A bird-watching marathon is scheduled islandwide next month with the objective of bringing back birdwatchers -- who have been scared away by fears of avian flu -- and to raise funds for monitoring wild birds in Taiwan, the head of a wild bird group said yesterday.
Lin Hsien-wen (
Lin said although Taiwan has not been declared a bird flu affected area, bird-watching activity nationwide has been severely affected by reports of avian flu outbreaks in Asia and Europe.
Because of bird flu fears, Lin said, Kinmen's Great Cormorant Season and Black-faced Spoonbill Watching in Tainan -- annual events sponsored by the federation -- were called off last year.
Even the popular bird-watching in Guandu (
Reports of avian flu outbreaks worldwide have apparently scared away Taiwan's birdwatchers, who were seemingly unaware that watching wild birds and contracting bird flu are two different things that are unrelated, Lin noted.
Federation officials said that interested birdwatchers may register to participate in the bird-watching marathon through the association's Web site.
The federation will donate NT$100 for each bird species reported by participants through the Web site, Lin said.
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