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Site description (2001 baseline)
Extent of this site: north to Chingkunsheng; south to the Tsengwen River; east to Yancheng, County Road 176, and Provincial Highway 17; and west to a line between Wangtsiliaoshan and Dingtouoshan. Habitats at this site can be classified as estuarine wetlands, lagoons, fishponds, grassy marshes, and salt fields. On the north edge along the sea are the sand flats of Chingshangangshan, Wangtsiliaoshan, Dingtouoshan, and Hsinfulunshan together making up an area of about 1,600 ha of the Chiku lagoon; these are remnants of the Taichiang Inner Sea. Because the water quality here is excellent, the cultivation of fish and the fisheries are abundant. Research indicates that the productivity based on the volume and the fisheries’ catch of Chiku lagoon is very high- some 45 times that of the offshore ocean and coral reef ecosystems. On the southern side on the mud flats of the Tsengwen River Estuary, the benthos and plankton are abundant. Each winter, this area attracts vast quantities of migrants which roost here. Of the 800 or so Black-faced Spoonbills in the world, an average of 2/3 of them winter on the tidal flats of the Tsengwen River Estuary. In addition, the wind protection forest of the sand flats of Wangtsiliaoshan is a rookery with about 1,000 egrets.

Key biodiversity
IBA A1 criterion species: this IBA site is a globally important wintering site for the Black-faced Spoonbill: Time 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997/Jan. 1998/Jan. 1999/Jan. 1999/Dec. 2000/Jan. 2001/Jan. No. of BFS 189 204 286 276 283 327 363 530 472 367 • At this site 220 species of birds have been recorded, among which are the following protected species: Chinese Egret, Oriental White Stork, Black Stork, Black-faced Spoonbill, White Spoonbill, Oriental Ibis, Tundra Swan, Red-breasted Merganser, Baikal Teal, Besra Sparrow Hawk, Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle, Grey Frog Hawk, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Common Kestrel, Spotted Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt, Eastern Collared Pratincole, Little Tern, Short-eared Owl, Black-billed Magpie and Brown Shrike.

Non-bird biodiversity: • On both sides of the Chiku River Estuary are large stands of mangroves with the dominant species being the Black Mangrove Avicennia marina. • There are 30 species of crabs and nearly 200 species of molluscs. • In the lagoon area, oyster cultivation is the dominant economic activity. In addition, Chiku is an important site for high-quality fish and fry breeding in Taiwan.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Chiku (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/chiku-iba-taiwan-china on 23/11/2024.