"Historical post" - Jeju Island, November 2010

Youngho leads the way to the Rosy Finch cliffs

A refreshing ankle-deep icewater soak was necessary, but it was worth it

Asian Rosy Finch Leucosticte arctoa

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis

Striated Heron Butorides striata

Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

 Bird News from Matt Poll and Youngho Kim, Jeju island, November 27, 2010
  At the base of remote grassy cliffs on Jeju's west coast, two Asian Rosy Finches were spotted when they braved extremely strong winds and came down to drink trickling fresh water. Earlier in the day, Youngho saw about 30 Asian Rosy Finches in the same spot, and last week one of Youngho's friends saw as many as 180 on these cliffs. At Yongsu, two Bean Goose, a dozen Coots, and about 150 Spot-billed Ducks and Mallards. Along the west coast, several Little Grebes, Common Sandpipers, five Pintails, 50 more Spot-billed Ducks, as well as an Osprey and a Peregrine Falcon.
  After parting ways with Youngho, I spotted several Olive-backed Pipits, a dozen Hawfinch, and several Pale Thrushes in a hilltop park in Seogwipo. In another park, a Striated Heron has been seen in the same spot on a small river for the third winter in a row. Also in the park was a female Pintail, two dozen Mandarin Ducks, and a circling Northern Goshawk.
  And here’s how I reacted at the time, candidly:

  This bird is super rare here, it's been seen less than ten times in Korea. On Saturday afternoon my Korean birding buddy tipped me off about the finch, and I jumped on old whitey and scooted out to meet him near Sanbangsan on the southwest coast. The scoot out woke me up - it was super windy, and I was fighting hard not to get blown into adjacent lanes by the robust gustiness. Once I met up with Youngho, we drove up to a remote cliff on the west coast. We had to scale down this insane cliffside using a haggard old crumbling path. Once at the bottom, we stared up at the cliff for ages, hoping to get finch-lucky. What didn't help was the fact that the tide was all the way in, which meant frigid ankle-deep seawater every few seconds. Also unhelpful, vis-a-vis trying to find the birds were the gale force winds. Woke my ass up even more though. After ages, two of the elusive pinky finches came down for a drink. I about lost my mind. I crept up and got a few decent shots. High fives! Happy happy day. I have a headache.

Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus

Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata

Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata

Eurasian Magpie Pica pica

Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus

Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus

Seogwipo, Jeju Island, November 16, 2010
  A crisp sunny day for a walk through my patch of parks in Seogwipo. The first few Jeju winter specials were spotted in a riverside park - several furtive Pale Thrush, a foraging Red-flanked Bluetail, several Japanese Bush Warblers, a Grey Wagtail, and numerous Japanese White-eyes were seen. On the river, about 25 Mandarin Ducks mingled with a like number of Spot-billed Ducks and six Little Grebes in winter plumage, while a smartly-marked Eurasian Magpie scolded me from a nearby tree. Also in this park were several Great Tits, a Daurian Redstart, and a White-backed Woodpecker.
  A Chinese Pond Heron crept through a nearby field. This is the second Chinese Pond Heron in winter plumage I've seen on Jeju in the past two years - perhaps they're expanding their winter range northwards?

(*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" - Jeju Island, October 2010

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana dwarfing a Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

Bird News from Matt Poll and Youngho Kim, West Coast, Jeju island, October 18, 2010
  A rare visitor to Jeju has caused enough stir to land it on the evening news! On a hazy morning, a massive Oriental Stork paced slowly through a small wetland, in the company of six Grey Herons.

Rolling onto Udo Island

Lovely Udo Island

Temminck's Cormorant Phalacrocorax capillatus

White-throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus

Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis

Eurasian Coot Fulica atra

Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla

Jeju island, October 17, 2010
  On Udo Island, a dozen Temminck's Cormorants dried their feathers on rocks, as a Northern Lapwing flew overhead. On a mountaintop, a half-dozen White-throated Needletails whizzed past so close I could hear the 'woosh' of air they made. A dozen or so Barn Swallows were also spotted here. A small agricultural plot held about 20 Eastern Yellow Wagtail. Also seen on Udo were several Japanese Bush Warblers, Dark-sided Flycatchers and Stejneger's Steonechats.
  At Hado, the reservoir was filling in with growing numbers of winter ducks - several hundred Pochard, Gadwall, and Eurasian Wigeon. Handfuls of Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Moorhens, and Coots were also present, along with two Ospreys and a Common Kestrel.
  At Pyeoson, 24 Kentish Plovers and several Dunlins paced the beach. Back in Seogwipo, a Taiga Flycatcher remains in a park, associating with an Asian Brown Flycatcher, as the Red-breasted Flycatcher seen there (on almost the same day) last year did.

Eastern Spot-billed Duck Anas zonorhyncha

Eastern Spot-billed Duck Anas zonorhyncha

White Wagtail Motacilla alba

Warbling (Japanese) White-eye Zosterops japonicas

Golden Orb Weaver/Joro Spider Nephila clatava

Seogwipo, Jeju island, October 14, 2010
  Great fall weather for birding on Jeju, with a few migrants and regulars in evidence. In a quiet park, a female Taiga Flycatcher flicked its tail from a low perch, in the same spot where a female Taiga Flycatcher was spotted last year, almost to the day. Perhaps the same bird? Also in this park: several Grey-streaked and Asian Brown Flycatcher, an increasing number of Eastern Spot-billed Duck (20), several Mandarin Ducks, and a White-backed Woodpecker.
  In a farmer's field, two lugens White Wagtail cavorted in the dirt, chasing grasshoppers, while a Grey Wagtail worked a nearby stream. A male Stejneger's Stonechat in non-breeding plumage, numerous Japanese White-eyes, and a Common Snipe were also present in this field. As I was leaving, a mystery starling flashed past, showing a lot of grey. I didn't get a good look at it, but it gave me the impression of a White-Shouldered, which I've seen in this field before.

(*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" - 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.)

"Historical post" - Jeju Island, August 2010

Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva

Egret assemblage

Carrion Crow Corvus corone

Sea urchin soup - Youngho assured me that it was 'famous'

Bird News from Matt Poll, Youngho Kim, and Stephen Krohn, Northeast coast, Jeju island, August 21, 2010
  A sweltering summer day on Jeju. In a lush mixed forest in from the coast, a pair of Black Paradise Flycatchers was spotted flying through the canopy, but no sign of the Fairy Pittas that were recently seen here. Also in this forest were handfuls of Japanese White-eyes, Great Tits, and White-backed Woodpeckers. 

  On the coast en route to Hado, numerous Barn Swallows and Black-tailed Gulls, as well as several Common Sandpipers, a half dozen Terek Sandpipers closely associating with a similar number of Grey-tailed Tattlers, a beautifully marked male Ruddy Turnstone in summer plumage, a Pacific Golden Plover, at least two dozen Kentish Plover, and a handful of Red-necked Stints and Sanderlings.
  At Hado, several Spot-billed Ducks, along with about a dozen Temminck's Cormorants. At Seongsan, as well as all along the coast, Grey Herons were plentiful, with at least 40 seen. About 30 Little and Intermediate Egrets were also seen, mixed in with several Great Egrets in one spot. Four Pacific Reef Herons were also spotted along the coast.
  On the coast near Hado, several Carrion Crows were feeding at the water's edge. In the bright sunlight, some of them showed a lot of brownish coloration. In my time on Jeju, I've not come across many Carrion Crows, and the only place I've observed them is a small stretch of northeast coast. Large-billed Crows, on the other hand, are quite numerous and widespread on Jeju, especially at higher elevations.

Yakcheonsa Temple

'The Twins', near Sanbangsan

Jungmun beach

Apartment view of Seogwipo

Hanon crater

Eongtto falls

Brown-eared Bulbul Hypsipetes amaurotis

Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus

Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis

Post-birding feast

Seogwipo, Jeju island, August 17, 2010
  It's been a very quiet and muggy summer on Jeju. In a local park, scruffy juvenile Brown-eared Bulbuls, Common Kingfishers, Bull-headed Shrikes, and Grey-capped Greenfinch could all be seen practicing their flying and feeding skills, with varying degrees of success. The juvenile shrike was particularly clumsy and unafraid of people. Numerous Oriental Turtle Doves (several of them in first winter plumage) and Barn Swallows were also spotted in the park. In the harbour, several Common Sandpipers and Japanese White-eyes noisily scattered when the ominous shadow of a large Peregrine Falcon floated past.

Note from August 25: Dipped on a storm-blown Bulwer's Petrel a couple of weeks ago - it was a Korea first, which would have been nice.

(*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.)