Birdathon soars to new heights in Taiwan

2014-11-05

The second annual Taiwan Birdathon race wrapped up Nov. 2 in Chiayi County, attracting a record number of participants and boosting the nation’s profile among the international birding community.

“We are extremely pleased to see more bird lovers at this year’s event,” an official with event organizer Southwest Coast National Scenic Area Administration under the Tourism Bureau said. “This trend reaffirms Taiwan’s status as an important global bird habitat and highlights its ecological diversity.”

The 30-hour birdathon attracted 29 teams comprising 109 bird-watchers to the coastal areas of Chiayi, Tainan and Yunlin counties. A total of 21 groups were from Taiwan, with the rest from countries and territories like Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the U.S. and mainland China.

According to the official, participants recorded 224 kinds of birds at the event, up from 217 the year before, as well as 12 endemic species. A total of 141 bird types were spotted by the champion team Brown Shrike from southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County.

First-time birdathoner Edward Thomas and his wife from the U.S. said Taiwan is an outstanding bird-watching haven for species such as black-faced spoonbills, egrets and sandpipers. “The event also offers a special opportunity for in-depth exchanges between foreign enthusiasts and their local counterparts.”

Echoing Thomas’s remarks, Hum Gurung—CEO of Nepal-based Himalayan Sustainable Future Foundation—heralded the birdathon as a new form of ecotourism possessing real potential. “Many of the principles applied to make the event a success can be transferred to my country.”

Buoyed by the overwhelmingly positive response of participants, the official said greater efforts will be dedicated to promoting the birdathon going forward. “We are eager to attract more teams from abroad and take the event to new heights.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=223662&CtNode=413)