Global warming is bringing ecological changes in its wake. Birdwatchers have noticed four or five kinds of migratory birds breeding in Guandu Nature Park, thus changing from migratory to resident. This year, for the first time, spotted-billed ducks have been seen breeding in the park. Park staff explain that migratory birds go wherever they can find food. It could be that there is now less food in their habitats in China, or just that the Guandu wetlands are suitable for them.
David Ho, head of Guandu Nature Park’s management office, says about 50,000 migratory birds pass through Taiwan each month, which is about 30 percent fewer than 30 years ago, as migratory bird numbers fall around the world. It’s a sign of the times that 20 years ago about 3,000 dunlins could be seen in Taipei, but now the number is down to 1,000 or so.
Ho judges that possible reasons for the drop in migratory bird numbers include climate change and habitat destruction. Climbing temperatures have caused many wetlands on which birds depend for their survival to dry up or disappear. Birds then have to migrate over greater distances, making migration more risky and so challenging their survival.
Despite the fall in numbers, Guandu Nature Park is now seeing the phenomenon of migratory birds becoming resident. Ho says the park’s first known nest of black-winged stilts hatched in 2005. The stilts have kept breeding in the five years since then, and this year there are nine nests with 24 hatchlings.
Today there are more than 12,000 birds belonging to over 120 species living and foraging in Guandu Nature Park, among which there are flocks of 80 to 90 species of winter resident migratory birds and waterfowl.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG)
氣候暖化,自然生態生變。賞鳥人士觀察,台北市關渡自然公園已有三至四種候鳥於園內繁殖,「候鳥成留鳥」,今年首度發現花嘴鴨繁殖後代。園方日前表示,候鳥逐食物而居,可能是中國的棲息地食物減少,也可能關渡濕地適合牠們。
關渡自然公園管理處處長何一先說,台灣每個月約有五萬隻候鳥過境,較三十年前減少三成,全球候鳥數量也下降;二十年前北部可看到約三千隻黑腹濱鷸,現在剩下到千隻。
何一先分析,候鳥減少可能原因包括環境變遷、棲地破壞。而氣溫升高使得許多鳥類仰賴的濕地乾涸或消失,候鳥遷徙旅途延長,增加遷移風險,生存受到挑戰。
儘管數量減少,關渡自然公園卻出現「候鳥成留鳥」的現象,何一先說,九十四年首度發現第一巢高蹺行鳥於園區誕生,持續五年有高蹺行鳥繁殖,今年也有九巢二十四隻小高蹺行鳥報到。
目前關渡公園約有一百二十多種鳥類、逾一萬兩千隻鳥類活動覓食,冬候鳥水鳥族群約有八十至九十種。
(自由時報記者林相美)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
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