Whiskered terns arrive in Tainan, expected to stay longer this year

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) As winter approaches, tens of thousands of whiskered terns have arrived in the southern county of Tainan, but the county government has decided not to host tern-watching activities this year in an effort to protect the birds, county officials said Thursday. The birds' "sunset dance, " in which tens of thousands of black-bellied terns fly in flocks over the ocean at sunset, last year attracted thousands of weekend tourists to the rural township of Beimen. However, the convergence of large numbers of tourists on the area caused the birds to leave sooner than usual. Hung Yu-chih, a local guide who is familiar with the birds' migratory habits, said the whiskered terns, which normally would have stayed until April this year, left Tainan at the end of last December. Last year, more than 10,000 people visited... [read full story]                    

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