South Korea and Taiwan - 31st January (Day 6)

Trev, Andy and I (Ian opted out of the mornings birding) were up at a very early 04:30 in the dark and after driving through the streets of Soryong we took a small boat at 05:15 a short way across the Geum River mouth to Yubu Island. We waited in the dark for almost two hours until daylight and as the tide began to fall, soon after day break, large numbers of birds began to appear. There were many Eurasian Oystercatcher (of subspecies osculans which may be split as Far eastern Oystercatcher) plus large numbers of Gull with good numbers of Black-tailed Gull, abundant Herring (Vega) Gull, six Slaty-backed Gull and the highlight nine Relict Gull (eight 1st winter and one 2nd winter). We needed to head off the island at 09:00 before the tide was too low to get the boat back to collect us. It felt far too soon as the birding was fantastic although as the tide was falling the extensive sand-flats meant the birds were becoming more distant. My eBird list for Yubu Island can be viewed here.

We then headed back to the hotel packed and began the three hour drive north to the Han River at Chungju-si. A short stop en-route on a slipway of Highway 15 near to Sanwol-ri produced eight Daurian Jackdaw and 75 Rook of the subspecies pastinator, my eBird list for the stop can be viewed here.

Black-tailed Gull and single Vega Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Eurasian Oystercatcher - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Eurasian Oystercatcher - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Eurasian Oystercatcher, Black-tailed Gull, Relict Gull, Vega Gull and Mongolian Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Relict Gull, Black-tailed Gull and Mongolian Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Slaty-backed Gull, Mongolian Gull, Black-tailed Gull and Eurasian Oystercatcher - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull and Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull and Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull and Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull and Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Mongolian Gull and Great Cormorant Black-tailed Gull and Relict Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Black-tailed Gull and Black-tailed Gull - Yubu Island, Geum Estuary, Soryong-Dong

Daurian Jackdaw - Sanwol-ri, Gunsan, South Korea

Daurian Jackdaw - Sanwol-ri, Gunsan, South Korea

Rook - Sanwol-ri, Gunsan, South Korea

We arrived at the Han River at Chungju-si at 13:15 and spent the afternoon checking the river for Scaly-sided Merganser, views here can be very good but unfortunately today the 16 birds we saw were a little distant. However, the birding was good with many species seen the highlights being Falcated Duck, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Hen Harrier and Azure-winged Magpie. My eBird checklist for the site can be viewed here.

Smew - Han River, Chungju-si, South Korea

White-tailed Eagle - Han River, Chungju-si, South Korea

Long-tailed Rosefinch - Han River, Chungju-si, South Korea

Jay of subspecies bambergi 'Brandt's Jay'.- Han River, Chungju-si, South Korea

Jay of subspecies bambergi 'Brandt's Jay' - Han River, Chungju-si, South Korea

Scaly-sided Merganser - Han River, Chungju-si, South Korea

We finished our birding here at 15:30 and headed back to Seoul. After saying our goodbyes to Nial we headed for our apartment rooms in a slightly dodgy hotel near to the airport in Seoul. We had our final dinner in a Korean restaurant in the hotel basement.

List of Birds Recorded in South Korea
We recorded 124 species in South Korea of which 13 were ticks for me (shown in bold).

Japanese Quail
Common Pheasant
Whooper Swan
Bean Goose (Taiga)
Bean Goose (Tundra)
Greater White-fronted Goose
Lesser White-fronted Goose
Common Goldeneye
Smew
Goosander
Scaly-sided Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Shelduck
Common Pochard
Tufted Duck
Northern Shoveler
Baikal Teal
Falcated Duck
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
Chinese Spot-billed Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Common Teal
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Horned Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Rock (Feral Pigeon) Dove
Oriental Turtle-dove
Common Coot
Hooded Crane
Oriental Stork
Eurasian Spoonbill
Black-crowned Night-heron
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Little Egret
Great Cormorant
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Grey Plover
Northern Lapwing
Eurasian Curlew
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Solitary Snipe
Green Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Saunders's Gull
Black-headed Gull
Relict Gull
Black-tailed Gull
Mew Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Arctic (Mongolian) Herring Gull
Slaty-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Eurasian Eagle-owl
Cinereous Vulture
Hen Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Northern Goshawk
White-tailed Sea-eagle
Steller's Sea-eagle
Japanese Buzzard
Common Kingfisher
Grey-faced Woodpecker
Black Woodpecker
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker
White-backed Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Bull-headed Shrike
Chinese Grey Shrike
Asian Azure-winged Magpie
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Magpie
Daurian Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Large-billed Crow
Coal Tit
Varied Tit
Marsh Tit
Eastern Great Tit
Chinese Penduline-tit
Eurasian Skylark
Zitting Cisticola
Brown-eared Bulbul
Dusky Warbler
Long-tailed Tit
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Eurasian Nuthatch
Northern Wren
Naumann's Thrush
Dusky Thrush
Fieldfare
Daurian Redstart
Goldcrest
Bohemian Waxwing
Japanese Waxwing
Siberian Accentor
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Red-throated Pipit
Buff-bellied Pipit
Japanese Wagtail
White Wagtail
Brambling
Hawfinch
Long-tailed Rosefinch
Pallas's Rosefinch
Eurasian Bullfinch
Oriental Greenfinch
Eurasian Siskin
Lapland Longspur
Chestnut-eared Bunting
Meadow Bunting
Yellow-throated Bunting
Ochre-rumped Bunting
Reed Bunting
Pallas’s Bunting
Rustic Bunting
Black-faced Bunting

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)

South Korea

26th January (Day 1 and 2) – International flight then Han River area.

28th January (Day 3) – Songdo Tidal Flats and Korea National Arboretum.

29th January (Day 4) – Seosan Reclamation.

30th January (Day 5) – Seosan Reclamation then Geum River.

31st January (Day 6) – Yubu Island, and Han River.

Taiwan

1st February (Day 7) – Fly Seoul (South Korea) to Taipei (Taiwan) then Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

2nd February (Day 8) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

3rd February (Day 9) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

4th February (Day 10) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

5th February (Day11) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve then Huisin Forest Reserve.

6th February (Day 12) – Huisin Forest Reserve then Blue Gates Trail.

7th February (Day 13) –  Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area.

8th February (Day 14) – Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area then Firefly Lodge.

9th February (Day 15) – Alishan.

10th February (Day 16) – Alishan, Kenting National Park and Pintung University. 

11th February (Day 17) – Pingtung University then international flight.

South Korea and Taiwan - 28th January (Day 3)

We were up at the civilised time of 06:30 and after a quick coffee we travelled a short distance through the sprawl of Incheon to the tidal flats of Songdo, also known as the Gojan Tidal Flats. The intertidal areas here are being rapidly reclaimed for development and this is a fast disappearing habitat despite being a Ramsar site, unfortunately this blatant disregard for protected sites and important habitats appears to be common in South Korea. Here, standing alongside the busy highway we recorded large numbers of familiar waders including Eurasian Curlew, Grey Plover, Oystercatcher (of the subspecies ostrilans and a possible split as Far Eastern Oystercatcher) and Dunlin and, equally familiar, Mallard, Pintail and Shelduck. We failed to see our main target here which was Relict Gull but the large numbers of gull made for interesting viewing with  315 Saunder’s Gull, 100 Black-tailed Gull, 30 Mew Gull of the subspecies kamtschatschensis, two Lesser Black-backed Gull of the subspecies taimyrensis, 30 Mongolian Herring Gull and two Vega Gull. Two White-tailed Eagle stood on the mudflats awaiting a feeding opportunity. Our full list for the site can be viewed on eBird here. Having had our fix of gulls and waders and realising the Relict Gulls were not going to show we began our two hour journey northwards to the South Korea National Arboretum and Forest Museum.

We arrived at the arboretum at 10:25, it was nice to be in the forest clad hills rather than in the urban sprawl of the previous sites that we had visited. The first area we birded was the reed lined river course flowing south along the western side of the main car park. After some searching we found one of our main targets at the site, a superb Solitary Snipe which we watched as it bobbed Jack Snipe like along the waters edge. This species breeds at high altitude in remote areas of central Asia, southern Siberia and northern China and winters thinly in Korea, Japan, East China and north India. It is difficult to see throughout its range and unfortunately unsympathetic development of the arboretum, one of the key sites for seeing the species, is meaning that it is becoming more difficult to encounter this species. After getting our fill of this superb bird and dwelling on its future here we wandered into the main arboretum, at this time of the year rather grey and seeming lifeless. We spent much of our time around the Medicinal Garden where our second main target, Pallas’s Rosefinch, was first seen as a small flock of around seven birds flitted through the canopy but a little later in the day we managed to find a flock of 15 feeding on the ground amongst dense scrub. Other species we recorded at this site during our five hours birding included Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Varied Tit, Naumann’s Thrush, Siberian Accentor, Yellow-throated Bunting, Rustic Bunting and the superb griseiventris subspecies of Bullfinch. Our eBird checklist for the site can be viewed here.

Solitary Snipe - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Solitary Snipe - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Solitary Snipe - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Solitary Snipe - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Varied Tit - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Brown-eared Bulbul - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Siberian Chipmunk - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Siberian Accentor - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Siberian Accentor - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

White-backed Woodpecker - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Eastern Spot-billed Duck - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Hawfinch - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Eurasian Bullfinch - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Grey Heron - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Eurasian (Brandt's) Jay - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Japanese Tit - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Pallas's Rosefinch - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Pallas's Rosefinch - South Korea National Arboretum, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

At around 15:30 we began our journey south to Seosan arriving at 18:30 and booking into the Vovo Hotel. We wandered a short distance to a restaurant for a superb Korean dinner which was heavily laced with Chilli and Garlic.

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)

South Korea

26th January (Day 1 and 2) – International flight then Han River area.

28th January (Day 3) – Songdo Tidal Flats and Korea National Arboretum.

29th January (Day 4) – Seosan Reclamation.

30th January (Day 5) – Seosan Reclamation then Geum River.

31st January (Day 6) – Yubu Island, and Han River.

Taiwan

1st February (Day 7) – Fly Seoul (South Korea) to Taipei (Taiwan) then Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

2nd February (Day 8) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

3rd February (Day 9) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

4th February (Day 10) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve.

5th February (Day11) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve then Huisin Forest Reserve.

6th February (Day 12) – Huisin Forest Reserve then Blue Gates Trail.

7th February (Day 13) –  Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area.

8th February (Day 14) – Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area then Firefly Lodge.

9th February (Day 15) – Alishan.

10th February (Day 16) – Alishan, Kenting National Park and Pintung University. 

11th February (Day 17) – Pingtung University then international flight.