AlpineBirding
AlpineBirding
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AlpineBirding is a registered local birding company based in Chengdu of China, we provide professional birding services to people ranging from one day birding tour in major cities in China to longer and more demanding birding trips for avid birders with our expertise, passion and knowledge.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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5.0
20 reviews
Excellent
17
Very good
3
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Nichelle E
1 contribution
May 2021 • Friends
Bella and Philip with Alpine Birding not only crafted a wonder trip to showcase the beauty of Sichuan but were able to navigate unexpected changes with ease and skill. They guided us to experience more than 70 kinds of birdsc including Collar Crow, Tremnick’s Tragopan, and Golden Pheasant, along with many species of mammals. They were also knowledgable about regional culture. If you’re looking for a guide that will give you a deeper understanding of the nature of Sichuan, look no further than Alpine birding.
Written June 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Nichelle,
Many thanks for leaving us such a lovely review.
We had a lot of fun traveling with you in Tangjiahe, thank you so much for your support and understanding throughout the whole trip especially when we met those unexpected changes.
We are looking forward to exploring Sichuan more with you shortly.
Bella
On behalf of the AlpineBirding team
Written June 8, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kai P
8 contributions
Feb 2023
Full disclosure at the start of this review of a Sichuan birdwatching tour with Alpinebirding in early 2023: This was already my fifth tour with them, so you might say I am biased toward them. On the other hand, I guess this also shows that I think of them very highly.
So, where did we (Philip and Bella of Alpinebirding, me, and a second guest, a lady from the US) go? To Longcanggou, Kangding, Wawushan, and Yibin in Sichuan – all places with interesting and special birds, if you know where to find them. Which without Bella’s knowledge would not have been the case for me.
In terms of species, highlights for me were the Gold-fronted and the Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant (despite the ridiculous name), several parrotbills (with a specific mention to the Fulvous Parrotbill), as well as a (decidedly non-avian) Red Panda.
A few random things I particularly enjoyed about traveling with Alpinebirding this time:
They are very flexible in their trip planning – whenever we realized a place was less interesting than originally thought (or simply too crowded), they suggested a good alternative and let us choose whether to go with it.
They added an extra day to the trip at no cost (which of course got me some additional birds).
Philip lent me his shorter lens when I needed it (an 800 mm lens can be a bit much for a Silver Pheasant or a Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, given how close we got to these birds).
They kept a rather good balance between the different interests of the two guests – sometimes by simply splitting up, with one of them taking care of the diligent photographer and one of the rather more spiritual traveler.
They sometimes even pretended to enjoy my rather bad jokes. Customer service at its best.
I think this is enough – I am afraid this review does not sound quite as gushingly positive as some of the others, but that is due to my character and nature (I am a rather negative person not prone to exuberant praise). So, if you are looking to see birds in China, Alpinebirding is probably your best choice, in my opinion.
P.S. All photos were taken on the trip described.
So, where did we (Philip and Bella of Alpinebirding, me, and a second guest, a lady from the US) go? To Longcanggou, Kangding, Wawushan, and Yibin in Sichuan – all places with interesting and special birds, if you know where to find them. Which without Bella’s knowledge would not have been the case for me.
In terms of species, highlights for me were the Gold-fronted and the Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant (despite the ridiculous name), several parrotbills (with a specific mention to the Fulvous Parrotbill), as well as a (decidedly non-avian) Red Panda.
A few random things I particularly enjoyed about traveling with Alpinebirding this time:
They are very flexible in their trip planning – whenever we realized a place was less interesting than originally thought (or simply too crowded), they suggested a good alternative and let us choose whether to go with it.
They added an extra day to the trip at no cost (which of course got me some additional birds).
Philip lent me his shorter lens when I needed it (an 800 mm lens can be a bit much for a Silver Pheasant or a Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, given how close we got to these birds).
They kept a rather good balance between the different interests of the two guests – sometimes by simply splitting up, with one of them taking care of the diligent photographer and one of the rather more spiritual traveler.
They sometimes even pretended to enjoy my rather bad jokes. Customer service at its best.
I think this is enough – I am afraid this review does not sound quite as gushingly positive as some of the others, but that is due to my character and nature (I am a rather negative person not prone to exuberant praise). So, if you are looking to see birds in China, Alpinebirding is probably your best choice, in my opinion.
P.S. All photos were taken on the trip described.
Written February 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for your “biased” review, Kai. We always find ourselves very lucky to have a client like you. Thank you for your long-term support, especially during the pandemic period when everything went down bringing travel more challenges and uncertainties. And also for bearing with us when occasionally the weather got out of our control on the trips:). Now with everything and everywhere reopening up in China, we are confident to take you to those places we scheduled in the past and bird places we haven't been to find more beautiful birds for you.
Written February 10, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
dkmmdpa
Houston, TX22 contributions
Mar 2019
I had 2 day trip from Nanning and AlpineBirding suggested Nonggang Preserve. It was 3+ hour drive but we stopped on the way to see the White-headed Langur monkeys and got within 20 meters for pic.
In the reserve we saw the rare Nonggang Babbler very close (5 meters) at feeding station. Also photos Collared Owlet and many songbirds
Hotel OK for rural China and food typical for same
In the reserve we saw the rare Nonggang Babbler very close (5 meters) at feeding station. Also photos Collared Owlet and many songbirds
Hotel OK for rural China and food typical for same
Written March 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear David,
Thanks a lot for writing us such a lovely review. We feel a great honor and pleasure having your trust to plan and implement your trip. We can never make your trip so successful without your supports, such as timely sharing your ideas and giving tremendous trust to us. Please feel free to contact us whenever you need supports from us, we are very happy to provide any help we can to express our heart－felt thanks to you.
Thanks again for your kind review, we are looking forward to traveling with you again in the near future.
Best regard,
Bella
Written March 7, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
David S
1 contribution
Aug 2017 • Solo
A wonderful birding trip with Parus Yang, a knowledgeable and highly professional bird guide. We visited a variety of sites that included a range of very different habitats and saw a great many novel and interesting birds of the Tibetan Plateau. Parus's enthusiasm and bird expertise made the trip a great success.
Written September 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Philip L
3 contributions
Dec 2016 • Couples
We had a nice birding and wildlife tour with Philip He from Alpine Birding. The top attraction for my husband, an avid photographer, were the Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys at the Dapingyu scenic area. The top attraction for me were the Crested Ibis outside the town of Yangxian. It was a bit incongruous to see these endangered birds feeding in a stream less than 100 yards from highway construction, however! We also saw a large number of wild Mandarin Ducks in a mountain stream on our way back to Xi'an -- gorgeous! I was a bit disappointed that we could not actually hike up to the higher elevations in the Foping Nature Reserve (closed to tourists, as mentioned by other reviewers on this site). Philip He did a great job finding (safe) places for us to eat, including a visit to a Sichuan-style hot pot restaurant where we were the only Westerners. Everything was well-organized by Philip and his partner Lucy Guo at Alpine Birding, with pick up at our hotel in Xi'an and drop-off at the airport in time for our return flight to the US.
Written December 26, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Susan and Philip,
Thank you so much for writing us such a wonderful review and sharing your experience with fellows. It was great pleasure working with you. We appreciate all your understanding and support along the whole trip. Otherwise, we would not able to see 55 kinds of birds in 3 days, plus the cute Golden Snub-nosed Monkey.
Phillip He enjoyed this trip very much. He shared a lot of your story with us, particularly the monkey and the forktails. He has written a travel report right after your trip, please check it out on our website:).
Yes, it’s a bit disappointed that we could not visit some area of the Foping Nature Reserve, we are sorry about that. It was closed to the tourists 2 years ago because of some panda conservation projects.
Thank you for choosing AlpineBirding! We are looking forward to seeing you soon!
Best
Bella
On behalf of AlpineBirding Team
Written December 29, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mathieu W
Amsterdam, The Netherlands2 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
Arrange a birding / hiking trip in nortwestern Sichuan. Our guide Parus Yang was a good guide with excellent ornitology knowledge. We saw despite not the best season lots of birds and mammals.
Accomodation which was arranged was fine.
Accomodation which was arranged was fine.
Written October 18, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Mathieu W,
Great thanks to your kindest review! We are so sorry for our hugely delayed reply, because we just completed a very busy season.
Our team were so glad that your family had a good time with us. We know it’s not easy to travel for such a long time, especially we spent a lot of time on plateau to search the alpine birds and mammals. But we made it, bravo! We appreciate all your understanding and support along the whole trip, thank you!
Thank you for choosing AlpineBirding! Looking forward to traveling with you soon!
Best,
Bella
On behalf of AlpineBirding Team
Written December 29, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Yuvictor56
Taipei, Taiwan23 contributions
Feb 2015 • Friends
I had a wonderful time birding in Yunnan with Philip He and Parus Yang from Alpine Birding Tour. They are so professional and helpful. They did their best to arrange comfortable accommodation and food. We did birding to sites of Mountains, hills, lakes and farm lands in Yunnan. Parus Yang, a young man with ornithological degree, is a very knowledgeable bird guide with sharp eyes and ears. I've observed total 235 species and 97 lifers. It's really fruitful and enjoyable.I look forward to joining their next birding tour.
Written July 13, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Delia S
6 contributions
Feb 2023
I am a novice of Asian bird identification (I am only familiar with North American). I am bare-bones binoculars and bird book--no photography. I did a trek in Sichuan with Bella, Phillip, and another birder with camera equipment-- they were fantastic at accommodating our needs as well as being flexible with changeable birding conditions. Bella is crazy knowledgeable and passionate about all things birdies! I learned so much, and had a lovely and memorable experience. I would definitely do another trip with AlpineBirding!
Written February 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much, Delia. We are so happy to know that you enjoyed your first China birding tour with us, especially these bird hides birding! We enjoyed big flocks this winter, while there is much more to expect for the upcoming spring and summer. With a great diversity of bird species, natural habitats, and cultures, there are so many beautiful things we can show you about China. Wish to travel with you again shortly.
Written February 9, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ian M
London, UK3 contributions
Jul 2022
I was fortunate to experience 3 incredible days birding Balang Shan and Wolong in Sichuan Province with Alpine Birding. I had wonderful guiding and service from Philip and was professionally and ably supported by Alpine Birding throughout the trip. If I had any questions for Bella or Philip before, during, or after the trip, I just needed to send a quick WeChat and they would reply within minutes. The night before the trip, they even sent me locations of hospitals in Chengdu to do my first Covid test, and offered to drive me from the train station (none of which was part of the deal).
Philip was good company and an absolute machine! He picked me up early (7am) from my hotel in Chengdu on the Tuesday, and from there it was solid birding until I was dropped-off back at the hotel in Chengdu on Thursday. The pace was entirely dictated by myself, but lots of suggestions from Philip, which I really appreciated - especially up at 4,500 m!
Philip went out of his way to ensure I was comfortable, and that I had enough food, and drink throughout the trip. He also made the 3 hour round trip to get me to my second covid test in Yingxiu on the Wednesday of the trip.
We were in the car and birding from 5am-8pm every day, exploring the beautiful forests of Wolong, and alpine areas of Balangshan, at elevations ranging from 1,000 to 4,500m. It truly is an amazing and rich birding hotpot, and it was great to have Philip’s keen ears and knowledge of the birds, and hotspots to track down the majority of my targets in such a short space of time.
Managed to get my eyes onto the endemic Golden Pheasant, as well as a number of other specials including: White-eared Pheasant, Tibetan Snowcock, Snow Partridge, Blood Pheasant, and the electric blue Grandala! Numerous flycatchers (wonderful sightings of Chinese Rubythroat, Golden Bush Robin, and White-throated, Blue-fronted, and White-capped Redstarts); numerous warblers (Aberrant Bush-warbler, White-browed Tit-warbler, Alpine Leaf-, Claudia’s Leaf-, Marten’s, and Hume’s); thrushes (Chestnut, white-backed, chestnut-bellied); accentors (Alpine and Rufous-chested); mountain finches (plain and black-headed), and a bunch of rose-finches (common, dark-breasted, red-fronted, streaked, Chinese white-browed).
Spotting some rare mammals including Tufted Deer, Blue Sheep (Bharal), Chinese Goral, Northern Hog Badger, Mountain Weasel, and Himalayan Marmot was also an added bonus!
I cannot recommend Alpine Birding enough! They really are a dedicated birding outfit, committed to both their clients, and the nature and culture of Sichuan province. With so many mouth-watering birding hotspots in Sichuan, I know who I will be calling first to guide me through Sichuan.
Philip was good company and an absolute machine! He picked me up early (7am) from my hotel in Chengdu on the Tuesday, and from there it was solid birding until I was dropped-off back at the hotel in Chengdu on Thursday. The pace was entirely dictated by myself, but lots of suggestions from Philip, which I really appreciated - especially up at 4,500 m!
Philip went out of his way to ensure I was comfortable, and that I had enough food, and drink throughout the trip. He also made the 3 hour round trip to get me to my second covid test in Yingxiu on the Wednesday of the trip.
We were in the car and birding from 5am-8pm every day, exploring the beautiful forests of Wolong, and alpine areas of Balangshan, at elevations ranging from 1,000 to 4,500m. It truly is an amazing and rich birding hotpot, and it was great to have Philip’s keen ears and knowledge of the birds, and hotspots to track down the majority of my targets in such a short space of time.
Managed to get my eyes onto the endemic Golden Pheasant, as well as a number of other specials including: White-eared Pheasant, Tibetan Snowcock, Snow Partridge, Blood Pheasant, and the electric blue Grandala! Numerous flycatchers (wonderful sightings of Chinese Rubythroat, Golden Bush Robin, and White-throated, Blue-fronted, and White-capped Redstarts); numerous warblers (Aberrant Bush-warbler, White-browed Tit-warbler, Alpine Leaf-, Claudia’s Leaf-, Marten’s, and Hume’s); thrushes (Chestnut, white-backed, chestnut-bellied); accentors (Alpine and Rufous-chested); mountain finches (plain and black-headed), and a bunch of rose-finches (common, dark-breasted, red-fronted, streaked, Chinese white-browed).
Spotting some rare mammals including Tufted Deer, Blue Sheep (Bharal), Chinese Goral, Northern Hog Badger, Mountain Weasel, and Himalayan Marmot was also an added bonus!
I cannot recommend Alpine Birding enough! They really are a dedicated birding outfit, committed to both their clients, and the nature and culture of Sichuan province. With so many mouth-watering birding hotspots in Sichuan, I know who I will be calling first to guide me through Sichuan.
Written August 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hey Ian, thank you so much for leaving such a lovely comment to us! It was a great pleasure to get to know you and travel with you. Thank you so much for your support and trust throughout the whole trip. Sichuan is no doubt the most popular birding destination in China. We are looking forward to showing you more beautiful birds of it to you in the near future!
Written August 12, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kai P
8 contributions
Jul 2021
Shay and Philip took a friend and me on a 10-day birding trip on the Sichuan part of the Tibetan plateau, including places legendary among bird watchers, such as Balangshan, Mengibshan, and Ruoergai.
While I was initially a bit skeptical about the nature of the tour (I generally do not like guided tours), it proved absolutely worth it to have both Philip (to drive and to deal with the occasional oversuspicious police) and particularly Shay (for finding and identifying birds) around. While Shay has probably seen every bird on the trip multiple times, he is not content with just finding it and showing it to you but tries to make sure that you can also get a good photo of it, should you want to do so. This goes to the point where - if a bird was difficult to photograph - it sometimes was me giving up rather than Shay.
In conclusion, I think I would not have seen half of the birds on this trip had I taken it on my own. Highly recommended.
While I was initially a bit skeptical about the nature of the tour (I generally do not like guided tours), it proved absolutely worth it to have both Philip (to drive and to deal with the occasional oversuspicious police) and particularly Shay (for finding and identifying birds) around. While Shay has probably seen every bird on the trip multiple times, he is not content with just finding it and showing it to you but tries to make sure that you can also get a good photo of it, should you want to do so. This goes to the point where - if a bird was difficult to photograph - it sometimes was me giving up rather than Shay.
In conclusion, I think I would not have seen half of the birds on this trip had I taken it on my own. Highly recommended.
Written July 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much, Kai! It has have been such a pleasure traveling with you. The photos you took are gorgeous, can’t wait to explore the Qinghai-Tibet plateau with you this Aug!
Written July 12, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No questions have been asked about this experience