Summer Wong China Bird Tours

Qinghai Tibetan Plateau

2024 July 12-23 (12 days) Leader : Summer Wong , scheduled tour, max group size : 14 pax, cost: 2650 USD, spaces available

2025 June 30-July 11 (12 days) Leader : Summer Wong , scheduled tour, max group size : 14 pax, cost: 2900 USD, spaces available

See Itinerary, Price,Testimonials, birds, mammals, scenery, hotels & food Photos, Reports below

Day 1 Arrive at Xining, birding at Xining hills, night in Xining

Possible birds in Xining hills: Pale Rosefinch, Red-billed Chough, Pied Wheatear, Meadow bunting, Godlewski’s Bunting, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Rufous-tailed/Common Rock Thrush, Common Pheasant, Little Owl, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Przevalski’s Partridge.

Day 2 Morning birding at Dongxia forest park , drive to Gonghe, 185km, 3 hours drive, birding at Gonghe, night in Gonghe

Possible birds in Dongxia forest park : Gansu Leaf Warbler, Przevalski’s and Chinese Nuthatch, Crested Tit Warbler, Goldcrest, Siberian Rubythroat, Chinese White-browed and Common Rosefinches, Yellow-streaked Warbler, White-throated Redstart, Chinese Song Thrush, Elliot’s Laughingthrush, White-winged Grosbeak, Black-faced Bunting, Grey-headed Bullfinch.

Day 3 Birding at Gonghe and Mt.Ela then head to Maduo, 340km, 4 hours drive, night in Maduo

Target birds near Gonghe : Mongolian Finch, Mongolian Lark, Desert Finch, Desert Whitethroat, Pine Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Isabelline and Desert Wheatear, Rock Sparrow, Twite, White-rumped and Rufous-necked Snowfinches.

Target birds in Mt.Ela : Roboroveski’s/Tibetan Rosefinch, Guldenstadt’s/White-winged Redstart, Prince Henry’s/White-winged Snowfinch, Brandt’s and Plain Mountain Finches.

Day 4 Drive from Maduo to Nangqian via Yushu, night at Nangqian, 500km, 7 hours drive, night in Nangqian

Possible birds on the way from Maduo to Nangqian : Ibisbill, Upland Buzzard, Himalayan Griffon, Lammergeier, Saker Falcon, Daurian Jackdaw, Little Owl, Ruddy Shelduck, Bar-headed Goose, Common Redshank, Brown-headed Gull, Common Tern, Pale Martin, Citrine Wagtail, Salim Ali’s Swift, Eurasian Crag Martin, Asian House Martin, White-rumped, Tibetan and Rufous-necked Snowfinch, Common Hoopoe, Kessler’s Thrush, Tibetan Grey Shrike, Brown Deeper, Black, Hodgson’s and Blue-fronted Redstart, Alpine Leaf Warbler, Red-rumped Swallow, Streaked, Common and Great Rosefinches.

Day 5 Birding at Kanda Shan, night in Nangqian

Possible birds in Kanda Shan : Tibetan Bunting, Tibatan Snowcock, Tibetan Partridge, White-eared Pheasant, Szechenyi’s Monal-Partridge (Buff-throated Partridge), Eurasian Eagle Owl, Golden Eagle, Tibetan Babax, Chinese Rubythroat, Grandala, Chinese Beautiful, Red-fronted and Streaked Rosefinches, White-browed Tit, Sichuan Tit, White-browed Tit Warbler, Snow Pigeon, White-capped Redstart, Plain Mountain Finch, White-winged Grosbeak. There is also good chances for Blue Sheep.

Day 6 Birding at Baizha forest, night in Nangqian.

Possible birds in Baizha forest : Szechenyi’s Monal-Partridge (Buff-throated Partridge), Blood and White-eared Pheasant, Elliot’s and Giant Laughingthrush, Three-banded, Pink-rumped and Common Rosefinches, White-throated Deeper, Tibetan Babax, Hodgson’s Treecreeper, Long-tailed Thrush, Black and Grey-headed Woodpecker, Himalayan Bluetail, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Rosy Pipit, Rufous-vented, Grey-crested and Sichuan Tit, Chinese Fulvetta, Black-streaked Scimitar Babbler, Rufous-breasted and Maroon-backed Accentors, Salim Ali’s Swift, Aberrant Bush Warbler, Sichuan Leaf Warbler. There is also good chances for Blue Sheep.

Day 7 Drive from Nangqian to Qumalai, birding and mammal watching on the way, night at Qumalai, 400km, 5 hours drive, night in Qumalai

Day 8 Drive from Qumalai to Golmud, 480 km, 6 hours drive, birding and mammal watching on the way, night at Golmud

Target birds and mammals on the way from Qumalai to Golmud : Tibetan Sandgrouse, Lesser Sand Plover, Saker Falcon, Upland Buzzard, Little Owl, Desert Whitethroat, Tibetan Antelope, Tibetan Gazelle, Tibetan Fox, Kiang, Tibetan Wolf.

Day 9 Drive from Golmud to Chaka via Dulan, 470km, 6 hours drive , night in Chaka

Target birds at Dulan: Ala Shan Redstart, Przevalski’s Partridge, Pine Bunting, White-winged Grosbeak, Black Redstart.

Day 10 Birding at Chaka area, night in Chaka

Target birds in Chaka area: Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Tibetan and Himalayan Snowcocks, Przevalski’s Partridge, Henderson’s Ground Jay, Mongolian Lark, Blanford’s/Plain-backed Snowfinch, Wallcreeper, Desert and Isabelline Wheatears, Pine Bunting, Tibetan Grey Shrike.

Day 11 Morning birding at Rubber mountain and Koko Nor lake / Qinghaihu lake, drive to Xining, night in Xining

Rubber mountain possible for Przevalski’s Finch, White-browed Tit, White-rumped, Rufous-necked and Tibetan Snowfinch, Robin and Brown Accentor, Dusky Warbler, Alpine Leaf Warbler.

Koko Nor lake area is possible for Black-necked Crane, Bar-headed Goose, Brown-headed Gull, Ground Tit, Mongolian, Hume’s Short-toed and Tibetan Lark, Pere David’s Snowfinch.

Day 12 Departure

Price

Qinghai tour cost depends on group size.

To book tours or custom design private tours please contact us

If you are an international birding company looking for a ground agent price please contact us

Testimonials

Hi Summer,

We all arrived safe and back in Belgium!

Many thanks once again for the perfect organization of our birding trip. As you know we thoroughly enjoyed every single day!

We were all amazed by your talent and capabilities to combine a seamless management of logistics, a tireless effort to search for every single bird species, your total care for our well-being (not in the least by ensuring we had splendid and varied gastronomic dinners) and your great sense of humour.

Now it tastes for more adventures in China. Especially as you made the trip so enjoyable!

See you on our next trip!

Greetings,

Peter Boesman — Belgium — Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet birding tour, 4-25 July 2019

Hi Summer,

Great to hear you’re well and kicking. Many thanks for the many photos. Good fun.

We totally agree that it was a fantastic tour with you. We are already looking forward to a future trip… a mammal trip in autumn or a Yunnan trip or a northeast China spring trip… We’ll see.

Take good care. We’ll keep in touch.

Big hug,

Kathleen & Mark

Hi Summer,

we’ve tried to send you a whatsapp message, but it doesn’t look as if it works that way.

Anyway, we wanted to thank you for a terrific tour through Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet. You did a fabulous job , found all the birds and solved all the logistical problems easily. Added to that, you made the trip a real gastronomical delight. We’ll have a look at my missing birds and mammals and see where in China we would be able to do a nice clean up trip with you in the future.

Enjoy your time off. Take good care of yourself.

All the very best,

Kathleen & Mark Van Beirs — Belgium — Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet birding tour, 4-25 July 2019

Dear Summer!

Greetings from Finland! We had nice (and long) flight to Finland and now we are safely at home. We want to thank you very much for excellent trip and guiding us! We both liked trip very much!
Also we both are satisfied of photos of many species! I had good laugh for photo of Markku with hat!

I have added some recordings to Xeno-Canto. Recording of Pale Rosefinch was the first of this species, but also nice one of Tibetan Sandgrouse.

I hope You have had nice birding in Sichuan? I hope also, that You will enjoy visiting in England!

Please, send me a wish list of photos of species, which You want to add Your Trip report.

All the Best

Jarmo and Markku — Finland — Qinghai birding tour, 29 June – 20 July 2017