A record high number of black-faced spoonbills, an endangered migratory bird that travels to Taiwan each winter, have arrived in a wetland area in the southern county of Tainan, a bird-watching society said yesterday.
A spokesman for the Tainan Black-faced Spoonbills Conservation Society said the society has so far recorded 688 of the birds on the estuary of the Tsengwen Creek (
The number marks a 10 percent increase on last year, the spokesman said.
He said that since that number does not include black-faced spoonbills that might have flown to other sanctuaries in search for food, such as the Sutsao area in Tainan City, the actual number of arrivals might be even higher.
A worldwide survey last year showed that there were 969 black-faced spoonbills.
In addition to black-faced spoonbills, the spokesman said, throngs of more than 100 other species of migratory birds have also arrived in the Tainan County coastal region to spend the winter.
He urged bird watchers going to see the birds to refrain from making too much noise in order to protect the quiet of the birds' habitat.
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