Harvesting Exciting Northern Specials During A Short Stay in Beijing
Serving as one of the seven ancient capitals and the current capital of China, Beijing is known for its splendid and unique culture and history. While at the same time, Beijing is a nice birding place for a short visit, there are many fascinating birding sites within and near the city area. We carefully select three birding sites where you can expect some special birds of northern China, such as Beijing Babbler, Snowy-browed Nuthatch, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Pere David's Laughingthrush, etc. If you come in the right season, we can also expect some interesting waterfowls including Swan Goose, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Mandarin Duck, Falcated Duck, Northern Pintail, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, etc. Depending on seasons and the latest bird information, we may tune the itinerary to make sure the best use of your time.
Tour Info Sheet
| Highlight Birds | Black Vulture, Golden Eagle, Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Beijing Babbler, Snowy-browed Nuthatch, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Pere David's Laughingthrush, Grey-capped Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Spotted Dove, Azure-winged Magpie, Yellow-bellied Tit, Marsh Tit, Silver-throated Tit, Light-vented Bulbul, Chinese Blackbird, Red-throated Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Oriental Greenfinch, Gadwall, Chinese Spot-billed Duck, Ferruginous Pochard, Tufted Duck, Smew, Black-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Spoonbill, Bearded Reedling, Pallas's Bunting, Godlewski's Bunting, Meadow Bunting, Falcated Duck, Chinese Grey Shrike, Red-breasted Merganser, Chinese Leaf Warbler, Yellow-streaked Warbler, Silver-throated Tit, White-winged Redstart, Alpine Accentor, Siberian Accentor, Brambling, Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Pallas's Rosefinch, Asian Rosy Finch, etc. |
|---|---|
| Numbers of Species to Expect | 80-100 |
| Ease of Birding | mostly easy birding with a few tricky species |
| Photography Opportunities | birding focused but with very good photography chances |
| Habitats Covered | subtropical forests, wetlands |
| Expected Climate | see details in the "pre-trip briefings" |
| Physical Requirements | mostly easy, moderate but optional in certain parts |
| Accommodation | very comfortable |
What makes this trip irreplaceable?
1. Focusing on some northern specials like Beijing Babbler, Snowy-browed Nuthatch, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Pere David's Laughingthrush, etc.
2. Covering two famous birding sites, namely Yeyahu Lake and Lingshan Mountain. We may visit different places depending on seasons and the latest bird information.
3. Experienced guides with great knowledge about local birds and rich experiences of guiding travelers from different countries.
4. A short program with more flexibility. This trip can be customized to meet your needs and preferences better.
5. Years of working as a local partner for some prestigious western companies specialized in birds and wildlife.
6. A strong logistic team in the office to ensure our trip goes smoothly and every participant has a comfortable and memorable journey.
Gallery
Dates & Prices
| Dates | Booking Status | Price | Single Supplement | Group Size | Guide | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Year Round | Space Available | 990USD/pax | 80USD/pax | Departure from 2 | Local Guide | Customizable |
Slide the sheet to the left to see the full sheet if you are viewing on your phone or tablet.
The cost includes the following:
1. Private transportation throughout the trip, including pick-up and drop-off at the hotel or airport.
2. All meals from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 3.
3. All the entrance tickets for places listed in the itinerary including cable cars and shuttle buses.
4. Hotel stays from the first day to the last day, two clients occupy one twin-bed room on a sharing basis at nice 3 or 4 star hotels in big cities and local best guesthouses in remote areas.
5. Bottled water and snacks throughout the trip.
6. Simple western breakfast whenever is possible.
7. Service charges of a professional and experienced local guide throughout the whole trip.
8. China domestic travel insurance.
9. Service of all logistic supports.
The cost does not include the following:
a. Drinks during meals.
b. Extra charges due to change of itinerary from the client's side or factors beyond the control of AlpineBirding such as natural disaster or governmental policy change.
c. Discretionary tips to guides and drivers.
d. All personal expenses such as laundry service.
e. ANY AIRFARE.
f. Any program not listed in the itinerary.
* Please be aware that the price is inapplicable during any Chinese official holidays including but not limited to Chinese New Year, Labour Day, National Day, etc. Please contact us to confirm the price if your trip date covers any Chinese holidays.
* Please be aware that the price is inapplicable during any Chinese official holidays including but not limited to Chinese New Year, Labour Day, National Day, etc. Please contact us to confirm the price if your trip date covers any Chinese holidays.
Itinerary
Tour Map
Day 1: Beijing Botanical Garden to Yeyahu Lake.
Meet your private bird guide and driver in Beijing, either at your hotel or at your arrival airport. Then we drive to Beijing Botanical Garden to search for some northern specials in the lush forest. We can expect some sought-after species like Beijing Babbler, Snowy-browed Nuthatch, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Pere David's Laughingthrush, Grey-capped Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Spotted Dove, Azure-winged Magpie, Yellow-bellied Tit, Marsh Tit, Silver-throated Tit, Light-vented Bulbul, Chinese Blackbird, Red-throated Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Oriental Greenfinch, etc. In the afternoon, we will drive about 1.5 hours to the Yeyahu area.
Day 2: Yeyahu Lake to Lingshan Mountain.
We will spend most of the day in Yeyahu Lake which is considered as one of the most important wetlands in Beijing. Each spring and autumn, a lot of waterfowls come to visit this area, while in the summertime, there are a lot of waterfowls and wetland birds breed here. Although the species of birds visible here can be different from season to season, we can normally expect birds like Swan Goose, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Mandarin Duck, Falcated Duck, Northern Pintail, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Collared Dove, Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwing, Grey-headed Lapwing, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, Chinese Pond Heron, etc. In addition, we can also look for Eastern Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Amur Falcon, Chinese Grey Shrike, Chinese Penduline Tit, Bearded Tit, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Oriental Reed Warbler, White-cheeked Starling, Water Pipit, Buff-bellied Pipit, Pallas's Reed Bunting, Little Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, etc. In the late afternoon, we will drive about 3 hours to the Lingshan Mountain area and check in at our conveniently-suited guesthouse.
Day 3: Lingshan Mountain to Beijing downtown.
We will spend most of the day in Lingshan Mountain Scenic Area. Located to the west of Beijing, Lingshan is the highest mountain in Beijing that sets at an elevation of 2,303 meters. It is home to many mountain species of middle elevation in the northern part. Here we will have chances to see birds like Hill Pigeon, Black Vulture, Golden Eagle, Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Carrion Crow, Beijing Babbler, Willow Tit, Chinese Leaf Warbler, Yellow-streaked Warbler, Silver-throated Tit, Pere David's Laughingthrush, Black-throated Thrush, White-winged Redstart, Alpine Accentor, Siberian Accentor, Brambling, Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Pallas's Rosefinch, Asian Rosy Finch, Godlewski's Bunting, Meadow Bunting, etc.
In the late afternoon, we will drive you back to Beijing, either to your hotel or to the airport. This will conclude the services of AlpineBirding for this scheduled itinerary.
Gentle Reminder:
1. The bird species mentioned in the itinerary are just for your reference, it changes with the seasons. We may tune the itinerary according to the latest bird information to maximize our chances.
2. We are more than happy to assist with hotel booking, flight booking, etc. before or after the trip to make your travel more enjoyable and comfortable, please feel free to let us know in advance.
Guide(s)
We will arrange one of our best local guides for this trip who has rich experience of guiding tours in this region. The followings are some of our professional guides who have guided tours in this area for many years.
Bella Zhang
Bella, the director of AlpineBirding, was graduated from Sichuan Agricultural University with a Bachelor's Degree. She joined AlpineBirding in early 2016 and became the director of AlpineBirding in 2018. She was born and grown up in a Bai ethnic family in Yunnan Province which boasts of the largest number of bird species in China. Her interests toward birds started with her observation of a Long-tailed Minivet in her mom's garden at a very young age. As she grows up, the interests and love toward birds become stronger and stronger. Because of that, she found AlpineBirding before graduation and joined the company for further learning of birds. Bella has guided a number of birding trips in cooperation with AlpineBirding guide in the past years, her passion, readiness to help, and detail-oriented attitude have won her lots of praise from our clients.
Linked Tours
Currently, there is no extension available for this tour. If you want to spend more time before or after the main tour to look for certain species or enjoy other attractions, you are warmly welcome to share your ideas with us to tailor make a tour of your own style. Please send us an email to info@alpinebirding.com with your preferences, we will get back to you in a timely manner.
Reports
We don't have a report available for this tour at this stage, please feel free to email us, we are more than happy to answer any of your questions and share the latest bird information with you.
Testimonials
-
Dear Philip and Jiawei
Thank you very much for your email and hope that you got back safely to Chengdu yesterday. We got back home a couple of days ago, but work is already busy! I hope that you had a good time surveying future opportunities near Chongqing.We had a really great time with the three of you, and talking on the way home we rated the day hike at Zhuque (along with the Great Wall) as our best day in China. The birding was better than expected there, especially with Jiawei working extremely hard to lure species out with calls - his (and your) knowledge was fantastic and I owe you for about 10-20 species that I would not have found myself. The scenery was excellent, and also the food - this was the lasting memory of the trip we had with you. We also learnt so much about China and its culture, and are indebted to you for this. I think my bird highlights were the Rosefinches and Crested Ibis. I've yet to start editing my photographs.
One thing is for sure though, that I will be back in China for a real birdwatching holiday at some stage in the future. Especially with those direct flights to Chengdu.Many thanks once again for all of your hard work.Richard and Carol / Yangxian & Beijing April 16, 2013
