9 Oct 2011

Around Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) - August 25th-26th 2011


Some more images from our recent trip to north-central China.  At the end of August we stayed at Heimahe, beside Qinghai Lake.

I'm happy to report that Heimahe now has a guesthouse where going to the toilet does not involve stumbling around in the dark outside.

Anyway, enough of the romantic travelogue, here are some photos to give an impression, I hope, of the area. 


 Himalayan Griffon Vulture - Gyps himalayensis


 Black Kite - Milvus migrans





 Rubber Mountain range

 A BMX bike for the shepherd girl !


Domesticated Yak


 White-browed Tit Warbler - Leptopoecile sophaie


 Robin Accentor - Prunella rubeculoides


 Rufous-necked Snowfinches - Pyrgilauda ruficollis


Brown Accentor - Prunella fulvescens



Two shots of Urocynchramus pylzowi


The bird above used to be known as "Pink-tailed Bunting" and now revels under the appellation of Przewalski's Finch.  Forgive me if I've spelled the great Russian's name wrongly, there seem to be five or six ways to do it.   He discovered this bird - also near Qinghai Lake - on his 1870 expedition.


 Stressemann's (Pink-rumped) Rosefinch - Carpodacus eos


 White-browed Tit  - Periparus superciliosus


Tibetan Snowfinch - Montifringilla adamsi

It was hard work lugging the gear around at an elevation of 4000 metres, but the characteristic birds of this part of the Tibetan Plateau made it all worthwhile.

2 comments:

  1. Wonderful!

    We should meet up and compare toilet experiences one day..........

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  2. Amazing species here!
    They are all on my wishlist, especially that tit-warbler! Nice shot of the adult griffon as well. I always wonder why it's much more difficult to find the adults than the juveniles. I remember seeing a flock of them in India with 20 or 30 juveniles and only 1 adult.

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