Birds Korea - Birdyear

If you’re thinking of visiting Korea, this review should help you to decide the best times for your visit and lists some of the great birds you can expect to see.

Year round
South Korea has a temperate/continental climate, with generally hot summers (maxima typically above 25C from mid-June to mid-August), and cold winters (below freezing most nights between December and February). Rainfall tends to be concentrated in the summer monsoon (mid-June to July) or is associated with typhoons (late July to mid-September). Winters are often very dry.
Usually the first bird that visitors see is the extraordinarily common Black-billed Magpie - flocks of up to 800 can be seen at roosts! Most tidal-flats or rivers support Black-tailed Gull, Grey Heron and Great Egret, along with Spot-billed Ducks, which breed widely in rice-fields and reedy wetlands. In even small town parks Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Oriental Turtle Doves are very common, while larger areas will also hold flocks of Vinous-throated Parrotbills, the striking Daurian Redstart, and "genuine" Ring-necked Pheasant. Taller trees inevitably contain Brown-eared Bulbuls and Great Tits, while Oriental Greenfinches prefer allotments and overgrown riverbanks, which often also conceal Black-crowned Night Herons. More extensive mature woodland, like Gwangneung Arboretum, can hold Great Spotted, White-backed and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers plus the regionally endemic Varied Tit. Gravelly rivers in the south and east support Long-billed Plover and Japanese Wagtail. Large-billed Crows and Azure-winged Magpies are resident and visible in mountainous areas and along the south coast.

These representative species are joined seasonally by a very wide number of migrants: of the 490 or so species of bird recorded in Korea, less than 40 can be considered truly resident…

January
In occasional periods of extreme cold many smaller rivers and reservoirs freeze over. Temperatures often drop to -5 C at night, and stay near freezing in the day. Periods of light snow and severe cold are usually followed by milder temperatures, and then severe cold again.
A guided tour can expect about 160 species in 12 days if all the best areas are visited, and winter specialities include Baikal Teal (in often huge concentrations) and Scaly-sided Merganser, Swan and Lesser White-fronted Goose, Steller’s Sea Eagle, Relict and Saunders’s Gulls and Solitary Snipe! Red-crowned Cranes stand out on tidal-flats at Ganghwa, while White-naped and Hooded Cranes can be found in the south. Huge numbers of ducks and geese fill sites like Haenam and Seosan’s Cheonsu Bay. Siberian Accentors can be common. On the southern island of Jeju milder conditions allow White’s and Pale Thrushes, Olive-backed Pipits, and Red-flanked Bluetails to overwinter along with Korea’s only regular winter Black-faced Spoonbills, and several thousand Mandarin Duck.

January highlights in 2002 included Korea’s first Slender-billed Gull at Gwangyang, and in 2003 Chinese Nuthatch and Grey Buntings at several sites in the northwest, and southeast respectively. In 2004 a Long-tailed Shrike was on Jeju, while two Red-crested Pochard (seventh national record) were present at Joonam reservoir mid-month, whilst January 2005 was notable for a Ferruginous Duck and at least two over-wintering White-bellied Green Pigeons.

February
Cold winters mean both temperatures and birding are similar to January, while mild winters are marked by brief spells of rain or sleet, often followed by warmer sunshine, with maximum temperatures rising to 15 C in the southeast.
Many wildfowl are on the move by mid-month, including one or two Baer’s Pochard. Tundra Beans, Greater White-fronted and usually Swan Geese can be found at the Han-Imjin. Most Baikal Teal start to depart and by month’s end can be difficult to find in southern locations. Rooks and Daurian Jackdaws begin to move back into the Nakdong valley and near Gunsan. February sees the start of crane migration, with Hooded and White-napeds moving into South Korea from Japan. Relict and Saunders’s Gull peak at several sites. In the right weather conditions large numbers of Ancient Murrelets and a few Rhinoceros Auklets move north off Guryongpo. At the end of the month the first migrants, such as Far Eastern Curlews, Hoopoes and Japanese Lesser Sparrowhawks start to arrive.
Highlights in February 2001 included a peak count of 143 Relict Gull at Song Do, in 2002, Korea’s first Ferruginous Duck, and in 2003 White-crowned Sparrow in Busan, and Thayer’s and American Herring Gull on the east coast. In both 2004 and 2005 highlights included a Pallas’s/Great Black-headed Gull (Korea’s 3rd and 4th records). 2006 brought South Korea’s first confirmed Brunnich’s Guillemot, as well as records of Long-billed Dowitcher and Yellow-bellied Tit.

March
March often contains a mixture of dry, cold days (with night temperatures down to 3-4 C, and highs between 10 and 15 C) and occasional milder showery, windy weather.
Most wintering species are still present, but in progressively reduced numbers. Falcated Duck regularly display on reservoirs and ponds, while small numbers of Baikal Teal remain at key sites. Migrant cranes peak in the northwest, as does the Ancient Murrelet migration along the east coast. Small numbers of shorebirds, including early Great Knot arrive, plus Siberian Buff-bellied Pipits and the first leucopsis White Wagtails. Hundreds of Rustic Buntings, Dusky and Naumann’s Thrushes move north-east out of China and Japan, along with smaller numbers of raptors and occasional influxes of Japanese Waxwing. Bramblings and Siskins often form large flocks at key migration points. Sunny days tempt Rustic, Meadow, and Yellow-throated Buntings into song.
March highlights are usually found by carefully searching through gull flocks for taxa like Pallas’s Gull, barabensis, cachinanns, or smithsonianus, though Korea’s first Japanese Accentor was found in March 2001 in Busan, Korea’s first Bar-headed Goose on the Han-Imjin in 2003, and early migrant Red-billed Starlings and a Chinese Blackbird in 2004.

April
One of the very best birdwatching months! Cold days and nights (lowest day maxima of ca 12 C) gradually warm through the month (reaching the low 20s C by month’s end), and dry spells interspersed with 1-2 days of heavy rain and stormy conditions produce great birding towards month’s end.
Early in the month, late Hooded Crane move through while shorebird numbers and diversity start to build up, with up to 200 000 shorebirds in the Saemangeum area by the end of the month, including up to 60 000 Great Knot, and small numbers of the globally-endangered Nordmann’s Greenshank and Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Other Korean specialities, include Chinese Egret from mid-month, and Black-faced Spoonbill in small groups along the west coast. This latter species only has a world population of around 1400! In early April, species like Brown-headed Thrush and Japanese Robin occur regularly in very small numbers in the far southwest and southeast, while mid-April sees the first large passerine arrivals and spring overshoots, with good counts of many species like Blue-and-white, Narcissus and Yellow-rumped Flycatchers, and Tristram’s and Yellow-browed Buntings. Late in the month, 100 or more species a day are possible on the outer islands like Heuksan and Gageo in the far south, Eocheong off Gunsan, and Socheong to the northwest.
Highlights in April have included several firsts and many unusual records for Korea, including Caspian Tern in the Nakdong estuary in 2001, Ferruginous Flycatcher and Eurasian Crag Martin on Eocheong Island in 2002, Northern House Martin and Red-breasted Flycatcher onEocheong in 2003, and a Paddyfield Warbler on Hong Island in 2004.

May
Like April, a great birding month. Temperatures begin to climb with day maxima often reaching 25 C by the end of the month, though feeling cooler on offshore islands due to low sea temperatures and wind. Fog can temporarily limit birding, while also causing spectacular falls of migrants.
Migration continues, and guided tours to estuaries or offshore islands can expect many spectacular days. Especially in the first week, diversity can be exceptional. Lesser Sandplovers, Red-necked Stints, Broad-billed and Spoon-billed Sandpipers peak at Saemangeum and other key areas, while Chestnut and Little Buntings begin to outnumber Yellow-throated and the very common Black-faced Bunting. Mugimakis, Dark-sided and Grey-streaked Flycatchers also start to arrive, peaking in the second and third weeks of the month. Brown and Tiger Shrikes, Siberian Rubythroats and Broad-billed Rollers add colour and quality to the birding mix. By late May locustella warblers (Gray’s, Pallas’s, Middendorf’s, Styann’s Grasshopper and Lanceolated) arrive on western islands. In forests Ruddy Kingfisher and Fairy Pitta are in territory and vocal, though still elusive and easily disturbed. Korean breeding Chinese Egrets and Black-faced Spoonbills remain widespread at the best sites, and Saunders’s Gull also sometimes nest.
May is a prime month for finding national rarities. Korean firsts in May have included: in 2000, Ortolan Bunting and Northern Wheatear; in 2001, Himalayan Swiftlet and Asian Koel on Gageo Island, and Black Tern at Seosan; in 2002, Long-tailed Skua; in 2003, Isabelline Wheatear and Chinese Song Thrush; in 2004, an Orange-headed Thrush on Hong Island; and in 2005 three Tickell’s Leaf Warblers on Socheong.

June
Often hot (temperatures up to 30C inland) and humid, with very heavy rains some years by mid-month.
By early June, Yellow and the rare Schrenk’s Bittern are breeding in reed-beds, and Watercock give their (slightly comical) gulping calls in the best rice-field areas. Nesting activity in Black-faced Spoonbill and Chinese Egret colonies reaches its peak, and forest nesters are still vocal, especially in the first half of the month. At Gwangneung, typical species include 4 species of woodpecker, Ruddy Kingfisher, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher and Mandarin Duck, while on the south coast at Geoje Island Pale Thrush, Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Bunting predominate. Black Woodpigeon nest on Gageo and other islands and Styann’s Grasshopper Warbler are widespread on small islets: both species, plus the very local Russet Sparrow, can be seen well on Ulleung Do.

July
Hot (typically above 25C, sometimes reaching 30 C) and humid, with occasional storms and heavy rains associated with southern-tracking typhoons.
Young Japanese and White(-faced) Wagtails can be found begging food on streams and rivers in the southeast. Juvenile Chinese Egrets and Eastern Oystercatchers are on north-west tidal-flats, in some areas feeding alongside summering Saunders’s and Mongolian Gulls. Chinese Sparrowhawks are on telegraph poles in rice-fields throughout the country. Black-naped Orioles, Vinous-throated Parrotbills and parties of tits, are found in almost all woodland areas. By the end of July the first returning shorebirds arrive, with large numbers of Far Eastern and Eurasian Curlews at Ganghwa and the Geum estuary.

August
Typically hot and humid (with day maxima often around 30C until at least mid-month), with occasional heavy rains and strong winds, associated either with southern typhoons or caused by the mix of humidity and heat.
Chinese Egrets become widespread along the west coast. Shorebirds (including a very small number of Spoon-billed Sandpiper) begin to build up at many of the remaining best sites. Numbers tend to be rather lower than in spring, though Kentish Plover and Terek Sandpiper often number in the thousands in the southwest.
Parties of Black-naped Orioles, the appearance of returning leaf warblers (especially Eastern-crowned and Arctic Warblers) and small numbers of Brown Shrike and Yellow-rumped and Brown Flycatchers by mid-month also hint at the start of passerine migration, while Eurasian Hobby and Chinese Sparrowhawks appear to be on the move by the month’s end. At the very end of August, the first migrant Pechora Pipit (probably of the subspecies menzbieri) and migrant buntings also appear on offshore islands especially.
Seabirds have provided most interest in recent Augusts, with three records of Sooty Tern, Korea’s first Sooty Shearwaters (in 2002), and a Lesser Frigatebird overflying Socheong and Korea’s first Aleutian Tern seen from the Socheong ferry in 2004.

September
Temperatures begin to cool, especially towards the end of the month, with maxima often falling from 28C to 20c. Sunny, dry weather predominates, though often punctuated by occasional heavy rain and very strong winds associated with typhoons.
September sees migration pick up considerably, with a build-up of ducks including the first returning flocks of Baikal Teal by mid-month especially. Seabirds still provide much interest (with increasing numbers of jaegers and dark shearwaters), while shorebirds and Yellow Sea "specials" remain widespread and numerous: highlights have included the world’s largest concentration of Spoon-billed Sandpipers (with a peak at Saemangeum of 200 in the late 1990s, likely 10% of the total world population), Nordmann’s Greenshank, and up to 170 Black-faced Spoonbill at Ganghwa. Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns, although scarce in South Korea, become rather more widespread with small flocks of the latter at Seosan especially, along with an increasing number of Mongolian Gull. Raptor migration includes large concentrations of Chinese Sparrowhawk making their way towards Japan (where over 50 000 have been recorded in one day on an island in the Korean Straits only 40 km south of Busan!), along with smaller flocks of Grey-faced and Oriental Honey Buzzards, and very small numbers of Pied Harrier and Amur Falcon especially through the west and northwest. Passerines become rather more numerous and diverse, with Thick-billed Warbler and Brown Shrike early in the month, good numbers of Yellow Wagtail (including the highly attractive taivana), Pechora Pipit, and the three species of "grey-brown flycatchers" by mid-month (some Dark-sided and Brown still, with a peak in Grey-streaked). Towards the very end of September, Olive-backed and Buff-bellied Pipit migration starts in earnest, and the first small flocks of buntings also arrive, with most numerous being Chestnut and Black-faced.
September highlights include both Korean records of Rose-coloured Starling (2002 and 2004), 2 Eurasian Tree Pipits on Eocheong island in 2002, and in 2003, an Ashy Drongo on Socheong Island, with 1 or 2 South Polar Skua seen at sea nearby, Korea’s first Steppe Grey Shrike (2004), and the country’s first Dotterel, found at Seosan in 2005.

October
Warm (typically between 15-20 C mid-month), with often excellent birding weather: dry, sunny, and relatively calm. Occasional rain, although uncomfortable for birdwatchers, can produce excellent falls. One of the best times to be birding in Korea! Autumn migration is in full swing, and anything is possible! Black-faced Spoonbill and Chinese Egret are still reasonably widespread. Hooded and White-naped Cranes start moving south into Korea, with several thousand in the DMZ. Huge concentrations of Tundra Beans and Greater White-fronted Geese form at the Han-Imjin and Seosan. The charismatic Baikal Teal arrives in force mid-month, with up to 200 000 at Seosan! Raptor migration is often strong, with Grey-faced Buzzards (day peak of 1 500 on Gageo island), Oriental Honey Buzzards, the occasional eagle (especially Greater Spotted), Northern Hobby, and the odd Amur Falcon. Shorebirds are still present in good numbers and diversity, with a peak in Nordmann’s Greenshank. Visible migration peaks with Olive-backed Pipits becoming very numerous by mid-month along the west coast, plus excellent numbers of buntings and flycatchers. Pale, White’s, and small numbers of Dusky Thrushes are also on the move, along with the first of the typical winter passerines, Brambling and Siskin.
One of the prime months for finding national rarities: a few outstanding highlights in recent years have included Manchurian Reed Warbler in 2000, Bimaculated Lark in 2001, the first Chinese Bulbul in 2002, 2 records of Yellowhammer (in 2000 and 2002), Scaly-breasted Munia in 2003, and both Chinese Leaf (1st record) and Paddyfield Warblers (2nd record) in 2004.

November
Waves of colder air cause a sharp drop in temperature, especially from mid-month onwards, when maxima can be as low as 8-10C: the last of the autumn migrants are joined by huge numbers of wintering waterbirds.
Numbers of Baikal Teal continue to build, along with geese (many of which move on into China). Swan Geese peak at the Han-Imjin (with 1000-1500 in recent autumns). Common Buzzards and Cinereous Vultures start to arrive for the winter, along with gulls (Saunders’s, Siberian, Vega, Mongolian and Slaty-backed are all widespread), Red-crowned, White-naped and Hooded Cranes, and passerines, including Siberian Accentor. Movements of divers and alcids, most especially Ancient Murrelet, can be impressive. Passerines include many late summer visitors until the second week of the month, when winter species, such as Chinese Penduline Tit and Pallas’s Reed Bunting start to predominate.
Outstanding national rarities in November have included Black-headed and Ortolan Bunting and Savannah Sparrow on Gageo Island in 2000 and 2001, Demoiselle (2001) and Siberian White Crane in the Nakdong and the Han-Imjin/DMZ (2001) respectively, Korea’s first White-capped Water Redstart and Water Pipit in 2003, the country’s third and fourth Verditer Flycatchers in 2004, and a Ural Owl photographed at Odaeson National Park in 2005.

December
Periods of intense cold alternate with milder spells. In the coldest winters maxima are often below freezing; in milder years (such as 2001 and 2002) maxima often reach 10C in Seoul: a few lingering autumn migrants can still sometimes be found as well as huge numbers of wintering waterbirds.
A great time for full winter bird tours or a couple of days in the right areas. Saunders’s Gulls are widespread, while Relict Gulls also start to appear at a number of sites, especially in cold winters. Scaly-sided Merganser move southward onto unfrozen rivers, while numbers of Baikal Teal remain at their peak - often dispersing southward from Seosan, along with large numbers of Greater White-fronted and Thick-billed Bean Geese with the onset of subzero temperatures. Taiga Beans too can be found in the low thousands at Woopo, Joonam and in the Nakdong in the southeast, the mildest part of the mainland. Raptors include good numbers of Cinereous Vulture (especially in recent years) and these are often joined by White-tailed and several Steller’s Sea Eagles, while cranes (Red-crowned, Hooded, and White-naped), remain at key sites. Passerines include occasionally abundant Brambling, mixed flocks of Naumann’s and Dusky Thrushes and in some winters large numbers of Siberian Accentor. Species such as White’s and Pale Thrush, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese White-eye also remain in reasonable numbers on Jeju Island and in the far southeast. Highlights in December 2002 included Korea’s first Great Black-headed(or Pallas’s) Gull in Seoul, Pigeon and Spectacled Guillemots off the east coast, and several Red-throated Thrushes and Chinese Nuthatches in the northwest. Highlights in 2003 included Korea’s first Grass Owl - found dead on Heuksan Island.

And from here, it’s back into the winter, and some of northern Asia’s best birding…

For more information on Korea’s birding year please refer to the Latest Birds archives, the annual Bird Reviews, and our Tours/Guiding page.