Birding Travel Tips and Birding Places in Dali

Dali, not only has Cangshan and Erhai Lake, but also has rich natural resources. The natural gene pool of biological diversity is composed of various vegetation types and wild animals and plants, as well as numerous wetlands such as lakes, seas, ponds and reservoirs. No matter what season you come to Dali, there are places to play and see.

If you are used to the scenery, you may as well go to Dali again, look at the wetlands on the plateau, and see all kinds of birds on the plateau, such as Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, green peacocks,Tundra Swan, Greylag Goose, Purple Swamp-hen, and Black-headed Gull … Since Dali has continuously improved its ecological environment and restored wetlands on a large scale, more and more birds have chosen Dali, which has become a “paradise for birds.” In Cangshan Mountain, Erhai Lake, Lantau Peak,  birds are everywhere in beautiful form.

Places to Enjoy Birds in Dali 

Dali Xiaoputuo: Black-headed Gull

Since October 2010, gulls have gathered in large numbers around Erhai Lake, of which Small Putuo, a famous scenic spot, is a large gathering place. Small Putuo is an island in front of Hai Yin Village in the east of Erhai Lake. It is surrounded by the sea and is a pearl in Erhai Lake. Every winter, many seagulls fly here. The arrival of seagulls adds a lot of life to Small Putuo.

It is understood that seagulls are distributed in most areas of Yunnan. Seagulls in Dali will arrive in Erhai Lake in mid-November each year and they will leave in March and April the following year. Only a few hundred seagulls flew to Erhai Lake in early November, with the largest number from the end of December to January. Nearly 10,000 seagulls flew on the sea surface in a spectacular way. 90% of the seagulls flying to Erhai Lake are red-billed gulls, mostly from Siberia. The number of seagulls increases year by year every year. 

Weishan Mountain: Night Heron, green peafowl

In the early winter of each year, nearly 100 night herons nest and settle down in the ancient city of Weishan Mountain.Every morning, night herons sometimes fly and dance, sometimes spread their wings and sing, forming a vivid picture of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, adding infinite vitality to the tranquil ancient town.Night heron is a kind of medium-sized heron with a black mouth, a large head and a short neck and a habit of sleeping in the daytime and coming out at night.

Located in the eastern part of Weishan Mountain Long Qing  Pass in Yi and Hui Autonomous County, which is also known as Bird Road Xiongguan. It’s  an important passage for international migratory birds and a must-pass for the Tea-Horse Caravan Road.

In mid-autumn every year, thousands of migratory birds migrate from high latitudes to low latitudes. They use the sun as their navigation mark during the day and the moon and stars as their guide at night. They use mountain landform and geomagnetism to determine their flight routes and fly to South Asia, Southeast Asia and ocean islands to avoid the cold winter in the north. Catch up with the rainy night, the mountain pass was shrouded in thick fog, which covered the moon and stars. Migratory birds flying at night had to stay lost. Under the dark night, they collided and chirped with each other, forming the famous spectacle of “Hundreds birds worshipping the phoenix”.

Phoenix Mountain in Nanjian: Brown Shrike

Phoenix Mountain is one of the important passages for migratory birds in our country. Every autumn and winter, millions of migratory birds fly from the far northern hemisphere and then fly to the southern hemisphere. Especially around the Mid-Autumn Festival, tens of thousands of migratory birds fly together, forming a spectacular “bird tide” with a width of more than 1,000 meters and a length of tens of kilometers. They are in small groups or in pairs, sneaking across Phoenix Mountain at night, demonstrating the same law for thousands of years-migration.

Since 1999, in order to protect migratory birds and study the migratory laws of migratory birds, Nanjian County has established a bird ring monitoring station in Fenghuang Mountain and carried out bird ring work. In the past 16 years, 56,625 migratory birds have been released from the ring, belonging to 239 species in 30 families and 14 orders. Among them, there are 15 species of birds under the second-class national protection. There are 4 species of birds with important economic and scientific value in Yunnan. Three new records were recorded in Yunnan Province. It is difficult to find rare or rare species in daytime. On September 13, 2001, a Brown Shrike released by the Phoenix Mountain Ring Bird was recovered in India for 49 days. This is the only ring bird recovered so far in Dali Prefecture and has become the star bird in Dali Prefecture.

Heqing Caohai: Purple Water Chicken

Caohai wetland in Heqing county is located 4 kilometers north of Heqing county town. the south China sea, the middle sea and the north sea are the core areas of Caohai wetland protection. the maximum water depth is 2.6 meters, the average water depth is 1.6 meters, the water surface elevation is 2,193.2 meters, and the annual storage water volume reaches 3 million cubic meters. it was listed as a state nature reserve in 2001. it is a typical plateau freshwater wetland and an important waterfowl wintering place in Yunnan province. bone-crested chickens, small chickens, egrets, red ducks and purple chickens are all frequent visitors to Caohai.

Since 2000, Heqing County has continuously increased the protection and management of Caohai wetland, investing 114 million yuan. It has successively implemented projects such as returning farmland to ponds, fishing and wetland, dredging, and comprehensive management. It has established a long-term mechanism for the protection and construction of Caohai wetland, and has continuously promoted the protection and construction of Caohai wetland. Caohai wetland has become a “paradise for migratory birds” and a “paradise for birds”.

After 15 years of continuous management, the water quality of Caohai wetland has gradually increased from the original Class IV to Class III, with some areas reaching Class II. Biodiversity of Caohai wetland has been gradually restored, with plant species restored to 51 species in 42 genera and 30 families. Birds inhabiting or overwintering in Caohai reach 13 orders, 27 families, 56 genera and 130 species. Nearly 20,000 birds, including more than 500 “the world’s most beautiful waterbird” Zishui chicken, are the largest Zishui chicken population in China at present, and the national second-class protected animal Little Swan has also appeared in Heqing Caohai wetland for the first time. This year, there are more migratory birds in Caohai wetland than in previous years. Phoenix-headed diving ducks, red-billed diving ducks and needle-tailed ducks are all new guests in Caohai this year.

Heqing Caohai: Purple Swamp-hen

  Caohai wetland in Heqing county is located 4 kilometers north of Heqing county town, with the maximum water depth of 2.6 meters, the average water depth of 1.6 meters, the water surface elevation of 2193.2 meters, and the annual inflow of 3 million cubic meters. it was listed as a state-level nature reserve in 2001. it is a typical plateau freshwater wetland and an important waterfowl wintering place in Yunnan province.Eurasian Coot, egrets,Ruddy Shelduck and Purple Swamp-hen are all frequent visitors to Caohai.

Since 2000, Heqing County has continuously increased the protection and management of Caohai wetland, investing 114 million yuan. It has successively implemented projects such as returning farmland to ponds, fishing and wetland, dredging, and comprehensive management. It has established a long-term mechanism for the protection and construction of Caohai wetland, and has continuously promoted the protection and construction of Caohai wetland. Caohai wetland has become a “paradise for migratory birds” and a “paradise for birds”.

After 15 years of continuous management, the water quality of Caohai wetland has gradually increased from the original Class IV to Class III, with some areas reaching Class II. Biodiversity of Caohai wetland has been gradually restored, with plant species restored to 51 species in 42 genera and 30 families. Birds inhabiting or overwintering in Caohai reach 13 orders, 27 families, 56 genera and 130 species. Nearly 20,000 birds, including more than 500 “the world’s most beautiful waterbird” Zishui chicken, are the largest Zishui chicken population in China at present, and the national second-class protected animal Little Swan has also appeared in Heqing Caohai wetland for the first time. This year, there are more migratory birds in Caohai wetland than in previous years. Phoenix-headed diving ducks, red-billed diving ducks and needle-tailed ducks are all new guests in Caohai this year.ohai this year.

Jianhu in Jianchuan ：Common Moorhen and Ruddy Shelduck

Since the beginning of winter, Jianchuan County’s Jianhu Lake has welcomed groups of migratory birds such as Common Moorhen, Purple Swamp-hen and Ruddy Shelduck to feed and roost here. The fishermen of Jianhu Lake live in harmony with all kinds of migratory birds in the waters of Jianhu Lake, forming a beautiful and harmonious ecological picture scroll.
Jianhu Lake is located on the passage of migratory birds in western China. It is not only the gathering point and resting place for migratory birds during their migration and transit, but also the wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl. Not only that, Jianhu wetland is a plateau freshwater lake with high species richness, complete life styles and obvious diversity, and is known as a “gas station” for migratory birds.

Midu: Besra

Midu County is rich in bird resources, with 64 species of birds belonging to 50 genera and 22 families of 7 orders living here. Among them are Besra, Kestrel, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant and other national key protected wild animals. Midu Xishan area is an important passage for migratory birds. With the arrival of winter, egrets fleeing the cold and overwintering find food, inhabit and dance in many wetlands such as Pingbahai, Touyi and Zhangguanying villages in Midu County. The sight of “a line of egrets ascending to the sky” can be seen everywhere.
In recent years, Midu County has carried out seven special environmental protection actions, including environmental law enforcement action, environmental governance action, environmental sunshine action, ecological protection action, green creation action, green communication action and energy conservation and consumption reduction action, to crack down on the destruction of wintering migratory bird habitats and wetland environment, protect the ecological environment and promote harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature. Up to now, three state-level nature reserves have been built, covering an area of 445,100 mu, accounting for 19.4% of the county’s land area, 58 state-level ecological villages and 2 provincial-level ecological villages and towns.