• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
Extent of this site: the northern border is the southern levee of Hsinchu City Harbor; the southern border is Nankang where Hsinchu City and Miaoli County join; the eastern boundary is Provincial Highway 61; and the western boundary is the low tide line of the Hsinchu coastline. The intertidal zone of the Hsinchu City Coastline is west to the Hsinchu City, and is the only intertidal zone of the city. The full length of the coastline is 16 km. The coastline between Hsinchu Harbor’s southern levee and the north shore of the Keya River estuary, with a length of 6 km, keeps on being eroded by the current due to the inappropriate design of the construction. The landscape and natural features of the coastline from north to south include: the northernmost parcel is an incinerator where the closed Nanliao landfill stood; then there are agricultural fields, a youth recreational center, Joncheng Lake, the Keya River, Chinshui Landfill, Hsiangshan Beach, an ocean fishing area. Hsiangshan Harbor, and fallow fields. The agricultural fields are mostly wet paddy fields on which farmers grow rice two times a year. The Fengshan River, the Touchian River, and the Keya River all end at the intertidal zone and bring abundant gravel resources. The intertidal zone from the south of the Keya River estuary includes extensive flat land which inhabit diversified fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish, and has attracted over a hundred species of birds who pass through on migration or who roost here.

Key biodiversity
IBA A1 criterion species: Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunder’s Gull, Chinese Egret • Black-faced Spoonbill, a maximum of 11 birds was recorded in 2001. • Saunders’s Gull, a maximum of 56 birds was recorded in 1992. • Chinese Egret, a maximum of 9 birds was recorded in 1996. • At this site 280 species have been recorded. Of particular interest are yearly visits by Grey Plover, about 500 birds; Kentish Plover, 1,000-3,000 birds with a maximum of 3,000 in 1993.

Non-bird biodiversity: • At this site 33 species of shellfish have been recorded, as well as 40 species of crabs totally exceeding 200 million individuals. Among these, Mictyris brevidactylus and Macrophthalmus banzai crabs numbers reach 100 million; Uca formosensis and Scopimera bitympana crabs can reach 15-20 million individuals. This site is the most important tidal zone crab habitat north of the Dachia River.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Hsinchu City Coastal Area (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/hsinchu-city-coastal-area-iba-taiwan-china on 23/12/2024.