The Snowcock Hike, Uphill a Long Way....

Returned to the head of the valley we tried yesterday morning and this time the rain stopped (almost) during our field breakfast and we could head up into the mountains on our most scenic and adventurous walk to date. We had just began walking when a Tibetan Grey Shrike was spotted on nearby telegraph wires – what a great start. In fact we found another one further along the path, sharing the fence posts with a couple of Common Cuckoos.

Looks like a long way up the mountain....

Amazing scenery up here.... Worth the effort!

Once we reached the valley, we quickly found our first Przevalski’s Partridges scurrying up the hillside above us and we would see several more during the course of the morning. The first of a couple sightings of Wallcreeper this morning was particularly special for Chris. From the valley floor we hiked high up across a ridge in a circular route from 3200 – 3700m and it was particularly hard going but everyone ‘enjoyed’ it. We got off to a flyer with a pair of Tibetan Partridges seen well and higher up a group of 5 Himalayan Snowcocks flew right over us as they went from one ridge right away across the valley to the other side. We managed to track them down and had very nice scope views as they fed on a steep grassy slope. 

Himalayan Snowcocks

The scenery was magnificent and well worth the effort. We also found Alpine Leaf-warbler, Beautiful Rosefinch, and a Kessler’s Thrush mobbing a perched Northern Goshawk. Once we had returned to the valley floor we spread out and managed flight views of 2 pairs of Daurian Partridges to make it a 4 ‘chicken’ morning.

After a late lunch in Chaka we drove to the desert east of the town and had our best view yet of a Mongolian Lark, but the rain that had been threatening came in and we had a well deserved early finish and a nice rest after our earlier exertions.

How Muddy Can it Get....?

Left the hotel at 5.30am and drove 30kms to the start of our Snowcock walk, however as we ate our packed breakfast the rain that had been threatening came in and we decided it was pointless to make a long hike up a mountain. So instead we drove back past Chaka and on for another 70kms to the start of another trail. This one is usually driveable for 4 kms to the base of the mountains, but as there had been a lot of rain the track had become a thick, glutonous, sticky, slidy, undriveable skislope. 

Gearing up for the muddy walk 4kms to the base of the mountains - great..!

So we had to make the painfully, strength-sapping walk up to the valley where A La Shan Redstart resides. And boy it was a tough walk up as the track was so muddy and slippery, but we made it despite the constant steady drizzle and cool conditions. Once we entered the redstarts favourite, Juniper dotted valley we found ourselves in low cloud and visibility was poor. Am I painting a good picture here..? 

Thick mist in the redstarts favourite valley - but it's out there somewhere

You know I didn’t believe there was any point being here, but was also aware that you never know what will happen. And sure enough as we sheltered from the rain underneath a large tree, Steven our additional local guide called from the gloom that he had found it! Holy cow! We skidded our way down to his position and unbelievably there was a pair of stunning redstarts feeding some 20 metres above us on a grassy slope – still in the low cloud but we didn’t care. Oh boy, you can imagine the elation we all felt and well done Steven. 

The Holy Grail....... A La Shan Redstart

Apart from a nice Pine Bunting we didn’t see another bird up here so headed straight down to the coach.

Try walking on 3 inches of glutinous mud, carrying a scope & tripod for 4 kms......

We drove back towards Chaka, seeing White-throated Dipper & Goosander, and stopped for coffee before walking out into the desert where we found many Asian Short-toed Larks, Isabelline Shrike, Desert Wheatear and another Henderson’s Ground-Jay.

Our last stop in the early evening was just south of Chaka where another walk out into the grassland produced a flyby Mongolian Lark, Tibetan Lark, Tibetan Wagtail & more Twite. Plus another Woolly Hare. 

This is usually a hot, dry, desert-type area but this freaky wet weather is really unpleasant and sitting in a restaurant in a fleece sipping room temperature beer is not what we were expecting....!

Now it Starts to Get Good....!

Waking up to dull, overcast skies and heavy drizzle wasn’t the best start to what turned out to be a superb day. Must admit I was in two minds as to whether I should change our plans and not hike up into the Rubber Mountain, but Tang Jun said we should give it some time and have our packed breakfast near the start of the track. So we did and it continued to rain whilst we ate, and we got out of the coach several times and yes, it was easing and getting brighter. A Rufous-necked Snowfinch raised optimism somewhat, so by the time we drove the last kilometre to the start of the trail and phaffed around it was hardly raining so off we went. The walk up to the base of the hills is probably a couple of kilometres but it took a while as we came across our first Rock Sparrows, Black-winged (Adam’s) Snowfinch, Robin Accentors and a superb Saker. Then we had to start the trek up into the scrub-covered little side valley, and up & up we went. The weather was still a bit miserable and it was chilly – not the best conditions to search for Pink-tailed Finch. 

Pink-tailed Finch... Is it a bunting or a finch...?

This is one of the star birds of any Qinghai tour, as it is now in a family all of its own. So the pressure was on! Anyway, we got to a vantage point where we could scan quite a way and I fired up the ipod – but nothing. And nothing. And nothing. David walked further up and thankfully spotted one coming down the valley in response to the call and a few of us managed to get on it. But somehow it disappeared, so we went up higher and fortunately it reappeared for another brief appearance. What a relief! I think it’s true to say everyone wanted more so we walked right up to the head of the (by now really steep) steep valley and walked over the brow of the hill, admiring the scenery as it would have been rude not to. 

Pink-tailed Finch Valley

You can just see the road in the distance where our coach is parked

The valley over the top held more bushes and Neil spotted one way down below us – another finch that is. We scrambled down and had amazing views of two adults and an immature bird feeding, bunting-like on the ground between the dwarf bushes. The views were awesome and it was a real privilege to be this close to such a mega! However, walking back up the ridiculously steep hillside wasn’t so much fun I can tell you.

Anyway, we hung around at the top for a while and had a female Streaked Rosefinch fly in, and some great looks at the weigoldi Smoky Warblers (really..?) , along with Rufous-breasted Accentors as well. Then we walked down the ridge and followed another valley for a while but didn’t get anything new, although seeing Ground-tits, Blue-fronted Redstarts, Kessler’s Thrushes, White-browed Tit and other commoner birds in such spectacular surroundings was fine!

Robin Accentor

Black-winged Snowfinch

By the time we had walked back down to the bus, finding our first Rosy Pipit along the way, we were ready for lunch and our crew did a fine job in producing such good fayre. 

Lunchtime...

As we were sitting along a stream we noticed that there were many birds coming down to drink and bathe as the weather was clearing up and it was nice and warm now. There were many Black-winged Snowfinches, Rufous-necked Snowfinch, Brown & Robin Accentors, and several Twite all giving point-blank views. It was such a treat to get close to these birds, as after bathing they flew up onto the grassy bank to sunbathe and didn’t pay much attention to the few of us watching them.

Henri's Snowfinch - a split from White-winged Snowfinch

We then drove up to the pass and scored with our first Henri’s Snowfinches, and several pairs were present showing well. We also had a Tibetan Lark here…..! Then we drove down to Chaka Basin and set out on a walk across the strange desert landscape, and unbelievably we found Henderson’s Ground-Jay quite quickly and were able to watch a group of 3 at leisure. So with that done we walked further and had four sightings of Pallas’s Sandgrouse flying overhead.   

Celebrating the Ground-Jay

Hendcerson's Ground-Jay

What a day!

Koko Nor Lake

Had another crack at the grouse again but they just weren’t around so we set out on the drive up onto the Tibetan Plateau and Koko Nor Lake, seeing our only Eastern Rook along the way. We stopped at the pass called Sun And Moon Mountain (very nice!) to stretch our legs and found our first Ground-tit, as well as White-rumped and Rufous-necked Snowfinches, plus the first of many Plateau Pikas. 

It was midday by now and within the hour we had reached a small town where we had a really great meal in a restaurant. The lake wasn’t far away and before we reached it, a pair of Black-necked Cranes were spotted which prompted a quick exit of the coach to fully admire them in the scope, and we also found Horned Lark here as well. Further on and a Mongolian Lark was seen flying past the coach and away into the distance.

At the lake we saw both Common and Whiskered Terns, flocks of Bar-headed Geese grazing along the shoreline, Ruddy Shelduck and Greylag Geese, Common Redshank, and a flotilla of distant ducks included Tufted Duck.

Hume's Short-toed Lark 

Moving on we walked out to a marshy area, finding Hume’s Short-toed Lark and Isabelline Wheatear nearby. Out on the marsh were lots of Black-necked Grebes and we scoped a loose nesting colony of them a little later. Ducks were much in evidence with Red-crested and Common Pochards, Ferruginous Duck, and a single Mallard. Other species here included Black-winged Stilt, Twite and a large flock of Pale Martins.

So we left here and drove to Heimahe, stopping along the way for a quick walk out in the grassland but apart from many Pallas’s Gulls it was quiet. But what views of the gulls and I cant remember seeing so many, with maybe 50+ littering the shoreline, as well as several closer individuals.

Pallas's Gull

On arrival at Heimahe we walked out into the fields and quickly found several huge Tibetan Larks amongst the smaller and more numerous Oriental Skylarks. There was also a distant Upland Buzzard flying past. A short drive took us to a comfortable hotel for the night, but there was just enough time to scan the open fields from a viewpoint at the back of the hotel where Kevin found a family of Red Foxes playing.

Huzhu Beishan

The following morning we left our hotel at 5.30am and drove back up through the main valley until we reached the start of a trail that led into a scenic side valley. Had breakfast at the roadside, during which we saw Elliot’s Laughingthrush, a flock of Salim Ali’s Swifts & Asian House Martins, Common Rosefinch and a pair of Godlewski’s Buntings. Then we headed up into the valley in search of Chinese (Severtzov’s) Grouse and walked for a couple of hours through a type of birch forest before reaching the pine forest. Although the grouse were non-existant we did see some good birds and found Chinese Leaf-warbler to be very common here, along with yet more Gansu Leaf-warblers. There was also Northern Goshawk, Grey-crested Tit, Eurasian Treecreeper, Grey-headed Bullfinch, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Large-billed Leaf-warbler, and yet more Siberian Bluetails.

By 9.30am we were done here and decided to drive higher up and check out the scrub and bush covered hillsides, but a fine male Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch was found before we boarded the coach. An nice path led us across the hillside through good habitat, and we got the ball rolling here with a pair of White-browed Tits and the first of many Alpine Leaf-warblers. 

White-browed Tit

Yet more Siberian Rubythroats were present and we were probably in double figures for sightings of them during this walk. I was surprised to see many Hume’s Leaf-warblers in this habitat, whilst Chinese White-browed Rosefinches were more expected. A male and two female Streaked Rosefinches and Blue-fronted Redstart were seen, and towards the end of the walk a pair of Severtzov’s Tit-warblers, Greenish Warbler and White-browed Tit were seen well.

Severtzov's Tit-warbler

Siberian Rubythroat

We drove back down the valley and had lunch in a nice little restaurant and whilst waiting for our food we saw Red-billed Chough, Plumbeous Water-redstart and a Brown Accentor.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring another superb side valley but this walk was all uphill and rather quiet. That was until we heard Verreaux’s Monal-Partridge calling and eventually had a couple of very close fly pasts from them. The walk back down produced our first Claudia’s Leaf-warbler and Eurasian Crag-martin, whilst a Black Woodpecker was seen from the bus on the drive back to the hotel.

Dong Xia to Huzhu Beishan

The following morning we left at 6am after a poor night’s sleep and drove for maybe an hour and a half to Dong Xia – a pine clad series of hills for our first taste of Qinghai birding. The only birds of note on the drive being Little Owl, numerous Common Pheasants and a Grey-backed Shrike. Upon arrival we drove up to an open area and parked the coach, and whilst our crew were preparing breakfast we walked down to the edge of the forest. One of our first birds was a Chinese Nuthatch that appeared right beside us and showed well, and was quickly followed by a Chinese White-browed Rosefinch. Goldcrest, Sichuan Tit and a Siberian Bluetail. This latter species is basically Northern Red-flanked Bluetail but is vocally distinctive and also looks a little different and is a potential future split. With the lure of coffee back at the coach we returned and enjoyed a nice breakfast, but birds kept appearing to distract us. 

Spotted Bush-warbler

One of my favourite birds, Spotted Bush-warbler, began calling uphill and with a little prompting flew right down and into the bushes next to us. It showed superbly well and was very, very bold, giving views down to 2 metres! After a few more mouthfuls a pair of White-throated Redstarts appeared nearby, then an Elliot’s Laughingthrush hopped out onto the road, a pair of White-winged Grosbeaks appeared and another Siberian Bluetail was seen.

White-throated Redstart

Once breakfast was over we began walking along a nice little trail that passed through the pine forest and scrub-covered hills. Almost immediately we picked up our first Gansu Leaf-warbler and then found them to be extremely common in this area. Other warblers here were Hume’s Leaf-warbler (mandellii) and Yellow-streaked Warbler, both of which proved to be very confiding. Everyone particularly appreciated several views of male Siberian Rubythroats singing from their exposed song perches, and we probably saw 4 different males in total. We had just finished watching one fine male rubythroat when a lovely male White-browed (Severtzov's) Tit-warbler flew across the path in front of us and we were able to watch a pair taking food into a bush on the hillside above us. 

White-bellied Redstart

And then having just said how skulky White-bellied Redstarts are, would you believe one just hops on top of a bush and sings back at us for several minutes. Amazing!  Finally, after quite a search we were able to find a superb Przewalski’s Nuthatch singing form the top of a pine tree, and manage to call it in for much closer views. There was also a couple of Plain Laughingthrushes feeding beside the path as well.

Przewalski's Nuthatch

Other species seen this morning included Himalayan Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Oriental Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Himalayan Wagtail, Chestnut Thrush, Rufous-vented and Japanese Tit.

So we left here and drove back towards Xining, stopping at a small restaurant for our first of many excellent meals. Afterwards, we drove back to the airport as our luggage had finally arrived (looking forward to clean pants!) and then we set off to Huzhu Beishan, a drive of a couple of hours. The road wound its way through beautiful valleys with tall mountains either side and eventually we reached a certain point from where we could scan the tree and bush-covered hillsides all around us. Virtually the first bird Mr Todd put his bins on was a Blue Eared-Pheasant, and then there was a second bird. Unbelievable! We were able to watch them at leisure through the scope for ages until a crowd gathered around us wanting their photos taken with us big noses! Kevin found a second pair (of pheasants) a short while later, and further scanning revealed both Chestnut & Kessler’s Thrushes as well.

All that remained was to drive a further 30kms to a really good hotel, where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. Just as well as the weather had closed in and a dark sky led to heavy rain by the time we reached there at 6pm.