Eat water caltrop to save pheasant-tailed jacana chicks! Jacana Park joins hands with PX Mart, "Ling Zhi Ling" protects farmers and cares for ecology

The friendly water caltrop grown to protect the pheasant-tailed jacana is now available at PX Mart! Twenty years ago, fewer than 200 pheasant-tailed jacanas remained in Taiwan. Thanks to vigorous rewilding efforts by civil groups, the Forestry Bureau and local governments, the number has finally reached over 1,000. However, the pheasant-tailed jacana loves to inhabit water caltrop fields, so to conserve the jacana, the water caltrop industry must be preserved at the same time!

Pheasant-tailed jacanas face many dangers in the fields, including accidental injury to nests and eggs during harvesting by water caltrop farmers, chicks falling into ditches and being unable to climb out, or getting lime sprinkled by farmers into their eyes. Li Wenzhen, director of the Pheasant-tailed Jacana Ecology Education Park, said that jacanas are highly territorial and compete with each other for territory, so more friendly water caltrop fields are needed for them to continue living in peace. PX Mart stated that this cooperation is not a one-time effort but a long-term partnership, and if friendly water caltrop production increases in the future, it will be stocked in more stores.

The "Rippling Wave Fairy" pheasant-tailed jacana, with legs as long as Sister Chiling's, builds nests exclusively in water caltrop fields

Following the launch of the eco-friendly "Eagle Red Beans," PX Mart launched "Ling Zhi Ling" on September 9 this year, a collaboration between the Pheasant-tailed Jacana Ecology Education Park and Lin Huishan, the "Black Kite Princess" of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, with supply from friendly water caltrop farmers. It is available in 100 stores across Taiwan, featuring 2 varieties of pesticide-free water caltrop from friendly water caltrop fields in Guantian, Tainan, and calls on everyone to "eat water caltrop, save the jacana."

The pheasant-tailed jacana, known as the "Rippling Wave Fairy," uses water caltrop fields as its habitat and is truly a "water caltrop bird," building nests, laying eggs, incubating and foraging on water caltrop leaves. Other floating plants such as lotus and water hyacinth cannot provide cover, and only water caltrop, with its layered leaves, is suitable for jacana nesting, which is why jacanas love to live in water caltrop fields.

The brand name "Ling Zhi Ling" means that the jacana and water caltrop depend on each other for survival. In addition, the Rippling Wave Fairy jacana, like Tainan-born actress Lin Chiling, has slender long legs and looks very graceful when walking on water. However, more than twenty years ago, due to the reduction of water caltrop fields and farmers' conventional farming practices, fewer than 200 of these beautiful jacanas remained in Taiwan.

Water caltrop field area shrinking year by year, pesticide poisoning, jacana survival at stake

Arriving in Tainan, the first thing you see when leaving Longtian Railway Station is a landmark featuring water caltrop imagery. However, because water caltrop cultivation is laborious and difficult, the area continues to shrink. According to Council of Agriculture statistics, in Year 90 of the Republic of China (2001), the total water caltrop planting area in Taiwan was 738.68 hectares, and last year (Year 108 of the Republic of China, 2019) only 480.46 hectares remained, with 408.19 hectares in Tainan. Guantian District is the largest production area in Taiwan, with a water caltrop planting area of 322.21 hectares and a yield of 3,497 metric tons, accounting for 68% of Taiwan's total production.

There are several varieties of Guantian water caltrop, including four-horned caltrop, two-horned caltrop, red caltrop and green-skinned caltrop. The most common are four-horned and two-horned caltrop, which have different growing schedules. According to Taiwan's three major festivals, four-horned caltrop is planted around Chinese New Year, four-horned caltrop harvesting begins and two-horned caltrop is planted around Dragon Boat Festival, and by Mid-Autumn Festival four-horned caltrop harvest is complete and two-horned caltrop harvest begins, which is also the time for four-horned caltrop harvest.

The shrinking of water caltrop fields means reduced habitat for jacanas, and jacana poisoning has also been reported from time to time. Most water caltrop farmers use conventional farming methods, and some soak rice grains with pesticides such as carbofuran and fenthion to make bait to prevent bird and rodent damage, which has caused mass jacana poisoning. In 1998, when the high-speed rail was being built, the route passed through Hulupi and Deyuanpi, cutting through jacana habitat, making the jacana's survival even more precarious.

Lime spread everywhere, field-edgeUU-shaped ditches, jacana chicks face dangers from the moment they hatch

Because of the water caltrop industry, Guantian has become the last refuge for pheasant-tailed jacanas, but it is quite difficult for jacanas to go from hatching to reaching adulthood.

The transition between spring and summer is the courtship and breeding season for jacanas. After mating, the female jacana lays eggs, which are incubated by the male. The male builds a nest in the water caltrop field. Because jacanas are extremely territorial and compete with each other for territory, there are usually at most two nests per 0.1-hectare plot, with 3 to 4 eggs per nest and a hatching rate of about 80%. Even after successful hatching, survival in the fields is full of challenges.

Walking near the water caltrop fields of Guantian, you can see many fields covered in white, as if it had snowed. However, what is on the water caltrop leaves is not snow, but lime powder. Mr. Zhang, who has grown water caltrop for over 20 years, wears waterproof clothing on his lower body and drags a basin full of lime, sprinkling as he walks. "Lime powder is to 'clean the water' for the water caltrop field. If the water is too dirty, the water caltrop won't grow well." Before harvest, water caltrop farmers spread lime powder about once every two weeks to clean the water quality.

However, this lime is a major threat to jacanas. Newly hatched jacana chicks are often hit by lime at this time, causing blindness and even death. In addition, the water caltrop fields are surrounded by cement U-shaped ditches, and the ditch walls are steep and deep. Many creatures in the fields, such as jacana chicks and Mauremys mutica turtles, find it hard to climb out if they accidentally fall in. If the current is fast, some creatures are washed away and can never return home.

Chicks often fall into ditches and cannot get out; park volunteers patrol and rescue every day

In 2000, the Pheasant-tailed Jacana Ecology Education Park was established to conserve the jacana. Current park director Li Wenzhen said that the survival of water caltrop fields and jacanas is interdependent, and the prerequisite for jacana recovery is keeping the water caltrop fields. The Tainan City Government offers rewards for jacana conservation, giving bonuses to water caltrop farmers if their fields have jacana nests, so bamboo poles marking the location of jacana nests and eggs are often seen in water caltrop fields.

Park volunteer Wu Ming rides around the water caltrop fields every day, recording the number and location of nests and eggs. Another major task is rescuing birds. Whenever he sees chicks that have fallen into the U-shaped ditches, he records the coordinates, and after fellow park members arrive, they rescue the birds together. "Rescuing birds is actually not easy. Some ditches are very high, and the chicks don't move, so they are hard to find. They are also very afraid of people and keep dodging when they see us." Wu Ming said that rescuing birds requires blocking them from both sides. After the birds are rescued, they are marked, raised in the park, and released into the wild after growing up. Sometimes during patrols he also sees familiar jacanas.

Wu Ming knows the nests, eggs and jacana growth conditions of every water caltrop field like the back of his hand. As soon as he reaches the edge of a water caltrop field, he can see which birds are in the field from afar without binoculars. He is also very familiar with jacana habits. "The jacana has a graceful shape, and many people approach to photograph it. The jacana father will call out, but that is actually a warning call, because there are eggs nearby. That call is not a welcome, but a signal for people to leave."

Many water caltrop farmers notify Wu Ming immediately when they discover jacana nests and eggs. Isn't it tiring to patrol under the sun every day like this? He laughed and said, "Being able to see the graceful jacana lifts my mood. Rescuing jacanas, watching them grow up well and return to the water caltrop fields to have babies, I feel very fulfilled."

Green conservation water caltrop farmers do not use lime, instead using bacteria to clean fields and widening field ridges with grass to make the environment more livable for creatures

Li Wenzhen said that although the jacana population in Taiwan has recovered to 1,741, there are only 17 hectares of friendly water caltrop fields. The water caltrop sold at PX Mart this time comes from farmer Lin Binghuo. Now 49 years old and having grown water caltrop for 24 years, he came across the Forestry Bureau's Green Conservation Label 9 years ago and began the path of friendly water caltrop farming.

Lin Binghuo currently cultivates more than one jia of friendly water caltrop fields. Walking into his water caltrop field, you can see five or six jacanas spreading their wings gracefully or walking on the water caltrop leaves at the same time. "Seeing more and more jacanas makes me very happy."

Lin Binghuo said