Guizhou Province
There is a traditional saying in China: “In Guizhou you will never see three consecutive days of sunshine, three taels of silver, or three mou of flat land !” This traditional Chinese saying does the province a disservice. Lying on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwestern part of China, Guizhou Province covers c.176,000 km2 with a population approaching 40 million people. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the south, Yunnan to the west, Sichuan to the northwest, the municipality of Chongqing to the north, and Hunan to the east. The capital city of Guizhou is Guiyang with a metropolitan population of six million inhabitants, which has a 700-year history. Zunyi is even larger with 6.6 million as does Bijie. Anshun, Liupanshui and Tongren also each have several million people and Xingyi has a million.
Guizhou Plateau is predominantly mountainous, and its topography can be generally divided into three basic types: plateau mountains, hills, and basins, but well over 90% of the province is mountains and hills. The province boasts karst landforms, mountains, abundant rainfall, a rich flora and fauna and a colourful ethnic minority culture. Demographically Guizhou province is one of the most diverse provinces in China with 15 ethnic minority groups, accounting for over 37% of its 40 million people. In terms of topography, Guizhou is famous for mountains and hilly areas, which account for over 90% of the province. Its abundant rainfall has contributed to rich water resources in this province with no less than 984 rivers, 74 natural lakes and 40 reservoirs of different sizes.
Guijiahu Reservoir – Huangdan2060 CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The climate in Guizhou is a subtropical, humid monsoon climate. here are few seasonal changes. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10 to 20°C, with January temperatures ranging from 1 to 10°C and July temperatures ranging from 17 to 28°C. with annual rainfall ranging from 1000 mm to 1400 mm; the frost-free period lasts between 250 to 300 days. There is no severe cold in winter and no extreme heat in summer, with the coldest month of January averaging 4-6 degrees Celsius, and the hottest month of July averaging 15-23 degrees Celsius.
Birding Guizhou
The border mountains of Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan have been identified as one of the eight plant diversity hotspots in China. The humid sub-tropical climate and different landforms have endowed this province with rich nature resources and a wide range of vegetation types ranging from aquatic, broadleaf, mixed, conifer, to montane scrub and grassland.
They serve as ideal habitats for the more than 600 bird species recorded in the province including Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis and large number of rare animals including Grey Snub-nosed Golden Monkey Rhinopithecus brelichi and Francois’s Leaf Monkey Rachypithecus francoisi. Zoogeographically, Guizhou belongs to the Oriental zone, and the bird species in Guizhou account for two thirds of the total bird species in the whole of Oriental zone.
Guizhou Plateau – ©Filipe Fortes CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Caohai Lake National Nature Reserve & IBA with its surroundings is a wetland that is an important overwintering site for many birds. It is named ‘Grass Lake’ (or Sea of Grass) because of the vast water surface of the lake and lush grass at the bottom of the lake. The lake is a marvellous habitat for over 200 bird species. Caohai Nature Reserve was established to protect Black-necked Crane as over 400 over-winter from November thru March, and the ecosystem of plateau wetlands and was upgraded to national-level reserve. The hedgerows around villages at the edge of of Caohai are a place for Black-headed Greenfinch, Daurian Redstart, Brown-breasted Bulbul, Chinese Babax, and White-browed Laughingthrush. In an area with few mature trees, Grey-headed Woodpeckers will search for grubs under the eaves of traditional houses. There are also good numbers of Bar-headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Falcated Duck, Ferruginous Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Red-crested Pochard, and other wintering ducks.
Other top locations include Fanjingshan Nature Reserve, which has recorded around 195 bird species including some really special species such as Temminck’s Tragopan, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Indochinese Yuhina, Chinese Babax, Elliot’s Laughingthrush, Rufous Sibia, Chinese Blackbird, etc.
The heavily forested Maolan Nature Reserve, which has recorded about 205 bird species including some rare species such as Orange-bellied leafbird, Fairy Pitta, Silver Oriole, Elliot’s Pheasant, etc. Xishui Nature Reserve is the largest nature reserve in Guizhou Province, with around 150 bird species including Reeve’s Pheasant, Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Yellow-bellowed Tit, etc.
This page is sponsored by Alpine Birding
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Caohai Nature Reserve
InformationSatellite ViewCaohai Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Guizhou, is located in the west of Weining County, with an area of 12,000 hectares. It is named 'Grass Lake' (or Sea of Grass) because of the vast water surface of the lake and lush grass at the bottom of the lake. The lake is a marvelous habitat for over 200 bird species. Caohai Nature Reserve was established in 1985 to protect Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis as over 400 over-winter from November thru March, and the ecosystem of plateau wetlands and was upgraded to national-level reserve in 1992. The hedgerows around villages at the edge of of Caohai are a place for Daurian Redstart, Brown-breasted Bulbul and White-browed Laughingthrushes. In an area with few mature trees, Grey-headed Woodpeckers will search for grubs under the eaves of traditional houses. There are also good numbers of Bar-headed Geese, Red-crested Pochard and other wintering ducks. -
Fanjingshan Nature Reserve
InformationSatellite ViewLocated in northeastern Guizhou Province and covering nearly 42,000 hectares, Fanjingshan Nature Reserve was established in 1978, and granted National Reserve status in 1986. The reserve has recorded 195 bird species, from 39 families in 16 orders. The reserve boasts abundant passerines with 129 species of 19 families. Guizhou’s highest peak, Fanjing Shan (2,570m) is a site for Temminck’s Tragopan for those hardy enough to climb the 6,000 stone steps to the summit. At the top one may also see Blue-fronted Redstart and Elliot’s Laughingthrushes close to the eastern end of their ranges. -
Maolan Nature Reserve
InformationSatellite ViewTo the southeast of Libo County, Maolan National Nature Reserve covers an area of 20,000 hectares, over 90% of which is forested. The reserve was established in 1985 and upgraded to National Level Reserve in 1988. The reserve has recorded over 200 bird species, of which more than 125 are passerines. Endangered species in this reserve include Orange-bellied leafbird Chloropsis hardwickii, Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha, Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus and Elliot's Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti. -
Xishui Nature Reserve
InformationSatellite ViewSituated in Xishui County in northern Guizhou and covering nearly 50,000 hectares, Xishui Nature Reserve was established in 1992 and upgraded into National Level Reserve in 1997. It is the largest nature reserve in Guizhou Province. According to a study in 2005, there are around 150 bird species in the reserve. Among which are over 90 resident species and around 30 breeding summer visitors. An endangered bird species on the reserve is Reeve’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii andit also holds two Chinese endemics, Chinese Bamboo Partridge Bambusicola thoracicaand Yellow-bellowed tit Parus venustulus.
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John & Jemi Holmes
Hong Kong | johnjemi@gmail.com
https://johnjemi.blogspot.com/ -
Philip He
Sichuan Province
http://www.alpinebirding.com/
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Number of bird species: 635
(As at June 2024)
Number of endemics: 1 Breeding endemic
Chinese Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus yunnanensis
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Avibase
PDF ChecklistThis checklist includes all bird species found in Guizhou , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them. -
eBird
PDF Checklist437 species (+42 other taxa) - Year-round, All years
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BR NNR Maolan
WebpageSatellite ViewMaolan Biosphere Reserve is situated in the Guizhou Province in south-east China. This dense primitive forest is also an ideal home for wildlife such as rhesus monkeys, musk deer, South China tigers, various amphibians, reptiles, silver pheasant and insects, which are all under the state protection… -
NNR Fanjing Mountain
InformationSatellite ViewFanjing Mountain provides an ideal habitation area for rare birds and animals. 304 species of vertebrate were identified here in the Reserve, including 57 species of animals, 173 species of birds, 34 species of amphibians and 40 species of reptiles… -
NNR Fanjing Shan
WebpageSatellite ViewMt. Fanjingshan is believed to include the best preserved virgin forest of any area at this latitude on earth… -
NR IBA Xishui
InformationSatellite ViewLocated in Xishui County, northern Guizhou. It is the largest nature reserve in Guizhou. Located between the northern slope of the Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, the IBA has broadleaf evergreen forest, coniferous forest, mixed forest, secondary scrub and montane grassland. -
NR NR Cao Hai
InformationSatellite ViewThe Caohai lake is the largest fresh water karst lake in Northwest Guizhou, rectangular shaped, it occupies an area of 200 sq km with vast-stretching wetland full of waterweeds and grass. Rich aquatic plants and mild weather provide birds with an excellent habitat. The black-neck crane, the sole surviver of the world's plateau fowls, usually comes to the Caohai lake for winter after it breeds in Qinghai Lake…
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Yunnan Exploration
Tour Operator9 Days Yunnan-Guizhou Winter Birding Tour with Dianchi Lake, Caohai Lake, Nianhu Lake and Dashanbao Nature Reserve
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2015 [04 April] - HKBWS
ReportJust visited 2 national nature reserves at Kuankuoshui 寬闊水 & Fanjingshan 梵淨山 at Guizhou in a week's birding trip.