During Antarctic monitoring surveys...

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