A survey of Tainan’s pheasant-tailed jacana population showed stable growth over the past year, the city said on Friday.
Conservationists recorded a population of 1,307 birds, which was 166 more than last year, and showed that the population was unaffected by the water shortage in southern Taiwan earlier this year, it said.
Volunteers from the Siraya National Scenic Area Administration and the Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute conducted the survey in the municipality’s wetlands from July 21 to Tuesday.
Photo courtesy of the Jacana Ecological Education Park
The increase in the jacana population came despite a decrease in the number of eggs laid in the scenic area from last year, the city said.
“During the water shortage, the pheasant-tailed jacanas spread out to rice paddies, ponds and other areas of the city with water,” conservationist Lee Wen-chen (李文珍) said. “Once water was restored to water chestnut fields and farmers began planting, the birds came back to roost.”
A water chestnut farmer in Tainan’s Guantian District (官田) surnamed Pan (潘) said that he had 10 jacana nests in his field.
The number would likely increase to 20 nests over the course of the breeding season, he added.
The majority of jacanas perch in Guantian, which accounts for 75 percent of the bird’s population in Taiwan, Lee said, adding that 10 percent of the birds roost in Siaying District (下營) and 8 percent in Madou District (麻豆).
“We saw the biggest population increases in Guantian and Madou this year, but there were also hatchlings recorded in Gueiren (歸仁), Lioujia (六甲), Liouying (柳營), Shanshang (山上) and Baihe (白河) districts,” she said.
The birds tend to prefer waster chestnut fields, but also build nests in rice paddies and lotus ponds, she said.
“We found that the jacanas were also using [more] rice straw and weeds to build their nests this year compared with last year,” she said, adding that the phenomenon might have been due to the water shortage, which caused the birds to roost in different areas.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS