 Zizhou Park, Guilin My wife and I went to Guilin in northeast Guangxi from 22 to 26 April to do what tourists to Guilin usually do. We visited a couple of parks in the centre of the city, and also did the boat trip down the Li River to Yangshuo. Birdwatching was largely on a casual basis. We stayed at the attractive Guilin Zizhou Panorama Resort on a small island in the Li River close to the city centre and the local tourist sites. The island is called Zizhou Park, which is very green with bamboo groves and woodland including some old camphor trees and a number of ponds. The park is very popular with local tour groups and gets very busy after 8.00 a.m. On three of the mornings, I managed to fit in a couple of hours birding before breakfast and before the tour groups arrived. For a city park, the area is pleasantly surprising; bird-wise, I saw more than I had expected to see. In part, this is because there is little information available about what birds you can expect to encounter in Guilin, especially when compared to the well-documented avifauna of a number of wildlife reserves elsewhere in the province. For instance, Hill Blue Flycatcher was common in Zizhou Park, but I had no idea that was the case – in fact, the species seems to have spread northeastwards through Guangxi over the past few years, but I have not come across any published information of its occurence in Guilin. Also of interest was the number of migrants passing through the park in the short period of time I was there. Apart from the species listed below, I had flyovers of a minivet on 23rd, and a finch and a grosbeak on 26th – all too-brief views for me to name them with any certainty. Itinerary 22 April: afternoon flight Hong Kong to Guilin 23 April: Zizhou Park; Fu Bo area ( a small park beside the Li River close to the centre of the city; it is based around an isolated limestone peak that has a small cave at its base) 24 April: Li River boat trip, Guilin to Yangshuo 25 April: Zizhou Park; Seven Star Park (another park with a few limestone peaks. The highlight is a cave system known as Seven Star Cave with numerous illuminated strangely-shaped stalagmite and stalactites). The park is a few minutes’ walk from Zizhou Park. 26 April: Zizhou Park; afternoon flight (delayed by two hours!) Guilin to Hong Kong. Bird List Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Ones and twos at Zizhou Park. Chinese Pond Heron: Ardeola bacchus Fairly common in the city along Li River and over Zizhou Park; 15 along Li River opposite Fu Bo on 23rd and 17 together over Zizhou Park on 26th. Great Egret Ardea alba One flew northeast over Zizhou Park with Intermediate Egrets on 26th. Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia A flock of 20 flew northeast over Zizhou Park on 26th. Little Egret Egretta garzetta: A total of eleven along Li River between Guilin and Xing Ping Town, and three at Yangshuo on 24th. Mountain Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus nipalensis Two together over hills at Mo Pan Shan wharf (the starting point for the Guilin – Yangshuo boat trip) on 24th. Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis A total of five (3,1,1) over Seven Star Park on 25th. Black Kite Milvus migrans lineatus Two along Li River between Guilin and Xing Ping Town on 24th. Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis Four in Zizhou Park on 26th. Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis One in Seven Star Park on 25th; four in Zizhou Park on 26th. Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis One or two regularly singing in Zizhou Park. Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus: One or two regularly singing in Zizhou Park. Two singing between Guilin and Xing Ping Town on 24th, Plaintive Cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus One singing in Zizhou Park on 23rd & 25th. One singing in Seven Star Park on 25th. Pacific Swift Apus pacificus Up to 50 regularly seen over Zizhou Park. 25+ at Fu Bo on 23rd. Several between Guilin and Xing Ping Town on 24th. 15 flying low and calling at the entrance to Seven Star Cave on 25th. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis Up to two regularly seen in Zizhou Park. Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus Singles in Zizhou Park on 23rd & 25th. Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis One in Zizhou Park on 26th. Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus One over Zizhou Park on 23rd, and seven flyovers in total on 26th. Oriental Magpie Pica serica One on roadside wires between Yangshuo and Guilin on 24th. Collared Crow Corus torquatus A total of 29 along the Li River between Guilin and Xing Ping Town on 24th, plus one more at Yangshuo. Japanese Tit Parus minor Ones and twos regularly seen in Zizhou Park. Chinese Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis Common in Zizhou Park. All were of the race hainanus except for one of the nominate race on 26th. Mountain Bulbul Ixos mcclellandii One in Zizhou Park on 26th. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Singles at Zizhou Park and Fu Bo on 23rd, several at Seven Star Park on 25th, and three at Zizhou Park on 26th. Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica Three over Seven Star Park on 25th, and one flew northeast over Zizhou Park on 26th. Brown-flanked Bush Warbler Horornis fortipes At least five singing in hillside vegetation along the Li River between Guilin and Xing Ping Town on 24th. Black-throated Bushtit Aegithalos concinnus: Small parties in Zizhou Park, including one of at least 12 birds on 25th that contained several juveniles. Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus Commonly calling in Zizhou Park, especially on 23rd when at least 20 noted. Dusky Warbler Phyloscopus fuscatus Singles at Zizhou Park and Fu Bo on 23rd, six at Zizhou Park on 25th including one singing. Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris One or two regularly singing at Zizhou Park. Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius Regular in ones and twos in Zizhou Park. Rufous-capped Babbler Stachyris ruficeps One heard singing in Zizhou Park on 25th. Chinese Hwamei Garrulax canorus One or two regularly singing in Zizhou Park. Masked Laughingthrush Garrulax perspicillatus At least two heard from the boat near Xing Ping Town on 24th Japanese White-eye Zosterops japonicas Common in the Guilin city parks. Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus One in flight over Zizhou Park on 25th. Chinese Blackbird Turdus mandarinus Several birds regularly noted in Zizhou Park, including one on a nest in the fork of a tree ten metres above the ground on 25th Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saulari Regular in ones and twos in Zizhou Park. Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris One in Zizhou Park on 25th. Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas Up to five males on territory in Zizhou Park, with a pair together on 25th.  Hill Blue Flycatcher, Zizhou Park Guilin, 23 April 2019 Audiofile of Hill Blue Flycatcher singing below: Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina A male in Zizhou Park on 23rd. Stejneger’s Stonechat Saxicola Stejnegeri Singles at Zizhou Park on 23rd & 26th, Fu Bo on 23rd and Yangshuo on 24th Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus A few in Yangshuo on 24th. Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus Up to three in Zizhou Park 23rd to 26th. White Wagtail Motacilla alba leucopsis Small numbers in Guilin city parks. Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi: One in Zizhou Park on 26th.  Karst landscape, Li River between Guilin & Yangshuo, 24 April 2019  Inside Seven Star Cave, 25 April 2019
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