Birding info of Heilongjiang, China
Located in the most northeast part of China, Heilongjiang Province covers 450,000 square kilometers of land territory featuring many different landforms such as mountains, terraces, plains, and water areas. And near half of the province's territory is covered by forest. There are about 434 million hectares of wetlands from rivers, lakes, marshes and reservoirs. They provide abundant habitats for different bird species.
Heilongjiang is situated on the far north of the bird migration flyway and has abundant bird resources because many migratory birds prefer to breed in the northern part of the distributed regions. By now, more than 364 bird species and subspecies have been recorded. They belong to 61 families under 19 orders.
The birds in Heilongjiang has two significant features: First, there are more non-Passeriformes bird species than Passeriformes bird species with196 non-Passeriformes bird species to 135 Passeriformes species. Second, there are many more migratory birds than resident birds. Among the 268 species of migratory birds, 204 are summer visitors.
Heilongjiang experiences a cold temperate- Temperate humid and semi-humid monsoon climate, the winter is extremely cold and long. The capital of Heilongjiang Province is Harbin.
Some Important Birding Sites in Heilongjiang
Zhalong Wetland Reserve
Established in 1979 and listed in Ramsar Wetlands of International Important in 1992, Zhalong Wetland Reserve is located in Songnen Plain west of Heilongjiang. This marsh reserve serves as a stopover and nesting area for a large number of storks, swans, herons, grebes, and other species. Lying on a migration path stretching from the Russian Arctic around the Gobi desert to South East Asia the land under this preserve is used by migrating birds between April and October. Its ponds and reeds make it an ideal home for 248 species of birds especially for cranes. There are 6 species of cranes inhabit here during breeding season accounting 40% of the total crane species in the world. Such as White-naped Crane, Red-crowned Crane, Swan Goose, Falcated Duck, Smew, Common Goldeneye, Rough-legged Buzzard, Japanese Scops Owl, Chinese Grey Shrike, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Pallas's Rosefinch, Common Redpoll, Meadow Bunting, Lapland Bunting, Rustic Bunting, etc.
Sanjiang Nature Reserve
Located in Fuyuan and Tongjiang County, The Sanjiang Nature Reserve covers an area of 198,000 hectares. The reserve is a low lying alluvial floodplain with ponding water on its surface all the year round and an average elevation of 50 meters. It was set up in 1994 and upgraded the national nature reserve in 2000. The reserve was included in the List of Ramsar Wetlands of International Important in 2002. Vast intrazonal marsh is formed with well maintained vegetation and abundant aquatic species, providing a good habitat for birds. There are 231 bird species under 40 families that have been recorded in the reserve. The endangered bird species in the reserve include Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) and Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus). Other birds like White-backed Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Eyebrowed Thrush, Pale Thrush, Yellow-throated Bunting, Chestnut Bunting, etc.
Mudanfeng Nature Reserve
Established in 1981, Mudanfeng Nature Reserve is located in Laoyeling Ridge, Mudanjiang City. The reserve is the converging area of Changbai Ridge and Wanda Ridge. The vegetation here belongs to temperate mixed broadleaf-conifer forest. The reserve contains all the succession phases of the forest from damaging to recovering which provide various living environments to wild animals. The reserve has recorded 170 bird species, such as Hazel Grouse, Rufous Turtle Dove, Eastern Buzzard, Oriental Scops Owl, Pallas's Warbler, Radde's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Treecreeper, Black-faced Bunting, etc.
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