The ecological pond at Da-an Forest Park in Taipei City has been refurbished with a surrounding low rail, new bird viewing platforms and an information panel describing 30 bird species, just in time for bird watchers to get ready for the migratory season.
More than 10 species of birds currently nest within the park, such as the black bittern, black bulbul, black-crowned night heron, common blackbird, common moorhen, Japanese waxwing, Japanese white-eye, koel, little egret, Malaysian night heron, black-browed barbet and white-breasted waterhen.
The 26-hectare park was the first inner city forest park established in Taiwan and has more than 6,000 trees. After 20 years of cultivation, the man-made ecological pond in the park’s northwest sector attracts a wide variety of bird species.
Huang Wei, who volunteers to monitor the park for the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, said the number of bird species using the park has doubled in the past 15 years. Even crested goshawks can be seen, and the presence of this top raptor shows a complete food chain has been formed, he added.
The park’s environment has changed over the years, in particular forest cover has thickened, and this has attracted birds from neighboring open spaces, such as Taipei Botanical Garden and the campuses of National Taiwan University and other schools, Huang said. Even mountain dwelling species such as the Taiwan blue magpie drop by to rest.
Best times to view the birds are breeding season, from March to June. During migratory season from late October to November, such fowl as gray and yellow wagtails, as well as brown-headed, eyebrowed, pale and scaly thrushes stop over. Additionally, brown shrikes drop by from August until April.
Birds do not like the heat, so the best times of day to see them in action are from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in summer, and 7 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the rest of the year. (SDH)