An adult brown booby (sula leucogaster) -- a large seabird belonging to the gannet family -- thought to have been blown off course by Typhoon Krosa was released into the wild yesterday.
The Society for Wildlife and Nature (SWAN) of Taiwan said the bird was sighted on Monday resting on the deck of a freighter that was anchored in Taichung Harbor.
The harbor authorities notified SWAN about the bird the same day, and specialists from the organization went to the harbor to capture it.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TAICHUNG COUNTY NATURAL ECOLOGICAL CONSERV
The booby is a rare seabird and there are just nine species worldwide, only one of which appears near Taiwan's east coast.
An adult brown booby can reach about 76cm in length, with a wingspan of 145cm. The head and upper body are brown, and the underbelly white.
The booby breeds on islands and coastlines along pantropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They also frequent the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
After examining and feeding the brown booby, SWAN specialists found that the bird was exhausted but had suffered no physical injuries.
They decided to let it rest for two days before setting it free.
Meanwhile, flocks of gray-faced buzzards landed in Kenting National Park on Wednesday amid National Double Ten Day celebrations, a bird expert at the park said.
Tsai Yi-jung (蔡乙榮) said the park administration office, Pingtung forest rangers and county police mobilized a large force on Oct. 1 in an effort to protect the migratory birds from poaching. However, as of Tuesday, he had only recorded 12 buzzards.
However, flocks of gray-faced buzzards were spotted flying over the national park yesterday, Tsai said.
He described the scene as reminiscent of the military parade that took place in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei in celebration of National Day.
Taiwan has long been an Asia-Pacific stopover point for birds on their annual migration to escape the winter cold of Siberia and northeastern China for the warmer weather in Southeast Asia.
Because the birds are often observed arriving in Taiwan around Oct. 10, they have been dubbed "national day birds" by locals.
Tsai said the number of gray-faced buzzards transiting the nation reached 35,000 last autumn, the largest number recorded in the past 10 years.
In 2005, only 8,000 were seen in Taiwan, he said.
To stem habitual poaching this year, the Pingtung County Government and Kenting park authorities recruited former poachers to form a task force of bird wardens to protect the winter guests.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
STRICTER ENFORCEMENT: Taipei authorities warned against drunk cycling after a sharp rise in riding under the influence, urging greater public awareness of its illegality Taipei authorities have issued a public warning urging people not to ride bicycles after consuming alcohol, following a sharp rise in riding under the influence (DUI) cases involving bicycles. Five hundred and seven people were charged with DUI last year while riding YouBikes, personal bicycles, or other self-propelled two-wheelers — a fourfold increase from the previous year, data released by the Taipei Police Department’s Traffic Division showed. Of these, 33 cases were considered severe enough to be prosecuted under “offenses against public safety,” the data showed. Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), bicycles — including YouBikes and other
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
RSS