Birds and Birders

Yesterday I got motivated to get out of my room and go brave the cold in search of birds. I took the subway to Eungbong again in hopes of maybe finding some new waterfowl. Once I got to the river and began looking to see what was there, I met Ma, who works for the Korea Federation for Environmental Movement. He asked me if I liked looking at birds (in very good English) and we talked for a few minutes.

It just so happened he had a group of about 15 Korean birders there and invited me to join them, which I readily accepted. We were soon joined by Barry, and Australian who has been teaching in Korea for about 5 years.



We spent the rest of the afternoon together birding along the river. We didn't see much out of the ordinary, but it was fun to be in the company of birders again.

Tufted Ducks Aythya fuligula were present in the deeper waters.



Eurasian Teal Anas creca were plentiful and some were close enough to photograph with my 10x digital camera.



Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhynca were found farther upstream, here with a teal, giving a good idea of comparative size of the two birds.




And some Pochard Aythya ferina were also present in good numbers.



As the sun set, I was invited to join the group for dinner, which I did. We went and ate Chinese at a nearby restaurant. I was pleased to find out that some birding traditions seem to be universal. After we were done eating one of the group members stood up and, I finally figured out, started listing off all the species the group had tallied for the day. (In Hangul, of course.) It took me back to birding with the Stockbridge Audubon Society in Indiana.

Once dinner was done and conversation run out, we dispersed into the night. I was quite happy to have fallen in with some fellow birders. I was able to expand my belief that birders are generally very nice folks, to include Koreans and Australians today.

Dobongsan Hiking

Saturday, a few friends and I decided to take a hike. We hopped the subway to Dobongsan Station and followed the crowd up the mountain. You have to love a country where you can take the subway to a national park!

We naturally decided to go to the top, which was what a lot of other Koreans were doing as well. I have never seen a hiking trail so busy anywhere. Here's a picture of a couple of my stalwart companions. If it looks steep, it was, but this part had steps, so, actually, it was one of the easier sections!



But we did not have a corner on stalwartness by any means. Young and old, male and female were trekking as well on this sunny Saturday. One that really turned my head was this gentleman....yes, he's barefoot.



As we got closer to the summit, we had some good views. (They could have been better but smog is a pretty common thing here.) Through the mist, this is Seoul.



The hike got progressively steeper with more and more challenging terrain. Here is a picture from the summit of the last little bit. There is a handrail...and lots of rock. No steps. Just grab, grunt and go.




From the top we had great views. I could even see the reservoir I rode my bike to a while ago. (See several posts down)




What's that? Yes, this is primarily a bird blog. I saw several Eurasian Nuthatches (Sitta europaea) while on our hike. I tried in vain to get a photo. Out of all my clicking, this is the best I managed. Quite possibly the world's worst nuthatch photo ever. But, I feel obliged to include something with wings in most of my posts. (No, trust me, it was a bird...the blurry thing behind the twigs, really...)



According to my GPS we covered about 6 miles and went up about 2,200 vertical feet. Well, after a lot of walking on this long weekend, I'm just going to sit here with my feet up for a while. Until next time, keep sauntering on.

Han River Near Seoul Forest

Friday I took the subway to Eungbong Station on the light blue line. Once I got off, I made my way to the river and walked toward where this particular riuver meets the Han River. (I never did figure out the name of this tributary--I walked west toward Oksu Station.) Along this walk I saw several species of ducks and grebes.

Species I saw included Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhncha), Mallard (Anas platyrynchos), and Northern Pintail (Anas acuta).



I also saw Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), CommonPochard (Aythya ferina) and Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca).



I tried to get pictures of everything, but my 10x zoom on my camera just isn't enough to reach out and get good waterfowl shots. Some of the other ones that escaped good photographs included Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus).

As I worked my way back to the subway, I stumbled across "Seoul Forest," which looks like a small wildlife park with a few different species of native deer. From the over-head walkway I caught this picture of a Grey Heron.



Thanks to some of my new-found friends on the Birds Korea forum for the tip on this spot.

Green Mile with a Special Guest

It has been entirely too long since I took my camera in search of wildlife. But today I took my wife on the "Green Mile." She is over here visiting from the states and we are very much enjoying our time together. Here's our lovely guest photographer now....



We were greeted by a couple of Korean Chipmunks on the wall early on in our stroll. They were fairly tolerant of our approach, and quite cute.



We also saw several spiders (surprise, surprise--these things are everywhere.) This one had apparently dispatched a dragonfly fairly recently. By the look of it, they are quite filling. I wonder if it lost one of its legs in the battle?




Toward the end of our walk, my guest photographer took some pictures of Uijeongbu and also the traditional burial mounds on post.



Meanwhile, I was busy snapping pictures of a Brown Shrike.





The shrike was a lifer...all the more sweet because I shared it with my wife. Thanks again for joining us on our walk.

Guest Writer

Today we have a guest writer, sort of. One of my favorites, Henry David Thoreau and the first few paragraphs of his essay "Walking." I recently discovered this essay and especially like these few paragraphs. Classic Thoreau through and through.

I WISH TO SPEAK a word for nature, for absolute Freedom and Wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and Culture merely civil,—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make a emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization; the minister, and the school-committee, and every one of you will take care of that.

I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of Walking, that is, of taking walks, who had a genius, so to speak, for sauntering; which word is beautifully derived "from idle people who roved about the country, in the middle ages, and asked charity, under pretence of going à la sainte terre"—to the holy land, till the children exclaimed, "There goes a sainte-terrer", a saunterer—a holy-lander. They who never go to the holy land in their walks, as they pretend, are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds, but they who do go there are saunterers in the good sense, such as I mean. Some, however, would derive the word from sans terre, without land or a home, which, therefore, in the good sense, will mean, having no particular home, but equally at home everywhere. For this is the secret of successful sauntering. He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of all, but the Saunterer, in the good sense, is no more vagrant than the meandering river, which is all the while sedulously seeking the shortest course to the sea. But I prefer the first, which indeed is the most probable derivation. For every walk is a sort of crusade, preached by some Peter the Hermit in us, to go forth and reconquer this holy land from the hands of the Infidels.

It is true, we are but faint hearted crusaders, even the walkers, now-a-days, who undertake no persevering never ending enterprises. Our expeditions are but tours and come round again at evening to the old hearth side from which we set out. Half the walk is but retracing our steps. We should go forth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying adventure, never to return; prepared to send back our embalmed hearts only, as relics to our desolate kingdoms. If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again; if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man; then you are ready for a walk.

Over the Top

I rode my bike up to the gym to work out this evening, but, it was closed for the day. So, I went back to my room, dropped off my Palm and headphones, grabbed my camera and my Camelback and headed out to explore a bike route one of my friends told me about yesterday.

Okay, go, turn left and it will take you up the mountain....Got it. Wow, he did say up didn't he? Keep in mind, most steep highway grades in the states are only 6%.



Over the course of the 3 miles, I did about 600 vertical feet. Going up was tough, going down was too...I broke one of my brake levers I was squeezing the brakes so hard. Granted, they were kind of cheap, but, still.....

Anyway...I did manage a couple of flying things on the trip. Sympetrum eroticum seems to be a common dragon in this area. They have the habit of perching on power lines, too. On my ride there was one stretch where there was one about every 2 feet or so for probably 100 yards!





I also saw Sympetrum strolatum which I think is a rather striking looking specimen.




There was a spot with a nice overlook of northwest Uijongbu. You can see the soccer stadium in the middle. The odd looking large structure on the left is an ice rink. And of course the omnipresent cookie-cutter apartment buildings.




I had to smile, when I was on the way down, a young man had brought his girlfriend (I presume, anyway) up to the spot on his scooter. Some things are universal.

Once over the hill, there is a nice reservoir that is probably about a half mile long. The only ducks I saw were the common Spot-Billed Ducks, but, I will check back as we approach the fall migration to be sure!




Finally, the sun was starting to duck behind the hills, so I knew I should be heading back. It was a nice unplanned excursion overall, and has given me some other areas to explore. Probably the most refreshing part was being able to have the feeling of being in a rural setting. It's the first time I've had that since I arrived in Korea.

Uijongbu City Park

Well, I don't know if that's the official name or not, but it aptly describes this nice place I discovered today. I went to downtown Uijongbu to do some shopping and on my way found a sign/map for this trail behind several municipal buildings. After I completed my shopping, I decided to check it out. Quite a nice park area. Some of it wild and some of it developed.

Amongst the flower beds I found some butterflies. First I found Polygoniac arcum which I had first found about 3 weeks ago on the "green mile."




Then I courted a swallowtail for a good long while and managed some decent shots when it was all over. (Shooting butterflies can be a challenge anyway, but with the winds from the front edge of Tropical Depression Wukong blowing this way and that...well, you can use a lot of memory on your camera's card....) Regardless, here are a couple of shots of Papilio xanthus, reminding me very much of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail back in the states. (They are "cousins" of the same genus.)





I then took the "path less traveled" (probably because it heads straight up hill!) into the woods and caught fleeting glimpses of big, black, floppy swallowtails. I finally came upon one that was content to stay in one area and I started shooting. My camera promptly told me that it was about out of battery. I didn't want to stop to change and risk loosing the shot, so I just kept clicking. Fortunately, they held out until after I had successfully pixelated this woodland nymph. Check out this striking Papilio macilentus.





One good thing about the wind, I'm sure I never would have got this next shot without it, revealing two large "eyespots" on the hindwings.




There is also a lot of art/statuary in certain areas of the park. I'm not sure what to make of this one, but I don't think any good can come of it, Mr. Frodo....(There is the matching right foot on the other side of the path.)



There is also a bandshell and basketball courts as well as some general purpose grassy area across the street from the entrance to the trail. It was refreshing to see some green space in the land of concrete.



Finally, upon returning to post, I remembered to walk by my office and capture this spider that I have been watching grow, eat and live outside of my office for the past couple of weeks. She's grown quite a bit, I would estimate an easy 2.5" from end to end of her legs.



Well, thanks again for joining me on another few moments of adventure. Once again, I have the aching knees and you have the pictures.

Sunday Afternoon on the Green Mile

Well, after spending the previous weekend and this Saturday exploring Uijongbu and Seoul, I was ready for some nature. So Sunday afternoon I loaded up the binoculars, camera, field guide and headed off to see what was flying around the "Green Mile." This is a stretch of perimeter on my installation that is hilly and wooded. It makes for some good exercise and usually, some good flying things.

There is a stretch of the Green Mile that I've nicknamed "Roller Alley" because I can pretty well count on finding a Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus orientalis along the stretch. I was not disappointed. Unfortunately from a photography standpoint, they prefer to sit way at the top of some poles in order to hunt insects.



Also sharing the pole-tops was a Brown-eared Bulbul Ixos amaurotis. These birds often strike me as looking rather "scruffy."As you can see, they like to be noisy as well.




As I moved past "Roller Alley" I came upon a group of Tits foraging in the trees and as I watched them I was treated to my first Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos kizuki. I was even able to catch a few blurry photos.



I also saw a flock of Vinous-throated Parrotbills, but, as is their custom, they stayed unphotogenically concealed in the brush most of the time. I also was able to see my first Eurasian Nuthatch.

Butterflies were actually the big story of the day, however, as I was afforded the opportunity to photograph several different species. The most numerous were the Arygronome ruslana a pretty orange-and-black species.




The rather oblong Neptis sappho was an interesting, if fleeting, subject.



Artogeia melete is a small, mostly white butterfly that seems to like these little white and yellow flowers.



This little gem has the rather geometric sounding name of Polygoniac areum.



And, of course, what would a walk through nature be without a mystery. I haven't been able to identify this rather cryptic-colored one. (I'm not even sure it's not a moth!)




You'll pardon me if I sound out of breath, I hope, I did mention this walk is hilly, right? Yes, they are as steep as they look!




My only dragon of the day was both fairly plentiful and very patient with me as I tried to get my camera to focus on them. I finally managed some shots not focused on the background of Sympetrum abfuscatum. They are of the same genus as the North American Meadowhawks.



Finally, as my walk began to wind down (literally the downhill side!) I interacted with a immature Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus. These fairly common small thrushes are probably my favorite Korean bird so far. I'm not sure why, they just appeal to me for some reason. Since they're my favorite and this one was so cooperative, here's two pictures.





Finally, as I made my way out of the woods, I snapped a picture of part of the Uijongbu skyline. Hard to believe until fairly recently the government prohibited buildings taller than 5 stories in this part of the country due to military concerns.



Well, thanks for joining me on yet another virtual hike through the outdoors in search of winged wonders. I snapped this one in a traffic mirror on the way back to my quarters.