Secret Skill 1, Meet the Main Character: Eagle
●Chinese Name: Black Kite
●Common Name: Eagle
●Scientific Name: Milyus migrans
●English Name: Black kite
●Habitat: Mainly found on the coasts, harbors, and reservoirs of northern Taiwan, and near streams, rivers, reservoirs, and fish farms in the south.
●Conservation level: The eagle in Taiwan is an endemic subspecies and has been classified as a precious and rare wildlife in the second level of conservation category of raptors.
The eagle is commonly known in Taiwanese as La Ye, Li Ye or Ma Ye, and some people say that Ma Ye is a young eagle, because the body is covered with a little bit of white spots, and it is called Ma Ye.
English language direct translation of the "black kite", meaning a black kite. However, how did the eagle's "old" come about? Is it the head and face that look old? Or?
In the old days when our perceptions of raptors were not yet differentiated, whenever a flying raptor appeared in the sky during the day, we would always refer to it as an 'eagle', while a raptor that appeared at night was called an 'owl'.
Correctly speaking, eagles are falcons, vulture hawks, kites, kites in the evolution of the more primitive raptors, characterized by the lack of prominent brow bones, head and eyes look less ferocious feeling. The eagle's eyeballs are also the same as other raptors, can not be rotated, so it is necessary to rely on the flexible rotation of the neck to change the field of vision; from the photographs taken, it can be turned 180 degrees of the neck, which helps the air foraging and defense.
Nesting sites and habitats
Early on, eagles probably nested in the cliffs and crevices of Keelung's coastal cliffs or in the nearby forests, such as Xiantong, Waimusan, Kengziliao, Niuzhouling, Baduzi, and Hongtanshan, etc. The Parrot Song Stone in Baduzi was a nesting site for eagles at one time, but later, as the stone collapsed to a spraying slurry for defense, the eagles also left. Now there are still a few eagles nesting in Keelung, but due to the continuous development of Keelung's residential areas, the natural mountains and forests are becoming fewer and fewer, and most of the eagles are nesting in the mountainous areas of Ruifang, Gongliao, Wanli, Northeast, and near the Emerald Reservoir.
Every year from July to January before the breeding season begins, eagles have a flocking nature, groups, pairs, or individual eagles in the afternoon after 2, 3 o'clock in the afternoon after a fixed point of collection, first scattered in different branches, close to the evening in the vicinity of the flight circle, and then collectively in a certain point of the eagle landing, and sometimes there are two two scattered in the vicinity of the tree branches. The next morning the eagles disperse to different areas to feed, and then come back in the afternoon to **** the same habitat.
Eagles prefer to roost on the lateral branches of large trees with cliffs and slopes on their backs, but open to the front.
Feathering, mating, and nursing young to adulthood
Eagles have bright plumage in their first year of life, with a few white feathers between the tawny ones on their backs, and young eagles begin to change feathers in their second year.
Eagles can mate at two years of age, however, to find a mate they still need to have a nest, whether they use an old nest or build a new one, they need to gain experience, and they also need to protect their territory from other eagles before they can mate and lay eggs. Therefore, without a few years of learning and honing, it is not easy to successfully reproduce offspring.
After hatching, birds that can only stay in the nest and wait for their parents to feed them are called young birds, and they remain young until they are able to leave the nest and molt for the first time, when they must be nurtured by their parents. Sub-adults are those birds that are in the adult stage (capable of reproducing) after the first moult, which is mostly about a year. An adult is a bird that is capable of feeding itself and reproducing. After the road behind the "Warehouse", turn right on Zhongshan 1st Road, turn left on Lane 185 of Zhongshan 2nd Road, go up the stairs on the left side of Fu'an Palace, and the Keelung Harbor View will gradually unfold, and then turn right and then turn left again after going up to the road, you can get to the "Keelung Landmark Observatory", which is a good place for enjoying the view day and night, and a small staircase next to it will take you up to the top of the "Fnetzai Liau Hill", where there is the Noon Battery which used to report the time and is often infested with Daguan Vultures; down to the intersection and go straight through Dag German Middle School (on the left side). After traveling through the Dadezhong (the left side of Huzai Mountain), turn right on Tongren Street and go down the hill, cross the intersection to Zhongshan Third Road along the harbor, where fish eagles can often be seen flying in the air in autumn and winter, and then go forward to the "Cen Cave, Buddha's Hand Keelung Harbor One-Day Tour Cave"; and go forward again and turn right on Zhongshan Fourth Road to turn left on Taibai Street to go up the hill, and then go to the "Baimi-Ju Fortress".
You can take Keelung City Bus Line 301, 302, 304 and get off at the "Xiantongyan Station", while the Baimi Urn Fortress is a 15-minute walk from the "Taibaizhuang Station".
3. Introduction of Keelung City Roaming Attractions:
●The Main Temple of Universal Sacrifice: The exclusive building of the intangible cultural asset "Jikong Zhongyuan Festival", which enshrines the souls of the dead from the Zhangquan Armed Conflict, the Ching-Fa War, and the battle of Yiwei. On the first floor, there is the Zhongyuan Festival Cultural Relics Hall.
● Big Buddha Zen Garden: There is a big white statue of Goddess of Mercy overlooking the ships entering and leaving Keelung Harbor as well as a beautiful view of the mountains and the sea.
●Enforcement Park: The park displays 8-inch Amstrom breech-loading steel cannons purchased from Britain at the end of the Qing Dynasty, decommissioned National Army chariots, 104 fighters, and Goddess of Victory missiles, etc.; and it is also a good place to see eagles, great crested vultures, and Taiwan blue magpies.
● Ershawan Fortress: Built by Liu Ming-chuan in the late Qing Dynasty, the fortress has a gun emplacement area, a magazine storehouse, a living area, a city gate, and an ancient tomb, making it a national-level monument.
●Harbor Building: A land ship resting at the junction of land and sea, the building is modeled on the dual imagery of a ship and a locomotive, and the detailed decorations incorporate elements of the sea, products, local nature, and humanities.
● "KEELUNG" Landmark Observation Deck: Overlooking the city of Keelung Harbor, the night view is even more beautiful, next to the hill, there is the midday turret left over from the Japanese rule period (in the old days, there would be a 3-gun salute at noon).
● Xian Cave, Buddha Hand Cave: for the neighboring sea-erosion cave, Xian Cave legend has it that immortals cultivated here to become immortal, and above Buddha Hand Cave, there is a big Buddha hand formed by rust stain pattern.
● Baimi Urn Fortress: a defensive fortress of Keelung Fortress during the Japanese rule, located on the west coast of the harbor, mountain and sea scenery is fascinating, the movie "The Story of Time" was filmed here, as a landscape destination.
Secret Tips for Eagle Watching Secret Tips for Eagle Watching The best time to watch eagles is from fall to spring You can also go on a date with an eagle at Ocean Square in Keelung Harbor, which is from fall to noon in the following spring. You can buy a bento or bring something to eat, pick your favorite spot, and watch the eagles come to dine as well. From the beginning of the northeast monsoon in late summer and early fall, the eagles come thick and fast to the harbor. If there is enough food in the harbor, the number of eagles will be higher, and stay in the air for a longer time. If there is not much food in the harbor, you will still see a few eagles coming to circle two or three times, and then fly high and go away. I don't know when this lunch date, which makes Keelung Harbor full of power and beauty, will start or end, but the eagles may have been flying in the harbor sky for thousands of years, and the people of Keelung have long established a long and close relationship. Perhaps, during the more than two hundred years that the Han Chinese have lived by the harbor, the ancestors have had countless eye contacts with the eagles, and the relationship between man and eagle is still in the present tense. The harbor with eagles flying is the most beautiful The usual Ocean Plaza, though quiet and comfortable, is always a bit monotonous, and on the days when there is a Star Cruises or a foreign cruise port, the harbor has an additional distinctive ship scene for the public to enjoy and take photos, which makes the Keelung harbor a bit more lively. However, what really makes the atmosphere of the harbor dynamic is nothing more than the eagle's visit and foraging for food. When the eagle dances in the sky of the harbor, sometimes hovering and rising, and then gliding and descending, and all of a sudden circling around in a circle, and then occasionally turning over and swooping down to catch food at a fixed point, and then lifting up its wings and leaping up again, the entire harbor is filled with flowing vitality due to the eagle's flight. The eagle is the brightest protagonist The eagle creates a beautiful, surprising, and ever-changing aesthetic of the Keelung harbor, allowing us to enjoy the eagle's dance in the wind from the harbor stage, and to listen to the eagle's call of the wild, which not only relieves the depression in our hearts, but also stimulates our inner kinetic energy and creates a wonderful experience of meeting with nature. When the air is bright, the light acts as a sharp carving knife, carving the eagle's fluttering and flowing reliefs in the air, while the dark clouds and misty air turn the light into a cement knife, coating the eagle in a gray film. Sometimes, there are cracks in the middle of the dense clouds above the harbor, and the sunlight shines straight down from the cracks. At this time, the eagle flying over the bright light area enjoys the sunlight alone, and the surrounding darkness forms a strong contrast, just like the effect of playing light on the stage of the night, which makes the eagle the brightest protagonist on the stage. In Keelung Harbor, whether it is a group of fluttering eagles, a small egret breaking through the calm, or a night heron passing through like a lightning bolt, one will feel the beauty of the vision and the soul of the uplift, people often have a wonderful sense of animals, when you are fascinated by them, whether it is a close and long time together or a momentary glimpse of the heart will leave an overflowing sense of happiness. For those who love eagles, in addition to capturing instantaneous video action with a camera, camcorder, or cell phone, the changing dances that flow through the clouds and streams of water can only be captured by our eyes in time, and then buried deep in the bottom of our memories of this wonderful experience. The eagle is always a dancer in the wind, and in the ever-changing dance of the feathers, sometimes blooming like fireworks bursting brilliantly, always leaving you and me in the heart of the unspeakable happiness! The Eagle Flies to Keelung The eagle is commonly known in Taiwanese as La Ye, Li Ye, or Ma Ye, and some people say that Ma Ye is a young eagle because its body is covered with a little bit of white dots, which is known as Ma Ye. The direct translation of the English name "black kite" means a black kite. The eagle's eyeballs cannot rotate, so he has to rely on his flexible neck to change his field of vision, but he can turn his neck 180 degrees, which helps with foraging and defense in the air.