Top Winter Birding Tour Places in Yunnan and Guizhou
Autumn and winter is the best time to observe birds. At this time, groups of migratory birds fly over from the North. The bird watching in Yunnan and Guizhou are popular among bird lovers. Since the weather in most areas of Yunnan is mild in winter, thousands of various birds migrate to Yunnan, Mainly from Sibiria during the winter. In the season of winter when migratory birds flock into Yunnan, many (wetland) parks are highlighted by such birds. The humid climate and different landforms have granted this province with rich nature resources with wide range of vegetations which serves as ideal habitats for the 482 bird species recorded in the province including black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis). This page will introduce you the top winter birding places in Yunnan and Guizhou.
Top Winter Birding Places in Yunnan
1. Kunming – Red-beaked Seagulls
Since 1980s, tens of thousands of red-beaked seagulls migrate to Kunming from cold Siberia to spend winter, and seagulls have become an important part of local life in Kunming. It has been an important destination for watching seagulls in winter in the southwest of China. There are a dozens of places in the city to see them but the best ones include the Green Lake Park, Daguan Park, Dianchi Dam and Haigeng Park. Diandhi Lake Dam, on the eastern shore of the Dianchi Lake, the dam is one of the popular sites in Kunming’s Dianchi Lake Holiday Resort 8 km from downtown. During the winter days, herds of locals and tourists will gather here to feed seagulls and admire scenery of the West Hill.
Suggested Kunming Winter Birding Tours
6 Days Northeast Yunnan Winter Birding Tour to Dianchi Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao
8 Days Yunnan Winter Birding Tour to Dongchuan Red Land, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
9 Days Yunnan-Guizhou Winter Birding Tour with Dianchi Lake, Caohai Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
22 days Yunnan Birds Watching Tour
2. Nianhu Lake – Black-necked Cranes
Located 260 km from Kunming, Nianhu Lake stands at Huize County of northeast Yunnan. It was approved as a nature reserve for the black-necked cranes in 1994, and from November to March these cute angels migrate to spend winter here. Early in the morning you can watch the sunrise of Nianhu and a flock of birds flying when the sun comes from the lake and paved with red and dyed golden, black-necked cranes fly up to the sky. In the late afternoon, enjoy the sunset of the lake and the return of the black-necked cranes, in the loneliness of intoxicating beauty, you can get a kind of longing of wide and boundless.
Suggested Nianhu Winter Birding Tours
6 Days Northeast Yunnan Winter Birding Tour to Dianchi Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao
8 Days Yunnan Winter Birding Tour to Dongchuan Red Land, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
9 Days Yunnan-Guizhou Winter Birding Tour with Dianchi Lake, Caohai Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
3. Dashanbao Nature Reserve – Black-necked Cranes
Dashanbao Nature Reserve is one of the most popular destination for Yunnan Birding Tours. Covering a total area of 19,200 hectares, the Reserve is a plateau marshland. There are more than 1,300 black-necked cranes wintering in Dashanbao Reserve which has become the largest winter habitat of black-necked cranes and is regarded as one of the “Hometowns of Black-necked Cranes in China”. The reserve has been designated as a Ramsar site since 2004.
Suggested Dashanbao Winter Birding Tours
6 Days Northeast Yunnan Winter Birding Tour to Dianchi Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao
8 Days Yunnan Winter Birding Tour to Dongchuan Red Land, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
9 Days Yunnan-Guizhou Winter Birding Tour with Dianchi Lake, Caohai Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
4. Heqing Caohai Wetland – Merganser & Black-necked cranes
Heqing Caohai Wetland is on the way from Dali to Lijiang, or near the Xinhua Village which is known for its traditional silver handicraft industry. With a protected area of 400 hectares, the reserve is 40 km south from Lijiang. Migratory birds here include the black-necked cranes, common crane, egrets, mallards, and Rubber Duck etc. With the emergence of new species, as of the end of December 2016, a total of 175 species of birds were recorded in the Caohai Wetland in Heqing.
Suggested Caohai Wetland Winter Birding Tour
11 Days Northwest Yunnnan Bird Watching Tour
5. Napahai Lake – Black-necked Cranes
With a total area of 31.25 square kilometers and an elevation of 3266 meters, the state-designated wetlands area Napahai Nature Reserve is located in Shangri-la city, Yunnan province. Established in 1984, it is a wetland ecosystem protection zone to plateau seasonal lakes and marsh meadows. The natural reserve is flat, surrounded by mountains. When October steps in, flocks of black-necked cranes, bar-headed geese, white cranes, sheldrakes regularly come here looking for food and for fun.
Suggested Napahai Lake Winter Birding Tours
11 Days Northwest Yunnnan Bird Watching Tour
22 days Yunnan Birds Watching Tour
6. Lashihai Lake – Chinese Merganser & Black-necked Cranes
Lashihai Lake is in the basin in Hengduan Mountain Range, 10 kilometers away from the Old Town of Lijiang. Lashihai International Wetland Park was approved as a plateau wetland nature reserve in Yunnan Province in June, 1998. Since then, the nature reserve has been rehabilitated, protected and improved, which turns to be a paradise of thousands of birds consisted of 57 species, a place where biodiversity has been effectively conserved. In every winter, thousands of water fowls migrate afar from the north, among which there are some of national protected birds, such as Black Storks, Black Neck Cranes, Chinese Mergansers, etc.
Suggested Lashihai Lake Winter Birding Tours
1 Day Lashihai Lake Boat Cruise and Horse Riding Tour along the Ancient Tea Horse Road
11 Days Northwest Yunnnan Bird Watching Tour
14 Days West Yunnan Birding Tour with Gaoli Gongshan Mountain and Lijiang Lashihai Lake
22 days Yunnan Birds Watching Tour
7. Lugu Lake – Red-beaked gulls
Luguhu Lake is located between Yunnan’s Ninglang County and Sichuan’s Yanyuan County, with a total area of 77,700-odd mu, the space within the precincts of Yunnan being 41,400 mu. Most of the birds in Lugu Lake come from Siberia, such as red-beaked gulls, wild ducks, geese and aix galericulata. The birds’ coming bring much joy to people in cold season. You can see anywhere that the seagulls play with people who are seating on the boats. There are so many birds inhabiting in Liwubi Island and She Island in Lugu Lake.
Suggested Luguhu Lake Winter Birding Tour
11 Days Northwest Yunnnan Bird Watching Tour
8. Golden Triangle of China Birding Zone – Tengchong, Baoshan, Dehong & Ruili
The Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve enjoys the diverse plants and animals. Baihualing Scenic Spot is the first bird watching camp developed in Gaoligongshan Mountain. Because of well-protected natural environment, the number of birds species recorded accounts for 43.3% of the total recorded bird species in Yunnan Province, among which 5 species belong to the national first-class protection species and 33 species of national second-class protection species. It is known as “the Golden Triangle of China bird watching Zone” and “the five-star holy land”in bird photographers’ hearts.
Suggested Golden Triangle Winter Birding Tours
1 Day Yingjiang Hornbill Valley Birding Tour
2 Days Yingjiang County Birding Tour
8 Days Yunnan Gaoli Gongshan Mountain Birding Tour
10 Days West Yunnan Birding Tour with Gaoli Gongshan Mountain, Tongbiguan Nature Reserve and Ruili Tropical Forest
13 Days Yunnan GaoliGongshan Mountain Birding Tour
14 Days West Yunnan Birding Tour with Gaoli Gongshan Mountain and Lijiang Lashihai Lake
15 Days Southwest Yunnan Birding Tour
22 days Yunnan Birds Watching Tour
9. Xishuangbanna – A Fauna Kingdom
Xishuangbanna is reputed as a fauna kingdom, which is true to name. It is the best place in Yunnan to plan a Birding Tour. According to statistics of scientific research, there are more than 450 kinds of birds living in the forest of Xishuangbanna. Jungle is the best home of these lovely cherubs, they are smart, naughty, cute and shy, so, it won’t be easy to see them even you have already heard they twittering around you.
Suggested Xishuangbanna Winter Birding Tours
6 Days XishuangBanna and Puer Tropical Forest Birding Tour
10. Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain
Every winter, flocks of Red-beaked Seagulls flying from Siberia to Erhai Lake which is an important destination for locals and tourists watching seagulls. Little Putuo Island is the smallest island in Erhai Lake. If you visit in winter, you will see a vast number of seagulls. Cangshan Mountain lies in the West of Dali, a great place for bird watching as well as for a great variety of plant species. It is home to 128 species of bird, amongst others Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Kalij Pheasant, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Black Woodpecker, Great Tit, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Red-breasted Parakeet and Grey-headed Parrotbill.
Suggested Erhai Lake & Cangshan Mountain Winter Birding Tours
11 Days Northwest Yunnnan Bird Watching Tour
13 Days Yunnan GaoliGongshan Mountain Birding Tour
14 Days West Yunnan Birding Tour with Gaoli Gongshan Mountain and Lijiang Lashihai Lake
Please read more about Yunnan Birding Tours.
Top Winter Birding Places in Guizhou
1. Caohai – Heaven for Birds
Located in Weining, Southwest China’s Guizhou province, Caohai Nature Reserve is one of the best places in China for winter birding. Here is full of the birds resources. Not only you can see black-necked crane here, but also golden eagle, black crane, white belly kam pheasant, grey crane, tadorna ferruginea, white spoonbill etc. This is one of the best lake birds observing area in the world.
Every year overwintering birds are over 185 kinds and 100,000. When winter comes, tens of thousands wading birds(the birds like marsh and water side) and swimming birds(the birds can live in all kinds of water area) gather here. The best watching bird time is the coldest winter time from January to March, at this time a large number of migratory birds gathered, breed, and live through the winter.
Suggested Caohai Winter Birding Tours
2. Kuankuoshui Virgin Forest
Kuangshui is a national nature reserve and a national four-star tourism resource reserve, which is the only original forest in the same latitude of the earth. It is located in Suiyang county, Guizhou province, which is 54 kilometers away from the county seat and 102 kilometers away from Zunyi city. As one of the top three places for bird watching in China, it is an ideal base for bird ecology research and a good place for bird watching. There are also 148 rare birds and state-level protected animals. Due to the large number and variety of birds, Kuankuoshui Virgin Forest is listed as one of the international important bird areas by FFI and one of the main birding sites in China by the institute of zoology, Chinese academy of sciences.
3. Maolan Nature Reserve
Located in the southeast of Libo County, Maolan National Nature Reserve covers an area of 20,000 hectares which was established in 1985 and upgraded to National Level Reserve in 1988. It was included in the Network of Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program in 1996. There are 205 bird species in the reserve, of which 128 bird species are under Order Passeriformes. Endangered species including Orange-bellied leafbird Chloropsis hardwickii, Fairy Pitta(Pitta nympha), Silver Oriole(Oriolus mellianus), Elliot’s Pheasant(Syrmaticus ellioti) are also found in this reserve.
4. Fanjingshan Nature Reserve
Sitting in northeastern Guizhou Province and covering an area of 41900 hecares, Fanjingshan Nature Reserve was established in 1978 and granted National Reserve status in 1986. The reserve was included in the list of biosphere reserves by Man and the Biosphere Program of UNESCO in 1986. The reserve has recorded 195 bird species, belonging to 39 families under 16 orders, which boasts abundant bird species from Order Passeriformes with 129 species under 19 families, accounting 67.86% of national total 28 families under Passeriforms.
5. Xishui Nature Reserve
Situated in Xishui County of northern Guizhou and covering 48,666 hectares, Xishui Nature Reserve was established in 1992 and upgraded into National Level Reserve in 1997. It is the largest nature reserve in Guizhou Province. According to the investigation in 2005, there are 147 bird species belonging to 36 families of 16 orders in the reserve. Among them, there are 91species of residents, accounting for 61.9%, 32 species of summer breeders, 17 species of winter migrants and 7 species on passage. Reeve’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) the endangered bird species is found in the reserve.
Tips for Winter Birding in Yunnan and Guizhou
1. Best Time
The best time to watch the birds is 6am–8am, 2pm—4pm. In the early morning migratory birds waking, gathering and flying to search food. In the late afternoon, you can see the return of the birds. If forest birds, the best time are also morning and nightfall.
2. Birding Distance
Keep enough space with the wild birds. The best is not to enter the water. Not contact with birds faeces and excreta. This is the first important point for bird watching .
3. Birding Dressing
When outside watching, the best is not to dress brightly, and not to speak loudly. Bring enough clothes if cold and bring rain gear if necessary.
4. Birding Equipment
8—10 times binoculars telescope are essential equipment for bird watching. The magnification of a single telescope is between 20 and 60 times. It is mainly used for observing wild birds (such as wild geese and ducks in the water) with a long distance and a relatively fixed position, but it needs to be used with a tripod, which is complicated to operate. Of course, if you want to capture a great moment with your camera, be sure to bring a telephoto lens of at least 200mm.
5. Special Tips
Birds are not afraid of automobile. We watch birds in the cars that could be more close to them than walking, which also don’t disturb their daily life. The car window is the right holder when filming birds.
