Gageo-do, May 1-3
Even though I have birded for a couple of years in Korea, this was my first birdathon. To that end, I had planned carefully to stay ahead of the holiday crowds and emergency at work. What I did not account for was the inexplicable cancellation of the boat (even though the weather conditions were perfect!) to my planned destination. So within a matter of 15 minutes and a couple of phone calls, my ‘birdathon arena’ changed from Korea’s westernmost island to south-westernmost.
The sea crossing from Mokpo produced a loon sp. flying low over water, distant views of some tern sp. and a Kestrel flying over the boat. My birdathon started once I dropped off my bag at the minbak and headed out (with bated breath) at 1:08pm. Over the course of next 24hrs, I spent about 14hrs in the field (covering the main village and 2-gu) and spotted 75 confirmed species. The list is as follows:
1. Little Bunting – Most numerous bird during the period of stay
2. Red-throated Pipit – The 3rd most numerous bird species
3. Black-faced Bunting
4. White Wagtail
5. Grey Wagtail
6. Buff-bellied Pipit
7. Wood Sandpiper
8. Common Sandpiper
9. Straited Heron
10. Black-tailed Gull
11. Mongolian Gull
12. Temminck’s Cormorant
13. Pelagic Cormorant
14. Great Egret
15. Cattle Egret
16. Grey Heron
17. Brown-eared Bulbul
18. Black-winged Stilt
19. Sanderling
20. Temminck’s Stint
21. Tong-toed Stint
22. Terek Sandpiper
23. Barn Swallow
24. Red-rumped Swallow
25. Eurasian Sparrowhawk
26. Korean Bush Warbler
27. Yellow-browed Warbler
28. Asian Brown Flycatcher
29. Blue and White Flycatcher
30. Eastern Yellow Wagtail
31. Olive-backed Pipit – 2nd most numerous species (including one eating a skink!)
32. Asian Stubtail
33. Narcissus Flycatcher
34. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
35. Long-tailed Tit – Part of a wave coming off the sea at about 5pm consisting of about 2 dozen birds
36. Varied Tit – Very local with 1 individual seen carrying nesting material
37. Eurasian Siskin
38. Blyth’s Pipit – At least 3 birds seen in the quarry (including one taking a sand bath)
39. Dusky Warbler
40. Oriental Turtle Dove
41. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
42. Daurian Redstart
43. Japanese Whiteeye
44. Stejneger’s Stonechat
45. Japanese Waxwing – A group of 27 birds perched on the same tree
46. Light-vented Bulbul
47. Siberian Blue Robin
48. Ashy Minivet
49. Brambling
50. Bull-headed Shrike
51. Japanese Bush Warbler
52. Taiga Flycatcher – Close views of a cracking male
53. Citrine Wagtail – Seen both in 1 and 2-gu
54. Chinese Grosbeak
55. Common Snipe
56. Blue Rock Thrush
57. Dusky Thrush
58. Pale Thrush
59. Black Woodpigeon – About 10 birds in all (2 in 1-gu, 1 on the road to 2-gu and 7 on the trail from 2-gu to 3-gu)
60. Little Egret
61. Tristram’s Bunting
62. Yellow-browed Bunting
63. Great Tit
64. Eastern-crowned Warbler
65. Black-naped Oriole
66. Grey-streaked Flycatcher
67. Pacific Swift
68. Northern Hobby
69. Goldcrest
70. Radde’s Warbler
71. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper – Good views for close to 10mins as it fed a few feet from me
72. Pale-legged Leaf Warbler
73. Peregrine
74. Siberian Rubythroat
75. Grey-backed Thrush (spotted on the back trail from 2-gu to 3-gu at 1:03pm on 2nd of May)
The first few hours on the island was quite birdy, as was the following morning but since late morning of May 2nd, bird diversity and numbers were very poor indeed. There was conspicuous absence of certain families of birds like Starlings and others like thrushes were present in very low numbers. Other birds of note include close and prolonged views of a Japanese Grosbeak, a few singing White’s Thrush early morning on 3rd May, a Yellow Bunting near the main village, singing Rufous-tailed Robin, a couple of Chinese Pond-heron. On the morning of the last day, on my way to the 2-gu at the crack of dawn, I recorded a bird song that sounded interesting. Even after scouting Xeno-Canto, I was unable to find a species that sounds something like this . Any comment on ID would be very helpful. The return journey (with a boat-load of tourist led by a loudspeaker bearing guide enjoying a ‘remote’ island tour, a detour to Hong-do as the ferry bounced over the waves … along with the customary shrieks had a feeling of an amusement park ride) had no birds worth mentioning.