Taipei City Government

In Taiwan, the true season for enjoyment of bird life is autumn and winter. From October through March each year birds in wondrous number come down from the north following their ancient rites of migratory passage. Taiwan is an attractive nature-friendly rest stop for them on their demanding journeys, and now we head off through the Taipei region to find the best places during the cool months for bird-appreciation and relaxation stops that do wonders to replenish the soul.

A New Arrivals Party in the Urban Forest – Taipei Botanical Garden

In the countryside surrounding Taipei, wintertime can strike the visitor as a time of cold grey bleakness. But within city limits Taipei Botanical Garden is an oasis staging a big party for new arrivals. Take a walk through the woods here and you'll come across bird lovers, one after another, standing still and staring through cameras lenses or binoculars. Follow their line of sight and you too can enjoy the pretty plumage of many charming guests who have come from lands far away. There! Did you see that lone ranger of the migratory world, the Brown Shrike? Or those travelers from the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, the Daurian Redstart, Orange-flanked Bush Robin, Arctic Warbler, and other birds? As you stroll the meandering paths you see a constant stream of chirping visitors landing in the garden to escape the crisp, cold air above, bringing a breath of fresh and warm air. The entire Botanical Garden is like a forest and birds are like splashes of color brightening the winter palette of the Lotus Pond, Taiwan Aquatic Plants Garden, Gramineae, and other attractions in the Botanical Garden—exotic birds, flowers, and plants working together in splendiferous visual concert.

A Wetlands Greeting for Winter Migratory Avian Flyers – Huajiang Waterfowl Nature Park and Guandu Nature Park

In addition to the Taipei Botanical Garden, Shih Jui-te, the director-general of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, recommends Huajiang Water fowl Nature Park and Guandu Nature Park as two other superb birdwatching sites within city limits, in large part because each year from July to September, the Taipei City Government undertakes extensive dredging and cleanup operations at both wetlands sites to ensure optimal habitat for migrating birdlife.

Located on the border of Taipei City and County on the west side of Huajiang Bridge, Huajiang Waterfowl Nature Park is a wide expanse of sandbank wetlands and dense grassy marsh, making it a thriving habitat for migrating birds. From October through to April each year you can spot birds that have come from thousands of kilometers, including wild geese and ducks such as Common Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and many other types of waterfowl. The protected area outside the low-water revetments is characterized by marsh and mudflats, and offers first-rate observation opportunities. At high tide the birds congregate toward the middle of the river or feed on the water; at ebb tide they come in to the mudflats to rest. On the adjacent dry land an informative series of information boards has been put up, and a 600-meter birdwatching path created. Each Sunday from 09:00~12:00 and from 14:00~17:00 members of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei are on station and stage information activities; for detail, visit their website (www.wbst.org.tw). If you'd like to get up close and personal with the birds and the bees but don't care to climb over hills and mountains to do it, there are few better choices than this.

Guandu Nature Park is home to Taipei's biggest natural wetlands reserve. The ecological environment here is mature and highly diverse, and draws migratory fowls in significant number. On an outing here you'll be blessed with encounters with Grey Herons of large size, clever White-breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Common Sandpiper, and Common Greenshank, and Common Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and other shorebirds. They come in great droves, filling land and sky, making the park an international airport for bird use. Whether winter birds, resident birds, or birds of passage, all bring great joy-generated warmth to the cold winter days of Taiwan, peacefully and at ease coming and going, going and coming, spreading pleasure to their flocks of human admirers.

Calling on Taiwan's Four Seasons Fowl –Da'an Park and Neigouli Trail

Enjoying the migratory bird species that grace Taiwan can become addictive, and you can also derive great enjoyment from spotting birds that live here through four seasons, such as Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Lightvented Bulbul, Japanese White-eye, Taiwan Barbet, and Grey Treepie. You need not go far to savor these beauties, for they are all residents in Da'an Park , smack in the city's middle. Not far away on the city's edge, on the Neihu District's Neigouli Trail, you can get to know over 80 species, including that iconic, unique star of the island's birding stage, the Taiwan Blue Magpie (Formosan Blue Magpie). This magnificent specimen is Taipei's official bird. If you're looking for an intensive birdwatching experience, note that volunteers at the Neigou Stream Ecology Exhibition Hall gives guided sessions, helping you make your flight to seasoned birdwatcher-specialist status.

The best time for bird-appreciation spotting is 7 to 10 in the morning, for the early bird catches the worm and the early bird-watchers catch birds in sights. For the best experience, be sure to bring a good telescope or pair of binoculars and a quality illustrated guide, then sit back and wait for your early-morning visual and musical entertainment to begin!

(Photos courtesy of: Wild Bird Society of Taipei—Zeng Yun-long, Xiao Mu-ji, Huang Wen-xin, Lin Zhang-xin, Zhong Wen-sheng, Zhang Rui-lin; the Botanical Garden's Xu Jia-jin; Department of Economic Development, Taipei City Government)