Longcanggou Parrotbill Excursion
Located in the center of the Rainy Zone of Southwest China, an ecotone between Western Sichuan Plain and the Himalayans, Longcanggou is a very popular birding site in China. The dense subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests are home to a lot of special species and some range-restricted species. Longcanggou has become more and more famous after the shutdown of the famous Wawu Mountain in 2008 as the resources it holds are as abundant as Wawu Mountain. Although now the Wawu Mountain has reopened, the new constructions make birding there really prosaic. As it is, Longcanggou is the best option to try parrotbills on an excursion. Besides the possibility of seeing the 5 kinds of parrotbills, we can also expect some other interesting species like Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Emei Shan Liocichla, Gold-fronted Fulvetta, Ashy-throated Parrotbill, Hwamei, etc.
Tour Info Sheet
| Highlight Birds | Temminck's Tragopan, Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Great Parrotbill, Brown Parrotbill, Three-toed Parrotbill, Grey-hooded Parrotbill, Golden Parrotbill, Gold-fronted Fulvetta, Grey-hooded Fulvetta, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Emei Shan Liocichla, Red-winged Laughingthruhrush, Spotted Laughingthrush, Black-faced Laughingthrush, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, Vinaceous Rosefinch, White-throated Needletail, Coal Tit, Fire-capped Tit, Ashy-throated Warbler, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Emei Leaf Warbler, Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler, Aberrant Bush Warbler, Sichuan Bush Warbler, Pygmy Cupwing, Black Bulbul, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Rufous-capped Babbler, Red-billed Leiothrix, Red-tailed Minla, Blue-winged Minla, Ferruginous Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Brown Bullfinch, etc |
|---|---|
| Numbers of Species to Expect | 50-80 |
| Ease of Birding | mostly easy birding with a few tricky species |
| Photography Opportunities | birding focused but with very good photography chances |
| Habitats Covered | subtropical forests |
| Expected Climate | see details in the "pre-trip briefings" |
| Physical Requirements | mostly easy, demanding but optional in certain parts |
| Accommodation | very comfortable with a good location for birding |
What makes this trip irreplaceable?
1. Good chances for some endemic and unique parrotbills.
2. A great diversity of forest species including pheasants, Laughingthrushes, warblers, etc.
3. Experienced guides who have great knowledge about local birds and rich experiences of guiding travelers from different countries.
4. A short program with more flexibility. This trip can be customized to meet your needs and preferences better.
6. Years of working as a local partner for some prestigious western companies specialized in birds and wildlife.
7. A strong logistic team in the office to ensure our trip goes smoothly and every participant has a comfortable and memorable journey.
Gallery
Dates & Prices
| Dates | Booking Status | Price | Single Supplement | Group Size | Guide | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Year Round | Space Available | 990USD/pax | 85USD/pax | Departure from 2 | Local Guide | Customizable |
Slide the sheet to the left to see the full sheet if you are viewing it on your phone or tablet.
The cost includes the following:
1. Private transportation throughout the trip, including pick-up and drop-off at the hotel or airport.
2. All meals from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 4.
3. All the entrance tickets for places listed in the itinerary including cable cars and shuttle buses.
4. Hotel stays from the first day to the last day, two clients occupy one twin-bed room on a sharing basis at nice 3 or 4-star hotels in big cities and local best guesthouses in remote areas.
5. Bottled water throughout the trip.
6. Simple western breakfast whenever possible.
7. Service charges of a professional and experienced local bird guide throughout the whole trip.
8. China domestic travel insurance.
9. Service of all logistic supports.
The cost does not include the following:
a. Drinks during meals.
b. Extra charges due to changes in the itinerary from the client's side or factors beyond the control of AlpineBirding such as natural disasters or government policy changes.
c. Discretionary tips to guides and drivers.
d. All personal expenses such as laundry service.
e. ANY AIRFARE.
f. Any program not listed in the itinerary.
* Please be aware that the price is inapplicable during any Chinese official holidays including but not limited to Chinese New Year, Labour Day, National Day, etc. Please contact us to confirm the price if your trip date covers any Chinese holidays.
Itinerary
Tour Map
Day 1: Chengdu to Longcanggou area.
Meet your private bird guide and driver in Chengdu, either at your hotel or at the airport. Before we drive to Longcanggou, we can have a short visit to the Chengdu Botanical Garden which is considered as one of the best city parks for birding due to its big diversity of flora and high forest coverage. We can find some urban and special resident birds here, including Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Chinese Bulbul, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Japanese White-eye, Chinese Blackbird, Chinese Grosbeak, Collared Finchbill, Long-tailed Shrike, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Hoopoe, etc.
After our exploration, we will complete a 3-hour drive to Longcanggou. We normally have some time birding around the guesthouse looking for Ashy-throated Parrotbill, Hwamei, Red-billed Leiothrix, Oriental Greenfinch, etc.
Day 2-3: Longcanggou National Forest Park.
Longcanggou is located on the western edge of the Sichuan Basin, the transition zone between the basin and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The special location makes the geological structures here very diverse. One of the densest subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests is found here and it is home to a lot of range-restricted and endemic species. Particularly, Temminck's Tragopan and Lady Amherst's Pheasant can be found here. Despite this, in the lush bamboo forest of high elevation, we will look for Great Parrotbill, Brown Parrotbill, Three-toed Parrotbill, Grey-hooded Parrotbill, Golden Parrotbill, Emei Shan Liocichla, Grey-hooded Fulvetta, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Red-winged Laughingthruhrush, Spotted Laughingthrush, Black-faced Laughingthrush, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Vinaceous Rosefinch, White-throated Needletail, Coal Tit, Fire-capped Tit, Ashy-throated Warbler, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Emei Leaf Warbler, Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler, Aberrant Bush Warbler, etc. Although infrequently, it is possible to encounter a red panda if we are lucky.
In the broadleaf forest of lower elevation, we will look for Gold-fronted Fulvetta, David's Fulvetta, Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, Yellow-browed Tit, Yellow-bellied Tit, Black-throated Tit, Sichuan Bush Warbler, Pygmy Cupwing, Black Bulbul, Emei Leaf Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, Rufous-capped Babbler, Red-billed Leiothrix, Red-tailed Minla, Blue-winged Minla, Ferruginous Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Brown Bullfinch, etc.
Day 4: Longcanggou to Chengdu.
We will spend most of the day in the forest to try our targets again. In the late afternoon, we will drive you back to Chengdu. This will conclude the services for this scheduled itinerary from AlpineBirding.
Gentle Reminder:
1. The bird species mentioned in the itinerary are just for your reference, it changes with the seasons. We may tune the itinerary according to the latest bird information to maximize our chances.
2. We are more than happy to assist with hotel booking, flight booking, etc. before or after the trip to make your travel more enjoyable and comfortable, please feel free to let us know in advance.
Guide(s)
We will arrange one of our best local guides for this trip who has rich experience of guiding tours in this region. The followings are some of our professional guides who have guided tours in this area for many years.
Bella Zhang
Bella, the director of AlpineBirding, graduated from Sichuan Agricultural University with a Bachelor's Degree. She joined AlpineBirding in early 2016 and became the director of AlpineBirding in 2018. She was born and grown up in a Bai ethnic family in Yunnan Province which boasts of the largest number of bird species in China. Her interests toward birds started with her observation of a Long-tailed Minivet in her mom's garden at a very young age. As she grows up, the interests and love toward birds become stronger and stronger. Because of that, she found AlpineBirding before graduation and joined the company for further learning of birds. Bella has guided a number of birding trips in cooperation with AlpineBirding guide in the past years, her passion, readiness to help, and detail-oriented attitude have won her lots of praise from our clients.
Linked Tours
For birders, Sichuan is an unmissable destination due to its diversity of bird resources and high density of endemic birds. If your time allows, we can easily extend this trip and add more interesting birding sites into the itinerary. The followings are some birding excursions around Chengdu, all the excursions are customizable.
Reports
We don't have a report available for this tour at this stage, please feel free to email us, we are more than happy to answer any of your questions and share the latest bird information with you.
Testimonials
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Several Very Good Weekend Trips in Sichuan and Yunnan
My wife and I are serious birders from the US. During 2018, we lived in Thailand for a work assignment, and had the opportunity to do several weekend trips up to China to go birding with Alpine.We had successful and memorable outings in Zixishan (Yunnan), as well as Balangshan and Longcanggou (Sichuan), picking up specialties such as Alpine Accentor, Lammergeier, Black-headed Mountain-Finch, Blood Pheasant, Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Elliot's Laughingthrush, Giant Laughingthrush, Golden Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Snow Partridge, Snow Pigeon, Tibetan Snowcock, Verreaux's Partridge, White Eared-Pheasant, White-capped Redstart, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Gray-faced Liocichla, Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Temminck's Tragopan, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Godlewski's Bunting, and Yunnan Nuthatch, in addition to many others.Even without the birds, Balangshan has the most inspiring mountain vistas we've ever seen.Bella and her team arranged for comfortable transportation, lodging, and very experienced guides. But the best additional benefit was the food - our guides always took us out for the best local lunches and dinners - it will be very difficult to return home and have Sichuan food now, knowing how it pales in comparison to the real Chinese food in China...Bella and Alpine were also very responsive and attentive to our overall satisfaction, and when we suggested some things that could be improved, they were happy to accommodate us. It was much appreciated.We recommend Alpine Birding as a great way to see some of the most incredible birds found only in one of the most beautiful regions of Asia.
Claire and Michael / Southwest China (Sichuan & Yunnan) May 29, 2018
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Birding in Sichuan
Arrange a birding / hiking trip in northwestern Sichuan. Our guide Parus Yang was a good guide with excellent ornithology knowledge. We saw despite not the best season lots of birds and mammals.
Accomodation which was arranged was fine.
Mathieu W / Northwest Sichuan June 19, 2015
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Hi, Philip
I have been busy answering e-mails and writing text for our newsletter and other things since getting back as lots of things needed doing - but things already calming down again.Thank you for your kind words and can I also say it was a complete pleasure working with you too, the words I said on our final evening were all completely from the heart and I can honestly say that the combination of you and Parus made for an excellent experience from the wildlife and cultural perspective. The guests were all telling me how much they enjoyed the holiday and how much your input made the holiday for them. To have someone who could explain and point out aspects of Chinese culture as diverse as architecture, food, religion, day to day life and more was just fantastic. I would say with hand on heart that this was one of the best trips I have led and for that I have you to thankI am also very aware that you had a huge amount to think about during the trip – timing the travel days to arrive at a sensible time while still giving us time to enjoy a few stops along the way is not always easy and you did it very well indeed. Organising our evening meals and breakfasts in the field and so much more is all time consuming and needs thinking through and again you did a fabulous job. In fact the trip simply worked very well indeed and I feel very privileged to have worked with you and visited your wonderful country.
I think the itinerary we chose was superb and clearly both the Terracotta Warriors at the start and pandas at the wend were both extremely popular.——Roy Atkins, a professional Bird Guide from UK in Custom Birding Trip in Sichuan in 2015
Roy Atkins / Custom Birding Trip in Sichuan May 20, 2015
