Beijing and Northeast China Birding Tour - 14 Days

Arrive in Beijing and meet the team. Available birding and the transfer plan depend on flight time; the night is scheduled at Lingshan.

Begin exploring Beijing’s mountain habitats. The broad search includes Qilian Bluetail, Beijing Babbler, Chinese and Long-tailed Beautiful Rosefinches, Chinese Nuthatch, several flycatchers and leaf warblers, Siberian Blue Robin, Asian Stubtail, Chinese and Grey-sided Thrushes, Père David’s Laughingthrush, tits and buntings.

Return to the Beijing birding sites for species missed on the first day. Zappey’s, Green-backed, Yellow-rumped, Taiga, Asian Brown and Dark-sided Flycatchers may be compared, while Alström’s, Claudia’s, Chinese Leaf and Eastern Crowned Warblers share the wider mountain list with Qilian Bluetail, rosefinches, thrushes and buntings.

Take the roughly four-and-a-half-hour high-speed train to Huozhou and bird locally after arrival. Possibilities include Snowy-browed and Eurasian Nuthatches, Manchurian Bush Warbler, Songar Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Southern Nutcracker, Elliot’s Laughingthrush, Daurian Redstart, Eurasian Jay and Red-billed Blue-Magpie. Stay in a homestay near the birding site.

Concentrate on Brown Eared-Pheasant around Huozhou. Grey-headed Bullfinch, Silver-throated Bushtit, Yellow-bellied Tit, Snowy-browed Nuthatch and Red-billed Blue-Magpie are also possible. Return to the nearby homestay.

Use the morning for one more pheasant search, then transfer to Huozhou East station and take the high-speed train to Beijing. Overnight in Beijing.

Fly early from Beijing to Ulanhot, meet the regional driver-guide and continue about three hours to Ke Er Qin. Search for Rufous-backed Bunting, Mongolian and Asian Short-toed Larks, Amur Falcon, Pied Wheatear, Meadow Bunting, Daurian Jackdaw and Partridge, plus Little and Eurasian Eagle-Owls. Overnight in Ke Er Qin.

Give Rufous-backed Bunting another morning, then drive approximately three hours toward Xianghai National Wetland with birding stops. White-naped and Red-crowned Cranes, Oriental Stork, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Mongolian Lark, Daurian Partridge and Chinese Grey Shrike are among the possibilities. Stay at Xianghai, or continue another two and a half hours to Baicheng.

Bird Xianghai during the morning for cranes, Oriental Stork, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Daurian Partridge and Chinese Grey Shrike. The afternoon transfer to Qiqihar takes about four and a half hours; lodging is either near Zhalong Nature Reserve or in the city.

Spend half a day in Zhalong Nature Reserve. Both Red-crowned and White-naped Cranes may occur with Oriental Stork, while Chinese Penduline-Tit, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Band-bellied Crake and Schrenck’s Bittern shape the smaller-bird search. Continue on the six-hour drive to Hailaer and stay in the city.

Explore wetlands around Hailaer. Demoiselle, Red-crowned and White-naped Cranes may occur with Oriental Stork, Swan Goose, Red-necked Grebe, Little Curlew, Bearded Reedling, reed parrotbills and Pallas’s, Ochre-rumped and grasshopper warblers or buntings.

Drive roughly two and a half hours over a poor road toward Wuerqihan, stopping at wetlands when useful. Waterbird possibilities include Swinhoe’s Rail, Band-bellied Crake, Brown-cheeked Rail, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye and Common Merganser. Overnight in Wuerqihan.

Devote the day to the forest and wetlands around Wuerqihan. The extensive list spans Hazel and Black Grouse, Siberian Jay, five woodpeckers, three owls, Schrenck’s Bittern, three rails, Siberian Rubythroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, several thrushes and flycatchers, and Pallas’s, Grey’s and Chinese grasshopper or bush warblers. Black-billed Capercaillie is a possibility, not a guarantee.

Transfer to Hailaer Airport for the flight back to Beijing, then connect with the international journey home.