Top 10 Birding Tour Places in Kunming

According to the Kunming Bird Association, in recent years, the increase in wetlands around Dianchi Lake and the growing awareness of bird protection have attracted more and more birds to nest and settle in Kunming. Over the past half century from 1963 to 2015, Kunming has added a total of 113 bird species, including 19 new records for Yunnan Province and 1 new national record. Additionally, in the years 2016 to 2017 alone, several new wild bird species were added in the surrounding areas of Kunming, including 4 new records for Yunnan.

Professor Wang Zijiang from Yunnan University's School of Life Sciences led a study conducted by bird experts in Kunming, summarizing and analyzing the types, quantities, and distribution of birds over the past half century. The study revealed that by the end of 2015, Kunming had documented 426 bird species, including extinct species and newly added ones. Before 1963, Kunming had 316 bird species, with an average of 125.3 birds visible per hour. Between 1963 and 2000, the number decreased to 270 species, losing 50 species but gaining 4, with an average of 51.1 birds visible per hour marking it as the period with the fewest bird species in Kunming in over 50 years.

From 2001 to 2013, Kunming recorded 374 bird species, losing 1 but adding 105 new species. The average number of birds visible per hour (excluding Black-headed Gull) reached a historical high of 94.3, indicating a gradual recovery in both species diversity and numbers. Between 2013 and 2015, Kunming saw an addition of 4 new bird species, bringing the total recorded species to 378.

Dianchi Lake in Kunming

Over the past half century in Kunming, 50 bird species have disappeared, while 113 new species have been added, including 19 new records for Yunnan Province and 1 new national record. The 19 new Yunnan provincial records include species as follows:

• 彩鹮 (Crested Ibis)
• 反嘴鹬 (Eurasian Curlew)
• 黑腹滨鹬 (Black-bellied Plover)
• 灰翅鸥 (Herring Gull)
• 灰喜鹊 (Azure-winged Magpie)
• 蒙古沙鸻 (Mongolian Plover)
• 三趾鸥 (Sanderling)
• 铁嘴沙鸻 (Kentish Plover)
• 长耳鸮 (Long-eared Owl)
• 中杓鹬 (Common Redshank)
• 翻石鹬 (Ruddy Turnstone)
• 斑尾塍鹬 (Spotted Redshank)
• 小滨鹬 (Little Stint)
• 白翅浮鸥 (Black-headed Gull)
• 红嘴巨燕鸥 (Caspian Tern)
• 黄腹鹨 (Yellow-bellied Prinia)
• 家麻雀 (House Sparrow)
• 大滨鹬 (Great Knot)
• 班胸滨鹬 (Curlew Sandpiper)

The national new record is the Spoon-billed Sandpiper钳嘴鹳. Many of these 19 new Yunnan records are waterfowl水禽, with several discovered in the Dianchi Lake wetlands.

In recent years, wild birds such as the Great Cormorant, Crested Ibis, and Eurasian Wigeon have made a comeback in Kunming!

Zhao Xuebing, Secretary-General of the Kunming Bird Watching Association, explains that with growing public awareness and the improvement of wetland environments around Dianchi Lake, from 2016 to 2017, various wild bird species have continued to increase in the outskirts of Kunming. Notable sightings include the Green Bee-eater, Indian Pond Heron, Terek Sandpiper, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, and Booted Eagle, among others. Four of these species, including the Indian Pond Heron, Terek Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, and Spoon-billed Sandpiper, are new records for Yunnan Province, predominantly active in the wetlands surrounding Dianchi Lake. The Green Bee-eater and Booted Eagle are classified as second-level protected national animals.

Furthermore, over the past two years, due to the ecological restoration and improvement of Dianchi Lake's environment, as well as years of active biodiversity conservation, favorable habitats and wintering environments have been created for birds. This has led to the reappearance of long-lost wild bird species such as the Eurasian Wigeon and Great Cormorant in the vicinity of Dianchi Lake. The Crested Ibis, a second-level protected national animal, has also been rediscovered at Dianchi Lake.

Dianchi Lake in Kunming

Data shows that over 140 bird species have been recorded in the vicinity of Dianchi Lake in recent years, including several new records for Yunnan Province, such as:

• 三趾鸥 (Sanderling)
• 灰翅鸥 (Herring Gull)
• 须浮鸥 (Black-headed Gull)
• 白翅浮鸥 (Black-headed Gull)
• 铁嘴沙鸻 (Kentish Plover)
• 蒙古沙鸻 (Mongolian Plover)
• 中杓鹬 (Common Redshank)
• 弯嘴滨鹬 (Curlew Sandpiper)
• 黑腹滨鹬 (Black-bellied Plover)
• 斑胸滨鹬 (Curlew Sandpiper)
• 小滨鹬 (Little Stint)
• 大滨鹬 (Great Knot)
• 翻石鹬 (Ruddy Turnstone)

According to local fishermen, there were still a few wild Great Cormorants active around Dianchi Lake in the 1980s, but sightings ceased thereafter. More than 30 years later, in January 2016, researchers from the Kunming Dianchi Lake Ecological Research Institute rediscovered three wild Great Cormorants in the Caohai area of Dianchi Lake. Currently, these wild Great Cormorants are rare, and as of 2013, they have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List version 3.1.

In mid-January this year, many photography enthusiasts from Yunnan captured a slightly larger, black wading bird in the wetlands of Jinning, Kunming. After identification, it was confirmed to be the national second-level protected animal, the Crested Ibis. Once considered extinct in China, the rediscovery of the Crested Ibis in the southern wetlands of Dianchi Lake indicates positive ecological improvements in the area.

On the evening of March 10th this year, during birdwatching in the wetlands of Dianchi Lake in Jinning District, Yunnan Bird Watching Association member Li Jiming discovered five distinctive ducks—the Eurasian Wigeon. While previously recorded at Dianchi Lake, this marks the first sighting in over 30 years in the outskirts of Kunming.

Dianchi Lake in Kunming

★Noun Explanation

Bird Loving Week

Since 1981, China has designated a week from late April to early May each year as "Bird Loving Week," advocating and calling on people to care for birds and protect the blue sky. This initiative aims to promote bird conservation across various sectors of society, especially among youth.

4 New Yunnan Record Bird Species Found in Kunming

• Indian Pond Heron (印度池鹭)
• Sanderling (三趾滨鹬)
• Spoon-billed Sandpiper (斑胸滨鹬)
• Bar-tailed Godwit (大滨鹬)

Top 10 Bird Watching Spots in Kunming

1. Dongdahe Wetland (东大河湿地) - Located on both sides of Dongdahe in Dunzi Village Committee, south of Dianchi Lake, this area boasts rich bird species diversity, especially numerous species of ducks. The Crested Ibis 彩鹮was observed here in February this year.
2. Fubao Wetland (福保湿地) - Unique ecological environment around Dianchi Lake with a variety and quantity of sandpipers. Species include the Greater Painted-snipe弯嘴滨鹬, Terek Sandpiper铁嘴沙鸻, and Watercock水雉.
3. Yongchang Wetland (永昌湿地)
   • 海鸥 - Seagull
   • 白鹭 - Egret
   • 青头潜鸭 - Common Pochard
   • 鸳鸯 - Mandarin Duck
4. Luchai Bay (芦柴湾) - Located on the southwest coast of Dianchi Lake, from Luchai Bay to Taishi Village, where a large number of Ruddy Shelducks gather for winter. They constitute the majority of the Dianchi Lake population.
5. Chenggong Wetland (呈贡湿地) - Located between Dounan and Wulong Village, this large area hosts a wide variety of bird species. Rare species around Dianchi Lake include Purple Swamphen紫水鸡, Greater Painted-snipe大麻鳽, and Black-faced Spoonbill钳嘴鹳.
6. Provincial Workers Sanatorium (省工人疗养院) -
   • 白鹡鸰 - White Wagtail
   • 鹊鸲 - Magpie-Robin
   • 黑喉石鵖 - Dark-throated Thrush
   • 小麻雀 - Eurasian Tree Sparrow
   • 喜鹊 - Magpie

    

7. Jindian Scenic Area (金殿名胜区) - Currently home to over 20 bird species including
   • 灰喜鹊 - Eurasian Jay
   • 猫头鹰 - Owl
   • 蜂鸟 - Hummingbird
   • 鹊鸲 - Magpie-Robin
   • 灰腹秀眼 - Gray-breasted Prinia
   • 红嘴蓝雀 - Red-billed Blue Magpie
   • 红嘴相思鸟 - Red-billed Leiothrix
   • 白腰纹鸟 - White-browed Laughingthrush
8. Heilongtan Park (黑龙潭公园) - Birds are most active at dawn here, with visitors able to see birds of various colors and hear melodious bird calls.
9. Kunming Zoo (昆明动物园) - Abundant bird species on the hill, including Eurasian Jay灰喜鹊, Collared Dove斑鸠, Yellow-cheeked Tit黄臀鹎, Red-billed Leiothrix红头长尾山雀, Red-billed Blue Magpie红嘴蓝鸟, and Oriental Skylark白鹡鸰.
10. Suburban Park (郊野公园) - Spot Dusky Fulvetta方尾鹟, Short-billed Minivet短嘴山椒鸟, Yellow-cheeked Tit黄臀鹎, and Asian Paradise Flycatcher红嘴相思鸟 here.