China Qinghai Extension 15th to 20th May 2019 (6 days) Trip Report Przevalski's Finch by Stephan Lorenz Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz Trip Report – RBL China – Qinghai Extension 2019 2 Tour Summary We had six days of enjoyable and productive birding through the Tibetan Plateau offering many iconic birds of the region. We explored the verdant forests east of Xining before entering the barren, but always beautiful plateau landscape around the enormous Qinghai Lake. The Rubber Mountains offered dramatic mountain landscapes along with several specialties, and we even reached the flats and grasslands around Chaka Lake that held many species not seen elsewhere. The top birds as voted by the participants were three iconic Tibetan species, with the monotypic Przevalski's Finch taking first place, followed by the unique Ground Tit and Henderson’s Ground Jay. We started our birding tour north of Xining, where we found Pale Rosefinch, the scarce Daurian Partridge, and Godlewski’s Bunting. In the conifer forests, we picked up the rare Crested Tit-Warbler, Chinese and Przevalski's Nuthatches, localized Gansu Leaf Warbler, Kessler’s Thrush, and beautiful Blue Eared Pheasant. We traveled west of Xining to explore the grasslands and freshwater marshes around Godlewski’s Bunting by Stephan Lorenz Qinghai Lake, that held plenty of waterfowl, shorebirds, and several pairs of the stately Black-necked Cranes. From here we explored the Rubber Mountains, where in addition to the aforementioned species, we recorded five species of snowfinches, several raptors, rosefinches, and the uncommon Pine Bunting. During our second try at the Chaka Lake Flats, we located the scarce Henderson’s Ground Jay and Pallas’s Sandgrouse. The best mammal of the tour was a Tibetan Fox seen well by all one morning in the Rubber Mountains. Throughout our journey, we also experienced the unique culture and cuisine of the region. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Tour in Detail We started the day with an early departure for the airport in Chengdu, and our flight to Xining was right on time. When we arrived in the Xining area, we had a quick lunch and then drove north of the city into an area of dry hills. The habitat looked very arid and barren, but the birding was extremely productive. The first bird we saw was a male Pale Rosefinch that had us exiting the vehicle quickly. Birding a short stretch of road, we had excellent views of Hill Pigeons, Azure- winged Magpies, Black Redstarts, Pied Wheatears, and an unexpected Common Rock Thrush in full display. The distinctive Godlewski’s Bunting was very common, Pale Rosefinch by Stephan Lorenz sitting up and singing, while two uncommon Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to China Trip Report – RBL China – Qinghai Extension 2019 3 Meadow Buntings showed briefly on a steep slope. We then dedicated some time to find the localized Daurian Partridge and managed to get repeated flight views. In the late afternoon, we continued to Datong to check into our hotel. Azure-winged Magpie by Stephan Lorenz We started early and drove to the nearby Dongxia Forest. Unfortunately, the forest park was closed due to an increased fire risk and we quickly rerouted, finding another excellent forest patch nearby that was accessible via a wide easy trail. This forest proved even more productive and we quickly located all the main target species. We had a field breakfast surrounded by singing Hume’s Leaf Warblers and stunning Siberian Rubythroats sitting up atop conifers. With a bit of patience, a Grey-headed Woodpecker flew in, adding to the Great Spotted Woodpecker we had seen moments earlier. The trail into the forest was very productive, and the localized Gansu Leaf Warbler was common, and we managed to see the rare Chinese and Przevalski's Nuthatches from the same spot! We worked our way higher into the forest where we found Rufous-vented and Sichuan Tits, Eurasian Treecreeper, Chinese White-browed Rosefinch, singing Himalayan Bluetail, Goldcrest, and many Rufous-breasted Accentors. Yet, the best find was a pair of Crested Tit-Warblers, and these acrobatic birds foraged on thin twigs right in front of us. We then walked across a field to check a scrubby slope where we called in a Yellow- streaked Warbler and saw a Plain Laughingthrush. As we hiked back to the start of the trail, we found a Kessler's Thrush singing from the top of a conifer. In the agricultural fields nearby, we found lots of Common Pheasants, Rook, and Carrion Crows. After such success, we carried on to lunch and then east across the mountains to our next destination, the Beishan National Forest Park. We took a scenic shortcut Chinese Nuthatch by Stephan Lorenz where we added the first Twite and also a bonus Water Pipit along a stream. We stopped in the Twelve Corners Pass area and it took only fifteen minutes before we spotted a single Blue Eared Pheasant feeding on the slope below, while we also enjoyed better views of Plain Laughingthrush. We carried on down the mountains and reached an intact Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to China Trip Report – RBL China – Qinghai Extension 2019 4 patch of forest protected in the Beishan National Forest Park. During a quick afternoon walk here, we added the impressive Black Woodpecker and had excellent studies of a Slaty-backed Flycatcher. The hotel was nearby, and we settled into our comfortable rooms after a very successful day. We returned early to the forest patch from the previous afternoon and hiked up the trail after a field breakfast. Despite several hours of searching, we could not find any Chinese Grouse, although the habitat looked excellent, but we did come across an unexpected Blood Pheasant. The weather held and we had great views of many of the species from the previous day, but also added a few new ones. Good finds included a Northern Goshawk, many Sichuan Tits, another Przevalski's Nuthatch, White-winged Grosbeak, and we had great views of beautiful Grey-headed Bullfinches at a small waterhole. After our dedicated effort, we left Blue Eared Pheasant by Stephan Lorenz the area and drove back to the city for lunch, carrying on towards the large Qinghai Lake, watching the habitat change to the grasslands and steppe of the Tibetan Plateau. We only had an hour or two to stop on the eastern edge of Qinghai Lake, but the grassland and freshwater marsh here held lots of new species and we quickly racked up many hoped-for additions. We walked out towards the wetland and had scope views of Bar-headed Goose, Greylag Goose, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Garganey, Mallard and, Red-crested and Common Pochards, Common Merganser and, Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes, Eurasian Coot, the magnificent Black-necked Crane, Black-winged Stilt, fly by Black-tailed Godwit, Temminck's Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Pallas's Gull, Common Tern, and Upland Buzzard. The surrounding grasslands held several species of larks and we had good studies of Horned, Crested and Hume's Short-toed Larks and Oriental Skylark. A suspicious- looking bird in a small reed bed turned out to be a locally rare Bearded Reedling and the pair eventually came out into the open, hopping around at our feet! The bizarre Ground Tit was more expected, but we studied it carefully in the scope as it bounced across the cropped grasses, revealing its ancestry when it vocalized. Other species of note included displaying Isabelline Wheatear, a distant White- cheeked Starling, and bright Citrine Wagtail along the edge of the marsh. From here we continued west towards the town of Heimahe, taking in the ever-expanding vistas of mountains and the world-famous lake, apparently surrounded by fields of flowers later in the year, which in turn attracts hundreds of local tourists. Arriving in the evening, we checked in and then had Pallas’s Gull by Stephan Lorenz dinner nearby. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to China Trip Report – RBL China – Qinghai Extension 2019 5 This was likely one of the most anticipated days of the tour as we headed towards the Rubber Mountains in the early morning. Our main goal for the morning was to find the monotypic and endemic Przevalski's Finch, and we stopped halfway up the Rubber Mountain Pass to hike up a gentle slope towards a valley containing low bushes. The conditions were superb with no wind and sunny skies and we soon picked out a Siberian Stonechat. Nearby another bird popped up and incredibly it was a male Przevalski's Finch. The bird stuck around for close scope studies and we celebrated our quick success of the most wanted bird of the tour. We would find another four in the area, including good views of females and singing males. Other excellent finds as we combed the slopes here included, a pair of rare White- browed Tits, Alpine Leaf and, after much searching, Smoky Warblers, Robin and Brown Accentors, and another Kessler’s Thrush. We hiked back to the vehicle and drove further up the road, stopping at an area Bearded Reedling by Stephan Lorenz with cliffs and rocky slopes. Here we found several raptors, with a Bearded Vulture on a nest feeding a chick, two Saker Falcons, one in flight and another perched, Upland Buzzard, and several Himalayan Vultures. On the barren ground, we also found the first snowfinches, including Tibetan, Black-winged, ped and Rufous-necked, plus a pair of the large Rock Sparrows. A stunning Güldenstädt's Redstart was present along a small stream and offered great views. We stopped at the pass itself and walked out onto the open grassland, quickly finding the incredibly large Tibetan Lark that allowed a close approach for good photo opportunities.