The Hushan Dam Project
One can't talk about the Huben-Hushan area and birds without mentioning the big axe poised to cut out its heart and destroy so much of this wonderful area.
On Sunday 28 January I attended a debate in Legislative Yuan up in Taipei on the
Hushan Dam project. The following Sunday, 4 February, I attended a get together of various concerned people to go over the proposed Hushan Dam site with some journalists.
Present was Chen Jin-jhun (Chairman WBSY) and myself from the Wild Bird Society of Yunlin. Robin Winkler (EPA Commissioner and founder of
Wild at Heart) and Funder Chen from Wild at Heart Legal Defence Association. Then, Scott Lin Ruey-shing, of the Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute and Liao Guan-mao, of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.
We met up with Taiwan based writer Steven Crook and photographer Richard Matheson who we covering the story for a number of local English publications and then Ho Shu-chuan and Chang Yi-wen from the China Times Weekly.
While the current budget for the Dam itself remains frozen for the time being, work on access roads and tunnelling for the dam is still continuing and destroying important habitat within the Huben IBA.
While going over the dam site I was able to add
White-bellied Green Pigeon to both my Huben list and year list. A local patch tick is always a great joy.
Below, I've included some details of threatened species found within the Hushan-Huben area and details of the IBA.
Status of the Huben Area
The Huben-Hushan area has been internationally identified as an IBA or Important Bird Area and is listed as one of Asia’s key sites for conservation (Birdlife, 2004, p 94). The details of the Huben IBA are as follows:-
Important Bird Areas in Taiwan.
Number: TW017.
Category: A1.
Admin Region: Yunlin.
Coordinates: 23
° 43’N 120° 36’E.
Altitude (highest point): 519m.
Area: 2,200 ha.
Habitats: Artificial landscapes (terrestrial); Forest.
Threatened Species: Fairy Pitta
Pitta nympha.
Protected Area Status of the IBA: Unprotected.
Threatended Species in the Huben-Hushan Area
1.
Taiwan Partridge Arborophila crudigularis (Swinhoe 1864) Endemic to Taiwan.
Threatened Species Category: Globally Threatened Species.
IUCN Red List Category: Near Threatened.
Protection: Legally protected in Taiwan.
Status in Huben-Hushan Area: Resident.
2.
Swinhoe's Pheasant Lophura swinhoii (Gould 1863) Endemic to Taiwan.
Threatened Species Category: Globally Threatened Species.
IUCN Red List Category: Near Threatened.
Protection: CITES appendix 1. Legally protected in Taiwan.
Status in Huben-Hushan Area: Resident.
3.
Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii ardens (Swinhoe 1862) Endemic Subspecies.
Threatened Species Category: Nationally Threatened Species.
IUCN Red List Category: Endangered.
Protection: Legally protected in Taiwan.
Status in Huben-Hushan Area: Resident.
4.
Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha (Temminck & Schlegel 1850) Summer breeding resident.
Threatened Species Category: Globally Threatened Species.
IUCN Red List Category: Vulnerable.
Protection: CITES appendix II. Legally protected in Taiwan.
Status in Huben-Hushan Area: Summer breeding resident.
Huben-Hushan Species Listed on the Taiwan Red Data Watch List
1. Malayan Night Heron Gorsachius melanolophus (Raffles 1822) Resident.
2. Peregrine Falcon Falco Peregrinus (Tunstall 1771) Rare Visitor.
3. Slaty-legged Crake Rallina eurizonoides (Lafresnaye 1845) Probably Resident.
4. Ruddy-breasted Crake Porzana fusca (Linnaeus 1766) Resident.
5. Red Collared Dove Streptopelia tranquebarica (Hermann1804) Resident.
6. Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus 1758) Resident.
7. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis (Linnaeus 1758) Resident.
8. Ruddy Kingfisher Halcyon coromanda (Latham 1790) Passage Migrant.
9. Varied Tit Parus varius (Temminck & Schlegel 1848) Rare Visitor.
10. Bright-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis (Vigors & Horsfield 1827) Probably Resident.
11. Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula (Franklin 1831) Visitor.
References
Birdlife International,
Important Bird Areas in Asia. Key Sites for Conservation (Wakefield, UK, H.Charlesworth & Co, 2004).
Fang,
A Guide to Threatened Birds of Taiwan (Taipei,
Mao-tou Ying, 2005).