| Where to Watch Birds in Korea: a few good hotspots.. |
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Seoul area
• Bukhansan and Namsan
Both of
these parks, the very extensive Bukhansan, and the much smaller urban Namsan,
near Itaewon, provide good birdwatching near to the center of the city.
• Bukhansan
Bukhansan, reached by a 30 or 40 minute
subway journey out from the center of the city, has numerous mountain trails and
tracks, some crowded, some relatively peaceful. Not recommended for the unfit or
for young children, this beautiful park, with rock outcrops and extensive
forests will clearly change your image of Seoul as being a city of concrete!
Much of the pine forest is relatively poor for birds, but in gullies with a
wider diversity of vegetation Blue-and-white Flycatchers and Eastern
Crowned Warblers can be reasonably numerous in summer, along with
Oriental and Common Cuckoos. In winter, the park often supports
the striking Pallas's Rosefinch, feeding along the side of less disturbed
tracks, a much harder species to see well further south, while through the year
Grey-headed Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Varied and
Marsh Tits and the distinctive brown-eyed Eurasian Jays are rather
numerous and easy to see.
• Namsan
Confined to Japan, Taiwan and the
Korean peninsula, the
Varied
Tit is a colourful and widespread
bird of parks and forests. |
|
Namsan Park near the Seoul Tower, and reached by Dongguk
University Subway Station, has access next to the National Theatre, or by an
overpass next to the Seoul Grand Hyatt Hotel. It is a much smaller area of hilly
woodland than Bukhansan and is therefore rather more disturbed, but still
supports large numbers of Varied Tits, and regular Japanese Pygmy
and Grey-headed Green Woodpeckers, along with a variety of other woodland
species (including Nuthatch and small numbers of White-backed
Woodpecker) and a broad range of migrants in the right season: these
included Tricolor Flycatcher, Eye-browed and White-throated Rock
Thrush in May 2002 (information from Tim
Allison). |
•
Han River at Bamseom Island
The Han River runs through the center of
Seoul, adding much to the city's landscape and character. Although rather poor
in summer for birds, t he area near Bamseom Island especially (reached by
subway: exit 3 from Yeoinaru subway station on Line 5) in winter often attracts
large numbers of ducks, such as Pochard and Goosander, and occasionally raptors,
including Common Buzzard and even White-tailed Eagle. For beginner birdwatchers,
there is a free guiding service provided in the mid-winter months provided by
university students, and a cheap schools education program.
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