China: specialities on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and migrants at Beidaihe Saturday 20 September to Monday 6 October 2008 Saturday 19 September - Monday 5 october 2009 Cost: £3680 (2008) Maximum group size: 10 with 2 leaders.
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China is a vast country, the third largest on earth, with a dazzling array of landscapes and environments that rivals anywhere else on the planet. Many of the nation's 1200 or so species are endemic or near endemic, and many are poorly known. We'll spend the bulk of the trip exploring parts of the fantastic Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in search of some of its endemic and near endemic species before venturing to the coast in search of migrants and a completely different array of species. The Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, the so-called 'Roof of the World' with the famous Qinghai Hu (Lake Koko Nor to many), is a surreal lunar landscape which is home to an impressive array of alluring species. These could include majestic Black-necked Cranes, Pallas's Sandgrouse, the elusive Kessler's Thrush, stunningly patterned White-winged and Ala Shan Redstarts, six species of snowfinch, numerous larks, engaging White-browed Tits, and the enigmatic Henderson's Ground Jay. Moving off the Plateau we'll head to Huzhu Beis han, a recently opened area harbouring an impressive remnant ancient forest thronged with phylloscopus warblers, redstarts and buntings, as well as many other regional specialities. We'll head out to the coast and spend time searching for migrants such as Great Knots, Red-necked Stints, White's Thrushes and Siberian Blue Robins at Beidaihe, a world-class, coastal migration site. Here we'll also stand a good chance of seeing several other regional specialities such as Baikal Teal, Relict and possibly even Saunders' Gulls. During the tour we'll also have the opportunity to see some of the Middle Kingdom's amazing cultural heritage, as we'll visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Day 1: The tour begins in London with an overnight flight to Beijing. Day 2: Arriving early in Beijing, we'll transfer to our hotel before heading out sightseeing. We'll visit Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city and one of Beijing's most famous landmarks. We'll then enter the Forbidden City. Home to the emperors of both the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden City, or Palace Museum, now harbours the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in the nation. Although we don't expect to see many birds today we should encounter at least a couple of parties of entertaining Azure-winged Magpies and perhaps a migrant or two. Night in Beijing. Day 3: In the late morning we'll catch a flight to Xining, the ancient capital of Qinghai province, in north-central China. We'll then drive to a hill overlooking the city where we'll search for Daurian Partridge Plain Laughingthrush, Hume's Warbler and Godlewski's Bunting. We'll return to spend the night in a comfortable hotel in Xining. Days 4-5: Leaving Xining we'll drive west, climb up onto the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and head for spectacular Qinghai Hu (Lake Koko Nor) some 3,200 metres above sea level. We'll spend five days on the plateau visiting as many different habitats as possible. The rolling alpine grasslands and dramatic snow-capped peaks are completely different to the China we'll have seen around the bustling metropolis of Beijing, and it's hard to believe that we're still in the world's most populous nation. On the shores of the lake post-breeding Bar-headed Geese, and both Pallas's and Brown-headed Gulls and will vie for our attention. We'll also search for, and expect to see, the rare Black-necked Crane and the possibly even the endangered Pallas's Fish Eagle. In the neighbouring grasslands, among the domesticated yaks and horses and scattered Tibetan tents, we should find species such as Tibetan and Mongolian Larks, six of the world's seven species of snowfinch - White-winged, Tibetan, White-rumped, Small, Rufous-necked, and Plain-backed - plus comical Hume's Ground Jays. Pikas are common throughout the grasslands and constitute an important food source for the often numerous Upland Buzzards and Saker Falcons. We'll also expect to encounter large numbers of migrant wader fowl and a few waders. Nights in a new and comfortable hotel near Bird Island. Day 6: We'll continue west from Qinghai Hu stopping to spend the morning in a ravine. It's a moderately steep walk to the top, but we'll move slowly, our steps perhaps enlivened by encounters with a Tibetan Partridge, Wallcreeper, Kessler's Thrush, Blue-fronted Redstart, glistening gem-like White-browed Tit Warblers, Eurasian Eagle Owl or Lammergeier. In the afternoon we'll drive over a road pass to Caka, a bizarre area rich in mineral salt deposits and yet with tracts of intensive and surprisingly lush agriculture. We'll be looking particularly for Pallas's Sandgrouse, Mongolian Ground Jay and parties of migrating Demoiselle Cranes as we approach town. In autumn 2006 we were also fortunate enough to encounter several parties of the enigmatic Tibetan Sandgrouse. Night in Chaka. Day 7: We'll leave early for a dry wash east of Chaka where, in the early morning light, we'll look for Rusty-necklaced Partridge, Pallas's Sandgrouse, Desert Wheatear, Mongolian Finch and perhaps Great Rosefinch. Later we'll visit a shallow canyon that is home to another excellent selection of exciting birds including Pink-tailed Bunting, White-browed Tit and, with luck, both White-winged and Ala Shan Redstarts. We'll return to near Qinghai Lake late in the day, looking again for ground jays on route. Day 8: Leaving our hotel early we'll have the opportunity of again visiting a mountain valley, and by mid-day we'll head back east past Qinghai Hu to Xining, stopping for birds en route. Night in Xining. Day 9: Today we'll drive to Huzhu Beis han, an impressive forested reserve on the border of Qinghai and Gansu provinces. We'll make numerous stops on route, one near the summit of the Huzhu pass where we hope to scour the neighbouring mountains for Tibetan Sandgrouse and the roadside bushes for White-browed Tit-warbler. We still expect to arrive in the forested sections of the sanctuary before lunch. We'll spend the afternoon birding and the subsequent two nights in a recently refurbished guest house here. Day 10: Huzhu Beis han has only recently become accessible to foreigners, and we'll be one of only a handful of groups to have visited this amazing site. Conspicuous species here include Hodgson's and White-throated Redstarts, and White-winged Grosbeak, but it is the more difficult species that are Huzhu's primary attraction. Pheasants rank highly on everyone's list of difficult birds to see and there are several species here; Common Pheasant should not be too difficult, but Blood and Blue Eared Pheasant, as well as Chinese Grouse, will require a lot more effort. With luck, and given good weather, we might even be able to find Tibetan Snowcock. Other target species include Black Woodpecker, Large-billed, Hume's and Gansu Leaf Warblers, Chinese Thrush, Chinese Nuthatch, Rufous-vented Tit, and Grey-headed Bullfinch. We should also see several species that have distinctive local races that may actually be full species - 'southern' Spotted Bush Warbler and White-cheeked (or Przewalsky's) Nuthatch being two prime examples. Day 11: We'll leave Huzhu Beis han mid-day and drive slowly back to Xining. We'll leave plenty of time for stopping en route, maybe to search again for Blue Eared or Blood Pheasant, Chestnut Thrush or White-winged Grosbeak. We'll catch a flight back to Beijing where we'll spend the night. Day 12: Leaving early we'll drive east to Beidaihe, a seaside resort approximately 280 kilometres to the east. We'll stop on the edge of the capital to search for Long-billed Plovers at a recently discovered site and will spend four nights in a comfortable hotel in Beidaihe. Days 13-15: Situated on the Gulf of Bohai at the northern end of the Yellow Sea Beidaihe has, in recent years, been re-discovered as a top migration watch point and is now the destination for seeing Asian migrants, including many of the Siberian species, which occur as vagrants to western Europe or North America. Throughout the autumn the wooded gardens and gullies of the town, the rocky outcrops and estuaries along the coastline, and the low-lying wooded hills a little way inland, act as magnets to the thousands of birds migrating south. Our visit is perfectly timed to coincide with the peak autumn migration at Beidaihe and the more common migrants during late September and early October include Japanese Sparrowhawk, Grey-headed Lapwing, Ashy Minivet, Lanceolated, Radde's, Dusky, Yellow-browed and Pallas's Warblers, Chestnut-flanked White-eye, Common Rosefinch and Black-faced Bunting. Other species we should see include Falcated Duck, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Amur Falcon, Pacific Golden Plover, Red-necked Stint, Great Knot, Siberian Rubythroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, White's and Eyebrowed Thrushes, a number of other eastern phylloscopus warblers and a wide variety of buntings that should include Siberian Meadow, Tristam's and Pallas's Reed. Day 16: After a final morning's birding around Beidaihe we'll drive back to Beijing where we'll spend the night in a comfortable airport hotel. Day 17: We'll catch a flight back to London where the tour concludes.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated May 2008 |
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