Songdo: End of April

Bird News by Spike Millington

The weekend of 27-28th April saw a continuing build up of shorebirds at Gojan mudflats with up to 3,000 Dunlin and 500 Bar-tailed Godwits (with a few Black-taileds), the latter including several colour-flagged birds from Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere in the Flyway. Great knot numbers were stable at 60, but there were few Curlews, and all Far-Eastern Curlews. However, Curlews are pretty independent-minded birds and they could have chosen to roost on the partially reclaimed land by the University, which I did not check. Whimbrels were up to at least 50 and the first small shorebirds were seen, with 2 Red-necked Stint, 2 Mongolian Plovers and single Terek and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Other shorebirds included 200 Grey Plover, many in blotchy partial summer plumage and a few Greenshanks, Eastern Oystercatchers and Ruddy Turnstones.

Over on Namdong Reservoir, duck numbers have declined quite significantly in the last couple of weeks. All the Common Shelduck have gone and only a handful of Common Pochard remain, with 150 Eurasian Teal, 60 Shoveler, 10 Gadwall and 6 Eurasian Wigeon. Soon only the Spot-billed Ducks will be left!

On Incheon Old Golf Course thrushes were much in evidence with 10 Pale, 5-6 Grey-backed, 3 Scaly and 2 Dusky Thrushes. A flighty party of 8 Eastern Great Tits with 3 Coal Tits might have been migrating. A few Yellow-browed Warblers were flitting about and calling and 2-3 Chinese Nuthatches were active in the pines.

New birds keep appearing in Michuhol Park, with a male Blue-and-White Flycatcher on 26th, two male Mugimaki Flycatchers on 29th, and Wryneck, Rufous-tailed Robin, Grey-streaked Flycatcher and Eye-browed Thrush on 30th.