Jeju is a volcanic island south of the Korean Peninsula. It is a popular tourist destination for both Koreans and oversea visitors due to its mild climate and beautiful coastal scenery, lush nature and fresh seafood.
My wife and I spent a week in mid June driving around the island, mainly to visit the waterfalls, nature parks and touristy spots. I searched through eBirds for birding hot spots close to where we stay or enroute. Luckily for us, most of the hot spots were within short driving distances from our hotels. No problems getting here using the rental car’s GPS.
These are some of the sites that we visited: Ongpo-ri, an estuarine wetland and Hallim Park in the Eastern part of the island; Cheonjieon Waterfall Forest Park and Saeseom Island at Seogwipo in the South: Hado-ri Bird Sanctuary, Seongsan Wetlands and Jondal Bay in the West and the Ramsar site at Dongbaek Dongsan in the north.
Ongpo-ri Estuary and Park.Japanese Cormorant at the Ongpo-ri estuary. Can be found as far south as Taiwan.Brown-eared Bulbul, a native of East Asia is a common and widespread noisy species in Jeju. In winter they migrate to the southern part of their range.Oriental Greenfinch, another common species in the parks and gardens.
Unfortunately June is not the best time to bird as most migrants have gone up north. But it is the breeding season for most of the passerines. I ended up with only 35 species ( Checklist at the bottom) but we still enjoy visiting these birding sites for its natural beauty.
Cheonjiyeon Water Falls. The forested area of the park is good for birding as well. Japanese White-eyes at the Cheonjiyeon Park.Seongsan Wetlands, a major site for waterbirds in the eastern part of the island. IUCN Endangered listed Black-faced Spoonbills at Seongsan WetlandsHerring Gull 2 CY at Jondal Bay. This is the only seabird I encounter during the trip. No terns seen.Herring Gull, Non-breeding adult of the Vegae race? with Little Ringed Plover. This gull group has a ring distribution around the northern hemisphere. Hado-ri Bird Migratory Bird Sanctuary consists of abandoned fish farms and aquaculture. One of the richest wetland in Jeju and an important stop over for migratory waterbirds.Juvenile Blue Rock Thrush, a common parkland species in Jeju. Dongbaek Dongsan Wetlands. The rests of the park are covered by Camilla forest. White-backed Woodpecker (female) at the Dongbaek Dongsan Ramsar Wetlands. This is the largest of the spotted woodpeckers in the western palearctic and ranged from central and northern Europe all the way to Japan and Korea in the east. Nesting Japanese Paradise Flycatcher at its breeding site at Dongbaek Dongsan Ramsar Site. We came across three active nests at this site. This is the only paradise flycatcher found on the island.
Reference: Wikipedia. eBirds, Birdlife International. Birding Korea. Birds of Japan.
Wild Asia 