Aogu Wetlands were originally windbreaks planted by Taiwan Sugar Corporation in Dongshi where Beigang River converges upon Liujiao Large Ditch. In addition, there are diverse types of environments and habitats, such as abandoned fields, fishing ponds, farms and Casuarina plantations, providing animals and plants with favorable living conditions and creating the local rich wetland ecosystem.
In 2009, the establishment of “Chiayi County Aogu Major Wildlife Habitat” was officially announced. As Taiwan’s largest reclaimed land, Aogu Wetlands are warm and have diverse ecological resources, therefore attracting more than two hundred bird species to build their homes here. Bird watchers in Taiwan and other countries also pay great attention to Aogu Wetlands. The Forestry Bureau commissioned National Sun Yat-sen University to plan “Aogu Wetlands and Forest Park.” As issues, such as global migratory birds’ migration routes, are taken into full account in its landscape planning, the project won the award of excellence in the analytic and planning category from the “American Society of Landscape Architects.”
The protected bird species in the Park currently include Oriental stork, black stork, black-faced spoonbill, Chinese egret, Eurasian sparrowhawk, and Chinese sparrowhawk. In winter, there are numerous diverse winter migrant birds in the Park, making it a paradise for bird watchers and an environmental education site of great ecological value.
