A steadily growing population of pheasant-tailed jacanas in the Tainan region has given rise to a project to promote farming practices that could create more habitable land for the birds.
The Wild Birds Society of Tainan, the Guantian Pheasant-tailed Jacana Ecological Park, the Forestry Bureau’s Tainan branch and the Tainan City Government are collaborating on the project.
According to the ecological park, a subsidiary of the Siraya National Scenic Area, the jacana population has been steadily increasing, averaging more than 500 for four consecutive years.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
This year, the population has spiked to 910, the park said.
The mating season for the pheasant-tailed jacana falls between May and September, and the birds usually find a spot to build their nests by July, park Director Lee Wen-chen (李文珍) said, adding that this helps the park tally the population.
Student volunteers from National Cheng Kung University, the National University of Tainan and National Chiayi University help the park log the number of jacanas mating in the Tainan area, which increased 6 percent from last year, Lee said.
The majority of jacanas — about 78 percent — mated in Guantian District (官田), a renowned production area for water chestnuts that is well-suited for the species, Lee said, adding that water shortages in May and June appear not to have had an adverse effect on the jacanas.
More than 80 percent of all adult and young jacanas, as well as their eggs, have been found near water chestnut fields, showing that the birds have a strong preference for that habitat, Lee said.
Siaying District (下營) has the second-largest cluster of jacanas in the region at 10 percent, Lee said.
The birds used to be found across the nation, but their habitat has gradually shrunk due to land development.
It is now only seen in water chestnut fields between Bajhang Creek (八掌溪) and the Zengwen River (曾文溪).
The bird was declared a grade-two endangered species in 1989 and adopted as Tainan’s official bird.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS