Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County’s Renai Township has temporarily closed its doors to visitors to conform with the government’s nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert. With nesting season currently underway, a family of collared scops owls — a protected species in Taiwan — has taken up residence in one of the park’s Taiwan incense cedar trees.
Although the recreation area is temporarily closed to the public, the epidemic prevention measures have not stopped its birds and bees from procreating. The months of May and June are nesting season, and things really come to life after dark. Within the recreation area it is possible to observe owls brooding, hear chicks chirping and see adult owls shuttling to and fro from their nests with morsels of food to help their little darlings grow up quickly.
Workers from the recreation area and research specialists from the Endemic Species Research Institute in the county’s Jiji Township were checking breeding boxes when they discovered a family of protected collared scops owls resting in a Taiwan incense cedar tree. The team believes there are at least four collared scops owls nesting in the tree. They have spotted them resting side-by-side in pairs or perching independently. The owls all had their heads tucked down and their eyes closed, sound asleep.
Photo courtesy of Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area 照片：奧萬大森林遊樂區提供
The team quickly grabbed the opportunity to photograph the charming scene, taking as many photos as possible of the owls. While the photographers were snapping away, one fledging owl discreetly opened its big, bright eyes and inclined its head to peek at the people below, which was captured on film to produce a surprisingly soporific photograph of the owlet’s adorably goofy expression.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
南投縣仁愛鄉奧萬大森林遊樂區因配合防疫三級警戒而休園，正值鳥類育雛期，園區的台灣肖楠樹上則有保育鳥類「領角鶚」家族現蹤。
Photo courtesy of Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area 照片：奧萬大森林遊樂區提供
奧萬大森林遊樂區因防疫而休園，生物的繁衍並不因此停歇，五、六月是鳥類育雛的季節，此時入夜時分，園區也能適時觀察到貓頭鷹的育雛畫面，幼鳥會發出「企、企、企」的叫聲，親鳥則會不停來回餵食，希望鳥寶寶快快長大。
園區工作人員與集集特有生物研究保育中心研究人員，日前在調查園區鳥巢箱的繁殖狀況時，就在台灣肖楠樹上發現正在休息的保育鳥類領角鶚家族，樹上至少有四隻領角鶚，有的兩兩相依，或是各據枝頭，每隻都是縮頭、閉眼，睡得香甜。
樹下的人們則是抓緊時機，拿起相機對著可愛的領角鶚家族猛拍，領角鶚幼鳥還會謹慎的睜眼查看，一雙水汪汪、圓滾滾的大眼睛，歪著頭看著樹下的人，呆萌的模樣讓人看了超療癒。
(自由時報佟振國)
Did you hear the news about Wang’s marriage breakup? (5/5) 你有聽說老王要離婚的消息嗎？（五） A: Wang’s marriage dispute has finally come to an end. B: You’re still gossiping about it. Why are you so interested in his marital affairs? A: It’s just a healthy dose of curiosity. B: There’s an old saying: “Even a great judge finds it hard to settle a family quarrel.” So outsiders should keep their noses out of private family matters. A: 老王的婚姻糾紛終於要落幕啦。 B: 你還真八卦，那麼關注他離婚的消息。 A: 我很好奇嘛，這不就是人們的天性嗎？ B: 俗話說：「清官難斷家務事。」這是人家夫妻之間的家務事，外人還是少插手吧。 （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩） Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
A: When a couple gets divorced, in addition to custody rights, distribution of assets is another sticking point. B: I seem to remember that Wang and his wife registered their marriage in the US. A: Yep, I think that’s correct. So what? B: In many US states, the law provides for the equal distribution of assets, which means that all assets accumulated during the marriage are considered to be the common property of the couple. I reckon Wang may be in for some huge losses. A: 夫妻要離婚時，除了子女監護權以外，財產分配也是個難題。 B: 我記得老王當年是在美國登記結婚的。 A: 好像是，怎麼了？ B: 在美國許多州實行夫妻共同財產制，婚姻狀態下取得的財產，都算是兩人的共同財產，我看老王這次要虧大了。 （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩） Audio recordings
Did you hear the news about Wang’s marriage breakup? (4/5) 你有聽說老王要離婚的消息嗎？ (四） A: I heard that Wang and his wife signed a prenuptial agreement. B: Ah, I know about this: a prenup is an agreement about how to distribute assets in the event of a divorce, right? A: It doesn’t just cover assets, but also the location of residence during marriage, many different kinds of living expenses and even the surnames of their children can all be agreed through a prenup in advance. B: Wow, that’s brilliant! If I had known about this, I would have signed one before I got hitched. A: 聽說老王他們有簽「婚前協議書」。 B: 我知道，那是一種關於財產分配的契約，對不對？ A: 不只財產分配，其它像是婚後居住地、各種生活花費、甚至子女的姓氏都可事先協議。 B:
Sometimes in winter you may get a scratchy feeling in your throat just after waking up in the morning, which feels quite unpleasant. Founding chairman Lou Chung-liang of the Taiwan Traditional Chinese Medicine Preventive Health Association shared a post on his Facebook page in which he says that a sore throat is a common symptom in cold weather and it may be caused by any of the following three conditions: First: chronic pharyngitis You are probably in this category if it gets better after brushing your teeth, rinsing your mouth and drinking a sip of water. It can be caused by cold
RSS