"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.)

"Historical post" - Jeju Island, June 2010

Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus

Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus

male Black Paradise Flycatcher (Japanese Paradise Flycatcher) Terpsiphone atrocaudata

male Black Paradise Flycatcher (Japanese Paradise Flycatcher) Terpsiphone atrocaudata

female Black Paradise Flycatcher (Japanese Paradise Flycatcher) Terpsiphone atrocaudata

Youngho wails on the daegeum

Oedolgae coast

Squall at Jungmun

Fortified hangar for Japanese kamikaze planes, at abandoned Altreu airfield

Bird News from Tim Edelsten, Matt Poll & Youngho Kim, Jeju, June 17-20, 2010 

(*Written by Tim)
  Additional news from Jeju concerned an oversummering Black-throated Loon in Seogwipo harbour (reported by Matt Poll on the 16th). At Gotjawal forest on the 19th, both Ussuri Mamushi Gloydius ussuriensis and Tiger Keelback Rhabdophus tigrinus were to be seen, as well as a couple of Black-spotted Frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus. A wild Siberian Roe Deer Capreolus pygargus was near the university on the 17th, as well as several captive individuals at the park. Black Paradise Flycatcher appears to be widespread and fairly common in suitable habitat (dark broadleaved forest, ravines and particularly along well-wooded streams). Lesser Cuckoo are markedly abundant on Jeju (in contrast to the mainland). On the 20th with KYH, a Fairy Pitta singing from atop a lofty forest tree and a party of trivirgatus Long-tailed Tit: also a Pacific Reef Heron and view of the distant colony on a whitewashed cliff-face.

(It actually took me another year before I laid eyes on a Fairy Pitta of my own. White whale and all that...)
(*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, May 2010

Siberian Thrush Zoothera sibirica

Wee horseling

Hanon crater

Scootin' the backroads

Beats TV

Backstreets of Seogwipo

Mil naengmyan - a spicy cold soup - surprisingly refreshing on a hot day!

Not so refreshing - mool hwae, another icy-spicy soup, this one with raw, bony fish

Long-spine Porcupinefish Diodon holacanthus

Seogwipo, Jeju Island, May 19, 2010
  Relatively quiet on the bird front, on an overcast and windless morning. A quiet corner of a Seogwipo park held an elusive and interestingly-marked male Siberian Thrush, that appeared to be a 1st summer male. About 20 Cattle Egrets were spotted in a nearby field, and I heard my first Common Cuckoo of the year on a hill east of town.

Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago

Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta

Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrid

Pacific Reef Egret Egretta sacra

Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus

Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis

Habitat loss at Hwasun beach

Bird News from Matt Poll and Youngho Kim, Jeju island, May 1, 2010
  The first genuinely hot and sunny day of the spring. In Seogwipo, a Grey-backed Thrush skulked in the underbrush on the far bank of a stream. Several Asian Brown Flycatchers have returned to the park. No sign of the Asian House Martins from earlier in the week. 

  On the southwest coast, farmer's field were busy with migrants and visitors. A Common Snipe, and a Long-toed Stint with strong chest markings fed in a flooded field alongside four Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Three pairs of Garganey remain nearby, along with several Eurasian Teal. A dozen Eastern Yellow Wagtail also shared this field. About a dozen Black-winged Stilts, and a Curlew Sandpiper were seen in nearby fields. I spotted a Chinese Pond Heron here earlier in the week. In a nearby grassy field, we were greeted by the impressive sight of several small flocks of Little Whimbrels taking off together, forming a flock of at least 40 birds (*possibly a high count for Korea). It was also treat to watch was two female Amur Falcons swooping low over the same field, feeding on insects. One male Amur Falcon was also seen. A (late?) Eastern Buzzard and a Kestrel also patrolled nearby fields.
  Further up the coast an Osprey caught a fish in a tidal pool right at our feet, and was then harried by a Eurasian Magpie. Best for the day was probably a Whiskered Tern. It was spotted in the same artificial pond where a Citrine Wagtail was spotted a few weeks ago, where it sat on a rock, clearly too exhausted to move. Also spotted this day were several Blue Rock Thrushes, Pacific Reef Egrets, Common Kingfishers, Meadow Buntings, and abundant Barn Swallows at all locations.
  At Hamo beach, several Black-throated Loons drifted offshore, and interestingly one of them was in summer plumage, while the rest remained in winter plumage. At an oreum near the coast, several Dark-sided, Grey-streaked, and Asian Brown Flycatchers were all represented in a hilly thicket. The bushes were alive with active Eastern Crowned and Arctic Warblers, as well as a half dozen or so Brown-headed Thrushes. Overhead, two Oriental Dollarbirds performed aerobatics, and called noisily and corvid-like from the trees.
  Youngho informed me that he had seen both a Japanese Night Heron and Purple Heron earlier in the week, but unfortunately we couldn't relocate either of these birds. Several Grey-tailed Tattlers and five Terek Sandpipers foraged on shore rocks, while about eight Short-beaked Common Dolphins moved past, close to shore.
  At Hwasun beach, some disturbing habitat loss. A small reedy wetland at the mouth of a stream that fed into the ocean has been halved by an ever-expanding concrete construction/storage sprawl. The stream has been completely diverted. The reeds and surrounding area was formerly home to a wide array of egrets, herons, reed warblers, and plovers, among others species, but there were no birds there in evidence today.

(*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.)