Jilin Province

Pallas’s Reed Bunting Emberiza pallasi ©Alister Benn Website
Birding Jilin

Jilin is a province of the People’s Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west. The name was transliterated to Kirin before standardisation to pinyin.The name ‘Jilin’ probably originates from Girin ula, a Manchu term meaning ‘along the river’; this was transcribed into Jilin wula in Chinese, then shortened to Jilin. The literal meaning of the Chinese characters for ‘Jilin is ‘auspicious forest’. The provincial capital of Jilin is Changchun.Jilin is highest in altitude in the southeast, and drops gently towards the northwest. The Changbai Mountains run through its southeastern regions, and contains the highest peak of the province, Baiyun Peak at 2691 m. Other mountain ranges include the Jilinhada Mountains, Zhang Guangcai Mountains, and Longgang Mountains.Jilin is drained by the Yalu and Tumen Rivers in the extreme southwest (which together form the border between the People’s Republic of China and North Korea), by tributaries of the Liao River along the southern border, and by the Songhua and Nen rivers, both eventually flowing into the Amur.Jilin has a northerly continental monsoon climate, with long, cold winters and short, warm summers. Average January temperatures range from -20 to -14°C. Rainfall averages at 350 to 1000 mm.

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Contributors
Number of Species
  • Number of bird species: 350

    (As at August 2018)
Organisations
  • Jian Bird Watching Society

    Information
    Activities of the Jian Bird Watching Society aim at promoting birdwatching and bird protection in the community. Through photos, videos and talks, primary and secondary school students care more about birds and understand the role of environmental indicator that the birds play. It is hoped that the activities can raise the public awareness on the protection of habitats and threatened bird species.
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • NNR Changbai Mountains

    InformationSatellite View
    The Reserve bears a great variety of wild animals and 1,225 known animal species, among which 43 species such as leopard, Siberian tiger, sika, sable, golden eagle, black bear, lynx, otter and goral are under the state protection…
  • NNR Momoge

    InformationSatellite View
    Momoge National Nature Reserve with swamps, uninhabited island, surging river, boundless grassland, inexhaustible food resources, and favourable temperature and humidity, covers an total area of 1440 square kilometres, which brings the caw of ducks, singing of wild geese and dancing of cranes. The preserve becomes a breeding place for birds and a transfer station of moving for water animals in the middle and west parts of Northeast China. In 1981, it was authorised to be Provincial Natural Preserve by the People's Government of Jilin Province. In 1997, it was approved as National Nature Reserve by the State Council.
  • NNR Xianghai

    InformationSatellite View
    Xianghai National Nature Reserve is now a national forest and wild animal nature reserve, it is an A-class wetland in the world, and a reservation to which the United Nations attaches great importance. It is a paradise of birds.…
Guides & Tour Operators
  • Alpine Birding

    Tour Operator
    Birding trips here are made for avid birders including yearly-run trips and new China birding trips developed by AlpineBirding team and guided by our bird experts in the best...
Trip Reports
  • 2013 [07 July] - Peter Collaerts

    Report PDF
    During our ride to the south, we had bad weather all the time. We did not stop on many places. On our ride back to the north, we stopped at the marshes near Madoi. Here we found Lesser Sand Plover and a couple of Black-necked Cranes…
Other Links
  • Birding in Jilin Province

    Webpage
    Located in the Songliao Plain northeast of China, Jilin Province covers 187400 square kilometers of land territory.

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