Panda Valley in QingCheng mountain

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When: June 2024 Weather: Cool 20C

Nikon P900

On our way to the Six Senses Resort in QingCheng mountain, we stopped off at Panda Valley, an alternate,less crowded site to the main Panda rehabilitation centre….

Panda Valley just a few minutes from the Six Senses Resort
the single track walk into the reserve
a scenic lake with black swans greeted us on entry
we saw our first panda before too long
unfortunately they were a bit sluggish that day
this one looked happy!
first bird of the morning…the collared finchbill which was common in Qingcheng
collared finchbill
and then this charming red panda appeared
pretty red panda
a white browed laughing thrush cooling off
and the collared greenfinch bade us farewell
so a lovely little 1.5 hour outing to the Panda Valley…recommended

Back in Chengdu: an hour in GuiXi Eco Park

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When: June 2024 Weather: Cool 20C

Nikon P900

After a most successful conference in Chengdu where we stayed at the Century City Intercontinental Hotel, I finally had an hour free at 7am on our last day….I wandered across to the GuiXi Ecological Park which is opposite the hotel to reacquaint myself with the birds there….

the moorhens were out with their new brood..
and my old friend the long tailed shrike was most active
they were everywhere zipping about….if you ever wanted to study the long tailed shrike, this is the place to do it!
the water lilies were in different stages of bloom
light vented bulbul
another common bird was the white browed laughing thrush
white browed laughing thrush
grey wagtail
Female chinese blackbird
white browed laughing thrush saying goodbye

Just an hour in the park but a few pleasant encounters…

Chaloem Phra Kiat Park: My little patch of green series

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When: April 2024 Weather: Insanely hot 35C

Nikon P900

In Bangkok again for a weekend and stayed at the grand old lady Shangri La Bangkok which sits on the bank of the Chao Phraya River…

Our hotel overlooked the Chao Phraya River, which was quite pretty by night

Now as is my wont, whenever I travel, I’ll check out the neighbourhood around my hotel on Google Maps to find the nearest patch of green where I can take an early sunrise walk and do some birding if at all possible. A few weeks ago, I was also in Bangkok and had a most wonderful morning amble at the Santiphap Park…my little patch of green near the Sukosol hotel. So it was that I also found my little patch of green here, across the river called Chaloem Phra Kiat Forest Park. 6am saw me crossing the river on the bridge next to the Shangri….

This is the bridge at the end of which can be seen a tiny patch of green…bisected by the main road
there were some rather nice sculptures

This is a much busier park than Santiphap, and there were people jogging, playing badminton, and there were futsal pitches, and lots of activity areas…..did not bode well for birds…indeed, there were very few birds around…

I even had to shoot a sparrow…
and a house crow!
and then in a flash of black and white, a magpie robin busied itself at this hole in the branch…
it was feeding a chick!
and then another one posed with the twigs he had collected
another oriental magpie robin sang lustily
and on the walk back, a typical thai temple brightened up the skyline

Whilst this was a quiet littel patch of green, nevertheless it was an interesting way to spend an hour looking at life in a Bangkok Park….not the most productive birdwise but hey, you can’t win them all…