How I Started Birding

My interest in birds started when I was five. Even before I brought birding into my family, we always spent a lot of time up in the mountains and out in nature. We love learning about the flora and fauna of Taiwan and about Taiwanese indigenous culture. One long weekend, we visited a small village. Just by chance, the other guests were birders, and one of them was actually the chairperson of the Tainan Wild Bird Society (like the Audobon in America). One morning, after a hike, they got super excited by a large bird circling around in the sky. I was curious, so they lent me their binoculars, and told me it was a Mountain Hawk-eagle, the rarest eagle in Taiwan.

Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Ali 2021

They also had a field guide, and showed me some birds I might see in the area and how to identify them. Sure enough, on our next morning walk, we found birds that we had never noticed before. From that point on, I was hooked. At first, I would beg my dad to buy us a pair of binoculars and later begged him to take me all over Taiwan just to bird. A couple years later we joined the Tainan Wild Bird Society, and we met a bunch of experienced birders very eager to share their knowledge. For nine years my love for birding has not diminished in any way.

Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Hehuanshan 2022

What keeps me interested in birds is the excitement when I finally see a lifer, the relief when I finally see a bird after three hours of searching or waiting; but sometimes it doesn’t need to be a lifer or a rare bird that gets me excited, sometimes it might just be a bird I haven’t seen in a long time, or sometimes it is just normal birds doing interesting or weird things that intrigues me. After a long week at school, just observing birds makes me happy.

Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Hehuanshan 2022

~ Article and photos by Isaac Lang

Comments

Daxueshan

A Swinhoe's Pheasant If anyone ever were to ask: "What's your favorite birding spot in Taiwan?" I think I would have a lot of trouble answering the question succinctly, but Daxueshan would definitely be near the top of the list. I have only been there a few times, but every time I go there, it never ceases to amaze me. It is unique in that it has very diverse flora and fauna and with a road stretching from sea level to nearly 2500 meters, you can see lowland birds all the way up to alpine forest birds. The forest road going up Daxueshan is 50 kilometers long and there are birding spots all up and down its length. A Collared Bush-Robin Daxueshan is renown for being the most reliable place to see nearly all of Taiwan's endemic bird species, including the Mikado Pheasant, Taiwan's national bird. It is a deep, rich blue and has the typically long tail of a pheasant, but unfortunately, I have only ever seen the duller, brownish female. Since almost all other endem...

Kinmen

A Black Kite Most of Taiwan's offshore islands have a lot to offer in terms of birding; there are almost certainly birds there you can't see on the mainland of Taiwan. Of all of them, though, I think Kinmen is the best. Besides being Taiwan's largest offshore island, it is also very close to China, meaning you can see many birds that would otherwise only be possible to see if you went to China. These birds can travel the few kilometers to Kinmen but won't travel all the way to Taiwan proper. A Eurasian Hoopoe Kinmen is very productive throughout the year. In the winter, the most interesting birds are the Great Crested Grebe, Red-throated Loon, Black-capped Kingfisher, Glossy Ibis, and many different kinds of cormorants. The summer also yields some very interesting birds, including the stunningly beautiful Fork-tailed Sunbird, the vividly colored Blue-tailed Bee-eater, the Pied Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, and of course, the iconic Eurasian Hoopoe. Blue-tailed...

Kenting Raptor Migration

Crested Serpent-Eagle Every October, my family travels south to Kenting (in Pingtung) on the national Day of Taiwan. We visit for the purpose of seeing the breath-taking migration of raptors - thousands upon thousands - journeying to their wintering grounds. Because Taiwan is a key rest stop for birds, there are many places to observe this particular migration. A kettle of raptors Of all the migrating raptors, the Grey-faced Buzzard and the Chinese Sparrowhawk are the ones that are the most abundant. Hundreds of thousands pass through Taiwan every year. The Grey-faced Buzzard is a medium-sized raptor, with a mouse-gray face, a black-tipped beak, a very obvious throat streak, brownish wings, horizontal streaking in the underbody, and bright orange talons. The Chinese Sparrowhawk on the other hand is much smaller in size, has a blueish-gray back and head, and black-tipped wings. Adults lack a throat streak, whereas juveniles have one. Grey-faced Buzzard This year we had a slight...

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