Chlidonias Goes To Asia, part three: 2013-2014

Their big heads give Tibetan foxes quite an odd outlook. Ah as we talk about Chiru. If you want I can send you Schaller's Tibet Wild. I got by accident two copies :).
 
Latest mammal is Tibetan fox though which is cool. (If anyone remembers the square-headed fox hunting pikas in Life Of Mammals I think it was).

Lucky sod :p after a poor start, lately you have finally been living up to your usual standard of making all the rest of us jealous!
 
Nice update and some very nice views. A shame you didn't manage to see any golden pheasants.

There are feral ones in the UK but they can be remarkably secretive- I don't know if they behave like that on their 'home' ground- quite possibly. One tip is to listen out for the cocks' double call- 'shweet, schweeeet' it can help to locate them.
 
Brum said:
Fantastic! :D And yes, it was Life Of Mammals.
Lucky sod :p after a poor start, lately you have finally been living up to your usual standard of making all the rest of us jealous!
yes the first part of the trip was a bit trying! I've got a few more days up here on the edge of the Tibetan plateau (I think I've probably been as high as 4000 metres at some point in the last couple of days, certainly over 3860 metres), so I'm hopefully even going to get a photo of a fox. Pretty freakin' cold up here though!
 
Their big heads give Tibetan foxes quite an odd outlook. Ah as we talk about Chiru. If you want I can send you Schaller's Tibet Wild. I got by accident two copies :).
sadly I have no address. "c/o Chlidonias in China" might not cut it......
 
There are feral ones in the UK but they can be remarkably secretive- I don't know if they behave like that on their 'home' ground- quite possibly. One tip is to listen out for the cocks' double call- 'shweet, schweeeet' it can help to locate them.
all the pheasants seem to be secretive, at least when I'm around. Except the ring-necks which come out and parade around in the open.

I should be getting to Wolong sometime soon and that is a very good spot for golden pheasants, so hopefully attempt number two will prove fruitful.
 
I should be getting to Wolong sometime soon and that is a very good spot for golden pheasants, so hopefully attempt number two will prove fruitful.

I hope you are successful on second try. Perhaps with a Giant Panda quietly feeding in the background?:D I used to live near Thetford Forest, a feral golden pheasant hotspot, in the UK. I frequently heard them while walking there, but very rarely saw them. Ringnecks are a different matter of course.;)
 
Hi Chlidonias,

Sorry that I cannot follow your trip. If you had not yet seen a wild panda, then the location is Changqing Reserve in Quinlings, where a friend of mine saw one on the roadside two years ago. More traditional and pricey location Foping is apparently not open any more. Both places have also takins, golden monkeys etc.

Nearby Dapingyu has more-the-less guaranteed wild golden monkeys, which are fed vegetables. This is also a place with captive pandas and tragopans. Also, Ibisbill is common on the local streams. Don't know if you haver time to visit these places, though!

all the best luck!
 
Hog Badger and Bharal were both species you were not looking for. Plus you managed to get Tibetan fox, raccoon dog and crested ibis easily.

DDcorvus has uncovered the secret! DON'T look for pheasants, giant pandas, and golden monkeys.
 
I have just returned from the field and I am happy to learn that you have successfully entered the reserves in Sichuan :) Grandala and wallcreeper are two of my favorate birds! When you are in Nuoergai, keep an eye on the Chinese mountain cat.
 
It's great to hear that you finally hit a biodiversity bonanza. What are some of the other mammal species that live in the Tangjiahe Nature Reserve besides takin, hog badgers, muntjacs, and wild pigs? Are there dholes there?

The dholes are very rare in Sichuan, this year Sichuan has just gotten its first dhole camera-trap image. Tangjiahe also has large populations of tufted deer, serow, Chinese goral, forest musk deer, Asian black bear, yellow-throated marten, masked palm civet, leopard cat, bharal, giant panda and golden snub-nosed monkey; other mammal species include red panda, alpine musk deer, sambar, golden cat and so on, and maybe leopards, but no tigers.
 
Hi Chlidonias,

Sorry that I cannot follow your trip. If you had not yet seen a wild panda, then the location is Changqing Reserve in Quinlings, where a friend of mine saw one on the roadside two years ago. More traditional and pricey location Foping is apparently not open any more. Both places have also takins, golden monkeys etc.

Nearby Dapingyu has more-the-less guaranteed wild golden monkeys, which are fed vegetables. This is also a place with captive pandas and tragopans. Also, Ibisbill is common on the local streams. Don't know if you haver time to visit these places, though!

all the best luck!
hi Jurek,

I think Changqing is probably closed to foreigners now as well, but I probably wouldn't have time to get back up there anyway. I think all the habituated golden monkey areas are also now closed to foreigners (that is the impression I get at least) -- the Yunnan snub-nose area at Tacheng is still visitable though.
 
I'm just back from Ruoergai. I didn't manage to get time to write anything while there, so while I am composing a blog post, here are some signs for nanoboy. The first one is from Tangjiahe Nature Reserve. I particularly like how they made the specific capitalisation of the band's name. The other two are from Ruoergai, from the hotel and by the road.
 

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