The Deskbound Birder: chestnut-eared bunting

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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.

Oriental White Stork - Seosan Reclamation (Area B), South Korea

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.

Monday, 7 November 2016

China Wetlands (Birdquest) Tour - 7th November (Day 4)

After a rather sleepless night in sleeper train from Beijing to Yendu we finally arrived at our station at 06:00 where we quickly met our guide/translator Simon and then headed to our hotel the Qing Shan Hotel in Qingyanggang arriving at 07:30. After a breakfast of rather nice spicy spinach and noodle soup we headed out into the field to the Yancheng Nature Reserve. The landscape here was one of extensive, flat rice paddies broken by treelines and ditches – rather like East Anglia in some respects. We stopped at an area known as Reed Farm and birded here from 09:00 until 12:30 walking reed filled ditch-lines and scanning across the rice paddies some of which had been harvested, others still with a near ripe crop of rice. Apparently, the harvest has been delayed this year due to a continuous period of heavy rain and therefore the dominance of uncut rice was less favourable to the cranes found in the area. Regardless, it was not long before we had located a group of stunning Red-crowned Crane, one of the main targets of the trip. The group was a family party consisting of two adults and a single juvenile of the year. This species is listed as Endangered and has two populations, one breeding and wintering in Japan the other breeding in northern China and wintering in three areas of China and Korea. The main threat to the species is loss and disturbance of its wetland habitats, its population in 2009 being around 2,750 individuals.

Also here was a flock of around 300 Common Crane which contained a single Hooded Crane and at least two Sandhill Crane. Nearby another flock of 18 Red-crowned Crane. Four species of crane within an area consisting of two, relatively small fields, was remarkable. The ditches were alive with buntings and we recorded Little Bunting, Chestnut-eared Bunting (six), Yellow-breasted Bunting (one), Yellow-throated Bunting (one), Rustic Bunting (four), Black-faced Bunting (two) and Pallas’s Bunting (10’s). Other highlights here included Siberian (Stejneger’s) Stonechat, Daurian Redstart (five), Grey-backed Thrush (one), White-cheeked Starling (four), Hoopoe (three), Red-throated Pipit (four), Merlin (1), Hen Harrier (three) and Black-shouldered Kite (one). While overhead were Tundra Bean Goose (50), two rather distant Oriental Stork and a brief Grey-backed Thrush. A short drive back down the road produced more buntings of the same species including another two Yellow-breasted Bunting and four more Yellow-throated Bunting and a single Pale Thrush. It started to spit with rain and so we decided to head for lunch, this was a ridiculous banquet with enough food to feed a group three times the size. It included some rather disgusting dishes including 1000-year-old eggs which tasted just how I would imagine licking a urinal would taste, raw crabs, dried and shredded octopus and pickled peanuts – really quite disgusting!

Red-crowned Crane, two adult and a juvenile - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Common Crane - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Flock of Common Crane - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Tundra Bean Goose - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Pallas's Bunting - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Pallas's Bunting (female) - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Pallas's Bunting (male) - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Chestnut-eared Bunting - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Little Bunting - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Stejneger's Stonechat - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Long-tailed Shrike - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Reed Parrotbill - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Hen Harrier - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Spotted Redshank - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Chinese Spot-billed Duck - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

Greylag Goose of race rubrirostris- Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yancheng

After lunch we headed for the Yancheng Crane Nature Reserve visitor centre and wetland area, it was raining more steadily by now and we opted to hire an electric vehicle to take us around the reserve. These were like mini electric single decker buses and were excellent birding hides. This turned out to be a good move as the rain became more and more steady and the wind picked up. The reserve consists of extensive reedbeds and pools many of which were still under construction. Highlights of the birding included four Swan Goose, 50 Falcated Duck, Eurasian Bittern (2), 100’s of Chinese Spot-billed Duck, 30 Mandarin Duck and White Wagtail of the races ocularis and leucopsis. The rain was now heavy and so we headed back to our hotel for 16:00 and relaxed until dinner at 18:30.

Life Birds;