Labahe together with Erlang Mountain (old Erlang Road) east and west side
Much is the same at this site as with pre-covid times – but there are two significant and positive changes:
A new cable car has been opened that takes visitors to a boardwalk at 3,500m – here not only good chances to see rather tame Chinese Monal but great chances to see alpine species like Spotted and Chestnut-crowned Bush Warblers and Golden Bush Robin.
Secondly – the long boardwalk is again open that leads from 30.191603° 102.419291° to 30.180551° 102.426980° - birds here can be Temminck’s Tragopan, Great, Brown, Three-toed Parrotbill, Black-faced Laughingthrush – in open bamboo areas chances for Grey-hooded Parrotbill, that bamboo area also has Firethroat – have seen Moupinia in scrubby areas under boardwalk – good place to watch for the flocks of Speckled Wood Pigeon that frequent the area.
The rest of Labahe – is pretty much the same. Tragopan, Lady A, Fulvous Parrotbill, Three-toed Parrotbill are star birds - Firethroat breeding in scrub bordering main driving road about a km from bottom cable car station – one of easiest places to get Brown Bush Warbler – bottom road has woodland with Slaty Bunting – on bottom road watch out for trees with red flowering mistletoe, good habitat for Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker – woodland area close to end hotel is good for Fire-capped Tit - Streaked Barwing and Gold-fronted Fulvetta occasionally seen.
Old Erlang Road: east and west side – within an hours drive of Labahe gate and still a good site despite the area now being included inside the Giant Panda National Park, which has resulted in restricted access – chief birds are west side very easy and common Emei Leaf Warbler and the possibility of Streaked Barwing and west side Rufous-tailed Moupinia and in 2024 we recorded a pair of Eye-winged Parrotbill.
The east entrance to the old road has a gate – but in 2023 there was big hole in the fence to allow locals in to collect medicinal herbs. However, 2024 saw a new and massive pylon/power cable project and the work was going on inside the gate with a gate guard not permitting any type of access. Hopefully by 2025 this is finished, and we can again find a way in. However, Emei Leaf Warbler can be found on the main-road side of the gate in the forest/secondary growth on the valley sides – it can also be found a little further up the road at the Erlang Tunnel entrance east side, where there is car park close to forest. Here we have also seen the Barwing, but only on a single occasion.
The west side of the road was (2024) also suffering from this cable work – but you can still drive in for around 4 km before you come to a manned barrier – and so far we haven’t found a way past this. However, the main bird here – Rufous-tailed Moupinia (Babbler) can be found well before the barrier and also watch out in same area and habitat for Parrotbills, most of which will be ashy-throated but also the newly split eye-ringed.