Suncheon Bay, January 19

Bird News from Jason Loghry and Mike Friel

Mike Friel and I met up on Monday morning and headed for Suncheon Bay. We entered from the west, and on our way we passed a large flock of distant Rook. Unfortunately they were too distant to look through. We arrived near the bay and decided to avoid the park and looked through the nearby rice fields instead. There were several flocks of Hooded Crane flying overhead and feeding in the fields. We counted more than 300, which included 10 Hooded Cranes with hybrid influence and one Common Crane. The highlight of the morning was a very handsome Rough-legged Buzzard. At the tidal area, there were 200+ Dunlin, some Grey Plover, Whimbrel, Black-headed Gull, Common Merganser, and an Osprey.

The park was as expected, a bit noisy and with very few areas to watch birds. The area we were interested in checking was closed because what looks like a new footpath is being constructed besides the regular motorized “train” tour path. The walkway through the reeds was also almost worth checking for buntings and Penduline Tits, but with limited time and the high abundance of foot traffic, we opted against. In the afternoon at Uiryeong, we saw 30 – 40 Cinereous Vulture, a few Eastern Buzzard, Dusky Thrush, and a Green Sandpiper and Long-billed Plover in a ditch.

 

dsc_2913 Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus © Mike Friel

dsc_2939_1
Hooded Cranes with hybrid influence © Mike Friel

LBPlover_ Long-billed Plover Charadrius placidus © Jason Loghry

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