Avian experts and officials are calling on the public not to disturb wildlife after a nest of owls sparked a picture-snapping craze in Nantou County.
A collared scops owl, which has reportedly lived in a tree hole at the Dajhongye Temple in Jiji Township (集集) for the past seven or eight years, has recently found a mate and began hatching a clutch.
The owls and the tree hole they nested in — which social media users said resembled the outline of Taiwan — have attracted a lot of interest, including from birdwatchers who could be seen arraying spotting scopes around the tree.
Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei Times
Yao Cheng-te (姚正得), a researcher at the Jiji branch of the Endemic Species Research Institute, on Friday said that proper birding should be done at a distance, preferably at night, to blend in with the environment and not to frighten the owls.
Although the birdwatchers at the temple are reportedly staying quiet, owls are disturbed by human activity during the day as they rest, Yao said.
“The birdwatchers should clear the area before they scare the owls into abandoning the nest,” he added.
Chiu Cheng-ching (邱承慶), a conservation expert at the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation, called for flash photography to be banned around the tree.
“Hatching and nursing chicks is as physically and physiologically exhausting for birds as it is for humans,” he said, adding that troubling the owls at this time could harm their health.
Jiji Township Mayor Chen Chi-heng (陳紀衡) yesterday said the owl had successfully hatched her chicks, but it was difficult to see how many there were because the tree hole was very small.
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