Nakdong Estuary, July 8

Bird News by Jason Loghry

After hearing about the Tufted Puffin found at Gochang, and then reading about ENSO-related seabird news in the last few days, I wonder if the ROK is likely to experience any other remarkable seabird sightings in the near future. Today after a long and heavy thunderstorm, the skies cleared quickly enough to allow for a check at the Nakdong Estuary before sunset. At Myeongji, species observed include Styan’s Grasshopper Warbler, Oriental Reed Warbler, Far Eastern Cisticola, Grey-capped Greenfinch, several Barn Swallow (60+), a very distant Swan (likely a Whooper), several Eastern Spot-billed Duck (120+), and a distant calling Eurasian Curlew. After sunset, with just enough light, there was time to check one other favorite patch. Luckily I did. There was one bird in flight I couldn’t make out. I watched it for a while and then saw it land nearby. A closer look revealed a personal first, Oriental Pratincole.

One comment on “Nakdong Estuary, July 8

  1. The Tufted Puffin found near-moribund in a field near the west coast in late June seemed too extraordinary to consider as a wild bird. It would be the first record for the ROK; June seems an unlikely month for a vagrant alcid; and the same general area in recent years has had records of a White Stork (released on purpose from Jeonju zoo apparently?) and a pelican which likely escaped from a zoo in Beijing (?). However, there are now (at least) two records in the Western Palearctic of Tufted Puffin (one in Sweden, which was in June 1994 and one in the UK, in September 2009). And on June 17th this year, one was found on Machias Seal Island in the Bay of Fundy / Gulf of Maine. According to a note on the Surfbirds website this is only the second record for North America away from the west coast. Perhaps more will be found out-of-range this summer to help further support this record?

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