Shanghai Municipality
Birding Shanghai
Strictly speaking Shanghai is not a province but a municipality. However, it has the same political status as a province. It is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China’s central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality with province-level status. Shanghai is also known by the nickname of the ‘Pearl of the Orient’.It sits on the Yangtze River Delta on China’s eastern coast, and is roughly equidistant from Beijing and Hong Kong. The municipality as a whole consists of a peninsula between the Yangtze and Hangzhou Bay, China’s second largest island Chongming, and a number of smaller islands. It is bordered on the north and west by Jiangsu Province, on the south by Zhejiang Province, and on the east by the East China Sea. The city proper is bisected by the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze. The historic centre of the city, the Puxi area, is located on the western side of the Huangpu, while a new financial district, Pudong, has developed on the eastern bank.The vast majority of Shanghai’s 6,218 km2 (2,401 sq mi) land area is flat, apart from a few hills in the southwest corner, with an average elevation of just 4m (13 ft). The city’s location on the flat alluvial plain has meant that new skyscrapers must be built with deep concrete piles to stop them sinking into the soft ground. The highest point is at the peak of Dajinshan Island at 103m (340 ft). The city has many rivers, canals, streams and lakes and is known for its rich water resources as part of the Taihu drainage area.Public awareness of the environment is growing, and the city is investing in a number of environmental protection projects. A 10-year, $1 billion cleanup of Suzhou Creek, which runs through the city centre, has been undertaken, and the government also provides incentives for transportation companies to invest in LPG buses and taxis. Air pollution in Shanghai is low compared to other Chinese cities such as Beijing, but the rapid development over the past decades means it is still high on worldwide standards, comparable to Los Angeles.Shanghai has a humid subtropical climate and experiences four distinct seasons. In winter, cold northerly winds from Siberia can cause nighttime temperatures to drop below freezing, and although not usually associated with snow, the city can receive one or two days of snowfall per year. In contrast, and in spite of being the peak tourist season, summer in Shanghai is very warm and humid, with occasional downpours or freak thunderstorms. The city is also susceptible to typhoons, none of which in recent years has caused considerable damage. The most pleasant seasons are Spring, although changeable, and Autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. Shanghai experiences on average 1,778 hours of sunshine per year, with the hottest temperature ever recorded at 40 °C (104 °F), and the lowest at −12 °C (10 °F).[29] The average number of rainy days is 112 per year, with the wettest month being June. The average frost-free period is 276 days.There are seawalls all along mainland Shanghai’s coastline. Large natural mudflats now can only be found around Chongming Island, mainly at Dongtan Nature Reserve, and in Jiuduansha Nature Reserve in the sea off Pudong Airport. These mudflats are under threat from the introduced plant Spartina alterniflora. There are no sandflats in the Shanghai area.
This page is sponsored by Alpine Birding
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Birding Sites around Shanghai
InformationThis page describes some of the major birding areas in the Shanghai region. On the map below, click on any of the markers for brief details about the location. More information about sites is presented below. Hyperlinks to locations take you to pages with even more details.
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Wikipedia
Information
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Number of bird species: 481
(As at April 2020)
- However, there are four 'breeding endemics': Swinhoe's Minivet Pericrocotus cantonensis
Manchurian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus tangorum
Sulphur-breasted Leaf Warbler Seicercus ricketti
Red-billed Starling Spodiopsar sericeus
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Birds of Nanhui Shanghai
| By Kai Pflug | Huayu Nature Book Trade Co.Ltd | 2018 | Paperback | 184 pages, 380 colour photos | Text Chinese & English | ISBN: 9787202126158 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
Chongming Dongtan Habitats for Birds
| By Shanghai Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve | Huayu Nature Book Trade Co.Ltd | 2009 | Paperback | 108 pages, colour photos | ISBN: 9787503854026 Buy this book from NHBS.com
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China Bird Festival 2017
WebpageThe 3rd China International Birding Festival took place around Laotieshan in Lushun District, Dalian, from 20-22 October 2017.
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Shanghai Birding
WebsiteWelcome to Shanghai Birding, a Web site dedicated to the study and celebration of the birds of Earth’s largest city. Amid the daily activity of 24.2 million people in China’s economic heart, and despite unremitting environmental pressure, a rich collection of birds exists here–445 species in the municipality alone. Parks in the urban center hold many species, but it is the areas along the East China Sea and mouth of the Yangtze River that show the most diversity, especially during migration season. Nearby coastal sites such as Yangkou in Jiangsu and mountainous areas in Zhejiang add to the birding richness of the Shanghai region. -
Wild Bird Society of Shanghai
Website[Site in Chinese] Wild Bird Society of Shanghai was founded voluntarily by a group of people who care about the protection of wild birds in 2005. It is an independent organization under the leadership of Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Association with 41 members. It is committed to conducting surveys and monitoring wild birds in Shanghai and the surrounding areas, saving wild birds and the promotion of bird-watching and the protection of habit
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IBA Cape Nanhui Marsh
InformationSatellite View...home of Reed Parrotbill and dozens of other species, and part of the large reed beds on the Dazhi River at Cape Nanhui. In the face of manic development, and in spite of being under no protection, Cape Nanhui conserves the best reed beds on the Shanghai Peninsula as well as mudflats critical to tens of thousands of migrating shorebirds. To save these treasures, Shanghai people must act now. -
NNR Chongming Dongtan
InformationSatellite ViewAn extensive area of fresh and salt water marshes, tidal creeks, and intertidal mudflats at the eastern end of Chongming Island, a lowlying alluvial island in the mouth of the Yangtze River, which supports farmland, fish and crab ponds, and extensive reedbeds. The site is a staging and wintering site for millions of birds… -
NR & IBA Jiuduansha
InformationSatellite ViewLocated on the eastern coast of Shanghai. The IBA is an estuary in the outmost part of the Yangtze, which includes four sandy islands and the adjacent water. There are no permanent human residents, only occasional visits by fishermen. The reserve aims to protect the estuarine ecosystem. The area is located in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, and large numbers of shorebirds occur on passage. It is also the major wintering area for ducks and geese in Shanghai.
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Alpine Birding
Tour OperatorBirding 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 -
Shanghai Birding
Tour OperatorWe take business travellers to the hot spots in and around Shanghai. -
Shanghai Birding Tour
Tour OperatorIn a two/three days' trip to some famous Nature Reserves, you can see Cabot's Tragopan, Elliot's Pheasant, Reeves's Pheasant, White-necklaced Partridge, Swan Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Scaly-sided Merganser, White-backed Woodpecker, Siberian Crane, White-naped Crane, Red-crowned Crane, Swinhoe's Crake, Chinese Crested Tern, Pied Falconet, Dalmatian Pelican, Oriental Stork, Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher, Fujian Niltava, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Yellow-browed Tit, Courtois's Laughingthrush, Rusty Laughingthrush, Short-tailed Parrotbill, Slaty Bunting… -
Summer Wong Bird Tours
Tour OperatorSummer Wong Bird Tours specialises in China birding tours of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, Tibet & Eastern China
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2016 [02 February] - Craig Brelsford
ReportShanghai-area Autumn & Winter Birding, 2015-16 By Craig Brelsford and Elaine Du -
2016 [05 May] - Devaram T
ReportXiaoYangshan, a small island located south of Shanghai in the Hangzhou bay is best known for the massive deep-water port. Even-though the island falls under the administration of Zhejiang province, the 32.5km long Donghai Bridge makes the accessibility easy from Shanghai. Besides the huge container port and economic development, XiaoYangshan is a hot place among Shanghai birders during the migration season. There are huge developments underway to expand the port but the island offers a variety of habitat for various passage migrants. -
2017 [12 December] - Oscar Campbell & Mark Siles
PDF ReportThis trip report details abirding and tourismvisit(in that order!) to Eastern China,travelling from Shanghai to Nanchang (Po Yang Lakearea) by car over the course of 14days and then flying back to Shanghai... -
2018 [05 May] - Dave Sargeant
Report...At Nanhui we spent three hours searching for two targets - the stunning Reed Parrotbill and Marsh Grassbird - although only the former found, on account of the cloudy, cool weather not at all conducive to singing grassbirds. Other species observed in passing: Black-tailed Gull, Grey-tailed Tattler, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Japanese Reed Bunting, Manchurian Bush Warbler and Chinese Egret. Generally rather quiet though...
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The Birds of Shanghai
WebsiteEvery birder in the Shanghai region should have three field guides: Birds of East Asia by Mark Brazil, A Field Guide to the Birds of China by John MacKinnon and Karen Phillipps, and the Collins Bird Guide by Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterström, and Killian Mullarney. If you do most of your birding around Shanghai and can have just one, then make it Brazil.
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Photographer - Kai Pflug
GalleryAs I am based in Shanghai, the section "Birds of Shanghai" has by far the largest number of photos. In particular, there are many photos taken at Nanhui, a coastal location at the southeast of Shanghai.