Selected Highlights from Nial Moores with “Team Denmark” (Jens Thalund, Morten Jenrich Hansen and Ole Amstrup) on January 25th-27th and with Frederic Domenjoud and Bernard “Le Professeur” Shabert on 27th-30th.
January 30th, Suncheon Bay and Joonam Reservoir
A mild -2C overnight (-4C in the mountains near Gwangju) rose to a spring-like +12C during the afternoon, under clear skies. At Suncheon Bay, despite the construction and disturbance from “green cyclists”, 250 Hooded Crane were seen well in the fields (happily, none flushed by us), along with a Rough-legged Buzzard, 3+ Chestnut-eared Bunting (and dozens of Pallas’s Reed, several Common Reed, Black-faced, Meadow and Little Buntings), a dozen or so Chinese Penduline Tit (some of which were seen well), six Japanese Quail and 30+ Lapland Longspur. Further interest was provided there by 2-4 Hooded Crane seen to spiral and depart north, at one time joined by three spiralling White-naped Crane, and on the tidal-flats a single distant Swan Goose (in with a flock of 25+ Taiga Bean Goose), 3-4 Baikal Teal, and 4 Ruddy Shelduck (latter rather rare in the southern provinces). Taking the newly-opened expressway on our way back to Busan (and not stopping at Hanam to see the two ridiculously tame Russian-ringed Red-crowned Cranes there) we then headed to Joonam, where also again noisy and disturbed but still bird-rich. Despite the lack of appropriate management some excellent birds here too, with best 85 White-naped Crane, ten Baikal Teal, increased numbers of aythya and thrushes (including c. 6 Pale Thrush ) and a sub-adult Lesser White-fronted Goose. To continue the run of end-of-day surprises, the last bird of the day / first bird of the night was a medium-sized owl (longish-tailed, with an obvious pale x on the face) perched on wires over the congested expressway, about 2km west of the West Busan IC. Due to the honking truck behind us (we did try to stop after all …) and the poor light (only from car headlights and some street lights) views were sadly insufficient to make an ID.
White-naped Crane Grus vipio, Photo © Nial MooresJanuary 29th, Geum Estuary and Saemangeum
In much milder conditions (with a dawn minimum of 0C, rising to +9C by late afternoon) some more excellent birding – including evidence of early northward migration (mostly comprised of skeins of grey geese). In the outer Geum, 48 Swan Goose out on the flats, three Common Greenshank in their regular spot, and nearby a female American Wigeon (grey-headed, purplish-pink flanked with glossy-white axillaries) and one or more “Yellow Sea Gulls”, along with c. 100 Far Eastern Oystercatcher. A search through grey geese flocks near the Geum barrage then found one (or possibly two) Lesser White-fronted Goose, a flock of 250+ Lapland Longspur but no sign (at range) of the Baikal Teal flock apparently reported here (via Jason Loghry) on the 26th. Moving south to the former Mangyeung Estuary / Saemangeum, several rosacea Eurasian Bullfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch and Pallas’s Rosefinch, 30+ Meadow Bunting and two Pale Thrush heard near Simpo, where also a single flock of 65 Common Starling (perhaps the largest such flock yet reported on the Korean mainland?), two more flocks of Lapland Longspur (of 30 and 150) and distant views of 5+White-naped Crane and 140 Baikal Teal.
Our search through corvid flocks there found probably 10,000 Rook but only 10-15 Daurian Jackdaw, happily including three superb pied adults. A group of 15 Falcated Duck in Gimje was followed shortly after by the sighting of a flock of several thousand Rook flying like Baikal Teal and then, near Buan two distant flocks of the real deal – seen from the expressway at late dusk. Although the flocks were distant (and the ID was simply based on flock-size and form, as the flocks merged) NM estimated probably 250,000 birds present, all presumed to be Baikal Teal.
January 28th, North River, Misari and Song Do
Another excellent day! FD, BS and NM headed west over the mountains (where a minimum of -23C), to a different stretch of North Riverwhere it was a milder (!) -13C at dawn. There, highlights included four Scaly-sided Merganser, excellent views of Siberian Accentor and another White-tailed Eagle. At Misari, staying on the main walk and cycle track, we then enjoyed excellent views of an adult Steller’s Sea Eagle sitting on the ice, several Long-billed Plover (11 present), Japanese Wagtail, Long-tailed Rosefinch and Siberian Accentor and also two Water Pipit. There was sadly no sign of the Meadow Pipit or domestic-type greylag, but instead a largely-white domestic goose of greylag origin…Further continuing the “Misari Intrigue” among one tit flock was a Marsh Tit-type (very poorly imaged) that looked greyer-toned and seemed to show more obvious pale on the wing (not only on the secondaries, but also on the tertials) as well as a slightly scruffier look to the bib than the other Marsh Tits in the same flock. As temperatures then soared to +1C under increasingly overcast skies, we returned to Song Do, where to the depressing background of bulldozers and dump-trucks, we still managed to enjoy nine Relict Gull, 274 Saunders’s Gull and c 560 Eurasian Curlew. To round-off the day, en route to the old golf-course FD spotted a large flock of thrushes and Brambling (80) by the side of the road. Inside a small park there, we found at least 205 thrush, including probably 120 Naumann’s, 80 Dusky (and several hybrids between them), one presumed Black-throated x Red-throated Thrush hybrid and a First-winter male Black-throated Thrush.
Relict Gull Larus relictus with Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Photo © Nial Moores
Steller’s Sea Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus, Photo © Nial Moores
Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta, Photo © Nial MooresJanuary 27th, Gangneung-Geojin-Sokcho-Yangyang
A truly excellent day of winter birding – really at its very best! There were similar temperatures to the 26th (min -10C/ max -3C) though increasingly windy along the east coast. Pretty much the first bird of the day was Pallas’s Rosefinch and several more were soon seen well, in trees and feeding on the snow-covered ground at Geojin (at one spot, along with rosacea Eurasian Bullfinches). With the afternoon boat cancelled due to winds and sea-swell, seawatching from the headland still found a fly-by Yellow-billed Loon (JT), 5+ Brunnich’s, c.10 Common and two Spectacled Guillemots, and (perhaps) best of all two Long-billed Murrelet (one extremely distant, the other rather closer). Near Daejin harbour, in addition to close encounters with more Long-tailed Rosefinch and Siberian Accentor, we enjoyed another rather closer Spectacled Guillemot soon followed by two more Glaucous-winged Gull, some small groups of Ancient Murrelet, and best of all a Yellow-billed Loon (again first found by JT) watched well by all of us at medium range.
From there both teams then drove south, first stopping off at Sokcho. We soon found the heavily-twitched male Bufflehead that had been found the previous day (apparently by Park Jong-Gil and perhaps others?). This energetic bird seemed especially attached to one particular female Common Goldeneye (even displaying) while chasing away rather more suitable suitors. Collections of waterbirds are not (yet) at all popular in the ROK. Moreover, the species has already been recorded in northern Japan in mid-winter on several previous occasions (by 1990 “fewer than 15 records but involving up to 23 birds” – according to Brazil’s 1991 book). Bufflehead is therefore considered an uncontroversial, straightforward and most welcome first addition to the national list in 2013. Moving further south still, Team Denmark then found an immature Steller’s Sea Sea Eagle at Yangyang, while both teams also enjoyed brief but good views there of a / the Chinese Grey Shrike and another Rough-legged Buzzard.
Bufflehead Bucephala albeola, Photo © Nial Moores
Bufflehead Bucephala albeola, Photo © Nial MooresJanuary 26th, North River-Song Do
In calmer, sunny conditions (with a min. of -10C and a max of -3C), prolonged, excellent, undisturbed views of 10 Scaly-sided Merganser on the river under azure blue skies, where also five Long-billed Plover, three Siberian Accentor, 4-5 fly-over Pallas’s Rosefinch and two or three White-tailed Eagle. At Song Do, on the incoming high tide, many fewer birds than a week before, but still excellent, hour-long views of eight Relict Gull watched in great light.
January 25th, Busan-Gyeongju-Guryongpo
In cold and windy conditions for the south-east (with a maximum temperature of zero), single Hen Harrier, Rough-legged Buzzard and two White-tailed Eagle were on the river near Gyeongju, along with six Falcated Duck and a much less seasonal Eurasian Hoopoe. At Guryongpo, the “Glorious Team Denmark” (along with NM) then found and photographed a small white-winged gull that we identified as an adult Iceland Gull, either nominate glaucoides or perhaps more likely an extremely pale-end kumleini (note the hint of darker markings in the primaries and the longer than expected bill). A separate blog-note on this bird will likely be posted shortly. Other species of note seen in / over increasingly rough seas included at least two Glaucous-winged Gull, probably 2000 loons (mostly Arctic), c. 60 Harlequin Duck, 60 Rhinoceros Auklet, 50 Ancient Murrelet and a single Brant Goose.
Iceland Gull with Vega Gull, Photo © Nial Moores
Iceland Gull, putative kumleini, Photo © Nial Moores