The Tainan Caspian tern population has in the past few years surged dramatically, Taijiang National Park has said.
The bird, the world’s largest species of tern, used to appear only sporadically in Tainan, but last year more than 1,000 were recorded for the first time at the estuary of the Zengwen River (曾文溪), the park said.
Their numbers have continued to grow, with 1,550 observed on Friday, making them Taijiang National Park’s most important ecological resource after the black-faced spoonbill, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taijiang National Park
The Caspian tern, a large gull with a body length exceeding 50cm and a wingspan of about 140cm, is found across the globe, but is an uncommon winter visitor in Taiwan, the park said.
The most striking feature of the bird — which typically gather in flocks in estuaries, sandbanks and other wetlands — is its bright red bill and a black head, although in the winter, its head feathers become mottled rather than solid black, it said.
They swoop down from the sky to catch fish, making them one of Taijiang’s most spectacular wildlife sights, it said, adding that in Tainan, they can be spotted at the Zengwen River and Yanshuei River (鹽水溪) estuaries, as well as the Sihcao Wildlife Reserve (四草野保區).
Photo courtesy of the Taijiang National Park
Each year when the black-faced spoonbills come to Taiwan for the winter, small numbers of Caspian terns are initially spotted accompanying them at their main habitat in the Zengwen River estuary, Taijiang National Park Conservation Research Section head Wang Chien-chih (王建智) said yesterday.
The tern population in the past few years has grown steadily, prompting Taijiang to begin recording their numbers starting last year, he said.
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