Chook Information from Dr Nial Moores, with Dr Bernhard Seliger & Ms Baek Minjae, Dr Jungmoon Ha and Mr Kim Eojin (새덕후)
With important funding help from the Hanns Seidel Basis (Korea workplace), a return go to to the internal border area within the far Northeast of the ROK to conduct a 4-day survey of “marine preferential seabirds and waterbirds”. This survey follows on from month-to-month counts by means of 2016 into 2017, and this time was additionally organised to assist with the making of 1 (or extra movies?) for the 새덕후 You Tube Channel, to assist increase consciousness of the significance of this space. We additionally benefited this time from the corporate of visiting Canadian artist, Mr Adrian Gollner, on fifth and sixth – who we hope can even embody this space in his ongoing art work which seems on the birds of the internal border area of Korea.
Fortunately, our survey dates coincided with some first rate climate and an amazing southward motion, particularly of Pacific Loons and Rhinoceros Auklet. In all, from December 4th to seventh we counted between 21,386 and 38,848 birds (former quantity primarily based on summing of the height day depend of every species; latter primarily based on including collectively counts of birds shifting south every day). This whole included 1% or extra of inhabitants of a number of species, once more confirming the worldwide significance of this space to marine hen life.
Though only a few scoters have been seen and we couldn’t affirm a few suspected Least Auklet, highlights and / or notable species included:
Brant Goose. Two feeding offshore from the Geojin Headland on sixth.
Harlequin Duck. Forty of this attractive duck have been counted in our essential survey space, with one other 7+ additional south in Ayajin. Fortunately, some have been remarkably confiding.
Crimson-necked Grebe 큰논병아리. An estimated whole of 251 have been seen.
Nice Crested Grebe 뿔논병아리. An estimated whole of 655 have been seen, together with a number of small teams migrating 10km offshore on the 4th.
Horned Grebe 귀뿔논병아리. Though normally absent right here, a complete of 5 seen.
Black-legged Kittiwake 세가락갈매기. An estimated whole of 208 was seen, most >2km from shore.
Thick-billed Murre 큰부리바다오리. One seen on the 4th.
Frequent Murre 바다오리. Two seen on the 4th from the boat, and one seen on the fifth from the balcony of (the great) January Pension.
Spectacled Guillemot 흰눈썹바다오리. Just one seen – that from the January Pension on the seventh.
Lengthy-billed Murrelet. Two seen effectively from the boat on the fifth.
Historical Murrelet. A conservative estimate of 6,918 seen over the 4 days. Yearly, it’s nice to re-experience these beautiful little birds – with most of the ones we see wintering in Korea coming to us all the way in which from Canada!
Rhinoceros Auklet. A conservatively estimated whole of 15,660 of those chunky auks have been counted flying south between 4th and seventh. The very best day depend was on seventh, when simply over 4 hours of viz-migging produced 7,700 south – maybe a nationwide day excessive depend? – with just below 4,000 of those passing by in simply 20 joyous minutes – a black flying carpet stretched out over the ocean!
Pacific Loon 회색머리아비. Unusually for right here, 80% or so of all of the loons seen have been thought-about to be Pacific – together with many 1000’s flying south. Through the 4 days, we estimate that 6,770 Pacific and 1,820 Arctic Loons went south, with lots of additionally sat on the ocean.
Yellow-billed Loon 흰부리아비. No good views, however was blissful – after a number of winters with out the same old sightings – to see three this survey (one on 4th and two on seventh).
Pelagic Cormorant. Counts of this species have to start out every day quarter-hour earlier than dawn as many of the Pelagic Cormorant alongside this stretch of coast roost throughout the internal border on rocks in Haekumgang, DPRK and commute south early within the morning to feed alongside the ROK Goseong coast. The very best day depend was 2,174.
Temminck’s Cormorant. Actually at the very least 90 – and probably as much as 1,000…Twenty years in the past, you may safely assume that in case you noticed a big cormorant alongside the coast, that may be a Temminck’s. Then got here an explosion within the inhabitants of Nice Cormorants, which usually feed in freshwater however now typically roost with different cormorants alongside the coast. 5 years in the past, there have been solely 50 or so Temminck’s alongside this stretch of coast and at the very least 400 Nice Cormorants. This go to, each massive cormorant on the ocean checked out fastidiously turned out to be a Temminck’s. Are in addition they having fun with a sudden inhabitants improve?
Along with the great sea-birding (marred by the invention at some point of 1 energetic fishing web that contained at least 13 drowned or drowning Historical Murrelets – extra on that later), the combo of land-birds round Daejin harbour didn’t embody any anticipated winter finches, however as an alternative included 15 or so Mild-vented Bulbul and a small flock of Red-billed Starlings. Neither of those typically warmth-loving species had even been recorded on the Korean Peninsula earlier than the flip of this century…
And eventually – non-birding encounters included a distant whale sp seen from the boat on the fifth, and an oddly confiding Amur Goral seen by the roadside on the way in which again by means of the mountains to Seoul. A vet was contacted…
