Chiayi’s new pheasant-tailed jacana habitat shows promise

嘉義新建的水雉棲息地展現出良好的前景

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Chiayi Branch said Wednesday that its pheasant-tailed jacana habitat restoration project has introduced two males and one female into Jioucyong Pond in Chiayi.

According to the branch, the birds moved into the newly constructed habitat in July and built a nest containing four eggs, per CNA. However, heavy rainfall in late July prevented the eggs from hatching.

Even so, officials said the presence of a nest indicates that Jioucyong Pond is a viable potential habitat. The branch plans to continue improving the site in hopes of attracting pheasant-tailed jacanas again next year and urged the public to support conservation by purchasing water chestnuts.

Jioucyong Pond lies within the Jianan Reservoir and Canal Important Wetlands and is surrounded by water chestnut farms. The area previously hosted pheasant-tailed jacanas when it was leased to water chestnut growers.

Taiwan’s pheasant-tailed jacana population surpassed 3,000 in the winter of 2024, a dramatic recovery from fewer than 50 birds in 1989, per UDN. Despite this progress, the species now faces new pressures from changes in agriculture and the impacts of climate change.

Water chestnut farms, a key habitat for jacanas, have steadily declined as farmers age or transition to other crops. Tainan farmer Lo Kuo-fu (羅國甫) noted that water chestnut cultivation cannot be automated and requires checking and harvesting each plant by hand, per TVBS.

To compensate for shrinking wetlands, the Chiayi Branch identified Jioucyong Pond as a promising restoration site. Working with conservation groups and volunteers, it planted 20,000 robust marshwort and water chestnut plants to create a more suitable environment for the birds.

Beyond water chestnut farms, another conservation effort centers on preserving shallot fields in Tainan’s Beimen District. Farmers there flood their fields during fallow periods to draw salt from the soil, inadvertently creating wetlands for migratory birds.

Shallot farmer Lin Tung-pang (林東邦) said the return of young farmers to the area brings renewed attention to land stewardship. He warned that if farmland is abandoned, it could be converted into solar panel installations or chicken farms, making it even harder to attract younger generations back to agriculture.