Birding in Shanghai & Rudong for Migratory and Resident Birds
Known as China's largest metropolis, Shanghai features a unique international charm that wins over many foreigners who come to China. At the same time, Shanghai is a very good birding site to look for spring and autumn migratory birds on the east coast including Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-faced Spoonbill, Baikal Teal, Northern Shoveler, Falcated Duck, Northern Pintail, etc. Additionally, we will visit Rudong which is considered as a relatively reliable site for Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann's Greenshank, as well as other specials. Depending on the seasons and the latest bird information, we may tune the itinerary to make sure the best use of your time.
Tour Info Sheet
| Highlight Birds | Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-faced Spoonbill, Baikal Teal, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Velvet Scoter, Black Scoter, Reed Parrotbill, Marsh Grassbird, Peregrine Falcon, Chinese Penduline Tit, Plain Prinia, Zitting Cisticola, Light-vented Bulbul, Brown-eared Bulbul, Dusky Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Two-barred Warbler, Manchurian Bush Warbler, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Pale Thrush, Eyebrowed Thrush, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Robin, Red-flanked Bluetail, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Tristram's Bunting, Meadow Bunting, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Pallas's Reed Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, etc. |
|---|---|
| Numbers of Species to Expect | 60-100 |
| Ease of Birding | mostly easy birding with a few tricky species |
| Photography Opportunities | birding focused but with very good photography chances |
| Habitats Covered | sub-tropical forests, wetlands, mudflats |
| Expected Climate | see details in the "pre-trip briefings" |
| Physical Requirements | mostly easy |
| Accommodation | very comfortable |
What makes this trip irreplaceable?
1. Looking for migratory birds of the east coast including the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann's Greenshank that migrate in spring and autumn.
2. A great diversity of waterfowls, waders, and eastern forest species.
3. Experienced guide with great knowledge about local birds and rich experiences of guiding travelers from different countries.
4. A short program with more flexibility. This trip can be customized to meet your needs and preferences better.
5. Years of working as a local partner for some prestigious western companies specialized in birds and wildlife.
6. A strong logistic team in the office to ensure our trip goes smoothly and every participant has a comfortable and memorable journey.
4. A short program with more flexibility. This trip can be customized to meet your needs and preferences better.
5. Years of working as a local partner for some prestigious western companies specialized in birds and wildlife.
6. A strong logistic team in the office to ensure our trip goes smoothly and every participant has a comfortable and memorable journey.
Dates & Prices
| Dates | Booking Status | Price | Single Supplement | Group Size | Guide | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Year Round | Space Available | 1,380USD/pax | 100USD/pax | Departure from 2 | Local Guide | Customizable |
Slide the sheet to the left to see the full sheet if you are viewing it on your phone or tablet.
The cost includes the following:
1. Private transportation throughout the trip, including pick-up and drop-off at the hotel or airport.
2. All meals from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 4.
3. All the entrance tickets for places listed in the itinerary including cable cars and shuttle buses.
4. Hotel stays from the first day to the last day, two clients occupy one twin-bed room on a sharing basis at nice 3 or 4-star hotels in big cities and local best guesthouses in remote areas.
5. Bottled water and snacks throughout the trip.
6. Simple western breakfast whenever possible.
7. Service charges of a professional and experienced bird guide throughout the whole trip.
8. China domestic travel insurance.
9. Service of all logistic supports.
The cost does not include the following:
a. Drinks during meals.
b. Extra charges due to changes in the itinerary from the client's side or factors beyond the control of AlpineBirding such as natural disasters or government policy changes.
c. Discretionary tips to guides and drivers.
d. All personal expenses such as laundry service.
e. ANY AIRFARE.
f. Any program not listed in the itinerary.
* Please be aware that the price is inapplicable during any Chinese official holidays including but not limited to Chinese New Year, Labour Day, National Day, etc. Please contact us to confirm the price if your trip date covers any Chinese holidays.
Itinerary
Tour Map
Day 1: Nanhui Dongtan & surrounds.
Meet your private bird guide and driver in Shanghai, either at your hotel or at the airport. Then we drive to Nanhui Dongtan. After a 6,300km journey from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Yangtze River runs into the estuary of the East China Sea near Shanghai. The abundant water resources from this river have nurtured vast wetlands and lush forest ecosystems while transforming the seacoast area into a breadbasket for many creatures. As a result of this, Shanghai is a vital stopover site for many migratory bird species on the long journey between East Asia and Australia. However, the mudflat is gradually receding under the pressure of urban expansion. Among the mudflat habitats left, Nanhui Dongtan is an ideal place for us to look for some residents and migratory shorebirds.
We will mainly focus on the mudflats and wetlands in search of Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-faced Spoonbill, Baikal Teal, Northern Shoveler, Falcated Duck, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Velvet Scoter, Black Scoter, Black-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Northern Lapwing, Dunlin, Herring Gull, etc. In addition, we can spend some time in the nearby forest where we have a good chance of encountering birds such as Reed Parrotbill, Marsh Grassbird, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Chinese Penduline Tit, Plain Prinia, Zitting Cisticola, Light-vented Bulbul, Brown-eared Bulbul, Dusky Warbler, Pallas's Warbler, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Pallas's Reed Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, etc. We will drive to our hotel nearby after the exploration.
Day 2: Nanhui Dongtan to Rudong.
This morning we will have another chance to search for our targets before completing a 4-hour drive to Rudong, another important birding site on the east coast.
Day 3: Rudong & surrounds.
We will spend a whole day in Rudong searching for birds either in the mudflats or in nearby forests. One of our most top targets here is the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Rudong is so far the most reliable site to try the sandpiper, but we do need patience as it mixes with millions of other wading birds. We will also look for other coast specials including Nordmann's Greenshank, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey-headed Lapwing, Kentish Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Terek Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Saunders's Gull, Black-tailed Gull, Chinese Pond Heron, etc.
Besides wading birds and waterfowls, we will also have time to explore the nearby "Magic Forest" in search of Reed Parrotbill, White-cheeked Starling, Japanese Thrush, Eyebrowed Thrush, Azure-winged Magpie, Chinese Penduline Tit, Zitting Cisticola, Yellow-browed Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Two-barred Warbler, Manchurian Bush Warbler, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Robin, Red-flanked Bluetail, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Tristram's Bunting, Meadow Bunting, etc.
Day 4: Rudong to Shanghai.
We will spend most of the day in Rudong to try our targets. In the afternoon, we will drive you back to Shanghai. This will conclude the services for this scheduled itinerary from AlpineBirding.
Gentle Reminder:
• The bird species listed in the itinerary are mainly found in spring and winter. We may tune the itinerary according to the seasons and the latest bird information.
• We are more than happy to provide other services you need to make your stay in Shanghai most enjoyable and comfortable, namely hotel booking services, the arrangement of your visit to other places, etc. Please feel free to specify any particular requests, our team prides itself on tailor-making tours for your wonderful memory!
Guide(s)
We will arrange one of our best local guides for this trip who has rich experience of guiding tours in this region. The followings are some of our professional guides who have guided tours in this area many times.
Bella Zhang
Bella, the director of AlpineBirding, graduated from Sichuan Agricultural University with a Bachelor's Degree. She joined AlpineBirding in early 2016 and became the director of AlpineBirding in 2018. She was born and grew up in a Bai ethnic family in Yunnan Province which boasts of the largest number of bird species in China. Her interests toward birds started with her observation of a Long-tailed Minivet in her mom's garden at a very young age. As she grows up, the interests and love toward birds become stronger and stronger. Because of that, she found AlpineBirding before graduation and joined the company for further learning of birds. Bella has guided a number of birding trips in cooperation with AlpineBirding guide in the past years, her passion, readiness to help and detail-oriented attitude have won her lots of praise from our clients.
Philip He
As a half Kangba Tibetan, Philip is the main founder of AlpineBirding and is a native of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. He has a deep love for his Kangba Tibetan heritage and the land where he was born and raised. Philip's career has gone from mining technician to a teacher, then a translator, and finally to a guide and tour operator. As a professional working in this field for more than 20 years, Philip believes travel is an art and a process of sharing and discovery. Each trip is a unique artistic work created with knowledge and expertise based on the resources available and the interests and tastes of travelers. To help more people to gain a lifetime birding and traveling experience, he established AlpineBirding with aims to bring his professional, fun-filled tours to more people who are eager to explore birds and other beautiful attractions in China.
Linked Tours
The east coast and forests in middle China are indispensable parts in the classic birding routes in eastern and middle China. If your time allows, you can join the classic spring or winter trips that cover more interesting birding sites and species.
Reports
We don't have a report available for this tour at this stage, please feel free to email us, we are more than happy to answer any of your questions and share the latest bird information with you.
Testimonials
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Winter Poyang lake plus Wuyuan birding
My wife and I were on family holidays in Hong Kong and we contacted AlpineBirding for a 5 day trip to the Poyang Lake and Wuyuan (Jianxi province) to see wintering birds on January 2019.
From start to finish all worked exceeding expectations. Bella is great at organising the logistics and responds emails very promptly, and the guides (Philipp and Shay) are very good, from birding to attending all our necessities with care. This includes visiting a very wide representation of local food which was amazing. Birding-wise, we spotted the poker of cranes (Siberian, White-napped, Hooded and common), Baer's pochard, scaly-breasted merganser and many other specialities. A very nice bonus observation was the Yangtzee finless porpoise. Some of the hotels in the Poyang area were basic and cold, but those places are really not touristic at all, so there were no better alternatives and we were properly warned about it.
We would definitively contact them again for birding in China.
Carla and Alex / East China (Poyang Lake & Wuyuan) January 16, 2019
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Excellent organisers for one-day targeted birding!
My friend and I do almost all of our birding independently on a budget, but sometimes it is necessary to hire a local guide for the trickier species with access issues, etc.
We recently contacted AlpineBirding hoping to hire a local guide in Wuyuan to drive us around for a day and find Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (amongst other local specialities), and were very happy with the professional service provided. We requested a non-English speaking guide to keep costs down, and AlpineBirding organised this for us, recommended a hotel, and we were picked up right on time and enjoyed an excellent day out finding all the birds we were looking for!
We also utilised an AlpineBirding guide to find Chinese Crested Tern in Fuzhou, which was of paramount importance due to the complex permit issues in China! I would use them again happily.
Joshua Bergmark / East China (Wuyuan) May 08, 2018
