Huge flight of swallows makes racket, terrorizes pedestrians near Yuanli hospital
Huge flight of swallows makes racket, terrorizes pedestrians near Yuanli hospital
2026-03-20
Miaoli’s Yuanli Township has a street known for what locals call “golden rain.” But don’t be fooled—it’s not a nice as it sounds. It’s actually the natural result of having thousands of swallows flying above, scaring pedestrians away from walking underneath. Although Taipower moved the power line to the nearby hospital underground, the birds just moved to another one around 200 meters away, vexing everyone nearby with their endless chirping.
The air is dense with swooping birds, serving as a warning to pedestrians to stay away from the danger zone underneath.
Every evening, a huge flight of swallows gathers in the skies above Heping and Datong roads in Miaoli’s Yuanli Township, bringing their “golden rain” with them. Everyone passing by adopts the same posture: hand over head, walking briskly past.
Member of public
Living with swallows
They used to come from May to October, but they’re earlier this year. They arrived in February.
The residents are fed up. It’s not like they haven’t tried to do something about it. They even got Taipower to bury the power lines at the original danger zone in front of the hospital.
Hung Huang-chi
Yuanli Representative Council chair
Taipower agreed right away and there were no issues with the land. Construction is almost done now.
Although their perch was taken away, the swallows weren’t deterred—they just found another spot. If you zoom in on the scaffolding at the front of the hospital, you can see rows of birds standing like sentinels along a city wall. The only power line left at a nearby street corner has no spots left. The fruit vendors below have been driven mad by the droppings.
Fruit vendor
Annoyed by birds
They poop on your head. Look, we’re all wearing hats. I use bottle rockets to scare them away, but they always come back after a while.
Not even bottle rockets can drive away these thousands of swallows. So what’s so special about these 500 meters along Yuanli’s Heping Road?
Chang Wei
Miaoli forestry conservation chief
Some of them come because there’s a large drainage ditch nearby as a food source, so they’ll eat the small insects over there.
Local agriculture officials said the lights here attract insects, which are food for the swallows. Wherever there’s food, they’ll gather. The city has installed boards beneath their nests, but the problem of “golden rain” continues to frustrate the authorities and residents alike.
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#Miaoli #swallows #birds #birddroppings #dangerzone #Yuanli #powerlines #wildlife
苑裡"萬燕齊發"發出嘈雜聲 醫院受干擾.路人躲"黃金雨"
2026-03-20
苗栗縣苑裡鎮，有一條路上，常常會下起"黃金雨"，不過是上千隻燕鳥齊發的"黃金雨"，經過的行人都深怕被擊中，儘管"黃金雨熱區"，靠近醫院的台電電線，還因此地下化，但燕子群，卻只是往一兩百公尺外的其它電纜線遷徙，叫聲依然相當擾人！
天空密密麻麻的，經過的人更要小心，隨時發布"空襲警報"。
苗栗苑裡鎮和平路和大同路上空，近來每到傍晚就出現萬燕齊飛的景象，伴隨而來的是"黃金雨"降落！路過的民眾姿勢一致，紛紛手遮頭、快步走。
[[民眾]]
“以前我們這邊都是5月到10月，今年比較早，今年2月就來了。”
附近民眾不堪其擾。不是沒想方設法解決，尤其原本在醫院前的"熱區"，還因此商請台電將電線桿地下化。
[[苑裡鎮民代表會主席 洪晃琦]]
“台電直接答應施工，土地也沒有問題，到現在將近要完工的狀態。”
沒了電線可棲息，但燕鳥也不是吃素的，馬上另覓棲息。醫院前工程鷹架，拉近鏡頭一看，整排站得簡直像城牆的衛兵，堅不可催！再看到下個街口只剩一條的電纜線，根本座無虛席。底下的水果攤商，被"黃金雨"炮打得生無可戀。
[[水果攤商]]
“便便都會在頭上耶，你看我都戴帽子。用那個沖天炮，呼一下，牠就怕，就跑掉，但牠等一下又飛過來了。”
連沖天炮也趕不走這成千上萬的燕鳥，苑裡鎮和平路這500公尺路段，到底是什麼這麼吸引燕子飛來人家繞?
[[苗栗縣府農業處林保科長 張葦]]
“有些燕子因為附近有大排，有牠的食源，所以牠會在那邊吃那些小蟲子。”
農業處方面分析，燈光吸引蟲子，有了食物來源，蟲子吸引燕子，有的吃就往這裡聚集。目前農業處放置"安心板"在家燕的鳥巢下， "黃金雨"問題繼續考驗相關單位與附近人家，和萬家燕鬥智。
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