The Aogu Wetlands were originally a farm of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation in Dongshi, but due to the subsidence of the earth and the intrusion of seawater into the underground water layer, the salted farmland and aquaculture farms were abandoned, but they have gradually regained their natural state and attracted many birds to inhabit and spend the winter here, forming an extremely rich wetland ecology.
In 2009, the Chiayi County Aogu Wildlife Habitat of Importance was officially announced as the largest new habitat in Taiwan, and because of its warmth and diverse ecological resources, more than 200 species of birds inhabit here every year, attracting the attention of bird lovers from home and abroad. Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency commissioned Sun Yat-sen University to plan the Aogu Wetlands Forest Park, which won the first prize in the analysis and planning professional category of the American Scenic Architecture Association in 2011 for its comprehensive consideration of global migratory bird migration routes in its landscape planning.
At present, the birds being conserved in the area include the oriental white stork, the black stork, the black-faced spoonbill, the Swinhoe’s egret, the sparrowhawk, the red-bellied eagle, the gray-faced egret, the sea hawk, the Nordmann's greenshank, the greater painted-snipe, the Little Tern, and the Red-tailed Burrow. In winter, the large number and diversity of winter migratory birds is overwhelming, making it a bird watching paradise and an environmental education site with profound ecological value.
