Jiangsu Province

Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing; a city of over 10 million. Jiangsu is the third smallest covering 102,600 km² (39,600 square miles), but the fifth most populous province, with a population of c. 85 million it is the most densely populated in the People’s Republic of China. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze flows through the southern part of the province.

Jiangsu is flat, with plains covering 68 percent of its total area (water covers another 18 percent). Most of the province stands not more than 160 feet above sea level. It also has a well-developed irrigation system, which earned it (especially the southern half) the subrique of ‘land of water’. The southern city of Suzhou has so many canals that it has been dubbed the ‘of the Orient’. The Grand Canal of China cuts through Jiangsu from north to south, crossing all the east–west river systems.

Jiangsu Marshland – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Jiangsu also borders the Yellow Sea. The Yangtze River, the longest river of China, cuts through the province in the south and reaches the East China Sea, which divides the region into two parts: a more urban, prosperous south and much poorer, rural north, and these two parts has a tense division. Mount Huaguo, near the city of Lianyungang, is the highest point in Jiangsu, at an altitude of 2,051 feet. There are several large lakes in the province including Lake Tai (the largest), Lake Hongze, Lake Gaoyou, Lake Luoma, and Lake Yangcheng.

Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing – ©Celtics2020 via Wikimedia Commons

Most of Jiangsu has a humid subtropical climate, beginning to transition into a humid continental climate in the far north. Seasonal changes are clear-cut, with temperatures at an average of −1 to 4 °C in January and 26 to 29 °C in July. Rain falls frequently between spring and summer and typhoons with rainstorms occur in late summer and early autumn. As with the rest of the coast, tornados are possible. The annual average rainfall is 31 to 47 inches, concentrated mostly in summer during the southeast monsoon.

Birding Jiangsu

There are numerous rivers and lakes in Jiangsu Province including Taihu and Hongze Lakes which are the two of the largest freshwater lakes in China. And the long coastline with broad mudflats endowed attracts vast numbers of water birds, especially during migration times. There are several Natural Reserves in Yancheng city, which mainly aim to protect endangered Red-crowned Crane. More than 450 species of birds have been recorded in Jiangsu Province with numerous waders and raptors as well as such goodies as: Chinese Grey Shrike, Azure-winged Magpie, Reed & Vinous-throated Parrotbill, & Rustic Bunting, etc.

Nanjing, as the capital city of Jiangsu province, lies across the Changjiang River, making it an excellent strategic position. The Changjiang River is the distributional limit of many species of birds, both of winter visitors, summer migrants and even resident birds, thus making Nanjing a very good place to see birds of both north and south distribution, let alone those wider ranging species.

Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

The two main and most famous mountains in Nanjing are Purple Mountain and Laoshan Mountain. Purple Mountain is to the east of the city and has more than 130 species of birds recorded so far. Laoshan Mountain, located to the west of the city, runs from northeast to southwest across Jiangpu district and covers an area of around 6 million square kilometres. Over 150 species of birds have been recorded in the Laoshan area, including the fabulous Fairy Pitta, Black Bulbul, Blue Whistling Thrush, Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Black Baza, etc. Also, there are a great number of small hills and lakes, providing a suitable environment for many different birds including Brown-rumped Minivet, Black-naped Oriole, Hair-crested Drongo, Tiger Shrike, Grey Treepie, Azure-winged Magpie, Yellow-bellied Tit, Collared Finchbill, Light-vented Bulbul, Silver-throated Tit, Black-throated Tit, Chinese Blackbird, Russet Sparrow, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, etc.

South Mountain Bamboo Sea – ©风之清扬 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Because ornithology and birdwatching in Nanjing is such a recent phenomenon, only around 320 species of birds have been recorded, including such gems as Brown Hawk Owl, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Long-toed Stint, Long-billed Plover, Black Baza, Northern Goshawk, Imperial Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Chinese Egret, Black Bittern, Fairy Pitta, Trogons, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Black Bulbul, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Common Rosefinch, etc. But along with the rapid growth of birdwatching as a pastime, the number of birds recorded has increased quickly in the last few years.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Dafeng Nature Reserve is located in Dafeng county east of Jiangsu facing the Yellow Sea. It is a wetland of international importance. It aims to protect David’s Deer and its habitat. The reserve is rich biodiversity which has recorded 315 bird species including many protection species. Target species include: Grey-headed Lapwing, Lesser Sand Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Great Knot, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Saunders’s Gull, White-winged Black Tern, Black-faced Spoonbill, Azure-winged Magpie, Reed Parrotbill, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Black-faced Bunting, etc.