The best time and place for bird watching in Caohai, Weining in 2021

Weining Caohai Scenic Area is located in Bijie. It is a winter bird watching resort. It is also known as the "Pearl of the Plateau" national nature reserve and one of the top ten bird watching resorts in the world. So when is the best time and place for bird watching in Weining Caohai in 2021?

The best time for bird watching in Weining Caohai in 2021

On November 14, more than 1,400 black-necked cranes arrived at Weining Caohai National Nature Reserve to spend the winter.

From a time perspective, Caohai welcomed the first batch of 3 black-necked cranes on November 9 last year. On November 6 this year, Caohai welcomed the first batch of 8 black-necked cranes. 3 days in advance. In terms of quantity, there were more than 300 black-necked cranes overwintering in Caohai on November 16 last year, and more than 1,400 on November 14 this year.

Black-necked cranes usually fly back to Caohai to overwinter at the end of October and early November every year, and then migrate northward one after another at the end of March and early April of the following year.

According to statistics from the Caohai Management Committee, as of November 14, there were more than 1,400 black-necked cranes, more than 320 gray cranes, more than 950 bar-headed geese, more than 14,000 crested chickens, more than 1,200 Only a tit and more than 1,800 egrets flew to Caohai. The number of wintering migratory birds in this area is expected to reach its peak in January 2022, exceeding 100,000.

Introduction to Weining Caohai

Caohai is known as one of the "best wetland bird watching areas in the world". It is one of the main wintering places for the black-necked crane, a national first-level protected animal, and the easternmost wintering place for black-necked cranes in my country. Every early winter, rare migratory birds such as black-necked cranes migrate back to Weining Caohai Lake to spend the winter. They inhabit the shallow swamps on the east, south and southwest shores of Caohai, and are mainly distributed in areas such as Huyelin, Wangjiayuan, Wenjiatun, Liujiaxiang, Zhujiawan, Yangguan Mountain and Wujiayan.

Caohai is the largest natural freshwater lake on the Guizhou Plateau, with a water area of ??25 square kilometers. It is a comprehensive national nature reserve with plateau wetland ecosystem and rare birds. It belongs to a subtropical monsoon climate zone with good water quality, dense aquatic plants, abundant fish and shrimps, rich biological resources, and diverse biological species.

There are only 46 species of aquatic higher plants in the sea, among which cauliflower is a nationally protected plant. According to survey statistics, Caohai has 115 species of zooplankton, 52 species of benthic organisms, 14 species of amphibians, 19 species of reptiles, 9 species of fish, and 219 species of birds. Among them, 27 species are national rare and endangered animals under key protection, and more than 50 species are birds protected by the China-Japan Migratory Bird Agreement. Caohai is also one of the main wintering places for the black-necked crane, a national first-level protected animal. In addition, a large number of paleontological fossils and ancient human artifacts have been discovered in the lake area.