Introduction
This site close to Hong Kong have recently been established as provincial nature reserves and have yielded some interesting records over the past few years. They are well worth visiting since they are still not regularly surveyed.
Key Species
Greylag Goose and Black Stork have been recently recorded at the reservoir. Other rare species recorded in the reserve include Dalmatian Pelican, Black-faced Spoonbill, Eurasian Spoonbill, Greater Spotted Eagle, Nordmann’s Greenshank and Saunders’s Gull. Eurasian/Oriental Skylark breeds in the grasslands backing off the reservoir.
Other Species
Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Pied Kingfisher have been recorded in winter.
Other Wildlife
N/A
Birding
Walk the perimeter of the reservoir in both directions. There is good grassland adjacent that is well searching through as well. The trees near the perimeter road on the north side of the town are a good place to find Yellow-billed Grosbeak in winter. Up to 200 cormorants and 30 Grey Heron roost on the island in the reservoir.
Habitat and Vegetation
Reservoir and surrounding grassland and marshland areas.
Getting there
There are regular buses from Hong Kong to Shanwei 汕尾. Direct buses run every 30 minutes to Haifeng until 8.30pm from the bus station just to the right of Luo Wu station in Shenzhen. There is also a regular bus from Tai Bai Lu 太白路. The overnight ferry is no longer operated. If coming by the Shanwei bus from Hong Kong disembark on the road to Haifeng 海丰and pick up a minibus or motorcycle to that town and another onwards to Gongping 公平. Haifeng has lots of hotels, though Gongping appears to have none. The Dinglong Business Hotel 鼎龙酒店 is newly refurbished, clean, inexpensive (Rmb148 for a double) and centrally located on Guangfu Road. From Haifeng to Gongping takes about 15-20 minutes by taxi and costs Rmb30-40. Go through the town to the far end and then take a right hand turn up to the reservoir. Walk the perimeter road around the reservoir and then descend down into the town.
General Information
County: Haifeng Area: 12 sq. km Altitude: 20-100m Location: 22°45’N, 115°00’E Disturbance: no protection