Client photo: Nick Green                                                                                                                                 

 Longcanggou and surrounds – unfortunately the main park that included the top and middle sections, habitat for many of the park’s best birds, including Grey-hooded Parrotbill, were closed pre-covid due to various tourist developments and the establishment of a Giant Panda reintroduction centre. Since that time birding at Loncanggou focused on lower sites, especially the river valley we call Dove Tree Park, where the two star birds are the arch skulker, Gold-fronted Fulvetta and Streaked Barwing. There’s also an interesting trail that starts at the upper hotel village, the one close to the Loncanggou main gate, that used to be an old walking path to Wawu – here we got our 2024 Fulvetta – but further up that track are Bar-winged Wren Babbler. Beware – a paved path with lots of steps, but if it rains, some of those slabs become as slick as an ice rink.

Although degraded and now, over weekends and peak holiday periods, rather crowded with tourists, still a good area that’s worth a visit with a good bird list that contains Emei Leaf Warbler, Buffy Laugingthrush, Sichuan Bush Warbler and Golden Parrotbill. Unfortunately, Emei  Liocichla seems far less frequent on current Loncanggou lists, but outside the park there are sites within a couple of hour's drive where you can also find Grey-hooded, Three-toed, Brown and Great Parrotbill.