{"id":31903,"date":"2026-07-03T09:23:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=31903"},"modified":"2026-07-03T09:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:23:07","slug":"mara-island-may-5th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/?p=31903","title":{"rendered":"Mara Island: May 5th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bird news by Leslie Hurteau. All images copyright of Leslie Hurteau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No spring birding season on Jeju is complete without a visit (or 2 or 5) to Mara Island, one of the best spots for spring and fall migration in the country. This small island is located on the very far southwest of Jeju, making it the furthest south birders can visit in the Korean peninsula. A highlight visit this spring was on May 5th, right when migration hits a peak and just about any species seems to be possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grey-capped Greenfinch<\/strong> Chloris sinica<\/em> \ubc29\uc6b8\uc0c8 perched on a Japanese Black Pine in Unjin Harbour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We took the boat from Moseulpo (Unjin Port), where a small group of Terek Sandpipers<\/strong> were resting in the harbour. Shortly after departure a Pacific Loon<\/strong> was seen on the sea, which is fairly late for this species. Black-tailed Gulls <\/strong>and a Japanese Cormorant<\/strong> were seen, as well, but otherwise the boat trip was fairly quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pacific Loon<\/strong> Gavia pacifica<\/em> \ud68c\uc0c9\uba38\ub9ac\uc544\ube44<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arriving on the island, it was clear that bird activity was going to be pretty good. A small group of Yellow-breasted Buntings<\/strong>, a pair of Peregrine Falcons<\/strong> flying at eye level along the east coast, and plenty of Black-faced Buntings<\/strong>. Further into the forest included highlights such as Yellow-bellied Tit<\/strong>, Swinhoe’s White-eye<\/strong>, Yellow-billed Grosbeak<\/strong>, and Red-flanked Bluetail<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yellow-breasted Bunting <\/strong>Emberiza aureola<\/em> \uac80\uc740\uba38\ub9ac\ucd09\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Black-faced Bunting<\/strong> Emberiza spodocephala<\/em> \ucd09\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Black-faced Bunting<\/strong> Emberiza spodocephala<\/em> \ucd09\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Chestnut-eared Bunting<\/strong> Emberiza fucata<\/em> \ubd89\uc740\ubea8\uba67\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phylloscopus warblers were well represented, with Yellow-browed<\/strong>, Sakhalin<\/strong>, Pale-legged<\/strong>, Dusky<\/strong>, and Eastern Crowned Warblers<\/strong>. Flycatchers as well, with Grey-streaked<\/strong>, one Dark-sided<\/strong>, a female Blue-and-White<\/strong>, Narcissus<\/strong>, and many Asian Brown Flycatchers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yellow-browed Warbler<\/strong> Phylloscopus inornatus<\/em> \ub178\ub791\ub208\uc379\uc194\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Grey-streaked Flycatcher<\/strong> Muscicapa griseisticta<\/em> \uc81c\ube44\ub531\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Narcissus Flycatcher<\/strong> Ficedula narcissina<\/em> \ud669\uae08\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oriental Reed Warbler<\/strong>, Black-naped Oriole<\/strong>, and Ashy Minivet<\/strong> were other expected species seen and heard fairly well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ashy Minivet<\/strong> Pericrocotus divaricatus<\/em> \ud560\ubbf8\uc0c8\uc0ac\ucd0c<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rufous-tailed Robin<\/strong> Larvivora sibilans<\/em> \uc6b8\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chinese Pond Heron <\/strong>was present in good numbers, with Little Heron<\/strong>, Grey Heron<\/strong>, and Eastern Cattle Egret <\/strong>also present throughout. A Red-necked Stint<\/strong> was seen in the small wetland on the western edge of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chinese Pond Heron<\/strong> Ardeola bacchus<\/em> \ud770\ub0a0\uac1c\ud574\uc624\ub77c\uae30<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Red-necked Stint<\/strong> Calidris ruficollis<\/em> \uc880\ub3c4\uc694<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A few pleasant spring surprises included a female Black Redstart<\/strong>, a single Blyth’s Pipit <\/strong>along with several Richard’s Pipits<\/strong>, and a Wryneck<\/strong>, all found in the fields of the northern side of the island. A pair of Mongolian Short-tailed Larks<\/strong> were flushed here, too, identified based on their distinctive flight call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Black Redstart<\/strong> Phoenicurus ochruros<\/em> \uac80\uc740\uba38\ub9ac\ub531\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Blyth’s Pipit<\/strong> Anthus godlewskii<\/em> \uc1e0\ubc2d\uc885\ub2e4\ub9ac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Eurasian Wryneck<\/strong> Jynx torquilla<\/em> \uac1c\ubbf8\uc7a1\uc774<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The return boat trip was quieter, with two Streaked Shearwaters<\/strong> and a few Black-tailed Gulls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Streaked Shearwater<\/strong> Calonectris leucomelas<\/em> \uc2b4\uc0c8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

eBird checklists here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/ebird.org\/checklist\/S332881693<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/ebird.org\/checklist\/S332881781<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/ebird.org\/checklist\/S332883431<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/ebird.org\/checklist\/S332881815<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bird news by Leslie Hurteau. All images copyright of Leslie Hurteau. No spring birding season on Jeju is complete without a visit (or 2 or 5) to Mara Island, one of the best spots for spring and fall migration in … read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":31914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[576,1205,44,50,1079,1046,46,1102,661],"class_list":["post-31903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bird-sightings","tag-ashy-minivet","tag-blyths-pipit","tag-jeju","tag-jeju-island","tag-jeju-do","tag-mara-island","tag-mara-do","tag-spring-migration","tag-yellow-breasted-bunting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31903","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\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31903"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31949,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31903\/revisions\/31949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdskoreablog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}