A Sunday drive along various spots along the west side of Jeju. A coastal area to look for a previously reported Brant Goose (succesfully located); exploration of Cheongsu Gotjawal; a reservoir I haven't visited previously; and a beach to top it off. Cold and windy!
 |
| Peregrine Falcon |
 |
| Peregrine Falcon - there were two individuals at this location |
 |
| Brant! |
 |
| Black-tailed Gulls |
 |
| Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in a newish reservoir. |
 |
| Pale Thrush |
 |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow |
 |
| Hawfinch |
 |
| White Wagtail on the beach |
A day after the Green Pigeon on Hallasan, we went off to the east coast to see three Siberian Cranes at Hado Wetland. It was super cool to see this species finally, making it the last crane species to see in Korea of the species known to occur in Korea. A week prior to this I saw a Demoiselle Crane up on the mainland, so it was very unexepected to see another new crane species so soon.
After soaking in the nice crane views, we went to the coast to see what was around, and found a Pallas's Gull mixed in with a large group of gulls. What a bonus!
 |
| Siberian Cranes |
 |
| Siberian Cranes |
 |
| Siberian Cranes |
 |
| Siberian Cranes |
 |
| Siberian Cranes |
 |
| Greater Spotted Eagle, attempting to steal the show. |
 |
| Pallas's Gull! |
 |
| Vega Gull |
 |
| Taimyr Gull |
 |
| Vega Gull (?) |
 |
| Black-tailed Gull |
I went up to 1100 Altitude Wetland up on Hallasan in the morning to see a White-bellied Green Pigeon that has made the odd decision to overwinter in a snowy area at 1100 meters. It was quite confiding, just casually eating small berries. I heard a few weeks later that later it had a collision with a car and flew off into the forest, not to be seen again by birders.
 |
| White-bellied Green Pigeon |
 |
| White-bellied Green Pigeon |
 |
| Perched in a tree |
 |
| Varied Tit |
 |
| Brown-eared Bulbul |
A short trip to Mara-do in early January to see what was around. Well, not much aside from a nice variety of gulls mainly, and three Osprey which is more than the usual one or zero I see on Mara.
 |
| Japanese Cormorant |
 |
| Warbling White-eye |
 |
| Oriental Magpie |
 |
| Slaty-backed Gull |
 |
| Taimyr Gull |
 |
| Black-tailed Gulls |
 |
| Vega Gull |
 |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrows |
 |
| One of three Osprey |
Some nice winter songbirds in Seotal Oreum area along the southwest coast afterwards.
 |
| Goldcrest |
 |
| Yellow-bellied Tit |
 |
| Light-vented Bulbul |
Fall migration had pretty much completed by this point, with mainly overwintering species getting cozy, and a few early winter arrivals moving through. The Pale Thrushes made a big return, with some Red-flanked Bluetails and Dusky Thrushes coming back. The Chinese Grosbeaks started to settle in as well in decent numbers.
 |
| White-backed Woodpecker, a rare winter visitor to the park |
 |
| Feral Rock Pigeon, a large group are resident in the park |
 |
| Pale Thrush |
 |
| Bull-headed Shrike with a mantis for lunch |
 |
| Pale Thrush |
 |
| Large-billed Crow |
 |
| Chinese Grosbeak |
Migration continued on throughout November, and usually around this time of the season some interesting birds can show up. I suppose because Jeju stays warmer than the mainland, so some birds will stick around longer here before moving further south.
Various Starlings began to arrive in the city, as well as thrushes, Red-flanked Bluetails, and a couple Taiga Flycatchers. This was the first time I found a Taiga Flycatcher in Shinsan Park, and funnily enough not too long after this, a Taiga Flycatcher was found all the way in my hometown Vancouver, Canada. Nice coincidence, and lucky birders over there.
 |
| Taiga Flycatcher |
 |
| Possible Black-faced Bunting? |
 |
| Grey Wagtail |
 |
| Olive-backed Pipit |
 |
| Red-billed Starlings |
 |
| White-cheeked Starling |
 |
| Rana uenoi |
 |
| Light-vented Bulbul |