The global population of the black-faced spoonbill rose to 7,081 this year, with spotters in Taiwan reporting 4,169 of the birds, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said yesterday, adding that the nation is still the most important wintering ground for the endangered species.
Sightings are recorded annually in an international synchronized bird census coordinated by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. This year the counting was conducted on Jan. 18 and 19.
Although the number of black-faced spoonbills reported in Taiwan only increased by 34 from the previous survey, the number has been stable for the past three years, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation
About 90 percent of the birds were spotted along Taiwan’s southwestern coast, with the largest concentrations in Tainan (2,439), Chiayi County (701) and Kaohsiung (408), it said.
Sightings in Changhua and Penghu counties have become more consistent, indicating a slow but steady expansion of wintering sites in Taiwan, it said.
Conservation officials attributed the stable population and habitat expansion to a mix of adaptation and human-led conservation efforts.
Among the efforts is the “eco-pay” scheme launched in 2021, which compensates fish farm owners for keeping pools shallow when they are not being used to provide feeding grounds for the birds, officials said.
Last year more than 180 hectares of fish ponds in Tainan alone were part of the program, they said.
Outside Taiwan, other key wintering sites include China and Japan, which recorded 1,671 and 716 birds respectively, largely unchanged from the previous year, pointing to a global slowdown in population growth, the agency said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS