中
Do you think that to observe raptors, you must travel to faraway places? In fact, raptors live very close to us. They can be found in many suburban areas and even parks in cities. On the third Saturday of every month, the Raptor Research Group of Taiwan regularly organizes the Open Wings Raptor Watching event to show people raptors in their habitats and spread “raptor fever”!
Wang Lee-Lien, a researcher of the Raptor Research Group, stated that the Open Wings Raptor Watching event is an activity designed for beginners in raptor watching. The primary work of the Raptor Research Group is the study of raptors. However, the group also upholds the idea of “it is much more joyful to share the joy than enjoy alone.” Therefore, the group began organizing various activities to help the public understand and care about raptors. In 2013, the group organized the first Open Wings Raptor Watching event, which received great feedback. In September 2014, the event became a regular, monthly activity, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years the event has been suspended for several months.
In a year, the locations of each monthly Open Wings Raptor Watching event are different. For example, this year, the event was held in Huajiangyanya Natural Park in January, Chinshan Youth Activity Center in February, Beitou Wu's Ancestral Hall in March, Guanyinshan Visitor Center in April, Da’an Park in August, and Yangmingshan National Park Chingshan Nature Center in September. Wang Lee-Lien said that these locations are not far from Taipei City and New Taipei City, with some parks in the cities being hotspots for raptor watching. The selection of the location each month is based on the seasonal activities of the raptors.
We participated in the event on September 18 in Chingshan Nature Center to see which raptors we can observe.
Since the Open Wings Raptor Watching event is designed for people who have just started raptor watching, some have not even purchased binoculars. So, the Raptor Research Group also offers binocular rental services. On the day of the event, the team leads, Tsai Ming-Shan and Wang Lee-Lien, started the event by explaining how to use the binoculars to the participants and how to communicate the positions of the raptors in the sky to each other.
The weather on the day of the interview was perfect. The sky was clear and blue with only a few clouds, offering great views of the area. After the event began at 9:00 in the morning, we were able to constantly see different raptors. At the same time, the instructors also talked about information related to the raptors. For example, when we saw an osprey, Tsai Ming-Shan talked about the flight postures and habits of the osprey.: The osprey is a specialized, large raptor. The claws of the osprey are barbed so that they can puncture the bodies of the fish they are hunting and grip the fish tightly. The osprey can enter the water to catch fish, so its feathers are highly water resistant and they secrete more oils than other raptors. When in flight, the wings of the osprey form the letter M, so many bird watching enthusiasts jokingly refer to the osprey as the “McDonalds bird.”
We also saw black eagles, which are resident raptors with the longest wingspan in Taiwan. When they fly, they seem to almost float and slowly hover in the sky, while searching for flying squirrels, squirrels, and other rodents. In the past, people thought black eagles were raptors that resided deep in the mountains. However, in recent years, more and more black eagles have been spotted closer to human habitations. Does this mean the black eagle is adapting to manmade environments or is there another reason? The answer to this question requires further study.
When observing the raptors, if they are flying high and far, how do we identify the species? Tsai Ming-Shan explained that they use the silhouette, wing shape, and behavior of the raptor to identify its species. In the raptor watching brochure provided at the event, an index was included. The participants can use the drawings to identify the raptors, such as if they see a raptor with a longer wingspan and black body with obvious fork on its tail, then that raptor is probably a black eagle. If the ends of the wings and tail are white, then the raptor could be a crested serpent eagle.
We were very lucky that day. We saw eight types of raptors, including crested serpent eagles, black kites, crested goshawks, black eagles, ospreys, Chinese sparrowhawks, besras, and peregrine falcons. Because of the clear skies, the weather became very hot after 10 a.m., which decreased the chances of spotting raptors. So, the instructors took the team into the specimen hall of the Chingshan Nature Center to admire the specimens of these raptors. The exhibition in the hall did not only include specimens of raptors, such as crested goshawks, crested serpent eagles, and besras. The hall also contained specimens of birds such as common kingfishers, grey treepies, and white-breasted waterhens, mammals such as pangolins, Formosan rock macaques, and civets, as well as reptiles and amphibians such as many-banded kraits, red-bellied annulate keelbacks, yellow pond turtles, and Chinese stripe-necked turtles. The majority of these specimens were wild animals that died in accidents in Yangmingshan National Park, such as those that died as roadkill, from collisions with windows, or from being caught in traps. The animals were made into specimens, so that their lives may continue to be valuable. When admiring these specimens, visitors can fully experience the beauty and unpredictability of the lives of wild animals and reflect on the impact human activities have on wildlife.
The Raptor Research Group of Taiwan invites you to participate in the monthly Open Wings Raptor Watching event. Participants should remember to prepare sunblock, drinking water, and if available, their own binoculars. The most important thing is to arrive with an open mind and without any expectations of which raptors you will see on the day.
(The text and photos have been provided by Director Liang Chieh-Te. All rights reserved)
Podcast on Demand