Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
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.
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.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
• This site is currently supervised by the Taipei City Government and overlapped with Taipei City Waterbird Refuge. Although this area is designated as a protected area, the lack of appropriate management and planning has resulted in messy surrounding.
• In addition, sewage, wastewater, and other pollutants from Taipei County and City collect in this area, creating a high level of pollution in this section of river.
• There is a problem with illegal reclamation.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
Lobbying Activities:
• In 1994, the EPA commissioned 15 organizations including the CWBF, the Wetland Conservation Alliance, the Kunshan Technical Schools Environmental Engineering Dept., the WBST (simply called the Wetland Conservation Workgroup) to draw up the 1994 Planning examples of environmentally sensitive areas at the coast of Taiwan which recommended that this site be incorporated into the Huajiang Bridge Waterfowl Reserve.
Legislation:
• In November 1993, the Taipei City Government announced the Taipei City Chunghsing- Huachung Bridges Wildlife Reserve including the water areas outside the levee between the Chunghsing and Huachung Bridges. This was established mainly to protect waterbirds and rare plants and animals.
• In recent years, migrating birds coming to the Tanshui River in winter have tended to stay in the expansive upstream areas. So in March 1997, the conservation area was extended from the Huachung Bridge along the Hsindian River upstream to the Yungfu Bridge, and the name was changed to the Taipei Waterbird Refuge. Six interpretive stations have been established.
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.
