Planning a birding trip to South Korea?

 

 

A vibrant and dynamic country, South Korea is very safe, easy to travel in, and has a number of special species more easily seen here than anywhere else in the world. Where else can you see Relict Gull, Swan Goose, Red-crowned Crane and Pallas’s Rosefinch on a single winter’s day, or flocks (yes flocks!) of Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Baikal Teal in the fall, supported by large numbers of "most-wanted" passerines?


Some winter wetland "specials" (clockwise from left): Saunder’s Gull, Mongolian Gull, Relict Gull, Taiga Bean Goose, Baikal Teal, Oriental White Stork.
Photo © Nial and Charlie MOORES


Winter birds (clockwise from left): Red-crowned Crane, Solitary Snipe, Steller’s Sea Eagle, Pallas’s Rosefinch, Naumann’s Thrush, Siberian Accentor.
Photo © Nial and Charlie MOORES

And then there is spring… our tour in Spring 2002 (see link below) amassed well over 200 species (with 122 of these on ONE day), including late wintering Swan Goose, huge migrant shorebird flocks and hundreds of pipits, buntings and stunning flycatchers.


Spring "specials" (clockwise from left): Olive-backed Pipit, Grey Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat, Ashy Minivet, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Black Wood Pigeon.
Photo © Nial and Charlie MOORES

And the Autumn is fantastic too! This is THE time to see staging Spoon-billed Sandpipers and Nordmann’s Greenshank, and is when raptor migration peaks - with huge counts of Japanese and Chinese Sparrowhawks coming through Korea with Oriental Honey Buzzards and Grey-faced Buzzard Eagles.

Add in spectacular numbers of pipits and buntings, and the awesome spectacle of a flock of over a hundred thousand Baikal Teal (the photo above is of Baikal Teals flighting out to feed at dusk on Soesan’s rice-fields!), and it’s obvious that a trip to Korea in autumn can be staggeringly good...

Only in Korea!


Autumn "specials" (clockwise from left): Black-faced Spoonbill, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Chestnut Bunting, Red-flanked Bluetail, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Pechora Pipit.
Photo © Nial and Charlie MOORES

No surprise that there has been massive recent growth in interest in Korea and its fantastic birding!
The eco-tourism market is changing. Many people now prefer to make their own travel arrangements, giving them complete flexibility over when they travel and how long they go for.
But they also want to make sure that they get to see the birds at the top of their "wish-lists" - and the best way to do that is to hire someone who knows where those birds are, how to get them there quickly, and who will not have to waste precious time asking for directions or puzzling over cultural or language difficulties.

To cater for this demand, and as part of our ongoing conservation work, we offer personal tailor-made tours based completely around your dates and the birds you want to see - whether Korea is your premier birding choice, or even if you are just stopping over in the country for a few days.

The guiding fee varies somewhat on group size and purpose (e.g. fees may be waived for conservationists working on projects in the region), but typically it is only expenses (ca 50 USD per day) plus USD175/day or 175 000 won/day (depending on exchange rates) for singles/couples, and expenses. plus e.g. USD230/day or more for larger groups.

As part of the package, we clarify which species can be seen pre-visit, arrange accommodation and car-hire/driver as requested, and post-tour provide comprehensive and annotated lists (and even some images) of the birds seen.

We certainly do all that we can to make your trip to Korea a memorable and brilliantly successful one.

Your guide will be Nial Moores (schedule allowing), a co-founder of Birds Korea and one of the most experienced field birders in Eastern Asia. With extensive experience in many Asian countries, UK-born Nial now lives in Busan, in the far southeast of the country. Nial has been living in Korea for six years now - after eight years living in Japan: the ONLY full-time conservationist and bird-guide in this part of the world who is resident and speaks Korean, Japanese, and English - enabling him to deal with all situations with humor, sincerity, and efficiency!

On top of this, Nial’s knowledge of the birds and sites is borne out by his track record: more groups and individuals led; more species seen in total; more species in a day (in both winter and spring); and more firsts found than by any other birder in Korea…

No-one knows the sites better too: Nial has pioneered birding trips to offshore islands, established where the best areas are to see estuary specials, and has first-hand knowledge of every key habitat in the country. Could anyone else find the exceptional areas in the composite photograph below?

To check his availability to guide you or lead your group, please contact Nial at spoonbill@hotmail.com.

What’s more, as Birds Korea is a conservation network you can be sure that your visit will also work long-term towards the conservation of the sites and birds you enjoyed.
With well-developed strategies for involving local people and encouraging conservation through public awareness (already increased by our surveys and tours), we use all records to build up knowledge on bird distribution and occurrence, and the bulk of the fees received for follow-up work: training and paying staff, and pressing for protection of key sites - in other words, helping to make your visit to South Korea rewarding both for you and for the birds!


Some "common" Korean birds (clockwise from left): Bull-headed Shrike, Rufous Turtle Dove, Daurian Redstart, Blue Rock Thrush, Yellow-throated Bunting, Varied Tit. Photo © Nial and Charlie MOORES

 

 

Testimonials

Steve Couri, documentary maker
"I recently produced a documentary for BBC World on the destruction of Korean wetlands and the plight of migratory bird species in Korea.
Without Nials’ intimate knowledge, the film would not have been possible. He is driven by a deep compassion rarely seen amongst the average conservationist.
I’m sure that in touring with Nial, the enthusiastic birder will be guaranteed many interesting sightings- from the buzz of spotting rare species ( I was shown a Spoon-billed Sandpiper on my 2nd day!) to the quiet majesty of huge flocks on the wing.
I thoroughly recommend Nial as a guide and authority to anyone who intends to see the wonderful birdlife of Korea."

Martha Walsh-McGehee, President - Island Conservation Effort, Saba, Netherlands Antilles.
"I could not have enjoyed the trip more (well, maybe except for that darned Ruddy Kingfisher) nor could I have had a better guide...Thank you for an absolutely wonderful time. I saw such wonderful birds and really enjoyed getting to know you and Sunshine (Kim Su-Kyung). I am looking forward to a winter visit!"

Wilton Farrelly, Northern Ireland.
"It is difficult to see how you could manage to survive in Korea without someone local who can arrange logistics, accommodation and travel etc. Even getting food is difficult. Very little English is spoken and visiting a country with a totally different culture is not easy. Nial Moores has lived in Korea for 4 years and should be contacted if you are thinking about visiting. ...(he) has an unequalled knowledge of local birds and (his) identification skills in the field are superb."

Alan Davies, Weymouth, UK.
"Nial really is a superb birder, and it’s hard to imagine how a trip to Korea can be really successful without him..."

Gary Babic, US birder based in Singapore.
"Having Nial was invaluable as he reads and speaks Korean, as well as knows the latest sites for the specialties. He is also a very nice guy with a thorough knowledge of the birds. I thought this brief trip gave us a great mix of "good" birds. ..Prices are well below Japan. Staying in a "love hotel" is also an interesting experience..."

Frederik Willemyns, Belgium.
"I would like to thank you again for the enjoyable days we spent together. The birding was great as was your company. Thank you for everything."

Tim Edelsten, USA/Korea (August 2003)
"Just to say thanks very much for a great guided tour, it was truly wonderful! I guess the seawatching on the ferry back was the most exciting bit but really it was all good, and undoubtedly the most stimulating thing I’ve done in Korea so far."

Mike Todd, USA (Spring Tour 2004)
"The tour was absolutely fabulous in all respects. Our total trip list was around 230 species, of which I saw 220 and photographed well over half. Nial is a world-class birder and a world-class guide."

Jon Mercer, UK (Spring Tour 2004)
"What an amazingly successful trip! All those eastern birds in 2 weeks. Thanks again for your brilliant guiding."

Kirsten Kraetzel, Germany (Spring Tour 2004)
"I highly respect your engagement in South Korea and wish you all and only the very best to continue your work successfully."

Kara Lewantowicz & Ryan Hurtado, Colorado, USA (2004)
"While visiting family in Seoul, we had the opportunity to go on a 2-day guided birding trip led by Nial. He organized the logistics and carefully outlined costs ahead of time. The birding was exceptional and being able to tour S. Korea’s countryside was a nice addition to the trip. Nial is a comedic fellow with a huge knowledge base of birds in the region. We hope to visit S. Korea again and embark on one of his guided tours. I would highly recommend his guiding services to any birder visiting the region."

 

 

Korean Trip Reports

We are putting trip reports from our own tours and from those of overseas visitors here. If you have a trip report that you would be willing to add to these pages, enabling us to get a clearer picture of bird distribution and numbers, please send your report to us or email us at birdskorea@aol.com.

 

 

Useful Internal Links

We already have a number of pages up on the site that you may find useful when thinking about a trip to South Korea.
Please click on the links below:

And of course many of the observations made throughout the year are archived in past "Latest Bird News" records.