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11 - 26 April 2017.
Highly variable with altitude. Warm to very cold with snow, rain, hail, fog, wind, clear skies, variable cloud cover and strong sun. Temperatures ranged from -10°C to +23°C.
Songpan, Baxi, Gong Gang Ling Shan, Baihe, Dujuan Shan, Pingwu, Tangjiahe, Qinxi, Yangxian, Lingyan Shan, Longcanggou, Wolong National Nature Reserve, Balang Shan and Sichuan University.

Daurian Jackdaw

Himalayan Marmot

11 Apr. The excellent breakfast spread available by 06:00, is not to be missed, especially as included in the price. Collected by Sid at 07:00 and set off toward the Tibetan Plateau. A total change in the weather with overcast conditions and rain - much more the usual Sichuan weather. An all day drive to Baxi, with some roadside scans north of Songpan for Blue Eared Pheasant, of which several successfully located.

Ascending the plateau, through a mixture of rain, snow and hail, we recorded Red-throated Thrush, Black-throated Thrush, Horned Lark, Black-necked Crane, Ruddy Shelduck, Güldenstädt's Redstart, Daurian Jackdaw and Himalayan Marmot. During the last hour of the day, about 20 kilometres before Ruoergai, we turned off toward Baxi. At well over 3,000 metres, plenty of snow cover remaining, and despite the cold conditions still found Elliot's Laughingthrush, Plain Laughingthrush, Giant Laughingthrush, Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush heard, Robin Accentor, Rufous-breasted Accentor, White-backed Thrush, Chestnut Thrush and Cinereous Tit. Early evening, with temperatures falling below zero, checked into the Kai De Feng Hotel in town.

Blood Pheasant

Spent the morning, until 14:00, simply stopping and birding anywhere that looked promising, with Blood Pheasant, Blue Eared Pheasant, White-backed Thrush, Silver-throated Bushtit, Streaked Rosefinch, Pink-rumped Rosefinch, Chinese White-browed Rosefinch and Sichuan Jay the pick of the bunch.

Sichuan Tit

13 Apr. Following a leisurely start, drove three hours to Gong Gang Ling Shan where we spent time first looking for Pere David's Owl and then Three-banded Rosefinch with similar success to yesterday. Mid afternoon drove to lower elevations where we had more success in locating Pere David's Tit.

14 Apr. Left prior to 05:00 and drove to high elevations of Gong Gang Ling Shan. With clear skies and an altitude approaching 4,000 metres it was unpleasantly cold, at -10°C, with a nasty breeze over the mountain adding to the feel good factor.

White-collared Yuhina

Sooty Tit

Pere David's Tit

Blue-fronted Redstart

Giving up on the rosefinch, we returned to lower altitude for another attempt for Sooty Tit but not found. From here, drove through the crazy town of Jiuzhaigou, absolutely packed with local tourists. Continued to the vicinity of Baihe where late afternoon we saw Chinese Long-tailed Rosefinch, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Black-streaked Scimitar Babbler, Spot-breasted Parrotbill and Slaty Bunting. Continued to Jiuzhaigou County Town where we'd booked into a small guesthouse found via the web, but which was absolutely impossible to find without calling the owner to come and fetch us - especially as the location given on the web was incorrect!

15 Apr. Another early start by 05:00 for the 90 minute drive to Dujuan Shan, that we found to be fogged in at the summit, so descended a couple of kilometres to just below the cloud. Our target here was Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge, a bird usually vocal only at dawn, and it took several tries running up and down the road to eventually locate one. Spent a further three hours in the area, finding Blood Pheasant, Grey-hooded Fulvetta, Maroon-backed Accentor and Dark-rumped Rosefinch, before descending the valley toward Pingwu stopping several times en route with one longer walk with good list including Sooty Tit and White-backed Woodpecker.

Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge

White-backed Woodpecker

Collared Finchbill

Red-faced Warbler

Chinese Leaf Warbler

Little Bunting

Moustached Laughingthrush

16 Apr. A day allocated to a search for the extremely rare Przevalski's Parrotbill. We awoke to overnight rain, with a 90 minute drive to Tangjiahe. On arrival, cold, overcast and very windy with some spots of rain - decidedly not conducive to parrotbill hunting. Spent the whole day walking in several kilometres, but despite good habitat few birds found due to the poor weather. Around 14:00 the weather improved a fraction and we heard one snatch of a Sinosuthora parrotbill call, but which was not repeated and the bird only glimpsed in flight, so not certain of its identity. A short bird list today with Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Long-tailed Minivet, Southern Nutcracker, Yellow-browed Tit, Rufous-faced Warbler and Chestnut-headed Tesia heard. Back to town where, following last night's poor restaurant experience, cooked up our own eggs and chips, that turned out really well and a welcome change from usual Sichuan fare.

17 Apr. A short drive to mid elevations around Qinxi where we started our hunt for Moustached Laughingthrush, that although a widespread species, is decidedly scare. A beautiful, bright clear day, with us birding open scrub until about 11:00 when the strong sun killed bird activity. Unfortunately no laughingthrush, but a good list included numerous Golden Pheasant heard, Salim Ali's Swift, Grey-backed Shrike, Mountain Bulbul, Chinese Leaf Warbler, Claudia's Leaf Warbler, Sulphur-breasted Warbler, Dusky Fulvetta, David's Fulvetta, Spectacled Fulvetta, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Little Bunting, Swinhoe's White-eye and Russet Sparrow.

Thereafter, a six hour drive to Yangxian for Crested Ibis, first stopping ten kilometres from town by a riverside lookout but none present. Drove into town to scan the main river, with a couple of unfulfilling views of distant birds in quite depressing surroundings. Seemingly, the people of this area simply use the name of the Crested Ibis for advertising all sorts of business with no appreciation for conservation of the bird; the surrounding areas being developed for agriculture, construction and under massive disturbance. Hard to image a medium term survival for this bird here. Just prior to dusk returned to the same lookout as previously, with about 15 Crested Ibis returning to roost.

18 Apr. As we only had a reverse long drive, no massive rush to leave, so didn't depart till 07:30 to return to Qinxi for another go at the Moustached Laughingthush. Initially, at 13:30, sunny and warm, but with temperatures starting to drop after 16:30 the outlook improved, though again we failed to find the laughingthrush. Overnight in Qinxi town, where we managed to track down some decent beer in a supermarket.

19 Apr. Back again for a third attempt at Moustached Laughingthrush, with another clear, bright, morning. This time we tried exploring farther afield, and in a well vegetated gully were finally rewarded with good views of a single Moustached Laughingthrush. A five hour drive to Dujiangyan, Sid's home town, checked into the Shu Yin Intelligent Hotel, and a quick look at the local park on the adjacent Lingyan Shan. However, other than a calling Oriental Scops Owl, Large Hawk-Cuckoo and Grey-winged Blackbird little seen, so with rain starting we headed back to town. With Dujiangyan being a modern western city we were able this night to find western food and decent European beer.

21 Apr. With assistance from the hotel a large truck was arranged to transport us and extract our vehicle. Starting at 07:00, a slow and bumpy ride by a very beaten up truck, but clearly the driver had done this many times and had the necessary equipment. Even so, it was a further two hours of work to jack up the vehicle and put rocks under the wheels, and a very messy job. Unfortunately the weather had not improved on yesterday, so we struggled to find anything until about 14:00 when it finally stopped raining. The highlight of the day was Three-toed Parrotbill seen by some, as well as Emei Leaf Warbler lower down and Lady Amherst's Pheasant calling.

Stuck in the ditch

Three-toed Parrotbill

Golden Parrotbill

Golden-breasted Fulvetta

Giant Laughingthrush

Chinese White-browed Rosefinch

Golden x Lady Amherst's Pheasant

Balang Shan

Around the top, we had a great start, with Chinese Monal, Blood Pheasant and Koklass Pheasant heard. The whole day spent driving and birding the top 8-10 kilometre stretch seeking various targets. However, we were unlucky with Sichuan Thrush that was heard but not seen. Considering that this road runs within the Wolong Nature Reserve all sorts of construction, no doubt illegal, is now popping up along the road, with locals cutting the forest to barbecue snacks for the thronging masses of tourists. We found birding along the road unpleasant, with large numbers of trucks, busses and cars, most blowing their horns, streaming past. It's also impossible to park off the road at key birding areas, so with frequent fog, quite dangerous, As several tunnels along lower stretches of the road are now repaired and open, there's been a huge increase the number of vehicles using this route, as it now offers the quickest route from Chengdu to the Tibetan Plateau. Despite the traffic, a good list with Bearded Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Snow Pigeon, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Giant Laughingthrush, Chinese Fulvetta, Hodgson's Treecreeper, Collared Grosbeak and Three-banded Rosefinch.

24 Apr. Another full day at Balang Shan attempting to fill in the gaps from yesterday - Sichuan Thrush, Koklass Pheasant, Crimson-browed Finch and Sharpe's Rosefinch. However, on exiting our hotel, rain had begun to fall, and as we ascended higher dense fog made for slow-going. At the top we couldn't park in the usual spot as a pickup had driven straight off the road and occupied the spot by lying on its side with goods spilled everywhere. So continued through the tunnel and parked at end of the old road well out of danger of oncoming vehicles. Walked the old road in fog. Unsurprisingly seeing little, then down the main road for Koklass Pheasant that were calling nearby. One advantage of the thick fog was that birds were approachable, even though not visible! Eventually, after 20 minutes of peering through the fog we found a single bird calling right next to the road. We then spent a frustrating day trying to avoid the patchy fog, that was unfortunately more fog than patches, but one gap did provide us with excellent views of Sichuan Thrush, and another session in the undergrowth provided an almost male Golden Pheasant, that turned out as a hybrid with Lady Amherst's Pheasant. We also put in a huge effort for Sharpe's Rosefinch, but no luck. Rain started late afternoon on our return to Wolong.

25 Apr. Rain all night continuing as we left at the slightly later time of 06:00, to return to top. At these altitudes the rain had fallen as snow, so a white landscape greeted us. Surprisingly, bird activity was good, probably on account of a frantic search for food. We finally found Dark-breasted Rosefinch, as well as Alpine Accentor and Eurasian Wren. Another six hours of searching for Sharpe's Rosefinch draw a blank till we departed at 14:00 to Dujiangyan where we checked into the Intelligent Hotel again.