My Future in Birding

For as long as I can remember, I have had a deep passion for birds. Birding isn’t a very popular hobby or passion for young people in Taiwan, so most of the birders I know are either retired or almost retired. For all the years I have been birding, I have never met someone my age who shares the same birding passion. Most of my friends are more interested in video games and aren’t particularly interested in birding or nature, so I hope that in the future I'll be able to find others like me that eat, sleep, and drink birding. Now that I’m getting ready to enter my high school years, I have begun to think more seriously about what I want to do in the future. I’m really hopeful that I can find some way to make a career out of my love for birding and nature.

Taiwan Yellow Tit

I hope to participate in ornithological research in the future, observing birds in the field. I think I would prefer field research, because it involves live birds. I also hope that I will be able to help conserve bird habitats and protect birds in the future, because I care deeply about them. From my volunteer work with the Wild Bird Society, I have seen how birds are a bellwether species. Natural areas that have been preserved or restored have seen dramatic upswings in populations of wintering birds like the globally endangered Black-faced Spoonbill. It is through the work of birders and ornithologists that these results have been possible. I hope by doing research on birds I can raise awareness about climate change and deforestation, and bring positive change to Taiwan.

Swinhoe's Pheasant

I hope to let the public know what's happening, and make an impact on government policies. For example, although many people think green energy, especially solar power, is a 100% positive thing, birders know first-hand that solar farms have greatly reduced the space wetland birds have, making their chances of surviving even lower. I hope that in the future, research will help the public understand the delicate nature of these ecosystems, and introduce change to government policies, helping to find a balance between green energy and environmental preservation.

Amur Stonechat

~Article and Photos by Isaac Lang

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Blue-winged Leafbird

In the next few blog posts, I will be talking about some cool birds that I saw. This particular post I will be sharing about the Blue-winged Leafbird. This bird is very attractive, it has a green back, crown, a yellow belly and breast, a blue-tipped wing, and a black throat. This Leafbird is usually found in broadleaf forests. It is related to fairy-bluebirds, birds I also saw in Malaysia. The Blue-winged Leafbirds are omnivores, mainly consuming insects and arthropods, and the occasional fruit. Besides that it is presumed to consume nectar as well. Leafbirds are interesting because they are one of the few birds that evolved in South-east Asia, and later spread to the himalayas and other parts of Asia. I saw this bird on the second day in Kubah, around noon. It was before the pavilion where we were going to head back. There was a lot of commotion, and all sorts of different birds started to show up, Fulvettas, Orioles, Drongos and of course, two Blue-winged Leafbirds. It was me t

Rare in Taiwan, common in Malaysia

In this blog post I am going to talk about relatively common birds that I saw in Sarawak, but that are rare in Taiwan. There will be seven birds that I will share: the Brahminy Kite, White-breasted Woodswallow, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Western Hooded Pitta, Pied Triller, Scarlet Minivet, and the Collared Kingfisher. Brahminy Kite Four of the seven birds were seen in and around Kuching, and quite effortlessly. I will arrange the birds in the order of which I saw them, the first being the White-breasted Woodswallow. This bird is very unique looking, with a grayish head and back, a large beak, and a white breast. Woodswallows are quite interesting because, despite their name, they are not swallows, but rather part of a group related to Corvids aka crows and ravens. They belong in the family Artamidae, and are related to butcherbirds and the Australian Magpie. Its behavior is similar to flycatchers. They are insectivores, sallying bugs from the sky. We saw this bird right outside our

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 cha

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