Day 5, Rouergai to Juizhaigou, 9/15/15

We checked out of our hotel on a cold frosty morning.  Our first stop was just about the only group of trees in Rouergai, which sometimes holds some migrants.  We found Dusky and Sichuan Leaf-Warblers and two surprise Black Drongos.  Sid said they were the expected migrant drongos.

Another stop at a flock of White-cheeked Starlings turned up another Plain Laughingthrush.

But before we could escape Rouergai, we had to battle our way through one more yak herd.

A stop to look for Tibetan Partridge only turned up a Brown Shrike and a couple of Hume's Ground-tits and a pair of Himalayan Marmots.

Yaks as pack animals are quickly becoming a thing of the past in Sichuan according to Sid.  He said it's more common to the northwest along the smuggling routes.

We headed south towards Songpan and then east towards Jiuzhagou.  The grassy plains of the Tibetan Plateau quickly turned into beautiful coniferous forests.

As we saw throughout our time in Sichuan, unfinished buildings, the result of failed investments, scarred the landside.  In this case it is a failed tourist resort.  The Chinese are having a tough time with this free enterprise thing.

Jiuzhaigou National Park is famed for being one of the most beautiful places on Earth and is extemely popular with Chinese tourists.  Despite being a good birding area, we decided to pass on the crowds and expense and take a secret concrete road, that Sid has access to, just outside the park.  The scenery was spectacular.

The morning was sunny and was mostly birdless.  Sid and I make one last try for Blue Eared-Pheasant at the pass.  It wasn't meant to be.

But on the way back down it started to drizzle and bird activity picked up.  Here's one of many White-capped Water-Redstarts.  Once again not close enough for a good photo.

At one stop we walked down the hill and after a while Sid walked back up to retrieve the car.  At this point I did a few of my own Collared Owlet imitations and called in a small flock.  Here's a Gray-crested Tit.

Sid arrive a few minutes later, excited that he had just found a cooperative White-bellied Redstart.  Also known as the Chinese Shortwing, this relatively common bird  usually just gives up a brief obscured look. But we managed photos of this one.

  A few minutes later we saw our only White-collared Yuhinas.

And then a distant Eurasian Nuthatch.

As we approached the tourists accommodations for Jiuzhaigou National Park, we passed a bizarre theme park called "Romance World".  Well, it turns out not to be what it sounds like but rather a theme park dedicated to the historical "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" which is very popular in China.

We settled into our hotel and then went in search of more spicy Sichuan food.