Big weekend in Seoul

female Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia

male Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia

Plumbeous Water Redstart Phoenicurus fuliginosus

European Robin Erithacus rubecula

Yellow-throated Bunting Emberiza elegans

Long-tailed Rosefinch Carpodacus sibiricus

Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthera webbiana

Sigh. The photog scrum/noisy social club

Subhojit and some real birders - note the scopes and binos

February 22

  For a ‘non-birding’ trip into Seoul, I managed to get a lot of birding done! On Saturday morning I got great long looks at Gangseo’s (in Gimpo) resident Plumbeous Water Redstart – an attractive and confiding bird. The rest of the park was buzzing with Naumann’s Thrushes, Yellow-throated and Rustic Buntings, as well as Vinous-throated Parrotbills. At the north end of the park, I encountered two Short-eared Owls, and the fifteen or so photographers that follow them around all day. Later in the day at Ilsan Lake Park I spotted a cracking male Long-tailed Rosefinch mixed in with some Yellow-throated Buntings.

February 23 (With Subhojit Chakladar)

  Early on Sunday I met up with Mr. Chakladar at Amsa, and lined up next to the photog phalanx to get a look at a long-staying European Robin – a truly stunning bird. We then headed to Namhansan, and after a lengthy stakeout we were rewarded with extremely close views of a pair of beautifully camouflaged Hazel Grouse. Also at Namhansan, we saw Eurasian Nuthatch, Brambling, Great Spotted and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Coal and Marsh Tit, and a restless group of Rustic Bunting.

  The last spot we visited was the Han River at Oksu, with its massive rafts of ducks. We eventually saw the Baer’s Pochard, as well as a hybrid Baer’s. We also met up with some lovely Korean birders there, and it was a real treat to compare notes with such knowledgeable and passionate folks.

Naumann's Thrush - December 2, 2012

Naumann's Thrush Turdus naumanni

  I used to see these birds quite often in Ilsan (west of Seoul) in the winter of 2007-08, but they're not very common this far south, as far as I know. Naumann's Thrush was recently split from Dusky Thrush Turdus eunomus, which are fairly common here in winter. I'm disappointed I didn't get a chance to see the impressive orange belly-scaling on this individual, as the encounter was short, and Turdus thrushes are notoriously skittish. This one appeared to be a 1st winter female.

Eurasian Wren - November 6, 2012

Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus

Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus

Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus

Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus - Ilsan, February 2008

  I discovered at least eight of these rotund little birds today on a refreshing walk through a windy river valley this afternoon. Always a fun bird to watch as they zip around the forest floor like rodents. Their call is similar to that of a Japanese/Korean Bush Warbler, only 'wetter'. These winter migrants (a small number apparently stay year-round in Korea, but I've only ever seen them in winter - hence the clever former name 'Winter Wren') were quite confiding as they chased each other around the stream-beds. Scuffling over prime territory maybe?
  I also spotted some Goldcrests today, which is always a good thing.

Mammals of Korea (just a few)

Mystery bat (Far Eastern Myotis Myotis bombinus?) + two crickets - Jeju Island, October 2009

Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus - Jeju Island, March 2011

Siberian Weasel Mustela sibirica (almost) - Jeju Island, April 2011

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis (surfing) - Jeju Island, March 2011

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis - Jeju Island, May 2011

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis - Jeju Island, May 2011

Manchurian Sika Deer Cervus nippon mantchuricus  (note the anger) - Ilsan, February 2008

Siberian Chipmunk Eutamias sibiricus - Ilsan, April 2008

Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris - Geoje Island, January 2012

Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus - Jeju Island, May 2011

Temminck's Mole Mogera wogura - Ilsan, April 2008

Norway Rat Rattus norvegicus - Jeju Island, September 2010

  Here are a few of the mammals I've come across during my Korean bird-ventures over the years - still waiting to see a Raccoon Dog! I'd also like to see a Water Deer, in all its fanginess.

  The Manchurian Sika Deer was notable for two reasons. Firstly, they're supposed to have been extirpated in the wild in that part of Korea, so perhaps this one escaped from a deer farm. Secondly, this big boy mock charged me, and wouldn't let me pass for a good five minutes, in spite of my frantic arm-waving and whooping. A close shave, and I'm not too proud to admit that I was scared like a small child during that particular episode.

  The Norway Rat was notable because it made a Korean woman scream like a maniac and stand on a chair. I didn't think things like that actually happened in real life.

Vinous-throated Parrotbill, January 12

Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthera webbiana

Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthera webbiana (Ilsan, March 2008)

This bird is among the smallest in Korea - just a ping-pong ball-sized fluffball! They rustle through the underbrush on hillsides and reedy ditches in groups of 10-30 like a pack of mice, and they don't sit still very long to pose for pictures. They're pretty common in rural areas all over Korea's mainland (plenty in the hills of Geoje!), but I never encountered any on Jeju.

"Historical post" - Ilsan and Deokjeok-do, May 2008

left: Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica  middle: Grey-streaked Flycatcher Muscicapa griseisticta  right: Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia

left: Tristram's Bunting Emberiza tristrami  right: Chestnut Bunting Emberiza rutila

left: Rufous-tailed Robin Larvivora sibilans  right: Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus

Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus

My secret little patch on the mountain, great for migrants

 Jeongbalsan, Ilsan, May 10, 2008
  The steady trickle of migrants and visitors to my ‘secret quiet forest edge’ on Jeongbalsan continues. Asian Brown Flycatchers are the most abundant species of late, with about a dozen seen, and many others heard. Two Grey-streaked, several female Mugimaki, a male Blue-and-white, and two male Yellow-rumped Flycatchers were also seen busily feeding. Yellow-browed Warblers were also present in strong and vocal numbers, and several Asian Stubtail were heard but not seen. Three Rufous-tailed Robins were seen, and several others were heard. A male Chestnut Bunting was seen near some Tristram's and Black-faced Buntings. Black-naped Orioles have returned to Jeongbalsan, mewling loudly from the treetops. Also seen was a Brown Shrike and an Eyebrowed Thrush.

2012 thoughts: This was my last birding session in Ilsan before I left for Australia. I thought I was never coming back to Korea, but I was wrong! I got to my spot, sat on a log, and waited about 15 minutes. I was soon surrounded by some great migrating buntings and flycatchers, and the Rufous-tailed Robins and Brown Shrike were a nice surprise.

left: Chestnut-cheeked Starling Sturnus philippensis  right: Korean Bush Warbler Horornis borealis (formerly 'Cettia canturians borealis')

Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

left: Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla  right: Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

Deokjeok generations

The old lady in the hills - there's a chapter about her in my book, which, sigh, will come out one day

Her neighbourhood

Bijonbong Mountain, seen from Soppo-ri

 Deokjeok-do, May 3-5, 2008
  A weekend of mixed rain and sun on Deokjeok-do. The highlight was watching a male Chestnut-cheeked Starling that appeared to be catching insects from its perch on an antenna for 20 minutes, right outside the window of the minbak that I was staying in. At least a dozen Yellow-throated Buntings were mingling with a similar number of Tristram’s and Black-faced Buntings. Several Korean Bush Warblers sang loudly from hidden perches the whole weekend. At one point one defended its perch from an Olive-backed Pipit. 
  A Eurasian Hobby was harassing a large flock of Barn Swallows. Ten Cattle Egrets followed a tractor as it plowed a rice field, while several Little Buntings fed at the edge of the same field. Also seen were a dozen Chinese Grosbeaks, a Common Kingfisher, a Black-naped Oriole, abundant Grey Wagtails, a male Chinese Sparrowhawk, a Little Egret, and several Blue Rock Thrushes engaging in courtship displays. The only shorebirds seen were four Eastern Oystercachers.

Hindsight from 2012: Another weekend of solid birding on Deokjeok island! One of my favourite moments came when I was up in the hills, sitting on a concrete ledge for 30 minutes, trying to decipher a noisy and furtive bird. An old Korean lady watched me from a distance for a while, then came over and offered me some hard candy that was possibly older than she was. I showed her some pictures of the birds I’d seen that day, and we had a lovely non-conversation about birds for about ten minutes.
  My highlight was the Chestnut-cheeked Starling right outside my window. Watching Cattle Egrets at close range as the sun went down was another one of those great birding moments. Deokjeok-do, about a 45-minute ferry-ride west of Incheon, clearly has some good migrants moving through in the spring and fall. However, as with most great birding spots in Korea, it looks like rampant development is steadily encroaching on the suitable habitat, with a wide array of construction projects underway in various parts of the island.

Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica

Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus

Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus

Jeongbalsan, Ilsan, May 1, 2008
  I have been taking advantage of long lunch breaks and great weather to observe a steady trickle of great migrants and visitors on a quiet area of Jeongbalsan this week. There is a great mix of grass, reeds, scrub, forest edges, drainage ditches, and a variety of trees in this area. Many of the birds were only observed on one day only.
  At least a dozen Asian Brown Flycatchers called high in the treetops. Startling to watch was a female Common Kestrel in the process of making a kill – it appeared to be a passerine with some yellow plumage, perhaps a Black-faced Bunting. A pair of mating Grey-headed Woodpeckers was seen, and many others were heard calling noisily in the forest. Many vocal and active Common Pheasants were seen and heard at the forest’s edge. A mystery owl was seen perched in a tree. Highlight for the day was an unmistakable male Siberian Thrush, seen briefly skulking at the forest’s edge.

Notes from 2012: Catching the Kestrel in the process of making a kill was an intense experience. I was only 20 feet away, crouching behind a small ridge, observing some buntings. Something blacked out the sun for a second, and then ‘Poof!’, a flurry of feathers and wings. That got my heart beating!
  My encounter with the Siberian Thrush rates highly on my list of photographic failures. I was sauntering around the forest edge, and came around a bend when I literally almost stepped on a stunning male Siberian Thrush (another lifer!). It scuttled a few feet away from me, and we looked at each other for about six slow-motion seconds. I slowly raised my camera, took a picture, and it flew off into the woods. The lighting was perfect, with the sun at my back, and the range was ideal for an excellent picture. Of course, I was so nervous, I basically forgot to focus. I got a great shot of a black blob with a white smudge of an eyebrow. Argh.

(*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.)

"Historical post" - Ilsan, April 2008

Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala

Jeongbalsan, Ilsan, April 28-29, 2008
  Six Black-faced Bunting were seen next to a parking lot. A Yellow-browed Warbler was spotted drinking in a drainage ditch in a scrubby area. One Asian Stubtail was in the same spot, and several others were heard nearby. The highlight was a Eurasian Wryneck hiding in a large scrubby bush. It was calling noisily, making a repeated metallic ‘creaking’. It was briefly but well observed. A single male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher was seen on April 29.

Notes from 2012: (I honestly don’t remember writing these reflections over five years ago – I guess I was planning on putting up these historical posts when I started up SOL. They make me cringe a bit – who was that guy?)
  Spring migration at my secret spot on the mountain was spectacular! A great turnover of species, with new species being spotted every day. The Eurasian Wryneck was possibly the bird of the month. An amazing-looking member of the woodpecker family, the Wryneck is fairly rare in Korea, most commonly seen on Yellow Sea islands during the spring migration season.

left: Tristram’s Bunting Emberiza tristrami  right: Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus

Temminck's Mole Mogera wogura

Jeongbalsan, Ilsan, April 25, 2008
  Barn Swallows have returned to Ilsan, with several seen overhead at any time. The Olive-backed Pipits appear to have moved on – they were not seen all week. About a dozen Tristrams’s Buntings were seen feeding at the forest’s edge. A tree held a large mixed flock of about 40 Eurasian Siskins and Tree Sparrows. Several female Red-flanked Bluetails were seen nearby. A dead Temminck’s Mole was seen, perhaps killed by a cat that inhabits the area.

Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius

Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni

Grey-backed Thrush Turdus hortulorum

Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata

Lake Park and Jeongbalsan, Ilsan, April 20, 2008
  On a hot and sunny day in Lake Park, a pair of Mandarin Ducks (a personal first for Ilsan) stayed in the centre of the ‘lake’ for a few hours with the usual dozen Spot-billed Ducks, before flying off. A group of about eight unidentified smallish shorebirds also passed through the park. On Jeongbalsan, a clearing held at least a dozen Olive-backed Pipit. Mingling with several White’s and Pale Thrushes was a single Grey-backed Thrush. A Eurasian Jay perched in a tree, after being mobbed by several Brown-eared Bulbuls. A female Red-flanked Bluetail was also seen.

2012 notes: I’d seen a pair of Mandarin Ducks on the other side of Ilsan, flying towards Lake Park. I’m convinced I saw the same pair the next day. Lake Park, in spite of being extremely congested with foot traffic, was a great place for birding, with a decent range of habitats. Unfortunately, the extensive reedbeds around the north side of the ‘lake’ (favoured by Moorhens and Eurasian Wrens) were regularly trimmed down to the ground. The picture of the Eurasian Jay was noteworthy for me because it’s a notoriously shy bird, and I got pretty lucky to get a decent shot of one. 

Brown-eared Bulbul Hypsipetes amaurotis

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

White’s Thrush (Scaly Thrush) Zoothera aurea

Varied Tit Sittiparus varius

Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus Canus

Siberian Chipmunk Eutamias sibiricus

Jeongbalsan, Ilsan, April 12, 2008
  On a pleasant overcast and warm day, a large flock of about 40 Black-crowned Night Herons were circling over the mountain and settling noisily into the tree tops in smaller groups. A small blue bird was seen from afar and poorly photographed - I convinced myself it was a Hill Blue Flycatcher, until later study of the blurry pictures revealed the white chin and throat that identified it as a male Red-flanked Bluetail. The White’s Thrush invasion has hit Ilsan, with about two dozen seen on the mountain, pulling worms out of the ground. Several Pale and Dusky Thrush were also seen associating with the White’s Thrush. Some Brown-eared Bulbuls were feeding on bees and wasps in blossoming trees. Other birds seen include several Vinous-throated Parrotbills, Goldcrests, Japanese Pygmy, Great-spotted, and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, and plentiful Great,Varied, Long-tailed and Marsh Tits. Several Pheasants were heard but not seen. A Siberian Chipmunk was also seen busily feeding.

2012 notes: I can’t believe it took me so long to find the ‘magic patch’ of Jeongbalsan! I’d lived in Ilsan, a brand new city wedged between Seoul and Gimpo for almost a year before I discovered it. When I say ‘new’, this place was farm fields 20 years ago. It’s one of the few Korean cities to be laid out in a grid pattern - I always described it as ‘an urban planner’s wet dream’. Smack dab in the centre of Ilsan is a small mountain – a hill, really. There are several well-worn trails on Jeongbalsan (‘san’ can mean mountain in Korean), usually packed with groups of noisy Korean hikers, many with little radios strapped to their belts, blasting out some pretty bad and pretty loud Korean music. I’d done some winter birding on these trails, and I’d seen a good mix of woodpeckers, buntings, thrushes, tits, and creepers.
  In April, I followed a Eurasian Jay across what I thought was a dead-end field, often frequented by Korean picnickers. Well, this Jay led me up a small, unused trail up a steep ridge and through a doorway of pines, and led me to my magic patch! In an area the size of perhaps three football fields was a great mix of habitats – a mixed forest of older trees with a great defined edge; piles of old cleared branches covered in weedy scrub; an old cement drainage ditch with a trickle of water, and even a big patch of reedy weeds. It was in the scrub around the trickling ditch where I picked up a ton of lifers throughout April and May. I loved this spot, and I rarely saw anyone else there. Surrounded by millions of Koreans in a gleaming new monstropolis, I had found a quiet bit of paradise. I fear that someday soon, some bright bulb will decide to clear it all and put in a mini-golf course or hotel, or something equally stupid. It’s happening all over Korea.
  I heard the White’s Thrush rustling around in the underbrush from quite some distance away, and from the racket, I assumed I was looking for a Pheasant. When I finally saw it, at a distance of maybe 15 feet, I was impressed with both its size, and the effectiveness of its camouflage. The male Red-flanked Bluetail, glimpsed at long range down in a steep valley, threw me for a loop. I’d never seen such a bright blue bird, and I was convinced it was something extremely rare, as I tend to do at times! As it turns out, this male was the only male Red-flanked Bluetail I’ve ever seen in Korea, in spite of having seen females many times over the years. I’m not sure what explains this.

(*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.)