Birding at the Land of the Morning Calm: Public Parks
- chiwitchronicles
- Apr 4
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Last May 2024, our Local Government of Coron joined the Seoul International Travel Fair. Having been part of the team that handled the LGU Beijing Travel Show participation in 2014, I was included in Team Korea as a private consultant (unpaid of course). Our work included research, planning, coordinating with the fair organizers and booth contractors, setting up the booth, and finally, manning the booth. The flight from Manila to Seoul left almost midnight and landed at Incheon a little before 5am. After clearing immigrations, we proceeded to the telecoms stalls to buy our local sim cards and/or portable wifi gadgets. In my case, the guy just turned on my e-sim after I purchased a load good for several days. With our phones connected to local the internet, we exited the terminal to look for our airport pick up.
A blast of cold air greeted us after exiting the terminal which was a stark contrast from the sweltering heat of Metro Manila. After about two hours of land travel, we reached our hotel which informed us that our rooms were not yet ready. So we left our luggage at the front desk and looked for a place to have breakfast. While walking, my eyes were busily roaming the skies to see if I could spot birds.
We found a coffeeshop where we were able to get a good breakfast with equally good coffee. After breakfast, we messaged our booth contractor to check if we could already visit the booth but was told that they were still constructing it. With nothing yet to do, we trooped back to the hotel and settled on the couch at the lobby to wait. We were tired and sleepy but the possibility of seeing lifers kept me up so after a few minutes, I decided to take out my camera and walk around to the neighborhood to bird. My companions stayed behind although I later learned that they decided to visit the mall where the Fair was to be held in order to familiarize with the area.
The first bird I saw on Korean soil was a Large-billed Crow but I have no nice shots that first morning. I did see a Eurasian Magpie nesting at a construction crane. I lifered this bird in Beijing in 2014.
Eurasian Magpie
Not finding much in the block around our hotel, I decided to take the subway and visit Seoul Olympic Park.
Olympic Park (Korean: 올림픽 공원), short name Olpark (올팍), is an Olympic Park in Bangi-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea, opened on May 28, 1986. Built at a cost of US$200 million, it was built to host the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics. The two nearest subway stations are Mongchontoseong and Olympic Park. (wikipedia)
As expected, there were more birds at the park but it was still not that "birdy". And the birds I met were the common kind. And the most common were the Eurasian Magpies which gave me plenty of looks.
Walking along the paths, I came accross several cats, pusang gala if they were in the Philippines. Maybe they were one of the reasons it was not so birdy. In any case, I saw several small birds which proved very difficult to photograph since they were inside the canopy and in constant motion. When I was finally able to get a good look, I recognized it as a bird that I first saw in a park in Takayama, Japan, in 2018.
I saw another tit which at first I presumed to be a Japanese Tit but has since been confirmed as a Long-tailed Tit, a bird that I also lifered in Japan in 2018.
A bedraggled looking Long-tailed Tit
After two hours, I was beginning to lose hope of seeing more species until I saw this bird - Azure-winged Magpie. I had a fleeting glance of it and a blurry photo in Beijing in 2014 and was hoping to get a second look in Korea. I was happy to see four of them in one tree but getting a clear photo was challenging because unlike the Eurasian Magpies, these birds were always skulking behind leaves.
I was already on my way back to the train station when I saw two more species in the manmade lake.
Mallard Duck
After getting the Heron shots, I headed back to our hotel and had a much needed rest. The following morning, I left the hotel early, (and ditched the hotel breakfast buffet), so I could sneak a short morning birding trip at the Seoul Forest Park (took the subway of course).
Seoul Forest (Korean: 서울숲; RR: Seoul sup) is a large park in Seongdong District, Seoul, South Korea. It is open year-round, and admission is free. Seoul Forest opened in June 2005. It is the third largest park in Seoul. Seoul Forest is a massive park dotted with over 420,000 trees and 100 different animals. This nature park is located in Seongsu-dong and covers an area of 1,200 ha (3,000 acres). This Ecologic Park has over 40 different species of roses. This park also has fish. There are also many wetland plant species, including reeds, silver banner grass, and rose-gold pussy willows. There are different types of water plants, such as water chestnut and floating moss. Along with these sights, Seoul Forest also features as an insect garden and outdoor nature classroom for children in its Wetlands Ecological Field. (wikipedia)
Just before entering the park, I saw some pretty flowers and could not resist taking a photo.
A few minutes after entering the park, I saw some Oriental Tits but no good photo opportunities. Then I heard the call of a dove which I suspected was na Oriental Turtle Dove. True enough, I saw one perched on a lampost and it allowed me to approach it quite close. The presence of friendly humans in the park (na hindi nang titirador), probably made the bird friendly to Homo sapiens.
I reached a small pond and a Spot-billed Duck suddenly flew accross and I tried to follow it but I did not see where it landed. I continued roaming the park and saw another somewhat familiar bird, Brown-eared Bulbul. A rare migrant in the Philippines (found only in Batanes) but pretty common in Japan and Korea.
And of course more flowers...
I stayed near the pond hoping to get another chance at the duck but it was a no show. But I did see some small birds. The Japanese Tit was gave me another opportunity.
Oriental/Japanese Tit
It was about 9am by this time and I had to leave by 9:30 so I can be back at our hotel by 10am. But I saw movement in one of the nearby trees. After peering at the underside of the tree canopy, I saw two unfamiliar birds. My heart started beating faster at the prospect of two lifers. Getting a clear shot was difficult because both were backlit, quite small, and skittish. As it turned out both birds were lifers. The first was a bit difficult to identify but the nearest is a Yellow-browed Warbler. This is not a 100% accurate ID but will list it as such for now.
Yellow-browed Warbler, Korean Lifer #1
The second bird was a Vinous-throated Parrotbill,
Vinous-throated Parrot Bill, Korean Lifer #2
It was already time to go back to the hotel but a Little Egret landed in front of me, so...
And not to be outdone, the Brown-eared Bulbul posed one more time.
With that, I walked back to the train station and returned to our hotel, passing by a convenience store to grab a sandwich and coffee for my breakfast.
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