Out and about on Gageo Island

Gageo's harbour and 1-Gu village as seen from
 the grassy bluff in the next picture...

...and from half-way up the steep zigzag road in the previous picture 

The path up and out of the quarry in the pea soup

Mysterious stone paths and walls up in the hills

The long road to 2-Gu, as seen from atop the pass

Looking down into 2-Gu - the creepy old school has been razed since 2013

The switchback road out of 2-Gu, and a sprinkling of houses
 on the cliffs, perhaps only 3-5 of which are still inhabited

The haunted goat cliffs

Lonely Hangri Village in 2-Gu

'Turdus Trail' in Hangri Village, 2-Gu

One of numerous abandoned houses in Hangri Village,
harkening back to a different century (or two) 

The even more remote village at 3-Gu

Gageo's lighthouse at 3-Gu

  May 2nd was last morning on Gageo, and was the first birding session there without recording a new species…so I left. My original plan was to head to Eocheong Island at the beginning of the week, but I got logistically complacent, and kept rolling the dice on ‘one more day’ on Gageo. Currently in Seoul for a few days of rest, laundry, and shaving my migration beard. The next plan is to strike west from Incheon.

   For most of my two weeks on Gageo, the winds stubbornly blew out of the north – so no big fall of Verditer Flycatchers for this guy. Can’t complain though, it was supremely rewarding to be witness to a small slice of the dynamic force of nature that is spring migration on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Still, it would have been fun to be there when those exotic southerly winds blew! There’s always next time…or is there?

   Through my two-week sojourn, Gageo played host to loads of titillating species one can only reasonably expect to see on Yellow Sea islands on migration. The island also held a few surprises, and decent turnover most days. There were highs, and most definitely some lows. I will remember the cold snap and resultant die-off long after I want to forget it – those were a heavy few days.

  Geez, my sleep schedule is still on Gageo time – Gageo-lag. Time for a nap.