Longluantan Introduction
Longluantan is located at the southwestern corner of Hengchun Township. The surface area of the pond is vast, nearly 175 hectares, with an average depth reaching 3.5 meters, making it an important agricultural water supply facility and the largest inland lake on the Hengchun Peninsula. Due to the many fish ponds, grasslands, farmlands, ponds, and shrubs scattered around the pond, a diverse natural environment has been formed that supports various species, making it an important habitat for bird congregations. Longluantan, which happens to be on the migration route of migratory birds, naturally attracts numerous birds escaping the cold from afar during the autumn and winter seasons. During this time, in addition to the resident birds such as the Purple Gallinule, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, and Black-crowned Night Heron, rare visitors such as the Eurasian Coot, Mandarin Duck, Red-tailed Shrike, various waterfowl, Mallard, and gulls arrive as if attending an annual carnival, instantly transforming the usually serene Longluantan into a lively bird paradise. Because of this precious scene, a nature center has been established on the west bank of Longluantan, which is Taiwan's first exhibition hall themed on bird ecology. It provides dynamic birdwatching activities as well as static displays of images, specimens, videos, and presentations to help visitors gain a deep understanding of migratory bird routes, the breeding processes and significance of birds, the relationship between birds and humans, and the impact of environmental changes on birds, allowing visitors to experience a comprehensive bird ecology education course. Longluantan is also a habitat for special plants. Due to the high biodiversity of plant species in the area, and the presence of many rare varieties, an ecological garden has been specially established to mitigate the risk of plant population decline due to climate or human activities. The garden categorizes rare plants, bird-attracting plants, butterfly-attracting plants, montane plants, coral reef plants, hedge plants, grassland shrubs, flowering and fruiting plants, and coastal forests into nine major forest areas, demonstrating the richness of biological resources at Longluantan.
