Tainan Young Birder Blog

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...

The thing that pumps birders up, even really experienced birders, is the prospect of seeing a "lifer". A lifer is a term for a bird that you see for the first time. It's a concept I've only ever heard about in birding. Once you finally see that bird you've been searching and waiting around for months, once you finally see that lifer, its place in you changes. You never again feel quite the same way as you do the first time you see a lifer, and there is nothing more exhilarating than seeing a lifer.  A Greater Painted-Snipe (female) Since I've been birding for a while now, the concept of seeing a lifer has changed for me. I still remember when I first recognized a Light-vented Bulbul, a very common bird in city parks and school campuses. I felt such excitement, joy, and fulfilment, but now I barely give it a second glance. When I first started birding, seeing lifers was a constant thing, but now it's a rare treat. As you continue birding, seeing lifers gets...

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...

The Little Forktail is a small black and white bird seen mostly in montane rivers and streams. Its head, back, and wings are black, while the most obvious characteristic is the high and white forehead. It mainly feeds on insect larvae and other small insects. It prefers fast-flowing streams and is often seen near waterfalls. When I started birding, I always wanted to see the Little Forktail and I pestered my father to bring me to places where it had been reported before. After getting skunked time and time again, the agonizing wait continued. Finally, last year when the whole family went for our yearly New Year’s trip to Ali Village, I finally saw it. One morning, when my dad and I were returning from our usual morning birding stroll, as I was looking far off into space, my dad’s excited shout pulled me back to reality. There on a little waterfall were two cute black and white birds jumping around. I knew immediately what they were, Little Forktails. I had finally seen them where I lea...

The Tainan Wild Bird Society, of which I am a member, is in charge of the Bird Ecological Center in the Taijiang National Park in the Sicao area of Tainan. It was originally an office for administrators of the salt industry and was built during the Japanese Occupation. The Anshun Salt Fields are a big attraction in Taijiang and the beautiful scenery brings tourists from around the island. Harvesting salt was a major industry in Tainan throughout the Japanese and KMT periods, and only ended in the last forty years or so. After the harvesting stopped, the Wild Bird Society decided to preserve the building and use it as a resource for the public to learn more about birds and the larger ecology of the Taijiang area. When I volunteer there, my work is mainly focused on introducing the large array of bird specimens and a cool display of local seeds and fruits. I take visitors around the specimen room and give a broad introduction of the birds on display and some interesting facts about them....

    The Mountain Hawk-Eagle is one of the biggest raptors native to Taiwan, and is also one of the rarest and hardest to observe. It's wingspan is a bit small for such a big eagle, which is one of the easiest ways to identify it. A big body with wide wings. The Mountain Hawk-Eagle is not easy to see because it lives only in places with almost no human disruption. It also only comes out to hunt a couple of times a day, so you might not be able to see it even if you are in a suitable habitat. The Mountain Hawk-Eagle is considered very sacred by some indigenous tribes in Taiwan, and the tail feathers of the eagle are used to decorate the headdresses of local tribal leaders. I also consider the Mountain Hawk-Eagle as sacred because I have only met it a couple of times, and it is the bird that started my birding journey. Of the four times I have seen it, three times I saw it in Ali, the place where I first started birding. It is still one of my favorite places to do mountain birdin...

An Oriental Pratincole, a summer migrant that breeds in Shalun Shalun is an awesome birding spot that’s quite near the edge of Tainan city and right by the High-Speed Rail Station. You can easily see easily see the otherwise rare Ring-necked Pheasant and the locally common Barred Buttonquail. The area was formerly all sugar cane fields owned by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. Over time, they sold off most of the land for development, and now there are many fancy high-rise apartment buildings, an outlet mall, and lots of new developments and parking structures … and not a sugarcane field in sight. A Lesser Coucal Shalun is one of the last remaining grasslands in the Tainan area. It has a very diverse habitat, with grassland, farmland, a small creek, a bamboo forest, and a broadleaf forest. Thus, there are lots of different birds to be found, including skylarks, pipits, shrikes, starlings, Black-winged Kites, Oriental Pratincoles in the summer, and of course, the famous Ring-necked Pheas...

I usually go birding every chance I have, but in my busy teen schedule, I usually only have a morning or sometimes if I'm lucky, a whole day free. Besides going birding with my dad, if the Tainan Wild Bird Society has any events going on, I almost always participate. For example, me and my dad participate in the New Year Bird Count every year, we help with the Black-faced Spoonbill survey, and other numerous Wetland birding events, and I also volunteer to be a bird guide at a local birding spot sponsored by the Wild Bird Society. One year we focused on submitting as many checklists for a local wetland IBA to help prevent it from becoming a solar farm, which would mean that the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and the Nordmann’s Greenshank would have to find another spot to rest during migration.  Black-faced Spoonbill (with tag) Beside all the events we participate in, me and my dad use eBird every time we go birding, and take very careful counts when we bird. Recently I have started to pay ...

The windbreak forest in Tainan is one of my favorite birding spots to visit, especially during the fall and spring migration. The windbreak forest is located in Qigu, right next to the ocean. Its main purpose is to stop strong sea winds and sand from blowing futher inland. The forest is mainly composed of beefwood trees, which look similar to conifers. The windbreak forest is typically a short rest-stop for migrating birds. This makes it equal parts frustrating and rewarding, because when I hear of an exotic bird reported there, it is often gone by the time I have a chance to check. However, sometimes I get lucky and see some lifers there. Ashy Minivet Some common birds found there are Pale Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, Black-faced Bunting, Manchurian Bush-warbler, Oriental Magpie-robin, and White’s Thrush. Some more exotic birds that I’ve seen there include Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, and Red-flanked Bluetail. Pechora Pipit I usua...

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 cons...

 M y 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 pa...