke up this morning feeling despondent at our lack of success with Parrotbills and Tragopan and wondered what the hell we could see today. Funny how things turn out as this was a cracking day with a steady stream of new birds - but the day didn’t get off to a great start as our coach was blocked from driving up the mountain by a stupidly parked car. This delayed us by half an hour and didn’t help improve my feeling of gloom! But as we drove up I heard an Emei Leaf-warbler singing and we hopped out for a look, and followed this with a flyover Speckled Woodpigeon, a distant perched Oriental Cuckoo, Long-tailed Minivet, the often tricky Emei Shan Liocichla, Ferruginous Flycatcher and a superbly confiding White-tailed Robin, plus Blue-winged Minla. Not a bad pre-breakfast haul at all….

Continuing up the mountain we had breakfast seeing Verditer Flycatcher and another better view of the Liocichla.

Pere David's or Rusty-breasted Tit - a surprise find...

We had breakfast at the usual place before walking up the track for a few hours and I remember this walk for some really unexpected sightings. I mean we had a Pere David’s Tit coming in quite close and a Sichuan Treecreeper creeping up a pine tree above the track – amazing! There was also a pair of Red-winged Laughingthrushes feeding in a Rhododendron tree with some Elliot’s Laughingthrushes, several Rufous-gorgetted Flycatchers, more Red-tailed Minlas, closer Grey-hooded Fulvettas, and male Vinaceous Rosefinch.

Crimson-breasted Woodpecker

Walking back down we had a mega close up view of a Crimson-breasted Woodpecker.

Driving lower we took a side track and I was thinking we were done for the day but was proved wrong again and you just can’t second guess things in Sichuan. We had two amazingly busy episodes with the owlet tape. First up though a Pygmy Wren-babbler posed nicely below us beside a small stream. Then we hit the jackpot with a mass of birds coming in to the tape with Black-chinned Yuhina and Chestnut-flanked White-eye being new.

The next blizzard of birds held Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Marten’s Warbler, Emei Leaf-warbler, and lots of Yellow-bellied Warblers.