South Korea and Taiwan - Background and 26-27th January (Day 1 and Day 2)

Background
I had long wanted to visit Taiwan for its range of fantastic endemic species and so when Ian Merrill offered me a place on a trip in early 2019 I jumped at the chance. The itinerary also included South Korea which I had not really considered previously and there were few ticks here but the birding here proved fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed my time. Our team consisted of Ian, Andy Deighton and Trevor Codlin.

Logistics
For the South Korea part of the trip we used Niall Moores of Birds Korea , Niall is the main birding guide for the country. Niall is British and has spent many years living and working in South Korea. He can be contacted at nial.moores@birdskorea.org. We had booked Niall early in 2019 to secure his time as he also leads for a number of tour companies. Niall arranged all the hotels and car hire and dealt with all the logistics, I did much of the driving which was pretty straightforward. Personally, I wouldn't want to tackle South Korea without a guide although I am sure it is possible, the road networks are complex and constantly changing, English is not widely spoken and many of the birding sites require fairly specialist local knowledge to access. Niall's account of our trip can be viewed here.

For Taiwan we had sought a guide for the duration but the main guide we wanted to use, Richard Foster of Taiwan Birding, was out of the country guiding in Sri Lanka. However, we did contact Richard during our trip for some advice on finding specific key birds and he was very helpful. Richards email is info@birdingattaiwan.com and I would suggest that if you are arranging a trip and require a guide that you contact him well in advance. We explored a number of other guides, some helpful some not so and one in particular was extortionately expensive. Ultimately we opted to arrange the trip ourselves, like many others do, and we had no major problems doing so. Ian prepared the itinerary, booked most of the hotels and arranged the car hire while I did all of the driving and Google (assisted by Andy) did the navigating. While, at times, there was a language barrier this was an easy country to self-guide in.

Weather
The weather in South Korea was largely cold and overcast with some brighter spells. The 30th and 31st were largely sunny and cold. Temperatures were in the region of 6c during the day and in the low minus figures at night.

In Taiwan we largely birded at mid to high altitudes and so the temperatures were naturally lower. At the higher elevations at Wushe the temperature was around 2c with a strong wind blowing, while at Kenting National Park and Pungtung in the south the temperature was around 26c. There was no significant daytime rain but on the night of 4th there was heavy overnight rain that had cleared by dawn.

Annoyances
There were very few annoyances apart from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a new strain of coronavirus which was first identified in Wuhan City, China. But despite South Korea and Taiwan being identified by the UK Government as high risk areas we were largely in relatively remote areas away from populated areas and so had little impact on our behaviour although we did notice an increase in surgical masks being worn.

Equipment
I took with me my Olympus kit with the OMD EM1X and EM1 Mark II camera, 300 F4 lens, 40-150mm F2.8 lens and 1.4 converter. I mainly used the 300mm as birds were generally mid-distance. The 40-150mm was used on a couple of occasions but I could have made do without it. Scopes were essential in South Korea but of relatively limited use in Taiwan.

Itinerary

South Korea

• 26th January (Day 1) – Flight LHR (09:00) arrive Charles de Gaul 11:25, depart 13:10.
• 27th January (Day 2) – Arrive Seoul 08:10 then drive to Han River, Paldang and then on to Songdo Park, Incheon. Night in Incheon.
• 28th January (Day 3) – Songdo Tidal Flats, Incheon AM then on to Korea National Arboretum and Forest Museum, Pocheon City then drive to Seosan. Night in Seosan.
• 29th January (Day 4) – All day Seosan Reclamation covering Areas A and B. Night Seosan.
• 30th January (Day 5) – Seosan Reclamation Area A in the morning then Geum River, Seocheon PM. Night Gunsan.
• 31st January (Day 6) – Yubu Island, Geum Estuary. Gunsan AM then drive north to Han River, Chungju. Drive to Seoul and overnight.

Taiwan

• 1st February (Day 7) – Fly Seoul to Taipei then drive to Dasyueshan Forest Reserve, Taichung City. Night Dasyueshan Visitors' Centre.
• 2nd February (Day 8) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve all day. Night Dasyueshan Visitors' Centre.
• 3rd February (Day 9) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve all day. Night Dasyueshan Visitors' Centre.
• 4th February (Day 10) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve all day. Night Dasyueshan Visitors' Centre.
• 5th February (Day11) – Dasyueshan Forest Reserve AM then drive to Huisin Forest Reserve. Night Huisin Forest Station.
• 6th February (Day 12) – Huisin Forest Reserve early Am then drive to Dizang Budhist Temple, Puli. PM drive to Ren'ai and bird Blue Gates Trail. Night Chingjing Maple Hill Hotel.
• 7th February (Day 13) – NTU Experimental Farm, Chung-yan AM then Song Shue Lodge, Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area and Blue Gates Trail PM. Night Chingjing Maple Hill Hotel.
• 8th February (Day 14) – Song Shue Lodge, Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area AM then drive to Firefly Lodge, Dingben PM. Night Firefly Lodge.
• 9th February (Day 15) – Alishan all day. Night in tourist village at Alishan National Forest Recreation Area.
• 10th February (Day 16) – Alishan AM then drive south to Kenting National Park PM and then onto Pintung University. Night Hakka Eco-farm.
• 11th February (Day 17) – Pingtung University AM then drive to Qingkunshen IBA, Jiangjun for late AM. PM drive to Taipei and international flight 00:20 on 12th via Amsterdam arriving London at 09:00 on 12th.

Map showing the key sites visited and species recorded during our trip. Zoom into map and click on pins for more details.

26th and 27th January
The alarm went off at 03:15 on 26th and after some last minute faffing I left home and met Trev at the Winchester Park and ride at 04:45. The drive to Heathrow Terminal 4 was very quick and by 6:05 we had parked, checked into our flight and met up with Andy and Ian. After passing through security we had breakfast and made our way to our departure gates. Our flight for Paris left on time at 09:00, once in Paris we passed through security and boarded our 13:10 flight to Seoul. We flew east over the Baltic and Estonia passing north of Moscow and then over the Ural Mountains, then to the north of Omsk before passing over northern Mongolia and Ulaanbaatar flew to the north of Beijing before crossing the sea to the Korean Peninsula and dropping into Seoul landing at 08:10 on 27th.

After collecting our Hyundai Starex mini-van we were on our way and straight onto the unnecessarily wide highways flanked by housing blocks that seem to typify this area of South Korea. The landscape was very parched and the country is experiencing an exceptionally mild and dry winter and where temperatures would normally be sub-zero, the landscape snow covered and the waterways frozen instead it is relatively mild and snow and ice free. We travelled east and headed to the east side of Seoul and to the town of Padang through which flows the Han River. After negotiating the tangle of backstreets which are intertwined with express ways we found the cycleway that we followed westwards along the river for a kilometre or so. The wide Han River was chock-a-block with birds with hundreds of Whooper Swan, Taiga Bean Goose, Goldeneye and Mallard with smaller numbers of Pochard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Little Grebe and Great Crested Grebe. The highlights on the river were two White-tailed Eagle and two male and a female Scaly-sided Merganser which were hunting using their distinctive snorkelling technique amongst the rocky areas of the river. On the rocks in the river was my first tick of the trip, Japanese Pied Wagtail, some of which were in song. While in the scrub flanking the cycleway we recorded Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Daurian Redstart, Meadow Bunting, Yellow-throated Bunting, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Brown-eared Bulbul and Naumann’s Thrush. My eBird checklist for the area can be viewed here.

Meadow Bunting - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Meadow Bunting - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Meadow Bunting - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Taiga Bean Goose - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Taiga Bean Goose and Whooper Swan - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Whooper Swan - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Naumann's Thrush - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Marsh Tit- Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Oriental Greenfinch - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Long-tailed Rosefinch - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Scaly-sided Merganser - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Daurian Redstart - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Daurian Redstart - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

Vineous-throated Parrotbill - Han River, Paldang, South Korea

After little sleep on the flight and no food since landing, come 13:30 we were all flagging and so we retired to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The restaurant had a superb view over the Han River and from here we saw Smew and Goosander. The highlight came though just as Trev was talking about how we needed a Steller’s Sea-eagle to swoop down to the river and at that very moment a superb adult eagle dropped from the sky to collect a morsel from the surface of the river – it was remarkable the coincidence between the two events. We all tucked into a hearty burger before heading a short way east along the river as far as the dam primarily with the aim of getting further views of the eagle. On the river were further large numbers of Whooper Swan, Great Cormorant, Goosander and Eastern Spot-billed Duck while the Steller’s Sea-eagle showed, albeit rather distantly as it flew along the forest slopes flanking the river. My eBird checklist for the area can be viewed here.

At around 14:45 we headed back west and into the sprawl of Seoul to Songdo Park in the District of Incheon. This peaceful park surrounded by residential tower blocks was currently supporting a Fieldfare, only the second record for South Korea and we soon saw this bird. However, for us the real highlight was a flock of around 150 Bohemian Waxwing with, mixed amongst their ranks, up to 18 Japanese Waxwing. This was one of the main species I wanted to see while in the country and they didn’t disappoint. Slightly smaller than the Bohemian Waxwing with an obvious yellow wash on the belly, red tail tip and the black eyestripe extending all the way along the rear edge of the crest to meet its tip – these were stunning little birds. Also in the park we enjoyed good views of Brambling, Naumann’s Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Brown-eared Bulbul and Japanese Tit. My eBird checklist for the area can be viewed here.

Bohemian and Japanese Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Bohemian Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Bohemian and Japanese Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Bohemian and Japanese Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Bohemian and Japanese Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Japanese Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Japanese Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Bohemian Waxwing - Songdo Park, Incheon

Japanese Tit - Songdo Park, Incheon

Brown-eared Bulbul - Songdo Park, Incheon

Naumann's Thrush - Songdo Park, Incheon

We stayed in the park until dusk before travelling a short distance to our hotel, the hotel ‘Me To’ in Songdo.

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.

Pennington Marsh - 18th April

I was hoping for some spring migrants but as I parked on the corner at Lower Pennington Lane and walked west the north-east wind gave a bitter bite and I wished that I was wearing an extra coat and gloves - it was sunny but it felt far from spring like. On Pennington Marsh there were still fair numbers of Wigeon and Teal and a single female Pintail while a scan through the grassland revealed that many of the Lapwing were already incubating eggs. At the Efford Lagoon my first migrants, three Little Ringed Plover fed on the grassland around the lagoon while a Whitethroat sang from the hedgerow along the Ancient Highway with a second bird more distantly on the marsh. I walked out past the Shoveler Pools my hands turned to ice and I had to take shelter from the wind in a sheltered sunny hollow to recover them - approximately six Whitethroat sang obliviously in the Brambles and a female Marsh Harrier past east. At the jetty there was a flock of 25 Turnstone, many gaining their summer plumage with lovely chestnut upperparts and black chest markings. On Butts Lagoon a Ruff and a Spotted Redshank were again present but the Ruff was a far darker bird than that seen on 6th April and so was likely to be a different bird - it was in the same location as the bird on 6th and I at first took it to be the same bird. The distinctive call of a Sandwich Tern and there the distinctive rakish shape flying west along the Solent, my first of the year. On Fishtail Lagoon there was a nice gathering of 30 Shelduck and a lonesome looking Brent Goose while on the mudflats was a flock of 250 Dunlin, many birds now in summer plumage. I wandered onto Keyhaven Lagoon, the wind seemed to be getting colder, there was a single Common Tern, again my first of the year, patrolling the south-east corner of the lagoon and giving excellent views. I decided to call it a day and head for Denny Wood but a final scan at Efford Lagoon produced 30 Sand Martin, five House Martin and five Swallow.

My first Whitethroat of the year

Whitethroat

Female Marsh Harrier

Skylark on the old tip

Turnstone - Now developing their summer plumage with a mix of rufous feathers on the upper parts and a gradually blackening breast

Ruff - Male in the same location as bird on 6th April but apparently a different bird

Dunlin

Gadwall

Common Tern - My first of the year foraging over Keyhaven Lagoon.

 A bird that seems to have a fairly concolourous dark bill. 

Common Tern

Shelduck

Denny Wood felt positively warm, my main target here was to see if the Redstart were back and within seconds of leaving the car I heard them singing. Over the course of an hour or so I saw at least 10 birds many singing males but also a pair prospecting nesting sites, breeding was in full swing. A single Willow Warbler was singing but there were few other migrants evident and with time ticking on I needed to head for home.

Redstart - Male investigating nest hole

Redstart - On song post atop an Oak

Redstart - In full song

Marsh Tit foraging in fresh Oak leaves

Denny Wood - 13th March

I have been absolutely wiped out by a nasty chest infection this week but still have had to face work which has been pretty tough, come Friday though and a doctors followed by hospital appointment I threw in the towel and took much of the day off. I am not one to sit at home and revel in illness and I sought fresh air and some space. So i decided to have a gentle potter around Denny Wood with my camera, not hoping to see much but more just to relax into the open air. There were around six Hawfinch in the area, perhaps 50 or so Redwing many in full song and Dartford Warbler showed okay on the heath but it was just a pleasure to be out and see some common woodland birds.

Blue Tit must surely be on the top of peoples want list when they travel to Europe from overseas, absolutely stunning little birds just a little under appreciated because they are so common

Great Tit

Marsh Tit

Nuthatch

Pied Wagtail

Chaffinch

Treecreeper

Dartford Warbler