Dolsan-do, Upo, Jinju Area, May 30-31, 2023

Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon

Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

 

young Pale Thrush Turdus pallidus

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia

Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus

The ultra-rare Swan Heron

Wild Boar Sus scrofa ussuricus

Wild Boar Sus scrofa ussuricus

Butterfly watching

Mike Batmans his way up the hills of Dolsan Island

Fogged out Dolsan-do

Fresh mountain water

Crested Ibisman!

Upo

The road of heat exhaustion

  Was great to link up with Mike Friel again, it’s been a while! He was a hospitable and knowledgeable host, and I spent an enjoyable couple of days at his house in the hills near Jinju.

Dolsan-do and Jinju area, May 30, 2023

-We visited my old stomping grounds of Dolsan-do, in an effort to help Mike see his first Fairy Pittas. Well, we got pretty close. There were three Fairy Pittas singing all around us at one point, but the extremely thick fog was not helping us get a glimpse of this notoriously hard-to-see species.

-Oriental Cuckoos were heard at Dolsan-do.

-A Eurasian Hoopoe led us down a small country road, flying in front of and next to the car for a good 20 seconds.

-38 species on the day.

Jinju area and Upo, May 31, 2023

  The day started early at a spot in the hills near Jinju, where Mike has seen Ruddy Kingfishers in the past. There was some very promising habitat up there, but we didn’t find any Ruddys. A long-following barking dog annoyed the crap out of us.

-At Upo, we spotted several Crested Ibis, birds part of a re-introduction program.

-An Oriental Stork surprised us with a quick visit, before soaring several thousand feet into the air. Later in the day, it came back with another Oriental Stork, and fed lazily in a small wetland. One of the storks was banded ‘C22’ on its upper left tarsi, the other banded ‘C88’ or ‘C86.’ This makes them Korean-banded birds (and not the colour-banded Japanese birds), the work of the ‘Eco Institute for Oriental Storks in Chungwon.’

-Sadly it was a bit early for Pheasant-tailed Jacanas. I’ll save them for next time!

-Two Eyebrowed Thrush, and several Grey-backed Thrush around Upo.

-Several Yellow-rumped Flycatchers looked to be fetching food for their younglings.

-My first Marsh Tits of the trip.

-Several Fairy Pittas heard singing from the hills around Upo.

-A mammal lifer – a massive Wild Boar went splashing through the mud down a small slope.

-It was a treat being given a masterclass on Korean butterflies by Mike.

-46 species on the day.

  Later in the day, in the hills around Mike’s we were surprised to hear a familiar song: Fairy Pittas! Several were heard moving down a small valley almost in Mike’s backyard, but remained, of course, maddeningly unseen.

Also around Mike's:

-Thrilling aerobatics performed by Oriental Dollarbirds.

-Barn Swallows nesting several feet from my door.

-Azure-winged Magpies romping through the backyard.

-Indian Cuckoo heard just before dawn.

-Several of Mike's once-productive spots in the hills have grown silent after recent development – farms, houses, bee hives, hotels, new roads, etc encroach inexorably into the hills, gobbling up habitat needed by the local fauna.