Whole Qinghai Province and Some Tibetan Plateau Endemic Birds
Overview
Birding in Qinghai and Tibetan Region is a life unforgettable experience,you will be amazed by the scenerary you see, some 4000 metres high, snow-capped mountains,beautiful and endless grasslands,the largest inland saltlake of China,and numerous wild lifes,Pallasi’s Cat,Tibetan Gazelle, Tibetan Ass, Wolves, Tibetan Fox,etc.Our adventure begins from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai province,then go to the remotest regions of the area to look for a large number of endemics or very localised species. the daily new species might not be high as you expected, but the quality of the birds we get daily are quite high. the tour covers most of the famous birding sites of Tibetan Region,like the Koko Nor Lake, Rubber Mountain,Chaka, Er La Pass(5000 metres high at the top), Yushu and Kanda Shan,etc. some highlights birds are Himalayan Snowcock, Tibetan Sandgrouse,Tibetan Eared Pheasant,A La Shan Redstart,Przevalski’s Pinktail,several Rosefinches include Tibetan Rosefinch,etc
Trip Highlights
- Ibisbill
- A La Shan Redstart
- Przevalski's Pinktail
- Blue Eared Pheasant
- Black-necked Crane
- Tibetan Partridge
- Tibetan Snowcock
- Himalayan Snowcock
- Tibetan Rosefinch
- Przevaski's Partridge
- Grandala
- Mongolian Ground-Jay
- Tibetan Bunting
Itinerary
Arrival in Xining city, capital city of Qinghai province, transfer to hotel, activity will be arranged according to the arrival time, night in Xining.
Early start to Yaozigou National Forest Park, the whole morning we will stay here for Gansu Leaf Warbler, Przevaski's and Chinese Nuthatch, a localized race of Siberian Bluetail, and the lovely Crested Tit-Warbler. Other interesting birds include Common Pheasant, Chestnut Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat, common Rosefinch, Chinese Thrush, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Hume’s Leaf Warbler, Chinese Leaf Warbler, Olive-blacked Pipit and Yellow-streaked Warbler. In the afternoon back to Xining and explore the eroded hill valley on the outskirt of the city in search of Pale Rosefinch, Meadow Bunting and Pied Wheatear. Night in Xining.
Today we will drive westward to Koko Nor lake （ 3200m）, in search of some water birds including Bar-headed Goose,Common Merganser,Ruddy Shelduck,Black-necked Crane, as well as some plateau birds such as Mongolian Lark, Tibetan Lark, Asian Short-toed Lark, Ground Tit and Pere David’s Snowfinch. Night in Heimahe.
The whole morning we will search for the Chinese endemic Pink-tailed Bunting in the bush on Rubber mountain. We may also expect to see Rufous-necked Snowfinch, Robin Accentor, White-browed Tit, Alpine Leaf Warbler, Blue-fronted Redstart and Siberian Stonechat. In the afternoon we continue drive across a semi-desert landscape to Chaka for three nights stay(Day 5-6 will be in Chaka).
We have several target birds to focus. In the dry mountainous valleys where are home to Ala Shan Redstart, Przevaski's Partridge and Tibetan Partridge. Other species could be encountered in these areas are Pere David's Snowfinch, Twite, Desert Wheatear etc.
According to the last day's situation, we may go back again to the site in search of the Ala Shan Redstart, Przevaski's Partridge and Tibetan Partridges. we may also go for the Henderson's Ground Jay and Pallas's Sandgrouse if we have seen all the other species around here.
We continue our trip to the town of Gonghe - the capital city of Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture. In the afternoon we will explore the outskirt of Gonghe,species we are here for are Lesser Whitethroat, Mongolian Finch, Pale rosefinch,Godlewski's Bunting,Tibetan Partridge. etc.
Early start to Ela Shan Pass, Tibetan Rosefinch,Himalayan Snowcock, Tibetan Sandgrouse. We will also see other high altitude specialties including Guldenstadt’s Redstart(White-winged), Brandt’s Mountain Finch and Henri’s Snowfinch,etc. Night in Maduo. Mammals: Tibetan Fox, Red Fox, Tibetan Gazelles，Pallas's Cat, etc.
From Maduo we will drive to Nangqian for a three nights stay, stopping from time to time to look for birds en route. We can also expect to see some interesting mammals like Tibetan Gazelles, Kiangs or Tibetan Wild Asses and as well as some raptors. Nearby Yushu airport, there will be a good chance for Ibisbill. Night in Nangqian.
Today we will explore a very high mountain area named Kandashan, where we will look for Chinese endemic birds Tibetan Bunting, Kozlov’s Babax, Szechenyi’s Monal Partridge and Tibetan Partridge, other species includes Himalayan Rubythroat, Red-fronted Rosefinch ,Grandala and White-browed Tit. In the afternoon back to Nangqian for overnight.
Today we will have a day-trip to nearby Forest Reserve, we can expect to see Blood Pheasant, White-eared Pheasant,Crested Tit-Warbler, three-toed Woodpecker and Szecheny’s Partridge. Night in Nangqian
Today will be a long driving day, we make our way across the upper reaches of Yangtze. We can expect to see many high platue mammals like Tibetan Fox, Grey Wolf, Pikas ,Himalayan Marmot, and Pallas's cat. Night in Qumalai.
We continue across the plateau to join with the main Qinghai-Tibet highway, before highway we can stop to look again for Tibetan Sandgrouse if we failed to see them at Elashan Pass. Tibetan Antelope is possible today. Night in Golmud.
Today, we drive to the airport in Golmud to fly back to Xining or to any other major cities to connect with international flights back home.
Includes/Excludes
Cost Includes
- Transportation for the whole trip, a SUV for small private tour, a minibus for a standard group of 8 people.
- All Feeding station fees ，entrance tickets, permits needed for nature reserves and protected areas.
- Hotel Fees throughout the whole trip, the cost is based on twin-sharing rooms. Good hotel in cities and nice and comfortable guesthouse standard hotel nearby the birding sites.
- Bottled water, hot coffee/tea, seasonal fruits and snacks throughout the whole trip.
- Professional Birding guide (If you are a very experienced independent birder who wants to find your own birds,We can also Just arrange a birding driver who knows all the sites.)
- All meals included; Packed breakfasts whenever necessary for an early leaving.
Cost Excludes
- Any expenses of personal nature such as laundry, beer, etc.
- International flight tickets, which will be issued by your side.
- Travel insurance.
- Service tips.
FAQs
Qinghai province is located in northwest China,on the Tibetan Plateau,most local people eat food made of Wheat, but rice is also available in most of the areas. For breakfasts, we will try some Chinese bread,Steamed Buns and Fried Twisted Stick Bread,We will also buy some western style Bread whereever available, as well as Peanut Butter, Jam, Coffee, Tea(Both green tea and black tea), Hot Water,Milk, Yogurt,Seasonal Fruits. we will also try hotel breakfasts where we stay longer time or nearby the birding sites.we will also try some dumplings whenever possible for Lunch. Dinner will be in hotel or local popular restaurants, a few packed picnic lunches will be prepared wherever neccessary.
Qinghai is relativly a less developed areas in China,a lot of hotels we are staying are not very good ones compare to our tours in other parts of China,but we will arrange to stay at some good hotels in the city areas, and some guesthouse standard hotels in the mountainous regions,the guesthouse nearby Erla Shan is very basic,the good thing is we only need to stay there for a short time. in General. the accommodations are comfortable and nice.
We will use SUV or Mini Van depend on our group size, for a group of 8 people, we will arrange a Van with 18 seats, so we will have enough space for luggages and each one can have a spare seat for cameras and telescopes. for a small private group of 2-3 people, we may arrange a SUV with 7 seats. Most of the road conditions are very good, even in the mountains and Valleys.
We can drive to access to most of the birding sites,only a few places are physical challenging, like Erla Shan,we can drive to around 4500 metres,but we still needs to climb up to almost 4800-5000 metres for Himalayan Snowcock and Tibetan Rosefinch,it is very cold on the top and you may feel a little bit difficult to breathe due to altitudes, most of people are ok,but if you have the uncomfortable feeling,you may choose to stay low with driver or birding around bus.
We will not particularly arrange time for shopping, but we will stop in some big cities to buy some supplies for picnic meals, where you may find some souvenirs made in China from supermarkt.