Birding in Hangzhou City
With a total population of 8.7million, Hangzhou is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province and core city of the Yangtze River Delta. The city proper is built around the eastern and northern sides of West Lake, which was just selected as world natural heritage site in 2011 by UNESCO. Hangzhou enjoys humid subtropical climate with four distinctive seasons, characterised by long, very hot, humid summers and short, chilly, cloudy and dry winters. The temperate climate, fertile soil, plenty of rainfall has made Hangzhou a rich place in Chinese history since ancient times.
Being famed as the Paradise under Heaven, Hangzhou is always regarded as one of the best places for living for its mild climate, beautiful environments, and delicious food. The rich water resources around this city such as western lake, Qiantang River and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the wetlands nearby also made this city ideal habitats for birds
Some Important Birding Sites in Hangzhou
West Lake
In June 2011, West Lake was enlisted as World Cultural Heritage. Around West Lake, there are lots of natural and made scenic sites. The broad lake surface provides good living environment for lots of water birds. Such as Mandarin Duck, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Goosander, Common Moorhen, Herring Gull, Great Cormorant, Striated Heron, Chinese Pond Heron, etc. Other birds like Speckled Piculet, Yellow-bellied Tit, Collared Finchbill, Light-vented Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Chestnut Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Grey-headed Parrotbill, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, White's Thrush, Grey-backed Thrush, Eurasian Siskin, etc.
Hangzhou Botanical Garden
Covering over 230 hectares, Hanzhou Botanical Garden is located on a hill in the northwest of West Lake with more than 3000 plant species. The lush vegetation here makes it the best birding place in Hangzhou for various forest birds such as Red-billed Blue Magpie, Black Bulbul, Light-vented Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Chestnut Bulbul, Crested Goshawk, Asian Barred Owlet, Great Barbet, Dollarbird, Speckled Piculet, Grey-chinned Minivet, Brown-rumped Minivet, Grey Treepie, Yellow-bellied Tit, Collared Finchbill, Grey-headed Parrotbill, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Rufous-capped Babbler, Huet's Fulvetta, Red-billed Leiothrix, Grey-backed Thrush, Pale Thrush, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Eurasian Siskin, Yellow-throated Bunting, Tristram's Bunting, etc.
Hangzhou Xixi Wetlands
Located about 5km from West Lake, Xixi National Wetland Park is quieter and more original. It is another excellent place for birding with special birding areas where we can see lots of water birds and forest birds such as Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Lesser Coucal, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, White-breasted Waterhen, Black Bittern, Chinese Pond Heron, Striated Heron, Pied Kingfisher, Dollarbird, Speckled Piculet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Black-naped Oriole, Amur Paradise-Flycatcher, Black Bulbul, Silver-throated Tit, Black-throated Tit, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Masked Laughingthrush, Grey-backed Thrush, Black-faced Bunting, Yellow-browed Bunting, etc.
Last one: Birding in Guangzhou City
Next one: Birding in Chengdu City
