Siberian Cranes at Poyang Hu by Jon Hornbuckle.
- The ‘Birds of Heaven’
- That is cranes, specifically in Eastern China, Siberian, White-naped, Hooded and Common Cranes
- At Poyang Hu, one of the world’s greatest and most important wetlands where tens, sometimes hundreds, of thousands of waterbirds spend the northern winter
- Along with large percentages of the world populations of Swan Geese and Oriental Storks
- And there is also a chance of seeing Yangtze Finless Porpoise and Chinese Water Deer
- All in a vast complex of shallow lakes and
marshes, accessible by boat
- Please be aware that parks and reserves in China are subject to random and unpredictable closures.
- Some tour companies include other sites in their winter itineraries to Eastern China, including: the Yancheng Reserve, where up to 700 Red-crowned Cranes (nearly 50% of the world population) spend the northern winter, along with Common Crane, Falcated Duck and Reed Parrotbill and, sometimes, Hooded and Sandhill Cranes, Baikal Teal, Baer’s Pochard and Ochre-rumped (Japanese Reed) and Pallas's (Reed) Buntings; the coastal wetlands east of Dongtai which support wintering Black-faced Spoonbill, Dalmatian Pelican, many shorebirds including Spotted (Nordmann's) Greenshank, and Relict and Saunders's Gulls; the Wuyuan Area, where the very rare Scaly-sided Merganser occurs (up to 60 in the winters of the early 2010s, from the bridge over the River Xiu in the village of Kengkou), as well as Mandarin Duck, Pied Falconet, Blue-crowned (Courtois's) Laughingthrush, Spotted Elachura (formerly Wren-Babbler, now in a family of its own), Red-billed Leiothrix, Red-billed Starling and Fork-tailed Sunbird, and there is also a chance of Silver Pheasant, Long-billed Plover, Crested Kingfisher, Short-tailed Parrotbill, White-crowned Forktail, Collared Finchbill and migrant thrushes and buntings; Wuyishan NR, where the rare Cabot’s Tragopan occurs and there is also a chance of Elliot’s, Koklass and Silver Pheasants, as well as Crested Kingfisher, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Yellow-bellied Tit, and Green and White-browed Shrike Babblers, while mammals include Stump-tailed Macaque and Tufted Deer; and the Fuzhou District, where, around the small island of Shanyutan in the Minjiang Estuary, it is possible to see wintering Spoon-billed Sandpiper (up to ten in the winters of the early 2010s), as well as Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunders’s Gull and possibly Dalmatian Pelican. During the northern spring and summer the same estuary supports Chinese Crested Tern (especially at Shanyutan, mostly mid-May to August and especially mid-June to early July) and White-faced Plover (Apr-May at least).
- China is a huge country, the third largest in the world, with a birdlist of over 1400 species, and there are several other great birding destinations. If arriving or departing via Beijing it may be worth visiting the nearby Bai He River for a chance of Ibisbill; Beidaihe and Happy Island, on the northeast coast a few hours from Beijing, lie on one of the world's major bird migration routes where in spring (mostly in May) and autumn (mostly in September) it is possible to experience migration in action with falls of numerous birds; in Central China there is a good chance of seeing Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, Red-and-white Flying Squirrel, 'Golden' Takin and birds including Asian Crested Ibis; in southeastern China it is possible to see White-eared Night-heron at Jiulianshan, Cabot’s Tragopan at Wuyishan and, especially in April, in Hong Kong, one of the best shorebird shows left on Earth, possibly including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, as well as Asian Dowitcher, Spotted (Nordmann’s) Greenshank and Great Knot, along with other birds such as Black-capped Kingfisher and Black-faced Spoonbill, plus ‘pink’ Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins; the rare Black-crested and Hoolock Gibbons, as well as Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey and Phayre’s Leaf Monkey occur in Yunnan, the most bird-rich province in China; and there are many spectacular birds in Sichuan, a province best visited in May and sometimes combined with neighbouring Tibet where it is possible to see several rare mammals and birds, notably Tibetan Wild Ass and Tibetan Sandgrouse, especially in June and July.
Best Birds and other wildlife in Eastern China
Birds
The lists below are for the northern winter months of November and December.
Specialities
Oriental Stork, Hooded, Siberian and White-naped Cranes, and Marsh Grassbird. Also a chance of Lesser White-fronted Goose, Baikal Teal and Falcated Duck,
and an outside chance of Swinhoe’s Rail.
Others
Bewick’s Swan, Taiga and Tundra Bean, Greylag, Greater White-fronted and Swan Geese, ducks including Chinese Spot-billed Duck, Japanese Quail, Eurasian
(Great) Bittern, Eurasian Spoonbill, Eastern Marsh-harrier, Brown Crake, Common Crane, Pied Avocet, Spotted Redshank, Pied and White-breasted Kingfishers,
Oriental Skylark, Chinese Penduline-tit, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Plain Prinia, Black-collared and Red-billed Starlings, Crested Myna, buntings including
Pallas’s (Reed) and Yellow-browed Buntings, Chinese (Yellow-billed) Grosbeak and Scaly-breasted Munia. Also a chance of Smew, Black Stork and Eastern
Imperial Eagle.
Mammals
An outside chance of Yangtze Finless Porpoise and Chinese Water Deer.
Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in Eastern China
- Poyang Hu including Nanjishan and Wu Cheng Reserves Oriental Stork (up to 200, over half of the world population), and Common, Hooded (small numbers), Siberian (up to 2000, a very high percentage of the world population) and White-naped (about 1000) Cranes, as well as Bewick’s Swan (up to 2000), Taiga and Tundra Bean, Greater White-fronted (up to 5000 or more), Lesser White-fronted and Swan (over 10,000, well over half the world population) Geese, Eurasian Spoonbill, Eurasian Bittern, Pied Avocet, Spotted Redshank, Pied and White-breasted Kingfishers, Chinese Penduline-tit, and Pallas’s (Reed) and Yellow-browed Buntings. Also a chance of Baikal Teal, Falcated Duck, Smew, Black Stork, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Brown Crake, and an outside chance of Swinhoe's Rail (Nanjishan), Marsh Grassbird (Nanjishan), Yangtze Finless Porpoise and Chinese Water Deer.
- The best website for trip reports is CloudBirders
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
- China Bird Tour
- China based birding tour company since 1999 specializing in providing local arrangements for worldwide birding companies and individual birders within China, including all hot spots.
Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in Eastern China
The peak time for cranes is November-December when it is still usually relatively mild.
Recommended Bird Books etc. for Eastern China
Helm Field Guide: Birds of East Asia by M Brazil. Helm, 2009.
A Field Guide to the Birds of China by J MacKinnon and K Phillipps. OUP, 2000.
The Birds of Heaven by Peter Matthiessen. Vintage, 2003.
Bradt Travel Guide: Chinese Wildlife by M Walters. Bradt, 2008.
Mammals of China (Princeton Pocket Guides) by A Smith, Yan Xie et al. PUP, 2013.
A Guide to the Mammals of China by A Smith, Yan Xie et al. PUP, 2008.
The Mammals of China by Sheng Helin et al. China Forestry Publishing House, 1999.
Where to watch birds in Asia by N Wheatley. Helm, 1996.
Don’t know which country/countries/regions to visit in Asia? Then it may be worth considering taking a look at this book, written by this website’s author. It is many years old of course but it still provides a starting point, an overview and a guiding light to the best birds and the best places to look for them in the region, and could save hours of searching for similar information on the internet. However, it is important to check more up-to-date sources for sites which have been opened up, sites and species which have been discovered, lodges that have been built etc. since the book was published.
Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for Eastern China
Many trip reports, some for Eastern China, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Eastern China. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Eastern China' below.
Local bird and wildlife guides in China
The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.
Accommodation for birders in Eastern China
Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to Eastern China
There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.
While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and they are popular with people with partners with different interests. Individuals, partners and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more for a custom tour than an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.
Tour companies who run organized tours to Eastern China include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.
