ISeeMostBirds
Member
0: introduction
Throughout my recently years I have mostly lived abroad and have spent very little time in my home country: China. While I’ve explored some regions, like Qinghai, Sichuan, and parts of the east, much of China’s avian landscape remains new and unexplored territory for me. I have birdied in many countries: Ecuador, Peru, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the U.S., where I have done the vast majority of my birding. Compared to these countries, China does not lack in avian diversity, beauty, and abundance; in facts, China ranks 9th in no. of species in the world, surpassing the U.S. in 10th by 214 species (according to eBird).
Despite the excellent bird list, there are reasons why China doesn’t often come to mind when discussing the world’s premier birdwatching destinations. What China lacks is infrastructure associated with birding. Birding-related information is rather limited, and eBird, the primary source for me to find species and hotspots, has a very small user base in China. Moreover, the birding hotspots are rather remote and difficult to access, especially without insider knowledge. Contact info for guiding services also requires extensive digging online. In general, (imo) it is almost impossible to bird without a guide in China without extensive knowledge of the region its birds. Luckily, I received contact informations of some guides throughout a friend and one of the best birder/bird guide in the country: Qin Huang (Sign in).
I was eager to make the most of this rather rare long period of time I have to spend in China. After contacting some guides in Guangxi and Yunnan province (I live in Guangdong), I found that while Yunnan’s birding season is best from early to mid-November, Guangxi’s birds were in season now. I chose Guangxi’s Nonggang Nature Reserve as my first destination, planning to gradually venture west into Yunnan afterward.
Nonggang is often crowned as one of China’s premier birding destination in the country. The area is situated right on Guangxi’s border with Vietnam, meaning that Nonggang not only hosts species typical of southern China, it’s also the northernmost range of some South East Asian species, and particularly those of the Indochina Peninsula.
P.S. Much of the birding I will describe in this series will involve food-baited bird hides. I’m aware of the complexity and controversy on this topic, so I will just briefly share my humble two cents.
Unlike developed western countries and countries with sophisticated ecotourism infrastructure, China is rather behind in its environmental conservation awareness. This means that most, especially those in rural areas, are unaware of the necessity to protect and preserve nature.
Nonggang, located in one of the poorest provinces, is a remote area where conservation was once an unfamiliar concept for local villagers. However, with the recent growth of birdwatching across China, Nonggang’s residents are discovering that their local birdlife has potential as a source of income. Many villagers have become bird guides, and some have even set up hides to accommodate visiting photographers. As bird hides and guiding services become increasingly profitable, locals are placing greater emphasis on conserving native bird species—essentially, their livelihood.
I understand that food-baiting could potentially pose risks to the wild birds, but banning these baiting hides all together would cause the locals to lose a lot of revenue, which would in turn significantly reduce the locals’ interest in conserving birds and bird habitats. Weighing the two scenarios, which would I rather? The answer to me is clear.
I believe places like Nonggang are a step forward for nature conservation and the development of ecotourism in China. I hope that one day China will (again) be covered by pristine nature and develop a top-tier ecotourism industry (like those of Ecuador, Peru, etc.) that both nationals and foreigners can enjoy and appreciate.
Alright, enough said, lets start birding.
Throughout my recently years I have mostly lived abroad and have spent very little time in my home country: China. While I’ve explored some regions, like Qinghai, Sichuan, and parts of the east, much of China’s avian landscape remains new and unexplored territory for me. I have birdied in many countries: Ecuador, Peru, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the U.S., where I have done the vast majority of my birding. Compared to these countries, China does not lack in avian diversity, beauty, and abundance; in facts, China ranks 9th in no. of species in the world, surpassing the U.S. in 10th by 214 species (according to eBird).
Despite the excellent bird list, there are reasons why China doesn’t often come to mind when discussing the world’s premier birdwatching destinations. What China lacks is infrastructure associated with birding. Birding-related information is rather limited, and eBird, the primary source for me to find species and hotspots, has a very small user base in China. Moreover, the birding hotspots are rather remote and difficult to access, especially without insider knowledge. Contact info for guiding services also requires extensive digging online. In general, (imo) it is almost impossible to bird without a guide in China without extensive knowledge of the region its birds. Luckily, I received contact informations of some guides throughout a friend and one of the best birder/bird guide in the country: Qin Huang (Sign in).
I was eager to make the most of this rather rare long period of time I have to spend in China. After contacting some guides in Guangxi and Yunnan province (I live in Guangdong), I found that while Yunnan’s birding season is best from early to mid-November, Guangxi’s birds were in season now. I chose Guangxi’s Nonggang Nature Reserve as my first destination, planning to gradually venture west into Yunnan afterward.
Nonggang is often crowned as one of China’s premier birding destination in the country. The area is situated right on Guangxi’s border with Vietnam, meaning that Nonggang not only hosts species typical of southern China, it’s also the northernmost range of some South East Asian species, and particularly those of the Indochina Peninsula.
P.S. Much of the birding I will describe in this series will involve food-baited bird hides. I’m aware of the complexity and controversy on this topic, so I will just briefly share my humble two cents.
Unlike developed western countries and countries with sophisticated ecotourism infrastructure, China is rather behind in its environmental conservation awareness. This means that most, especially those in rural areas, are unaware of the necessity to protect and preserve nature.
Nonggang, located in one of the poorest provinces, is a remote area where conservation was once an unfamiliar concept for local villagers. However, with the recent growth of birdwatching across China, Nonggang’s residents are discovering that their local birdlife has potential as a source of income. Many villagers have become bird guides, and some have even set up hides to accommodate visiting photographers. As bird hides and guiding services become increasingly profitable, locals are placing greater emphasis on conserving native bird species—essentially, their livelihood.
I understand that food-baiting could potentially pose risks to the wild birds, but banning these baiting hides all together would cause the locals to lose a lot of revenue, which would in turn significantly reduce the locals’ interest in conserving birds and bird habitats. Weighing the two scenarios, which would I rather? The answer to me is clear.
I believe places like Nonggang are a step forward for nature conservation and the development of ecotourism in China. I hope that one day China will (again) be covered by pristine nature and develop a top-tier ecotourism industry (like those of Ecuador, Peru, etc.) that both nationals and foreigners can enjoy and appreciate.
Alright, enough said, lets start birding.
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