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China 2019: Tengchong to Ruili (Part 3 of 4)

Posted in Birding, Travel, Travel for Birding, tagged Asian Emerald Dove, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Barn Swallow, Black-crested Bulbul, Bronzed Drongo, China, Crested Goshawk, Davison's Leaf Warbler, Laifengshan National Forest Park, Red-headed Trogon, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Slender-billed Oriole, Streaked Wren-Babbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, White-crowned Forktail, Yunnan, Zoothera Birding on April 5, 2019| 2 Comments »

After our last session of birding the blinds at Baihualing and lunch, we drove for three hours to Tengchong. The next morning, January 27, we birded Laifengshan National Forest Park. The first birds we saw were two Bar-tailed Treecreepers, which I thought looked an awful lot like my Brown Creepers at home.

Bar-tailed Treecreeper

Laifengshan is a popular park and visitors that day included several Chinese bird photographers. A young Chinese woman with a camera excitedly showed me a Slender-billed Oriole, one of our targets here. When I had asked Nick about field marks for the oriole, he said that the black mask goes all the way around the nape. Like so often happens, I didn’t realize how beautiful the bird is until I actually saw it.

Slender-billed Oriole. Photo by John Hopkins.

The park was very pretty and it was a gorgeous sunny day. While walking up to the temple we saw some nice birds including Rufous-bellied and Darjeeling Woodpeckers.

The entrance at the paved path that leads to the temple

We also saw this Davison’s Leaf Warbler. Asian warblers are rather drab for the most part compared to our colorful North American jewels, however, I was still happy to get identifiable photos of several warbler species during our Yunnan trip.

Davison’s Leaf Warbler

Shortly after noon, we left Tengchong for the drive to Nabang, where would spend the next 2-1/2 days.

One of my favorite experiences in the Nabang area was time spent at a recently established photo blind/feeding station. We were walking along a forest trail when two young women on a motorcycle came by and said “Come see our blind.” The first half hour seemed to be a total waste of time as we saw absolutely no birds at all. Then, suddenly, birds began to arrive.

White-crowned Forktail

I was very, very happy to get wonderful close views of two gorgeous White-crowned Forktails that came in to the feeding area. This Rufous-bellied Niltava was another of my favorites.

Rufous-bellied Niltava

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Little Pied Flycatcher, and White-tailed Robin were among other species seen well at the blind.

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

One our way back to the hotel that evening, the Asian Emerald Dove below was in the road in front of the bus. The others could not believe that this was a life bird for me. They seriously thought that I must have seen it before as it seemed a very common Asian bird to them. My bird was special, though, as it had extra white feathers. This species normally has white only on the face and front of the shoulder.

Asian Emerald Dove, photographed through the bus window

We continued birding in the Nabang area for the next day and a half. On our last morning, we enjoyed this displaying Crested Goshawk, with the distinctive white undertail coverts fluffed up across the rump. In one of those quirks of birding, I have now seen this species three times, but I’m still looking for my life Northern Goshawk at home.

Crested Goshawk

It was then on to Ruili, the last destination of our birding tour. Early on our first morning there, we birded the trail to Moli Waterfalls, part of the Moli Scenic Area, one of the most beautiful locations we visited during the entire trip. One of our main targets was Streaked Wren-Babbler, a sneaky little bird as one would expect with both “wren” and “babbler” in its name. But, due to Nick’s patience and perseverance, I saw the little brown bird.

Streaked Wren-Babbler

Nick loves those skulky little brown birds, but I prefer big colorful birds like this Red-headed Trogon. Before this trip, I thought of Trogons as primarily Central American birds, but I learned that they are residents of tropical forests worldwide. The greatest diversity is in the Neotropics, where 24 species occur, but there are also three African species and 12 species of Trogon found in southeast Asia.

Red-headed Trogon. Photo by John Hopkins.

February first was the last day of birding for the tour. We started at a ridge-top road just outside of Ruili. I picked up a few more life birds, including Black-crested Bulbul.

Black-crested Bulbul

But mostly, I just remember a lovely morning with pleasant companions, friendly farmers, and sunshine. I also remember watching drongos that morning, common birds in Yunnan with five different species seen during our two weeks there. I got 104 life birds on the trip, but I would have had more if I hadn’t missed so many birds due to my poor vision. Sometimes, when the others were focused on some distant or skulky bird that I couldn’t find, I just watched drongos, gracefully sallying out for insects and then resettling in the treetops. I was mesmerized by the graceful flights of these birds. I thought that if you could cross a flycatcher with a swallow, you would get a drongo.

Bronzed Drongo

And, then the morning was over and we piled back into the bus to start towards the airport. We stopped for lunch on the way at a lovely outside restaurant. While waiting for our food, someone noticed Asian Palm-Swifts flying low over the palm trees at the edge of the parking lot. This seemed like a bonus bird and very appropriate for my last China life bird. After lunch, we drove to the airport for our flight to Kunming. The next morning, the others would start their journeys home and I would fly to Shenzhen where I would visit my son, Dave, and his girlfriend, Rachel.

I love Barn Swallows with their white bellies in this part of the world.

Parts of the trip were challenging, but I have no regrets. I saw a beautiful part of the world and many gorgeous birds. I enjoyed the company of birders far more accomplished than I will ever be. The other birders and our Zoothera Birding guide, Nick Bray, were fun and wonderfully kind about helping me see as many birds as possible. Near the end when I was getting tired, I thought that it would be my last trip to China, but now I don’t know if I can bear the thought of never again seeing the spectacular beauty of China’s birds.

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China 2019: Baihualing (Part 2 of 4)

Posted in Birding, Photography, Travel, Travel for Birding, tagged Ashy Drongo, Baihualing, Birding, Birds, Black Giant Squirrel, Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler, Blue-winged Lauthingthrush, Chestnut-headed Tesia, China, Flavescent Bulbul, Gray-sided Laughingthrush, Great Barbet, Hill Partridge, Himalayan Bluetail, Large Niltava, Long-tailed Sibia, Mountain Bamboo-Partridge, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Pallas's Squirrel, Red-billed Leiothrix, Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Red-tailed Minla, Rusty-capped Fulvetta, Scarlet-faced Liocichla, Silver-eared Mesia, Streaked Spiderhunter, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Yunnan, Zoothera Birding on March 26, 2019| 1 Comment »

If I’d died and gone to birding heaven, it couldn’t have been much better than Baihualing. If you have been to South America and seen antpittas and other shy forest birds come to worms when called, imagine that. Except that it lasts all day rather than five minutes. The bird blinds/feeding stations at Baihualing are amazing. Each blind (or “hide” as the Brits say) is owned by a local who created and manages it. A good location is identified and then the blind owner creates a stage for the birds with water features, logs and stumps that can be filled with suet or worms, places to perch, etc. On one side is the hide – a narrow rectangular tent-like structure with either a long window or portholes for binoculars and cameras and little plastic stools for sitting.

Everyone needs a drink, even shy species like these Mountain Bamboo-Partridges.

I envision the creation process is much like that of a male bowerbird who looks at his stage from various perspectives. Will the birds find it appealing and come? Will the birders and photographers in the blind have good views? Ongoing management consists of chauffeuring birders back and forth between the hotel and the blind, feeding the birds throughout the day, and collecting the modest fees that birders and photographers pay for the privilege of wonderful close looks at birds that would otherwise be very difficult to find and see well. It’s a winning situation for everyone, including the birds.

We arrived at this wonderful place late in the afternoon of January 23th and spent nearly two hours in Blind #8. Here are some of the gorgeous birds we saw that first day.

Red-billed Leiothrix. I missed this beautiful little bird on previous trips to China, so I was thrilled to finally get such a wonderful close look this time.

Red-tailed Laughingthrush. It’s hard to believe, but these beauties were common at the blinds with half a dozen or so frequently in the feeding areas.

Chestnut-headed Tesia. What a little charmer! This is a species that would have been difficult to see well “in the wild.”

Rusty-capped Fulvettas. These little cuties were fun to watch.

Space prohibits displaying all of my photos from that afternoon, so here is a link to my eBird checklist.

The next morning we walked a nearby trail for over six hours. It was advertised as “flat,” but several of us thought it was a bit steep and I didn’t stay with the group the entire time. I didn’t see many birds on the trail, but I did see a beautiful Black Giant Squirrel which was so big that I didn’t even realize it was a squirrel at first.

Black Giant Squirrel. Photo by John Hopkins.

Later that afternoon, I was happy to spend two hours in Blind #77. In that short time, I got eight life birds! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the afternoon.

Red-tailed Minla. Such a smart and sophisticated-looking bird. I can’t help assigning human-like personalities to some of these exotic Asian birds.

Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler. I have been awed by scimitar-babblers ever since I first saw a Gray-sided Scimitar-Babbler in 2012. And, what a struggle it was to see that first one. Scimitar-Babblers are normally very shy birds.

Yellow-cheeked Tit. Punk bird?

Scarlet-faced Liocichla. These gorgeous birds were fairly common and we frequently saw them with Red-tailed Laughingthrushes.

And, here is my eBird checklist from that session with more photos.

The next day, January 25, we spent the entire day in the blinds starting with #35 in the morning. Some species seem to be constantly present at a blind and others come and go throughout the day. Some of the shyer birds may only come once or twice a day – or skip a day entirely. A few photos from that session:

Blue-winged Lauthingthrush. Gorgeous and a little scary looking. Very shy compared to Red-tailed Laughingthrushes.

Ashy Drongo. He came into the feeding area like he owned it, with grace and confidence, but no arrogance. Yep, I can’t help those human comparisons. Drongos are common in China and the others didn’t get excited over them, but I loved them, especially this species.

Flavescent Bulbuls enjoying an apple.

Streaked Spiderhunter is a species that we enjoyed seeing from the blinds, but this is one that we also saw well several times “in the wild.” Presumably, these birds do feed on spiders and insects, but that long curved bill is adapted for obtaining nectar. National Geographic even includes them in its list of Top 25 Birds with a Sugar Rush.

Streaked Spiderhunter

Silver-eared Mesia. These beautiful little birds are currently doing well in the wild, however, the population is under pressure from trapping for the caged bird trade.

Long-tailed Sibia. One of the many species that enjoyed the apples at the feeding stations.

Large Niltava. This individual is a female. I think that she is just as gorgeous as her mate.

Pallas’s Squirrel. These and Northern Tree Shrew were common visitors to the feeding stations.

Here is my eBird checklist from the morning.

We spent the afternoon in Blind #11, at a little higher elevation than the others we had visited, which produced a few new species. Each blind has its specialties. At this one, new birds were Hill Partridge and Gray-sided Laughingthrush. This blind was the only location where we saw either of these species.

Hill Partridge

Gray-sided Laughingthrush

Himalayan Bluetail. Amazingly, we saw many of these beautiful birds. This one is a male.

My eBird checklist from Blind #11 has more photos.

On our final morning at Baihualing, we all had a choice – walk the trails to search for species that don’t come to the blinds or have another session at a blind. You can guess which option I choose. It turned out to be a good decision as the others dipped again on their second try for Gould’s Shortwing, a difficult species to find. Additionally, our little group in the blind had wonderful looks at eight Mountain Bamboo-Partridges, the only good sighting of this species during the trip.

Mountain Bamboo-Partridge (male)

That last morning, we also had excellent looks at many species seen during the previous few days. A few of my favorites were the birds below.

Large Niltava (male)

Great Barbet

Mr. Orange-bellied Leafbird. I had seen these gorgeous birds on previous trips, but I was thrilled to get much closer looks this time.

Mrs. Orange-bellied Leafbird

Here is my last eBird checklist from Baihualing, but there are six more days in the Zoothera Birding trip and then a week in Shenzhen, so I’ll be back with more stories.

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China 2019: Kunming to Pianma (Part 1 of 4)

Posted in Birding, Travel, Travel for Birding, tagged Birding, Birds, Black-headed Gull, Brown-headed Gull, China, Chinese Thrush, Common Kingfisher, Ferruginous Duck, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Red Panda, Rufous-tailed Babbler, White Wagtail, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Yunnan, Yunnan Nuthatch, Zoothera Birding on March 22, 2019| 2 Comments »

My son Dave visited Yunnan shortly after he moved to China in 2008. For years, he has urged me to see this province of China that is often considered the most beautiful. So, when Nick Bray, who led my birding trip in 2012, posted on Facebook that he was planning Zoothera Birding‘s first trip to Yunnan, I immediately signed up.

Common Kingfishers are widespread in Asia and I have seen them on every trip, this time in both Yunnan and later in Shenzhen.

I arrived in Kunming in the wee hours of January 16th, a full day before the others so that I wouldn’t be starting the trip with jet lag. I planned to sleep late and then do a little birding on my first day. I thought that I was so smart when I was preparing for the trip and found a little park not far from the hotel. I printed the map so that I could show it to a taxi driver as no taxi drivers in China speak any English. The hotel called a taxi for me and, as planned, I showed my little map to the driver. I assumed that he would take me to the park, but after a few minutes he showed me his phone with a translation app. It said “That park is old and depressed. Why do you want to go there? Guandu Forest Park is new and beautiful and it’s free.” I tried to ask how far the suggested park was, but the translation app turned “How far is the park?” into profanity. I vigorously shook my head “no” and gave up. So, of course, the driver took me to the suggested park, 45 minutes away and $15.00 rather than 10 minutes and the $3.00 fare that I expected. I was frustrated, but I should have known better. After four previous trips to China, I have learned that communication is difficult and misunderstandings are frequent, even when simply trying to get from Point A to Point B.

Yellow-billed Grosbeak

The park was a typical Chinese city park – full of people, even a band playing – beautiful, but not conducive to productive birding. But, I quickly relaxed and enjoyed the lovely afternoon for a couple of hours. Even with all the activity, I found a little flock of Yellow-billed Grosbeaks, a species that the Zoothera group would not see at all.

Back at the hotel, I found a few birds on the edge of the parking area, including several White Wagtails. I find Wagtails very interesting and always try to photograph them. This was the first time that I saw an alboides subspecies and I thought that he was a rather snazzy looking bird, even in winter plumage.

White Wagtail, Motacilla alba alboides

That evening I enjoyed dinner with John Hopkins, another birder who had arrived early. The next day we met up with the rest of the group at the airport – ten participants and three guides. There was one other woman in the group, from Germany, and one man from Sweden. The rest of the group consisted of males from the UK except for our two Chinese guides. After a quick lunch, we were off on our adventure. Our first destination was Zixishan, a mountain park near Chuxiong, about three hours from Kunming. We arrived in time for a little birding before checking into our hotel and we found our two target birds right away – the endemic Yunnan Nuthatch and Giant Nuthatch. The Yunnan Nuthatch posed quite nicely for us at a close distance, not typical behavior we were told.

Yunnan Nuthatch

The following day, we started birding at Zixishan before sunrise. It was a nice morning and we saw a good number of birds. This Chinese Thrush sat on the side of the road and never moved, even as we moved closer and closer for photos. It was still sitting there when we left to look for other species.

Chinese Thrush

The afternoon brought a 6-hour drive to Lijiang where we hoped to see Biet’s Laughingthrush, my most wanted bird of the trip. But, alas, our good fortune at Zixishan did not continue at Lijiang. Despite several hours of intensive searching in the areas where the laughingthrush has historically been seen, we neither heard nor saw one. We learned that this rare bird is becoming increasingly difficult to find, perhaps in part due to illegal poaching for the caged bird trade.

The best birds at Lijiang were a pair of Rufous-tailed Babblers bouncing around the top of a big trash pile, singing almost constantly. Several of us just sat in the grass a few yards away with our cameras and click-click-clicked as these normally shy birds put on a fantastic close-up show for us.

Rufous-tailed Babbler

The others in our group had started teasing me about ducks almost as soon as our trip started. Apparently I was the only waterfowl enthusiast, or maybe ducks were just too easy for the more serious birders with life lists of over 6,000 species. I got my wish to see ducks on the morning that we left Lijiang with a quick stop at Lijiang Wetland Park. I loved it! There were hundreds of birds on the lake. I got much better looks at beautiful Ferruginous Ducks than I’d had previously. And, I even got three life birds. Surprisingly, I had never seen a real wild Graylag Goose before. Red-crested Pochard and Smew were also new.

Ferruginous Ducks

It seemed that everyone enjoyed our short time at the wetland despite their earlier claims that they didn’t care about ducks. I think that we could have stayed for hours and everyone would have been happy. But, we had a long drive ahead, so we couldn’t savor the ducks and wetland birds for long. Back in the van, the more experienced birders gave me a good lesson in separating Black-headed and Brown-headed Gulls. With their expert knowledge and my photos, I quickly learned that it really was easy to differentiate these two species.

Brown-headed and Black-headed Gulls with Graylag Geese. Even in this rather poor photo, you can easily note the larger size of the Brown-headed Gulls, the dark wingtips, and huge mirrors in the outermost primaries.

After leaving the Lijiang wetland, we drove 8 hours to Lushui. The next morning we continued through part of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, over Pianma Pass (3,100 meters), and to the small town of Pianma near the Myanmar border where we would spend the next two nights. The first morning in this area started with one of the most thrilling sightings of the entire trip – and it was not a bird. It was a Red Panda sleeping in the sunshine in a bare tree! This charismatic little mammal (about the size of a house cat) is fascinating. It has thick fur on the soles of its feet. It uses that fluffy 18-inch tail to wrap around itself for warmth. The Smithsonian has more interesting facts about the Red Panda, a species classified as endangered with a population of less than 10,000 remaining in the wild.

The Red Panda as seen from the road.

A close-up of the adorable Red Panda. This is the view that we got through the scope. Photo by John Hopkins.

After the panda sighting, things were pretty slow. Actually, they were very slow and this was my least favorite part of the trip. The hotel was awful, it was cold, and we didn’t find our main target birds. For two full days, we traveled back and forth over Pianma Pass and birded along the road, which was always covered in a thin layer of ice except in sunny spots. On the second day, several of the others found some good birds by climbing up the side of the mountain on rough rather steep trails. I stayed on the road not wanting to wear myself out or trigger an asthma attack by too much activity at 3,100 meters. OK, I was a little lazy. But, my vision is so bad that I don’t think that I would have seen the birds anyway, even if I had scrambled up the mountainside. Just like on my 2012 trip with Nick, most of the others were in better physical shape and were much more experienced and skillful birders than me. But I didn’t miss one of the best birds of the day when late that afternoon we found this spectacular little bird, a Fire-tailed Myzornis.