SITE COMMENTS
Quarries at Km 2005
Route 109 near Huangyuan (湟源)
Only about 50km west of Xining. A track to the north of the road leads uphill to two quarries. In the right season it might be drivable with a tractor or 4WD but in August we found the track damaged by summer rain. Wallcreepers were noted on 30th July and Rusty-necklaced Partridges on 13th Aug.
E La Pass (鄂拉山隘)
(km 319) Route 214
As you head south, the Tibetan Rosefinches were on the scree to the left of the road, above a quarried area. This was the only place we got good views of Henri’s Snowfinch.
Kanda Shan (坎达山)
(turnoff at km 970, Route 214)
In August 2007 the road was being upgraded and log bridges being replaced by concrete bridges and culverts.
Baizha Forest Reserve/Ga’er Monastery (白扎林场 ／ 尕尔寺)
(turnoff at km 1017, Route 214)
Road upgrading in progress here too. The availability of accommodation may improve with the building work going on at both places. (Wagner 2005 referred to the monastery as “Dou’r”. I am assured it should be “Ga’er”) Close views of Lammergeiers, Tibetan Babax and Pink-rumped Rosefinch were highlights.
Jiangxi Forest Reserve (江西林场)
(turnoff eastwards at roughly km 920, Route 214)
Access also possible via Kanda Shan (坎达山) when the road is finished. Like Baizha, valleys of pine-clad hills where the Tibetan Plateau starts to break up. We all saw White-eared Pheasant here. The best habitat seemed to be between the “old” HQs and eastwards to the border with the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The “new” HQs (where there was no available accommodation) is about forty minutes drive upstream to the northwest from the “old” HQs.
Rubber Mountain Gully km 2189.5
Route 109 – near Heimahe (黑马河)
(Wagner 2005) We followed the stream – Wagner’s “Valley C”. Good views of Pink-tailed , Streaked and Red-fronted Rosefinches. White-browed Tit, Alashan Redstart and Tibetan Partridges were also seen. It was certainly a good spot.
Hada Canyon (哈达山谷)
at km 20.5, (Heimahe to Shinahe) west ring road, south of Qinghai Lake
We decided to try this with no previous information. It is 2kms to the mouth of the gully, and about 3kms further to the end of the drivable track. A well-worn footpath leads on to some hermit caves, stupa and prayer flags. A very picturesque area and, despite the grazing, lots of promising habitat. We saw about fifty White-browed Tits but not any of the other sought-after endemics in the time available.
Huzhu Bei Shan (HZBS) (互助北山)
(about 130 Km northeast of Xining)
Huzu Bei Shan Park (互助北山)
A lot of tourist lodges have been built in the last couple of years. There are many types to choose from, but weekends in summer can be busy. The main season seems to be from early May to mid-October. We stayed two nights at Baihualin (白桦林) (RMB 100 for two nights for us with a separate room for the driver).
Zhalong Gorge(扎龙沟)
(km 86.5 on Route 302) 14kms southeast of HZBS entrance.
After you turn off route 302, the side road goes south through 9km of farmland. Entrance fee to Zhalong Gorge (扎龙沟) is RMB 28. Nine kilometres further in is a small carpark (elev. 2780m). Most visitors walk 2km straight up this valley to Yaoshuiquan Waterfalls(药水泉瀑布). There is a paved path and several waterfalls “enhanced” by human stonework on the way.
For two nights at the rather smart “Cai Lun Duo Forest Lodge” (才伦多森林之屋) near the main entrance our room was RMB 120 per night, the driver’s RMB 48. Mr Fan mobile: 138-9738-3969.
A better area for birding seems to be another path to a valley which runs roughly east/west starting from a few hundred metres downhill from the waterfall area car park. There were fewer people here and a good variety of broadleaf, pine and buckthorn. We saw Brown Accentor, White-browed Rosefinch, White-throated Dipper, phylloscs and a variety of redstarts in the valley.
We didn’t see any Pheasants or Grouse here in August 2007 (although we saw both on a daytrip in April 2005).
The Pass (elev. 3,470m): At km 36, northeast of Huzu town, a new stone tablet announces HZBS in English as a “National Geopark”. The Chinese inscription clarifies that this is a reference to the geology of the area. There is a new viewing platform at about km 37. In April 2005 we saw Blue-eared Pheasants from the road. In August 2007, just sheep were seen.
However, this time Jemi found family parties of White-browed Tit Warblers in the scrub on the Huzhu (互助) side of the pass. This is a summer grazing area, so perhaps the best time to see things like pheasants is before the shepherds return to occupy the pastures with their livestock.
