TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The long distances that migratory birds travel each year can be grueling as more than a dozen gray-faced buzzards unexpectedly rested on a boat overnight during their migration.
The individual who spotted the buzzards, surnamed Lin (林), saw them circling overhead at dusk in the Bashi Channel. Apparently, his boat's location was directly in the migratory path of these buzzards returning to Japan for the spring and summer months.
Lin has 10 years of sailing experience and originally mistook the mid-sized raptors for seagulls. Gray-faced buzzards are known for their strength and ability to travel long distances.
Lin quickly took out his cell phone to record the amazing scene of the buzzards perching and resting aboard his boat. His location was still quite some distance from land, and with night approaching, these buzzards were in search of a place to rest. The next morning, they went off at dawn.
Gray-faced buzzards rest overnight on a ship in Baishi Channel. (Lin Yung-chih Facebook photo)
After loading the pictures to Facebook, Lin received many responses from netizens including Liu Chuan (劉川), a bird watcher in Pingtung, who said bird migration can be very exhausting behavior for many bird species. Liu said raptors are adept at flying, though long sea crossings are difficult.
Liu said these gray-faced buzzards must have been extremely tired to undertake such a forced-landing on this boat as well as remain in place when a boat passenger appears, as these buzzards are quite timid.
Kenting National Park Administration Deputy Director Hsu Shu-kuo (許書國) says the gray-faced buzzard's main wintering location is in the Philippines. When it migrates south, it will congregate in the Hengchun Peninsula for a week around October 10 before flying out.
Upon returning north, the number of gray-faced buzzard crossings on the Hengchun Peninsula becomes sporadic and unpredictable. Hsu encouraged the public to come to Kenting to learn more about the remarkable migratory travels of this wild bird species.
