Text and all images by and © of Nial Moores / Birds Korea.
In stifling summer heat (32-34C), 75% humidity and fierce sunlight, our monthly bird survey was conducted in three of the eco-parks that line the Nakdong River just upstream of the estuarine barrage: Maekdo (site of our small 3-year restoration project, funded by Microsoft and supported technically by the Society of Ecological Restoration); and Daejo and Samnak (the main sites of our second project funded by Microsoft, this time focused on awareness-raising and education). While Maekdo and Daejo have both been the focus of some restoration work and active management by Busan City, and Daejo has some fading signage from earlier projects, all three of these parks lack proper signage and promotion as biodiversity hotspots – thereby remaining poorly-known to the vast majority of the city’s residents and tourists.
At Maekdo, recent clearance of all of the dry reed from fields A, B, C and G and heavy rain have created excellent floodplain-type conditions for shorebirds – with at least 18 species found (this compares with fewer than 10 species recorded in monthly surveys since March 2025)! Most numerous were Wood Sandpiper, with 265 counted (my highest day count of this species anywhere on the Korean mainland), together with exceptional numbers of Green Sandpiper (21+) and Long-toed Stint (28); three species of snipe and more expected species like Common Greenshank (6-8) and Red-necked Stint (c. 50); and several new species for our project in this eco-park, including Black-winged Stilt (14), Far Eastern Curlew (1), Common Redshank (1 or 2), Terek Sandpiper (2) and Ruff (1) – from memory only the second one I have seen in Busan. Our project site, Field D, in contrast looked especially green and lush. We are looking forward to seeing the results of a survey of the restored vegetation that was also conducted in late August.
Other bird species of note at Maekdo included at least 21 Garganey (my personal highest count of this species in Busan) and a juvenile Peregrine that eventually caught and killed a stint.
At Samnak, the largest surprise was two Eastern Taiga Bean Geese still, one now looking to have an injured wing. Unlike at Maekdo, the so-called “goose-feeding area” here remains densely covered in dry reed and a diverse array of dryland plants, including alien invasive Goldenrod, and as such remains effectively bird-less. Through our Microsoft-funded project, Birds Korea is trying to encourage the Nakdong River Projects Management Office in Busan (with whom we have an MOU) to permit us to tidy-up part of this site and to erect educational signage – essential first steps in building local pride for this part of the Eco-park that clearly meets Ramsar criteria for identification as an internationally important wetland.
At Daejo, rather limited avian diversity, with most notable being a single Mandarin Duck, two Pin-tailed Snipe, a large snipe sp. (probably either Latham’s or Swinhoe’s) and an adult male Peregrine. Although there was no sign of the Amur Leopard Cat seen here in July, it was wonderful to have a close encounter with a globally Vulnerable Korean Water Deer and surprising to see what was either a leucistic or an albino Nutria – an alien invasive species found in all three of these eco-parks.
Most enjoyable, however, was the apparent diversity of dragons and damsels – including several of what I tentatively identified as Broad-winged Damselfly Atrocalopteryx atrata and one, even more tentatively identified from online images, as the delightfully-named Orange-tailed Sprite Ceriagrion aurantica (my thanks to the much more knowledgeable Robert Macfie for his comments on the ID). Please let me know if these identifications need revision!
If you are interested in involving in our surveys or awareness-raising work for these three eco-parks, please message Birds Korea or me directly: thank you.