TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Taichung Branch held the 24-hour Dasyueshan Bird Race at 10 a.m. Friday (Sept. 6), with 30 domestic and international teams racing to identify the largest number of bird species.

Organizers of the event said Dasyueshan Forest Road has an abundance of bird species, frequently attracting international birders. It was the first year following the pandemic that foreign teams from Japan, Malaysia, and the Philippines were able to participate, per CNA.

The 14th edition of the annual competition was won by a team comprised of a local cooperative in Dasyueshan. The team spotted 336 different birds representing 104 species. Among all those registered in the competition, 136 bird species were identified.

Japanese birder Iozawa Himaru said he had participated in two previous competitions and was grateful for the chance to return to Taiwan. He said his team has decades of bird-watching experience in Japan, though they are new to identifying Taiwanese bird species. 

A birding team from the Philippines also expressed their joy in traveling to Taiwan and interacting with Taiwanese bird-watching teams. They noted how the competition was organized and looked forward to forming another team next year.

The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Taichung Branch said the competition and professional judges help create a census of birds in Dasyueshan. Data compiled by teams was also added to the database eBird, sharing environmental data with scientists and environmentalists.