Birding in Chengdu City
With 16,581,000 inhabitants in total, Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China and one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centers in Western China. Based on the fertile Chengdu Plain, which is also known as the "Kingdom under the Heaven", Chengdu has been one of the most important cities in China since its official establishment in 316BC.
The humid weather conditions and constant efforts from the municipal governments to improve the environments have made the city one of the best for living in China.
The two rivers flowing through the city, numerous parks with trees, and beautiful campus of universities serve as the excellent habitats for both water birds and forest birds and attract them to settle down here. The beautiful environments, rich cultural sites, friendly people, and delicious food in Chengdu have made this city staying on the top list for travelers and birders as well around the world. There are lots of birding sites in Chengdu City and surrounding areas.
Some Important Birding Sites in Chengdu
Sichuan University Campus
The beautiful campus of Sichuan University is always an important place for birds and birders. You may get a surprising encounter of some endemic birds in the lotus ponds, little parks, or some forest around the old residential building. In a small forest in the university, more than 150 bird species in total have been recorded. It is possible to come across some beautiful flycatchers here such as Speckled Piculet, Light-vented Bulbul, Bianchi's Warbler, Black-throated Tit, Chinese Blackbird, Chinese Blue Flycatcher, Fujian Niltava, Zappey's Flycatcher, Himalayan Shortwing, Indian Blue Robin, Siberian Blue Robin, Firethroat, Siberian Rubythroat, White-tailed Robin, Golden Bush-Robin, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, etc.
Huanhuaxi Park and Dufu Thatched Cottage
The largest park in western Chengdu mainly consisting of artificial lakes and wetlands. More than 150 bird species have been recorded in the park and nearby Dufu Thatched Cottage including lots of water birds such as Little Grebe, White-Breasted Waterhen, Black-capped Night Heron, Chinese Pond Heron. Other birds like Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Ashy-throated Parrotbill, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Light-vented Bulbul, Rufous-faced Warbler, Spotted Dove, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, etc. If you are lucky you can even see Asian Barred Owl.
Chengdu Panda Base
Located in the surburban areas of Chengdu, the base is actually a huge park originally established for research on Giant Panda Breeding. Now it has become a very important birding destination for birders due to its nice environment. Inside the bamboo forest, you can even have the chance to see Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Ashy-throated Parrotbill, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Light-vented Bulbul, Rufous-faced Warbler, etc. The artificial Swan Lake attracts many wintering water birds such as Little Egret, Ruddy Shelduck, Little Grebe and Cattle Egret. Beside birds, you can, of course, see red pandas and giant pandas of different ages here.
Chengdu Botanical Garden
Chengdu Botanical Garden is considered one of the best city parks for birding due to its big diversity of floras and high forest coverage. We can find some urban and special resident birds here, including Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Chinese Bulbul, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Japanese White-eye, Chinese Blackbird, Chinese Grosbeak, Collared Finchbill, Long-tailed Shrike, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Hoopoe, etc.
Qinglong Lake
The largest of its kind in urban Chengdu, Qinglong Lake Wetland Park covers a total area of about 2,000 hectares. The park is a natural habitat of more than 150 species of wild birds, especially the winter migratory birds. Such as Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Pintail, Ferruginous Duck, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Grey Heron, Chinese Pond Heron, Eastern Buzzard, Black Drongo, Tiger Shrike, Plain Prinia, Light-vented Bulbul, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Black-throated Tit, Chinese Blackbird, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Little Bunting, etc.
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