The charming Red Panda is just one of the fascinating creatures we’ll see in Sichuan’s richly endowed forests. Photo: Paul Holt
Sichuan province, right in the heart of the Middle Kingdom, is a fabulously bird-rich region home to the bulk of China’s endemic birds (and the majority of its Giant Pandas!). On this new tour we’ll concentrate on seeing the endemic and near-endemic species as well as sampling the superb food, genuine hospitality and dramatic scenery for which the region is rightly famous. Although the wild mountainous terrain and torrential rivers have combined to keep the province isolated until relatively recently, the exceptional diversity of habitats and a newly developed tourist infrastructure with comfortable hotels and decent roads make Sichuan an appealing destination.
We’ll visit four main sites, each with its own charm and birdlife. We’ll start on the magnificent Emei Shan Mountain, a 10,000-foot peak that rises abruptly out of the Red Basin. Next we’ll visit Wolong National Park, famed as the home of China’s few remaining Giant Pandas but also renowned as a haven for a large number of spectacular birds, and then we’ll venture into the attractive rolling grasslands at the extreme eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where we’ll search for specialties such as Black-necked Crane and Rufous-necked Snowfinch. We’ll conclude in the striking Jiuzhaigou National Park, a reserve that’s beautiful beyond belief with dramatic alpine scenery, turquoise lakes and myriad waterfalls.
Day 1: The tour begins midday in Chengdu, Sichuan’s attractive provincial capital. Those who arrive early may be able to visit the luxuriant, bamboo-thronged gardens surrounding the cottage of Du Fu, a celebrated Tang dynasty poet. Birds here include Rufous-faced Warbler, White-browed Laughingthrush, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Tiger Shrike and Yellow-billed Grosbeak. Night in Chengdu.
Day 2: Leaving Chengdu we’ll drive south across the Red Basin, making our own pilgrimage to Emei Shan, one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains. Straddling the boundary between the Palearctic and Oriental regions, Emei Shan, the towering mountain that dominates this part of southern Sichuan, harbors a remarkable variety of species. Over the years its numerous monasteries and ancient shrines have served to protect its forests, much to the benefit of its near unique avifauna. Several species—Emei Shan Leaf Warbler, Emei Shan Liocichla and Seicercus omeiensis—bear the mountain’s name while at least one other, Grey-hooded Parrotbill, is almost endemic to this site.
We’ll spend five nights at four different altitudes on the majestic 10,000-foot peak. Our first will be close to the base, where we’ll search the subtropical forests near our hotel for species such as Black Baza, Swinhoe’s Minivet, Brown-breasted and Ferruginous Flycatchers, Collared Finchbill, Hwamei and Ashy-throated Parrotbill. Night near Emei Shan City.
Day 3: Today we’ll drive up the mountain to Leidongping. After a short walk we’ll take a cable car up to the “Golden Summit,” where we’ll spend the night. Target species here include vociferous Spotted Nutcrackers and Chestnut Thrushes and demure Golden and White-browed Bush-Robins. Umpteen warblers, including eight bush-warblers and no fewer than 17 species of phylloscopus warblers, are possible on this tour, and a good number of each breed on the mountain. The summit area holds healthy populations of Chestnut-crowned and Aberrant Bush-Warblers, Buff-throated and Buff-barred Warblers in particular. Other possibilities include Red-winged Laughingthrush, Maroon-backed Accentor, Spot-winged and Vinaceous Rosefinches, Grey-headed Bullfinch and several species of parrotbills. Night on the Golden Summit.
Day 4: After a morning exploring the stunted conifers and rhododendron and bamboo thickets adorning the summit we’ll return to Leidongping. Here the species diversity is even greater and the forests ring to the sounds of Oriental, Lesser and Large Hawk-Cuckoos, making it a challenge to distinguish more subtle vocalists such as Emei Shan Liocichla, Bar-winged Wren-Babbler and Slaty Bunting. Night in Leidongping.
Day 5: We’ll spend the whole day around Leidongping walking one of the pilgrimage trails down to the spectacularly imposing Xixiang Chi monastery. We’re sure to see many of the mountain’s pesky macaques and hope to encounter a good variety of birds, perhaps including Speckled Wood and Wedge-tailed Green Pigeons, Purple Cochoa and possibly the gorgeous Black-headed Sibia. Golden-spectacled Warbler has recently been split into a number of different species, four of which occur on Emei Shan, and we should find three of them today. Night at Leidongping.
Day 6: This morning we’ll descend much farther to spend the day birding close to Wannian Temple at just over 3000 feet. The avifauna here is very different from that of the higher elevations, and new species could include Chinese Bamboo Partridge (much easier to hear than to see), Hodgson’s Hawk-Cuckoo, the endemic Chinese form of Blue-throated Flycatcher, Sulphur-breasted Warbler, the recently described Plain-tailed Warbler, Dusky Fulvetta and, with luck, Golden Parrotbill. Night inside the Buddhist temple complex at Wannian.
Day 7: After a final morning around Wannian we’ll take a cable car back down to our waiting vehicle and leave Emei Shan for Chengdu. Night in Chengdu.
Day 8: Leaving Chengdu and the densely populated lowlands, we’ll drive west and back up into the mountains. Winding our way through deep valleys and narrow gorges we’ll eventually reach Wolong, world-renowned as the headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund’s project to save the Giant Panda. It’s a breathtakingly scenic area, and although we’re unlikely to see a wild Giant Panda (though we have seen Red Panda in the reserve), the spectacularly forested mountains, extensive stands of bamboo, stunning alpine meadows and rugged snow-capped peaks support some truly outstanding birds. We’ll spend four nights inside the reserve.
Days 9-11: We have numerous options during our time at Wolong. On at least one and probably two days we’ll use our four-wheel-drive vehicles to explore the mighty Balangshan Pass, well above the main village. We’ll start early in the hope of finding Wood Snipe displaying over some of the higher alpine meadows immediately before dawn. Koklass Pheasant and Kessler’s Thrush both breed close to the tree line here, and while the former is elusive and difficult to see, we’re sure to hear its unpleasant barking calls ringing across the valleys. With luck we might also find a covey of spectacular White Eared Pheasants or perhaps even a Chinese Monal. Continuing still higher we’ll spend some time at the summit of the pass, which at almost 15,000 feet is the highest point we’ll reach on the entire tour. Small coveys of scurrying Snow Partridges and Tibetan Snowcocks are regularly seen on the scree slopes right beside the road, as are Grandalas, the males resplendent in their cobalt-blue plumage. Other high-altitude specialties could include Lammergeier, Red and Yellow-billed Choughs, Alpine Accentor, Brandt’s Mountain-Finch and Red-fronted Rosefinch. Targets on the mid-slopes include both Barred and the mighty Giant Laughingthrushes and lower down we’ll scan the skies for White-throated Needletails.
On another day we’ll venture up the hillside close to our hotel where we’ll search for the stunning but remarkably skulking Golden Pheasant. One of Wolong’s premier avian jewels is Firethroat, and we should be able to find at least one of these truly world-class songsters. Chinese Leaf-Warbler, Rufous-tailed Babbler, Chinese Babax and Slaty Bunting could all follow, and Temminck’s Tragopan is another possibility. Nor will we neglect the mammals—the park boasts reasonable populations of Himalayan Marmot and both Blue Sheep and Takin. Nights at Wolong.
Day 12: We should have time to do some more birding close to our hotel before visiting the new Panda Museum and then the Panda Breeding Center. Sadly, these captive beasts are likely to be the only Giant Pandas we’ll encounter. Heading away from Wolong we’ll drive to Miyaluo for the night.
Day 13: Continuing north we’ll spend the morning searching for birds on the Zhe Gu Shan Pass. Both Chestnut-throated Partridge and Blood Pheasant are reasonably regular here and other targets include the strikingly patterned Przewalski’s Nuthatch, gorgeous White-browed and the even more appealing Crested Tit-Warblers, Chinese Fulvetta, Crimson-browed Finch and Tibetan Siskin. We’ll also have our first chance of Three-banded Rosefinch. We’ll stop again just as we crest onto the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau where, amid the gently undulating grasslands, we’ll explore isolated stands of conifers, searching in particular for the endangered, endemic Sichuan Jay as well as Songar and White-browed Tits and Plain and Elliot’s Laughingthrushes. Night in Hongyuan.
Day 14: Moving farther onto the plateau, past tented camps and fields full of yaks, we’ll be constantly scanning for more specialties such as vociferous Chinese Grey Shrikes, comical Hume’s Groundpeckers, hulking Tibetan Larks and both White-rumped and Rufous-necked Snowfinches. Our destination is Ruoergai, a relatively modern Tibetan settlement right in the heart of some exciting plateau birding. In the afternoon we’ll search the surrounding steppes for parties of majestic Black-necked Cranes and with luck we might also find a roosting Eurasian Eagle-Owl or a Saker Falcon or Chinese Grey Shrike. Night in Ruoergai.
Day 15: We’ll leave the plateau this morning, taking a minor road over the spectacular La Ma Ling Pass to Jiuzhaigou. We’ll make numerous stops to search for species such as Daurian Jackdaw, Sichuan Jay, Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush and Pink-rumped Rosefinch. Night just outside Jiuzhaigou National Park.
Days 16-17: Spending two days at Jiuzhaigou we’ll have ample time to explore a good number of sites both inside and just outside this spectacular sanctuary. Scenically Jiuzhaigou must rank as one of the most magnificent mountain areas in the whole of Asia. Startlingly jagged snow-capped peaks flanked with alpine meadows, extensive stands of bamboo and large tracts of dense coniferous and mixed forests abound. But in truth it’s the myriad waterfalls, the pools and especially the multicolored small lakes for which the park is rightly famous. A few Tibetan villages also survive, each with its own attractive wooden dwellings.
Our own vehicles are not allowed inside the park so we’ll use the reserve’s frequent shuttle bus services to explore a number of the better birding sites. Rufous-headed Robin is virtually unknown away from here and we’ll spend time searching an area of mixed forest for this fabulous songster. Other sought-after species include Chinese Nuthatch, demure Rusty-breasted and Sooty Tits and the noisy Spotted Laughingthrush. We’ll venture back into coniferous forest on another day to search for Chestnut-throated Partridge, Chinese Grouse, Three-toed Woodpecker, the enigmatic Sichuan Wood-Owl, Himalayan Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush, the recently-described Sichuan Treecreeper and White-winged Grosbeak. On one day we’ll look for the tiny Spectacled Parrotbill.
Day 18: On our final morning around Jiuzhaigou we’ll explore an area outside the park where both Snowy-cheeked and Barred Laughingthrushes are more regular and where we’ve also seen Three-toed Parrotbill. In the afternoon we’ll start our journey back to Chengdu. Night in Maoxian.
Day 19: After some local birding we’ll continue south to Chengdu, arriving in time to make a return visit to the cottage of Du Fu. Night in Chengdu.
Day 20: The tour concludes this morning in Chengdu.
Updated: 08 January 2008
Prices
- 2008 price about $7,930
- Single Occupancy Supplement $680
- 2009 price not yet available.
Notes
This tour is limited to 10 participants with one leader.
Depending on the arrival time for the Sunbird group from London, there may be an optional afternoon group birding excursion to the gardens surrounding the cottage of Du Fu.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.