"Historical post" - Jeju Island, April 3-11, 2010

Zappey's Flycatcher Cyanoptila cumatilis

Zappey's Flycatcher Cyanoptila cumatilis

 Seogwipo, Jeju island, April 11, 2010
  Another mild and overcast day on Jeju. In a Seogwipo park, a seemingly exhausted Blue-and-White Flycatcher initially had me scratching my head, due to the black lores, but lack of black on the face and breast. It turns out this was a cumatilis Blue-and-White Flycatcher (*Split into Zappey’s Flycatcher Cyanoptila cumatilis in 2012). This is the first time I've seen this subspecies, and is also a personal first flycatcher of the year. 

  The river's resident and lone Striated Heron was seen with a second Striated Heron today, and they flew off together.

Halla Mountain, South Korea's tallest

Garganey Anas querquedula

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola

Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides

Far Eastern Cisticola Cisticola juncidis

Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla

Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola

Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus

Bird News from Matt Poll and Youngho Kim, Southwest Jeju island, April 10, 2010
  An overcast day and mild for some great birding on Jeju. Near Sagye, two pairs of Garganey, several Eurasian Teal, a Buff-bellied Pipit, and a half dozen Wood Sandpipers were seen on a flooded field. A dozen White-cheeked Starlings perched on nearby power lines. Close to Seotal Oreum, a Meadow Bunting and several Yellow-throated Buntings moved through some bushes. In the same field where the Long-tailed Shrike was seen last week, several Far Eastern Cisticola, a Japanese Quail, and a lone Stejneger's Stonechat (compared with 40 last week) were spotted, but the best was a Greater Short-toed Lark that showed well as it foraged on a dirt trail.
  Ten Pacific Golden Plovers, a few Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, several Marsh Sandpipers, a Black-winged Stilt, a Spotted Redshank, and several Dunlin just starting to assume breeding plumage were spotted in various nearby wetlands. 

  Best for the day was a beautiful male Citrine Wagtail busily hopping from rock to rock in an artificial pond. Apparently the last time a Citrine Wagtail was sighted on Jeju was in 1999. 

  At Yongsu reservoir, several Pintails, two more Black-winged Stilts, and a handful of Eurasian Teal, Garganey, and Shovelers remain.
  In belated Seogwipo news, two Brown-headed Thrush were seen in a Seogwipo park on April 8th, in the same spot where three were seen last year (on April 23, 2009).

Typical April weather on Jeju

Scoot-birding the west coast

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis (winter plumage)

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis (summer plumage)

Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus

Arctic Loon Gavia arctica

Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica

Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica

Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata

Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata

Seogwipo, Jeju island, April 5, 2010
  A sunny and cool late afternoon in Seogwipo's harbour. Three Little Grebes were seen - two in summer plumage, and one still in winter plumage. Several Great Crested Grebes were also near the harbour, in summer plumage. One Arctic Loon, one Pacific Loon and a Red-throated Loon floated lazily close to shore. The Pacific Loon was oiled, and was vainly trying to peck the oil out of its feathers. The Red-throated Loon was later seen laying on the sand - something I've never seen a loon do before. A pair of Pacific Reef Herons were seen engaging in courtship behaviour - the male spreading out his wings and displaying his nuptial feathers, until the female flew away - a process that was repeated several times. The female was noticeably smaller, and was a paler gray colour than the male.

Southwest coast near Sanbangsan

Yongho and Robin scanning shorebirds

Japanese Bush Warbler Cettia diphone

Japanese Bush Warbler Cettia diphone

Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach

Far Eastern Cisticola Cisticola juncidis

Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri

Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiques

Bird News from Matt Poll, Youngho Kim, and Robin Newlin,
Jeju island, April 3, 2010
  A sunny and cool day for a long and satisfying day of birding on Jeju. Youngho was both a gracious host, and an excellent source of local bird knowledge, as usual. At Gangjeong, a large raft of Great Crested Grebe, most in the process of assuming gorgeous summer plumage, was seen at the proposed site for an 'eco-friendly' naval base. Also, a huge (200) collection of loons drifted and fed just offshore - mostly Black-throated, with some Pacific mixed in. At Jungmun, good looks at a singing Japanese Bush Warbler. Vocal and brightly-marked Grey-capped Greenfinch were teeming in the bushes, and a Black-faced Bunting was also spotted.
  At a nearby stream (where in recent years a female Plumbeous Redstart has been seen!), Grey and White Wagtails, Great Tits, a Common Kingfisher, and Yellow-throated Buntings were seen. Near Sagye-ri, a Little-ringed Plover, and several Green Sandpipers waded through flooded fields. Also, a Hoopoe, and a Richard's Pipit.
  In farmer's fields near the remains of a World War 2-era Japanese airfield, best for the day was a vividly-marked but secretive Long-tailed Shrike, which showed well as it perched briefly. A probable second one was later seen flying fast and very low to the ground (MP only). Also in these fields, several prominently perching and vocal Far Eastern Cisticola, at least 40 Stejneger's Stonechat (mostly male), a Japanese Quail, a Dusky Thrush, and at least 400 Far Eastern Skylarks.
  A confusing collection of thrushes zipped secretively through the tree-tops of nearby pines. Several Pale Thrush were spotted and heard. The striking orange and white chest of a Brown-headed Thrush was glimpsed (MP only), as was the sharp white supercilium of Naumann's Thrush - RN only (rare for Jeju?). Several female Red-flanked Bluetail lurked in the underbrush.
  At a small beach near Gosan on the west coast, four Black-tailed Godwits, a Great Knot, a Little Ringed Plover and a Kentish Plover fed on the tidal flat, until flushed by a low-flying Kestrel. Sadly, a dead oil-stained Ancient Murrelet was found on the beach. 

  At Yongsu reservoir, a Black-winged Stilt was spotted near a large assortment of egrets. At most locations, Barn Swallows were flying low in loose groups of 10-20 birds. Several Pacific Swifts were seen mixed in with the swallows. Near Moseulpo, about 50 White-cheeked Starlings bowed power lines, with at least one Red-billed Starling seen mixed in among them.

Some notes from the time:
  Another birder friend from the mainland came down to see the vaunted Green Pigeon on Friday. He found it, and on Saturday we spent a grueling but rewarding 10 hours birding with my Korean birding amigo. Best was a Long-tailed Shrike (a sweet lifer), and we also saw plenty of singing Japanese Bush Warblers and handsome little Stejneger's Stonechats. Worst was a dead oiled Ancient Murrelet. My K-b-amigo, who apparently studies dead birds, picked it up and put it in a bag, which sat on the floor of the car. The murrelet was pretty ripe, and pretty soon the car was smelling quite deathy. At the next stop, we wisely tied the bag to the roof rack, but I think murrelet legs were dangling out of the ragged little sack, because we got some 'WTF?' looks from other motorists. At least the car smelled a lot less deathy.

(*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.)