China: Sichuan

Day 1: Arrivals into one of Chengdu's two international airports (CTU or TFU). All participants arriving on this day will be met and transferred to our nearby hotel. Exploring the vicinity at dusk might produce Light-vented Bulbul, White-browed Laughingthrush or Chinese Blackbird. Night in Chengdu.

Day 2: Catching a bullet train northward, we'll do some initial birding east of Chuanzhuzi on our way up to Roegerai. This will give us good chances to see Tibetan Snowcock, Grandala, our first Blue Eared Pheasant, both the sublime Crested Tit-warbler and White-browed Tit-Warbler, the magnificent Chinese Rubythroat, Pink-rumped Rosefinch, and much more before we continue onwards and arrive in the late evening at our hotel on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Day 3-4: Two full days of birding the Tibetan Plateau around Roeurgai, where we hope to cross paths with Tibetan Partridge, Black-necked Crane, Brown-cheeked Rail, and of course the much-wanted monotypic Przevalski’s Finch (AKA Pinktail). Other fantastic Tibetan specialties could include Upland Buzzard, the huge Tibetan Lark, Ground Tit, Black-winged Snowfinch, Rufous-necked Snowfinch, White-rumped Snowfinch, Black-winged Snowfinch, Giant Grey Shrike, White-browed Tit, and the colourful White-browed Tit-warbler.

We will certainly spend a lot of time birding time the high-elevation forests of Baxi too, where Chinese Grouse, Blue Eared Pheasant, Giant Laughingthrush, Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush, Elliot's Laughingthrush, Plain Laughingthrush, Chinese Fulvetta, Spectacled Parrotbill, White-backed Thrush, Sichuan Tit, Sichuan Jay, Chinese White-browed Rosefinch, Himalayan Beautiful Rosefinch, and the scarce Three-banded Rosefinch all occur. There is also a chance to possibly see the rare “Pere David's” Ural Owl.

Day 5: After some final birding, we will head south towards Maerkang, our destination for the next two nights. We will make stops en route, including more time to look for Przevalski’s Finch and Sichuan Jay if needed. Night in Maerkang.

Day 6: The entire day will be spent birding the coniferous forests of Mengbishan, where we will be searching primarily for Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge, plus good chances for White Eared Pheasant and Blood Pheasant. Other species may include Black Woodpecker, Przevalski’s Nuthatch, the beautiful Crested Tit-warbler again, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Collared Grosbeak, White-winged Grosbeak, Streaked Rosefinch, and more chances for a few previously mentioned species like Crested Tit-warbler. Night in Maerkang.

Day 7: Following an early morning birding session around Maerkang again, we transfer to Wolong National Nature Reserve for an overnight stay. Our afternoon will be spent visiting a site where several fabulous male Golden Pheasant come out to feed, and where we have our first chances for Red-winged Laughingthrush and Barred Laughingthrush.

Day 8: We will have a morning birding in the same area around Wolong, but will also visit a different site which gives high chances for Slaty Bunting, Chinese Leaf Warbler, Spot-winged Grosbeak, Vinaceous Rosefinch and many more. After that, we transfer to Labahe National Nature Reserve in the late afternoon. A short stop along the way could produce Mandarin Duck and Ashy-throated Parrotbill. Night near Labahe NNR.

Day 9: Labahe is much less visited by birders than other parts of Sichuan, but is certainly the best place to see the phenomenal Firethroat (and acts as a backup for many of the species we searched for at Wolong). We also have a chance to see the stunning Temminck's Tragopan and stupendous Lady Amherst's Pheasant! Other new species here might include Grey-hooded Fulvetta, Fulvous Parrotbill, the rare Per David's Tit, lovely Fire-capped Tit, Black-browed Bushtit, Brown Bush Warbler, Grey-sided Bush Warbler, Claudia's Leaf Warbler, and Large-billed Leaf Warbler. On the mammal front, we could see Chinese Takin, Tufted Deer, and Chinese Goral. Night near Labahe NNR.

Day 10: We will go birding up in Labahe again this morning before transferring to a remote village near Kangding. Explorations in the afternoon might well produce Grandala, Golden Bush Robin, Sharpe's Rosefinch, Dark-rumped Rosefinch, and Plain Mountain Finch. Night in Kangding.

Day 11: This morning we will be using 4WD vehicles to go up a dirt track leading to perfect Chinese Monal habitat! We should spend a few hours up here watching these stunning pheasants at close range and marvelling at their multicoloured shiny plumage. There is much more to find nearby, like White Eared Pheasant, Snow Partridge, Black-headed Mountain Finch, Alpine Thrush, Red-fronted Rosefinch, Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Alpine Accentor, and Spotted Bush Warbler. After that, we will transfer to Luding for overnight. Initial birding might well yield the endemic Rufous-tailed Babbler, Barred Laughingthrush, Marten’s Warbler, and Black-headed Greenfinch. Night in Luding.

Day 12: Morning near Luding looking for Temminck's Tragopan, Spotted Laughingthrush, White-bellied Redstart, Firethroat, and White-browed Fulvetta, before transferring to Wawushan. Night in Wawushan.

Day 13-14: The boardwalk at Wawushan offers some phenomenal birds, transecting several hundred metres of elevation through thick stands of bamboo. This is one of the best places in the world to see Chinese Red Panda, and we certainly expect to see this stunning mammal during our short time here. There is an astounding diversity of parrotbills in the bamboo too: Fulvous Parrotbill, Brown Parrotbill, Golden Parrotbill, Great Parrotbill, Three-toed Parrotbill, and the scarce Grey-hooded Parrotbill are all targets. Other additions to our bird list might include Emei Shan Liocichla, Emei Leaf Warbler, Kloss's Leaf Warbler, Alstrom’s Warbler, Bianchi's Warbler, Sichuan Bush Warbler, White-collared Yuhina, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, and Fujian Niltava. The scarce Sichuan Treecreeper is a possibility, while we will also focus on finding Sichuan Thrush. A few other birds like Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker and Darjeeling Woodpecker are also around. Nights near Wawushan.

Day 15: This morning we will head to Tanshi Village, where we can spend an initial session in one of the hides this afternoon.

Day 16: Now famous for being a reliable site for the mythical Sichuan Partridge, the feeding hides at Tanshi will also give us some awesome photographic opportunities for Lady Amherst's Pheasant and Silver Pheasant, with the small chance of an appearance by a furtive male Temminck's Tragopan. Other regular visitors which we should be able to see and photograph at close range include Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Red-winged Laughingthrush, Buffy Laughingthrush, White-browed Laughingthrush, Chinese Babax, Emei Shan Liocichla, and Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler. Both Chinese Hwamei and Golden Parrotbill should also be encountered here in the thick bamboo. After lunch we'll return to Chengdu, with drop-offs back at the airport (CTU or TFU) in time for evening flights.

NOTE: Our highly-targeted itinerary gives excellent chances for all the currently accessible specialties of Sichuan, except Golden-fronted Fulvetta and Streaked Barwing. These are both easier at other times of the year, however we can arrange a mini-extension for anybody who wishes to target them.