Bird News from Robin Newlin
A quiet day at the Sumeokwan. When I arrived at opening time, it seemed I had the snow-dusted place to myself: blissful, but hardly any birds! A Dipper greeted me at the bridge, but no snipes in sight there or at the stream sections I was able to survey. The only winter finches were 5 or 6 Bramblings; I later thought I heard a distant Bullfinch but that may have been wishful thinking. The following birds showed or sounded in small numbers: Great, Marsh, and Long-tailed Tits; Eurasian Nuthatch, Daurian Redstart, a few Dusky/Naumann’s Thrushes, Rustic and Yellow-throated Buntings, Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted and White-backed Woodpeckers, a pair of Eastern Buzzards, a flyover flock of 8 Mandarin Ducks. Highlights were a pair of noisy Black Woodpeckers and a single sapling decorated with 6 Varied Tits.
