KENTING NATIONAL PARK TRACES CHINESE SPARROW HAWKS' MIGRATION PATH|揭遷徙之謎 墾管處衛星定位追蹤赤腹鷹

The Chinese sparrow hawk forms the largest group of migratory birds that passes Taiwan every year, but their numbers are decreasing. In order to find out more about their migratory pattern, The Kenting National Park Administration used satellite positioning technology to track these beautiful travelers. Chinese sparrow hawks soar through the sky. The birds can be glimpsed every spring and autumn in Kenting during their annual migration. Last year, the Kenting National Park Administration used satellite positioning technology to trace the migratory paths of the birds. It attached trackers weighing just five grams to six birds. It discovered the birds knew to take the shortest path across the Taiwan Strait, which is between Miaoli County and Fujian Province. The trackers also showed the migratory path was between the Philippines and Shandong Province, and the birds selected routes above low mountains when traveling above dry land. The administration hopes this data will allow it to better understand changes in Chinese sparrow hawk numbers. It will use additional trackers this year, and send the data to the Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network so countries along the migratory route can jointly address the problem of habitat development. TRANSLATED BY：CHERYL CHUANG