2021-11-27 Seosan Trip: Searching for a Swan, Gull, and Avocet

 Near the end of November I took a trip over to the mainland, partly to do some serious birding in one of the best birdwatching spots of Korea, Seosan. And of course it's always better to share these experiences, so I arranged to go with some good friends of mine, D and E. 

The day started off well with a Cinerous Vulture spotted in the sky, and soon after a group of Hooded Cranes. While watching the Cranes we saw a large group of Lapland Longspurs, a lifer for me. The Longspurs got quite close but eventually flew off before we could get some nice close shots of them. Clearly we weren't out of luck just yet, because as we were scanning the field looking for the Longspurs, we spotted a Eurasian Eagle Owl resting on the edge of the rice field with the cranes. 

Moving further north in the lakes area, we searched for one of our target species the Tundra Swan. A group was seen mixed in with a large group of Whooper Swans. After locating the group of swans we scanned them until we saw a few smaller swans with less yellow on their black bills, in fact the yellow is cut off a bit to form sort of a square. We admired them for quite some time before moving on.

Scanning the rest of the area revealed plenty of ducks, smew, spoonbills, egrets, and even a Leopard Cat. Unfortunately we didn't see our other targets, which were the previously reported Pallas Gull, Pied Avocets, or Imperial Eagle. We did find a few Common Crane hybrids mixed in with the Hooded Cranes though, which was a nice end cap to the trip.

Part of the group of Hooded Cranes. One individual is tagged, which was later discovered to be tagged in Japan.

Lapland Longspurs / 긴발톱멧새 / Calcarius lapponicus

Lapland Longspurs, tough to photograph these.

Eurasian Eagle-owl / 수리부엉이 / Bubo bubo

Eurasian Spoonbill / 노랑부리저어새 / Platalea leucorodia

Taiga Bean Goose / 큰부리큰기러기 / Anser fabalis

Greater White-fronted Goose / 쇠기러기 / Anser albifrons

Baikal Teal / 가창오리 / Sibirionetta formosa

Leopard Cat / 삵 / Prionailurus bengalensis

Tundra Swan / 고니 / Cygnus columbianus

Tundra Swan / 고니 / Cygnus columbianus

Daurian Redstart / 딱새 / Phoenicurus auroreus

2021-12-06 Orange colours at Halla Arboretum

A brief trip to Halla Arboretum earlier in the week yielded the regular species, plenty of Large-billed Crows, Magpies, Bulbuls, White-eyes, Bush Warblers etc. A couple Yellow-bellied Tits (possibly more?) was a nice surprise. 

Another interesting encounter was a somewhat orangey Yellow-throated Bunting. Usually they're fairly yellow, like a lemon, but this one was almost orangey like... an orange. I got some photos but the colouration doesn't exactly stand out as it did in person. I'm not sure if this is within normal colour variation for the species, or something more unusual. After discussing it with others, it seems a high level or carotenoids in the diet, particularly while moulting, could be the cause.

Yellow-throated Bunting looking particularly orange. The photo really doesn't reflect the actual colours seen in person.

The orangey Yellow-throated Bunting

The back of the head was particularly orange.

One more shot of the orangey feathers.

As usual, Large-billed crows were ubiquitious and active throughout the area.

A sneaky shot of an Eastern Buzzard before it saw me and took off.

2021-12-01 Halla Arboretum

I took a quick trip to Halla Arboretum on the morning of Dec 1. Despite facing strong winds, rain, and then hail (!), I saw a decent assortment of birds. 

Plenty of Pale Thrush are in the gardens now, and a White-backed Woodpecker was feeding on oranges in an orchard. White-backed Woodpeckers are somewhat interesting on Jeju as I heard they are the official bird of Jeju, and a special subspecies occurs on Jeju ( Dendrocopos leucotos quelpartensis) Other regulars included Bull-headed Shrikes, Warbling Whiteeyes, and Japanese Bush Warblers. 

The shining moment of the morning was finally seeing the elusive Cinereous Vultures that reside on Jeju. A pair flew over the arboretum briefly as the storm was moving in. Apparently these vultures were first seen on Jeju around 2002 in a large group, and have been seen sporadically ever since. I think they may eat carrion such as deer, and stray cats and dogs, as well as perhaps remains from meat farms (horse, pig, and cow are farmed on Jeju).

Jeju White-backed Woodpecker / 큰오색딱따구리 / Dendrocopos leucotos, waiting to dive in on that Jeju orange.

Is it eating insects inside, or the orange itself?

Bull-headed Shrike / 때까치 / Lanius bucephalus

Pale Thrush / 흰배지빠귀 / Turdus pallidus

Cinereous Vulture / 독수리 / Aegypius monachus

Cinereous Vulture / 독수리 / Aegypius monachus

Siberian Roe Deer / 노루 / Capreolus capreolus

2021-11-20 Eyebrowed Thrush on Hallasan

 During the hike up Hallasan, a small group of thrushes were encountered. There were a couple Pale Thrush and one sneaky Dusky Thrush, but more interesting was about 2 or 3 Eyebrowed Thrush. It was a bit of a surprise to see Eyebrowed Thrush so late in the season, as typically they're only seen in spring and fall during migration. But as November is still technically fall I suppose it fits in the expectations. Also of note is a small group of Eyebrowed Thrush were seen nearby on another trail a week or so before.

Eyebrowed Thrush / 흰눈썹붉은배지빠귀 / Turdus obscurus

Eyebrowed Thrush / 흰눈썹붉은배지빠귀 / Turdus obscurus

A very sneaky Dusky Thrush, not a fan of the camera.

An acrobatic Pale Thrush, enjoying some mountain berries.

Pale Thrush / 흰배지빠귀 / Turdus pallidus

2021-11-20 Crows on Hallasan

 A beautiful hike up Hallasan in late November, a bit of snow a bit past the halfway point, but clear sky and no wind. As per usual plenty of Large-billed Crows. I always admire crows and corvids in general, but I felt they really shined on this particular hike. Here's a few nice photos of them.

2021-10-21 Sand Martins at Oedo

A few weeks ago I was checking out a nearby park and found a group of Sand Martins, Riparia riparia 갈색제비, as well as a Red-rumped Swallow. It felt a little late to be seeing them, but there they were flying about over a stream. The best part was getting some half-decent photos of these fast flying swallows using my digiscoping setup.

Sand Martin Riparia riparia 갈색제비

Sand Martin Riparia riparia 갈색제비

Sand Martin Riparia riparia 갈색제비

Sand Martin Riparia riparia 갈색제비

Sand Martin Riparia riparia 갈색제비

 

2021-10-31 Purple Heron

 On a clear sunny day moving about the west coast of Jeju, I found a Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea 붉은왜가리, feeding in a coastal wetland. A rather scarce migrant in Korea, this was a Korean first for me. While I have seen them in Borneo before, this was also the first time I managed a good photo of one. No rainy weather so unfortunately can't throw in a Prince reference.

Managed some photos of it feeding.

Waiting to strike!

Nice reddish brown colours.

Stretching its wings, nice chance to see the wing feathers.

Amidst the reeds and brush.