As winter approaches, tens of thousands of whiskered terns and black-bellied terns have begun arriving in Tainan County, but the county government has decided not to host tern-watching activities this year in an effort to protect the birds.
The birds’ “sunset dance,” in which tens of thousands of terns fly in flocks over the ocean at sunset, last year attracted thousands of tourists to rural Beimen Township (北門).
However, large numbers of tourists in the area caused the birds to leave sooner than usual.
Hung Yu-chih (洪有志), a local guide who is familiar with the birds’ migratory habits, said the terns, which normally would have stayed until April this year, left Tainan at the end of last December.
Last year, more than 10,000 people visited Tainan to watch whiskered terns, said Hung, who also runs a guesthouse in Beimen for bird lovers.
“The noisy crowds of visitors seriously disturbed the terns,” he said.
Black-bellied terns — small marsh terns with a slightly forked tail — migrate to the coastal areas around Tainan and Chiayi counties every winter.
FLIGHTS
During their stay in the wetlands in Beimen, they fly out to sea early in the morning and rest on oyster racks before returning to the wetlands at sunset, Hung said.
Some bird watchers say that in addition to watching the unique “tornado-like” flight of the birds at sunset, they like to get up early to see them at dawn.
“It was amazing ... they were flying so low that it seemed like they were just above our heads,” a bird watcher said when describing his experience.
Hung said he was worried that the whiskered terns, which left early last year, would not return this year.
However, they began arriving last month and the numbers are expected to peak next month, he said.
Although the first-ever tern-watching activity sponsored last year by the Tainan County Government drew crowds of tourists to the area, many of them criticized the lack of adequate facilities for bird watching.
This year, the Tainan County Government will focus on educating bird watchers rather than on attracting visitors.
Even so, Hung is worried that the birds migratory pattern might be disturbed again.
“I really hope the bird watchers will keep their voices down,” Hung said.
“I don’t want to see the birds leaving early again,” he said.
SHORT-TERM OUTLOOK: The Chinese military would most likely focus on rebuilding its organization and leadership in the next few years, experts said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) military purge has reduced the risks of a planned war against Taiwan, yet increased the danger of a conflict sparked by a miscalculation or accident, Taiwanese experts said yesterday. They made the comments at a seminar on the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Central Committee held by the research group Secure Taiwan Associate Corp (STA) in Taipei. The wholesale sacking of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers and managers of the aerospace and defense industry is sure to set back Xi’s timetable to prepare the PLA to launch an invasion of Taiwan
BATTLE-TESTED: Czech companies’ drones, software and navigation systems have been tested in the Ukraine war, while other countries’ are lab-tested, a Czech ex-official said Czech manufacturers are interested in setting up drone assembly lines in Taiwan, former Czech Chamber of Deputies president Marketa Pekarova Adamova told a forum in Taipei yesterday. Adamova made the comments at the inauguration of the Global UAV Academy, an organization dedicated to international cooperation in drone supply chains, technological certification and pilot training. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology said the Czech Republic is the largest importer of Taiwanese drones and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) components. Adamova, who transitioned to the defense industry after retiring from politics, said the Roman adage “si vis pacem, para bellum” — “If you
The husband of a Taiwanese woman stabbed to death at a hotel in Japan has been detained on suspicion of entering into a sham marriage and taking out high-value insurance policies in her name, Tainan prosecutors said today. A woman surnamed Ching (井), 38, was killed on Monday last week at a tourist hotel in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan. A Taiwanese woman surnamed Yang (楊) was arrested by Japanese police on suspicion of murder, Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief prosecutor Wang Sheng-hao (王聖豪) said. Investigators suspect that Ching's new husband, surnamed Lee (李), 29, arranged a sham marriage, encouraged her to travel to Japan
STAY VIGILANT: An aircraft carrier and battle group were located to the east of the Philippines, while other ships were identified off the east and southeast coast of Taiwan China has more than 50 naval and other official vessels operating in a wide swath of sea stretching from southern Japan down to Taiwan and off the Philippines, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Wednesday, calling the threat level “obvious.” Taiwan is stepping up efforts to issue details and maps depicting locations where Chinese warships and coast guard vessels operate. “We are staying vigilant about their activities,” Wu said. “The simultaneous threat to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines is obvious.” The remarks accompanied a map he posted on X showing the locations of 53 ships, 34 of them navy warships,
RSS