Taiwan Blue Magpie breeds in Taipei Botanical Garden for the first time, and you are invited to help protect it
Taiwan Blue Magpies are getting closer and closer to urban residents! Recently a brood of Taiwan Blue Magpies was born in Taipei Botanical Garden, and right now 4 lively, flitting fledglings plus 1 pair of parent birds can be seen in the garden. If you are lucky, you can even watch the Taiwan Blue Magpies bathing. The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture calls on everyone to join in protecting them; please stay quiet when observing, and do not do anything that disturbs the Taiwan Blue Magpies.
Dr. Ge Zhaonian, a bird expert at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, points out that Taiwan Blue Magpies most often appear in low-altitude broadleaf forests, and can also be seen in parks and green spaces near mountainous areas, but they are rarely found in downtown areas far from the mountains. This spring a pair of magpies built a nest and raised chicks in Taipei Botanical Garden, which can be said to be a phenomenon that had never happened before.
Ge Zhaonian says that this pair of magpies produced 4 fledglings in total, and the 4 fledglings are now 1 month old. Whether they can grow up smoothly in the city center, as well as their future movements, all require close observation.
After continuous observation, Ge Zhaonian says that this pair of magpies came to the botanical garden in March this year and produced their 1st brood in May, but all the fledglings died. They tried again and in June produced a 2nd brood of fledglings, which finally successfully left the nest. Because magpies are social animals, when breeding they usually have helpers to assist in feeding the fledglings and watching out for safety on all sides, yet this pair of magpies raised 4 fledglings to maturity without any helpers, which was truly not easy at all. For example, Crested Goshawks circled over the botanical garden hunting for food, and fortunately the parent birds protected the fledglings properly, so they were able to avert danger.
Ge Zhaonian points out that during the period after the magpie fledglings left the nest, they were still cared for and fed by the parent birds. The two parent birds fed the fledglings at least 6 times per hour, and the food included plant fruits, insects, reptiles, small birds and so on; they did not even spare the dragon fruit on the rooftop outside the botanical garden wall.
The contact phone number provided by the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute for reports is 02-23039978#2515, or online at http://ppt.cc/CMTY and email: [email protected] .
People interested in observing the movements of the Taiwan Blue Magpies in Taipei Botanical Garden can also watch on the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute website, at the URL http://goo.gl/cJbBtQ