Bird News from Nial Moores, with overseas members Paul Saraceni and Hugh Cotter (between April 28th and May 3rd morning)
A total of 202 bird species were logged during this two-week period, with rarest in the national context a Common Swift (on April 24th); the island’s first Verditer Flycatcher – unusually a female, and about the 399th species recorded on the island since 2013 – and the national second Buff-throated Warbler (both on April 29th); two presumed Western Yellow Wagtails heard in among a flock of Eastern Yellow Wagtail (on May 1st); single Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike and a singing Yellow-streaked Warbler – latter overflown by a globally Endangered Swan Goose ! (on May 2nd); a single Pale Martin (on May 3rd) in among a large arrival of Eastern Red-rumped Swallows, representing the first adequately documented record since the bird(s) in May 2013; and a single calling Hume’s and two Tickell’s Leaf Warblers (on May 5th). Rarest of all would have been – had it been possible to confirm – what I understood to be a calling Long-tailed Minivet, heard briefly (8-10 notes or so) a little distantly on May 7th.
New (personal) island high day counts were made of several species, including of two species apparently doing well in East Asia: Black-winged Stilt (58 on May 1st), and Swinhoe’s White-eye (at least 180 on May 1st, with one flock of 170). The latter species was exceptionally numerous and widespread this spring both on this island and apparently all along the west coast, south to Marado off Jeju. These large numbers might be part of occasional fluctuations in population (I remember seeing unexpectedly large numbers of “Japanese White-eyes” at Beidaihe as long ago as 1992, thought to be out of range of the species), but they are not due to increased observer coverage of effort in 2025 compared to the rest of the decade.
Forty-four Pacific Golden Plover (on May 3rd) and a group of 11 Common Rosefinch were also the largest concentrations of these species that I have seen on this island.
Thanks to productive weather systems, including heavy rain early on May 3nd, good numbers of Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint and Pin-tailed Snipe were again recorded, together with small numbers of other shorebirds, including e.g, a single Far Eastern Curlew, up to three Common Redshank, a single Temminck’s Stint and small numbers of three other snipe species, including Latham’s and Swinhoe’s. Happily too there were several dates with Little Whimbrel, including 19 in the “Harrier Fields” on April 25th (flushed by hunters – see below), five in the “Best Fields” on April 27th and eight in rice-fields next to the reclamation lake on May 3rd.
Numbers of migrant raptor were more or less as expected, with a line of 169 Grey-faced Buzzard arriving in off the sea at Dumujin on May 2nd, 213 Crested Honey Buzzard through on May 4th, a half-dozen Black Kite, two Eastern Marsh Harriers and a single female Pied Harrier, and at least a couple of adult male Amur Falcon.
Although census was not attempted, numbers of breeding Black-tailed Gull (probably >8,000-9,000 pairs) and Mongolian Gull (>15 pairs) appear to be either stable or increasing; Chinese Egret appear to have declined substantially (both in numbers seen at the colony and around the island) and at least 20 Black-faced Spoonbill were also present back at their colony in early May, with some apparently commuting to the mainland coast to feed, while others are becoming highly habituated and approachable while feeding in rice-fields.
Numbers of small landbird species appeared to be about average (e.g., Yellow-browed, Pallas’s Leaf Warblers) or were rather below average (cuckoo species, Eurasian Wryneck, Brown Shrike, Forest Wagtail and Richard’s Pipit, Radde’s Warbler and Siberian Blue Robin) with some species like Oriental Dollarbird not even recorded – even though up to 200 were apparently reported on neighboring Daecheong Island during the same period. If true, this provides a wonderful example of how some migrants seem to come through these islands on broad fronts, while others seem to come in much narrower lines, responding most likely to quite specific differences in wind direction and visibility. Of course, understanding species-specific differences in decision-making in response to geography and weather remains essential if genuine trends in populations are to be detected…
In addition, breeding was again confirmed in early-nesters like Bull-headed Shrike and Grey-cappped Greenfinch, while unusually perhaps as many as three Chinese Blackbird territories were established this spring. A female Yellow-bellied Tit was also watched gathering nesting material, watched over by a male who was doing a rapid wing-fluttering display.
Less positively, construction continues in several bird-rich areas, including a massive “marine eco-tourism centre” very close to the seal rocks and in the fields used by flocks of Yellow-breasted Buntings in mid-May last year; and two cars of “hunters” were back on the island again for a couple of days, driving around shooting at Common Pheasant and ducks. Not only is such hunting obviously not effective (otherwise, why else do they have to come back every year?), and mis-timed (during the peak of migration, before any rice has even been planted) but it is also hugely disturbing and potentially dangerous – especially to any “ecotourists” who might happen to be on the island. Why not use noise-making bird-scarers to protect crops instead, or perhaps focus – if really needed – either on destroying duck nests or developing schemes through which tourists can pay to watch birds, providing benefits to farmers who opt for biodiversity over monocultures, chemicals and “pest” control?
In addition, quite a few typical spring migrants were in obviously lower numbers than might have been expected, even after taking weather conditions into account. These included especially Blue-and-white Flycatchers, with only four seen in total between April 27th and May 7th, a bird day rate of less than one individual a day (compared with two per day and four per day during the exact same dates in 2018 and 2021 respectively), Olive-backed Pipit (with a bird day rate of only 45 per day this year compared with 143 per day between these dates in 2018 and 112 per day in 2021), Black-faced Bunting (49 per day this year, compared with 154 per day in 2018 and 164 per day in 2021) and Tristram’s Bunting (3 per day this year between those dates, compared with 13 per day in 2018 and 18 per day in 2021). Indeed, numbers of most buntings were rather lower than in some (but not all) previous early-mid- springs, including two of the more widespread species: Little and Yellow-browed Bunting. Based on earlier research, this survey however probably missed the expected peak of later-migrating buntings like Chestnut and Yellow-breasted so counts of these two species cannot be used to get a sense of how they might be doing in the short-term. More research is required…always!
And finally for this post, several additional interesting oddities were seen during the two-week period. These included a bohaii Black-tailed Godwit (the second island record, after one last year) – notably much larger, longer-billed and duller-plumaged than the more widespread melanuroides – and a leucistic Chinese Penduline Tit – fortunately seen well enough so that an ID could be made.
So to wrap-up: as shown by eBird rankings, Baengnyeong Island remains the most diverse and perhaps important migratory bird hot spot for conservation in the ROK. It is harder to bird, with fewer rarities found and photographed each day than e.g., Marado or Eocheong, but the concentrations of commoner migrants can be spectacular, and will very likely have value in future AI-driven meta-analyses of population trends in migratory species. Even now, based on available data and coarse analysis, many species do appear to be in decline – some more likely because of local environmental degradation and others because of regional and global threats combined with these local changes, including habitat degradation, climate breakdown, hunting, alien invasives (including feral cats) and e.g., collision with wires and buildings.
Much needs to be done if the massive value of Baengnyeong Island to biodiversity and to ecotourism is to be maintained.
As proposed, some of this summer will therefore be invested in writing a second Birds Korea report aimed at decision-makers, to highlight, once more, the amazing ecotourism value of Baengnyeong Island – and to raise awareness of the potential damage to biodiversity and the bird strike risk to aircraft posed by the proposed airport. Like the Gadeokdo airport, this massive construction project fortunately has been delayed again because of lack of funds, giving a little more time for decision-makers to change course. We need to use that time wisely.
If anyone would like to help with text, analysis, images, graphics, or fund-raising to support publication, please do get in touch. Thank you.
