Hailuogou (Moxi area) – used this site to compensate for the events at Longcanggou (parts of the upper park becoming inaccessible) and the old closure of Wawu – pre-covid it became the most dependable site for Streaked Barwing/Sichuan Treecreeper and a new site for Blue-fronted Robin. Unfortunately, in 2024 we didn’t find the Barwing, but it was reported on Ebird, but we did get the Treecreeper and Robin. There’s also a wide range of alpine species, including Rufous-bellied Woodpecker Temminck’s Tragopan, Golden Bush Robin, Pere David’s Tit, Rufous-vented Yuhina and a variety of laughingthrushes and rosefinches. There’s also a cable-car that goes up to a modest 3,600m – I’ve tried a couple of times, with a lot of tourist traffic and without great birding results. However, Gould’s Shortwing has been recorded on more than one occasion in lower non-breeding habitat – which raises the possibility that  this species might be breeding on bare rocky habitat of the high mountains (Gonga Mountain, highest peak east of the Himalayas), and around July, when these birds are breeding, it could be worth a try???

The big plus in 2024 was the ability to overnight in the park – there’s just one hotel inside the gates, upmarket and themed on photography, but it has halved its off-season prices to just 500CNY night – this gives you the chance to bird before the first tourists arrive on the 08:00 bus and to bird in the evenings, when they’ve all left. When we stayed there in June, we were the only guests (outnumbered by the staff) – fingers crossed this isn’t another tourist enterprise that goes bust. Otherwise, its one of the hotels in Moxi town and that first bus into the park and last one out around 17:00.

The area around nearby Moxi town also has some interesting birds – 2024 summer, during the first June trip, there were an amazing number of Yellow-bellied Flowerpeckers on Loranthaceae mistletoe infested trees, but three weeks later not a bird to be found – indicating the nomadic nature of this species as it raids clumps of nectar/fruit bearing mistletoe and then moves on. During May 2023 we recorded a singing Black-breasted Thrush just outside town. Eye-ringed Parrotbill are in the area, on the pass leading to Kangding there are a variety of alpine birds that include Tibetan Snowcock and high hillside scrub holds moupinia and Chinese Fulvetta.