Guantian Water Deer Ecological Education Park Introduction
The Guantian Swamphen Breeding Area is located in Guantian District. It was established with sponsorship from the Taiwan High Speed Rail and was officially renamed the Guantian Swamphen Ecological Education Park after being managed by the Tainan City Agricultural Bureau. The park is gradually moving towards ecological education and tourism, featuring rich aquatic plants and a variety of waterbird species. Among them, the most significant bird is the swamphen, known scientifically as Porphyrio porphyrio, which coexists with water chestnut fields. Here, visitors can observe the fascinating ecology of the swamphen through telescopes, attracting many birdwatchers. This species, found in Taiwan, is the only one among the eight worldwide that exhibits different plumage for breeding (summer plumage) and non-breeding seasons (winter plumage), and it migrates regularly. Historically, they could be spotted in Yilan, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Taitung. Due to land development and environmental destruction, they can now only be found in the water chestnut fields between the Bajhang Creek and the Zengwen Creek plains in Tainan. In 1989, the Council of Agriculture announced the swamphen as a second-level precious and rare protected species.
