Bird News from Nial Moores and Jason Loghry
Some leisurely-paced birding in Busan from 5AM to ~5PM covered a range of habitats (forest, tidal-flats and freshwater wetland) and produced several excellent records. Nothing as rare as e.g. Asian Koel was found (even though a female was apparently taken into care earlier this month in Busan after being attacked by a cat: making it a record-breaking three Koels found in the ROK at the start of the month).
However, a large black shape in the canopy shortly after dawn revealed itself to be a Black Woodpigeon – an exceptional mainland record, especially in June. At the same site, we also found White-backed Woodpecker, Northern Boobook, both Pale and Grey-backed Thrushes, three singing Black Paradise Flycatcher (at least two of which seemed to be paired up), single singing Common Cuckoo, Eastern Crowned Warbler (first young fledglings of which were found here 10+ days before) and Blue-and-white Flycatcher, as well as several family parties of Eastern Great and Long-tailed Tits (with all juveniles seen having dark lores) and Grey-headed Woodpeckers.
At the Nakdong Estuary, further species of note included a brief song-phrase given by a distantly singing Styan’s Grasshopper Warbler (heard by NM only), a Chinese Egret, four spoonbills (of which at last two and probably all four were Black-faced Spoonbill), Black Kite and a Western Osprey – a species with very few summer- month records in the ROK.
