Jianfengling National Forest Park, Hainan, China 中国 海南省 尖峰岭国家森林公园 October 2007 by John and Jemi Holmes 孔思义 黄亚萍 INTRODUCTION In November 2005 we went on a tour of Hainan Island’s Nature Reserves following that year’s meeting of Chinese Ornithologists in Haikou 海口. The trip included staying at at Jianfengling’s Tian Chi Resort尖峰岭天池避暑山庄 adjacent to Ming Feng Gu 鸣凤谷 “Phoenix Valley”. We spent only one night there, but were impressed with the combination of decent accommodation and good bird habitat nearby.
Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Jianfengling (Oct 2007)
Jianfengling 尖峰岭 is the site where Prof. Zheng Zuo-xin 郑作新教授 and others found the Chinese population of Yellow-billed Nuthatch (chienfengensis) as recently as 1963. Although we spent six days at the equally well-known Bawangling National Nature Reserve 霸王岭 on the 2005 trip, Jianfengling was the only place we saw White-winged Magpie. So a return visit to Jianfengling seemed worthwhile. Hainan has the added glamour of having many bird species that are shared with SE Asia but are difficult to see elsewhere in China. There are many distinctive races of non-migratory birds. Hainan was visited by Robert Swinhoe in 1868. After discovering Urocissa whiteheadi and other marvels John Whitehead died on Hainan in 1899.
Orange-headed Thrush, Jianfengling
Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush
Mountain Bulbul, Jianfengling