When Yeh You-chin (葉有進) was a boy, he often ate migratory birds. But 50 years on, he is now at the forefront of efforts to preserve the feathered visitors to his home in southern Taiwan.
Yeh, the 59-year-old chief of Fangshan Township (枋山), recently opened an exhibition hall devoted to the brown shrike, which passes through the area every year and until recently, did so at great risk.
“I remember how the air was filled with the strong smell of roasted shrikes,” Yeh said. “Some villagers made more money catching birds than people in the cities.”
Times have changed, and conservation efforts have now moved to the forefront of most people's minds in this rural area. The exhibition hall is testimony to this development.
“Visitors to the exhibition center can learn about brown shrikes, their relationship with human beings and their plight once they are caught in traps,” Yeh said.
For centuries, residents in the south looked forward to autumn and winter, when migratory birds would fly in from northern Asia.
They called them “divine blessings” because of the delicious flavor they added to the simple rustic fare they normally put on their dinner tables.
But over the past generation the situation has changed, and the birds are now referred to as “friends from far away.”
The dozens of species of migratory birds are now seen as more useful alive than dead, because they can help boost tourism revenues.
Persistent conservation efforts have paid off as a less-dangerous environment has led to more birds visiting each year, in turn also luring more tourists to regions such as Hengchun (恆春) near the country's southern tip.
“The Hengchun area has become one of the world's top 20 spots for appreciating birds of prey,” said Tsai Yi-zung, a bird expert at Kenting National Park.
Among these is the gray-faced buzzard, better known locally as the “National Day bird” because its arrival coincides with National Day celebrations on Oct. 10.
The number of gray-faced buzzards in September and October hit a 20-year high of 49,000, the national park said.
“The public mindset has changed over the past 25 years,” Tsai said. “I can't guarantee no one here ever eats a bird, but it’s definitely a very, very small number.”
This is not just because rising standards of living meant Taiwanese no longer have to rely on wildlife for vital extra protein.
The law also plays a role, and both the rules and their implementation have become stricter, with illegal bird catchers risking jail time of up to six months.
But there is still room for improvement, said Yu Wei-daw of the Taipei-based Chinese Wild Bird Federation.
Police arrested two hunters in Hengchun in October and later found a rich haul at their homes, discovering 36 dead gray-faced buzzards.
Meanwhile, educational programs sponsored by the national park seek to make the schoolchildren more conscious of the need to protect natural heritage.
“Many of the children who have been through the programs have become adults, and they — unlike their parents — no longer eat the migratory birds,” Tsai said.
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