Western Sichuan - June 2026 : Part 1

Sichuan is one of the prime birding destinations in China. Given the variety of habitats at different elevations, it is not surprising that over 700 species of birds can be found in this province alone. From lowland bamboo forests, to temperate coniferous forests, alpine scree slopes and high altitude wetlands and meadows, the abundance of life is astonishing. With help of birding friend Jon Chan, who is vastly experienced in birding in China, we designed a 10 days itinerary exploring various sites in Western Sichuan. 

I was unable to drive up in China as I didn’t have the license to do so, thankfully both James and Daphne had a Chinese driving license, and with Ka Chung joining in to share driving duties, we were able to rent two cars. The eight of us met up at Lok Ma Chau border crossing to take the train to Shenzhen Airport, where we flew to the city of Yibin as our starting point.

Retrieving the rental car was done remotely through an app, which was supposed to be easy, but it only worked after half and hour of calling up customer service that was less than helpful. It wasn’t until 10:30pm that we were able to get going on the road. The drive up towards Tanshi Village took roughly 2.5 hours, so it was well past midnight when we arrived at our accommodation, run by the bird hide owners. 

Day 2 - Tanshi Village (碳石村), Laojunshan National Nature Reserve

I barely fit in 3 hours of sleep before we had to get going at 5:30am. It took 20 minutes to drive up to the first bird hide, which we shared with a large overseas birding group. Our main target there was the elusive Sichuan Partridge, an extremely difficult species to see well in the wild. There were also a selection of other “goodies”, including Temminck’s Tragopan, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Emei Shan Liocichla, and Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler, to name a few. We settled in and waited for the birds to arrive. The first to arrive were a big flock of Buffy Laughingthrush. Golden Parrotbill and Golden-breasted Fulvettas both came through briefly, but I couldn’t get a photo of either. A few Green-backed Tits also came by.

View from the Bird hide for Sichuan Partridge

Buffy Laughingthrush

Green-backed Tit

A pair of Sichuan Partridges arrived to the relieve of everyone inside the bird hide, as it was said that the partridge went missing the previous day. This was one of the most difficult to see partridges in China before this bird hide was setup, and even with the bird hide views were by far guaranteed! Almost arriving simultaneously with the partridges was a male Silver Pheasant, an immature male also came through briefly later on. 

Sichuan Partridge - star bird of Tanshi Village

Silver Pheasant - male

Silver Pheasant - immature male

A female Temminck’s Tragopan arrived as well, call me superficial as you may, but I would have liked to see the adult male of this species! We waited a little longer but not many birds were added except for a few Oriental Turtle Doves.

Temminck's Tragopan - female

Oriental Turtle Dove

We moved onto the next hide, which was mainly for smaller birds. The main attraction there was the Emei Shan Liocichla, which showed brilliantly. Males had slightly brighter wing panels. 

Bamboo forest outside the bird hide

Emei Shan Liocichla - male

Emei Shan Liocichla - female

White-browed Laughingthrushes were also in good numbers, while Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babblers came by briefly, a Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler provided even less time to enjoy, only perching for a split second each time before jumping away at great speed. Nearby, we added a Brown-breasted Flycatcher.

White-browed Laughingthrush

Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler

Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler

Brown-breasted Flycatcher

The final bird hide was supposedly where the male Temminck's Tragopan hanged out. We were unfortunately either too late or simply unlucky, but the bird never came out to greet us. We were instead given a few showings of a male Lady Amherst's Pheasant, while not in its prime it was still quite the stunner. A female also came through in the afternoon together with four chicks. A Chinese Bamboo Partridge was our final galliformes of the day.

Lady Amherst's Pheasant - male

Lady Amherst's Pheasant - female with chicks

Chinese Bamboo Partridge

We grabbed our bags from the lodge late in the afternoon and set off towards Labahe Town. By then we were still unsure whether to head to Erlangshan or Hailuogou for birding the next day, and in the end we decided on Hailuogou. It was again a long drive and we didn't arrive at Labahe until 11pm.

Wall mural of Tanshi Village birds

Day 3 - Hailuogou (海螺溝) to Lianghekou (兩河口)

Since the park entrance of Hailuogou doesn't really open until 7:30am, we had breakfast at our lodge before setting off. During breakfast we added Black Bulbuls and Common Rosefinch.

Our lodging at Labahe

Black Bulbul

Common Rosefinch - female

Hailuogou of Mount Gungga is quite a big attraction in the region, with snowcapped mountains and pristine forests, it is not surprising that there were quite a few tourists around. We parked our car at the visitor centre and bought our tickets to enter the park, since cars were not allowed in we had to take the park shuttle to head up the mountain. At the bus station we added a few Black-headed Greenfinches.

Hailuogou Glacier Forest Park

Black-headed Greenfinch

We got off at the first station at Caohaizi, where it was supposed to be good for Blue-fronted Robin. We kept our ears open for its song, but none were calling. Along the boardwalk we encountered a few Marten's Warbler, Sichuan Leaf Warblers, and Claudia's Leaf Warblers.

Marten's Warbler

Sichuan Leaf Warbler

Claudia's Leaf Warbler

Along the main road we added a nice-looking female Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, a species I had wanted to see for a very long time. A pair of distant Necklaced Woodpeckers and Darjeeling Woodpeckers also came through.

Rufous-bellied Woodpecker - female

Necklaced Woodpecker - female

Necklaced Woodpecker - male

Darjeeling Woodpecker - male

Having walked all around the boardwalk and not seeing as many birds as we'd hoped, we decided to walk up to the next bus station via the forest trail. We encountered more birds there, including a feeding flock with Bianchi's Warbler, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Yellow-browed Tit, and a female Sapphire Flycatcher.

Bianchi's Warbler

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

Yellow-browed Tit

Sapphire Flycatcher - female

A pair of confiding Grey-headed Bullfinches were lovely to encounter, while a single male Fire-capped Tit and Mrs. Gould's Sunbird added a bit of excitement for our morning walk.

Grey-headed Bullfinch - male

Grey-headed Bullfinch - female

Fire-capped Tit - male

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird - male

As we were waiting for the return bus, we found a Coal Tit nest just underneath the station's platform. Back outside the visitor centre we had an adult male Black-headed Greenfinch singing from the top of a tree.

Coal Tit

Black-headed Greenfinch - male

After lunch, we started our long drive up towards Lianghekou. Along the way we added a few birds, including alboides White Wagtail, a few distant Speckled Wood-Pigeons, and a flock of Yuhinas feeding on a flowering bush, which included both Stripe-throated and White-collared Yuhinas.

White Wagtail - race alboides

Speckled Wood-Pigeon

Stripe-throated Yuhina

White-collared Yuhina

“Bear!", Kenneth shouted as we came to a halt, sure enough we looked up the slope and saw a black mammal walking across the hill side! An Asian Black Bear! It soon walked out of sight, and nearby I spotted a Tufted Deer.

Asian Black Bear

Tufted Deer

Not long after, James stopped the car yet again, this time he spotted two Yellow-throated Martens! They initially ran off, but as James predicted they were curious enough to pop back out, allowing us brilliant views of this beautiful animal.

Yellow-throated Marten

We arrived at Lianghekou Village just before dark. After dinner we all rested, looking forward to seeing the famous Chinese Monal the following day.

Glorious mountain view at Lianghekou Village

Day 3 - Lianghekou 兩河口 to Mengbishan 夢筆山

After breakfast, we headed up the mountain pass in two pickup trucks arranged by the lodge owner. The private road up there could only be accessed by the villagers, and looking at the quality of the road even our 4x4 might have struggled. The first bird we saw upon arriving was none other than a male Chinese Monal! It is a bird that is hard to believe unless you see it with your own eyes. The lone male was feeding quietly on its own, we also saw a few higher up the slope so we started walking upwards towards them.

Chinese Monal - male

Along the way I added a distant Golden Bush Robin, Rufous-breasted Accentor, and a few Dark-breasted Rosefinches. White-browed Rosefinches were quite common, and a few Rosy Pipits also came by.

Golden Bush Robin - male

Rufous-breasted Accentor

Dark-breasted Rosefinch - male

Dark-breasted Rosefinch - female

White-browed Rosefinch - male

Rosy Pipit

Unfortunately, due to miscommunication and lack of mobile service, James and I walked too far up, while the others who were lower down enjoyed brilliantly close views of another Chinese Monal and a pair of Blood Pheasants! By the time we ran back down the birds were all gone...I was absolutely gutted having missed a major target of mine while everyone else had great views and photos. Kenneth finding me a Grey-sided Bush Warbler was a small consolation.

Grey-sided Bush Warbler

The male Chinese Monal reappeared closer, although not quite as close as what others had, I still managed some better photos, but the Blood Pheasants never came back, which was a real bummer for me.

Chinese Monal - male

We decided to go up higher to look for Snow Partridge and Alpine Thrush. At 4600m ASL there were still some snow and ice, unfortunately it was also incredibly misty, making it a real challenge to spot anything. We were able to see a few closer birds such as Alpine Accentors and Plain Mountain Finches, and I had a glimpse of a pair of Alpine Thrush flew by.

Alpine Accentor

Plain Mountain Finch

The Snow Partridges were quite vocal, answering to our playback and calling on their own, but the mist was too thick for us to even scan the nearby slopes. Ultimately, Jon spotted a pair as we were on our way down, but it was difficult to make them out clearly, I aimed my camera at where some movements were, and the photos actually came out much better than I anticipated.

Snow Partridge

On our way down, a female Chinese Monal made an appearance on the road, I was hoping a male would come strutting down the path to display but that was not to be. By 10am we needed to leave the mountain pass, so we headed back to the lodge to pack our things. Back at the lodge we added a female Hodgson's Redstart as well as a brilliant looking male Common Rosefinch.

Chinese Monal - female

Hodgson's Redstart - female

Common Rosefinch - male

The locals informed us there was a shorter route towards Xiaojin Town, through a mud track going north from Lianghekou, just 56km instead of close to 200km round the main road. We thought we would give that a go, thinking it may also provide us some birding opportunities along the way. One of our first animal of interest along the track was a Northern Hog Badger!

Northern Hog Badger

Along the stream there were many White-capped Redstarts, I also spotted a White-throated Dipper but it never stayed for everyone to see. Red-billed Choughs were plentiful along the valley.

White-capped Redstart

Red-billed Chough

A Bearded Vulture glided by above us, which surprisingly was my only encounter on this trip. Himalayan Marmots were everywhere along the track, these cute animals were most entertaining, especially their territorial displays where they pushed and shoved each other.

Bearded Vulture

Himalayan Marmots

A pair of Ruddy Shelducks were feeding on the river, while Common Cuckoos were flying around, making their signature 'coo-koo' call.

Ruddy Shelduck

Common Cuckoo

Pink-rumped Rosefinches were fairly common along there, feeding on the flowering meadows, while Rosy Pipits were plentiful. It was nice to see them in breeding plumage.

Pink-rumped Rosefinch - male

Pink-rumped Rosefinch - female

Rosy Pipit

White-backed Thrush replaced the Chestnut Thrush up there, and a few of these handsome thrushes were seen feeding on the meadows. Blue-fronted Redstarts were also abundant. Best birds were probably a few Tibetan Partridges which gave brief views as they ran across the grass. Domestic Yaks could be seen all along the road, being the most important livestock in the region. 

White-backed Thrush

Blue-fronted Redstart - male

Tibetan Partridge

Domestic Yak

It took us nearly 4 hours to go through the mountain pass and into Xiaojin, from there it was another 2 hours towards Mengbishan. It was already quite late when we got there, but there was still enough light to fit in a little bit of birding. Our main target there was the Sichuan Jay. We didn't catch a glimpse of the said bird but we had brilliant views of a White-winged Grosbeak perched right next to the road. The constant drizzle, however, didn't help at all.

White-winged Grosbeak - male

The mountain pass on Mengbishan was an old road that connected the city of Maerkang. Ever since the new tunnels were built, the road was now little used and almost left abandoned. It was unfortunate that we found the road blocked by landslide, meaning we could not go through towards Maerkang and had to turn back and use the new tunnels, which wasted another hour of our time. By the time we reached the hotel we decided to just order takeaways as it was already quite late.

Day 4 - Mengbishan (夢筆山) to Ruoergai (若爾蓋)

We were all relieved to see dry weather upon arriving at Mengbishan. Our main target was still the Sichuan Jay, so we focused our efforts on the upper parts of the mountain pass. Rufous-vented Tits were quite common there, while Grey-crested Tits were also seen. The songs of Eurasian Wrens filled the morning air.

Rufous-vented Tit

Grey-crested Tit

Eurasian Wren

Hume's Warbler were calling and singing everywhere, as well as many Buff-barred Warblers. White-browed Rosefinches were by far the most numerous rosefinch, you could hear their sheep-like call constantly.

Hume's Leaf Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

White-browed Rosefinch - male

I finally managed a good look at the Giant Laughingthrush, a beautifully patterned species that was quite large indeed for a laughingthrush. We also added Maroon-backed Accentors, likely one of the most colourful in the Accentor family. Eurasian Sparrowhawk came through briefly.

Giant Laughingthrush

Maroon-backed Accentor

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

We had a good view of the Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge, an impressive looking bird bird that bigger than I imagined. Both Tetraophasis are found in China, with Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge found mainly in Sichuan and Qinghai.

Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge

A small mammal was seen around the rock crevices, which turns out to be a Large-eared Pica.

Large-eared Pika

The Sichuan Jay did not cooperate and we didn't even catch a glimpse of them, as consolation we had a few female Crimson-browed Finch. As we were leaving a Tickell's Leaf Warbler sang loudly by the roadside, providing excellent views.

Crimson-browed Finch - female

Tickell's Leaf Warbler

After lunch, we started our journey north towards Ruoergai, going past Hongyuan. The mountainous areas made way to a relatively flat plateau of grassy meadows. Along the roadside we added a few Black-necked Cranes in flight, later on we also spotted a few distant birds on the ground. Ruoergai plateau is one of the most important breeding grounds for Black-necked Crane in China.

Ruoergai Plateau

Black-necked Crane

Along the road we added Giant Shrike, a large shrike species split from the Chinese Grey Shrike. Plateau Pikas were extremely plentiful around there and we saw them running around the grass by the main road constantly.

Giant Shrike

Plateau Pika

We tried to locate an area known to birders as 'The Legendary Sacred Land', a relatively new birding site that held the much sought-after Przevalksi's Pinktail. But finding the exact site seems a bit tricky, as the location seems to vary depending on who you ask. We went to one of them by the roadside and entered through a gate where a local came and asked for us to each pay him 10RMB. There weren't any Pinktails around for sure, but we added a few confiding Ground Tits, plus a few Horned Lark. An Eastern Roe Deer came by as well. 

Ground Tit

Horned Lark

Eastern Roe Deer

We spent the remaining daylight hours trying to find the proper birding spot, and James managed to ask a friend in China and got a more promising location. The range owner happened to be on site when we passed by to scout out the area. He was extremely friendly when we explained our intension, permitting us to go inside the fenced area as long as we wouldn't leave the fence open and let the Yaks in. It is always a good thing to communicate with the locals with respect, so they understand both the birders and the importance of their lands. 

To be continued...