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Spoonbill festival opens in Chiku, Tainan County

The 2006 Blackfaced Spoonbill Festival was launched in Tainan County yesterday as part of an eco-tourism tour package offered by the Tainan County Government.

The event will continue until March next year.

Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), also an advocate of the protection of blackfaced spoonbills, said yesterday in an inauguration ceremony that the number of spoonbills that come in winter to the mouth of Tsengwen Creek has increased over the years. Through the festival, he hoped to raise public awareness on the issue of preserving rarely-seen or extinct animals.

Despite the wind and drizzle, many came to join the first day of the festival in Chiku (七股).

While children were encour-aged to participate in a drawing contest, some got their feet wet when they tried digging out the clams in the delta. Visitors also had the opportunity to watch a documentary and photographs of blackfaced spoonbills at the Blackfaced Spoonbill Research Center nearby.

The timing of the spoonsbills' visit generally coincides with the arrival of seasonal winds from the northeast.

A survey conducted by the county showed that 1,017 blackfaced spoonbills visited the wetlands in Chiku last month. The number accounted for more than 60 percent of the spoonbill population worldwide.

Ecologists have determined that Chiku is an ideal place for spoonbills to pass winter. It has a wide delta surrounded by levees and dikes, conditions which are suitable for the birds.
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