"Historical post" - Jeju Island, September 2010

Youngho and Stephen covering all angles

adult Pacific Reef Egret Egretta sacra

juvenile Pacific Reef Egret Egretta sacra

Eurasian Magpie Pica pica

Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris

Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

Whimbrel Numenius minutes

Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis

Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus (front) and Mongolian Plover Charadrius mongolus (rear)

Squid boats light up the Seogwipo skyline

Bird News from Matt Poll, Youngho Kim, and Stephen Krohn
Northeast Coast, Jeju island, September 4, 2010
  In a mixed forest, two White's Thrush were seen, and several Varied Tits were heard. On the coastal road, seven Pacific Reef Egrets were seen, one of which was a juvenile that was mottled with rusty-brown, while a scruffy Eurasian Magpie with a very greenish tail was also seen nearby. Large numbers (200+) of Black-tailed Gull were seen grouped on the coast. One of them initially confused us, due to its seemingly smaller size, and thick dark neck ring. 

  Near Sehwa, a small group of Carrion Crows, a Western Osprey, a juvenile Ruddy Turnstone, a dozen Grey-tailed Tattlers, three Whimbrels, two dozen Red-necked Stint, a Sanderling, and several Common Sandpipers were present. 

  At Hado, it was pretty quiet, with a dozen Spot-billed Ducks, a half-dozen Temminck's Cormorant, handfuls of Grey Herons, and Little, Intermediate, and Great Egrets. At Seongsan, an Oriental Reed Warbler and a Cattle Egret were notable. A beach near Seongsan held about a dozen Kentish Plovers and two Mongolian Plovers, while Barn Swallows were still plentiful at all locations.
  My candid thoughts at the time: Powered through a seven-hour bird-a-palooza-thon today with a couple of like-minded weirdos. Picked up one lifer - they're hard to come by these days, which is a good problem, as it means my numbers are getting up there. Still a ways to go, but I'm getting there. I'm a nerd.
  (Stephen was definitely an interesting chap – seems he became quite the Jeju bird expert after I left in 2011.)

Note from September 16, 2010: Migrants are moving though Jeju. Spotted some Japanese Grosbeaks, Marsh and Wood Sandpipers, an Asian Stubtail, and an as yet unidentified pale pipit.

(*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.)