…And Ross was not pleased about it because it meant we might not get to see Hainan Peacock Pheasant.
As we flew south to Hainan, a small island off the southern coast of China, it felt like stepping into a giant botanical garden, except the majority of the good habitat had been destroyed. It was lush green on either side of the massive highway and to the untrained eye, looked very natural. But the forest had been cleared and plants were curated to mimic nature rather than preserve it.
Hainan is China’s southernmost province, and it would be the furthest south we’d travel on our 3-month trip to the country. This is the warmest, most tropical place in China, and we learned that Hainan has been positioned by the Chinese government as a major tourist hub, often dubbed the “Hawaii of China.” With its year-round warmth, palm-lined beaches, and a bunch of luxury resorts, the island is marketed as both a leisure destination and a showcase of modern development. (We saw none of these things, except as we were flying out because we spent the majority of our time away from the major cities.)
Surprisingly, the weather was mild during our visit. We slept with the windows open and never once turned on the air conditioning in our hotel room. Maybe it was just because it was March and the real heat hadn’t settled in yet, but I had always assumed Southeast Asia was hot and humid year-round. These cooler days were a welcome surprise.
Ross took a calculated risk by flying us into Haikou, a city in the north of the island, instead of Sanya, which is much closer to Jianfengling National Forest Reserve, where we planned to bird for five days. Haikou was a three-hour drive from our destination, but Ross couldn’t resist. Nearby mudflats had been home to a small group of charming Spoon-billed Sandpipers, and Ross had been stalking these birds on eBird for weeks prior to our departure simply because he noticed that birders (namely bird photographers) could get really close.
We hadn’t seen Spoon-billed Sandpipers since Thailand (our very first international trip together) and who doesn’t love seeing a small shorebird with a spoon-shaped bill run around the salt flats?! Sadly they had all left approximately one week prior to our arrival. This meant we had essentially flew into the ‘wrong’ airport and added on a 3-hour drive for nothing. The drive was not for nothing though, and as the late afternoon approached, we stopped at the Fengshou Rd Wetlands along the coast adding Slaty-breasted Rail, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, and Crested Myna.
Ross Hates Having a Driver
China was proving very costly simply because of always needing to hire a driver and apparently being picked up in Haikou instead of Sanya came with an additional fee. Having a driver also meant less flexibility, which was especially frustrating for Ross, who thrives on logistics and enjoys being able to shift plans on a dime. If we wanted to drive back up to Haikou later to search for Oriental Bay Owl and King Quail, two birds Ross was planning on seeing, that would cost even more.
So when the driver on Hainan turned out to be a bit of a diva, it only made Ross more frustrated. Because tourists aren’t allowed to rent their own cars in China, we were stuck paying more for less freedom.
At the Haikou airport, however, we met Wenjia, our English translator. Like Xiaorai had been in Beijing, Wenjia would be with us during our time in Hainan. (In Yunnan and Sichuan, we’d continue on with just a driver and no translator.) Wenjia was new to working with Steven. Steven barely knew her and wasn’t sure how she would perform, but since Ross is pretty self sufficient, minus speaking any mandarin, we didn’t care. (I’m realizing now that I didn’t take a single photo of or with Wenjia to share! Oops!)
Wenjia is a birder herself (closing in on 1000 species in China when we met her) and sometimes works as a bird guide on cruise ships to Antarctica. While she knew some of the birds we were targeting, what stood out most was her initiative. Ross immediately appreciated her logistical mindset: she made phone calls without any prompting, working to find a way for Ross to get a Chinese driver’s license.
She knew how frustrated he was with the driver on Hainan so she was instrumental in making that happen. She found someone to translate his US license into a Chinese license. Thanks to her persistence, Ross was able to rent a car rather easily once we got to Yunnan. This single act was the most influential thing that happened on our entire trip. (Big thanks to Wenjia!)
Still, while we were in Hainan, we remained dependent on local drivers. Fortunately, the birding infrastructure on the island meant we really only had two locations to visit.
The Bad News:
If there’s one thing the Chinese are amazing at, it’s bird hides. (Actually, it’s a lot more than that and I have a whole post to come dedicated to the bridges and tunnels I saw, but for now, let’s stick to their leisure prowess: bird hides.) They know exactly how to set them up, and as a result, nearly mythical birds, like Hainan Peacock-Pheasant, suddenly became gettable. Prior to feeding this skulky ground dweller, the Hainan Peacock-Pheasant was almost never seen.
But remember when I said we got some very, very bad news? Back in Beijing, we had learned that the main hide for Hainan Peacock-Pheasant had been reported and shut down. (I do not know by who or why, but we were told it was “reported” and was no longer accessible.)
Let me make this very clear: I like bird hides. I think they’re a great way to expose people to birds without harassing them. I still remember the Chinese photographers we encountered in Thailand who played the call of a pitta on loop for hours just to get the perfect shot. A well-run hide avoids that. It keeps people at a distance, gives birds a free meal, and lets people enjoy them without interference. To me, it’s a win-win-win. Plus the hide owner makes a little money. Another win.
That said, Ross much prefers finding his own birds. But hides serve a purpose and in China they have become places of ritual. When we learned we couldn’t go because the hide had been shut down, it meant that the near-mythical Hainan Peacock Pheasant was going back to being mythical. As you can imagine, Ross was not pleased.
Thankfully a day or two later we got news that they would let us in but we had to be sneaky. We couldn’t take the usual driver/car because then the authorities would know the hide was running and instead had to use the car/driver from the hotel up the road.
Hainan Peacock Pheasant Hide
I do not recommend taking a 2.5 year old and an 8 month old into a bird hide where it is necessary to be 100% quiet, but do as I say, not as I do. On Hainan we were searching for secretive ground dwelling birds like Hainan Partridge, Silver Pheasant, and the aforementioned Hainan Peacock Pheasant. We tried our best to keep the toddler entertained but he could not seem to understand why he wasn’t allowed to sing baa baa black sheep or his ABCs at high volumes.
It was for moments like this (in addition to the 20 or so plane rides we were taking this trip) that we brought along a tablet. And let me make this clear: I do not like taking kids into a bird hide. It is not enjoyable. Feeling pressured to keep Roger quiet for fear we’d “ruin” some bird to hide relationship, it was hard to truly love sitting in a hide waiting on birds due to anxiety alone.
But the hide worked just as we had hoped (although it took 9 hours for the partridge to come in!) and in addition to our 3 main targets, we also saw Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Hainan Laughingthrush, Indochinese Green Magpie, and Emerald Dove.
Jianfengling National Forest Reserve
We had 3.5 days on Hainan and we would be spending all of them birding Jianfengling National Forest Reserve. The park is one of the last strongholds of primary rainforest left on the island, a remnant of what once covered much of Hainan.
We mainly birded the road near the hotel (on the Nanya side) and/or spent time at an overlook scanning for White-winged Magpie. Ross was really hoping to see this bird because it’ll most likely be split, but alas we had no such luck. We never really meandered the trails in search of targets. It was odd because while scanning the skies from an overlook, we saw very little in the form of birds flying over and it seemed every single bird flock we encountered was a mix of the same 5 species over and over.
Ross was lamenting about how few species were coming in to these bird flocks. We weren’t sure if it was elevational because we were at the hotel at mid elevation or if it was because we were heading into breeding season at an interesting time between where the birds have left the flocks but haven’t yet set up a territory. Luckily, things got a bit more interesting when we visited the other side of the park at Mingfenggu trail.
Mingfenggu
Due to the issues with the peacock pheasant hide, we had to stay at the hotel near by to it, but typically birders split their time between there and a second hotel at the other side of the mountain (Mingfenggu) to cover a different altitude range. With two small babies we didn’t want to bother relocating, plus with the hide drama we didn’t want to upset anyone so we stayed only at the hotel near the peacock pheasant hide. We also loved Sherry, the woman at the hotel and she was so helpful holding Harvey and/or playing with Roger to give us an extra set of hands (since it turned out that Wenjia hated children.) Also, Sherry’s food was amazing!
In hindsight Ross says he probably would have spent at least one night at the hotel at the top of the mountain since there’s better access to habitat. We still spent two mornings birding here where the moth trap at the hotel is a major highlight at dawn with multiple species of minivets, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Pale-blue Flycathcer, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, and Sultan Tit make close appearances. The overall area was also very birdy with Chinese Barbet, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, and Large Woodshrike moving through the parking lot.
We found that the best place to see Hainan Leaf Warbler was at the highest point on the road travelling between the two hotels. There’s a small overlook and we found several pairs. It was especially interesting to find a nest in a small bush on the ground on the side of the mountain. Not where we’d expect to find a leaf-warbler nest!
At the end of our time on Hainan, Ross and I reflected on whether or not our 5 days were a success. We missed Thick-billed Green Pigeon and the Hainan subspecies of White-winged Magpie. Overall we concluded we did quite well / average compared to most, especially with two babies in tow so we will consider that a success.
This birding took place ____
eBird checklist from ___ and ____