Q & A:Ms. Tree
Q1: Why did our school set aside the Nature Area?
A: Due to an increased population, many forest lands are destroyed and decreasing substantially. Our school is hoping that by saving more forestland, we create a friendly environment for wild animals and insects to come visit or settle in here. With the benefit of this, our students also have the opportunity to observe various living species in our school, which are not very common to see in the urban areas. We have several natural habitats in the Nature Area, such as an orchard and aquatic plant ponds, which attract animals and insects of diverse species.
Q2: How many kinds of birds have come to the Nature Area to build nests? Why does the Nature Area attract so many birds to come build their nests?
A: The Nature Area includes Glowing Pond, Forest Whisper, and QingXin Garden. There are more than 40 different bird species that come to our school, and the number is increasing each year. The reason birds come here is that we have an orchard and aquatic plant ponds. Given the presence of adequate food and a diverse ecosystem, the Nature Area attracts birds of different species to come and build their nests. In addition, bushy trees in our school also provide a more private and safe environment for birds to settle in.
Q3: Which part of the Nature Area is popular with birds?
A: Different parts in the Nature Area attract different kinds of birds. Generally speaking, the Glowing Pond in Forest Whisper and the orchard area in QingXin Garden are the most popular with birds. Glowing Pond, a firefly restoration area, is similar to a wetland. Raptors like eagles like to come and take a bath. The orchard area in QingXin Garden attracts birds that like to eat fruits, such as Chinese bulbuls, Formosan blue magpies, and grey teeepies.
Q4: How does the ecosystem work in our Nature Area?
A: Take QingXin Garden, for example, the blue magpies help the plants in the orchard area spread their seeds. A blue magpie likes to go there to feed on fruits. After it eats mulberries from the orchard, it will fly to Forest Whisper to excrete, which at the same time spreads mulberry seeds. That’s why we often see the same plants or trees in both QingXin Garden and Forest Whisper.
Q5: For the past few years, there seemed to be some damage in the Nature Area. How does the damage affect the Nature Area?
A: The Nature Area is sometimes under construction for routine maintenance.We usually avoid carrying out the maintenance during birds’ breeding and nesting seasons, so there haven’t been any huge problems for birds. Meanwhile, during Taiwan barbets’ breeding season, we will leave out the tree top when we are pruning trees in the Nature Area, so as to let the Taiwan barbets have a place to breed and build their nests. In general, our Nature Area is in good condition.
Q6: How does climate change affect our Nature Area?
A: In comparison with the past few years, we don’t get as many typhoons as we used to; on account of that, many birds get to lay their eggs successfully in our Nature Area. We even found out that the number of Formosan blue magpies has increased. Given the circumstances, we are somehow glad to see some bird species not only survive natural selection but benefit from climate change.
Q7: How did our school contribute to the biodiversity in the Nature Area?
A: The Nature Area consists of different sections. QingXin Garden itself includes an orchard, an aquatic plants area, and a succulent plants area. The purpose of setting up different areas, or natural habitats is that we want to create a diverse ecosystem in the Nature Area. In doing so, the Nature Area becomes a welcoming place for more animals with different species to come visit or settle in. According to our observations and records, we found that each year there are more and more animals that visit or plants that grow in our Nature Area, which we didn’t have or see before. As our Nature Area is maturing, it will attract more species of birds to build nests here, stay for the winter, or even settle in.
Q8: According to different seasons, what are the representative migratory birds and non-migratory birds that come to QingXin Garden?
A: For migratory birds, the Chinese pond heron is the most representative. In QingXin Garden, there is a big pond which we call Glowing Pond. The Chinese pond herons come and spend the winter there every year. They always come on time during October, and then they’ll leave around May or June. They’ve been coming 4 years in a row, so I will say that the Chinese pond heron is the most representative migratory bird in QingXin Garden.
As far as the resident bird is concerned, the representative bird differs every year. Over the past few years, we had the Taiwan blue magpies, grey treepies, and Chinese bulbuls that came to our school and built their nests. As for this year, we think the most representative resident bird would be the Malayan night-heron. If you observe closely, each season there are different birds that visit our school .
Q9: According to different seasons, what are the representative migratory birds and non-migratory birds that come to Forest Whisper?
A: If you walk in the Forest Whisper, it feels like you’re walking in a forest, whereas QingXin Garden is more like a park, for it has a wooden path in it. However, Forest Whisper and QingXin Garden are located right next to each other, so we often see the same bird species in both areas.
We have an infrared camera set up in the Forest Whisper, and it often captures a bird called the pale thrush. The pale thrush is a migratory bird. It usually comes to find food and take a bath in a pond in the Forest Whisper, and we never see it in QingXin Garden.
In the meantime, the most representative migratory bird in Forest Whisper is definitely the collared scops owl. The collared scops owls have been visiting for the past few years. Luckily, this year they also build their nests and breed in the Nature Area. During night time, if you hear the sound of “hoooo”, you know they are here.
Q10: What are the representative migratory birds and non-migratory birds that come to the Glowing Pond?
A: As we mentioned earlier, the representative bird in the Glowing Pond is the Chinese pond heron. As for the resident bird, we often see little egrets near the Glowing Pond, which I think is the most representative. Also, the Common Kingfisher, a 12-centimeter small bird, appears in the Glowing Pond from time to time as well. In the pond there are some mosquitofish (topminnow) and aquatic insects, which attract the Common Kingfisher to come and hunt for food.
Q11: What are the birds that breed (migratory and non-migratory) in the Nature Area? Why?
A: There are a lot of tall trees in the Nature Area, which provide an excellent environment for different bird species to stay and breed. Besides, the diverse habitats like ponds, forests, and wetlands in the Nature Area are always birds’ favorite. For instance, Taiwan whistling thrush, a kind of black bird that is endemic to Taiwan, likes to build nests under the wooden path, while the Kingfishers will look for soil slopes to dig holes and lay their eggs in them. The Malayan night-herons and Taiwan barbets , on the other hand, like to build their nests on the trees. Due to the diverse ecosystem we have in our school, many resident birds with different habits are willing to come and breed their offspring.
Q12: What are the features of plants and water in the Nature Area that attract birds? What do birds eat? Where do they find food? Where do they live?
A: In the aquatic plants area there are a lot of water lilies and cattails. They are very tall, which provide a perfect place for shy birds to hide. Also, in the ponds there are a lot of aquatic insects, which means the birds will have food to eat. Our school plants mulberries, guavas, wax apples, etc. They are all fruits that birds like, and these are the places where we can often see many birds. It is difficult to tell where birds live because they don’t always sleep in the same place. There are only a few birds that sleep in the same place. Most birds sleep wherever they want when they are tired.
Q13: In terms of habits and diets, what are the differences between arboreal birds and waterbirds? Why do they come to the Nature Area?
A: The appearances of arboreal birds and waterbirds are a lot different. The legs of waterbirds are longer, so they can move in wetland areas. They also need longer beaks, so they can catch fish or aquatic insects in the water.
On the other hand, most arboreal birds like to eat fruit and bugs from trees, so they don’t need legs or beaks as long. As for raptors, their legs will be a lot shorter and stronger depending on the prey they like. Some birds even have different feather patterns due to the way they fly.
Q14: When it rains, do birds hide under the trees? If they don’t, where do they go?
A: Most of the birds will find a hidden place, like under the trees, to hide when it rains. Waterbirds will hide under the long reeds, for they can’t really climb. They can only find places where they won’t get drenched by the rain. In fact, birds have adapted themselves to living in urban cities and around humans nowadays. For example, they know they can make use of the outer edges of tall buildings to rest or build nests.
Q15: What is the rarest bird breed in our Nature Area so far?
A: The rarest bird I’ve ever seen in our Nature Area so far is the bird that we captured once by the infrared camera. It is a rare breed of winter migrant, which is called a Eurasian woodcock. Bird lovers are always excited to hear the traces of Eurasian woodcocks because they’re not easy to see in Taiwan. The Eurasian woodcock once came to the pond in Forest Whisper and stayed for several days. If the Eurasian woodcock is willing to come again to our school, it means that we did a good job preserving the Nature Area, and it is friendly enough for rare birds to come and stay.
Q16: What is the fiercest bird breed in our Nature Area so far?
A: I think the fiercest bird breed in our Nature Area so far is the crested goshawk. I once saw it attacking the crested serpent-eagle, which is in fact way bigger than the crested goshawk! The crested goshawk is known for defending territory. Whenever other birds enter their territory, they will immediately fight against them, regardless of the size of other birds. There are a lot of small birds in our Nature area. For example, collared scops owl, blue magpies, grey treepies, are all crested goshawks’ prey. They also feed on squirrels. That’s why I think the crested goshawk is the fiercest raptor in the Nature Area.
Q17: What’s the difference between our Nature Area and other areas? How is it special?
A: Our school geographic location is unique. Our school is close to the mountain. So, we have a natural environment that is very suitable for many different living species to live in. Given the advantages, the Nature Area has always been an attraction to many animals.
Q18: How do you (can we) get close to the birds in the Nature Area?
A: When I observe the birds in the Nature Area, I don’t look for the birds first. I would look for the trees that have fruits. I would set up a camouflage tent near the trees. Until the birds adapt to the tent, they will ignore the existence of people and start eating the fruits from trees. It is the best time that we observe the birds, also it’s the time to get close to the birds. Sometimes when I patrol the Nature Area, I will see the bird I want to observe. I will observe it from about 30 meters away. Birds are highly alert. When we are having classes in the Nature Area, students are sometimes excited and loud. Some birds are very sensitive to sound, so they might hide. If we want to observe birds in the Nature Area, we should try our best to avoid making any sound.
Q19: What influence do birds in the Nature Area have on us?
A: The birds in our Natural Area are not only beautiful, but also very helpful. For example, we don’t want rats or harmful insects like cabbage worms in our school. Birds can help us get rid of them. The scop owls catch the mice in our school. If we can have more scop owls in our school, the number of mice will also decrease. Hence, we don’t need to put rat poison or pesticides to kill the creatures. The birds that come to our Natural Area can be very beneficial.That’s why we must maintain the Nature Area in good condition, keeping the ecological environment in a well-functioning cycle.