Taipei says farewell to wild geese

The "Huachiang Wild Goose Season" (華江雁鴨季) opened amid heavy rain yesterday at the Wild Goose Nature Park (雁鴨自然公園) under the Huachiang Bridge (華江橋) in Taipei.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) hosted opening ceremonies for the park's bird-watching activities, calling on Taipei residents to come by to say farewell to the seasonal visitors from abroad.

Ma said wild geese stop by the park every fall and leave for nesting grounds in Siberia in the early spring.

He said he looked forward to seeing the birds come back to Taiwan next fall.

Despite the heavy rain, hun-dreds of Taipei residents -- young and old -- came to the park to say their goodbyes to the wild geese.

According to a survey released yesterday by the ROC Wild Bird Society (野鳥協會), there were around 10,000 wild geese in the park as of yesterday.

The park's bird-watching activities are divided into four areas: a wild geese theme area (雁鴨主題區); an ecological classroom focusing on waterfowl (小水鴨生態教室); an exhibition of northern shovelers (琵嘴鴨靜態展示區); and an area for the public to say their farewells to the wild geese (水鴨祈福區).

The bird-watching activities are part of the Taipei City Government's 10-day "Millen-nium Ecology Series (千禧年生態系列活動)."

Other activities include an ecological children's drama at the City Hall on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24; a three-day flower exhibition at the Chienkuo Holiday Flower Market (建國假日花市) on Feb 26, 27 and 28 and a tree-planting workshop at Neihsuanghsi Nature Park (內雙溪自然公園) on Feb. 27, according to a city government spokeswoman.