Jeju Island and Mara Island. 2012.10.11-10.13

I visited Jeju Island and Mara Island for visiting mysenior researcher to get advice about graduate schools.

and also, expected a mount of birding.

In Middle of Fall Migration, this trip showed a good numbers of ospreys, Eastern buzzards, and currently irrupting great tits and varied tits. and some highlights of this trip.

common buzzards(Eastern),  some flocks of4-5 birds were frequently seen.

Also Ospreys werepresentin 4-5 individuals in a flock, or some lonly birds.

On the ship to Mara Island, the southernmost Island of korean territory, We saw 7-10 streaked shearwaters

First rarity was the long tailed-shrike, which is now quite regularly seen bird.

On the windy grasslands, two Richard's pipit, one juvenile-first winter  and one more-first winter bird was observed

and several japanese bush-warblers.

and peregrine falcons

and this year's gift. the Yellow bellied tit. Its a first winter male.

more than hundreds of Coal tits were migrating also, mostof them were juveniles

This varied tit got it's prize!

Some Juvenile Dunlins were resting at Hadori,wetland

and This year's First autumn Black facedspoonbill. It seems to be an adult bird. with clear white wingtips and wrincled bill.

The last bird of the day was an Neat adult Sacred Heron

and  10-or more Sand martin

forest bird count

Mt. Mae-hwa, Hong-cheon, Gang-won province

foggy morning at Gang-won province.

Forests were silvicultured in various ways, and thanks to secondary vegitations growing at these opening, I got a bunch of scratch marks on my legs, face, and arms.

Barbed and thorned shrubs, berries.. they really bother.

Eurasian nutach, Despite of numerous reports on chinese nuthatches, showing irruptive migration,

I couldn't find any. Instead, there were plenty of these Eurasian nuthatches allong the day. some showed erratic behavior, feeding on seeds of grass at the middle of large forest openings. reminecent of typical buntings.

Another unexpected sightings were provied by these magnificent male Hazel grouses

there were several singing males all around the survey area, It was my first record of Hazel grouse's display and territorial songs. They reacted to the recorded playback songs immediately. Do they form strict territorries for winter? or starts mating from early fall? In my previous experience,although it is just a handfull , I heard mostof hazel grouse songs during spring seasons.

an immature male was also present at the site, along with singing adlut above.

Forest was entering Autumn, leaves were changing, Chipmunks were gathering winter foods.

white backed woodpeckers were abundant, feeding on snags and logs.

Yellow browed warblers were  gleaning forest canopies, with few, silent arctic warblers.

there are bunch of other stories I've wnt through last month, I'll go on further

Gang-wha Island, Waderwatch 2012

Expecting for Waders, and some after storm(there was a great typoon passed by last day) vagrants, Me and my collegues visited Gangwha Island. 29, August, 2012

It was not so productive as we expected, but still we could find a lots of Far Eastern Curlews and Terek sandpipers. It was a really sunny and windy day right after typoon.

there were lots of black tailed gulls..as always. this day, the tide was very high,about 700m.

an Juvile Far eastern curlew showing relatively shorter bill than adult's extremely long and curved one.

many birds were this year's juveniles, including this brown eared bulbul.

although we know that most of these young birds do not survive until next breeding season, we hoped that this poor, somewhat ragged kid could live long and prosper.

Several mudskippers amused us during birdless long walks.

 it is really funny to watch that they running on the surface of water.

Far eastern curlews, about 12 hundredbirds were the most abundant birds of this day's Gangwha Island.

and one of the 7 black faced Spoonbills,This yearling was busy in fishing in the upcoming tide.

Breif count during birding, Birds of this day.

Grey Plover 10-20
Terek Sandpipder 200-300
Eurasian curlew 2-3
Far eastern Curlew 1200-1300
Wimbrel 10
Common sandpiper 10
Common greenshank 30
Chinese egret 30 (mostly in non-breeding plumage)
Great egret(eastern?) 9
Grey heron 3
Black naped oreole 1
Grey wagtail 1-2 flying overhead
White wagtail, leucopsis 2
Brown eared bulbul 6-9
Black faced spoonbill 7
Dark-sided flycatcher 1
Tree sparrows 100+
Vinous throated parrotbill 50+
Eurasian turtle dove 10+
Black billed magpie 10+
Large billed crow 2
Straited heron 2
black crowned Night heron 1
Great commorant 1
(eastern)Great tit 2-3

Shorebird migration 2012 Yubu island, korea

Yubudo Island is last refugee for East asian austalian flyway waders in Korean side of yellow-sea costal mudflat. I can quite surely assume that area around reclaimed saemangeum was asia's Largest and most significant wader sating area during both spring and autum migration, but at 2006, the saemangeum reclaimation was finished, and since then, Yubudo Island functions as an insufficient but the only "workaround" for the exhausted, long traveling waders. 

At 20, August, 2012 I visited Yubu island with Dr. Chung, my Guru of birding and studying.

I was expecting several spoon-billed sandpipers and other flagged, or ringed birds,  but the weather was unfortunate, harsh rain and wind made us difficult to make us search.

The first waders of that day was several sanderlings and Kentish plovers, running and foraging on the sandy beach. Between those bird, Dr.Chung first noticed this bird was ringed.

Sanderling, Yubu Island, Chungcheung nam do, Korea, 20,8,2012 color-flagged at Southern australia, I've reported to the AWSG page,

Waders of yubu island. 20, 8,2012 : Dunlins, Lesser sand plovers, kentish plovers, terek sandpipers, Red necked stints, sanderlings were most abundant small waders of this day,

In my aprox. count, more than 30 thousand shorebirds were staging there, and due to the rain and wind, I couldn't conduct any more scrutiny.

because I also had to find this trip's prize, the SPS.

if you look above photo with inner sight of birding, youmight find one adult SPS at the right-upper coner

I observed one adult in stunning breeding plumage and one juvinile from this year's breeding. 

we met american birder, who works for NGO in korea, told us that he counted up to 5 SPS that day.

and like waders, searching for energy supplement at this staging area, there was another bird in search of daily meal.

 Eurasian hobby swooping the waders.

It was very high tide at that day and most of other birds flew away and only small numbers apporached to the handful left land. See that sandlovers in breeding plumage, how striking orange! they just added color at the grey rainning mudflat.

and right before we leave, we found this poor great knot, who got it's lower manible caught by a small clam.
he was not able to fly easily and he looked very exhausted.

Waders of Nam-dong resevoir, Incheon City, Korea :

Courtship feeding ????: Scaly thrush Zoothera dauma, Eurasian jay, Garrulus glandarious

Courtship feeding is one of the well-known behaviour of birds such as terns raptors,

and some passerine birds.

At least for me, This was unique behaviour that I've observed during my birding times since 2006.

It happened on 25, Aril, 2009 at Seoul national university campus.  around 09:00

At first, I was watching migrating thrushes foraging on grassy part of the forest patch, there were several Scaly thrush, Pale thrush, and Grey-backed thrush.

It was a thrush feast, abundant drop of thrushes that day was memorable.

and then, I've noticed a bird flew in to another scaly thrush.

It just happened.

the bird arrived, and almost immediately passed it's prize,

a moth larvae which is commonly seen on grasses.

and the original bird swallowed.

there were no after coitus or other intriguing behaviour right after few minutes, they just moved closely, the later arrived bird followed former bird gently. until flushed by an motorcycle -pizza delivery man.

although I could'nt observe any other signs, these birds were definitely not parent-siblings of that year, too early for breeding season and fledging, and the fed bird didn't showed up any begging behaviors commonly seen on feeding parent and their chicks.

I suggest these behaviours are some sort of courtship feeding of early-arrived local breeding pair, or courtship behaviour to probable mate on their way migration.

I could also notice some structural difference between those two birds, assuming the're different sexes,

with smaller size and shorter, slender bills of front(Later arrived bird).

I've seen another courtship behaviour in passerines, Eurasian jay. at April, 2007. In this case, I cannot assure it is an courtship, more than a scaly thrush, because jays breed much earlier than thrushes, there are much more possiblities that this fed bird is sibling of feeding bird. and also, I observed some begging behaviors calling, and wing flutterings too.

I'm curious that does adult-birds who are fed by courtship feeding shows any begging behaviours, and if they do, are those behaviours differ from their juvenile experience?

and also, how does birds of different species show similar form of begging behaviors?



Miss the warblers.

For me and I bet for all other birders, many of the warbler species, especially Phylloscopus sp. 

are extremely intriguing birds when we encounter at field.

Their difficulties of Identification and small, delicate structure makes them Genuine Songbirds.

In addition to their powerful but mesmeriging songs.

The more difficult it is, the more challengable, and interesting.

Pallas's leaf warbler Pylloscopus proregulus

Singng, and cavorting around the Salix sp. treetop. I could feel how much this guy was healthy, and vigourous not only from his behaviors, but also his fresh, vivid feathers.

It must had a good wintering at last winter's haven.

Eastern crowned warbler Phylloscopus cornatus

I was just lazy enough to search better shot from my own DB, applogies.

No more words are need for describing how they are powerful songsters.

Everywhere common around forested areas, even small forest patches in city parks.

So enthusiastic and energetic defender of own territory,

the're usually easy to attract by playbacks at spring.

 Dusky warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus

Unlike their tchat-tchat calls in migration stopovers,

they also display intricate melodies on ther breeding ground in high mountain bushes of korea.

I think it is more difficult to watch warblers in autumn, than spring, however,

I just cant wait for upcomming autumn migration