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 change of plans, due to homework related issues, we couldn’t go south to kenting at the usual time. Much of the four day holiday was spent disappointed. A week later, me and Dad suddenly decided to go for the weekend, to see what we would be able to find. Friday evening, as soon as I finished school, I rushed home, got all of our various items and off we went, full of excitement. The next morning we immediately headed over to the pavilion where the best views were to be had. Turns out we were a little late, as the pavilion was super crowded. There was a lot of action in the morning, some White-throated Needletails were spotted. Everyone was excited by this, but it was too dark to get a decent photo. An Eurasian Kestrel flew by, with an obvious red back, and folded wings. While dad was back at our hotel getting breakfast, there was an interesting raptor spotted. At first everyone thought it was an Eastern Marsh-Harrier, but after some discussion, it was decided to be an Eastern Buzzard. While I was enjoying my breakfast, a Japanese Sparrowhawk was spotted in a group of Chinese Sparrowhawks. The main defining characteristic is a shorter, chubbier set of wings and streaked underwings. Due to the fact I was munching on my meal, I was unable to get a picture. As time went on, the crowd gradually thinned out, and the action came to a halt. However we still saw an Osprey, some Crested Goshawks, and some Oriental-Honey Buzzards. We stayed at the pavilion until noon, and after that we headed to Gangkou, where the raptors land and stay for the night. We stayed on a bridge with a good view of the forest where they usually rest. We arrived there around twoish, got out our birding chairs, and posted sentry on the bridge. Not long after, tiny specks appeared in the sky, and we knew the time had come and prepared ourselves. Soon, hundreds of Grey-faced Buzzards emerged from the clouds. The raptors got pretty close, so I had a lot of good pictures. The only sad thing was that some locals were shooting fireworks into the forest, causing panic among the raptors, tricking them into taking flight again, just so people could take pictures. This isn’t the first time this has happened, last time they were shooting the fireworks from their residence, so mom confronted them and asked them to stop. But this time we couldn’t tell where they were shooting from. The act of shooting fireworks at the raptors was depriving them of the rest necessary for the long journey back south; some raptors might not make it the full distance if they don’t have sufficient rest.

Another Grey-faced Buzzard

The last day, we got up earlier than the day before and sped up the mountain. Partly because we came early, the scene was much more impressive than before. Hundreds, maybe thousands of raptors flying out to sea. We saw an Osprey fly over us, with its wings fully spread; it was quite a majestic sight. Apparently the raptors were met with some bad weather, so hordes of them started to fly back. For some reason they flew directly at us, and many seemed a bit flustered and confused. And everyone, especially the photographers, were very pleased. We stayed until eight thirty, and began our long drive home.

Grey-faced Buzzard

I had a lot of fun during this trip, and also learned plenty. The volunteers of the Raptor Association were very impressive, their birding skills were beyond my imagination. They could spot hawks miles away, whereas I still couldn’t see a thing after a thorough search for minutes. The only disappointing thing was that we didn’t see the Black Baza, a bird I’ve wanted to see ever since I can remember. There’s always next year.

Crested Goshawk