Birders at the lake
3 min readNormally，birders find themselves having to travel far outside the major cities to sate their appetite for avian voyeurism，but this is not the case with Hangzhou.West Lake itself provides for a keen look at the more adaptable birds that make their journeys from the North；there’s also the fact that the lake’s wide berth and central location makes the area a paradise for birders wanting to catch these creatures in flight over a simply spectacular skyline，edged，depending on the season，with lotus flowers or plum blossoms.
A cormorant rests on top of one of the three iconic stone pagodas of the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon in West Lake；cormorants are one of the most common birds in Hangzhou during the winter Even here，in the heart of modernity，visitors strain their lenses and binoculars to catch glimpses of the common kingfisher skimming for prey，watch the swift ashy drongo hawking the skies for insects，listen to the inimitable song of the oriental magpie-robin on the wet summer skies，and stumble upon black-throated tits as they wander their way from the Himalayas to the Southeast Asia.All of these birds come，like most of the visitors，for the peace of West Lake-but also the insects.
China’s Love Birds
Native to East Asia，the Mandarin duck has a special cultural importance in China as a symbol of love and fidelity.They are also the most prominent visitors to West Lake every year from late October to early April；during this time，up to 300 wild Mandarin ducks can be seen swimming and flying over the lake.The best spot to catch a glimpse of these birds is the West Lake Waterfowl Protection Zone west of the Su Causeway.These photos are provided by Zhu Chenzhou who has spent 14 years studying the avian life of West Lake.
1. Mandarin ducks courting in spring
2. On rare occasions, Mandarin ducks stay in West Lake for the entire summer to raise their ducklings
3. After 40 days of life, baby ducks fly for the first time
4. Domesticated Mandarin ducks spend most of their time in water, but wild ones are strong flyers, migrating thousands of miles from 1 |2|3
the North to the South every year
5.A pair of Mandarin ducks in a rare Hangzhou snow Two young white wagtails in the botanical garden are fresh from the nest but stil need
to be fed by their parents
In the Botanical Garden
While most visitors are drawn to the Hangzhou Botanical Garden by the diversity of flora, this is often the first place birders find themselves after casually strolling West Lake. Located near the many of the other famous tourist locations in Hangzhou in XihuDistrict, this site boasts a number of birds in a prime location for both amateur and professional photographers.
Bamboo forests near ma jor metropolitan centers aren’t exactly known for their biodiversity, as bamboo can be a bit brutal on the soil below, but there is one species native to this area all the tourists are after: the Chinese bamboo partridge, notable for its ground-dwelling ways and gold-brown plumage.
If you find yourself in the botanical garden, listen for their distinctive, fast, high-pitched squeal, said to sound like ki-ko-kuai. These are one of the most photogenic of the birds in Hangzhou, not least of which because they are largely based on the groundand often travel as a family. If you’ ve made them fly(or flush, as it’s called), then you’ ve probably startled them. Even the taxonomy of this little bird is interesting, as one of the only two known surviving species of the Bambusicola genus remaining.
But, that’s obviously not the only bird you’ ll find wandering around the botanical garden. The rich diversity of plants provides a haven for birds wanting to avoid the tourists at the surrounding hotspots.
