We started out early from Rouergai and headed southeast to the Baxi Road. This road drops from the Tibetan Plateau into coniferous forest where we checked several open areas for Blue Eared-Pheasant. Fall being the post breeding season, males were not calling on territories and family groups seemed to not be in the open. After a while we stopped at Sid's forest trail where he has found some really good stuff through the years. We were not disappointed. First bird was a White-throated Redstart.
Then we heard a calling Black Woodpecker, a common boreal forest bird found across Europe and Asia. The early dark sky made getting a photo difficult.
Lifers came fast and furious with Rufous-vented and Gray-crested Tits and Przewalski's Nuthatch. It was too dark for photos but I got them all eventually. Then it was into the forest and the first mega soon came, Sukatchev's Laughingthrush. Also known as the Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush, this is one of the rare highly localized species Sid's clients hope to find. He said these were his best views ever.
And then another Sichuan Tit.
And a couple of smokin' Chinese Fulvettas.
Obscured looks at Rufous-breasted Accentor.
White-browed Rosefinch.
And then deep into the woods we found an old friend, Winter Wren. In North America we are spoiled with a plethora of wren species. But in Eurasia there is only one, formerly known as the Wren. Now it's been split from our Winter Wren and is known as the Eurasian Wren.
We were walking through dark forest which Honey said reminded her of the Harry Potter movies when a gray bird flushed ahead of Sid. He didn't see it and I shouted "Stop!" There sitting on a branch in front of us was one of all visiting birders' most wanted species, Sichuan Jay. This distinctive race was split from Siberian Jay.
Eventually we came to a clearing in the woods and Sid played the recordings again. The one we wanted flew deep into a spruce and I got the weakest of photos of Crested Tit-Warbler.
Another pair of Przewalski's Nuthatches showed and finally permitted a photo.
Yellow-streaked Warbler showed several times during our trip but my photos aren't the greatest. I hope these are of that species.
White-browed tit-Warblers proved to be more common than I had expected.
We made it back to the car for a bite of lunch and then it was off to Sid's Sichuan Owl site. On our way we saw one of only two cuckoos seen on our trip. Sid IDed this as a Lesser Cuckoo.
Here's an interesting foot bridge.
One of many Gray Wagtails we saw along the way.
Another White-throated Redstart.
Our best views of Common Hoopoe.
My only Gray-headed Bullfinch of the trip.
We reached Sid's Sichuan Owl site which required a steep descent into a ravine.
Honey found our only White-winged Grosbeak for the trip munching on juniper berries.
Sid played the call of the Sichuan Owl but we got no responses. He gave us the choice of hiking back up to the car or we could continue on our own down the ravine to the next switchback on the road and he would meet us. We chose the latter and it paid off with three more life birds. Walking down the beautiful canyon unguided was a real thrill. A Chinese Grouse ran across the trail in front of us but no photo. Then I found a Maroon-backed Accentor and finally this Long-tailed Thrush, only my second ever Zoothera species.
After meeting up with Sid, we drove back to Baxi where we found a place to eat.
A caldron of boiling yak wasn't meant for us.
But we still got some good spicy yak and potatoes.
And then back to Rouergai for the night.
