Birding In Taiwan - Taiwanese Birding Stories

Birding STORY, November 2005

George Clulow

Burnaby, BC, Canada

So what’s more memorable: a cracking view of a deep blue and black Formosan Magpie drifting across a green, forested hillside, its white bordered tail streaming behind, and then landing for a great scope view; or a close binocular look at a Yellow [Taiwan] Tit, suddenly appearing in a mixed flock of passerines, its brilliant yellow breast and striking black crest locked in view, and just as suddenly disappearing with the departing flock? How do you choose?

Both birds are etched in my memory, but the tit maybe with a little more emotion attached. Birders know that sinking feeling. You’ve been in the right habitat for a couple of days, one other person in the party has seen it, and the dreaded thought of “dipping” on a bird you’d really like to see is starting to creep into the mind, and these next couple of hours may be the last chance. And then, almost at the last minute there it is, right there. Not for long, but long enough to be etched into the brain, and anchored there with that mixture of excitement and relief at a spectacular new bird — one that almost got away!

與鳥兒的故事

George Clulow

哪種經驗比較令人難忘?

是發現一隻藍黑相間的Formosan Magpie，迅速的拂過綠意盎然的茂密山腹，白色鑲邊的尾巴在身後飄揚，一個停憩便是一幅完美的構圖?或是由雙眼望遠鏡中驚奇的在一大群雀鳥中發現一隻Yellow(Taiwan) Tit，它胸前那抹金黃與明顯的深黑羽冠鎖在這一片風景之中，然後剎那之間消失在離去的鳥群之中?

這叫人該如何做出選擇?

雖然這兩種都深深刻劃在我的回憶中，但是對於tit我卻有另一股感情在裡頭。所有愛鳥人士都能體會這種消沉的感覺—你已經在正確的棲息地枯守了好多天，而你們同行中已經有人看到這種鳥了，此時絕望感開始悄悄的潛入你的心中，接下來的幾個小時將是關鍵的最後時刻。然而，幾乎是在你即將要放棄的最後一刻，它出現了。不算長的時間，卻剛好足夠讓你將它烙印在腦海中，並靜靜感受自己心中，交織著激動與寬慰—終於看到這隻驚人且差點讓它逃脫的鳥兒!