{"id":22254,"date":"2019-07-27T01:45:06","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T16:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=22254"},"modified":"2019-07-30T11:33:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T02:33:37","slug":"spring-in-the-yellow-sea-a-must-on-any-birders-bucket-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=22254","title":{"rendered":"Spring in the Yellow Sea \u2013 a must on any birder\u2019s bucket-list! (Post 1 of 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Spring in the Yellow Sea…anything is possible! \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jeju Island, April 11-13<\/strong>, 2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For any birder who has yet to visit Korea\u2019s Yellow Sea during spring migration\u2026what are you waiting for? Aside from the ‘regular’ East Asian migratory specialties that can be found along the East-Australasian Flyway, there are national firsts and rarities that show up on the islands annually during this period. Interacting with the rugged but always-friendly islanders, and experiencing the local food and slow-paced, old-fashioned lifestyle on these islands is also a rewarding aspect of such trips. Spring on the islands is my happy place, and this trip did not disappoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It was thrilling to re-visit my former\nsubtropical home of Jeju Island! On April 11th, I visited some of my old\nbirding haunts in and around Seogwipo, and found some notable signs of seasonal\nmovement, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black-winged Stilt<\/strong>-4 in the harbor
Pacific Swift<\/strong>-2 very high above
Barn Swallow<\/strong>-120+
Red-rumped Swallow<\/strong>-12+
Asian House Martin<\/strong>-9 flying slightly higher than the other hirundines
Olive-backed Pipit<\/strong>-8 in a riverside park
Grey-backed Thrush<\/strong>-1 at dusk
Narcissus Flycatcher<\/strong>-1 male in the park
Asian Brown Flycatcher<\/strong>-2 in the park<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Black-winged Stilt<\/strong> Himantopus himantopus<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Japanese Bush Warbler<\/strong> Horornis diphone cantans<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The following day, I was up early. After a dawn raid of a small island in the harbour turned up little, I had a siesta then returned to my favourite scruffy park for a couple of hours. I encountered Narcissus Flycatchers<\/strong> there pouncing on prey from low trees at four separate spots \u2013 I\u2019d forgotten how absolutely spoiled rotten I was in Seogwipo when it came to refuelling Narcs!

On the way out, I decided to give what I long-ago dubbed \u201cthrush corner\u201d one last check, and was rewarded with the sight of two (or more) Grey Thrushes<\/strong> foraging under low fruit trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grey<\/strong> (Japanese<\/strong>) Thrush<\/strong> Turdus cardis<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the 13th, I brought Mike Balfour, my Jeju birding partner of old, to check out the bird activity in Seogwipo\u2019s parks. As morning gave way to afternoon, a pair of minivets appeared and shreeped from the trees just above eye-level. I was quite surprised to discover that rather than the expected Ashy Minivets<\/strong>, they were in fact Ryukyu Minivets<\/strong>, a species only documented once before in Korea  (https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=8914)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  The\npair called to one another and fed in low trees for 30 minutes before flying\noff. The species, once an Ashy Minivet<\/strong> subspecies, has been\ncolonizing northward in Japan lately. Hopefully this sighting means they\u2019re\nalso coming this way. Is it possible they will colonize Korea like Light-vented\nBulbuls <\/strong>have over the past 20 years, or were these just more rare\novershoots? I\u2019m betting they visit coastal Korea more frequently than twice in\nseven years, and are perhaps overlooked. The winds were blowing straight up out\nof the Ryukyu Islands on April 12-13th, incidentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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male Ryukyu Minivet<\/strong> Pericrocotus tegimae<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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male Ryukyu Minivet<\/strong> Pericrocotus tegimae<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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female Ryukyu Minivet<\/strong> Pericrocotus tegimae<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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female Ryukyu Minivet<\/strong> Pericrocotus tegimae<\/em> \u00a9 Matt Poll<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n