China: Pheasant Hides
A special tour to visit a large selection of the new pheasant photographic hides across central and eastern China. This is a unique opportunity to get up close-and-personal with some of the world's most stunning Galliformes, and hopefully see several of them doing spectacular mating displays. While most of the time will be spent in the hides themselves, patiently waiting for a bird to visit and display, there will be a little time for general birding in nearby forests where we should notch up some excellent Chinese specialties.
Next Dates
25 March - 8 April 2027 (15 days)
Leaders:
Daniel López-Velasco
Group Size Limit:
8
Single Room Supplement: $
TBD
Deposit: $
750 USD
Price: $
TBD
Add a Title
Leaders:
Daniel López-Velasco
Group Size Limit:
Add a Title
Single Room Supplement: $
TBD
Deposit: $
TBD
Price: $
TBD
Add a Title
Despite travel to China sometimes being viewed with trepidation, foreign bird tours to the country have been running successfully throughout 2024. Our participants experienced no issues obtaining visas, ground logistics are running smoothly, and the birding is excellent!
Accommodation:
Comfortable hotels throughout.
Walking difficulty:
All very easy roadside birding and short forest trails to the hides.
Tour cost includes:
All accommodation, main meals, drinking water, internal flights (as stated in itinerary), overland transport, tips to local drivers and guides, travel permits, entrance fees, and guide fees.
Tour cost excludes:
Flights before and after the tour start/end, visa, travel insurance, tips to tour leaders, laundry, drinks, and other items of a personal nature.
NOTE: Our exact itinerary is to be determined closer to the date, depending on what new hides have been developed and which estabilished hides are proving most reliable for certain species. Below is the summary of what we expect to target.
Day 1: Arrivals into Chengdu International Airport (CTU) for overnight near the airport.
Day 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9: Visiting numerous pheasant hides in the province of Sichuan, we will be hoping to enjoy the fabulous displays of Golden Pheasant and Lady Amherst's Pheasant, as they rearrange their feathers into a stunning multicoloured mask covering their faces. We may also be lucky enough to see Temminck's Tragopan with their alienesque blue facial wattles and horns inflated like a psychedelic balloon. There are newer hides for rare species like Chinese Monal and Sichuan Partridge, while we should also see Silver Pheasant and Blue Eared Pheasant.
Day 10: Fly to Fuzhou and transfer to Emeifang.
Day 11-12: The birding situation in this eastern region changes year to year, but we hope to visit hides for the range-restricted Cabot's Tragopan and stunning Elliot's Pheasant. If hides are not available, we can still expect very good views of these two while birding along the road at Emeifang National Nature Reserve.
Day 13: Transfer to Dongzhai.
Day 14: Dongzhai holds the largest population of the increasingly rare Reeves’s Pheasant, where we can enjoy close studies of this unbelievably beautiful bird in the famous photography hide on a grassy hill. These ones also occasionally perform a wonderful display where the males flatten their bodies and raise their tails into the air as females walk past. A reintroduced population of the rebounding Crested Ibis can be found in nearby rice fields, while the threatened Collared Crow is also likely to be seen. Other interesting birds in this area include the spectacular Mandarin Duck and scarce Japanese Scops Owl. Night outside Dongzhai National Nature Reserve.
Day 15: After another session in the hide, we will transfer to Xinyang International Airport (XIY) where the tour ends this evening.