Bird Watching in Qinghai Day 1
Less than a week after my bird-watching trip to Dongzhai, I embarked on a journey to Qinghai.
After getting off the plane, we headed to a forest park. It was more like encountering several bird species while taking a walk rather than intentionally bird watching. We saw the Orange-flanked Bush-Robin and the Grey-headed Sparrow. The former was spotted as we were walking down the mountain, busily picking up food scraps left by tourists in a trash can. The latter was discovered in the bushes beside the path as we walked. Later, we also found a Warbler and were lucky enough to see a Warbler mother feeding her chicks.
We set off at dawn to observe the Blue Eared Pheasant. After an hour's drive, we took our positions. This was a natural pasture where the local herders' cows and sheep wandered back and forth across the grassland, amidst many small birds and wild chickens, but there was no sign of the Blue Eared Pheasants we were hoping to see! Based on past experience, they usually appear around 7 am, and never later than 8 am. As we waited and 8 o'clock came without any sight of them, we were all quite disappointed and ready to leave. Just then, our driver with keen eyesight spotted a blue figure in the bushes. It was the Blue Eared Pheasant we had been longing to see! They are called Blue Eared Pheasants because they belong to the Phasianidae family and have tails like horses. From the photos, you can see that the Blue Eared Pheasant's tail is particularly long. Their bodies are beautifully blue. They seemed to have slept in today, arriving exceptionally late. They walked slowly, four adults leading a group of young ones. They leisurely strolled across the lawn looking for food, making an appearance for about 10 minutes before disappearing from view. (The distance was too far, so the photos are average.)
In the afternoon, we took a cable car to a 4,000-meter-high plateau in search of the Tibetan Snowcock, but because the altitude of our climb wasn't high enough, we only managed to catch a glimpse of them through the binoculars we brought along, unable to capture them on my camera.
Extra Episode
After photographing the Blue Eared Pheasants, we drove up a dirt slope. There, we saw the Red-tailed Minla. A male bird perched on a rock under the bright sunlight, its feathers incredibly beautiful and dazzling. Meanwhile, the female bird had ordinary plumage, which is a common trait among all bird species.
In the same location, we also encountered a cute and dazed species: the Marmot, scientifically known as the Himalayan Marmot. In most people's minds, marmots are just about the size of a palm, but on the Tibetan Plateau, marmots can be over half a meter long and very chubby, almost like little pigs. We also observed the entrance to a marmot burrow. The burrows are generally hidden under large rocks, spiraling downward. We only saw the entrance. Later, I also encountered a Pika, which has very similar habits and living conditions to the marmot
