Taiwan Recap
Taiwan Barbet, arguably one of the island’s smartest, was the first of the endemics we saw; Taiwan Blue Magpie the second, with Grey-cheeked Fulvetta and the imaginatively named Taiwan Hwamei, Taiwan Bamboo Partridge, Taiwan Scimitar Babbler and Taiwan Whistling Thrush collectively rounding off our very first day on the island! Oh and then there was a superb encounter with two Malayan Night Herons and two inquisitive Slaty-legged Crakes…
By the end of the tour we’d seen 30 of the island’s 32 endemics with just the ever elusive Taiwan Thrush and a heard-only Taiwan Bullfinch eluding us. More than that we’d had great looks at almost all of them including the island’s often secretive gamebirds. Taiwan Partridge was seen superbly well and early on, up to three Swinhoe’s Pheasants were seen on four dates and up to seven Taiwan Bamboo Partridges on seven dates. Despite having a magnificent male Swinhoe’s Pheasant that we could have touched as it walked right under our picnic lunch table it was the stunning, ‘bird of the tour’ winning Mikado Pheasants, that really stole the show.
Other goodies included the very recently split Taiwan Bush Robin and a myriad of endemic subspecies such as the distinctive ardens form of Maroon Oriole and all amidst some stunning scenery and in great company. We’d travelled a whopping 1200 miles and explored a large proportion of the Beautiful Island (Isla Formosa), had some fabulous mammal encounters and eaten some delicious food. I think that it’s safe to say that every last one of us had been smitten…
