The Flock Dance of Tens of Thousands of Baikal Teal: A Migratory Bird Trip to the Geumgang Estuary Bank and Napo Sipjatteul

The Geumgang Estuary Bank (completed in 1990), 1,841 m long, links Seongsan-myeon in Gunsan-si with Seocheon-gun in Chungnam. It is an ecological crossroads where the vast freshwater Geumgang Lake meets the West Sea tidal flats. Wide reed beds, sandbars and the fertile farmland around them form a food web, so every autumn Baikal teals, whooper swans, mallards, spot-billed ducks and others arrive in a steady stream.

To look down on the estuary from above, go up the Geumgang Future Experience Center at 120 Cheolsae-ro, Seongsan-myeon. Formerly called the Geumgang Migratory Bird Observatory, it is a climate crisis education and experience facility. Its 11th-floor observatory looks down on the Geumgang River estuary, and the 1st and 2nd floors have themed exhibition halls, including a Geumgang River ecology hall. Admission is 2,000 won for adults (1,000 won for teens and soldiers, 500 won for children). It is closed every Monday and on January 1.

Follow the river northeast from Geumgang Future Experience Center to Napo-myeon (905-3 Okgon-ri), and the Napo Sipjatteul Migratory Bird Observatory appears, where you meet migratory birds at closer eye level. Irrigation channels run across the wide plain in the shape of the character 十 (ten), so the place is called Sipjatteul, the Cross Field. It is a key feeding ground where migratory birds gather to find grains dropped in the harvested rice paddies.

The observation post is open free of charge at all times, all year, and has parking. Wooden screens keep the birds from being startled. Look through the observation windows behind them, and you can feel right before your eyes the breath of bean geese and swans peacefully foraging, even in the cold winter wind.

If you want to walk the scene beyond the telescope on your own feet, the waterside trail through the Ecological Wetland Park, Geumgang Wetland Ecological Park and Geumgangho Citizens' Park around Seongsan-myeon is a perfect fit.

The Ecological Wetland Park, built on about 200,000 m², has level walking paths running between nature-friendly ponds and reed beds, creating a quiet atmosphere in every season. Extend your walk to Geumgangho Citizens' Park right next to the estuary barrage, and you can take in the bird-watching spots and the waterside deck in one go, in the river breeze.

The highlight of a bird trip, the flock dance of the Baikal teal, mostly unfolds at dusk (around 16:30–17:30). That is when birds that rested on the Geumgang River during the day take off to find food.

The ideal route is to stop first at the Geumgang Future Experience Center around 14:00–15:00 and look around the indoor exhibits and the 11th-floor observation deck. As the sun begins to sink, move to the Ecological Wetland Park or the Napo Sipjatteul Migratory Bird Observatory and watch the birds embroider the sunset sky. When birdwatching, basic manners are to avoid flashy, brightly colored clothes and loud noise so you do not disturb the birds' rest.