Bird News from Nial Moores with Park Heajeong (Hwaseong KFEM) and Jung Hanchul.
Three more days of survey in sweltering summer heat, with a minimum 7,166 shorebirds counted within the Hwaseong Wetlands FNS and 9,418 shorebirds counted within the Asan Bay Reclamation Area, despite access restrictions . The first obvious signs of landbird migration, the growing number of juvenile shorebirds, a single Eurasian Eagle-owl trying to catch the afternoon breeze, and one or two Asian Dowitchers were the obvious highlights.
New waterbirds for the project in the FNS, started in late June, were Garganey (8) and Northern Pintail (2) and single Ruff and Black-headed Gull; with one or two Asian Dowitcher in the Asan Bay Reclamation Area also the personal first this autumn. We also found the project’s first Brown Shrikes (2), Stejneger’s Stonechats (c.5) and Eastern Yellow Wagtails (10-20) of the autumn.
This survey marked the arrival of juveniles of several species. Although all of the Mongolian Plover are adults, starting to moult from breeding into non-breeding plumage, the first juvenile Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Great Knot, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin and Red-necked Stint were seen, and the number of juvenile Far Eastern Curlew increased from 1 or 2 two weeks ago to at least 40, even while the number of adults continued to fall.
