July and August are the best months of a year to watch terns in Matsu. Tern-watching tours are available weekly depending on the general and marine weather conditions at the time. Each tour takes about 1.5 hours.
The tours depart from Fu’ao Port in Nangan or Baisha Port in Beigan, passing by tern conservation islets such as Jinyu, Tiejian and Zhongdao in Beigan. On these islets, it is possible to find the endangered Chinese crested terns. This makes the tours much more mysterious and fun.
The tours not only allow visitors to enjoy Matsu’s ocean scenery and flying terns in the sky. The visitors can also appreciate traditional Mindong houses and magnificent eroded coasts from afar on the sea. Matsu’s unique natural ecology, geological formations, and wartime sites are all worth some explorations.
Terns are highly sensitive to sounds. Please lower your voice when getting close to them in conservation areas, leaving them quiet places to stay.
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Please lower your voice when getting close to terns in conservation areas.
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Watch terns with binoculars on a tourist boat.