Birding in Harbin City
Standing around 150m above the sea level, Harbin is located in southern Heilongjiang, on the southeastern edge of the Songnen Plain, which is extremely famous for its fertile black soil. As the provincial capital of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, the city is an important industrial and agricultural production base in China.
Harbin has a total population of 9.87 million and serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural, and communications hub in northeast China. The famous Songhua River flows through the city from the northern part of the city. The monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate brings this city cool, humid summers and extreme winters. The average temperature in January in Harbin is only -18.4℃. Winter is the most attractive season for this city for tourists.
Famed as "Ice City" in China, Harbin attracts millions of visitors from different parts of the world by the Annual Ice-carving Event in this city. The Northeast Forest University situated in this city leads many fields of forestry studies in China including birds. The numerous parks, university campuses, and forest parks inside the city are good places for birding.
Some Important Birding Sites in Harbin
Harbin Sun Island
Known as one of the famous summer resorts in China, this island is also an excellent place for birding. This island is located on the north bank of Songhuajiang River. The main habitats are mudflat, riverside wetlands, and grasslands. If you walk by the side of the river in spring, you have chances to see Swan Goose, Mandarin Duck, Common Merganser, Common Pheasant, Yellow Bittern, Little Heron, Red-rumped Swallow, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Azure-winged Magpie, Yellow-throated Bunting, etc.
Northeast Forestry University
As the largest university in China in campus size, Northeast Forestry University is one of the important birding sites in Harbin. The experimental forest made for the study of students inside the campus is a good place for birds. In the forest, you have a chance to see Ruddy Shelduck, Rough-legged Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eastern Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Azure-winged Magpie, Willow Tit, Yellow-browed Warbler, Naumann's Thrush, Hawfinch, Yellow-throated Bunting, etc.
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