The Deskbound Birder: Relict Gull

Showing posts with label Relict Gull. 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.

Monday, 15 May 2017

Mongolia - 15th May (Day 8) - Khongor Sand Dunes to Orognwr Lake

After a fairly sleepless night of camping at the Khongor Sand Dunes I was woken by chatter about Saxaul Sparrow being seen so after quickly getting dressed we were down in the vegetated dunes watching a small group of Saxaul Sparrow. I had fairly poor views as the need for a caffeine fix was over riding, the birds were hanging around so it was back to camp for breakfast. After omelette and three coffees we wandered back down to the Saxaul Sparrow area and obtained good views – it was 07:30. After loading the cars we spent a short while driving at the foot of the spectacular Khongor Sand Dunes. We saw a few birds, Richard’s Pipit, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Desert Wheatear and Northern Lapwing. Then it was time to drive. We spent the entire day driving north-west across the Gobi Desert. The scenery was spectacular and stark, we crossed gravel plains and sandy desert and passed into multi-coloured mountains. The scenery outdid the birds and the only species of note was a male Chinese Grey Shrike other than the now familiar Horned Lark, Asian Short-toed Lark, Black Vulture and Lammergeier.

Male Saxaul Sparrow - Khongor Sand Dunes

Female Saxaul Sparrow - Khongor Sand Dunes

Male Saxaul Sparrow - Khongor Sand Dunes

Habitat beside the Khongor Sand Dunes where we saw Saxaulk Sparrow

Pallas's Sandgrouse - Khongor Sand Dunes

Richard's Pipit - Khongor Sand Dunes

Khongor Sand Dunes

Leaving the Khongor Sand Dunes

Leaving the Khongor Sand Dunes area and looking west

Looking south back towards the Khongor Sand Dunes

Me and the Khongor Sand Dunes

The beginning of the long desert drive

Desert Broomrape Cistanche deserticola

Me and Desert Broomrape

Sand Dunes

Beetle on the Sand Dunes

Rumex species (basically a Dock), remarkably flat leaves presumably

adapted to the windy desert habitat

The desert was remarkably stark in places......

.......but just a short distance away was the beautiful Black Mountain and

snow capped peaks in the distance

It was surprising to see this shrub flowering in the starkness of the desert

Lunch stop was at a small ravine with a cave, the latter known as Bayanlig Soum (White Cave), it was mysteriously crowded with Mongolians but we have no idea where they had come from as there does not appear to be a settlement for miles. In the ravine Richard miraculously located an Eagle Owl at its daytime rock crevice roost and we watched around eight Lesser Kestrel as they called and displayed around the ravine. The cave was spectacular with a large hole in the roof. The cave was allegedly occupied by humans 750,000 years ago. After more desert driving we arrived at the small town of Bogd where we raided the shop for ice-cream and sugary drinks and refuelled the Land Cruisers.

Lesser Kestrel - Bayanlig Soum

Eagle Owl - Bayanlig Soum

Prayer Flags

A short way to the south of Bogd is the spectacular Orognwr Lake and we began scanning for waterbirds, we recorded Red-crested Pochard (30), Whiskered Tern (20), Caspian Tern (2), Mute Swan (2), Brown-headed Gull (2), Kentish Plover, Temminck’s Stint and a selection of familiar duck including Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Pochard and Wigeon. However, the highlight was a fine adult summer Relict Gull feeding on the grass on the near shore. It was awalking around on the damp grass catching mosquito of which there had evidently been a recent large emergence of males.

Driving round to the south side of the lake we scanned an island created by weed growth, on this island were around 350 Spoonbill which had constructed their nests on the floating vegetation mat. It was quite a surprise seeing these birds nesting on the ‘ground’. Also here were many nesting Grey Heron and Coot along with Eurasian Bittern (2), Moorhen, Red-crested Pochard, Garganey, nesting Black-headed Gull. An Eastern Marsh Harrier quartered the adjacent rush grassland.

Camp was set-up adjacent to the lake but not so close that we were eaten alive by mosquito. After a welcome beer we went to sleep to the sound of booming Bittern.