A Taiwan International Bird Watching Marathon 2023 is going to take place at the Tainan Chigu Visitor Center from October 28th to 29th. It is also a free registration birding event here in Taipei, Taiwan.
This is also the only 24-hour bird watching event in Taiwan, which has been running for the last ten years. This year marks the eleventh year of the unique bird marathon, the Taiwan International Birdathon 2023.
Taiwan International Bird Watching Marathon 2023
When writing this, in August 2023, there was not much information about the Taiwan International Bird Watching Marathon. What we know is taken from a Mandarin website highlighting this bird event.
Generally, the competition is divided into several groups: senior birders, novice birders, and younger birders, so there is fairness among the groups.
- The senior or advanced category will have a total of 16 groups.
- The novice category has a total of 9 groups.
- Younger birders, which is a parent-child group totalling eight groups.
There is also a special international group which will be invited to participate, which comprises ten groups. However, the international participants will be placed in the other groups to learn and exchange information.
For additional information, there are over 686 species of birds in Taiwan, including 32 endemic species and 52 endemic subspecies.
Activity Description for the Taiwan International Birdathon
Participants in the 24-hour competition are encouraged to follow the best birdwatching routes recommended by the organisers or plan their routes. They are expected to photograph the birds found in the wetlands of the Southwest Coast region or record the bird species they hear using the eBird platform, which will be used as the judging criteria.
Locations of the Taiwan International Bird Watching Marathon
From what I know, it will be held at several locations around Taiwan, namely at Yunlinkou Lake, Tainan Beimen and Qigu Visitor Centers. But for the full information, I am unable to obtain the list of places. It is also claimed that there will be a total of 14 hotspots for the birdathon or bird watching marathon this year.
The main website lists the administrative districts of Tainan City, Yunlin County and Chiayi County (from Hukou Wetland at the northern end, Aogu Wetland and Puzixikou Wetland, Haomeiliao Wetland and Nanbudai Wetland to Beimen Lagoon, Qigu Wetland and Sicao Wetland at the southern end, including Alishan and other areas).
Taiwan International Bird Watching Marathon Information
- Date: 28-29 October
- Time: Check with the organiser
- Start Venue: Tainan Qigu Visitor Center, Tainan City
- Website: Taiwan Birdathon 2023 (This is the only English website I found)
Registration: Free online registration（A deposit of NT1,000 is required at registration, which will be refunded together with the handling fee on the day of the event.)
Conclusion
For those planning to visit here and attend the Taiwan International Bird Watching Marathon 2023, please double check the registration, and you can get more info from the website above. It is in English; you can change the site to simplified Chinese if you read Chinese.
Also, note that the Taiwan Bird Fair 2023 is happening one week before this birdathon from 21-22 October, so if you are all out for birdwatching in Taiwan, I suggest you attend both festivals back-to-back.
Unfortunately, Birdwatching Asia will not be there, but we hope that next year, we will have the opportunity to visit Taiwan and explore the birdwatching scene there even better if we could attend any of the birding events.
