By Wayne Hsu (taken from GATEPOST, May 1999, titled "Birding in Taiwan")

Birding Basics
    The only essential equipment for watching birds are a pair of binoculars and a field guide to the birds of Taiwan. Don't be tempted to buy cheap binoculars. High-quality binoculars from reputable companies may be costly, but your expense will be paid off by a durable pair that will reward you with a lifetime of clear, sharp views. The most ideal magnification is between 7x and 10x. Anything lower will not be powerful enough to bring faraway birds up close, and anything larger will make it too difficult to hold sufficiently steady. In addition, the small field of view of too high a power makes it more difficult to locate birds and too dark for distinguishing color; fields of view too large just add unnecessary weight to the binoculars. Lens sizes between 20 and 40 mm usually give the most ideal field of view. A number of field guides are available in nature shops and wild bird societies (see Resources) that will greatly assist in identifying birds. A small note pad and pen are important for making records of the day's observations. The dress code is whatever's comfortable, though you should avoid colorful or noisy clothing that might scare birds away. A hat is recommended but not essential. Lastly, don't forget to bring water and some snacks on longer trips. You are now ready to go birding!

When to go birding
    Birding is possible at any time of the day, any day of the year. However, there are a few tips to keep in mind. Birds are most active early in the morning, especially at the crack of dawn when they start feeding after a night's rest. Activity dies down at midday as the temperature rises and then picks up again in late afternoon. Accordingly, the best times to find birds are early morning and late afternoon. At night, nocturnal birds such as owls and nightjars become active. Overcast days are the best for birding. In sunny weather, the day warms up rapidly and most birds reduce their activity by mid-morning. Some birds are active on rainy days, but many species tend to stay quietly hidden in the forest. In Taiwan, the best seasons for watching birds are autumn, when northern birds pass through on their way to their tropical wintering grounds, and spring, when they return to the north to breed again. Some migrants stop in Taiwan and do not migrate any further during the winter. These additional birds make winter the next best season for bird-watching. Furthermore, birds of the higher elevations descend to lower elevations during the coldest months in search of food and warmth. There are very few summer migrants in Taiwan, mainly breeding terns on offshore islands and a number of cuckoos. Although summer is a relatively poor season for birding, this is the best time to see many of the sedentary species that have acquired their colorful breeding plumage and to watch young birds fledge.

Where to go birding
    In Taiwan, birds are almost everywhere. Nevertheless, finding the most suitable habitat will guarantee you the most success in locating and identifying more than just the few most adaptable species of birds.

Urban Parks and Botanical Gardens
    Probably the most convenient places for most people to find birds, these green islands situated in the middle of busy cities draw birds from all directions that assemble to feed, roost, and breed. Besides the most common urban birds such as sparrows and pigeons, a large variety of other birds may be seen such as Spotted Doves, Black Bulbuls, Gray Treepies, and colorful Muller's Barbets. Parrots, mynas, and other exotic species that have escaped from captivity also find refuge in these areas. The advantage of birding in city parks is that most of the birds are rather accustomed to human presence and thus are relatively easy to observe. Often, rare migrating species turn up in these places during the peak of migration. For example, the rare Malay Night Heron appears occasionally in the Taipei Botanical Garden.

Forests
    Most of Taiwan's indigenous bird species are found in forests. The type of forest is dependent on its elevation, and different species of birds live in different types of forests. Kenting National Park is mostly tropical forest, Yangmingshan National Park is mostly low-altitude deciduous forest, and Yushan, Shei-Pa, and Taroko National Park include high peaks above 3,000 meters as well as coniferous, mixed, and deciduous forests. Many forest recreational areas around the island offer excellent birding opportunities, such as Wulai in Taipei, Alishan in Chiayi, Hsitou in Nantou, Shanping in Kaoshuing, and Chepen in Taitung. To find birds in a forest, listening is especially important. Scan trees with your eyes for flitting birds before raising your binoculars. This skill may take a little practice to master.

Wetlands
    The birds that live in estuaries, mangrove swamps, and coastal mudflats are very different from forest birds. These birds often don't take as much effort to find, but they may be twice as hard to identify. A mudflat may be covered with thousands of sandpipers, plovers, egrets, and other wetland birds. Birding fanatics sometimes spend hours picking through these birds trying to locate rare species. Since wetlands are usually quite open and the birds are often far away, a high-magnification spotting scope about 20x to 60x is very useful for bringing these birds up close. The mangroves of Kuantu Nature Park in Taipei are a great place to begin wetland birding. Lanyang River Estuary is a well-known stop for rare migrants, and Tsengwen River Estuary in Tainan is home to the endangered Black-faced Spoonbills.

How to spot a bird
    Locating a bird takes keen observational skills and patience. Different birds live in different environments: sandpipers feed on mudflats, dippers dive in streams, thrushes feed on open ground, nuthatches run along tree trunks, and tits stay in treetops. Check exposed perches such as bare branches, large rocks, rooftops, wires, and fences. Look up in the sky every so often to check for soaring eagles, swifts, or swallows. Search for trees filled with clusters of berries or signs of bird droppings. Through experience, one soon learns where to find specific types of birds. For example, woodpeckers often visit withered trees and rotting stumps, kingfishers sit on branches overhanging a stream waiting to pounce on fish, and raptors often soar on the thermals formed near mountain ridges. When locating birds, listening is as important as looking because birds often give away their presence by their calls. Learning to identify bird calls using tape recordings and CDs, is another fun challenge for more experienced birders.

How to identify a bird
    Identifying a bird is often a frustrating experience for new birders. You might ask, just how do you expect me to see the subtle diagnostic features of that shadow flying by? The answer is -- experience. Over time, you will soon remember what features to look for on specific birds to distinguish them from similar birds. Some birds are nearly impossible to confuse with anything else, but others are almost indistinguishable from one another. In general, important features of a bird are its overall shape, bill shape and size, and the color of its bill, feet, and plumage. When looking at a bird, try to remember every detail about it. Make a sketch in your notebook to help you remember. When the bird is gone, or if you have had a good, long look, flip through the field guide to try to identify the bird. Was it the size of a crow, a pigeon, or a sparrow? Was it standing upright or was it crouched? Slow down when you flip to pages in the field guide with birds that look similar to the one you saw; examine each bird in that category and match it with the field marks that you remember. Often you find that you missed the mark that distinguishes one bird from another; you may not remember whether the warbler you saw had one or two wing bars. Maybe it had none at all! Don't fret. Write down "warbler sp." in your notebook indicating that you saw an unidentified species of warbler; hopefully you'll remember to count the wing bars next time! The process of identifying a bird is challenging and exciting. After you've identified your first bird on your own, you will find yourself spending more and more time outdoors searching for birds that you haven't seen before. Don't be frustrated if you cannot identify many birds at first, just being in the wilderness and observing the behavior of wild birds can be just as satisfying. Don't give up, and pretty soon you will be able to call out the names of even the tiniest black specks in the sky!