My East China Birding Trip - March, 2025 (3 Viewers)

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Birding in Moganshan, 25- 30 March​

It’s roughly a 2-hour drive from Shanghai to Moganshan—a convenient hop for anyone wanting to swap the city bustle for forest trails and tea-covered slopes.

According to a local nature educator, Moganshan and East China’s wetlands offer contrasting birding experiences. Moganshan’s forested mountains, with moderate elevation and dense vegetation, attract woodland species like flycatchers, thrushes, and warblers, especially during spring/autumn migration along quiet trails and tea plantation edges. In contrast, lowland areas such as Jiangsu’s coastal wetlands, Shanghai’s mudflats, and Poyang Lake’s marshes support large numbers of wintering waterbirds.

We based ourselves at a B&B in Moganshan for six days, initially planning leisurely walks around the area and a day trip to Xiazhu Lake Wetland Park (20km away) for waterbirds.But the weather had other ideas. The first three days saw unseasonal highs of over 30°C – great for tea-sipping on the balcony, but the heat kept bird activity surprisingly low. Then, temperatures plummeted to 10°C with heavy rain, sending us scrambling for down jackets.

For us, this trip was more about the getaway than the checklist. As casual birders, we treated sightings as happy accidents rather than targets. While we didn’t rack up a long list of lifers, hiking through tea-covered trails and listening to unseen warblers became its own reward.

 

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The B&B literally embedded in the mountains. This gem sits wedged between terraced tea fields and a rushing stream, with front-row seats to a river valley.

 

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Never underestimate the power of a good balcony!
The balcony's elevation aligned perfectly with the forest canopy, offering clear views of small passerines typically hard to observe from ground level.
I observed Asian Tits and Light-vented Bulbuls foraging in treetops less than 10 meters away – binoculars were optional in this natural "eye-level hide".

 

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Observed Red-billed Blue Magpie and Collared Finchbill in bamboo forest adjacent to tea fields behind the B&B.

 

[Noctua_Grace]

Another birding day at Xiazhu Wetland Park

Our first morning at the Moganshan B&B yielded unexpected rewards, while the next day’s dedicated trip to Xiazhu Lake Wetland Park (a renowned waterbird site) proved unexpectedly quiet. Despite arriving during prime morning hours (8-10 AM), the unseasonal 30°C heat – nearly 15°C above late March norms – left the wetlands eerily still.

Most sightings were waterbirds: Great Egrets, Little Egrets, and Black-crowned Night Herons. Also spotted a Long-tailed Shrike perched across the river, it was too distant for my lens’ limited zoom, resulting in soft-focus record shots. While the unseasonal heat kept bird activity low, spring’s cherry and peach blossoms were in full bloom. A Eurasian Coot casually posing among flowering branches at water’s edge.

Beyond its wild bird habitats, this wetland park plays a vital role in endangered species recovery. Its Crested Ibis breeding program has grown from 10 introduced individuals in 2008 to a thriving population of ~800 today. Staff shared insights on breeding challenges – their strict monogamous pairings complicate captive management. The protected breeding zone (isolated within the wetlands) remains off-limits to visitors, but viewing platforms allow us to observe the ibis from a distance. Guided trails occasionally offer wild sightings as well – no luck for us that day, though the species’ rebound from near-extinction is heartening.

 

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My favorite Eurasian Coot and spring blossom clip.
(Sorry about the low-quality video, my phone camera struggled with the distance.)

View attachment rt0453uigidghefghj·.mp4

 

[Noctua_Grace]

Birding with community naturalists

The following days saw extreme weather swings, temperatures plummeted from 30°C to below 10°C with relentless storms, confining us mostly to our B&B. Our scheduled Saturday bird walk with a local nature education group seemed doomed, but luck prevailed: morning rains eased just enough to proceed.

Our guide led us to an unmarked reservoir area (so remote it’s absent from maps!). This 2-3km hike through untrammeled habitat proved wildly productive. Birds here were markedly warier than urban/park species, flushing at 50-100m, challenging for novice birders.
He is probably the best guide I have met: he emphasized patience and embracing nature’s randomness over ticking lists (though provided field journal templates); Brought birds to life through personality and ecological quirks; Brought hyperlocal expertise – Contrasted Moganshan’s ecosystems with broader Zhejiang/East China; Taught how to look: angles, microhabitats, anticipation...3 hours with him sharpened our “bird radar”; even post-tour, our environmental awareness felt heightened.

Birds are highly responsive to temperature and air pressure changes. During our early morning birding session, when temperatures were still low, bird activity was relatively subdued. In the woodland adjacent to the wetlands, we spotted several common forest species: Light-vented Bulbuls, Chinese Blackbirds, Olive-Backed pipits, Dusky Thrushes, and Asian Tits.

As temperatures rose, waterbirds became noticeably more active. We observed Common Moorhens and Little Grebes hunting fish, along with Eastern Spot-billed Ducks. A Long-billed Plover foraging on a floating platform was a particularly rare sight. Returning to the woodland, we encountered Collared Crows and Bramblings.

The highlight was undoubtedly the Common Kingfisher – a masterclass in patience and bad timing! Our first encounter ended abruptly when it fled at a distant noise, denying a photo opportunity. Miraculously, it reappeared... only for my camera to die at the critical moment (why does this always happen?!). The included photo comes courtesy of a fellow birder (used with permission). Our final sighting rewarded us with a fishing demonstration: the kingfisher plunged into the water, emerging with a fish it expertly maneuvered in its beak before consumption.

 

[Noctua_Grace]

A Farewell Birding Session at Century Park, Shanghai, 31 March

On our last day in Shanghai (with an evening flight back), we couldn't resist visiting Century Park, the city's premier urban birding hotspot. Despite being an urban green space, its vast area and strict wildlife protection policies support remarkable avian diversity.

The Chinese Blackbird reigns as East China's most ubiquitous bird - any black bird hopping on lawns is almost certainly this species. Equally abundant are the elegant Azure-winged Magpies, their slate-blue tails flashing through the trees. We captured close-up shots of several other regulars: Spotted Doves, Light-vented Bulbuls, Asian Tits, Oriental Turtle Doves, and Oriental Magpie Robins - a stark contrast to Moganshan's distant silhouette-only views (my lens' limitation with skittish forest birds).

Standout Sightings:

1. Red-flanked Bluetails - Two individuals showed fascinating plumage variation, likely an immature male (they only develop full blue breeding plumage after their second-year postnuptial molt).
2. Verditer Flycatcher - A surprise find perched lakeside, though my focal length reduced it to a tiny blue speck in photos.

The birding community here surprised us with its quiet warmth. We'd all been independently scanning the groves for some time before tentative conversations bubbled up—"Any luck over there?" One seasoned birder kindly shared tips for finding Hoopoes (his signature sighting spot near the rose garden's decaying logs), though none showed that day. There's something special about strangers bonding over missed targets as much as successes.

 

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The water surface delivered another highlight: our little grebe was back in hunting mode. I spent comically long trying to capture its textbook fishing dive, but timing is everything in bird photography. My camera only managed to document the bird's most... expressive angle (see exhibit below: a perfectly framed grebe posterior).

 

[twitcherf]

A Farewell Birding Session at Century Park, Shanghai, 31 March

On our last day in Shanghai (with an evening flight back), we couldn't resist visiting Century Park, the city's premier urban birding hotspot. Despite being an urban green space, its vast area and strict wildlife protection policies support remarkable avian diversity.

The Eurasian Blackbird reigns as East China's most ubiquitous bird - any black bird hopping on lawns is almost certainly this species.


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Eurasian Blackbird does not occur in East China - most authorities consider this to be a distinct species - Chinese Blackbird

 

[Noctua_Grace]

Eurasian Blackbird does not occur in East China - most authorities consider this to be a distinct species - Chinese Blackbird

You're right, thanks for the correction - it's Chinese Blackbird

https://ebird.org/species/chibla1?siteLanguage=en

 

[samnew]

Thanks for the report! A shame about the weather but it sounds like you had a good time.

You may have got more 'ticks' than you realize. Great tit would most likely be the 'Asian tit' (previously known as Japanese tit), tree pipits are very rare in the area (probably be a new record) and as you said plural I'd say they were more likely to have been olive-backed pipits (the most commonly occurring species) and finally the 'Eurasian blackbird' would have been the Chinese blackbird.

 

[Noctua_Grace]

Thanks for the report! A shame about the weather but it sounds like you had a good time.

You may have got more 'ticks' than you realize. Great tit would most likely be the 'Asian tit' (previously known as Japanese tit), tree pipits are very rare in the area (probably be a new record) and as you said plural I'd say they were more likely to have been olive-backed pipits (the most commonly occurring species) and finally the 'Eurasian blackbird' would have been the Chinese blackbird.

There's always this subtle pressure when visiting renowned spots, like if I don't log at least 20 species, I'm somehow "missing out."

Thanks so much for your helpful corrections! I've cross-referenced these with eBird and updated my records accordingly - really appreciate you taking the time to point these out.

 

[jogresh]

Great report thanks. I hope to bird China one day and a report like this is encouraging. A lot of reports describe the many difficulties with trying to bird there.
How much did the B&B cost? 🙂👍🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛