The final part of my southern Taiwan trip (2009-10-17)

Doing some internet surfing on Flickr when I came across this picture and chuckled at myself at the caption below "...in BC if you're waiting for the rain to stop before you go out, there's every chance you'd die of old age first." Very true.

I have been putting off writing the last few parts of my southern Taiwan trip, and I think I will continue today (from last month). One of the things that we were there to do was to find some Taiwan Barbet nest cavities, as well as to witness and gather some information about the famous raptor migration occurring during the beginning of autumn. It is a spectacular sighting to see tens of thousands raptors flying and gliding on currents of hot airs rising through the peninsula.

On October 17, we woke up quite early, had simple breakfast, and rode our scooters back to Sheding Nature Park where many bird-watchers and photographers gather to see and capture this phenomenon.

Shortly after leaving the dormitory, we saw a Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos canicapillus). It was definitely to find a lifer for me, as well as the idea of another cavity-nester sharing the same habitat as our Taiwan Barbet. I wonder if there are direct competitions between the two species in terms of cavity resources.

Later on, we also came across a group of Formosan Rock Macaques which are pretty common in the area.

On the way to the platform of the highest point in the park, we encountered a few more interesting animals/plants.

Plank Root Tree (Heritiera littoralis). From its root system, you can probably guess that this is a species that live near mangroves with fluctuating tides.

Taiwan Giant Cricket (Brachytrupes portentosus) - it was already dead but I uprighted it for a documentation.

A friendly dog belonging to the person in charge of the dormitories.

Candidiopotamon rathbunae with my shoe stopping it from moving for a second. C. rathbunae is a freshwater crab and has the widest distribution in Taiwan. Even though both pincers are about the same size, the left is slightly larger. They are the largest and most fierce freshwater crabs in Taiwan, and they can be found underneath rocks or leaves alongside streams, as well as in muddy holes.

Athyma cama zoroastres.

An unknown species from Family Pompilidae.

Once we arrived at the platform, there were probably tens of photographers and birders there. Even though I can see many birds flying in the sky, there were too unfamiliar for me to identify right away (and plus they were just too fast). I didn't capture any images of the must-see Grey-Faced Buzzard. Instead I got a couple of shots of bird-in-flight (one of the reasons why I would like to own a DSLR) and identified only after I sat down and opened my field guides. Needless to say, they are all lifers for me!

Besra (Accipiter virgatus)

Oriental Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)

Oriental Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) - a honey-feeding accipiter. I believe this is a male because it is lighter in color.

After lunch, we headed to the Manzhou Eagle-watching Expo, but it was too far away and by the time we got there, the expo already came to an end.

Near dark, we scootered back towards our dormitory (along the windy waterfront and the dangerous encounter of a bull out-of-nowhere in a dark road) to pack up our luggages and prepare heading to Taipei.

Along the dark roads, we came across a roadkilled Taiwan Green Snake (Cyclophiops major). RIP.

As well as finding a stickbug (Entoria koshungensis) right outside or dorm. So cool! The people that helped me id this believe it is a male.

After dinner, we took a taxi ride to Kaohsiung (about 2 hours). Spend another hour or so in Kaohsiung waiting for the shuttle bus to Taipei. We left Kaohsiung just past midnight, and when we woke up in Taipei, it was almost 6-am (of October 18th, Sunday)! We ate some early breakfast and said good-bye to each other and headed to our own homes - because we have a get-together later that night in a friend's home again.

So early...and so tiring!

That concludes my work-trip to Southern Taiwan which was both memorable and important (to me) at the same time. I miss it so much.

366 days ago (2009-01-29) ...
.

Exploring the Silver-Dragon Cave at night (2009-10-16)

I was helping my mother cleaning the house today, so I didn't have time to go out and wildlife watch. So here's a continuation of my trip in southern Taiwan after watching the sunset in Guanshan (2009-10-16).

After having mouth-watering dumplings for dinner, we headed back to our dormitory. And after getting some rest, we went to explore a public-accessible cave in the Kenting Botanical Garden. Since the whole area is closed off during the evening, we were the only people able to go into it. The cave is called Silver-Dragon Cave and it is a natural limestone cave.

Below were some of the species we saw. I tried to identify most of them and asked for help on forums and so forth, but not all were identified.

Pancala Snail (Pancala batanica pancala). Taiwan has more than 170 snail species, and the Pancala Snail is an endemic subspecies found only in the Hengchuan Peninsula. This special snail has the special trait of being left handedness. I just Googled an interesting information about "handedness" in snails here - for interest's sake.


Next is a large cave-dwelling cricket called Ceuthophilus maculatus. Or maybe a different species in the same genus, I am not totally sure. But it sure is cool to see such large insects crawling on walls all around you in a narrow cave.


This is a mammal that I was very surprised and happy to see in a cave - Formosan Tube-nosed Bat (Murina puta) - an animal that I researched in in the summer of 2008! You can read about my stories from that summer here - good times! It is surprising because it should be a forest dwelling bat, not cave-dwelling, but I guess since the cave is surrounded by forests, it is much safer in a cave than in the furled plant leaf. This species is easily identified by its pointy nostrils (clearly seen in the picture). Wow!


Then we encountered a female Geothelphusa albogilva. It is a freshwater crab endemic in Taiwan and most common in the Hengchuan Peninsula.


The cave itself is fairly narrow and short, and pretty soon we entered the forest and started shining lights everywhere to see some wildlife. We didn't have much luck and the only animal we saw was this small Stejneger's Narrow-mouthed Toad (Micryletta stejnegeri). They are fairly easy identified with their small body size (2 ~ 3-cm) and their dark metallic gray or brown color.


After a while, we gave up and returned back to the cave and to our mopeds. On the cave wall, we spotted this Hekou's Gecko (Gekko hokouensis) - it has alternating dark and light patterns running from the middoral to the tail, and it's tail is more rounded rather than flattened.


Then we saw a large unidentified Heteropoda spp. hiding in the cracks of the cave. Wow.

After we came out of the cave, our light shone on a Acanthaspis immodesta. Neat insect to see before we conclude our adventure and head back to the dorm for a shower and sleep.

365 days ago (2008-12-28) ...
.

Escape to my memories (2009-10-16) - Guanshan Views

With the dark heavy clouds and a flood warning in effect here in the Lower Mainland, I wish it was snowing instead raining. Or even better, I wish that I am in some place warm and sunny. So I guess I will continue with my days from my trip in southern Taiwan.

After enjoying the beaches and a wonderful seafood lunch, we headed to Guanshan (Guan Mountain) where we were trying to see one of the phenomenons we were here for - The Raptor Migration! I will get to the migration in later posts, but while in Guanshan we were able to enjoy the beautiful setting sun across the Taiwan Strait.

Sunny views!

Many raptors flying and hovering in the sky, where they will head to the forests in Manjhou Township for the overnight rest.

Too bad there were too many clouds that day.

Otherwise we would had a really nice view of the sunset. But this wasn't bad either.

365 days ago (2008-11-15) ...

PS - You can read a short and informative summary about the Raptor Migration here - "A Brief History of Grey-Faced Buzzard Conservation in Taiwan" by Mark B. Wilkie. It has more information that I originally know before.
.

Beaches...in Taiwan (2009-10-16)

After we completed our search of potential cavities in Sheding Nature Park, we headed to the next town for some lunch. Along the way, we stopped by several beautiful beaches and captured images of the beautiful warm sunny day. I can just imagine them if I close my eyes and think back...

Below are photos from South Bay Beach where we stayed for a little while collecting some shells and wrote our names in the sand...

I am no hermit crab expert, but after searching and comparing, I think I found a Wrinkled Hermit Crab (Coenobita rugosus) while we were at White Sand Bay, which was a famous backdrop for well-known Taiwanese movie "Cape No. 7".

Wrinkled Hermit Crab

Wrinkled Hermit Crab on top of a sand-hill. It was roughly about 5-cm in diameter.

Ahh! Good times!!

365 days ago (2008-11-08) ...

.

Beautiful day at Sheding Nature Park (2009-10-16)

After the exciting encounter with the Beauty Snake, we rode our motor scooters to the Sheding Nature Park close to the research center.

That morning, the park was BEAUTIFUL! The beautiful blue sky with a large grassy field, and a comfortable warming sky. Life did not get better than that!

Sheding Nature Park

Since we arrived extra early without all the tourists yet, there were several egrets still wandering around freely on the field.

In southern Taiwan, one of the birds you must see is the Styan's Bulbul (a.k.a. Taiwan Bulbul) (Pycnonotus taivanus). P. taivanus is endemic to southern and eastern Taiwan, and even though it may looks similar to the Light-vented Bulbul that I posted oh-so many times before from northern Taiwan, the distinct feature of Styan's Bulbul is its black crown (rather than white in Light-vented Bulbul).

Styan's Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (Pycnonotus taivanus)

Even though Styan's Bulbul and Light-vented Bulbul share a common ancestor, Styan's Bulbul is proposed to arrived earlier in Taiwan Island than Light-vented Bulbul from mainland China. And where the two species overlap, hybridization may take place. Lately, due to the religious releases of caged birds (i.e. Light-vented Bulbul) not in their natural distributions, the purity of the genetics of Styan's Bulbul is affected and causing concern among conservationists.

Oh, what to do, you pretty bird?

Anyways, after researching in the park, we headed back to the research center to get some personal belongings and then went into town for lunch.

Outside the center, we took several beautiful shots of Hengchun Township. It's almost just like last year on Lanyu (Orchid Island)! I love this kind of weather!!!

365 days ago (2008-11-01) ...

.

Stripe-tailed Rat Snake in Hengchun Research Center!

Richmond is still being a wet, gray, gloomy, and not-outdoor friendly place. So I continued to shift my attention to the sunny Pingtung County of southern Taiwan.

After a very educational and fruitful day at NMMBA, we returned to our reserved dorm in Hengchun Research Center, which is another place belonging to the governmental organization - Taiwan Forest Research Institute (TFRI).

The following Friday morning (10/16), we were ready to leave the research center and began our tasks. But before we even left the place, we saw a beautiful snake crossing the trail. It was a Stripe-tailed Rat Snake (Elaphe taeniura)!

It was aware of our presence when we approached, and acted very scary!

E. taeniura (Colubridae) is not a poisonous snake, although it can grow up to 250-cm. This one was at least 150-cm and very beautiful. It has a olive-yellowish color with black diamond patterns on the first half of the snake, and then a stripe running down the rest of its body.

The patterns.

Another common name for E. taeniura is Beauty Snake. It used to be commonly found in Taiwan, but because of its beautiful patterns and suitable length and width, it was captured to make belts during the times when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. It is also common pet to be kept. Currently, E. taeniura is a protected species in Taiwan.

Another distinct feature of this species is the black brow. What a beauty and an excellent start to the day!

Oh yeah! Happy Halloween to all!!

365 days ago (2008-10-30) ...

.

Think back to two weeks ago...at NMMBA

As the rain continues to fall here in Canada, I sit warmly indoors trying to do work.

Then I think back to two weeks ago, where my co-workers and I were at sunny southern Taiwan visiting the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium (NMMBA). What an fantastic place! Personally, I think it is several times better than the so-called world famous Vancouver Aquarium. Besides the more reasonable ticket price, NMMBA is huge! With two different buildings full of exhibits and displays and wide spaces and gorgeous views to the ocean, one full day is not enough to see everything.

A beautiful water playground for both children and adults to enjoy.

A real-sized Whale Shark model (Rhincodon typus)

A more realistic Whale Plaza right front of the main building showing Sperm Whales and Humpback Whales! Here is someone's post (in Chinese) about the constructions for this particular plaza.

Here's one of the Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) performing its well-known breaching courtship ritual.

Outside the second main building was a beautiful artscape named "Giant Squids Swim Freely" by Arthur Yang - it featurs five giant squids swimming and "symbolizing the all-encompassing ocean".

Fantastic!

Scurrying toward the "Water of the World".

At the end of the day, we enjoyed the beautiful view and waited for the sun to set.

Good times!
.

Missing the sunny days in southern Taiwan...and the good memories

The weather here in Canada is cloudy and gloomy, and the forecast predicted rain for the upcoming weeks. Sigh.

I rarely, if not ever, post photos of people in my blog, mainly because I'm not very good at taking people pictures and because I rarely had good subjects. I was just sorting through some of my better photos from my work trip and had two photos of people in it, and both were of my good friend, Sammy.

Sammy is a nice and smart girl with a bright future ahead of her, and I wish her all the best. Plus, I want to thank her for the times that I told her to hold her pose so that I can take her photos. Thank you!

Go! Go! Go!

365 days ago (2008-10-28) ...

.

Announcement

Just like this time last year in Canada, today's weather in Taipei was gray and gloomy, and I was inside the office all day trying to finish my paper.

Before my work terminates, I will be going to southern Taiwan for a work trip. I shall be away from Taipei and blogging from tomorrow (Thursday) to Sunday. So I wish an early happy weekend to everybody.

Ciao!

Edit: Thought I post a photo of me enjoying the beautiful southern weather during the trip! Fantastic! More to come in other posts!

365 days ago (2008-10-14) ...
.