TIBET: THE ROOF OF THE WORLD
10 JUNE ¨C 2 JULY 2007
TOUR REPORT
LEADER: HANNU JÄNNES

Our tour to the ¡®Roof of the World¡¯ was again adjudged a great success scoring the highest number ofspecies (232) ever recorded on this Birdquest tour. This was due not only to our stop-over atChengdu, where we had a high number (23) of ¡®write-ins¡¯, but to 209 species (a new Birdquestrecord), seen on the plateau. However, more importantly than species numbers is that we recordedall the possible Tibetan endemics (six) and an impressive selection of other key species, which included Tibetan and Pallas¡¯s Sandgrouse, a trio of eared pheasants, two species of monal partridges,Chinese Grouse, Tibetan Snowcock, Black-necked Crane, Saker, Lammergeier, seven species of larks,stunning Siberian and White-tailed Rubythroats, nine species of redstarts (including the rarePrzevalski¡¯s Redstart), 10 species of leaf warblers, both tit-warblers, Giant and Kozlov¡¯s Babaxes,Henderson¡¯s Ground Jay, six species of snowfinches, nine species of rosefinches, and the elusiveKozlov¡¯s Bunting. Added highlights of travelling to this remote part of China include thebreathtakingly beautiful highland landscapes, chances to see the interesting life and culture of the local people, and, of course, the great food.We arrived in Chengdu, the bustling capital of the Sichuan province, at noon and headed directly toone of the city parks for an afternoon birding session, which unfortunately ended before it had really

even started due to some heavy rain! However, we returned early the next morning, and gainedaccess inside the park gates well before the official opening time, thanks to our local guide¡¯s contacts.Birds encountered in this lovely area included Chinese Bulbul, Vinous-throated and Ashy-throatedParrotbills, Black-throated Tit, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Asian Barred Owlet, Long-tailed Shrike,Oriental Magpie Robin, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, White-breasted Waterhen, Chinese Blackbird,

Rufous-faced Warbler and White-browed Laughingthrush. Later we flew to Xining, the capital of theQinghai province, arriving early enough to have some time for birding in the dry, eroded hills on theoutskirts of the city. Here the best birds included Hill Pigeon, two Little Owls, Brown Accentor, PiedWheatear, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, P¨¨re David¡¯s Laughingthrush and both Meadow andGodlewski¡¯s Buntings.

Next morning saw us at Laoye Shan, a partly forested mountain rising to over 2900 metres above theindustrial town of Datong. Our morning exploring the fields, patches of scrub, and open forestproduced Oriental Turtle Dove, a heard only Large Hawk Cuckoo, White-throated Redstart, RufousbreastedAccentor, a few Kessler¡¯s andChestnut Thrushes as well as one singing Chinese Thrush,

2 : Birdquest Tibet: The Roof of the World 2007

Elliot¡¯s Laughingthrush, Songar Tit, Severtzov¡¯s Tit-warbler and a flock of 30 White-wingedGrosbeaks, as well as Olive-backed Pipit, Siberian Rubythroat, White-bellied Redstart, YellowstreakedWarbler, Hume¡¯s Leaf Warbler and several Grey-backed Shrikes. In the afternoon wechecked another area of coniferous forest, where highlights included great views of the very localizedGansu Leaf Warbler, handsome Chinese White-browed Rosefinch, our first of many Crested Titwarblers,

Chinese Nuthatch and at least three Przevalski¡¯s Nuthatch, including a pair at a nest. Inaddition we had three singing Black-faced Buntings, a group of Azure-winged Magpies, and flocks ofRooks of the local subspecies pastinator . Late afternoon we drove to Huzu Bei mountains, a forestarea NE of Xining for two nights stay.

On our first morning in this area, where Birdquest groups have never previously been, we visited asteep sided, forest-clad valley, where we spent several hours chasing Blue Eared Pheasants. Despiteconstantly hearing them call, they defied all attempts to actually see them. Some consolation wasoffered by a most accommodating Chinese Leaf Warbler, Northern Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Himalayan Buzzard, several White-throated Redstarts, Himalayan Red-flanked Bluetails (with theirinteresting songs), a most charming pair of Crested Tit-Warbler, Rufous-vented Tit, Przevalski¡¯sNuthatch, two well seen Eurasian Treecreepers (or should they be referred to as Hodgson¡¯sTreecreepers?), Common Rosefinch, Eurasian Jay, White-throated Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Whitecappedand Plumbeous Redstarts. We also heard a Verreaux¡¯s Monal Partridge calling from the other side of the valley, but it was too far away to pursue. After lunch we headed into another valley, thathas been a reliable site for the Chinese Grouse since my first visit here in the mid-90s, and so itremained, as we easily found a lone bird, which allowed very good views.Next morning we were back to the ¡®pheasant valley¡¯, and managed to get couple of close, but brief,views of a single Blue Eared Pheasant. In the afternoon we checked some bushy hillsides seeingChinese Beautiful and Streaked Rosefinches, before it was time to head back to our comfortable hotelin Xining for the night. In the evening we visited a huge, apparently brand new and very popularrestaurant, crowded with people, and where the staff were literally running around to keep the clientshappy. A very strange and unappetizing experience!Next morning saw us again in the hills near Xining, where our attempts to find some quality birdswere seriously hampered by continuous rain. Despite the foul weather we still managed to locate an impressive pair of Eurasian Eagle Owls, with two fledged juveniles, before we headed for the Tibetanplateau. Once on the plateau we combined a birding session and picnic lunch near Gonghe, wherewe saw Margelanic Lesser Whitethroat, Crested Lark, Richards Pipit, Citrine Wagtails and the first ofthe many Hume¡¯s Groundpeckers. A great surprise here was an adult male Amur Falcon flying north,that must have been a late spring migrant. In the evening we had first a (literally) breathtaking andvery birdless stop at a rainy and very windy Er La pass (4489 metres above sea level), and anotherstop lower down in the valley, where our short walk produced Prince Henri¡¯s, White-rumped, andRufous-necked Snowfinches. The last 30 kilometres of the day¡¯s long drive took an amazingly longtime, as we were first delayed by road works and then by a puncture, but we still managed to reachour primitive accommodation at the very exotic, the most positive expression I can think of, village ofWenquan before darkness fell.Next day we headed directly south through the awesomely beautiful and scenic highlands, herereaching an altitude of over 4000 metres, stopping en route for birds and mammals. Interestingspecies included a single Eastern Cattle Egret, Steppe Eagle, Rufous-necked and White-rumpedSnowfinches, tens of Lesser Sand Plovers, Hume¡¯s and Horned Larks, and Plain Martins. During thedrive we also saw three Sakers and many Upland Buzzards and added Kiang (Tibetan Wild Ass) and Tibetan Gazelle to our mammal list. We also had stops at the bridge crossing the Yellow River, and at

3 : Birdquest Tibet: The Roof of the World 2007

a huge wetland area, where our efforts were rewarded with a first summer Black-crowned NightHeron, several Black-necked Cranes, a big colony of Great Crested Grebes, Bar-headed Geese,Ruddy Shelducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Tufted Ducks,Goosanders, Gadwalls, Brown-headed Gulls, and huge Tibetan Larks. As we left the marshland, it began to rain, and when we gained altitude and reached our next birding destination, a pass nearly5000 metres above sea level, it was snowing heavily and visibility was down to almost zero!However, this didn¡¯t stop us from birding, and our short walk was rewarded with several tameRoborovski¡¯s Rosefinches and G¨¹ldenstädt¡¯s Redstarts. Later, when continuing our long drive to thesouth, the sky cleared, and when we reached our next birding spot, a bushy hill side, it was sunnyand warm, and the air was full of birdsong. Our relaxed walk in this pleasant area produced several White-tailed Rubythroats, Streaked Rosefinches, Robin Accentors, Tickell¡¯s Leaf Warblers, and, bestof all, a singing Przevalski¡¯s Rosefinch, a species which can be very tricky to find. Close to Yushu westopped again for the handsome Ibisbill, which was seen extremely well, and some Tibetan Partridgesby the roadside. Once in Yushu the weather changed again, and during dinner we experienced gale force winds followed by a thunder storm.Most of the next day¡¯s birding was done in the dramatic looking gorge country near Yushu, where wehad our first Black-eared Kite, found a Golden Eagle¡¯s nest with one chick, and saw a few SnowPigeons, a very tame White-browed Tit, Eurasian Dippers (including one dark morph bird), and, best of all, a total of six Red-breasted Rosefinches, including a very showy pair. Later we continued ourjourney towards Nangqian stopping en route at several spots including one at a Juniper clad valley,where we had our first encounter with the very special Kozlov¡¯s Babax, and another at some roadsidewillows, where we saw our first Pink-rumped Rosefinches. Once in Nangqian, a wild looking townfull of colourfully dressed Tibetans, we had time to do some ¡®sightseeing¡¯ and check the many shops for interesting souvenirs.

The next morning was spent in the mountains near Nangqian looking for the enigmatic Kozlov¡¯sBunting, a thinly distributed high altitude speciality, which is the key bird of the South Qinghairegion.