Baikal Teal (Anas formosa), Carpet of several ten thousands at day roost, South Korea
The Baikal Teal is one of South Korea's most attractive (the specific name "formosa" means "beautifully formed") and charismatic winter visitors, arriving en masse at the Seosan lakes in mid-October, and moving further south as temperatures drop and wintering areas freeze. It has become a tourist attraction to watch the spectacular big clouds of many 10 000 birds lifting off in the evenings to feed at night on the remains of harvested rice fields.
Year: 2012
From album: The Tidal Flats of the Yellow Sea within the East Asia Pacific Flyway of Coastal Birds
Photographer: Peter Prokosch