If you love eco-tourist activities, you must be very familiar with Touliao Pond! Xinfu Canal on the Zhugaocuo Industrial Road, also known as Touliao Pond, is an artificial pond that covers approximately 19 hectares. The pond is mainly used for irrigation purposes and aquacultural operations. When winter comes, the pleasant natural environment of Touliao Pond makes it a stopover for a large number of migratory birds and the best location for a birdwatching tour.
The big part of the pond is emptied every three years while the small one is emptied every two years. When the pond is emptied, it is the greatest time to see how ospreys hunt and capture prey. The osprey with long narrow wings hovers in midair to look down for fish in the pond. Once spotting the fish from high above, the osprey quickly dives down into the pond and catches the fish in its talons. Seeing osprey catching fish on-site would be much more stunning than viewing any films of National Geographic Channel and makes you 10 times more excited! Besides osprey, the frequently seen birds include black kite, peregrine falcon, Eurasian hobby, crested goshawk and serpent eagles.
The "island" floating on the big part of the pond is the well-known Earth God Temple in the Water. After the Earth God was finally moved to Fuchang Temple, this artificial island surrounded by tress has become a habitat for various species of egrets, including great egret, little egret, gray heron and black-crowned night heron. Sometimes, green-winged teal ducks swim casually on the lake surface. It would be a great enjoyment of life to relax in the secluded quiet environment. In addition to the migratory birds mentioned above, some jungle crows also flock to Touliao Pond during wintertime. It is very interesting that aggressive jungle crows may fight with other birds of prey in midair but always fly away whenever encountering small-sized black drongos. Still several dozen species of birds can be seen here, including red turtle dove, kingfisher, light-vented bulbul, Taiwan blue magpie, white-bellied erpornis, etc. Just prepare your binoculars and camera to experience the fun of a birdwatching tour that will never disappoint you!
