Hi,
This is a Far East rarity twitch for any one planning to visit Taiwan or
transit in Taipei in near future.
Quite similar case like the Long-billed Dowitcher in Victoria as the national
first ever record. However for a bus trip of only 1.5 hrs from Taipei central
and the global rarity of the bird, I thought it is worthwhile to share this.
An exceptionally tame 1st winter Siberian Crane turning up at an organic
farming patch (1st ever in Taiwan) since early Dec 2014 has caused quite a stir
among the local birders and conservationists. Its movement has been confined to
a very small patch of field and is constantly monitored on its diet and
behavior.
I have just returned from a very short 3 nights stay in Taiwan (my 1st ever
trip to the country). Mainly a social and family focused trip, but I still
managed to take a 1.5 hours bus trip (#1815 Platform 7 from city hall bus
interchange, departs averagely half hourly) to visit the site on Sat 27/12/2014
to the site and the bird was feeding and roosting right beside the carpark of
the iconic 7-eleven store (w toilet and lunch facilities).
Following is the facebook fan page set up for the Crane. Unfortunately it is
mostly in chinese and my posting is one of very few in English.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=425808677570417&id=418768578274427
[Latest update is that the crane was attacked by stray dogs at its night roost.
Volunteers chased away the dogs and scar was observed on the neck the next
morning. Hope more preventive actions will be taken]
Following are few of my photos taken on site. The weather while I was there was
miserably damp and dim but we were lucky to view and photograph it under the
shelter of a farmer's hut.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tunpin/tags/siberiancrane/
I have managed to find only one news in English so far. Note: pls don't confuse
this w Beijing's China.
http://www.getinews.com/news-9150096-Taiwan-wetlands-welcome-occasional-visitors-Siberian-Crane-drawing-bird-lovers-onlookers.html
Happy to translate or answer any logistics questions or forward Ur queries to
the relevant party.
Taiwan is a very safe country. The Taiwanese are generally very friendly and
helpful, except that English is not as widely understood as other parts of Asia
such as Singapore or Malaysia.
Regards,
Tun Pin Ong
Sydney
Sent from my iPhone
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