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

Site description (2001 baseline)
Extent of this site: extends from the Chunghsing Bridge in the north, south to the Huachung Bridge, including the shallow-water protective edges of the riverside parks to the political boundary between Taipei City and County. The site contains grassy marshes and mud flats. As the Tanshui River flows through the Taipei Basin, between the Chunghsing and Huachung bridges, the land slope is gradual, important tributaries converge with the estuary’s tidal elements, the flow decreases, and the sand settles out forming broad wetlands of sand and mud flats which gently spread out. There is extensive branching of the marsh plants creating complete cover. Each year when birds pass through on migration, thousands will stop and rest here, forming a unique ecological sight on the downstream banks of the Tanshui River. This area runs from the mud flats at the Chunghsing Bridge upstream to the Huachung Bridge, including a portion on the land, so the site can be divided into three areas: the north shore of the Huajiang Bridge’s Huajiang Waterfowl Park: Hsuangyuan Riverside Park on the bank south of the Huajiang Bridge: and the Huachung Riverside Park north of the Huachung Bridge. The main bird area is the Huajiang Waterfowl Park and the two sides of the river of the Huachung Riverside Park. Waterfowl-watching trails have been designed on this bank, as well as interpretive signs for the viewing public.

Key biodiversity
IBA A4iii criterion species:Green-winged Teal with maximum counts of 9000 birds. • More than 120 species of birds have been recorded at this site. • The maximum record of Chinese Egret here is 5 birds.

Non-bird biodiversity: • Investigations reveal that the vegetative cover of this site is comprised of 145 species in 50 families. Because of tidal fluctuations on the shallow-water protective banks, there are several places where mud and silt have collected on which a few plant communities grow, like Cyperus malaccensis and Water Murdannia Murdannia keisak. On the bank near the water in marshy areas, the plant communities consist of Cyperus malaccensis, Common Reed Phragmites communis, and Typha orientalis but nearer the land area, there are more grasses like Water Grass Brachiaria mutica, Napier Grass Pennisetum purpureum and Torpedo Grass Panicum repens, among which there are some woody species like Common Paper Mulberry Broussonetia papyrifera and Liden hibiscus Hibiscus tiliaceus. From the characteristics of the vegetative cover, it is evident that this area is already becoming more terrestrial. • The endemic and protected Takydromus stejnegeri is active in grass clumps at the edge of the protective levee.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Taipei City Waterbird Refuge (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/taipei-city-waterbird-refuge-iba-taiwan-china on 23/12/2024.