For birders all over the world

As Beckham, Owen and Ferdinand's far-east adventure comes to an end....your's has only just begun. Forget watching Seaman's blunder again and again and imagine watching hundreds of thousands of Baikal Teal taking to the air and swirling like the Aurora in the evening sky...read Brian Small's review of the Birds of South Korea on Video.

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BIRDS OF SOUTH KOREA
A conservation project by Charlie Moores Video Productions (with Nial Moores)
Charlie Moores Video Productions
WBKBirding Korea
www.wbkenglish.com

Wetlands and Birds Korea, Wetlands International, The Sierra Club, Portland Bird Observatory

This recently released film, videoed and researched by Charlie and Nial Moores, is now available and is aimed to 'promote Korean birdlife and highlight some of the threats to their habitats', and to advertise the company WBKBirding Korea. This review looks at the video and shows a few of the fabulous birds in it. In reality the video is very much more than merely a string of footage of different birds, and as it runs through many wonderful species and places, the commentary deals with aspects of identification, taxonomy and conservation. It doesn't take long before one begins not only to realise the importance of Korea for birds of the western Pacific flyway, but also to feel the obvious enthusiasm of the production team for the birds and the surrounding issues. Over 175 species are shown, as are many of the best places to visit if planning a trip.

Following a relatively brief introduction, in which you get used to the quiet, but assured and (oddly) relaxing commentary, you get tantalising looks at many of the wonderful and important species to be found in S Korea - all of the species are repeated later in more detail. You also get some idea of the country, its landscape and the attitude of the Korean people, 'respectful and traditional', and the S Korean government to wildlife (though the Moores tend, perhaps understandably, not to be too critical). There is some insight into accommodation and the best places to stay, food, and transport (take the railway is the message, as 'driving is challenging'), and habitat (some of which, like China, is apparently at first sight discouraging).

Then follows the main bulk of the video, which is loosely divided into four sections. The first looks at the more general species that might be met with in the various habitats; the second (after c.35 minutes) deals with spring migration, largely based on visits to the island of Kago-do and features some really choice footage of great birds, and surely is as attractive as Beidaihe in spring; the third switches to autumn and looks at shorebirds, raptors and passerines, with further excellent birds; the final section, winter, looks at the species likely to be encountered at the time of year when many western birders visit. What is apparent during these sections is the the great enthusiasm and passion for the birds of Korea shown by the Moores, and also their depth of knowledge, as the commentary discusses the identification and the perplexing taxonomy of some of the species occurring. Virtually all of the footage is of a very good quality, and in some instances is frame-filling, with unobtrusive labelling of the shown species, though some of the places might also have been listed, as I found it hard to know how to spell them.

I will now deal which each of the sections in turn, listing all of the species in more or less the order in which they appear on the video - this is partly a response to the fact that the video cover has a list of the species of (S) Korea but does not indicate the species on the video (they start to show a 'v', but for some reason this stops after Ferruginous Duck). I have purposely not attempted to put place names down (spelling?), but there is a brief list of places at the top of the checklist.

Main species

Oriental Turtle Dove (ssp. orientalis); Daurian Redstart, Red-flanked Bluetail (with its 'duck-like' call) Olive-backed Pipit, Rustic Bunting, Yellow-throated Bunting (typically rummaging around on the ground) Dusky and Naumann's Thrushes (really superb footage), Siskin, Brambling (incl. a summer male), Oriental Greenfinch, Tree Sparrow, Black-billed Magpie (up to 800 occur at some roost sites), Azure-winged Magpie, Long-billed Crows (with bills of various sizes), Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (very nice), Varied Tit, Marsh Tit, Great Tit (race minor), Japanese White-eye, Bull-headed Shrike, Vinous-throated Parrotbill (a long sequence of these), Long-billed Plover, Mandarin Duck, Spot-billed Duck, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Intermediate and Little Egrets (the latter apparently showing two bill types) Great Egret (alba vs modesta) Black-tailed Gull, Black-headed Gull (sibiricus), Black-faced Spoonbill (a little distant, but Korea is key to its survival).

Coastal areas (49 sites qualify for protection under the RAMSAR agreement of which Korea is a signatory, yet none have yet been protected to date)

Bar-tailed Godwit (baueri and menzbieri), Greenshank, Kentish Plover (dealbatus), Lesser Sand-plover (mongolus), Sharp-tailed sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover (interesting commentary on plumage variations), Common Teal, Spotted Redshank, Terek Sandpiper, Whimbrel (variegatus), Great Knot, Dunlin (sakhalina and articola), Spoon-billed Sandpiper (some great, if a little distant, footage of a small group).

Spring (islands off SW)

Streaked Shearwater, Chinese Grosbeak, Siberian Stonechat (split here from European), Black Wood Pigeon, Japanese Bush Warbler (singing bird and with discussion of Japanese, Korean and Manchurian forms), Black-faced Bunting, Japanese Yellow Bunting, Chestnut Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornata), Little Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Tristram's Bunting, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (here called 'Tricolour' and a 'massive' decline is noted since 1960s), Narcissus Flycatcher (followed by footage of what looks like Elisae's, but is mooted as Beijing), Japanese Lesser Sparrowhawk, Bluethroat, White Wagtail (ocularis, leucopsis and baicalensis), Yellow Wagtail (simillis), Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Brown Thrush (very good footage during a large fall of thrushes), Grey Thrush, Pale Thrush, Cattle Egret (coromandus), Striated Heron, Chinese Pond Heron, Chinese Egret (three rather grumpy birds), Lesser Sand-plover (stegmanni), Grey-tailed Tattler, Wood Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Latham's Snipe (fanastic), Red-necked Stint (frame-filling), Curlew Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Ashy Minivet, Japanese Quail, Oriental Pratincole, Wryneck, Citrine Wagtail (female calcarata), Red-throated Pipit, Richard's Pipit (sinensis), Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler (discussion re identification doesn't mention the yellow undertail coverts), a probale female Red-headed Bunting (discussed but not positively indentified on the film), and Siberian Blue Robin.

Autumn (mudflats and islands)

Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew (orientalis), Dunlin, Northern Pintail, Terek Sandpiper (look for the flexing of the upper mandible), Black-tailed Gull, Hen Harrier, Pacific Golden Plover (good footage of young birds), Pied Avocet, Marsh Sandpiper, Great and Red Knot, Far Eastern Curlew, Nordmann's Greenshank (prolonged sequence discussing identification, etc, but look at that bill and the, unmentioned, barring on tail sides), Black Wood Pigeon, Black Kite (juvs), Grey-faced Buzzard, Northern Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Eagle (juv), Eurasian Hobby, Rufous-tailed Robin (dead), White-cheeked Starling, Red-necked Stint, Black-backed Wagtail (with good discussion of ID of adults and young birds - very yellow-faced), Yellow Wagtail (taivana - distinct young bird), Grey Wagtail, Buff-bellied Pipit (comment on ID is a bit generalised), Red-throated Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher (? odd bird), Red-throated Flycatcher (with inset of a Red-breasted Flycatcher from Portland - note the tertail and greater covert tips), Black-browed Reed warbler, Radde's Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Siberian Stonechat, Long-tailed Shrike, Richard's Pipit, Blue Rock Thrush, Common Snipe (with a very dark bird), Eurasian Sky Lark (these look different to those I see in Britain), Japanese Sky Lark (with a very good long discussion of the ID of this species, with footage from Japan of singing birds), Crested Lark (coriensis), Reed Bunting, LittleBunting, Rustic Bunting, Black-faced Bunting (three races), Chestnut Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Chestnut-eared Bunting, cranes in flight.

Winter (at 1 hour 44 minutes, gulls at 2:15))

Red-crowned crane (near Inchon airport), Ruddy Shelduck, Daurian Redstart, Oriental Turtle Dove, Rustic Bunting, Yellow-throated Bunting, Meadow Bunting (ssp. ?), Siberian Accentor (beautiful, showing plumage variation and with trilling call), Cinereous (Black) Vulture, Golden Eagle, Solitary Snipe (bobbing like a Jack Snipe), Naumann's Thrush, White-backed Woodpecker, Eurasian Nuthatch (series of freeze frames), Pallas's Rosefinch, Scaly-sided Merganser, Goosander, Smew, Spot-billed Duck, Japanese Wagtail (splendid), Steller's Sea-Eagle (winters in small numbers), Black-backed Wagtail, Sanderling, Black-necked Grebe, Black-throated Diver (viridigularis), Ancient Murrelet, Rhinocerous Auklet, White-winged Scoter (discussion of ID of three forms - stejnegeri, deglandi and fusca), Black Brant (orientalis?), Falcated Duck, Northern Pintail, Shelduck, Black-tailed Gulls, Slaty-backed Gull (one very pale bird), Vega Gull (with a putative 'birulai'), Siberian Gull (taimyrensis, but also a putative heuglini), Mongolian Gull (the commentary indicates the belief that two forms over-winter), Glaucous Gull, Kamchatka Gull (also a posible heinei and a less than convincing brachyrhynchys), Saunders's Gull (the 1st-w in flight is worth seeing), Relict Gull (tip-toeing characteristically, with 1st- and 2nd-winter), Eastern Taiga Bean Goose (middendorffi), Swan Goose, Greater Snow Goose, Whooper Swan, Hooded Crane, White-naped Crane, White-fronted Goose (frontalis), Lesser White-fronted Goose, Daurian Jackdaw (dark and light), Hen Harrier, Pallas's Reed Bunting, Reed Bunting, Chinese Penduline Tit, Coot, Pochard, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Ferruginous Duck, Baer's Pochard, Baikal Teal, Tundra Bean Goose (serrirostris).

I found this video, unlike many available, to be very interesting, with the identification and taxonomic issues discussed rather than ignored. It is not perfect, but I would recommend it to anyone visiting Korea, but also to those who visit other areas of the Far East, like Beidaihe or Japan. If the birds listed above have not "whetted your appetite" to buy this excellent video, then the final sequence, of 100,000s of Baikal Teal taking to the air and swirling like the Aurora in the evening sky will.

For more details, information about Korean birding click here or to aquire your own copy of the video contact Nial direct at spoonbill@hotmail.com, or Charlie at info@wbkenglish.com.