The Tainan City Government should establish patrols devoted to the conservation of eastern grass owls, documentary filmmaker Wan Chun-ming (萬俊明) said on Wednesday.
Tyto longimembris are a category 1 protected species in Taiwan, he said, adding that the owls rest and nest in swathes of cogongrass.
Since he began observing the birds in 2017, Wan said, he found three nests in one of his regular observation areas, adding that the a female owl usually lays five eggs annually.
Photo: CNA
However, this year the number of eggs has declined to four per nest, and the birds have also delayed laying their eggs by at least a month, he said.
Wan said he believes that Tainan’s owl population is threatened by habitat loss, as cogongrass fields are increasingly replaced by other grass species.
Fires, increasingly occurring in winter, have also threatened the owls and their eggs, while rat poison, bird nets and hunting traps are also affecting their numbers, he said.
Wan suggested that the city government and the Tainan branch of the Forestry Bureau establish patrols to find and report threats to the owls.
The public is unfamiliar with owl habitats, and the patrols could help promote information on the protected species at schools and in communities, which would go a long way to conserving them, Wan said.
Tainan Agriculture Bureau official Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) said that a conservation subsidy program would start later this year, which would protect the owls, as well as the pheasant-tailed jacana.
The bureau would give NT$20,000 to farmers who pledge not to use herbicides or set up bird nets, he said, adding that it plans to increase measures to protect conserved species’ habitats and remove invasive species.
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