second giant panda adventure in the qin ling …...©2011 tom rivest, great bear nature tours...

©2011 Tom Rivest, Great Bear Nature Tourswww.greatbeartours.com

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Second Giant Panda Adventure in the Qin Ling Mountains: March 6-19 2011In 2011 I returned to the Qin Ling Mountains with Marg and 6 guests. Again it was an extraordi-nary experience.

5 March 2011

Bleary eyed we arrived at the Grand New World Hotel in Xian at 2130 after leaving Port Hardy 26 hours earlier.

6 March 2011

The second half of our party arrived today, so the rest of us had a day to wander the ancient city of Xian. We headed out into the Muslim quarter, which is very close to our hotel. Being Sunday, the market was alive with action! Working our way through the locals, we found stands filled with fresh vegetables, chile peppers, great piles of sichuan peppercorns, fish: both dead and alive, live chickens, butchers, sesame butter ground on the spot, various take out food establishments, and surprisingly, a stand selling very ornate bras! We sampled a very popular meat-filled fried pan-cake type sandwich, made from rolling up a very thin layer of dough. Then it was squished flat and deep fried, tasty.

With the bulk of the rest of our party having arrived throughout the day, we all went out for Dump-ling Dinner at the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance show. According to local tradition, dumpling dinners are a traditional reunion dinner. Good food and company, though we were all weary from jet lag.

©2010 Tom Rivest, Great Bear Nature Tours


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7 March 2011

At 0900 the eight of us plus Rolf, our local guide, hopped on board our spacious coach and headed out of the ever busy Xian. Slowly the stop and go traffic was replaced by rural agricul-tural lands. At our first bathroom break, Rolf pointed out a Crested Kingfisher along the nearly dry river, as well as a Daurian Redstart and a White-capped Water Redstart. Same as last year, there was a single Green Sandpiper in the gravel river bed and Large-billed Crows along with Black-billed Magpies in the same area. Finally we turned on to the road that heads into the Qin Ling Mountains. We were heading into Giant Panda country!

As we wound along the river up the very steep canyon, Rolf and I talked of the canyon being excellent Wallcreeper habitat. Then as if on cue, a Wallcreeper flew away from us, flashing its brilliant red wing coverts and base of its primary feathers. Too fast for anyone but Rolf and I.

The road to the trailhead was paved unlike last year, but the last 50 meters was ice-covered, however with a liberal application of sand, the driver got the bus turned around at the dead end by the trailhead. Ponies and wranglers were waiting to haul our bags the 8 km down to the San-guanmiao Station. With a larger group this year many more ponies were needed than last year, including at least two buff looking stallions who really didn’t like each other as one dragged Mr Feng, one of our trackers, over to the other stallion to give it a good kick or two.Down the paved concrete path we went into the highest density panda habitat in China. Along the path we found very fresh Leop-ard Cat scat, Takin scat and of course Giant Panda scat. We were welcomed along the path by Great Tits and Eurasian Nuthatches. Once we reached the river we found the usual Little Forktails and Brown Dippers. Just before reaching the Station we stopped at a spot where I spent about 15 hours looking for the reported Eagle Owls last year. After a few minutes sure enough someone spotted one perched out in the open. A very good sign indeed.

We arrived at the station and settled into our rooms where we the reality of rural living greeted us. The waterline to the building had frozen during the recent very severe winter and had yet to thaw. Also the hydro plant had insufficient water to produce enough power for all buildings. So we would rely on a portable generator in the evening for charging batteries and our electric blankets.



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For dinner we enjoyed a hearty stew of tofu and vegetables served on top of rice noodles washed down with Tsingtao beer. Life is good.

8 March 2011

On our first full day in Panda country, we awoke to broken high clouds and the calls of the beauti-ful Red-billed Blue Magpie, always a good sign! We tucked into the rice porridge and stir-fried vegetables, then loaded our pockets and packs with a wide variety of lunch items. They ranged from the normal: apples and boiled eggs, to the exotic including a prepackaged Chinese snack that most closely resembles hardened sprayed foam insulation and a Chinese version of “Wagon Wheels”.

Off we headed with great anticipation into Foping Nature Reserve. As would often be the case during our stay, we headed up the steep dirt trail away from the station, which some members of our group called “Suicide Hill”. We waited by a junction in the trail for word from the trackers who had fanned out into the valleys ahead of us. After an hour or two, the call came on the radio: Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys had been located up on a ridge, did we want to see them? “Sure!”, everyone said. “Oh boy, this is going to be tough first climb”, I thought, remembering the chal-lenges of chasing monkey sightings last year. Monkeys are best viewed from an opposite ridge, as they are quite shy and can move very fast if they detect danger.

©2011 Marg Leehane, Great Bear Nature Tours


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Off we go straight into a bamboo thicket, shedding our backpacks a short time later when it be-came apparent this wasn’t going to work. We are fast and lean now, well, on paper anyway. For-tunately, we soon emerged out the other side of the thicket, and the reality of climbing up a 45 de-gree ridge suddenly became apparent. Soon the team was on a very narrow ridge line scanning through the trees towards the sounds of monkeys on the opposite side of the valley. Tough for photos but most people caught glimpses, and those with binoculars were able to get better views. The funny thing was the backside of the ridge was even steeper approaching a pitch of 55 or 60 degrees, which of course is getting to be easy to fall off of! There were some tense moments as we traversed that face trying to get better views, and a few short slides but fortunately no tumbles!With monkeys under our belt, we all learned it is often more difficult to go downhill than up. Re-turning to our packs we enjoyed a late lunch and shared great stories and a sense of accomplish-ment.

Finally at 1530, we heard that magic word, “Panda!”, on the radio. Off we go, down a real trail this time! But like all pursuits of wildlife here, eventually we were huffing and puff-ing up a creek bottom trying to get there before the Pandas left the area. The group splintered with some going up the actual creek and others staying on the adjacent game trail. Soon the trackers were gesticulating wildly, grabbing Marg by the arm and dragging her through the bamboo. We were very close! I looked up the creek bed and there is a big male panda walking up the creek and right by John who has his camera trained on the bruin. Great Stuff! Everyone caught at least a glimpse of our first panda before it headed up the hillside into the bamboo. First day not yet over and already we have seen both monkeys and pandas. We all gathered around John and watched as the Panda disap-peared up the hillside. Then John mentioned that there was another Panda coming up the creek! We all watched and photographed at will as it rested in a pool of water and then eventually proceeded to follow the trail of the first male. Closer and closer it came, more or less directly towards us! Eventually, at about 10 meters from the edge of the group the Panda spotted someone move and it quickly turned and headed across the creek into the bamboo. It then slowly disappeared up the hill munching on the occasional bam-boo as it went up. Eventually upon reach the ridge line it chased the other male up a tree with both of them vocal-izing. We headed back to the station in order to let them solve their differences without our intrusion.

Everyone was walking tall down that trail to the station where we toasted the Pandas with Tim-tams from Australia and beer from China!



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9 March 2011

After another breakfast of rice porridge, steamed bread, and stir-fried vegetables, we noticed a group of about 6 brilliant golden pheasants in the meadow behind our quarters as we packed our gear for the day. We then headed down through the village and met the parents (in their 80’s) and the wife of one of our trackers, Mr Zhao. We also met young Mr He’s mother and father.

We then followed the river downstream, stopping briefly at the Buddhist temple, which from the outside looks like a simple cabin. Further down the river we crossed and eventually arrived at an old abandoned farm site after passing through the woods. Just as happened last year, the track-ers flushed an eagle owl out of the old derelict barn as they passed by the barn. So I searched the neighboring conifers on the hillside above the barn for the owl but couldn’t find it. We stayed near the barn, basking and sleeping in the warm spring sun while the trackers searched the hills for takin. A common buzzard landed in a small tree directly in front of us, giving all an excellent view. Sooty tits were seen near the old buildings.

By mid-afternoon with word that the trackers had moved up and over the ridge and were now on the other side of the station, we headed down to the river to see a local fish described as Pink Salmon.

These turned out to be one of the easiest animals to see as they took us to a deep pool at the bot-tom of a waterfall. There in the pool we could occasionally catch sight of an individual fish. Defi-nitely not the Pink Salmon of the west coast back home, they appeared yellowish brown with large and numerous spots on their back and sides. I suspect they were Brown Trout, probably about 30 cm long.



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10 March 2011

The now familiar breakfast greeted us at eight o’clock and soon after our packs were loaded with snacks and cameras as we headed out on the trail and up the hill. Along the trail near the top of the hill, I spotted a tree that a panda had scent-marked. Mr Zhao assumed an upside down posture to illustrate how the male pandas mark trees. As usual the trackers dropped us off in the golden pheasant meadow where we entertained ourselves with the bright beautiful feathers of a recently killed male golden pheasant.

Though last year I saw a takin in this very meadow, this year when we got the radio call of takins found, they were up on the more usual high ridge top. So off we went carrying our packs on a very long trek up and down a few short but steep hills. As always descending the steep forested slopes was technically more challenging than climbing up the hills and some of us who weren’t born hill people struggled even with just our daypacks. Much like the monkeys, takin are quite sensitive to the noise of approaching people so the sound of people sliding and careening down bamboo slopes did chase off 3 of the 5 takin before we could get there. Characteristically in this habitat, the last uphill slope was the steepest. Our ragtag and tired crew peered over the ridge to see a beautiful female takin of gold looking up at us along side her charcoal coloured calf. This was a magnificent animal in much better shape than the takin we encountered at lower elevation last year.



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Afterwards, we regaled ourselves with tales of the climb up and estimates of the pitch of the hillsides as we slid and struggled down to a lunch spot. After lunch we returned downhill to head back to the station. At the base of a particu-larly steep and slippery hillside we got the word from the top that the trackers had spotted another panda! Back up hill though, so in either noisy disbelief or quiet resignation we headed back uphill, then over a ridge and down a long valley along a mostly dry stony creek. Eventu-ally our well strung out line of travelers arrived at the location of the panda in small groups. This panda was sitting in the bamboo facing us and eating away as we watched and struggled to photo-graph it through the bamboo. Eventually the panda moved up the hill and out of sight so we headed back to camp.

At 1730 we were served another fine dinner of rice and a variety of stir-fried vegetables and tofu. After which we retreated to our heated “lounge room” where we swapped tales and enjoyed hot tea and chocolate (of course!). An-other nightly entertainment tradition was forming, where we would watch for the pony wrangler’s pony to come and stand on his porch for his nightly dinner of an ear of corn. Each night one of us would try to photograph that snippet of life at the station!



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11 March 2011

After our usual breakfast we headed back to try and catch up with yesterday’s panda. But like all plans of mice and men, it didn’t quite work out that way. We settled into our usual morning wait in the golden pheasant clearing, where some napped, two did yoga, I looked for birds, while the trackers headed out ahead of us.As always the radio call came, it was Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys this time. We hiked up a reasonable grade up a wooded valley where we could see monkeys up on the hillside. Definitely closer than the previous day but still they shyly moved away from us and out of sight. The track-ers then told us they had heard a panda but it had slipped away in the forest like a ghost.

We settled in for an extended lunch in the sun in an open deciduous wood where we rested on a carpet of dry leaves.

After a couple of hours of relaxing and watching the various tits that were moving through the for-est we decided to call it a day as the trackers had no new leads. We returned to the station at a very reasonable 1530. Five of us decided to walk the “loop trail”, which is basically a hike up the pony trail (Suicide Hill) and then back down on the main concrete trail we hiked in on. We were treated to great views of a few golden pheasants on the trail ahead of us as we approached the “golden pheasant” clearing where we often spent our mornings. We also had nice looks at some Grey-headed bullfinch and Yellow-throated buntings.



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After another fine dinner, one of our trackers, Mr Feng, burst into our warming room to announce that a Reeve’s Muntjac could be seen behind his room. We all thundered across the compound over to his room in our Crocs, Ugg boots, and other assorted evening slippers. We were fol-lowed by one of the other groups that had arrived at the station that day. Though only a brief view the tiny yellowish deer was quite clear out in the open meadow beneath his window. After a few minutes, a flash of its white tail signaled its departure.



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12 March 2011

Once again after breakfast we found ourselves up in the forests of a lovely valley with the sun streaming though the bamboo leaves waiting as the trackers melted away into the mountain hillsides. The trackers had crossed over a ridge and had found a panda in the adjacent valley! Climbing over the ridge was not a practical solution for our varied group so off we went down the valley to go around the ridge and back up the next valley on our longest panda trot to date!

Turning up the next valley, we were faced with the interesting choice of walking up a smooth and bulbous frozen creek or thrashing through more bamboo understory. One way or another we got up to where the trackers were, only to see the rear end of a panda heading up the hillside.

Such is the life of a panda aficionado. We moved down to the main trail and waited in the sur-prisingly warm 19 °C temperature as we waited for another radio call from the trackers. By late afternoon we returned to the station where we all enjoyed the warm breeze. As usual in the late afternoon there was a flock of Golden pheasants in the meadow behind the station, joined today by a pair of Common Hoopoes.



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Tonight’s routine after dinner of chocolate, tea and the odd spirits was interrupted by word in the station that some people had seen a panda nearby and some where heading out to get a look at it. Much like the previous night, following the folks in the know, Marg and I streamed out of our warming room, followed by the rest of our party in a somewhat bewildered state. “Shouldn’t we change our shoes??” As we headed up heartbreak hill, it became clear that those we were following were uncertain as to the location of this panda. Down into the gully we went crash-ing through the brush, it seemed to me this couldn’t possibly be the way or at least with all the noise success, was unlikely. So I broke off and headed up one of our more familiar trails. Marg went along with the others, most of which had finally returned to the warming rooming by the time Marg saw two pandas in the failing light. What happened to me? I traveled far on the now familiar paths and coming back through the “Golden pheasant meadow” I stumbled into a barking deer that was very difficult to see in the fading light, but it’s beauty was in its bark, which I was lucky enough to record:

Audio requires Adobe Reader or Acrobat

What an amazing evening.




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13 March 2011

We were greeted by 3 Red-billed blue magpies at dawn under an overcast sky. A very good sign of luck! After breakfast we headed up hill along the main trail towards the trailhead while our trusty trackers vanished into the forest. It was one of those days where we occupied ourselves with birding or naps between a few false starts up various side valleys for pandas. We did see some very exciting fresh tracks of a leopard cat in the snow near the main trail.

By mid-afternoon we headed back to the station for dinner and relaxation. Along the way we spotted a Père David’s Rock Squirrel and had another look at the resident eagle owls.

Once again the real excitement came after dinner when two Chinese Gorals were spotted up on the cliffs near the tiny village about 1 km downstream. So off we went charging down the hill in our house slippers and with stomachs that were too full. It seemed all the village was pres-ent (it’s a very small village) and everyone was trying to describe the location of these animals in either Mandarin or a whole host of English dialects. It was all quite comical. They were very difficult to see until they moved. These spectacular animals were capable of running down or up near-vertical cliffs.



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14 March 2011

This morning we awoke to a change in weather with chilling winds and the odd feathery snow flake blowing around. Winter was giving us a reminder that it wasn’t quite gone yet. But no worries, today was a special day, it was flying squirrel day. This is no diminutive flying squirrel like we have at the lodge. No this animal is about 1 meter long from snout to tip of tail. Virtually a flying house cat!

So after the usual breakfast we headed out, uphill of course but into new territory we hadn’t ex-plored yet. The first part of the trail was fairly level and then it steepened just about the time we reach the squirrels. They live in large hollow trees and can be encouraged to show themselves with a little rapping on the trunk of the tree. They are wildly decorated with a red body, white head and steely blue eyes. They are also incredibly hard to photograph unless you have signifi-cant experience photographing birds in flight... in a forest! They often would sail over 100 meters through the forest in spectacular swoops.



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It was quite windy up by the squirrels and the snow was building so we returned to lower elevations for lunch and then an afternoon of free time at the station. Some folks worked on photos on their computers, others walked down to the village to photograph birds and scenics. We all watched the snow continue to fall lightly throughout the afternoon. It was clear that just a hundred feet above the station the snow was accumulating, making for a wet mess to those that would venture out into it.

For Marg and myself, it seemed like just another winter hiking day back home at the lodge. So we headed out by ourselves to see if we could find a panda on our own. Of course with snow on the trails we could easily track both pandas and panda trackers and soon we were on a promising lead and were encouraged by reports we heard from people we encountered going the opposite direction. Being the height of breeding season squabbling male pandas can often be heard at a distance of 1 km or more. Soon we heard the raucous squabbling of several male pandas. They were somewhere up a steep snow-laden bamboo hillside, so up we crept. It was very difficult to see much, mostly just snow flying off the bamboo as pandas fought underneath it, we could occasionally catch a glimpse of black and white but never a whole panda. We believe we heard four separate pandas. Again I was able to get a record-ing of the unique sounds of the pandas with my iPod Touch: Audio requires Adobe Reader or Acrobat


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15 March 2011

We awoke to brilliant skies and a crisp -5 ºC outside! After breakfast we trekked the hills again in search of pandas but today was not to be a panda day for us. But the big excitement was that we were having a home cooked meal in the village cooked by the mother of one of the trackers. What a delicious spread it was, with many dishes to sample including some local wild vegetables that had been picked in the mountains. The warmth and friendship they ex-tended to us was very special. One of my highlights for the entire trip.



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16 March 2011

Our final morning inside of Foping Nature Reserve. We are hopeful of one last panda sighting along the trail as we head up the trail to the trailhead after we say goodbye to all our friends at the station.

The free ride of a hike downhill on the way had to be paid back going home. It was a deceptive hike out in that the first 5 or 6 km is just a gradual uphill, which slowly taxes you until you sud-denly encounter all the steep steps and grade that you never seemed to notice on the way in. As we neared 8 km we could hear the luggage ponies whinnying at the top which was music to everyone’s ears. Carrying our luggage, they had passed us along the trail sometime ago.

Once the bus arrived we all happily climbed aboard and headed off to Foping County where a hotel room waited us with hot and cold running showers as well as a change in diet. It is also a reliable site for the rare Ibisbill. Rolf took us to the rock strewn stream bed of the large river that flows through town. After some diligent scanning we found one sleeping with its head beneath its wing. It blended in perfectly with the granitic cobbles.



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Then it was off to our comfortable hotel, hot showers and a taste of local food.

That evening as we walked around the streets of Foping we noticed a complete lack of West-ern travelers and Rolfe informed us that the only Westerners he has ever seen there arrived with him.




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17 March 2011

For something a little different today we went to a local park where the beautiful Golden snub-nosed monkeys are fed by local researchers and though still wild they can be approached much more closely than those we saw in Foping Nature Reserve. Here at Da Ping Yu, many of us had mixed feelings after enjoying the peace and serenity of the relative wilderness of Foping Nature Reserve. But others thoroughly enjoyed the antics of the many monkeys. It certainly was a great opportunity to enjoy up close wildlife photography in a much less physi-cally demanding setting than sometimes at Foping Nature Reserve.



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After, well in my case, about 800 photos of monkeys, we headed towards the big city, Xi’an. But first there was one last rural stop, for our traditional lunch of roasted fish. At a little road-side restaurant, they served us the finest local fish and other outstanding foods.




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It was a beautiful day and we were lucky enough to eat outside.

Then it was on to our 4 star hotel in Xian, the Grand New World Hotel. We were all still quite full from our late and ample lunch. So that evening most of the group decided it was time for ice cream. A woman at the front desk told us of a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop some distance away. She suggested a taxi. Clearly she didn’t recognize the tested panda trackers that we had become! So off we went into the night, walking very fast, this was a changed group now! Though it turned out to be a Baskin Robbins shop instead, the ice cream was delicious.



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18 March 2011

This was a day of museums and terra cotta warriors for most of the group. The Xian museum was very nice but the most amusing thing was all the school children who would line up to have their photos taken with a Westerner, especially a bearded old guy that looks like a bear guide.

In the afternoon it was off to the terra cotta warriors. It is an amazing display of Xi’an’s history definately worth seeing. Though it was certainly an adjustment from the quiet hills of Foping.

For our final dinner on our last night we were treated to a wonderful Hot Pot dinner that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. It included various local items from the Qin Ling Mountains. Each person gave a toast as we revelled in our personal accomplishments during the trip. A perfect conclusion to a wonderful trip, though not always easy, provided amazing rewards.

19 March 2011

After breakfast we all parted ways, some going to the airport to fly home, others heading to further adventures in China.

“Until next year”.

Next Tour: March 4-15th 2012


second giant panda adventure in the qin ling …...©2011 tom rivest, great bear nature tours...

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