Top 8 Birding Spots in China

Bird watching is your lifetime ticket to the theater of nature! In China there are more than 9,000 species of birds in the world, 1,200 can be seen in China. So China is an ideal place for bird-watching. Then what are the best birding destinations in China?  Below are the top 8 best places to watch birds.

1. Wanniao Island, Yantai  烟台万鸟岛

Wanniao Island is located at middle east of the islands of Changdao. This island covers an area of 0.05 square meters with than 90% of the coast land being cliffs. There are thousands of black-tail gull, sea cormorant, tailed swift and other sea birds on the island. The best birding time is mid-Sep to mid-Oct.

2. Hailu Island, Weihai 威海海驴岛

Hailu Island is located in Weihai City, Shandong Province. Hailu Island, only 2 sea miles away from the land, is an uninhabited island and paradise for the seagulls. Thousands of seagulls live and breed their babies here.

3. Dongping Lake, Taian 泰安东平湖

Dongping Lake is the only remain of the vast marsh depicted in the novel the Outlaws of the Marsh.You will be able to see fish farming and lots and lots of birds including Egrets, gull, wild ducks, kingfishers and crane. The best birding months are from mid-Apr to late Oct.

4. Red Forest Park, Shenzhen 深圳红树林公园

The Red Forest Park is located in Shenzhen Bay, There are lots of Mangroves in the park. Here is also a paradise for birds. There are about180 kinds of birds in the park, among which 20 kinds are rare species.

5. Xinghu Lake,Zhaoqing 肇庆星湖

The Xinghu Lake is situated in Zhaoqing City in Guangdong Province. The lake is part of the migration route for many water birds. It is home to around 100,000 birds of nearly 200 species. Among them are about 40 red-crowned cranes, under the highest State protection level, 150 oriental white storks, white-napped cranes and Demoiselle cranes. It is an ideal place for both enjoying the beautiful scenery and bird-watching.

6. Bird Island, Qinghai Lake 青海湖鸟岛

Bird Island on Qinghai Lake is a renowned place for bird-watching. The island has mild climate in spring, summer and fall, migratory birds such as bareheaded geese, brown-headed gulls, cormorants, and sea gulls flock at Qinghai Lake and breed here in late May. A total of about 100,000 different birds migrate to live on the islands. The best bird-watching time is from late Apr to early July.

7. Beidaihe 北戴河

Beidaihe is well known among western birders for its consistently exciting spring migration. There are about 1,200 birds in China and about 400 have been spotted at Beidaihe. Bird watching spots in Beidaihe includes Lianpeng Mountain, Yanghe frith, Jiaoshan and particularly Happy Island. From mid-Mar to late May is the best season for bird watching.

8. Poyang Lake, Jiangxi  江西鄱阳湖

Poyang Lake, located in Jiangxi Province, is once the largest freshwater lake in China. It is renowned for its flourishing birds. Each winter, over a million migratory waterfowls arrive from the north seeking open water and fresh grasses.