Daejeon, June 8-9, 2023

Varied Tit Sittiparus varius

Siberian Chipmunk Eutamias sibiricus

Korean Water Deer Hydropotes inermis

Japanese Keelback Amphiesma vibakari

Asiatic Toad Bufo gargarizans

Asiatic Toad Bufo gargarizans

Realm of the Ruddy Kings

Don’t miss the hourly granny bus back into town!

The hourly granny bus back to town

River 'improvement' in Daejeon

Pumpkin soda – much worse than it sounds

The KTX - Korea's bullet train

Daejeon, June 8, 2023
  The relatively quick success with the Watercock on the 7th allowed me to hop on the KTX (Korea’s bullet train) down to Daejeon, in search of, you guessed it, Ruddy Kingfishers. Why not, eh? There’s a spot just outside of town that’s been reliable for Ruddys in years past.

  As I got out of the cab at 5:30am on the 8th, I heard a piercing, descending trill – a Ruddy Kingfisher singing. A Fairy Pitta started up at the same moment, from much closer in. The Pitta’s song made it difficult to determine where the Ruddy was singing from, and within a minute or so, both stopped vocalizing. And that was the last I heard from either species, until I left at noon – when the sun was hot, and the trails were full of noisy hikers.

  It seems likely that the breeding/territorial period, where Ruddy Kingfishers are most likely to be spotted and/or heard, is over for the Daejeon birds. Maybe I missed it by a day or two. So I was too early for Ruddys at most spots, and too late here. I wouldn’t have it any other way! Gotta leave some on the table for next time, innit.

Daejeon, June 9, 2023
  Another 5:30am start, and a different strategy. Instead of circling the area where vocal Ruddys were found in the past (presumably during the courtship/territory phase of the breeding cycle), I went to the area, deeper in the woods, where it seems likely that they nest. I sat on a bench there for several hours and watched and listened. And didn’t see or hear a thing, Ruddy Kingfisher-wise.

  Maybe the one I heard yesterday morning was headed somewhere else. There are a lot of small river valleys and mountains in the area, and birds have wings. I also didn’t run into a single local photographer over the two days in Daejeon, which seemed odd. At the Paju spot, the trails were nuts-to-butts with photogs, even though there was only a distant call or two reported there on any given day. Maybe photogs playbacked the Daejeon spot to death and scared off the Ruddys. Maybe they decided to breed in a nearby valley for some other reason. Or maybe they were there in those very same woods I staked out, and I just missed them. It’s also possible that I made some forest spirits cross with me for some reason, and they are withholding the gleaming ruby jewel from me, until I can complete some side quest. Or maybe I’m just unlucky, and sleep deprived.

  My birding plans for the weekend have kind of turned to ashes in my hands, but I’m cool with it. I could use a good sleep in. I had a couple of crazy hail-Mary plan Ds in mind to take the subway for two hours to get to some trails, crowded with weekend hikers, where Ruddys may have been heard ten years ago. Screw that. I’ll just come back after some more trips around the sun, and I will see a Ruddy Kingfisher (conclusively), and all will be right with the universe.

  There were two distinct phases to my trip, and a bit too much improvisation at the tail end of the first (island-hopping) kind of muddled my schedule for the second (mainland search for rare breeders). Because of the 4-5 days of rain that was forecast for Gageo, I bailed, and possibly got to Gwangju too early for Ruddys, if they’re even still there. Then I ended up in the Jinju area a week early (at least) for the possibility of Pheasant-tailed Jacanas. I then faffed around in Gapyeong and Paju for too long, and probably got to Daejeon a day or two late for Ruddys. Or something. Who knows. No regrets though, it was a grand adventure the whole way through, and it’s been awesome to reconnect with old friends at each step of this silly trip through a crazy little place that somehow makes sense to me. I’ll be back.

  Cheers to all the fellow bird-nerds that helped me greatly with their information, encouragement, and company.

"Historical post" - Birding Korea 2007: A Year of Transitions

Muui Island - we'd rent one of those shacks for about 10$ a night

Relaxing on Muui-do after seeing my first Blue Rock Thrush

Muui-do antics

A refreshing OB (Old Bastard) and Galbi on Muui-do

We ended up hanging out with these Coast Guard hovercraft dudes on Muui-do

Sundown on Muui

Looking into North Korea (and the largest flag in the world at the time) on a trip to the DMZ

South Korean soldiers stare down North Korea (which begins at the sand) Panmunjom, August 2007

The DMZ is an intense place - North Korean soldiers, not birding

Danyang

A common sight on mountains near Seoul

Pointing at...

...a sunburst over Seoul, November 2007

Looking down on Daejeon at dusk after a hike, November 2007

Ajummas harvesting seafood on Deokjeok-do

  2007 was the year that saw me get much more serious about birding in Korea, on every front. I was living in the monstropolis of Ilsan, west of Seoul, after a failed six-month experiment in Taiwan. My birding efforts were rewarded with 35 new species that year, mostly a process of rounding out the commoner Korean species.
  I started scoping out the two main islands of habitat in the area, Jeongbalsan (a relatively small mountain with a few nice quiet spots), and Lake Park, which held a surprising variety of birds in spite of being a manicured and busy park. I got a better understanding of Korea’s common woodland bird species on my many pre- and post-work ramblings.
  That year, I also expanded my birding horizons beyond Ilsan. My love affair with Deokjeok Island continued, and I began to do more birding than socializing on my regular trips there. New species that revealed themselves to me on Deokjeok-do included Black-faced Spoonbill, Eurasian Jay, Olive-backed Pipit, Pacific Swift, Northern Goshawk, and Pale Thrush (on a May 5-6 trip). No doubt I missed out on many other great migrants that I failed to ID or just didn’t know how to look for. On an early September trip I was woken up in my tent on the beach by the cheerful whinnying of my first Whimbrel, a fond memory.
  I also visited Muui-do several times, a small island near Incheon airport. In early July, I spotted my first Blue Rock Thrush, Little Ringed Plover and Oriental Greenfinch there.
  Another regular weekend destination was Gangchon, east of Seoul. On trip there in late March, I encountered my first Mandarin Duck, Japanese Wagtail, Common Shelduck, Brown Dipper, and Rustic Bunting. I brought my crappy little bins along with me everywhere, and the birds followed - on hikes in and around Seoul, and trips to Paju, Daejeon, Busan, and Yangyeon, among other spots.
  The year was also one of transition for me, on the Korean birding front. I had been using crappy Taiwanese opera glasses (like looking through a straw with Vaseline on your eyeballs), but I finally picked up some Bushnells, a significant step up. I can see!
  I finally gave up on trying to snap pics of birds with my small point-and-shoot camera (then trying to decipher the resultant pixel blobs) and borrowed a Canon Powershot when I went birding, which took appreciably better pictures. I finally got a DSLR camera at the very end of the year, just before returning to Canada for Christmas, my first trip home in 2.5 years. Time flies on the peninsula.
  The transition also occurred on the networking side of things. I went from silently following the Birds Korea bird news to interacting with the members on the message boards (why were they discontinued?) and exchanging emails with them, asking for advice about birding and gear. I also started learning more about the conservation story in Korea, by closely reading bird news and other articles on the Birds Korea website, and discovering which birds (and habitats) were rare, and why.

(*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.)