Eagles in Paldang (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Hopkins]

I'm heading to Seoul and Incheon right after New Years and expect to get in a day of birding.

Any word of whether the Steller's Sea-Eagles have returned to Paldang yet? I've been keeping an eye on the Birds Korea website, but nothing yet.

If they're not around, any suggestions for Siberian accentor? Or is there anyone who wants to make a run up to Cheorwan for cranes or North River for mergansers?

TIA,

Jeff

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Any word of whether the Steller's Sea-Eagles have returned to Paldang yet?

The answer is YES!

I had three eagles at the tip of an island about 2-1/2 km south of the Deokso bridge. I was on the west bank of the river and they were nearer the east bank, plus the light was horrible, but based on the white shoulder patches, at least two of them were Steller's. The third was all dark, so at that distance it was hard to tell if it was a Steller's or a white-tailed.

During my walk there, I also had:

Eastern Spot-billed Ducks
Common Teal
Common Goldeneyes
Common Pochard
Common Coot
Great Crested Grebes
Feral Pigeon
Eurasian Magpie
Japanese (Great) Tit
Brown-eared Bulbul
Vinous-throated Parrotbills
Naumann's Thrush
Daurian Redstart
Buff-bellied Pipit
White Wagtail ssp. lugens
Eurasian Tree Sparrows

After that I headed back into town and went to the Namsan Botanical Gardens. Birds there included:

Oriental Turtle-dove
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jay
Japanese (Great) Tit
Marsh Tit
Varied Tit
Coal Tit
Goldcrest
Crow sp., probably large-billed.
Brown-eared Bulbul
Daurian Redstart
Elegant Bunting

Good birding!

Jeff

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Got a couple hours free to check out Dongmak Lagoon in Incheon/Songdo. Lots of ducks: both common and ruddy shelduck, mallards, spot-bills, and hundreds of common teal. There were also lots of gulls. They looked like whichever of the herring gull complex occurs here.

I also had a kestrel, a grey heron, a common moorhen, a couple elegant buntings, many Naumann's thrushes with a few duskies thrown in, a huge flock of vinous-throated parrotbills, as well as the expected common magpies, brown-eared bulbuls, and tree sparrows.