2026-10: Seonheul Gotjawal in October

 My exploration of my favourite park in Jeju continues on. The weather cooled down nicely throughout October, and while some species became a lot harder to find, others became a bit easier to see. Long gone were Paradise Flycatchers and even the usual Eurasian Jays I was finding, but in their place were Daurian Redstarts, Bull-headed Shrikes, and raptors moving through the skies. A few nice butterflies were still around as well, including that pretty blue Japanese Oakblue.

Grey-backed Thrush

White's Thrush

Grey Heron

Bull-headed Shrike

Yellow-browed Warbler

Daurian Redstart

Japanese Oakblue Arhopala japonica

Japanese Oakblue Arhopala japonica

Siberian Weasel

Mankyua chejuense, a type of fern only found on Jeju Island

2026-10: Daeseom (Jocheon) Birds in October

 I've been trying to visit Daeseom in Jocheon-eup more regularly as it's fairly convenient for me at the moment, and so far the going has been good. It's a nice patch, easy to access, a short brief circuit around a coastal path and a slightly inland brackish lagoon area. I've gotten a decent number of species through my visits so far, and October a few neat migrants drop in.

Peregrine Falcon

Vega Gulls

Mallard and Eurasian Wigeons

Eurasian Wigeon

Little Egret

Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Light-vented Bulbuls feeding in a tree.

Brown-eared Bulbul

Black-faced Bunting

2026-10-13: Spotted Dove Spotted in Hallim

 During a morning of birding with some visitors on the northwest of Jeju, I heard a slightly different song. Initially I brushed it off as a rooster crowing from some local village farm, but after it repeated a while it began to sound familiar. Then I remembered I had hear this call often when visiting China and knew what it was. I scanned the park we were in and quickly saw a Spotted Dove cooing from the top of a light pole. What a great find! This species is very common across the Yellow Sea in China, but Korea has only a handful of documented records. I believe this was the second record for Jeju, the first being a month earlier on Mara-do.