Hunan East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve Travel Guide

travelling guideline:

Bird watching guide in East Dongting Lake:

1. Junshan Island: Bus No. 15 goes directly from Yueyang Railway Station to Junshan Park. During the high water season in summer, you are surrounded by water. You need to take a boat to the island from Yueyang Tower, or take bus No. 15 to the lakeside and transfer to a boat to get to the island. During the low water season, you can reach the island directly by bus. The park entrance fee is 60 yuan. If you arrive before 7 o'clock in the morning, the entrance fee is free. Birds are mainly distributed from the park gate to Wulongwei. The vegetation along the way includes reeds, shrubs, trees, tea gardens and water tidal flats, which are suitable for different bird species to inhabit. Both forest birds and water birds are distributed. The main birds in winter include geese, ducks, herons, and shorebirds. The forest birds mainly include various small passerines such as bulbuls, noisy babblers, and bluebirds. There are about 60 species of birds that can be seen in summer, including orioles, red-winged crested cuckoos, various cuckoos, white-winged gulls, bearded gulls, galliformes and passerines. Judging from the results of previous Dongting Lake Bird Watching Competitions, all bird watching teams regard Junshan as an important bird watching route.

2. Ting Dike and Caisang Lake: These two points are the main habitats of winter migratory birds in Dongting Lake. They are famous for geese, ducks and shorebirds, especially the little white-fronted geese, threaded ducks, and white pipits. Herons and avocets are the most numerous, and gray cranes, white-headed cranes and white-naped cranes can be observed along the embankment. On the route from T-shaped dike to Caisang Lake, you have the opportunity to observe 9 species of geese, 25 species of ducks, and 34 species of shorebirds in the reserve. In the evening, you can see the spectacular scene of a large group of common cormorants settling in the wave-proof forest. It is a favorite shooting location for bird photography enthusiasts. The reserve's field management station can provide food, accommodation and guide services for a bird watching team of about 10 people. Walk 800 meters from Yueyang Railway Station to the intermodal transportation station and take the minibus to Qianliang Lake. The ticket prices are 6 to 12 yuan respectively.

Best time to visit:

Autumn and Winter