Baihualing Bird Feeders Frenzy!

We left Pianma and headed back up to the pass, where we saw Himalayan Buzzard, Chinese Babax and Sharpe’s Rosefinch. We did scan again for Sclater's Monal but the chances of seeing this are really slim. Lower down we had a flock of Black-browed Bushtits and Mrs Gould’s Sunbird before setting out on the drive to Baihualing, seeing Nepal House Martin, Pied Bushchat and Indian Roller along the way.

So here we are at one of the undiscovered gems of Asia. On this mountain there are 25 active feeding stations/photo blinds enticing a veritable feast of avian gems in to feed. And there are some really cool birds that are really hard to locate in the forest. So After lunch at the hotel we headed up the hill to a hide that was just off the main track where we saw 30 species coming down to feed. 

Here’s a list of birds at this feeding station:

2 Rufous-throated Partridges

Flavescent Bulbul

Chestnut-headed Tesia

Sichuan Leaf Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Ashy-throated Warbler

Chestnut-crowned Warbler

Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler

Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler

Golden Babbler

Rusty-capped Babbler

Yunnan Fulvetta

Chestnut-headed Tesia

Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler

Rusty-capped Fulvetta

Red-tailed Laughingthrush

Scaly Laughingthrush

Blue-winged Laughingthrush

Assam Laughingthrush

Scarlet-faced Liocichla

Red-tailed Laughingthrush

Blue-winged Laughingthrush

Scaly Laughingthrush

Assam Laughingthrush

Rusty-fronted Barwing

Red-billed Leiothrix

Black-headed Sibia

Whiskered Yuhina

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

Large Niltava

Hill Blue Flycatcher

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Black-breasted Thrush

White-browed Shortwing

Himalayan Bluetail

Golden Bush Robin

Blue Whistling-Thrush

Black-breasted Thrush

Himalayan Bluetail

Golden Bush Robin

Himalayan (White-browed) Shortwing

It was an amazing experience to see a really good selection of quality birds at close range and to get the opportunity to photograph them. I haven't experienced anything of the scale of this before. Bring on tomorrow.....

Myzornis Mania

Headed back up to the pass where we quickly found a few Sharpe’s Rosefinches and a Rufous-breasted Accentor. It was much better this morning and we followed this with a calling Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler tracked down in an extensive stand of bamboo. It took quite a while to get a decent view but we did and followed this up with a group of 5 Brown Parrotbills beside the road. As we watched them 3 Great Parrotbills appeared higher up the hill and flew down towards us where they fed in the bamboo right in front of us. There was also a group of Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babblers seen by Jason and Haydn, several calling Spotted Laughingthrushes and White-throated Redstart as well. 

Moving lower down the mountain things were very quiet until we came across a hillside covered in fruiting bushes where there were lots of Black-faced Laughingthrushes, as well as quite a few Assam Laughingthrushes. At least 6 Dark-rumped Rosefinches were here, along with numerous Stripe-throated and a few Whiskered Yuhinas, and Blue-throated Redstart as well. 

Black-faced Laughingthrush

But the best was yet to come as a Fire-tailed Myzornis was found on the slope below the road. Pretty quickly we had a pair performing right in front of us to the delight of everyone. What an amazing bird and such a relief to finally find this most wanted species. 

Fire-tailed Myzornis - oh yes..!!

Leaving here we saw Yellow-browed Tit, Beautiful Sibiaand Blue Whistling-Thrush.

Pianma Pass - Gaoligongshan

We were really looking forward to birding this seldom visited site and the day got off to a good start with a flock of Brown-winged Parrotbills found whilst the coach was being fixed over some mechanical problem! A flyby Wallcreeper followed before we eventually approached the pass way later in the morning than I was happy with. But a sleeping Red Panda in the bright sunshine at 3200m was absolutely fantastic and I thought things would only get better from there, but as it turned out the pass area was hard going and the birding was very slow. 

This cute red Panda was definitely 'bird of the day'.

We did find Black Eagle, a gang of Black-faced Laughingthrushes, White-browed Fulvetta, White-winged Grosbeak and a couple of Alpine Accentors but that was it so we drove a few kilometres lower. 

Alpine Accentor

The habitat was freaking unbelievable with huge swathes of bamboo and then great moss-encrusted forest lower down but it was still slow going. 

It's certainly a fabulous setting for a bird tour.....

Leading up to our picnic lunch we saw very little apart from an Eurasian Wren and several White-browed Fulvettas. 

White-browed Fulvetta

But during lunch a Himalayan Griffon drifted over, Slaty-headed Parakeet, Great and Golden-throated Barbets were spotted. Then we had a real Collared Owlet teed up in the scope with Stripe-throated Yuhinas and Coal Tits mobbing it. 

We then drove lower and began walking and things picked up with more Black-faced Laughingthrushes, several Assam Laughingthrushes, Himalayan Cutia, Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Whiskered Yuhina, Streak-throated and Rusty-fronted Barwings, Dark-rumped Rosefinch, 3 Crimson-browed Finches, and a Spotted Forktail being the highlights.

Lijiang - Lushui

Can you believe we left the hotel at 8am? We drove out of Lijiang and headed to a nearby wetland. Along the way we checked out some interesting habitat near the road, which turned out to be a good move as we discovered a flock of Red-throated Thrushes – a lifer for yours truly and a bogey bird finally laid to rest. In the same area we found Spectacled Fulvetta, Black-headed Sibia, Little, Godlewski’s, and our first Elegant Bunting. 

Red-throated Thrush - a lifer for yours truly

A short distance away was a nice lake where we spent just an hour and a half but it would have warranted more time. 

There was a mass of birds out on the water with a flock of Bar-headed Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, 2 red-headed Smew, several Common Goldeneye, lots of Ferruginous Ducks and Red-crested Pochards, Goosander, Purple Swamphen, Brown-headed and Black-headed Gulls, some Common Cranes, and lots of more familiar wildfowl such as Mallard, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Gadwall etc. 

Common Crane

There was also a Common Kingfisher,Grey-backed Shrike, Plain Prinia and Dusky Warbler. Some of the group wandered out into the fields and found Brown Crake, Common Snipe and 2 Chestnut Buntings.

It was a very long 8 hour drive to Lushui, but our lunch stop at a service station was productive with flocks of Red-rumped Swallows moving around the valley, several House Swifts, Asian House Martins and best of all, a cracking Cook’s Swift flying back and forth behind the buildings.

Lijiang

This was a tough day as we searched unsuccessfully for Biet’s Laughingthrush in a remote corner of Yunnan. Bird activity at 2800m was general extremely quiet and it took a great deal of determination to track down a few quality species. We began the day with a nice western-style buffet breakfast at the hotel followed by a 7am departure and a short hour’s drive to the site. It was much colder than we had experienced so far and there was nothing moving at all for a while after our arrival. Some ‘scratching’ sounds in the leaf litter led us to the first of several brief glimpses of Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler, although some Red-billed Blue Magpies were a little more obvious. As the day progressed we walked along the quiet road with the sun shining and clear blue skies once again. Just around the corner a Red-throated Thrush was found by Kristian but was a bit distant and only a couple of us managed to see it. However, a pair of Elliot’s Laughingthrushes were much more obliging as they fed along the roadside in front of us.  Our best flock of the day was next up with Rusty-capped Fulvettas being joined by a pair of superb Black-bibbed Tits, with the usual Black-browed Bushtits in attendance. 

Then we drove to another spot for our main target and despite some extensive searching we still drew a blank, although Spotted Nutcracker, Blue-fronted Redstart, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch,Godlewski’s Bunting and several groups of Grey-headed Bullfinches were appreciated. Then we returned to the first site but it was very, very quiet apart from Himalayan Bluetail, Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush and a group of 3 Maroon-backed Accentors. So after a picnic lunch we drove a few kilometres further and enjoyed our  most productive session of the day with an outstandingly confiding pair of Rufous-tailed Babblers performing a mere 10 feet away from us. The same area held White-browed Fulvetta, as well as a gang of Chinese Babax feeding quietly on the slope above us. 

Rufous-tailed Babbler

One last throw of the dice saw us return to the first site in search of the enigmatic Biet’s, but they just weren’t around. Instead we enjoyed a mixed group of Spectacled and White-browed Fulvettas feeding I a conifer at eye-level to end the day.

Zi Xi Shan

We were parked and ready to bird on Zi Xi Shan about 25 minutes before daybreak and after a few random calls from my iPod we had a response from a Himalayan Owl. With no time to 

spare we walked quickly along the road to a point just below where we thought the owl was and 

I played the call again but there was no response. With the eastern horizon getting ever brighter 

I thought we had no chance but just then it flew out of the trees above us and across the road into the forest. And that was it! 

With the day arriving we saw a White-crowned Forktail several times, and then enjoyed stunning views of a Chinese Thrush that appeared frozen to the roadside. 

Chinese Thrush

A nice, hot cup of coffee revived us all and the bird activity began to increase dramatically with the suns rays. A few Black-headed Sibias appeared close by and a couple of the group glimpsed a Spectacled Fulvetta. 

Black-headed Sibia

Our field breakfast was brief as more birds appeared and our first really big flock mobbing my owlet impersonation was truly spectacular. Pride of place went to several Yunnan Fulvettas who were joined by a flock of Black-browed Bushtits, a pair of Chestnut-vented Nuthatches, a flock of Black-headed Greenfinches, a few Long-tailed Minivets, Mountain Bulbul, Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker and Black-faced Warbler. 

Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker

Black-headed Greenfinch

We watched all the commotion for quite a while before walking back along the road towards our parked coach. 

Yellow-cheeked Tit

Yunnan Fulvetta

The more open habitat alongside an orchard held female Blue-fronted Redstart, Japanese and Green-backed Tits, Godlewski’s Bunting, Grey-capped Woodpecker and a flock of over 30 Brambling. Further activity near the coach added the delightful Yellow-cheeked Tit to our list and we enjoyed further views of Yunnan Fulvetta as well. 

We then drove higher up the mountain and walked along the road and a trail and amazingly found a male Slaty Bunting– a Chinese endemic and I’m guessing a very rare bird in Yunnan. 

Slaty Bunting

As soon as we exited the coach there was more activity with yet more Black-browed Bushtits and a bunch of Pallas’s Warblers accompanying them, plus a Goldcrest, Bar-throated Minla and White-collared Yuhina. 

Black-browed Bushtits are very common here

White-collared Yuhina

A Buff-barred Warbler posed nicely in an open area and a flock of Olive-backed Pipits showed nicely. Further on a group of Manipur Fulvettas gave point-blank views, with more Black-faced Warblers, tits, minivets and phylloscs all high up in the canopy above us. 

Manipur Fulvetta

A little trail took us into excellent forest where a Himalayan Thrush perched in a bush below us was a great spot by Jason and David and a Chestnut Thrush also appeared at the same spot. This newly recognised species was formerly part of what we used to call Plain-backed Thrush and which is split into 3 species now: Himalayan Forest Thrush, Sichuan Forest Thrush and Alpine Thrush. 

Further along the trail another flock held Pallas’s, Buff-barred and Ashy-throated Leaf-Warblers, and a few Blyth’s Shrike-Babblers were also seen. Leaving here we returned to Nuthatch Road and sure enough, we scored both birds again. A Giant Nuthatch was scoped singing away from an exposed perch for some 10 minutes allowing everyone to have their fill of this great species, whilst an even closer Yunnan Nuthatch sang away from a dead tree. 

Yunnan Nuthatch

Giant Nuthatch

What an amazing experience to have these two great birds right next to us. And that was us finished so we set out on the 6 hour drive to Lijiang where we ended up at a very nice hotel.

China: Yunnan

Phew! It's been way too long since i've posted anything here, so here we go with our Yunnan Adventure...

Our flight arrived in Kunming 11.15am local time and after meeting up with the rest of the group who had arrived earlier we ate lunch before setting out on the 3 hour drive to Chuxiong. Along the way a few common birds were seen such as Eastern Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Oriental Turtle Dove and others. Approaching Zi Xi Shan around 4pm the road had become blocked by 

a large crane so with no other alternative we began walking along the road through degraded habitat and feeling like luck was not on our side, with a close Long-tailed Shrike the only bird of note. Luckily our coach appeared pretty quickly and we continued up the mountain, eventually entering much better habitat. 

Our main targets here were nuthatches, and after leaving the coach and having a quick look at some Green-backed Tits, we had well and truly nailed Yunnan Nuthatch within a few minutes! 

Yunnan Nuthatch

This individual was very confiding and paraded around us for a good ten minutes allowing everyone to soak up the views and take some great photos. Just a few hundred metres further along the road and we were watching Giant Nuthatch reacting quite strongly to my ipod in the canopy of some tall pines right over the road. And that was a wrap. We left and drove just half an hour to a decent hotel and some much needed sleep.