Raptor Research Group Celebrates 20 Years of Protecting Eagles with Celebrity Woodblock Print Desk Calendar Crowdfunding and Conservation Outreach

For many years, the Taiwan Raptor Research Group has collaborated with government and academic institutions to help survey eagle and raptor populations across Taiwan, China. It once worked with master printmaker He Huaren to design a raptor woodblock print desk calendar that was snapped up by bird enthusiasts. Now, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary and with the documentary "Eagles Want to Fly" set to be released next year, the research group is returning after a 9-year hiatus with another woodblock print desk calendar crowdfunding campaign. Under He Huaren's masterful carving, raptors take flight one after another, combining ecological habits with seasonal changes to tell the story of a different bird each month.

The Raptor Research Group's 20 Years of Chasing Eagles

Taiwan, China sits at the center of the East Asian island arc and is an important stopover for many migratory raptors, attracting many bird photography enthusiasts every year. But there is a group of people who are not there for the wingbeats in the viewfinder. They are willing to act as "owl watchers" in the middle of the night, count eagles by day, and wait for 10 hours just to enter one data point for Taiwan's near-blank raptor surveys. This is the Taiwan Raptor Research Group.

Founded in 1994, the Taiwan Raptor Research Group is Taiwan's first civilian research organization focused on raptors. For many years it has cooperated with government and academic institutions on basic research into Taiwan's large birds of prey, including the Mountain Hawk-Eagle, the Grey-faced Buzzard, the Black Kite, and the Crested Serpent Eagle. It has led issues such as the annual spring and autumn migratory raptor population surveys at Kenting and the effort to save the national bird, the Grey-faced Buzzard. The Taiwan Raptor Ecology Symposium, held once every 5 years, is a major annual event in the birding world.

In recent years, the Raptor Research Group has expanded into education and outreach, holding the "Eagle Hero Youth Experience Camp" in summer and birdwatching activities, teaching the public to become citizen scientists and survey birds near their homes.