Large Flocks of Asian Eagles Visiting Pingtung on Way South
Copyright 2001 Central News Agency
September 21, 2001
By Deborah Kuo
hawks, mainly Chinese sparrow hawks, have arrived in Pingtung, temporarily nesting in forests in southern Taiwan's national parks before traveling to Southeast Asia to winter.
Flocks of the south-bound migratory birds, made up mainly of Chinese sparrow hawks, which is one of the smallest in size among these species of predatory birds, were first sighted Friday morning in Pingtung County's Sheting Park, said Tsai Yi-jung, an ornithologist with National Kengting National Park.
The flocks of hawks and eagles, which also include small numbers of gray-faced buzzard eagles and honey buzzards, are expected to temporarily nest in Pingtung's forests for two or three days before heading to the west Pacific, from where the birds will proceed to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries for the winter, according to Tsai. The visitors, which regularly arrive in Taiwan between September
and October every year on their way south, are about one week late this year due to the disruption caused by Typhoon Nari, which seriously affected conditions in Taiwan's skies over the past week, Tsai said.
He said more flocks of the Asian eagles and hawks are expected to be sighted in the following days in Pingtung, the location in which the predatory birds make their "last stop" before embarking on the long-distance flight above the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, some other flocks of Chinese sparrow hawks and their sister species have begun to visit eastern Taiwan, where a long corridor of mountain-protected forests provide even more comfortable sanctuaries for the birds in their preparation for the long voyage south.
On Friday alone, nearly 10,000 of these "big birds" were sighted in the skies of Taitung, eastern Taiwan, mostly above the East Longitudinal Valley, gliding comfortably in the seasonal northeastern trade winds on their way south, said Wang Ke-hsiao, chairman of the Taitung Wild Bird Society.
Wang said migratory hawk and eagle species usually begin to migrate from Siberia and northern China from early September every year, passing through the Koreas, Japan and the "Taiwan corridor" on their way to Southeast Asia to winter.
He said that when the birds are gliding on warm air currents, with more flocks joining in, the flocks form into the shape of a "hawk pole" or a "hawk ball," which in turn develop into a "river" when the birds fly higher.
Each year, between 60,000 and 100,000 migratory hawks and eagles visit Taiwan during September and October on their way south. A slightly smaller number of them routinely return north, also passing through Taiwan, during spring, Wang said.
He suggested that bird lovers head to mountain locations in eastern Taiwan, particularly in the East Longitudinal Valley, or on Hsichuanshan, Leshan, Jinchenshan or Tawukushan, which he said are the best spots for eagle and hawk watching during this season, in order to witness the entertaining annual feathered spectacle.