"Historical post" - Jeju Island, April 13-25, 2010

Sanbangsan, in Jeju's southwest

Asian House Martin Delichon dasypus

Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina

Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina

Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis © Matt French

Bird News from Matt Poll and Matt French, Jeju Island, April 25, 2010
  A great sunny day for birding in a Seogwipo park. About 40 Barn Swallows and five Red-tailed Swallows gorged on clouds of flying insects over the river. Ten Asian House Martins were mixed in with the swallows. Looking at my lists, I spotted a similar mix of swallows and martins in the same location on May 3, 2009. Several Pacific Swifts patrolled at a higher altitude. Only one Brown-headed Thrush was seen, along with several Pale Thrush and a sharply-marked but elusive male Eye-browed Thrush. Three male Narcissus Flycatchers fed from branches near the river, and chased each other around. Three additional Narcissus Flycatchers were seen in another Seogwipo park. The cumatilis Blue-and-white Flycatcher (split to Zappey's Flycatcher in 2012) remains in the park. At one point a 'mystery bittern' flashed past. I didn't get a good look, but if I had to guess, I would say it was a Yellow Bittern. Also in the park: a Common Kingfisher, two Striated Herons, two Bull-headed Shrikes, a half dozen Olive-backed Pipits, a pair of Stejneger's Stonechats, several Eastern Crowned Warblers, and an Asian Stubtail. A Cattle Egret was seen in a nearby farmer's field.
  On the same day my friend Matt French saw some interesting birds on the west coast, north of Moseulpo. He spotted a Far Eastern Curlew, several Black-winged Stilts, Cattle Egrets, Coots, and Wood Sandpipers.

Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus

Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum

Far Eastern Skylark Alauda japonica

Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina

Bird News from Matt Poll and Youngho Kim, Southwest Jeju Island, April 17, 2010
  Flooded farmer's fields near Sanbangsan provided good habitat for five Black-winged Stilts, two Temminck's Stints, three Common Snipes, a handful of Marsh, Common, and Wood Sandpipers, four Little Ringed Plovers, and two pairs of Garganey. A nearby oreum (volcanic hill) held a Black-faced Bunting and several Yellow-throated Buntings, a male Blue-and-white Flycatcher, an Asian Stubtail, a male Narcissus Flycatcher, several Brown-headed and Pale Thrushes, an Arctic Warbler, and a female Red-flanked Bluetails. 

  On nearby agricultural land, dozens of noisy Far Eastern Skylarks, three Japanese Quails, a half dozen Siberian Stonechats, and three Oriental Pratincoles.

Brown-headed Thrush Turdus chrysolaus

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Barn blur

Seogwipo, Jeju island, April 15, 2010
  Still unseasonably cold on Jeju. A 'thrushy' day in a Seogwipo park, with a White's Thrush, a dozen Dusky Thrush, a similar number of Pale Thrush, and now at least six Brown-headed Thrushes seen furtively foraging next to a stream. Several dozen Barn Swallows swooped over a river and rested on rocks. They scattered when a Peregrine Falcon swept through the small valley at a very high rate of speed, ominously leaving a contrail of small blue and white feathers behind.

Ashy Minivet Pericrocotus divaricatus

Ashy Minivet Pericrocotus divaricatus

A shaman doing shaman things

Seogwipo, Jeju island, April 13, 2010 
  Very strong northwesterly winds and sunny fresh weather in Seogwipo. One male Ashy Minivet was seen in a Seogwipo park, in almost the exact same spot where three were seen last year (April 18, 2009). It was very approachable, as it fed on caterpillars and flowers next to a stream. It made a distinct rapid trilling 'sheee-reeep' call. Numbers of Pale Thrush in the park seem to have swelled to about a dozen, with at least three Brown-headed Thrush also seen. A gang of about a dozen skittish Dusky Thrush remains in the park. Several Olive-backed Pipits and White-cheeked Starlings were also spotted. West of town, a male Blue-and-white Flycatcher (this one a cyanomelana) fed next to a dry riverbed. Barn Swallows have become noticeably more plentiful, with clouds of 20-30 seen above most fields and areas with water.

(*Note: This is a “historical post.” Whereas I started birding in Korea in 2005, this blog has only been active since early 2012 - these posts are an attempt to consolidate my early birdventures from the various blogs and websites where they reside, largely from the “Archived Bird News“ section of Birds Korea’s excellent website: http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Birdnews/BK-BN-Birdnews-archive.shtml. Find more historical posts by clicking on the "Historical posts" tab at the bottom of this post.
  For this post, most of images are lamentably poor-resolution screensaves, as many of the original photo files were lost in the infamous computer crash of 2011.)