Gao Mei Wetland(高美湿地) at Taichung, Taiwan
The setting sun
It was a magical evening for me at Gaomei Wetlands. Situated in QingShui (清水) District of TaiChung (台中) it took about a 20 min drive from Tai Chung city.
The information board at the start of the boardwalk
It was extremely windy at the wetlands. The wind turbines which were situated along a water break were constantly turning and generating electricity.
the inviting wooden walkway
R and I took a long slow walk out on the wooden walkway. The winds grew increasingly stronger as we ventured out towards the sea.
A wefie of R and me
The wind made it extremely cold and I wished that I had taken my jacket along instead of leaving it in the car. My hands were icy cold after we returned from the walk.
The right side of the walkway
Two dramatically different scenes unfolded before me while venturing out on the walkway. To the right I could see a sea of lush green grass which was vibrating in the wind.
The view on the left side of the walkway
On the left by stark contrast was the muddy flats of the wetland where if one looked carefully they would be able to spot the tiny inhabitants.
The one big claw fiddler crab
The tiny inhabitants which I am referring to are the fiddler crabs. They are really unusual as they have an extremely large claw while most crabs which I have seen have claws of the same size.
Another variety of the fiddler crab
It was really interesting seeing these crabs scuttling along the wetland. Do you know that only the males have the gigantic cheliped (Claw). He waves the “halberd” to attract the females and expel the other males. The female uses two tiny chelipeds to feed.
A wetland white bird- Crane perhaps??
Beside crabs we also saw this crane which seems to be fishing. It was alone and kept lowering it’s head in the water periodically.
A flock of birds
I couldn’t get a better close up of this flock of birds as they were rather far away from the walkway. They too seem to be looking for food.
The crowd admiring the scenery
There were many people who went down to walk in the mud at the wetlands. R and I gave it a miss as we didn’t bring slippers and I didn’t fancy sinking my feet into the squishy mud.
Capturing the sun and sea
We waited to see the sun set and it touch the horizon but unfortunately we were unable to see that scene as it was too cloudy that day. The sun got covered by the clouds as it set. Maybe another time if I do get to visit that place again.
