Birding info of Guangdong, China
Located in the south of China and north to the South China Sea, Guangdong Province covers 179,800 square kilometers. The north Guangdong is a mainly mountainous region which Nanling Ridge is most famous, the south is the Pearl River Delta, the east and west are mainly hills. The province has a long coastline that reaches to 4,300 kilometers.
Guangdong is abundant rainfall due to lying on East Asia Monsoon region, mainly experiences a subtropical climate, the southernmost is a tropical climate. Guangdong has 275 nature reserves and 369 forest parks, including mangrove forests, rivers, lakes, and other habitat types.
Guangdong is a paradise to birds with abundant bird resources. About 510 bird species have been recorded in the province, accounting 43.4% of the total in China. In 1988, the Silver Pheasant has been elected a provincial bird.
Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, which located in Pearl River Delta, has a history of 2,200 years, is one of the most developed cities of China.
Some Important Birding Sites in Guangdong
Xiangtoushan Nature Reserve
Located in Boluo Huizhou near the Tropic of Cancer, Xiangtoushan Nature Reserve covers 10,000 hectares. It was established in 1998 and granted the National Reserve status in 2002. The reserve aims to protect sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests and rare wildlife. With an 88.4% forest coverage, the reserve has a rich biodiversity, according to evaluation, there are 184 bird species have been recorded, of which 133 species are resident and 26 bird species are under national key protection. Such as White-necklaced Partridge, Silver Pheasant, Besra, Grey-chinned Minivet, Scarlet Minivet, White-bellied Erpornis, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Light-vented Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Chestnut Bulbul, Narcissus Flycatcher, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Fork-tailed Sunbird, etc.
Nanling Nature Reserve
Established in 1984 and upgraded to the national nature reserve in 1994, Nanling Ridge is the largest national nature reserve which covering 58,400 hectares. The reserve is lying in Shaoguan and Qingyuan north of Guangdong and has a 98% forest coverage, which is the source of Beijiang River—the branch of Pearl River. It is the distribution center of the sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forest where the boreal and austral creatures are mixed together. More than 300 bird species have been recorded in the reserve, of which Cabot's Tragopan is first-grade state protection birds and other 35 bird species are under second-grade state protection. Other birds like White-necklaced Partridge, Silver Pheasant, Greater Coucal, Lesser Coucal, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Dollarbird, Chinese Barbet, Crow-billed Drongo, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Pygmy Cupwing, Chestnut Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Sulphur-breasted Warbler, Mountain Tailorbird, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Golden Parrotbill, Grey-sided Scimitar-Babbler, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Small Niltava, etc.
Dinghushan Nature Reserve
Located in Zhaoqing and covering 1,140 hectares, Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve was China's first nature reserve which established in 1956 and was included in the Man and Biosphere Reserve Network by UNESCO in 1980. The reserve aims to protect the sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forest and rare wildlife which has a unique forest community and abundant species resources. According to investigation, there are 196 bird species in the reserve. Among them, 74% are Oriental species, 5.4% are Palaeoarctic species and 20.7% are cosmopolitan ones. The reserve is maintaining a high population density of Sliver Pheasant which reaches 41.2~44.2 per square kilometer. Some other birds like Chinese Francolin, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Asian Emerald Dove, Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo, White-breasted Waterhen, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Yellow Bittern, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Mountain Scops Owl, Great Barbet, Chinese Barbet, Speckled Piculet, White-browed Piculet, Bay Woodpecker, Rufous Woodpecker, Grey-chinned Minivet, Scarlet Minivet, Grey Treepie, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Light-vented Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Chestnut Bulbul, Indochinese Yuhina, Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, Rufous-capped Babbler, Huet's Fulvetta, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Orange-bellied Leafbird, etc.
Shenzhen Bay Park
The park occupies a 13 kilometers long stretch of reclaimed land along the southern coast of Shenzhen on the north shore of Shenzhen Bay (Deep Bay), starting west near Shenzhen Bay Bridge at Wanghai road and ending at the Hongshulin Nature Reserve. It spans much of the coastline of Nanshan and Futian districts. The park is divided into two sections, namely Shenzhen Bay Coastal Recreation Zone at its South West side and Hongshulin Coastal Ecological Park at its Eastern side. The latter is situated within the Hongshulin Nature Reserve, a habitat of numerous endangered bird species and is also known for its mangrove. Such as Black-faced Spoonbill, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Plaintive Cuckoo, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, Intermediate Egret, Osprey, White-throated Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Azure-winged Magpie, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Light-vented Bulbul, Black-collared Starling, etc.
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