After a relatively long drive following the shore highway we arrive at Aogu Wetlands our last stop planned for today. We arrive here in the afternoon but still hope we have enough time to explore the wetlands and especially to find the Black Spoonbills who come here in the winter and now mostly are gone. First stop is at the visitor center which is really nicely surrounded by birds, but less nicely has no clear parking so we park on the street and walk in.
The visitor center is fronted by a large park with some cute model ducks and has an external table showing what was seen today. Black Spoonbills are among them so we are hopeful and decide to ask inside the visitor center what the best location is that we should visit. The initial person does not speak English however a second person does speak and quite well so we ask our questions. She is really nice and follows up with multiple people until pinpointing a few locations and it is time to go and explore and see if we are lucky. But just in case we buy a plush Black Spoonbill, this way they cannot escape us :).
First we go deep inside the marshlands towards a tower that overlooks two major ponds. Supposedly earlier in the day Black Spoonbills were seen here so we have high hopes. And just driving there is an adventure with Chinese Sparrowhawks surveying the area both in flight and from any vantage point they can get and ducks and grebes populating the different ponds along the way.
The birding tower is a much more involved construction than we expected with an access even for mobility impaired people to the top platform to overlook the marshes. To our surprise besides us and the tower guardian there is no one else so we have the area for ourselves and we decide it is a great place to eat some snacks for lunch.
There are lots of birds around like egrets, terns and ducks but no spoonbills unfortunately even after carefully scanning every flock that we can see. We are a bit disappointed but this is how it is, sometimes you simply get unluckly.
We then return towards the visitor center as our plan is to take the loop road surrounding the wetlands for hopefully a few more interesting birds, and maybe just maybe a Black Spoonbill. However the chance is much lower according to our intel from the visitor center…
And then just as we get on the one way loop road we encounter a huge birdingwatching party. Funnily we have no idea what they are looking for but they seem to be quite convinced something will come. We take a look for some time but nothing moves so we decide to move on from this mystery gathering and continue on the loop road as it is getting late.
Initially we follow a shallow channel with no interesting birds except a Little Egret with green lores, it seems very unusual but then we learn it is typical of breeding plumage. You live and learn I guess.
Then suddenly we are driving on the edge of a huge lake. And if we squint we can see the tower from where we looked for the Black Spoonbills. This area has no hope for Spoonbills however it is good for terns including Little Terns that are flying quite close to us following the wind.
Here we also find our first Eastern Spot-billed duck. A common duck according to our previous research which failed to mention that most of them would be gone by now. So we are happy to see this suddenly very rare duck here.
The road we are following is one way only but we have seen cars coming the other way earlier and are stressed about what would happen now when there is no way to actually pass. But luckily there are only very cars in general on this stretch and we can enjoy our stop at the hides along the way even though there are relatively few birds.
There are also lots of Caspian Terns and as the water becomes shallower there are some shorebirds too including the quite common Common Greenshank, well named I guess.
In the middle of the loop drive is a larger stop with some informative panels and toilets. Here you can also climb on the dike to see the ocean which is quite a scenic view even though there aren’t any birds visible.
The whole area seems to be dedicated to shore fishing or so it seems to us. But it could also be some type of protection against invasion from China, who knows really.
And then we are on the last stretch before closing the loop. The water is more shallow here and we see some white birds in the distance and take photos assuming they are egrets. And then looking closely we notice the bill is not egret like, it is actually a Black Spoonbill, we finally found them!!! Quite a surprise and just when we were ready to give up.
And now we have a long drive ahead of us broken only by a stop to get gas and dinner at a rest area. We drive almost to the south of the island to the Kenting area from where we have to pick up a ferry tomorrow.
Unfortunately we arrive much later than we expected at the hotel, even though it was worthwhile to explore Aogu thoroughly, so we do not have time to enjoy the scenic hotel as much as we planned. In fact we take a shower and just fall into the beds and are fast asleep. Tomorrow we have to wake at 6AM to drive and arrive at the ferry in time for check in.
