{"id":31335,"date":"2026-02-01T15:09:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T06:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=31335"},"modified":"2026-02-02T12:59:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T03:59:25","slug":"various-sites-january-4th-14th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=31335","title":{"rendered":"Various Sites, January 4th-14th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Organised by Calidris<\/a>, with Lee Collins flying in from the UK and Machiel Valkenburg flying in from Kazakhstan (where he is CEO of Rubythroat Birding Tours<\/a>), ten of us visited a range of top birding sites around the country, including Yeoncheon and Cheorwon on 4th<\/sup> and 5th<\/sup>; the (rather degraded) National Arboretum and the Han River in Paldang (on 6th<\/sup>); Odae San and the coast near Ayajin (on 7th<\/sup>); the Goseong coast, (on 8th and 9th<\/sup>, with a boat trip out from Daejin Harbour on 9th<\/sup>) down south to the visually striking entrance to Seorak San National Park, with its giant Buddha and craggy skyline; Junam Reservoir in the afternoon of the 10th<\/sup>; sites in Busan around the Nakdong Estuary (on 11th<\/sup>); Sacheon and the Geum River (on 12th<\/sup>); the Geum Estuary and parts of the Saemangeum reclamation area (on 13th<\/sup>) and on the 14th, forest in southwest Seoul, \u00a0finishing in parkland near to the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather was pretty well dry throughout, with remarkably little snow in the mountains, and rather windier than usual. The only proper snowfall was 2-5cm on 10th<\/sup> (the day that we had planned to drive up into the mountains to look for Asian Rosyfinches). This lack of snow cover likely contributed to the rather lower-than-expected number of some typical winter landbirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did find, however, almost all of the expected mid-winter highlights (e.g., Swan Goose<\/strong>; Scaly-sided Merganser<\/strong> at two sites; White-naped<\/strong>, Red-crowned<\/strong> and Hooded Cranes<\/strong>; Solitary Snipe<\/strong>; Long-billed Murrelet<\/strong>; Oriental Stork<\/strong>; and Steller\u2019s Sea Eagle<\/strong>, with 6 seen in total etc.), but in spite of much effort, failed to find any Relict Gull<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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White-naped<\/strong> \uc7ac\ub450\ub8e8\ubbf8 and Red-crowned Cranes<\/strong> \ub450\ub8e8\ubbf8, at the ” \ucca0\uc6d0–\ud55c\ud0c4\uac15\ub450\ub8e8\ubbf8\ud0d0\uc870\ub300-\ucca0\uc0c8\ub3c4\ub798\uc9c0\uad00\ucc30\uc18c(Cheorwon–Hantangang Crane Observatory-Migratory Bird Habitat)”. Money from use of hides here (approximately 15,000 per person) goes toward supporting crane conservation activities in Cheorwon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Solitary Snipe<\/strong> \uccad\ub3c4\uc694 \u00a9 Machiel Valkenburg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One of three globally Endangered Oriental Storks<\/strong> \ud669\uc0c8 that we saw, two of which were banded (K68 and K74) and one of which lacked “jewellery” \u00a9 Machiel Valkenburg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Based on their status in Korea, species or concentrations of particular note included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lesser White-fronted Geese<\/strong> Anser erythropus<\/em> \ud770\uc774\ub9c8\uae30\ub7ec\uae30. Globally Vulnerable.  A flock of eight were at Junam Reservoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flock of eight Lesser White-fronted Goose<\/strong> \ud770\uc774\ub9c8\uae30\ub7ec\uae30 \u00a9 Lee Collins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baer\u2019s Pochard <\/strong> Aythya baeri <\/em>\ubd89\uc740\uac00\uc2b4\ud770\uc8fd\uc9c0.  Globally Critically Endangered. Last winter\u2019s male was back in Busan. Although this bird shows an unwelcome patch of warm brown feathering on the crown, there seem to be no additional obvious indications of a hybrid origin. Moreover, last winter at the very same location what must have been the same individual also initially had a warm brown patch on the crown, which appeared to be rather less evident by January 21st (when I saw the bird), presumably because of wear of eclipse plumage into breeding plumage. For an image of a male Baer’s in Japan in December showing extensive brown on the head, see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Baer’s Pochard <\/strong>\ubd89\uc740\uac00\uc2b4\ud770\uc8fd\uc9c0 with globally Vulnerable Common Pochard \ud770\uc8fd\uc9c0, January 11th 2026 \u00a9 Lee Collins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The same Baer’s Pochard<\/strong> \ubd89\uc740\uac00\uc2b4\ud770\uc8fd\uc9c0, January 11th 2026 \u00a9 Machiel Valkenburg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What must have been the same Baer’s Pochard<\/strong> \ubd89\uc740\uac00\uc2b4\ud770\uc8fd\uc9c0 in the same small wetland, a year earlier, on January 21st 2025 \u00a9 Nial Moores.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aythya<\/em> hybrids. Another stunning presumed Common Pochard x Ferruginous Duck was seen in Seocheon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Nial Moores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baikal Teal<\/strong> Sibirionetta formosa<\/em> \uac00\ucc3d\uc624\ub9ac. An estimated 300,000 were at the Geum River. Although in some ways expected here, this flock only arrived back at this site a few days before our visit and apparently was gone from there by the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Baikal Teal <\/strong>\uac00\ucc3d\uc624\ub9ac flock, with hunting White-tailed Eagle<\/strong> \ud770\uaf2c\ub9ac\uc218\ub9ac (lower image) \u00a9 Nial Moores. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the species was much less numerous, groups of 100-250 Baikal Teal often swarmed around large birds and raptors that dared to approach the flock, redirecting them away. I have not seen this behaviour for well over a decade.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

American Wigeon<\/strong> Mareca americana<\/em> \uc544\uba54\ub9ac\uce74\ud64d\uba38\ub9ac\uc624\ub9ac. A long-staying adult male was on the sea near to Ayajin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red-necked Grebe<\/strong> Podiceps grisegena <\/em>\ud070\ub17c\ubcd1\uc544\ub9ac. Very large numbers were on the sea off the Geojin coast, with a conservative 1,500 seen on 9th<\/sup> (including one extended raft of 950!). This is by far the highest number I have seen of this species in the ROK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demoiselle Crane<\/strong> Grus virgo<\/em> \uc1e0\uc7ac\ub450\ub8e8\ubbf8. The long-staying young bird (our sixth crane species of the week) was still present, in with a flock of White-naped Cranes<\/strong>. Although increasingly recorded, there are still only about ten or so national records – with this only the second in mid-winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Demoiselle Crane<\/strong> \uc1e0\uc7ac\ub450\ub8e8\ubbf8 (left) with two White-naped Cranes \uc7ac\ub450\ub8e8\ubbf8 \u00a9 Nial Moores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Far Eastern Oystercatcher<\/strong> Haematopus <\/em>(ostralegus<\/em>) osculans<\/em> \uac80\uc740\uba38\ub9ac\ubb3c\ub5bc\uc0c8. A total of 6,100 were counted in 100s along the mainland coast of the Geum Estuary, with several small groups also seen at long range on Yubu Island. This is my highest ever count in Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Far Eastern Oystercatcher<\/strong> \uac80\uc740\uba38\ub9ac\ubb3c\ub5bc\uc0c8\u00a9 Nial Moores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Siberian Sand Plover<\/strong> Anarhynchus mongolus<\/em> \ubabd\uace8\uc655\ub208\ubb3c\ub5bc\uc0c8. Globally Endangered.  Rare in winter in Korea, Three were on the tidal flat in the oter Geum Estuary (Seocheon County)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Thayer\u2019s<\/strong>) Iceland Gull<\/strong> Larus glaucoides thayeri<\/em> \uc791\uc740\ud770\uac08\ub9e4\uae30. The fairly long-staying adult was still on a favoured rock on the Gangwon coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yellow-billed Loon <\/strong>Gavia adamsii<\/em> \ud770\ubd80\ub9ac\uc544\ube44. Although not seen by everyone in the group, two were seen from the boat on the 9th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little Heron <\/strong>Butorides atricapilla<\/em> \uac80\uc740\ub315\uae30\ud574\uc624\ub77c\uae30. Fairly common in summer, there are very few mainland winter records of this recently renamed species. One in the Nakdong Estuary still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNorthern<\/strong>\u201d Scops Owl<\/strong> Otus semitorques<\/em> \ud070\uc18c\uca4d\uc0c8. Thanks to Professor Kim Young-Gul, we were able to see this local star shuffle and shimmy into view for a few minutes before, shuffling back into the depths of the tree cavity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Widely known as Japanese Scops Owl<\/strong> \ud070\uc18c\uca4d\uc0c8 (even though the species is not confined to Japan and is not common there) this species or species complex still requires much research. Image \u00a9 Machiel Valkenburg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Siberian Rubythroat<\/strong> Calliope calliope <\/em>\uc9c4\ud64d\uac00\uc2b4. Although a common migrant, and an extremely local breeding species, there are likely to be fewer than five mid-winter records nationally. One was heard in Maekdo Ecopark, Busan, by several of the group (perhaps at the invitation of the ever-smiling Machiel Valkenburg<\/a>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The smiling Calidris group in Yeoncheon, with Birds Korea’s Imjin-Hantan Region Representative Baek Seung-Kwang on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Organised by Calidris, with Lee Collins flying in from the UK and Machiel Valkenburg flying in from Kazakhstan (where he is CEO of Rubythroat Birding Tours), ten of us visited a range of top birding sites around the country, including … read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":31363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bird-sightings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31335"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31376,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31335\/revisions\/31376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}