Wildlife Refuge, Major Wildlife Habitats, National Scenic Area, National Park

Taijiang National Park Headquarters

Sihcao wetland is located in Annan District, Tainan City. It is south of Provincial Highway 17, where Zengwun River, Luermen River, Yanshui River and Yanshui Drainage Ditch (Jianan Irrigation Big Ditch drainage line) converge.

The area stretching from south of Waisanding Sandbank in Yunlin to Yongan in Kaohsiung is an important habitat for the black-faced spoonbill and other bird species. With 14 wetlands spreading from north to south, the core area is formed by 2 wetlands of international importance, Zengwun Estuary Wetland and Sihcao Important Wetland, as well as 2 wetlands of national importance, Cigu Salt Pan Wetland and Yanshuei Estuary Important. The total area reaches 7,700 hectares. Sihcao Important Wetland and Zengwun Estuary Wetland are therefore positioned as the core areas for wetland conservation in southwest coast of Taiwan.The black-faced spoonbill is the main wintering species in this wetland. Black-faced spoonbills mostly stay at Cigu, Sihcao and Jiangjun in Tainan during winter. Most of them can be found in the major habitat and surrounding areas.

About 200 vascular plants are recorded in this wetland. The local salt pan was decommissioned not long ago, and the soil salinity is still high. Therefore, the plants grown here are mainly herbaceous halophytes. The woody plants at the brackish area are mostly mangroves, including the black mangrove, Lumnitzera, fragrant pittosporum and milky mangrove. Near the embankment are the sea purslane and Saltwater Smut Grass. On the remaining soil, Indian Sesbania, which is from the Poaceae and Leguminosea families, is the dominant species.
There are 49 families and 200 species of birds found in this wetland. Among which, migratory birds account for the majority at approximately 75% and has the widest varieties. Resident birds such as the Solopacidae, Charadriidae, Ardeidae, and Anatidae families are dominant. In addition, rare species such as the black-faced spoonbill and pied avocet are spotted here, indicating the diversity of birds at Sihcao.

Harvest Mouse, Black-faced Spoonbill, Oriental White Stork, Spotted Greenshank, Peregrine Falcon and Grass Owl.