The Deskbound Birder: White-tailed Eagle

Showing posts with label White-tailed Eagle. Show all posts

Friday, 31 January 2020

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, 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

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

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

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.

Wednesday, 29 January 2020

South Korea and Taiwan - 29th January (Day 4)

Today we spent the entire day on the area known as the Seosan Reclamation, a vast expanse of land to the west of the city dominated by rice fields and reed lined water courses which has been reclaimed by the sea for potential future development. While still a haven for wildlife it is clear that the site is steadily being developed as land is sold-off with road improvements, canalisation of the water courses, construction of recreational areas etc all being signs of in-roads being made to the development of the site. The loud roaring of the F-16 fighter jets overhead dominated the soundscape which was otherwise made up of the constant cackling of tens of thousands of Greater White-fronted Goose, Taiga Bean Goose and Tundra Bean Goose.

As we entered the reclaim area known as Area A we encountered a superb Eurasian Eagle owl silhouetted in the darkness as it perched atop a telegraph pole. A little further on eyeshine picked up in the car headlights was an Amur Leopard Cat which we saw rather too briefly and mainly in silhouette. We then entered the main site and sped past security which had been installed at the site to deter visitors. As the light gained we began to bird the fields, pools and water courses which dominate the area. On the pools we recorded abundant waterfowl including Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Smew, Goosander, Falcated Duck, Whooper Swan, Pochard and Goldeneye. The vast former area of tidal mudflats which now has a barage installed across its mouth supported Black-necked Grebe, Mongolian Gull and a single superb adult Steller’s Sea-eagle. However, it was the vast expanse of rich fields and watercourses which held the greatest birding interest with highlights including 17 Hooded Crane, three Bull-headed Shrike, one Chinese Grey Shrike, 10 Chinese Penduline Tit, five Dusky Warbler, 75 Buff-bellied Pipit, 150 Lapland Bunting, one Chestnut-eared Bunting, 50 Pallas’s Reed Bunting, 75 Rustic Bunting and 15 Black-faced Bunting. Flocks of mixed Tundra Bean Goose and Taiga Bean Goose proved challenging, the separation of these two being tricky even when birds are side by side. The highlight for me came as we found two Lesser White-fronted Goose amongst a flock of around 1,000 Greater White-fronts, their subtle structural differences and yellow eye-ring were studied in detail, this is a bird that I had long wanted to see. Mammal interest came in the form of two rather scruffy looking Racoon Dog, canids with a black mask and therefore having a resemblance to Racoon's. My eBird checklist for the morning can be viewed here.

Daurian Redstart - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Common Gull of subspecies kamtschatschensis - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Herring (Mongolian) Gull - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Mallard and Falcated Duck - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

White-tailed Eagle - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Greater White-fronted Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Hooded Crane - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Bull-headed Shrike - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Greater White-fronted goose with three Tundra Bean Goose (to right) - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Tundra Bean Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Chestnut-eared Bunting - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Vinous-throated Parrotbill - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Rustic Bunting - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Brambling - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

White-tailed Eagle - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Black Vulture - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Bull-headed Shrike - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Greater White-fronted Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Long-tailed Tit - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Greater White-fronted Goose and Tundra Bean Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Herring (Mongolian) Gull - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Steller's Sea-eagle - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Greater White-fronted Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Lesser White-fronted Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Greater White-fronted Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Taiga Bean Goose (right hand bird at rear) and Tundra Bean Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Tundra Bean Goose - Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

After birding Area A we headed a short way along the road to Area B of the reclamation. A short detour towards the ‘bird observatory’ which seemed to be dominated by caged birds produced a vulture feeding station with some 46 Black Vulture, four White-tailed Eagle and a superb male Dusky Thrush. My eBird checklist for the bird observatory can be viewed here.

Black Vulture - Bird Observatory, Seosan Reclamation (Area A), South Korea

Continuing north to the small village of Bongrak-Ri we entered further reclaim habitat to the west of the village, this was Area B. Again the area was dominated by rice fields and ditches but this area seemed far less extensive and perhaps more disturbed than Area A. We flushed two Japanese Quail from roadside vegetation, a new bird for me. There were large numbers of Tundra Bean Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose and two Lesser White-fronted Goose were heard but the key birds here were a flock of 13 Oriental Stork. Some of these birds were unringed birds but were mainly ringed and from re-introduction program and included one Japanese ringed bird. My eBird checklist for the area can be viewed here.

As dusk fell, a short night drive produced at least three Racoon Dog, and at 18:30 we headed back to the hotel Vovo in Seosan and out for dinner and beers.