Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
Mt. Fuji
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus)
& Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
The day we visited was the day the rainy season began.
The morning of the first day was cloudy, and we could see right to the summit of Mt. Fuji, but it began to rain in the afternoon and continued until early the next morning. Fortunately, the rain stopped around 6am, and by the time we reached our highest point of the day, at an altitude of nearly 1,800 metres, the sky had temporarily cleared, revealing Mt. Fuji topped with a Cap cloud.
The first site visited was Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
As it was a Sunday and open to the public, there were many birders and photographers, as well as people foraging for wild vegetables.
Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were spotted around the forest where they were nesting.
A Latham's Snipe perched on a dead tree standing in the grassland, and we heard its distinctive call and the sound of its display flight.
In the grasslands, Chestnut-eared Buntings, Amur Stonechats, Black-browed Reed Warblers and Japanese Bush-Warblers were singing, Green Pheasants were calling, and Eurasian Skylarks, Common Cuckoos and Lesser Cuckoos were flying and calling overhead.
As rain was forecast for the afternoon, we moved on to Naka-no-chaya after staying for about two hours.
The Subaru Line had been closed to traffic for The 22nd Mt. Fuji Hill Climb (a cycle race) taking place that day, and some roads in the surrounding area were also closed.
In the woods at Naka-no-chaya, perhaps because the singing season had ended and the rearing season had begun, there were fewer birdsong, but we heard Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Thrush, Lesser Cuckoo, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Japanese Grosbeak, Siberian Blue Robin and Great Spotted Woodpecker, and spotted Asian Brown Flycatcher in the canopy.
Next, we headed to Sozo-no-mori Camp Site via Fuji Forest Road.
We had originally planned to visit Okuniwa at the 5th Station via the Subaru Line, but have changed this plan due to the road being closed to general traffic and the forecast of rain.
On this forest road, we spotted and heard birds such as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Tit, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Meadow Bunting, etc.
The puddle at Sozo-no-mori Campsite is a bathing spot for birds, so we waited there for birds to come there until it started to rain.
Over the three hours until noon, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Narcissus Flycatchers, Willow Tits, Varied Tits, Coal Tits, Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Eastern Crowned Warblers, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Wood Nuthatches, Asian Brown Flycatchers and Meadow Buntings visited. Most of them were young birds that had only just left the nest.
In the surrounding forests, we also spotted or heard Green Pheasant, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Common Cuckoo, lessor Cuckoo, Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Japanese Thrushes and Japanese Grosbeaks.
In the afternoon, amidst a light drizzle, we took a walk around the villa area on the shores of Lake Yamanaka, where we were staying.
At Lake Yamanaka, we spotted several Mute Swans, Mallards and Barn Swallows.
In the villa area, we saw and heard the Japanese Green Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Warbling White-eye, Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Thrush and Oriental Cuckoo, and others.
The next morning, although the rain had stopped, puddles might have formed here and there due to the rainfall. As we couldn't expect to observe birds at water spots such as "Okuniwa", "Obora-no-izumi" and "Sozo-no-mori Camp Site", we decided to drive up the forest road on the north-facing slope. The temperature was around 12°C, so it felt a bit chilly.
In the lowland forests, we saw and heard Oriental Turtle-Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Siberian Blue Robin and Japanese Grosbeak.
In logging areas and young plantations, we saw and heard Meadow Bunting, Amur Stonechat, Lesser Cuckoo and Common Cuckoo.
In the subalpine zone, we saw and heard Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Wren, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Japanese Leaf Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Grey-bellied Bullfinch and Northern Hawk-Cuckoo.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor), Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, マガモ, キジバト, アオバト, ジュウイチ, ホトトギス, ツツドリ, カッコウ, オオジシギ, トビ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, ゴジュウカラ,
ミソサザイ, コムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
Madarao Highland & Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano)
斑尾高原&戸隠森林植物園 (長野)
Numa-no-hara Marsh, Madarao Highland
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden
This 21-acre wetland is a prime spot for spotting Yellow Buntings.
Crested Honey Buzzards are also frequently seen here.
This time, perhaps as the peak singing season had passed, there were few Yellow Buntings singing, but we observed several birds.
Two Crested Honey Buzzards and one Grey-faced Buzzard also appeared in the sky.
In the afternoon, we arrived at Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Togakushi Shinrin Shokubutu-En), which is located at east of Mt. Togakushi.
On the road to the botanical garden, I spotted an Eastern Buzzard and a White-backed Woodpecker.
At the botanical garden, it was after half past two and the birds were becoming more active.
We spotted and heard Grey Wagtail, Brown-headed Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Ashy Minivet, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, Masked Bunting and Yellow Bunting.
Early the next morning, we revisited the botanical garden.
Although we could hear many birds singing in the garden, it seemed quieter than at the peak of the singing season.
In addition to the birds we’d seen the previous day, we spotted and heard Common Cuckoo, Coal Tit and Eurasian Wren.
We couldn't find any Russet Sparrows (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), perhaps they had already finished raising chicks and left this place.
Instead, we frequently spotted Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Brown-headed Thrushes.
The birds we observed are;
At Madarao Highland:
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
ホトトギス, ツツドリ, ハチクマ, サシバ, アカゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
クロツグミ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ノジコ
At Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
アオサギ, カルガモ, トビ, ノスリ, ハチクマ,
キジバト, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, アカゲラ,
イワツバメ, ツバメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, サンショウクイ, モズ,
ウグイス, ヤブサメ, オオヨシキリ,
コルリ, キビタキ, クロツグミ, コサメビタキ, センダイムシクイ, メボソムシクイ,
ヒヨドリ, コガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, メジロ,
ノジコ, ホオジロ, コカワラヒワ, スズメ, ニュウナイスズメ,
イカル, カケス, ハシボソガラス
Matsunoyama & Sakae areas (Niigata,Nagano)
松之山近郊&栄村(新潟,長野)
Bijinbayashi
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis)
At Bijinbayashi, our first stop, we heard the call of a Ruddy Kingfisher and caught a brief glimpse of it.
We also saw and heard many other species, such as Lesser Cuckoo, White-backed Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Ashy Minivet, Varied Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Japanese Thrush and Narcissus Flycatcher.
Later, we visited several spots in Matsunoyama, but were unable to find either the Tiger Shrike or the Dollarbird.
However, we did manage to spot a Dollarbird in Sakae Village.
We stayed overnight in Sakae Village that day, where we observed a Grey Nightjar quite close up as it came to feed on the many insects attracted to the inn’s lights.
The following morning, we visited Tomeyama Dam in Matsunoyama.
As our visit the previous day was around midday, the birds were inactive. However, we observed a Ruddy Kingfisher, as well as Mandarin Duck, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Great Cormorant, Lesser Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Ashy Minivet, Eurasian Jay, Varied Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Japanese Leaf Warbler, Eurasian Wren, White-cheeked Starling, Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Meadow Bunting etc.
Furthermore, at the spot in Sakae Village where we had seen one Oriental Dollarbird the previous day, we spotted two couples of Oriental Dollarbirds, and also heard the calls of a Ruddy Kingfisher and Japanese Thrush.
Later, on our way to our next destination, the Madarao Highlands, we stopped off at the ‘Eco Park Samukawa’ waste incineration plant.
Although our observation time there was brief, we saw two Crested Honey Buzzards, two Mountain Hawk-Eagles, a Grey-faced Buzzard, Black Kites, House Swifts, Asian House Martins, two Brown Dippers and Grey-capped Greenfinches, etc. around there.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オシドリ, カルガモ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ホトトギス, ツツドリ, カッコウ, ヨタカ, ヒメアマツバメ,
ハチクマ, トビ, サシバ, クマタカ, アカショウビン, ブッポウソウ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メボソムシクイ, オオヨシキリ,
ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, カワガラス, クロツグミ, アカハラ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
Kinmen Is, Tainan, Liujia, Alishan, Yushan, Puli, New Taipei, Wulai (Taiwan)
金門島,台南,六甲,阿里山,玉山,埔里,新北,烏来(台湾)
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus)
Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus)
Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes)
Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha)
Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii)
Eastern Grass-Owl (pithecops) (Tyto longimembris pithecops)
Ferruginous Flycatcher (Muscicapa ferruginea)
Russet Bush Warbler (melanorhyncha) (Locustella mandelli melanorhyncha)
Grey-chinned Minivet (griseogularis) (Pericrocotus solaris griseogularis)
Maroon Oriole (ardens) (Oriolus traillii ardens)
Black Eagle (malaiensis) (Ictinaetus malaiensis malaiensis)
Taiwan Blue-Magpie (Urocissa caerulea)
: photo by MFujita
Bronzed Drongo (braunianus) (Dicrurus aeneus braunianus)
Japanese westernmost Yonagunijima is only 110km away from Taiwan.
Thus the species/subspecies in these two regions are very similar.
However, there are many endemic species which do not exist in Japan (marked with * in the list) or species which are very rare in Japan.
When we visited, it was the peak season of breeding, and we saw many species below.
The birds we observed are;
In Kinmen Island:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Domestic type) (Columba livia), Red Collared Dove (humilis) (Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis),
*Spotted Dove (chinensis) (Spilopelia chinensis chinensis),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
*Greater Coucal (sinensis) (Centropus sinensis sinensis), *Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus).
Asian Koel (chinensis) (Eudynamys scolopaceus chinensis), Indian Cuckoo (micropterus) (Cuculus micropterus micropterus),
White-breasted Waterhen (phoenicurus) (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-crowned Night-Heron (nycticorax) (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax), Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Ardea coromanda), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (modesta) (Ardea alba modesta),
Medium Egret (Ardea intermedia), Little Egret (garzetta) (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (osculans) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Black-winged Stilt (himantopus) (Himantopus himantopus himantopus),
Kentish Plover (dealbatus) (Anarhynchus alexandrinus dealbatus),
Greater Sand Plover (leschenaultii) (Anarhynchus leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Black-tailed Godwit (melanuroides) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (hybrida) (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus), Roseate Tern (gracilis) (Sterna dougallii gracilis),
Great Crested-Tern (cristatus) (Thalasseus bergii cristatus),
Black Kite (formosanus) (Milvus migrans formosanus),
Eurasian Hoopoe (saturata) (Upupa epops saturata),
*Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis), *Pied Kingfisher (insignis) (Ceryle rudis insignis),
White-throated Kingfisher (fokiensis) (Halcyon smyrnensis fokiensis),
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus),
Brown Shrike (lucionensis) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis), Long-tailed Shrike (schach) (Lanius schach schach),
Oriental Magpie (Pica serica serica), *Large-billed Crow (colonorum) (Corvus macrorhynchos colonorum),
*Collared Crow (Corvus torquatus),
*Fork-tailed Sunbird (latouchii) (Aethopyga christinae latouchii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Richard's Pipit (sinensis) (Anthus richardi sinensis), White Wagtail (leucopsis) (Motacilla alba leucopsis),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (angarensis) (Motacilla flava simillima), Eastern Yellow Wagtail (plexa) (Motacilla flava plexa),
Yellow-billed Grosbeak (migratoria) (Eophona migratoria migratoria),
*Japanese Skylark (intermedia) (Alauda japonica intermedia),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul (sinensis) (Pycnonotus sinensis sinensis),
*Swinhoe's White-eye (simplex) (Zosterops simplex simplex),
*Chinese Hwamei (canorus) (Garrulax canorus canorus),
*Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnia sinensis),
Crested Myna (cristatellus) (Acridotheres cristatellus cristatellus),
*Oriental Magpie-Robin (saularis) (Copsychus saularis saularis),
*Blue Whistling Thrush (caeruleus) (Myophonus caeruleus caeruleus)
金門島:
カルガモ, インドクジャク, カワラバト, ベニバト, *カノコバト, アマツバメ, *オオバンケン, *カンムリカッコウ, オニカッコウ, セグロカッコウ,
シロハラクイナ, バン, ゴイサギ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カラシラサギ,
ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, シロチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, オグロシギ, トウネン, イソシギ, キアシシギ, キョウジョシギ, ツバメチドリ,
コアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ, ハジロクロハラアジサシ, ベニアジサシ, オオアジサシ, トビ, ヤツガシラ, *ハリオハチクイ,
カワセミ, *ヒメヤマセミ, アオショウビン, オウチュウ, シマアカモズ, タカサゴモズ, カササギ, *タイワンハシブトガラス, *クビワガラス,
*エンビタイヨウチョウ, スズメ, マミジロタヒバリ, ホオジロハクセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, シベリアツメナガセキレイ,
コイカル, *ヒバリ, ツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, シロガシラ, *ミナミメジロ, *ガビチョウ, *クビワムクドリ, カラムクドリ, ハッカチョウ,
*シキチョウ, *オオルリチョウ
In Southern region of Taiwan Main Island:
*Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii), *Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola sonorivox),
Red Collared Dove (humilis) (Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis), Spotted Dove (chinensis) (Spilopelia chinensis chinensis),
*White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sororius),
Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
*Savanna Nightjar (stictomus) (Caprimulgus affinis stictomus),
Common Moorhen (chloropus, syn. indica) (Gallinula chloropus chloropus (indica)),
Black-winged Stilt (himantopus) (Himantopus himantopus himantopus),
Greater Painted-Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis),
Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Little Egret (garzetta) (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Eastern Cattle-Egret (Ardea coromanda),
Great Egret (modesta) (Ardea alba modesta), Medium Egret (Ardea intermedia),
Black-shouldered Kite (vociferus) (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
*Eastern Grass-Owl (pithecops) (Tyto longimembris pithecops), *Collared Scops Owl (glabripes) (Otus lettia glabripes),
*Taiwan Barbet (Psilopogon nuchalis),
Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha),
Black Drongo (harterti) (Dicrurus macrocercus harterti),
*Black-naped Monarch (oberholseri) (Hypothymis azurea oberholseri),
*Oriental Skylark (wattersi) (Alauda gulgula wattersi),
*Zitting Cisticola (tinnabulans) (Cisticola juncidis tinnabulans),
*Gray-throated Martin (Riparia chinensis), Pacific Swallow (javanica) (Hirundo javanica javanica),
*Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Striated) (Cecropis daurica striolata),
*Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques cinereicapillus), *Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
*Swinhoe's White-eye (simplex) (Zosterops simplex simplex),
*Grey-cheeked Fulvetta (Alcippe morrisonia),
Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis),
*Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis),
Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus), Crested Myna (formosanus) (Acridotheres cristatellus formosanus),
*White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Yellow-billed Grosbeak (migratoria) (Eophona migratoria migratoria)
台湾本島南部:
*サンケイ, *テッケイ, ベニバト, *カノコバト, *アオバト, ツツドリ, *シロアゴヨタカ, バン, セイタカシギ, タマシギ, レンカク,
ツバメチドリ, クロハラアジサシ, コサギ, アマサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カタグロトビ, *ヒガシメンフクロウ, *ヒガシオオコノハズク,
*タイワンゴシキドリ, ヤイロチョウ, オウチュウ, *クロエリヒタキ, *タイワンヒバリ, *セッカ, *タイワンショウドウツバメ,
リュウキュウツバメ, *オオコシアカツバメ, *カヤノボリ, タイワンシロガシラ, *ミナミメジロ, *メジロチメドリ, ミドリカラスモドキ,
*クビワムクドリ, インドハッカ, ジャワハッカ, ハッカチョウ, *アカハラシキチョウ, スズメ, コイカル
In Middle region of Taiwan Main Island:
*Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola sonorivox),
Red Collared Dove (humilis) (Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Eastern Cattle-Egret (Ardea coromanda), Medium Egret (Ardea intermedia),
*Crested Serpent Eagle (hoya) (Spilornis cheela hoya), *Black Eagle (malaiensis) (Ictinaetus malaiensis malaiensis),
*Crested Goshawk (Lophospiza trivirgata formosae), *Besra (fuscipectus) (Tachyspiza virgata fuscipectus),
*Taiwan Barbet (Psilopogon nuchalis),
*Grey-chinned Minivet (griseogularis) (Pericrocotus solaris griseogularis),
*Maroon Oriole (ardens) (Oriolus traillii ardens),
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus), *Bronzed Drongo (braunianus) (Dicrurus aeneus braunianus),
*Eurasian Jay (haringtoni) (Garrulus glandarius taivanus), *Grey Treepie (sinica) (Dendrocitta formosae sinica),
*Southern Nutcracker (owstoni) (Nucifraga hemispila owstoni), *Large-billed Crow (colonorum) (Corvus macrorhynchos colonorum),
*Coal Tit (ptilosus) (Periparus ater ptilosus), *Chestnut-bellied Tit (Sittiparus castaneoventris),
*Green-backed Tit (insperatus) (Parus monticolus insperatus),
*Russet Bush Warbler (melanorhyncha) (Locustella mandelli melanorhyncha), *Taiwan Cupwing (Pnoepyga formosana),
*Eastern Red-rumped Swallow (Striated) (Cecropis daurica striolata),
*Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques cinereicapillus),
Light-vented Bulbul (sinensis) (Pycnonotus sinensis sinensis), *Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
Styan's Bulbul (Pycnonotus taivanus),
Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis),
*Rufous-faced Warbler (fulvifacies) (Abroscopus albogularis fulvifacies),
*Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler (Horornis acanthizoides concolor),
*Black-throated Bushtit (concinnus) (Aegithalos concinnus concinnus),
*Golden Parrotbill (morrisoniana) (Suthora verreauxi morrisoniana),
*Taiwan Yuhina (Yuhina brunneiceps),
*Swinhoe's White-eye (simplex) (Zosterops simplex simplex),
*Rufous-capped Babbler (praecognitum) (Cyanoderma ruficeps praecognitum),
*Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus musicus), *Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler (Erythrogenys erythrocnemis),
*Dusky Fulvetta (brunneus) (Schoeniparus brunneus brunneus), *Grey-cheeked Fulvetta (Alcippe morrisonia),
*White-eared Sibia (Heterophasia auricularis), *Taiwan Barwing (Actinodura morrisoniana),
*Taiwan Liocichla (Liocichla steerii), *Taiwan Hwamei (Garrulax taewanus),
*Flamecrest (Regulus goodfellowi),
*Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica), Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus),
Ferruginous Flycatcher (Muscicapa ferruginea),
*White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus), *Taiwan Vivid Niltava (Niltava vivida),
*Himalayan Shortwing (Brachypteryx cruralis), *Little Forktail (Enicurus scouleri),
*White-tailed Robin (montium) (Myiomela leucura montium), *Taiwan Bush-Robin (Tarsiger indicus formosanus),
*Collared Bush-Robin (Tarsiger johnstoniae),
*Snowy-browed Flycatcher (innexa) (Ficedula hyperythra innexa),
*Plumbeous Water-Redstart (affinis) (Phoenicurus fuliginosus affinis)
台湾本島中部:
*テッケイ, ベニバト, ヒメアマツバメ, ズグロミゾゴイ, アマサギ, チュウサギ, *ミナミカンムリワシ, *カザノワシ, *カンムリオオタカ, *ミナミツミ,
*タイワンゴシキドリ, *ベニサンショウクイ, *ヒゴロモ, オウチュウ, *ヒメオウチュウ, *カケス, *タイワンオナガ, *ホシガラス, *ハシブトガラス,
*ヒガラ, *タイワンヤマガラ, *キバラシジュウカラ, *タイワンオオセッカ, *タイワンサザイチメドリ, *オオコシアカツバメ, *カヤノボリ,
タイワンシロガシラ, コムシクイ, *コシジロムシクイ, *ミヤマウグイス, *ズアカエナガ, *キンイロダルマエナガ, *カンムリチメドリ,
*ミナミメジロ, *ノドフズアカチメドリ, *タイワンヒメマルハシ, *ムナフマルハシ, *チメドリ, *メジロチメドリ, *ミミジロチメドリ,
*シマドリ, *ヤブドリ, *タイワンガビチョウ, *ニイタカキクイタダキ, *インドコムクドリ, ジャワハッカ, ミヤマヒタキ, *アカハラシキチョウ,
*チャバラオオルリ, *ヒマラヤコバネヒタキ, *シロクロヒタキ, *コンヒタキ, *タイワンキクチヒタキ, *アリサンヒタキ, *ムネアカヒタキ, カワビタキ
In Northern region of Taiwan Main Island:
*Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola sonorivox),
Oriental Turtle Dove (orii) (Streptopelia orientalis orii), Red Collared Dove (humilis) (Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis),
*Spotted Dove (chinensis) (Spilopelia chinensis chinensis), *White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sororius),
Asian Koel (chinensis) (Eudynamys scolopaceus chinensis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Little Ringed Plover (curonicus) (Thinornis dubius curonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Little Egret (garzetta) (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Egret (modesta) (Ardea alba modesta),
Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus), *Crested Serpent Eagle (hoya) (Spilornis cheela hoya),
*Black Eagle (malaiensis) (Ictinaetus malaiensis malaiensis),
Black Drongo (harterti) (Dicrurus macrocercus harterti), *Bronzed Drongo (braunianus) (Dicrurus aeneus braunianus),
*Taiwan Blue-Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), *Grey Treepie (formosae) (Dendrocitta formosae formosae),
*Plain Prinia (flavirostris) (Prinia inornata flavirostris),
Pacific Swallow (javanica) (Hirundo javanica javanica), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
*Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus musicus), *Grey-cheeked Fulvetta (Alcippe morrisonia),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis),
*White-tailed Robin (montium) (Myiomela leucura montium)
台湾本島北部:
*テッケイ, キジバト, ベニバト, *カノコバト, *アオバト, オニカッコウ, ヒメアマツバメ, コチドリ, イソシギ, ゴイサギ, コサギ, チュウダイサギ,
ハチクマ, *ミナミカンムリワシ, *カザノワシ, オウチュウ, *ヒメオウチュウ, *ヤマムスメ, *タイワンオナガ, *アジアマミハウチワドリ,
リュウキュウツバメ, ツバメ, タイワンシロガシラ, *タイワンヒメマルハシ, *メジロチメドリ, インドハッカ, *コンヒタキ
Yatsu Tidal Flats (Chiba)
谷津干潟(千葉)
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
& Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida)
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri)
& Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus)
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres)
& Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Upon arrival, we saw a flock of several hundred Dunlins flying over the widely spread mudflats.
When we visited about a month ago, there were few shorebirds, but perhaps because people were gathering shellfish at Sanbanze Tidal Flats nearby, there were many more than expected this time.
There were also many Bar-tailed Godwits in their red breeding plumage, as well as Grey Plovers with their striking black-and-white contrast.
We also spotted Whimbrels and, although they were some distance away, a small flock of Siberian Sand Plovers in their breeding plumage.
This time, we also saw flocks of Grey-tailed Tattlers, Ruddy Turnstones and Red-necked Stints, which we had not seen on our previous visit.
The birds observed are;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ,
キアシシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Tsushima island, Nagasaki
対馬 (長崎)
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys)
& Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata)
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis)
Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus erythrinus)
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus)
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia)
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus)
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis)
We visited Tsushima Island located north to Kyusyu at the south-west entrance of the Japan Sea.
This island is an ecological crossroads linking the ecosystems of Japan and the continents, and is regarded as one of Japan's premier destinations for birding.
During the spring migration, Tsushima serves as a resting stop on the route taken by birds migrating from the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan’s Nansei Islands, via the islands along the East China Sea, to Japan's various sites, the Korean Peninsula, China, Inner Mongolia and as far afield as Siberia.
The spring migration season is from March to May, and at the peak, it is possible to see different species from one day to the next.
Summer birds that do not breed in other parts of Japan also arrive.
As it had rained two days before our visit, we had expected many migratory birds to take shelter on the island in such stormy weather, but it seemed not so many had arrived.
However, although we arrived and began birding in the afternoon, which wasn't the ideal time of day, in the rice fields of Naiin, a village in the southernmost Shimo-Tsushima area, we saw many Grey-capped Greenfinches and a small flock of Yellow-browed Buntings, as well as Little Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Yellow Bunting, Eastern Yellow Wagtails (Green-headed), Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis).
We also spotted a small bird perched on a power line. It was a Common Rosefinch with brown in colour and lacking any reddish tinge.
At Azamo, the neighbouring village where many species were observed during our previous visit two years ago, there were fewer birds this time.
Construction work was underway on a section of the main road where it had collapsed. Perhaps this affected the situation.
In the farmland, we found only Warbling White-eye, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Varied Tit and Japanese Tit.
On the coast, we spotted Great White Egret, Grey-tailed Tattler, Terek Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Japanese Cormorant and Black-tailed Gull.
In the evening, we walked around the village of Tsutsu, where we were staying, but saw only few species.
Mainly just a few Yellow-browed Buntings, a flock of Eastern Cattle Egrets, and Warbling White-eyes, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Grey Wagtail.
We did not encounter the Black Drongo reported here.
However, after sunset, we heard calls of Oriental Scops-Owl from the direction of Takuzudama Shrine.
The following morning, we heard the call of the Oriental Scops-Owl before dawn again.
We had originally planned to visit Tsutsu-zaki Cape this morning, but as part of the access road had collapsed and was inaccessible by car, we decided to bird along the road between the entrance of this access road and Bijozuka Park.
On our previous visit, we had seen many flycatchers and other birds here, but this time we only heard and saw the calls of Warbling White-eye, Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Chinese Bamboo-partridge and Ryukyu Minivet.
Next, we revisited Azamo, and we spotted several Masked Buntings and a Meadow Bunting in the rice fields.
At Naiin, the species had decreased since the previous day, with the Grey-capped Greenfinch, Yellow-browed Bunting, Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed), Common Rosefinch and Little Bunting remaining.
A Black-faced Bunting had newly arrived.
Next, we visited the village of Se.
Here, we spotted a Chinese Pond-Heron in its beautiful breeding plumage, as well as herons (Great, Medium, Little and Grey).
We travelled further north to visit the village of Komoda, situated on the west coast of central Shimo-Tsushima.
Here, a flock of Grey-tailed Tattlers was spotted at the mouth of a irrigation canal flowing into the Sasu River.
Herons were also seen in the rice paddies.
We also spotted a Black Drongo perched on a tree beside the paddies, occasionally flying and catching insects.
There were several Black-tailed Gulls on the coast.
In the evening, on our way back to Tsutsu, we spotted what seemed to be two Brown-headed Thrushes foraging on the roadside near Naiin.
At Tsutsu, we made new sightings of a Light-vented Bulbul and a Black Drongo.
There was a report that a Citrine Wagtail (Northern) (Motacilla citreola citreola) had been spotted during the day in the waterway at Tsutsu Fishing Port, but we searched for it without success.
As it began to get dark, the Oriental Scops-Owl started calling again.
At night, we searched around the shrine, but it had moved further away.
Instead, although it was distant, we heard a Japanese Scops-Owl calling.
On the morning of the third day, we walked for about an hour along the access road to Tsutsu-zaki Cape in the dark before dawn without moon light.
We arrived at Tsutsu-zaki Cape just as it was getting light.
A strong north-westerly wind was blowing there.
We hoped this wind might bring in some special species. However, we saw or heard Ashy Minivets, Japanese Tit, Warbling White-eye, Japanese Leaf Warbler and Dusky Warbler. Although some spotted a Tristram’s Bunting (Emberiza tristrami), we were unable to see it.
On the way back along the access road to the cape, we spotted numerous Warbling White-eyes, a few Ashy Minivets and a few Long-tailed Tits (magnus).
Then, we drove slowly and birded from the entrance to the access road to Bijozuka Park.
We newly spotted and heard Eastern Crowned Warbler, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki) and Oriental Cuckoo.
On the way from Bijozuka Park to Tsutsu, we was able to observe a singing Yellow-rumped Flycatcher in the trees by the roadside at the Akamai Shinden rice fields.
As the fine weather continued and the migratory birds flew away, the prospects of spotting new species in the Shimo-Tsushima area looked slim, so we headed for north towards the Kami-Tsushima area.
On the way, we stopped by the Se area and found that there were now three Chinese Pond-Herons.
First, we visited Sago.
Rice planting was underway in the paddies.
We had hoped to see shorebirds, but only egrets were to be found.
Although we did not see, a Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) and a flock of Oriental Pratincoles (Glareola maldivarum) had been observed by other birders.
At Minatohama on the coast, there was a birder observing hawks.
Observing for a while, we spotted many Black Kites, as well as a Crested Honey Buzzard, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a Peregrine Falcon.
In addition, many Red-rumped Swallows were building nests under the eaves of buildings there.
We headed south from there and visited Tanohama, but the once vast rice fields had been abandoned and had almost entirely disappeared.
All we saw were three mallards in the irrigation pond.
Heading south again to return to Naiin, we were informed that a Rufous-tailed Robin had been spotted in Bijozuka Park, so we hurried there.
Upon arrival, we were told that it had briefly shown itself from a rhododendron hedge about 20 minutes earlier.
We continued to watch for a while; although we caught a glimpse of movement within the hedge once, we were unable to get a clear view of the bird.
Whilst waiting, we heard the call of a Grey-faced Buzzard.
Back at Tsutsu, the number of Black Drongos had increased to two.
The call of the Oriental Scops-Owl at the shrine had ceased, even as dusk fell and it grew dark. It seems to have migrated.
The following morning, we walked around the Tsutsu area.
An Oriental Reed Warbler had newly arrived in the reeds in the Akamai Shinden rice fields and was singing vigorously.
We also spotted an Amur Stonechat newly.
Two Black Drongos were also in the reeds.
We heard a song that sounded like a Korean Bush-Warbler, different from that of the Japanese Bush-Warbler.
Then we stopped by Azamo and Naiin, but the number of birds had decreased even further, and there were hardly any left.
At Azamo, a Pacific Reef Heron was newly spotted on the coast, and a single Grey-tailed Tattler remained.
An Eastern Crowned Warbler was singing in a tree by the rice paddies.
At Naiin, besides a small number of Grey-capped Greenfinches, we only saw and heard Asian House Martins, Japanese Bush-warblers, Korean Bush-warbler, Warbling White-eyes and Grey Wagtail.
Finally, we visited Komoda. Here too, apart from egrets and Grey-capped Greenfinches, we saw almost no other birds, but we did spot two Amur Wagtails newly arrived,
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Scops-Owl (Otus semitorques semitorques), Oriental Scops-Owl (japonicus) (Otus sunia japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki) (Yungipicus kizuki kotataki),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus), Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (mandshuricus) (Corvus macrorhynchos mandshuricus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans), Korean Bush-Warbler (Horornis borealis),
Long-tailed Tit (magnus) (Aegithalos caudatus magnus),
Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Rufous-tailed Robin (Larvivora sibilans),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus erythrinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys), Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, ウミウ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ,
ツツドリ, ヒメアマツバメ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ハイタカ, サシバ,
オオコノハズク, コノハズク, カワセミ, ツシマコゲラ, ハヤブサ, サンショウクイ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, オウチュウ,
ハシボソガラス, チョウセンハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, タイワンシロガシラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, チョウセンウグイス, チョウセンエナガ, ムジセッカ, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ,
クロツグミ, アカハラ, シマゴマ, ノビタキ, マミジロキビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アカマシコ, ホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, シマアオジ, ノジコ,
シベリアアオジ, アオジ
Hayatogawa Forest road, Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬 早戸川林道(神奈川)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
This time, we arrived at 5.30 am and entered the Hayatogawa Forest Road from the Hayatogawa Bridge side, the opposite direction to last time.
Due to the recent rains, the water level of the Hayatogawa River had risen slightly. However, the water level of the dam lake remained abnormally low.
Several Asian House Martins were flying back and forth over the river.
We waited for quite some time at Kanazawa Bridge for Crested Kingfishers to appear, but we could not spot them anywhere.
Whilst waiting, a Ryukyu Minivet and a Grey Wagtail appeared nearby.
Instead, a Common Kingfisher flew past under the bridge.
On the Kanazawa Forest Road, which runs alongside the Kanazawa River, Eastern Crowned Warblers, Japanese Thrushes and Blue-and-white Flycatchers were singing in several places.
We also spotted the Blue-and-white Flycatchers several times, showing their beautiful blue plumage. A Eurasian Goshawk flew over the distant ridge on the opposite bank.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, トビ, オオタカ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, クロツグミ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, イカル
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi)
柳沢峠(山梨)
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige)
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi)
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis)
The main targets were Japanese Robin and Siberian Blue Robin, which are regulary observed at this site every summer.
When we arrived at the site 6am, there were already many cars at the parking lots.
The temperature had dropped since the rain two days prior, making it rather cold. There was a light mist and no sunshine, so visibility was not good.
However, as we started walking, a Brown-headed Thrush was calling, a few Japanese Grosbeak were moving in the tall trees, and Wood Nuthatches were chirping vigorously around.
From a mist-shrouded forest nearby, we heard calls of White-bellied Green-Pigeons.
As we proceeded further up the forest track, we encountered crowds of photographers and birders gathered at the roadside, busily taking photographs the opposite side of the road.
A feeder had been set up there, and a Japanese Robin was moving around singing.
A Siberian Blue Robin had also visited the feeder, seemingly waiting for an opportunity to get food from the feeder when the Japanese Robin was apart.
Further up the forest track, we spotted small flocks of Red-billed Leiothrix and Long-tailed Tits.
Then, as the mist began to lift and the sun came out, Eurasian Wrens and tits (Coal, Willow, Japanese and Varied) became very active.
At the top of a tree canopy, an Olive-backed Pipit began to sing.
An Eurasian Tree-creeper also made an appearance.
As for woodpeckers, we heard calls and the sound of pecking on trees that seemed to be Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green and White-backed.
Although their calls were still few, we were able to see and hear Narcissus Flycatcher and Blue-and-white Flycatcher.
An Oriental Cuckoo also called in the distance.
The birds observed are;
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)?
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
アオバト, ツツドリ, トビ, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ? アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, センダイムシクイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ,
ミソサザイ, ソウシチョウ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ビンズイ, イカル
Mouth of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川河口(神奈川)
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta)
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
& Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni)
& Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)
At this time of year, spring migratory birds stop over at this site.
As we arrived, the calls of a Green Pheasant were heard from the grassy riverbank.
Moving towards the river mouth, a Whimbrel took flight from a short distance away and disappeared from view beyond the riverbank.
At the water's edge of the sandy beach stretching along the river mouth, we spotted several Little Ringed Plovers and Pacific Golden-Plovers, as well as egrets (Little and Great). The Great Egret was in breeding plumage, its legs a vivid red.
Many Streaked Shearwaters were soaring offshore.
Though few in number, Black-tailed Gulls were also flying above the sea.
A Western Osprey also flew overhead.
Walking a little further upstream and observing the river's shallows and gravelly sandbanks, we found a small but various species of shorebirds, such as Pacific Golden-Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Long-billed Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Common Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Temminck's Stint and Dunlin.
In addition to White Wagtail and Japanese Wagtail, we also spotted Siberian Pipits, which are winter visitors.
On the river, in addition to the Eastern Spot-billed Duck, there were Eurasian Teal and Northern Pintails, winter visitors.
A Zitting Cisticola was showing us the song flight in the grassy area by the riverbank.
Barn Swallows and Asian House Martins were also flitting about.
Oriental Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis) appeared to have arrived, but we couldn't spot any, perhaps because of the low temperature.
There were few birds of prey; we saw one Peregrine Falcon and a pair of Common Kestrels nesting on a railway viaduct.
One of the members who arrived early in the morning spotted an Oriental Pratincole, but it did not appear during my observation.
The birds obserbed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
キジ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ドバト, キジバト, オオミズナギドリ, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン,
ムナグロ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, チュウシャクシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン, ハマシギ, ツバメチドリ,
ウミネコ, ミサゴ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ
Hayatogawa Forest road, Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬 早戸川林道(神奈川)
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris)
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)
On my previous visit two days ago, I arrived at 6 am, which was early. This time, however, as we took the bus from Hon-Atsugi Station, we arrived around 10 am. I didn’t feel the cold at all, but the birdsong seemed slightly less.
Near the entrance of the forest road, a Blue-and-white Flycatcher was singing, and an Eastern Crowned Warbler was spotted in a tall treetop.
Moving further along, the calls of a Warbling White-eyes and a Ryukyu Minivet were heard.
Near Shirudare Tunnel, we saw and heard the Narcissus Flycatcher and Japanese Grosbeak.
On the lake, Great Cormorants were seen, and we were lucky enough to spot two Crested Kingfishers though in the distance.
On the Kanazawa Forest Road, we saw and heard Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Japanese Thrush and Eastern Crowned Warbler.
A Japanese Robin had been seen on this forest road shortly before we arrived. Unfortunately, we were unable to spot it during our observation.
The birds observed (*by other birders) are;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica), Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
*Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
*Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
カワウ, トビ, カワセミ, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, *ミソサザイ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, *コマドリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, イカル
Hayatogawa Forest road, Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬 早戸川林道(神奈川)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)
Hearing reports of summer birds on the Hayato-gawa Forest Road along Lake Miyagase, we visited promptly.
Upon arriving at 6 am, a Warbling White-eye was singing cheerfully.
As we began walking along the forest road, we heard the songs of Grey-capped Greenfinches, Eastern Crowned Warblers and Blue-and-white Flycatchers.
The fresh green leaves of the trees were spreading out, making it hard to spot them.
Songs of the Chinese Bamboo-partridge, White-bellied Green-pigeon, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Japanese Bush-warbler and Oriental Cuckoo were also heard. A small flock of Japanese Grosbeaks perched on a nearby tree, and we managed to spot them.
An Asian Stubtail also made a brief appearance.
Masked Bunting, a winter visitor, were still to be seen here.
In the sky, Pacific Swifts, Black Kites and Eastern Buzzard were flying, and what looked like a Japanese Sparrowhawk was also in the sky.
The exciting season for summer birdwatching had started!
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps squameiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ツツドリ, アマツバメ, トビ, ツミ? ノスリ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ヤブサメ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ,
ムクドリ, クロツグミ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ
Sanbanze & Yatsu Tidal Flats (Chiba)
三番瀬＆谷津干潟(千葉)
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
& Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida)
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri)
& Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni)
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans)
& Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Thease are the wide tidal flats in Tokyo Bay, located in the innermost part of the bay, and is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
We visited there to observe the shorebirds on their spring migration.
At Sanbanze, the clam digging season had begun, but as it was still early in the peak season and it was the early morning, there were few people on the beach, and large flocks of Dunlins were gathered on the mudflats at the shoreline.
Looking closely, many Sanderlings were busily moving amongst the flocks.
There were also many Bar-tailed Godwits, some of which had quite a reddish plumage.
In the shallows, flocks of Black-headed Gulls with their heads darkened and flocks of Eurasian Oystercatchers were seen.
A small flock of Little Terns was also spotted on the mudflats at a distance.
Other species observed were Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Whimbrel, Far Eastern Curlew, Great Knot, Great Cormorant and Greater Scaup.
There were few birds at Yatsu Tidal Flats. Only Common Coot, Grey Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron and Warbling White-eye were observed.
The birds observed are;
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
スズガモ, カワウ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ,
チュウシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, コアジサシ,
トビ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Ferry route between Tokyo Bay and Hachijo Island (Tokyo)
八丈島航路(東京)
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus)
It is about 10 hours by Tokai Ferry from Takeshiba Pier, Tokyo.
I last boarded this ferry on 28 February, travelling from Miyakejima. This time, I travelled from Hachijojima to Tokyo together with the members of the Fureai Birdwatching Club.
Although I didn’t see Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), I still saw many Short-tailed Albatrosses and Black-footed Albatrosses.
I also found Sooty Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater and Tristram’s Storm-petrel, which I hadn’t seen on my previous visit though in small numbers.
This time, I saw many flocks of Red Phalaropes.
However, I didn’t have the encounter with skuas/jaegers that I had expected.
The birds observed are;
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), Tristram's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates tristrami),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Red Phalarope/Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
murrelet (sp),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ハイイロミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アカアシミズナギドリ,
オ−ストンウミツバメ, カツオドリ, ヒメウ, ウミウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, アマツバメ, ダイゼン, コチドリ,
オオソリハシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ハイイロヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, ウミスズメ(sp), ミサゴ, ノスリ, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki,Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
Although it was cloudy, the temperature was over 20°C, so warm that I was sweating even without a jacket.
On the riverbank, Zitting Cisticolas, Green Pheasants, Japanese Bush-Warblers and Chinese Hwameis were singing here and there.
This time, I could spot Masked Laughingthrush and Brown-cheeked Rail as well.
Perhaps they are late arriving this year, there were no Barn Swallows (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) anywhere.
Winter visitors have decreased significantly in number, but I was still able to spot Dusky Thrushes, Masked Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Vega Gulls, Great White Egrets, Great Crested Grebes, Common Coots and various ducks.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, オオバン, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ, カオグロガビチョウ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
The hawk observation at this site was started on March 20 this year.
As of April 2nd, the day before, the total number of migrated Grey-faced Buzzards which had been counted was 475. It seemed to be a faster pace than usual.
On the day of my visit, the weather was sunny, and I was hoping to see many hawks.
The weather forecast was cloudy, but sunny skies peeked through the clouds.
In the morning, the temperature was a cold 5°C (41°F), a significant drop from the 20°C (68°F) two days earlier. During the daytime, the temperature reached only 14°C.
It was warm under sunlight, but it was cold in the shade, requiring winter clothes.
The cherry blossoms in the open space in front of the observation tower may have lost some of their blooming vigor.
However, because the weather was so fine, most of the migrating hawks flew high in the sky and passed far away on the peaks of Tanzawa Mountains, so we were only able to observe 69 Grey-faced Buzzards this time.
The other birds we observed were Eastern Buzzard, Eurasian Goshawk, Black Kite, Barn Swallow and Asian House Martin in the sky.
The birds observed are;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus)
カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ガビチョウ
Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus)
The controlled burning, which is usually carried out at the end of winter, had taken place two weeks earlier on March 14th, and the vast reed beds became clearly visible, revealing the traces of the previous rice paddies.
In the small ponds scattered in the reed beds, where many ducks and smews were seen during the winter, only a few Northern Shovelers and Little Grebes remained.
However, Falcated Ducks, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, and Eurasian Teals were still present in the "Shinkawa" waterway.
Also, perhaps as an early migratory shorebird, dozens of Little Ringed Plovers and one Ruff were seen in the muddy tidal flats of the waterway.
The birds of prey that were common during the winter had disappeared, and we saw Black Kites and what appeared to be a Grey-faced Buzzard, one of summer visitors.
There were reports that Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana) had begun incubating their eggs, but no birds were seen on the artificial nesting tower.
The birds we observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, コチドリ, タシギ, エリマキシギ, トビ, サシバ, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nasu Siobara Area (Tochigi)
那須塩原エリア(栃木)
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
In the morning, we visited Nasunogahara Park in Nasu-shibara City.
Most of the winter birds seemed to have already left, as only Japanese Tits and Grey-capped Greenfinches were seen in the park's forests, and one Japanese Wagtail was spotted on the lawn, but there were no Dusky Thrushes to be seen.
Eastern Spot-billed Ducks were seen in the pond, but no other species were found.
Thoug calls of woodpecker and Japanese Grosbeaks were heard at the adjacent Senbonmatsu Ranch (Senbon-Matsu Bokujo), there were few birds to be seen there either.
That afternoon, on the way to our accommodation in Nasu Town, we drove through the farmlands.
In the rice paddies that hadn't yet been cultivated, Eastern Buzzards, flocks of Rustic Buntings in the breeding form with their heads black , Eurasian Skylarks were singing in the sky, and Green Pheasants and Long-tailed Rosefinch in the grasslands were seen.
The next morning, we visited Torinome Riverside Park (Torinome Kasen Koen) in Nasushiobara City.
In the forest along the Nakagawa River, we saw and heard various birds such as woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Tits, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Daurian Redstart, Olive-backed Pipit, Hawfinch, and buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Masked), as well as Great White Egret and Common Kingfisher in the river.
Many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks were seen in the pond in the park, and many Hawkinches and a small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches were seen on the ground and in the trees.
Several Eurasian Jays were calling noisily in the trees on the cliff of the river terrace adjacent to the park.
Afterward, we visited the Miyama Dam, located in the upper reaches of the Nakagawa River. On the forest road leading to the dam lake, we hoped to encounter Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans), but we were not lucky. There were also few other birds, only Meadow Buntings and tits (Coal, Japanese).
At the dam lake, only a few waterfowl were seen in the upper reaches's side, such as Eurasian Teals, Common Pochards, and Common Mergansers/Goosanders.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カワアイサ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ダイサギ, オオバン, イソシギ, トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki,Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei)
Although it was cloudy with no sunshine, it was warm and comfortable. When the sun came out near midday, it felt rather hot.
The birds were becoming more active as full-blown spring approached.
The ducks, besides Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal, had declined significantly in number.
No Grey-capped Greenfinches (Chloris sinica kawarahiba) were to be seen. Perhaps they had already migrated...
The Yellow-browed Warbler, which I had thought had already left, was still present. It had stayed for a long period, from the end of December throughout the winter.
Dusky Thrushes and Great White Egrets have started to gather in flocks.
I saw Hawfinches and a Japanese Quail, which probably stopped by on migration.
Little Grebes, Great Crested Grebes and Little Egrets had begun to put on their summer plumage.
I found Green Pheasants at two locations. They have become much easier to spot.
I had hoped to see early summer visitors like Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), but could not find any.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ウズラ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, バン, オオバン, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ,
トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
エナガ, キマユムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ, カオグロガビチョウ, ガビチョウ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Fureai-no-mori Park & Izumi-no-mori Park in Yamato (Kanagawa)
ふれあいの森＆泉の森(神奈川)
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica)
The wind was chilly, but the sunshine grew stronger, and the early-flowering types of cherry trees had begun to bloom.
Brown-eared Bulbuls and Warbling White-eyes were flocking to the blossoms.
On the ground, Dusky Thrushes, Pale Thrush and Oriental Turtle-Doves were foraging.
A flock of more than ten Azure-winged Magpies was being harassed by crows.
As usual, many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks were lazing about on the river.
Many of the ducks on the pond seemed to have migrated, as both the species and numbers had decreased, leaving only a small flock of Eurasian Wigeons.
Japanese Bush-warblers had appeared in several spots where they could be easily spotted.
Small numbers of Masked Buntings could still be seen.
Though I couldn’t see it, I heard the call of a Japanese Green Woodpecker.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, アオゲラ,
モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki,Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes)
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus)
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus)
The sunshine was warm and the wind gentle, and birds were active.
Japanese Bush-Warbler, Chinese Hwamei and Meadow Bunting sang, and Green Pheasant was lured out of the thicket by the cheerful mood.
Bull-headed Shrike had begun nesting, gathering grass for nest material and carrying it somewhere.
Many winter visitors, which soon going to depart for their breeding grounds, still remained.
Great Crested Grebes had started changing into their breeding plumage.
The dredging work on the riverbed, which had continued throughout winter, had ended, and Long-billed Plovers had returned to the small sandbank that remained.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
7-day Tokyo,Chiba,Kanagawa,Miyake Island & Ferry and Doto
東京、千葉、神奈川、三宅島＆航路、道東 7日間
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans)
& Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)
Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni)
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri)
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis)
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni)
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus)
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii)
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris)
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis)
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla)
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)
& Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans)
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri)
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus)
Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus)
From the spring-like warmth of nearly 20°C two days prior, winter returned with yesterday's cold rain.
A light drizzle lingered in the early morning, but it ceased after sunrise.
A north wind blew, making it cold.
At Kami Pond (freshwater), ducks such as Northern Shovelers, Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and Eurasian Teals were seen, along with Common Coots and three Black-winged Stilts.
However, the numbers seem to have decreased considerably...
Around the pond, Bull-headed Shrikes and Pale Thrushes were seen, but no Common Reed Buntings/Reed Buntings were found in the reeds.
At "Shimo-no-ike Pond" (brackish), mudflats stretched out, but only a White Wagtail was seen.
We walked around the forest, but perhaps due to the wind, few birds were seen; only Brown-eared Bulbuls and Japanese Tits were observed. Plum blossoms were in full bloom, and Warbling White-eyes were gathered there.
Nearby, several photographers were waiting for the appearance of Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva), a rare species in Japan.
On the Old Edogawa River, we saw Greater Scaups and Eurasian Teals.
In the waterway between the East and West Shores ("Higashi-nagisa" and "Nishi-nagisa"), we observed flocks of Greater Scaups and Eurasian Teals. Were the Teals migrating?
Two Black-faced Spoonbills were confirmed resting on the embankment west of "Higashi-nagisa".
Near the bridge to "Nishi-nagisa", an leucistic White Wagtail, seen here for several years, was found.
At "Nishi-nagisa", on the seaward side, flocks of Greater Scaups, Red-breasted Mergansers, Great Crested Grebes, and an Western Osprey were observed.
On the lawns of "Observation Field" and "Sea Breeze Field", many Dusky Thrushes and White-cheeked Starlings were seen.
In the forest around "Green Field", we searched for Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni) but found none.
Next, we visited Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen).
Dusky Thrushes had gathered on the grass around the fountain square (Funsui Hiroba).
About three hours after high tide, the mudflats stretched out on the shore.
A flock of shorebirds was visible far off on the Ichikawa side, so we headed that way. It was a large flock of Dunlins.
Many Kentish Plovers were also present.
After a while, Eurasian Oystercatchers began arriving one after another.
Returning to the centre of the mudflat, Grey Plovers, initially perched on poles in the distance, arrived on the newly exposed mud.
Two Sanderlings were also spotted.
Many Black-headed Gulls and Vega Gulls had gathered, and we searched among them for Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia) but found none. Had they already departed?
Observing the sea side from the breakwater on the Funabashi side, various ducks (Northern Pintail, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Gadwall) and Great Crested Grebes and Black-necked Grebes were floating.
Also, many Vega Gulls, Eurasian Oystercatchers, etc. rested on the breakwater were seen.
On the second day, we visited sites in Yokohama City.
First, we visited Sakaigawa Retarding Basin, but as the park was not yet open, we explored the surrounding farmland.
Walking along the Izumi River, we heard a Meadow Bunting singing in a tree, and observed male and female Bull-headed Shrikes moving about busily.
On the river, we also observed Masked Buntings, Daurian Redstart, Little Egret, and Great Egret.
With time to spare before the park opened, we proceeded along the road south of the park, observing the surrounding farmland and the inner park grounds.
In the farmland, besides Brown-eared Bulbuls and Bull-headed Shrikes, we spotted Masked Buntings and a Brown-headed Thrush.
Many Dusky Thrushes were standing on the park's lawns too.
In the biotope pond, Eurasian Teals and Little Grebes were found, while Grey-capped Greenfinches and Masked Buntings were seen in the reed beds.
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina) I had hoped for was only glimpsed once.
Above the Sakai River, three Common Kestrels were flying while being pursued by crows.
After the park opened, we spotted Grey Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, and Long-billed Plovers on the gravel sandbar in the Sakaigawa River.
At the biotope pond on the north side, we saw various ducks, including Falcated Ducks.
We searched for rails in the Imada Retarding Basin, but none were found this time.
We saw a Moorhen, three Black-crowned Night Herons, and Daurian Redstarts.
Next, we visited Maioka Park (Maioka-Koen).
Having heard during my previous visit that Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) tend to appear more often in the afternoon, we arrived around 11 o'clock.
Near the entrance, Japanese Tits, Lesser Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Varied Tit, and Japanese Bush Warbler appeared one after another.
Inside the park, few birds appeared besides Brown-eared Bulbuls, Bull-headed Shrikes, and Dusky Thrushes.
We heard calls of Chinese Bamboo-Partridges and Chinese Hwameis but saw none.
A kind photographer told us a White's Thrush was nearby, and we were glad to get a good look at it.
At "Urikubo", we heard loud drumming of a Japanese Green Woodpecker but struggled to find it. After searching for a while, we finally spotted it.
Unfortunately, we did not manage to see any Eurasian Woodcock.
That night, we set sail for Miyake Island (Miake-Jima) from Takeshiba Pier.
Though the departure was conditional, we arrived at Miyakejima without issue the following morning.
The forecast predicted rain until around 8 am, but the island's weather is capricious, and upon arrival, the rain had almost stopped.
We first visited the northeast area, birdwatching in the gradually brightening forests.
Along the dimly lit roads, small birds were foraging. As our vehicle approached, they flew into the roadside bushes, making identification difficult.
As it grew lighter, we spotted what appeared to be Dusky Thrush, Izu Thrush, Pale Thrush, and possibly Izu Robin.
Along the roadside, Japanese Bush Warblers were singing here and there. The calls of Chinese Bamboo-Partridges could also be heard at various points. A flock of small birds flew overhead. They perched in the plum grove. It was a flock of Eurasian Siskins.
There we also spotted a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai).
We also saw an Owston's Tit.
We found several Japanese Wood-Pigeons perched in trees near the coast.
Next, we visited the forest at Yakushi-do.
A Eurasian Wren (mosukei) sang well and showed itself several times.
We also managed to spot an Izu Robin.
At Tairo Pond, we found Tufted Ducks.
We also saw an Eastern Buzzard flying overhead.
We searched for Izu Thrush but couldn't find one.
Behind the high school, we saw many Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) with longer bill gathered on camellias, but no Izu Thrush.
Along the coastal road near the airport, we spotted a Rock Thrush, and on the lava reefs, Pelagic Cormorants and Japanese Cormorant were sitting.
While waiting for the boat at Ako Port, we observed a flock of Black-tailed Gulls sitting on rocks at distant rocks and an Osprey hunting over the sea.
From the ship bound for Tokyo, we observed many albatrosses; Short-Tailed Albatrosses, Laysan Albatrosses, and Japanese Murrelets as we sailed towards Oshima Island.
The Japanese Murrelets were often seen flying in pairs.
Black-footed Albatross, which we saw many last time, were strangely scarce this time, but we were delighted to see many Lesser Albatross, which were few last time.
We also saw many Providence Petrels, observing their distinctive flight pattern as they soared high in the sky, gliding in arcs.
From the fourth day, we visited eastern Hokkaido (Doto) for a three-night, four-day stay.
On the first day, we headed for Tsurui Village from Kushiro Airport.
Many Red-crowned Cranes still remained at Tsurumi-dai, but only a small number were present at Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary (Tsurui Tancho Sanctuaryn).
According to staff at the Nature Centre, this was due to the snowmelt beginning, exposing farmland where they could now forage.
Consequently, they indicated that feeding might conclude around the first week of March.
Then we stopped at Lake Shirarutoro.
Near Reisen Bridge, the lake surface remained unfrozen, though no birds were present.
In the distant centre, on the open water, we could see Whooper Swans, Smew, and Common Mergansers/Goosanders.
Also, White-tailed Eagle and Steller's Sea-Eagle were resting on the ice.
One Common Redpoll was spotted among the coniferous trees lining the road en route to Yoro-ushi Onsen, our lodging for the day.
We searched for Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) along the Shibetsu River flowing through Yoro-ushi Onsen, but found none.
We saw one Brown Dipper in the stream. There were few birds in the surrounding woods, but the lodge's feeding station attracted Marsh Tits, Great Spotted Woodpeckers (japonicus), Asian Wood Nuthatches/Eurasian Nuthatches, and Long-tailed Tits (Japan).
Blakiston's Fish-Owls appeared shortly after sunset and again just before dawn.
The following morning, the lodge's feeding station was busy with many Eurasian Jays (Brandt's). Coal Tits (insularis), Japanese Tits, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (seebohmi) also appeared.
No Solitary Snipes were seen within the range visible from the lodge.
Heading towards Notsuke Peninsula (Notsuke-Hanto), snow began to fall and the wind grew strong upon entering Shibetsu Town.
Judging birdwatching difficult at the peninsula, we toured Shibetsu Port, Odaito Fishing Port, and the vicinity of the Shunbetsu River estuary.
At Shibetsu Port and Odaito Fishing Port, many Slaty-backed Gulls rested on the breakwaters. Among them, we also observed Glaucous Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls.
White-tailed Eagles and Steller's Sea-Eagles were also sitting atop the breakwaters.
Within the bay, Harlequin Ducks, Black Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Pelagic Cormorants were found.
Entering March, their numbers and species seem to be decreasing.
Near the mouth of the Shunbetsu River, Whooper Swans and Northern Pintails were additionally observed.
While resting at Roadside Station Odaito, I saw on a monitor that the Abashiri area was sunny. Thinking the snowfall might be lighter at the tip of the Notsuke Peninsula, we headed there as scheduled.
Near the base of the peninsula, snow was falling and there was snow on the road surface. Further on, however, the snow was lighter or had stopped, and the road surface was clear.
However, a strong north wind was blowing, and the open sea was rough, making seabird observation difficult. We managed to identify Harlequin Ducks, Black Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Pelagic Cormorants, and gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous).
On the inshore side, birds were also scarce. A distant flock of gulls was visible, and on the grassy waterside meadows of "Narawara", several dozen Asian Rosy-Finches were foraging on the ground, occasionally taking flight, seemingly surprised by something.
White-tailed Eagle and Steller's Sea-Eagle were all sitting on the ground due to the strong wind.
We abandoned our search for Snow Bunting (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae) at the tip of the cape due to the strong winds and headed towards Nemuro.
Upon arriving in Nemuro, we received notification from staff at the Habomai Fishing Port Association office that the Habomai cruise scheduled for the following day had been cancelled.
A birder staying at the same lodge mentioned spotting a few Rock Sandpipers (Kuril Is.) (Calidris ptilocnemis quarta) from the Onnemoto Bird Hide, and large flocks of Crested Auklets (Aethia cristatella) and Least Auklets (Aethia pusilla) at Cape Nosappu.
We decided to try these sites the following morning.
The following morning, the strong wind had eased somewhat, but there was a light mist, and the rocks ahead were not clearly visible from the Onnemoto Bird Hide.
When revisiting in the evening, the mist had dispersed, but unfortunately, the Rock Sandpiper did not appear.
Cape Nosattspu (Nosattspu-Misaki) was crowded with many birders; the hide was full, so we observed from beside it, sheltering from the wind.
Later, after the group departed, we entered the hide but did not see the large flock of auklets during our observation.
The distance made identification difficult, but we saw many such as; Harlequin Duck, Stejneger's Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Horned Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Red-throated Loon/Diver, Black-throated Loon/Diver, Pacific Loon/Diver, Spectacled Guillemot, Pigeon Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, Glaucous Gull, and Slaty-backed Gull.
In the evening, we waited until dusk at the headland's cliffs for the Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile) among the roosting Pelagic Cormorants, but did not see it.
Instead, before dark, we saw two Short-eared Owls nearby.
In the middle of the day, we visited the forest around Nemuro Shunkunitai Nature Center.
There was no wind within the forest, but there were not many birds.
However, we observed Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), and Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), along with mixed flocks of Goldcrest, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Japanese Tit, and Asian Wood Nuthatch, and the Eurasian Wren (fumigatus).
On the final day, we visited Hashirikotan.
The previous day's snow had stopped, but the wind became stronger.
At the mouth of the Nishibetsu River, we saw Smews and Eurasian Wigeons.
On the Nemuro Bay side of the sandbar, strong winds created high waves, and among the rough waves, Black Scoters, Harlequin Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Stejneger's Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, and Red-breasted Mergansers appeared and disappeared.
Viewed from near the fishing port, many Whooper Swans were seen on Lake Furen, with Brant Geese among them.
There were many Black Kites and crows at the fishing port, as well as a few White-tailed Eagles.
Three Red-crowned Cranes were also present and could be seen closely.
We went to the tip of the sandbar but did not find any Snow Buntings there.
Next, we headed for Kiritappu Cape.
At the pond just before Kiritappu Bridge, we saw a Steller's Sea-Eagle up close.
Eurasian Wigeons were seen on the pond.
At Hamanaka Fishing Port, we observed a variety of species such as Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Black Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Slaty-backed Gull, and Glaucous Gull.
A strong easterly wind blew near the Kiritappu Cape lighthouse, with white-capped rough waves at the cape's tip, making seabirds and Short-eared Owl unlikely.
The birds we observed are;
At Kasai-rinkai Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
At Sanbanze Tidal Flat:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans), Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
At Sakaigawa Retarding Basin:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), ,br> Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Imada Retarding Basin:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Maioka Park:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
In Miyake-jima Island:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Ferry from Miyake-jima to Tokyo:
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
In Doto area:
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-
troated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis), Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri)? Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni), Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha)
コジュケイ, コクガン, オオハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ドバト, カラスバト, キジバト, アビ, オオハム, シロエリオオハム, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ,
ハジロミズナギドリ, オオミズナギドリ, カツオドリ, ヒメウ, カワウ, ウミウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クロツラヘラサギ,
タンチョウ, バン, オオバン, ダイゼン, イカルチドリ, シロチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, カナダカモメ? セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ウミバト, ケイマフリ,
カンムリウミスズメ, ミサゴ, トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, オオタカ, ノスリ, シマフクロウ, コミミズク, カワセミ,
コゲラ, エゾコゲラ, ミアケコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ,
ミヤマカケス, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キクイタダキ, ハシブトガラ, ヤマガラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, シマエナガ, メジロ, シチトウメジロ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, モスケミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
カワガラス, トラツグミ, シロハラ, アカハラ, アカコッコ, ツグミ, タネコマドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニヒワ, ハギマシコ, ウソ,
シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
7-day Nagano, Kanagawa, Doto & Hachijo Ferry
長野、神奈川、道東＆八丈島航路 7日間
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica)
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis)
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni)
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans)
& Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons)
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus)
Snow Bunting (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae)
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
First we visited Togariishi Historical Site.
A flock of Japanese Waxwings was found on mistletoe by the roadside, near this site.
They were perched on the tree or foraging on the ground.
At the site we searched for Solitary Snipe. Having not seen one recently, we felt little hope, but then spotted a slightly larger bird flushing into the narrow stream. After searching for a while, we found the bird we were looking for.
However, it soon disappeared from our sight.
We decided to spend some time exploring the surrounding area and then return to this spot later.
Most of Ryujin Pond was frozen over, with a flock of Eurasian Spot-billed Ducks resting on the ice. On the unfrozen water surface were one Falcated Duck, a Mallard, several Eurasian Teals, and Common Coots.
In the forest, we saw Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch,
Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Hawfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Meadow Bunting, Masked Bunting, etc. were seen, though numbers had dwindled.
Chinese Hwameis began calling from the small island in the pond, but they didn't come out in the open soon.
Upon revisiting the snipe's spot in the afternoon, we found it resting in a visible location and were able to observe its entire figure.
The snowfall around the cottage (Adagio) in Tateshina Highlands where we stayed that day was relatively light, though the ground was covered in snow except for the roads.
At the bird feeder there, Asian Rosy-Finches, Grey-bellied Bullfinches, Willow Tits, Coal Tits, Varied Tits, Japanese Tits, Wood Nuthatches, Grey-capped Greenfinches, and Hawfinches visited one after another.
In the morning, a flock of over 50 Japanese Grosbeaks occupied the feeder.
Next morning, we searched for Pallas's Rosefinch at Enrei in Okaya but did not find any. A few were seen early in the morning, but most might have moved away as the food ran out.
Here, we observed and heard several Eurasian Bullfinches (rosacea), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Tits, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Wood Nuthatch, Pale Thrush, and Dusky Thrush.
Then we moved to the shores of Lake Suwa.
Many Smews had returned back to the Kamaguchi Floodgate weir which had been under construction.
There is a big flock of Little Grebes.
Maany Great Egrets and Little Egrets were seen, too.
In the evening, we visited Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin.
Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Falcated Duck, Gadwall, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Baikal Teal, Mandarin Duck, and a duck reported as a hybrid between Baer's Pochard and Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya baeri × Aythya nyroca) were observed.
There were also Coots, Great Crested Grebes, and Great Cormorants.
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons) which had been reported was not seen in the pond this day.
On the third day, we headed for Kushiro in Hokkaido.
At Otowabashi, the roosting site for red-crowned cranes that we visited first, there were no cranes on the Setsuri River, and only common goldeneyes and common mergansers/goosanders were to be seen.
At Tsurui Ito Red-crowned Crane Sanctuary, At the Red-crown Crane Sanctuary, dozens of cranes were present and showed a variety of elegant poses such as stretching their necks and calling, flapping their wings, and flying.
Then we headed for our lodgings that night at Yoroushi Onsen.
En route, we travelled along the unpaved road along the Kushiro River through Kottaro Wetland, passing beside Lake Shirarutoro.
Lake Shirarutoro was largely frozen over, but near Reisen Bridge, a large open water surface stretched out, where Whooper Swans, Falcated Ducks, Mallards, Common Goldeneyes, Smews, and Common Mergansers/Goosanders were seen.
White-tailed Eagles were also spotted in the surrounding area.
As we approached Yoroushi Onsen, the snow cover increased, with drifts forming on the road. Strong winds whipped powder snow into poor visibility, making driving slightly difficult.
The next morning, we waited at Daiichi, the inn at Yoroushi Onsen, from around 4 am for the appearance of the Blakiston's Fish-Owl. Shortly after 5 am, it appeared and fed on some fish in the pen for a while.
As it began to lighten, a Eurasian Wren and a Brown Dipper came to the river in front, but no Solitary Snipe appeared during our observation.
Many Eurasian Jays (Brandt's) came to the bird feeder.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Marsh Tits (hensoni), and Japanese Tits also came.
The following morning, we headed for the Hashirikotan Peninsula in Betsukai Town.
The surface of Lake Furen near the fishing port was unfrozen, and a very large number of Whooper Swans were resting in the distance.
A large flock of Brant Geese also flew in and landed far off. Looking at the photographs,
a few birds that appeared to be Greater White-fronted Geese seemed to be confirmed within the flock.
Two Red-crowned Cranes were also resting in the harbour.
In the settlement, many Black Kites and crows were flying and perching on the trees, among which several White-tailed Eagles and Steller's Sea-Eagles were also seen.
The road towards the tip of the peninsula was closed from the half way due to construction work.
However, up to that point, a small brown bird, likely a Lapland Longspur, was flying in the grassland, and on the sea, Harlequin Ducks, Surf Scoter, Stejneger's Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, and Pelagic Cormorant were seen.
Around the mouth of the Shunbetsu River in Odaito, a flock of Whooper Swans, ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye), Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Pelagic Cormorant, and gulls (Slaty-backed Gull, Glaucous-winged, Glaucous), Steller's Sea-Eagle and White-tailed Eagle were observed.
At Odaito Fishing Port, many scallop fishing boats were moored, and between them, ducks (Harlequin, Common Goldeneye), Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, and Pelagic Cormorants were seen.
Seagulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged), Steller's Sea-Eagle and White-tailed Eagles were perched on the breakwater.
At the Betsukai Seaside Hotel where we stayed that night, the ice had melted in the Notsuke Bay right in front of us.
Ducks and mergansers swam on the water surface, while gulls and eagles flew overhead.
The opposite shore on the Notsuke Peninsula was frozen solid.
Against the backdrop of the rising sun, a Steller's Sea-Eagle on the ice was beautiful.
Also, at the hotel's bird feeder, Common Redpolls, Great Spotted Woodpeckers (japonicus), Marsh Tits, and Japanese Tits came to visit.
On the fifth day, we visited the Notsuke Peninsula.
Last time it was snowing heavily, but this time it was calm with no wind and no snow on the roads.
On the way to the parking area at the peninsula's tip, we saw Whooper Swans in Notsuke Bay and, in the Sea of Okhotsk, ducks (Harlequin, Stejneger's Scoter, Long-tailed, Common Goldeneye), Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver, Pelagic Cormorant, gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous), and along the roadside, White-tailed Eagle and Steller's Sea-Eagle.
We got out of the car and walked to the tip, where we found Spectacled Guillemots on the sea and Snow Buntings on the bay-side shore of grassland patches covered here and there with snow.
In the afternoon, we headed towards Rausu.
On the way, at Shibetsu Port, we observed ducks (Tufted, Greater Scaup, Harlequin, Common Goldeneye), Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Pelagic Cormorant, gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged), eagles (White-tailed, Steller's).
At Rausu Port, ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted, Greater Scaup, Harlequin, Common Goldeneye), Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Pelagic Cormorant, gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Black-tailed), eagles (White-tailed, Steller's), and cormorants (Pelagic, Japanese) were observed.
That night, we stayed at Washi-no-yado in Rausu Town.
Since Blakiston's Fish-Owl was said to appear before dawn, we waited until 9 pm, then went to sleep. We woke up before 4 am to wait for its appearance.
Around 4:30 a.m., we heard its call, but it didn't descend to the river's fish cages.
Then, just as we looked away around 5:00 am, it appeared.
As usual, Brown Dippers appeared on the river, and a Common Mergansers/Goosanders also came, but this time, no Crested Kingfisher (pallida) (Megaceryle lugubris pallida) appeared during our observation.
Numbers of eagles (White-tailed, Steller's) were perched in the trees on the mountainside.
The cruise ship departed Rausu Port before dawn the next morning, heading out to the distant drift ice.
There, we were able to fully enjoy the sight of eagles perching and soaring above the ice floes.
The ferry departed at 22:30 the previous night, heading for Hachijo-jima Island via Miyake-jima and Mikura-jima Islands.
Dawn began to break as we passed Mikura-jima.
During the voyage from Mikura-jima to Hachijo-jima, we observed Black-footed Albatross, Short-tailed Albatross, Streaked Shearwater, and Black-tailed Gull, though in small numbers.
During the approximately 40-minute wait for the return ferry at Hachijo-jima, we birded around Sokodo Port. Pelagic Cormorants, Japanese Cormorants, Black-tailed Gulls, and an Western Osprey rested on the breakwater blocks. On the coastal grassland, we found Bull-headed Shrikes, Dusky Thrush, and White Wagtails. The shorebird was only a Common Sandpiper.
On the return voyage to Tokyo, we observed Streaked Shearwater, Black-footed Albatross, Short-tailed Albatross, Laysan Albatross, Providence Petrel, Red-necked Phalarope, Black-tailed Gull, and Japanese Murrelet.
Black-footed Albatross were frequently seen throughout the entire voyage.
However, although we had hoped to see many Laysan Albatross in the waters between Miyake-jima and off O-shima, their numbers were low, possibly due to wind direction and other weather conditions.
The birds we observed are;
In Nagano area:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
At Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Baer's Pochard x Ferruginous Pochard (hybrid) (Aythya baeri x Aythya nyroca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
In Doto area:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)?
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea),
Lapland Longspur (coloratus)/Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus coloratus),
Snow Bunting (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae)
Ferry between Tokyo and Hachijo-jima & Hachijo-jima Island:
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガン, コクガン, オオハクチョウ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ,
トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, アカハジロxメジロガモ(雑種), キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ,
アラナミキンクロ? ビロードキンクロ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, アビ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ,
ハジロミズナギドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ヒメウ, カワウ, ウミウ, タンチョウ, オオバン, アオシギ, イソシギ,
アカエリヒレアシシギ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ケイマフリ, カンムリウミスズメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オジロワシ, シマフクロウ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ハシブトガラ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, シロハラゴジュウカラ,
ミソサザイ, ガビチョウ, カワガラス, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニヒワ, ハギマシコ, ウソ, アカウソ, シメ, イカル, ツメナガホオジロ, ユキホオジロ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Natsume-no-seki Pond, Hasaki & Choshi Ports and Inashiki area (Chiba & Ibaraki Prefectures)
夏目の堰、波崎港＆銚子港、稲敷エリア（千葉、茨城）
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
& American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
This pond is a small agricultural reservoir, but large numbers of swans and ducks can be observed here.
The swans were mainly Tundra Swans, with a few Whooper Swans and Whistling Swans also seen.
As for ducks, previously Northern Pintails had been the dominant species, followed by Mallards.
However, in recent years, Baikal Teals increased rapidly, to such an extent that they cover the entire lake surface.
Other species observed were Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, hybrid of American Wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Smew, and Great Crested Grebe.
Three Greater White-fronted Geese were also found.
Next, we visited the fishing ports in Choshi and Hazaki.
This area is home to the largest variety and number of seagulls in Japan in winter. Choshi Fishing Port, boasting one of Japan's largest catches, is known as the lovely spot for seagulls.
However, in recent years, their numbers have been declining, making gull watchers for a rather sad situation.
Near Kawagishi Park, only a few Black-tailed Gulls were flying around. Inside the harbor, there was only a small flock of Common Pochards, making us feel this season might be no good either.
However, on the seawall in front of Restaurant Ikuri, there were many Black-tailed Gulls.
Furthermore, in the harbor in front of Choshi Second Wholesale Market, we saw many Black-headed Gulls flying around fishing boats unloading sardines, plus numerous Black-tailed Gulls and Vega Gulls resting on the seawall, along with cormorants (Japanese and Great).
Among them, we also spotted a few Slaty-backed Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and Glaucous Gulls.
We also found an individual with yellow legs that looked like a Lesser Black-backed Gull.
From Choshi Third Wholesale Market, we spotted loons/divers flying far out over the open sea.
Also, many cormorants (Japanese, Pelagic) were resting on the seawall.
Inside the bay at Choshi Outer Port, many Great Crested Grebes were present, along with a few Greater Scaup, Red-necked Grebes, Black-necked Grebes, and one Black Scoter.
At Hazaki Ports, there were few gulls or ducks. Besides cormorants, only a few Greater Scaup and Red-breasted Merganser were seen.
The birds observed are;
- at Natsume-no-Seki:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (hybrid),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- in Choshi & Hasaki Ports;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata)?
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus heuglini)?
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ,
トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ, ミコアイサ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アビ? ヒメウ, カワウ, ウミウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ,
セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ホイグリンカモメ? トビ, ノスリ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
Lake Miike & Izumi (Miyazaki, Kagoshima)
御池&出水(宮崎、鹿児島)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii)
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)
White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio)
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus)
Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo)
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi)
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis)
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major)
& Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus)
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus)
& White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
The day before, heavy snow fell across Japan, and Kagoshima Prefecture also had snow accumulation. However, the first day of our visit was mild and warm, and most of the snow had disappeared.
From Kagoshima Airport, we headed to Miike Lake in Miyazaki Prefecture first.
We made a detour via Kagoshima Prefectural Forest.
We hoped to encounter Copper Pheasants (Ijima's) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii ijimae), which had been recorded here the previous month, but we were not fortunate enough to see any.
We arrived at Miike Lake around 11:00 am and birded the woods near the campground, the campground itself, and the lake.
It was close to noon, so bird activity was low, but we saw Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Y.k.kizuki), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri), Japanese Woodpecker (horii), Wood Nuthatch (roseilia), Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, and Japanese Grosbeak.
We also spotted one Yellow-browed Warbler moving among pine trees. On the lake, we saw many Eurasian Wigeons and Mallards.
In the evening, we entered Izumi City.
We checked the upstream of the Hirose Bridge on the Komenotsu River.
There was no Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata).
At East Reclamation Area, there were many Hooded and White-naped Cranes.
A Demoiselle Crane and a young Common Crane were also found there.
Many Common Shelducks were resting in the flooded rice paddies prepared for crane's roost.
Around the Izumi Crane Observation Center, a Siberian Crane was also found. It had lost half of one leg but luckily managed to survive.
Two Leser's White-fronted Geese were also spotted.
The next morning was cloudy with a light southerly wind. At the reed beds near the mouth of the Euchi River, buntings (Common Reed, Meadow, Chestnut-eared, Masked) were active and easily observed.
Several Chinese Penduline-Tits were also glimpsed moving in among the reeds.
From the Izumi Crane Observation Center, several Common Cranes were spotted among the numerous Hooded Cranes and White-naped Cranes.
Two Snow Geese were also spotted.
After that, we visited the Akune coast southwest of Izumi.
We hoped to see Brown Boobies but didn't see any, instead observing Japanese Cormorants, Black-tailed Gulls, Vega Gulls and Western Osprey.
Returning to Izumi, we spotted a Red-billed Starling among a flock of White-cheeked Starlings in the Fukunoe area.
It was raining on the morning of the third day.
Hearing the forecast said it would stop by 9:00, we made a slightly late visit to Kogawa Dam. The weather was unstable, with occasional light rain and glimpses of blue sky.
There were many Mallards on the lake. We also saw many Mandarin Ducks.
Forest birds were less active and we didn't see many.
In the afternoon, we drove around the Izumi reclamation areas.
In a large flock of Rooks, a significant number of Daurian Jackdaws were found.
We also saw Russet Sparrows perched in clusters on power lines.
At the mouth of the Euchi River, several Brown Boobies were spotted diving into the sea far offshore.
Also, a Taimyr Gull with yellow legs was found resting on the breakwater at the fishing port.
Bidding farewell to Izumi, while heading to Kagoshima Airport, we stopped at Todoro Bridge across the middle reaches of the Sendai River in Satsuma Town.
We observed wagtails (White, Japanese, Grey), Common Sandpipers, Asian House Martins, etc.
Ducks were scarce, with Mallard, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal present.
Passing through Kagoshima Prefectural Forest again, we hoped to encounter Copper Pheasant, but this time it was not to happen.
The birds observed are:
at Lake Miike:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (roseilia) (Sitta europaea roseilia),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
at Izumi:
Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis),
White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Taimyr Gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
in Akune:
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
in Kogawa Dam:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis) (Garrulus glandarius hiugaensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at middle-reaches of Sendai River:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
サカツラガン, カリガネ, ツクシガモ, オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カツオドリ, カワウ, ウミウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ソデグロヅル, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, アネハヅル, ヒクイナ, オオバン,
タゲリ, シロチドリ, クサシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ツミ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
キュウシュウコゲラ, オオアカゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ヒュウガカケス, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツリスガラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, キュウシュウエナガ,
キマユムシクイ, メジロ, セッカ, キュウシュウゴジュウカラ, ギンムクドリ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Around Lake Suwa & Tateshina (Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺&蓼科(長野)
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi)
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
& Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
& Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
& Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica)
A strong winter-type pressure pattern brought a heavy snow advisory to the Tokyo area over these two days.
At my first destination, Enrei Ojo Park Line, temperatures were low and snow was falling.
Perhaps the fever of Pallas's Rosefinch since the end of the previous year had already passed, as few birders or photographers' cars were present when we arrived at 7:30 am.
This road is closed during winter, and walking from the closure gate, we soon spotted Pallas's Rosefinches foraging on the road covered in a thin layer of snow.
Further along, we also found Long-tailed Rosefinches, Pale Thrushes, Dusky Thrushes, and Hawfinches. We heard the call of a Grey-bellied Bullfinch too.
However, the snow gradually grew heavier, so we ended our birding here shortly and headed to Enrei Camping Site.
Here, we saw several birds, likely Yellow-throated Buntings, feeding on the road, and one Red-flanked Bluetail.
Then we moved to the shores of Lake Suwa. The Kamaguchi Floodgate weir was under construction, and the water level below the weir was very low, and there were no Smew or Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula).
We searched for waxwings on the mistletoe on the lakeside trees, but they had already left, and we didn't find any birds.
At the mouth of the Yokogawa River, no swans were seen, but various ducks (Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Gadwall), Smew, Common Merganser/Goosander, and Great Crested Grebes were gathered.
In the afternoon, we visited Togari-ishi Historical Park.
We could not find Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica).
It was a time when the birds were less active in the afternoon and it was also snowing, birds were not active.
Though most of Ryujin Pond was frozen over, the surface remained open near the spring's source, where we observed various ducks (Gadwall, Common Pochard, Falcated Duck, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Tufted Duck) and Common Coot.
In the woods, we saw woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Bull-headed Shrike, Eurasian Jay, tits (Willow, Japanese, Coal), Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren, thrushes (Dusky, Pale), Brambling, Hawfinch, and Yellow-throated Bunting.
At the lodge in Tateshina where we stayed that night, a bird feeder nad bath were set up, allowing us to watch many birds from the warm room.
The birds observed were: tits (Willow, Coal, Japanese), Wood Nuthatch, Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Asian Rosy-Finch, Grey-bellied Bullfinch, Hawfinch, Japanese Grosbeak. Particularly notable was the Asian Rosy-Finch, which is difficult to see in the Tokyo area, and many were observed.
On the second day, fresh snow had accumulated.
Heavy snow was falling in the Kanto region, causing the Chuo Expressway to shut down.
We stopped at Yatsugatake Natural & Cultural Park along the way, where we saw about 30 Japanese Waxwings gathered among the many mistletoe plants.
We then took the local roads, taking a long time to get home.
The birds we observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha), Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), , Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワウ, オオバン, トビ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, コガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ,
ヒレンジャク, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ハギマシコ, ベニマシコ, オオマシコ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, ミヤマホオジロ
West part of Kanagawa Prefecture (Kanagawa)
神奈川西部(神奈川)
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri)
I started walk the Hayatogawa Forest Road at 6:30. The temperature was -2°C and cold.
Near the trailhead, there was a flock of Japanese macaques.
During my visit at the end of November last year, I heard various birds calling in this point, but this time it was quiet.
However, the Masked Bunting, which had hidden in the grasses and was hard to spot last time, occasionally appeared.
Red-flanked Bluetails also showed up several times.
Grey-bellied Bullfinches also increased in number, and small flocks could be seen in several spots.
Additionally, species not observed last time were seen, such as Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Goldcrest, Pale Thrush, Olive-backed Pipit, Brambling, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Hawfinch, and Meadow Bunting.
Perhaps due to the lack of rain, the lake's water level was extremely low. Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata), Great Cormorants, and Grey Herons (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), which were many last time, had disappeared somewhere.
Still, a few Great Crested Grebes and a Brown Dipper remained.
Though it was the coldest time of the year, this day marked the beginning of spring according to the traditional calendar. I heard an Eurasian Wren singing for the first time this year.
After leaving the Hayatogawa Forest Road, I visited a spot where Mountain Hawk-Eagles (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) had recently been frequently sighted.
Unfortunately, I was told they had just flown off shortly before my arrival, so I was unable to observe them.
In the afternoon, I visited Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin.
Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Falcated Duck, Gadwall, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Baikal Teal, and a duck reported as a hybrid between Baer's Pochard and Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya baeri × Aythya nyroca) were observed.
There were also Coots, Great Crested Grebes, and Great Cormorants.
The individual reported as a hybrid of Baer's Pochard and Ferruginous Pochard had quite distinctive Baer's Pochard features.
Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata), that had been there the day before in numbers exceeding 30, had gone and disappeared.
The birds observed are;
At Miyagase area:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
At Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Baer's Pochard x Ferruginous Pochard (hybrid) (Aythya baeri x Aythya nyroca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, アカハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, オオバン, トビ, ハイタカ, コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, キクイタダキ,
ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ガビチョウ, カワガラス, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Watarase Retarding Basin & Itakura (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地&板倉(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris)
First, we visited Watarase Retarding Basin.
This time, we entered from the southern end where the Yatagawa River and the Watase River converge.
At the confluence point, one Eastern Buzzard and many Black Kites were perched in tall trees.
A Hawfinch was also seen perched there.
As we drove along the narrow road beside the Yatagawa River, birds appeared one after another: wagtails (White, Japanese), Siberian Pipit, Long-billed Plover, and White Egret on the river's mudflats; Meadow Bunting, Masked Bunting, and Siberian Pipit on the road; and Green Pheasant, Dusky Thrush, and Brown-headed Thrush in the grassy areas beside the road.
In the forest by the sports grounds, we saw Dusky Thrush and Bull-headed Shrike.
The Long-eared Owl was also there.
We returned to the confluence point and then headed north along the road beside the Watarase River.
Many Meadow Buntings, Common Reed Buntings, and Rustic Buntings were seen in the reeds along the riverside.
A Green Pheasant was also found on the riverbank beside this road. This species had been hard to find just before, but perhaps they have become a bit more active now that spring is approaching.
Near Nowata Bridge, we spotted Long-tailed Rosefinches.
Climbing up the embankment from here, we saw an Eastern Marsh-Harrier soaring low over the reed beds stretching beside Lake Yanaka.
Yanaka Lake had previously been drained during winter to improve water quality, but this winter it remained filled with water.
Walking the eastern end of the trail crossing the center of the lake, a bright red Long-tailed Rosefinch appeared in front of us.
Ducks were not many on the lake, but a few pure white Smews were found in the distance.
Several Smews were also seen on the Shinkawa River on the lake's eastern side.
The ponds scattered among the reed beds east of the golf course were frozen in the cold.
Smews, Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and Falcated Ducks were gathered on the unfrozen surface of the largest pond.
This time, due to the smaller area birded and shorter duration, few raptors were confirmed, and there was also no encounter with Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana).
Then we drove through the farming area in Itakura Town.
There were fewer birds overall.
However, one Green Sandpiper was found in the irrigation canal, and three Grey-headed Lapwings were spotted in the still-short wheat fields.
A big flock of Rooks with a few Daurian Jackdaw was seen, too.
At the irrigation reservoir, which had been empty of birds last time due to construction, many ducks (Eurasian Teal, Northern Pintail, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler), two Whooper Swans, and Common Coots had returned.
Additionally, two Tundra Bean Geese, rare here, were also seen.
The birds we observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, ヒシクイ, オオハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, ケリ, イカルチドリ, クサシギ, イソシギ,
トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, トラフズク, コゲラ, アカゲラ? モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Doto area (Hokkaido)
道東エリア(北海道)
Flock of Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla)
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica)
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus)
The species targeted were Steller's Sea-Eagle, Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea), Snow Bunting (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae), Common Redpoll (flammea) ( Acanthis flammea flammea), and sea birds.
The previous year's visit was about a week earlier, but since Ross's Gulls were observed a week after that visit, this year's visit was scheduled for this time.
However, while the drift ice arrived in the Okhotsk area very late at the end of February in the previous year, this season it arrived almost as usual, with drift ice reaching the coast the day before arrival. The gulls that we saw in large numbers the previous year were nowhere to be found.
We had hoped for strong seasonal winds, but calm weather persisted throughout our stay, and once again, our encounter with Ross's Gull had to be put on hold.
Only a few Slaty-backed Gulls were seen at the mouth of the Shari River on the final day when a fairly strong westerly wind blew.
At the river mouths, ports, and coastlines along the Sea of Okhotsk, large numbers of Harlequin Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, and Pelagic Cormorants were seen everywhere.
On the Abashiri River, Whooper Swans, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Greater Scaups, and one Canvasback, rare in Japan, were also observed.
At Abashiri Port, we saw Whooper Swans and Red-necked Grebes, but perhaps due to the calm weather, we did not find the expected Black Scoters (Melanitta americana), Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis), Thick-billed Murres (arra) (Uria lomvia arra), or Common Murres (North Pacific) (Uria aalge inornata).
At Notoro Cape, Stejneger's Scoter, Black Scoter, and Spectacled Guillemot were spotted far offshore.
Additionally, about 30 Asian Rosy-Finches were foraging on the open grassland near the lighthouse.
From Swan Park (Hakucho Koen) on the shore of Lake Tofutsu, we saw a flocks of Whooper Swans and Mallards, as well as a Common Shelduck, on the unfrozen lake surface.
It was also funny to watch a Carrion Crow playing to ride on an small ice chip drifting upon the lake surface.
At a private residence on the way to the Yanbetsu River estuary, Marsh Tits, Varied Tits, Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits (Japan), and Asian Wood Nuthatches (S.e.asiatica) were seen up close gathering at a bird feeder.
At the Yanbetsu River, we saw Whooper Swans and Mallards.
In the surrounding woods, we spotted Black Kites, White-tailed Eagles, Steller's Sea-Eagles, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (seebohmi).
Near the cattle shed, we observed Japanese Tits, Dusky Thrushes, and Brown-eared Bulbuls.
At the mouth of the Shari River and Shari Port, we didn't see the expected gulls, but hundreds of Stejneger's Scoters / Siberian Scoters and Black Scoters had gathered on the sea surface between the offshore drift ice and the coast.
We also spotted several Spectacled Guillemots.
At the port, we observed Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, and Greater Scaup, but the American Wigeon (Mareca americana) seen before we arrival was nowhere to be found.
Construction was underway on the landward side of the port, so the Snow Buntings and Common Redpolls we had hoped to see were not present; only Japanese Tits were there.
A Brown Dipper was spotted in the unfrozen flow of the Okushibebetsu River, which runs between Shari Town and Utoro Town.
We also hoped to see Red-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa brevirostris) and Ross's Gulls offshore at Utoro's Oshinkoshin Falls, but drift ice had reached the shoreline, making sightings unlikely.
Crossing the Shiretoko Peninsula to reach the Pacific coast, we visited Shibetsu Port and Notsuke Peninsula, where we observed gulls such as Mew, Slaty-backed, Glaucous, and Glaucous-winged.
During our visit, a blizzard prevented us from reaching the peninsula's tip, so we were unable to see Snow Buntings.
At the Yobito bird-watching trail on Lake Abashiri, where we observed the Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius martius) in the previous year, bird activity was low this time.
We saw and heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), an Asian Wood Nuthatch, a Grey-bellied Bullfinch and a Northern Goshawk.
At Komaba Kinohiroba Park in a residential area of Abashiri City, we encountered many species of birds, such as; Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Eurasian Jay (Brandt's), Marsh Tit, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Asian Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica), Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, etc.
The birds observed are;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]), Canvasback (Aythya valisineria),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
オオハクチョウ, ツクシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, マルガモ, オオホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ,
ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, ドバト, ヒメウ,
カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ケイマフリ, トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ハシブトガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, シマエナガ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ,
カワガラス, ツグミ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, ハギマシコ, ウソ, シメ
Yokohama area (Kanagawa)
横浜エリア(神奈川)
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans)
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis)
At first, we visited Maioka Park (Maioka-Koen).
The Maioka Park is located in the suberbs of Yokohama city.
There are ponds, rice fields and forests, providing the good habitats for the wintering birds such as snipes, finches, etc.
This site is famous for the regular wintering of Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), and is providing good opportunities for their observation.
It did come again this year. However, it did not appear during our observation. According to a local birder, it had often appeared afternoon in this season.
As usual, we observed many Masked Buntings quite close by.
Additionally, the Japanese Bush-Warblers, which normally stays hidden in the bushes, were active and came out to visible spots this time.
We also saw flocks of Chinese Bamboo-Partridges at two locations.
A small flock of Hawfinches and a Grey-bellied Bullfinch, which is rare here, were found, too.
On the pond frozen stiff by the cold, a Grey Heron, a Little Egret, and a Common Kingfisher rested, looking bored.
Then we moved to nearby Imada Retarding Basin.
Fewer ducks than usual were seen this year, with only Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Eurasian Teals spotted.
Water levels were low, reducing the extent of puddles within the reed beds, but a Brown-cheeked Rail appeared in a visible spot twice, as hoped.
Ruddy-breasted Crested Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax) was not seen this time.
Buntings were also scarce, with only a few Meadow, Masked, and Common Reed Buntings observed.
There were several Common Kingfishers, allowing for good observation.
A Black-crowned Night Heron, which usually hides in the reed beds, was resting in a spot where its entire body was clearly visible this time.
We made a short birding at Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park nearby in the afternoon.
At the gravel sandbar in the Sakai River flowing beside the Sakai River Regulation Reservoir Information Center, we searched for the Long-billed Sandpiper as usual but found not a single one. Worried something might have happened, we found several near the bank. They seemed to have gone out foraging.
In the small biotope on the south side, we observed Common Reed Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Great Tits in the reeds, Common Moorhen on the ground, and Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Teals and Little Grebes in the pond.
Furthermore, three Green Pheasants, usually hard to spot during the peak winter, appeared on the open grassland beside the reed beds.
We scanned the pond in the large northern biotope from beside the Information Center, but only saw a few ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler), Little Grebes, Common Coots and Great Cormorants in the distance.
We did not see but there was Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata).
The birds we observed are;
at Maioka Park;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Imada Retarding Basin;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
at Sakaigawa Retarding Basin;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, キジ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ,
ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, バン, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, カワセミ, コゲラ,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, ウソ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
1-day Trip at Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
A powerful cold wave brought record-breaking heavy snowfall to the Sea of Japan side, but despite temperatures dropping to -3°C early this morning, the weather here was windless and calm.
I was concerned that birding with such a large group might affect the birds' appearance, but thanks to the many experienced observers, we recorded 55 species before noon and 62 species by the 1:30 PM end time, achieving significant results.
We were particularly excited by encounters with various species of ducks, grebes and hawks, Long-tailed Rosefinch, and rare Yellow-browed Warbler.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン,
ヒメアマツバメ, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, キマユムシクイ, メジロ, セッカ,
ムクドリ, シロハラ, オオアカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
It was Dai-kan according to the traditional calendar, and though it was sunny, the weather was cold and a chilly north wind blew, just as the calendar foretold.
This time, the target was to find the Yellow-browed Warbler, which I had been spotted during the visit on December 29, 2025, and was reportedly still being seen even after three weeks had passed.
When I arrived at the spot, photographers were already waiting.
Since it seemed no one had seen it yet, I moved to the grassy area downstream and birded.
On my previous visit at that spot on January 12th, I observed a Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus) and a few Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus). This time, I waited briefly but they did not appear.
Instead, a few Common Reed Buntings, which I hadn't seen last time, made appearances.
Returning to the spot where the photographers were waiting, I carefully scanned the area and luckily spotted the target bird moving inside the shadows of the broad-leaved evergreen tree.
This time, I didn't go downstream to the Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir, so the number of species I observed was fewer than on my previous visit on January 12th. However, I did see the Western Osprey, Eurasian Goshawk, and Rustic Bunting, which I missed last time.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
オオバン, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, キマユムシクイ, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Sakawa River & Kari River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川&狩川(神奈川)
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser)
Our arrival was almost the time of sunrise.
Many Common Coots were foraging in the shallows.
Looking carefully at the gravelly sandbar, we found not only White Wagtails and Siberian Pipits, but also Grey-capped Greenfinches, Common Sandpipers, Long-billed Plovers, Dunlins, Japanese Wagtails, and Grey Wagtail.
Common Mergansers were swimming in the river or flying along in flocks.
The birds obserbed are;
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
コガモ, カワアイサ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
This time, the weather was mild, and with five experienced members with keen eyes and ears joining the team, we were able to discover more species than usual.
Around the grassland at Noborito Wando, upstream of Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir, addition to the regular members such as Masked Buntings, Bull-headed Shrikes, Dusky Thrushes and Daurian Redstart, a Brown-headed Thrush and Ruddy-breasted Crake could be seen.
Upstream and downstream at Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir, we saw ducks (Eurasian Teal, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard), shorebirds (Long-billed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin), Great Crested Grebes, gulls (Black-headed, Vega), wagtails (White, Japanese) and Siberian Pipits in the river, a Blue Rock Thrush on a building, and a few House Swift in the sky.
On the grassy area upstream of Tama-suido Bridge, buntings (Meadow, Masked), Long-tailed Rosefinches, Warbling White-eyes, Grey-capped Greenfinches and a Dusky Warbler appeared.
An Eastern Buzzard and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk were seen. The Eurasian Sparrowhawk was flying low to the ground, searching for prey.
A small flock of Siberian Pipits was foraging on the playground, which was deserted.
Around the small pond in the Nakanoshima area, we looked for Masked Laughingthrush and Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus). We heard the calls of Masked Laughingthrush but they did not appear this time.
Instead, we saw an Eastern Buzzard perching on a tree at the distance.
At Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir, we saw ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted, Falcated), egrets (Little, Great, Grey Heron), Common Coots, gulls (Black-headed, Vega) and grebes (Great Crested, Little, Black-necked).
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ、ヨシガモ、ヒドリガモ、マガモ、カルガモ、ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ、コガモ、ホシハジロ、キンクロハジロ、
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, ヒメアマツバメ, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ,
トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, カワセミ, コゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, ムジセッカ, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ, カオグロガビチョウ, シロハラ, オオアカハラ, ツグミ,
ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Fureai-no-mori Park & Izumi-no-mori Park in Yamato (Kanagawa)
ふれあいの森＆泉の森(神奈川)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
& Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis)
Fureai-no-mori Park and Izumi-no-mori Park are adjacent parks rich in nature, located along the Hikiji River which originates from the Yamato Water Source within Izumi-no-mori Park.
Approximately 50 species of birds are observed here in a year.
Upon entering Fureai-no-Mori Park, I soon spotted more than a dozen Dusky Thrushes and Brown-eared Bulbuls, one pale Thrush, and several Japanese Grosbeaks , which drinking or bathing in a small stream of the Hikiji River flowing through the park.
Additionally, several Masked Buntings and one Daurian Redstart were observed moving on the grasses around the stream, while within the stream itself, several Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, one Mallard, and one Little Egret were also observed.
Walking along the Hikiji River further upstream, we observed Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Common Kingfisher, Great Egrets and Little Egrets in the water, Dusky Thrushes and small flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinches and Rose-ringed Parakeets in the trees.
Upon entering Izumi-no-Mori Park, the call of the Ryukyu Minivet was heard, though I could not spot it.
At Shirakashi-no-ike Pond, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and Common Coot were seen. The number was fewer than expected.
In the thickets within the pond, Warbling White-eyes and Dusky Thrushes were moving about.
Additionally, a small flock of Azure-winged Magpies, rather incongruous in such habitats, was observed.
Furthermore, on a large tree, thirty Rose-ringed Parakeets were perched, presenting an strange sight.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)?
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ドバト, キジバト, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ケリ? カワセミ,
コゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ワカケホンセイインコ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)
It was the second day since the start of the coldest season, with a typical winter-type pressure pattern bringing heavy snow to the Sea of Japan side and clear skies with northerly winds to the Pacific side where the Tokyo area lies.
Sengenyama Park, located in the southwestern part of Tama Cemetery, was remarkably bright within the forest. This was due to the deciduous trees having shed their leaves and many Japanese oak wilt-killed trees having been cut down.
In that forest, small flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch, Dusky Thrush, Japanese Grosbeak, Warbling White-eye, and Brown-eared Bulbul were found among the trees, as were Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, and Daurian Redstart.
Masked Buntings were also foraging on the ground.
Also, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk appeared overhead and circled for a while.
At the man-made bird bath, Japanese Tits, Masked Buntings, Pale Thrush, Brown-eared Bulbuls, and Chinese Hwameis came to bathe.
Unfortunately, the birds that are usually seen in this field at this time of year, such as Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) and Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), were not encountered this time.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジバト, ハイタカ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ワカケホンセイインコ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
オオカワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ
Saitama area (Saitama)
埼玉エリア(埼玉)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
& Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
First, I visited the Kamino Reservoir beside the Sports & Culture Park in Kumagaya City.
The water level of the reservoir was low and madflats had spread out.
Around a puddle, I found a Greater Yellowlegs together with several Common Greenshanks. This species is a vagrant in Japan and extremely rare.
There have been reports since the end of last year, and I was able to see it this time.
Other birds observed at the pond were ducks, egrets, Long-billed Plovers, White Wagtail and Zitting Cisticola.
Upon a quick walk inside the park, Mallards were found in the pond, with some birds, such as Warbling White-eye, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Tit and Masked Bunting, spotted in the surrounding forest.
In the afternoon, I stopped by Isa Marsh (Isa-numa) in Kawagoe City.
With the water level low, large area of the marsh bed were dry, and on the remaining mudflats I observed several Black-winged Stilts and one Long-billed Plover.
On another mudflat, many Great Cormorants and ducks were resting.
In the narrow stream flowing into the marsh, two Common Snipes were found.
On the water surface, together with the ducks, many Black-headed Gulls were floating.
The birds observed are;
at Kamino Pond near Kumagaya Sports & Culture Park
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Isa Marsh
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
イカルチドリ, セイタカシギ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, オオキアシシギ, ユリカモメ, トビ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, セッカ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アオジ
Half-day Trip at Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)
The forecast had called for cloud, but blue skies spread out and the weather was calm with no wind.
Perhaps because of these conditions, the birds were active.
Around the grassland at Noborito Wando, upstream of Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir, Masked Buntings, Bull-headed Shrikes, and Dusky Thrushes were frequently seen.
A Daurian Redstart, and a Zitting Cisticola and Japanese Bush-Warbler, which are difficult to spot during winter as they hide in thickets, also appeared.
On the open groud beside Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir, Japanese Wagtail, White Wagtails, and flocks of White-cheeked Starlings were seen. Upstream and downstream at the weir, many birds were seen such as ducks (Eurasian Teal, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard), shorebirds (Long-billed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin), Great Crested Grebes, gulls (Black-headed, Vega), wagtails (White, Japanese), and Siberian Pipits.
On the grassy area upstream of Tama-suido Bridge, buntings (Meadow, Masked, Rustic, Common Reed), Long-tailed Rosefinches and Warbling White-eyes appeared.
A Western Osprey, Black Kites, and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk were seen in the sky.
Around the small pond in the Nakanoshima area, we looked for Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei and Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), but only Chinese Hwamei was seen this time.
Instead, a few Long-tailed Rosefinches and a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches appeared.
At Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir, the construction work had paused for the year-end holidays, and many ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted, Falcated), many egrets (Little, Great, Grey Heron), Common Coots, gulls (Black-headed, Vega) and grebes (Great Crested, Little, Black-necked) were seen.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, カワセミ,
チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ,
ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Southern foothill of Mt. Yatsugatake (Nagano & Yamanashi)
八ヶ岳南部山麓(長野&山梨)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis)
Upon hearing that Ural Owl was frequently appearing in the Nobeyama Highlands this winter, we made a trip to Nobeyama. We had been fortunate enough to see several Ural Owls in January 2021, but hadn't had such luck since then, so our expectations were high.
On the way to The Nobeyama Highlands, we visited Daimon Dam in Kiyosato.
Many kinds of passerines such as Rustic Bunting, Meadow Bunting, Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Warbling White-eye, Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Japanese Accentor, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Grey-bellied Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, White Wagtail and Eurasian Tree Sparrow were seen on the slopes of the dam lake.
We saw an Eastern Buzzard and a Eurasian Goshawk in the sky.
Also, a large flocks of Mandarin Ducks and Mallards were observed on the dam lake.
We entered the old Kiyosato Line road. We usually take this route to reach Nobeyama Station, but the road beyond the bridge over the Daikado River was closed.
From the entrance to this bridge, we saw Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Brambling, and Coal Tit. From the bridge, we spotted a Brown Dipper.
That day was warm around Tokyo, with temperatures typical for November, but Nobeyama was still cold. The sky was blue, but a cold wind mixed with light snow blew down from the Yatsugatake Mountains.
We searched for birds while driving around the vast farmland and forests, but it was around noon, so bird activity was low. We only spotted a few Meadow Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Hawfinches, and Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
Around 3 pm, we moved to a spot where we might observe Ural Owl. Many birders and photographers were already waiting there.
After waiting a while, one birder spotted an owl not in the expected direction but on the mountain side. Thanks to him, we were able to observe our target bird in this area once again after a long time.
The birds observed are:
at Daimon Dam;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Nobeyama Highland;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オシドリ, マガモ, キジバト, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, フクロウ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, カワガラス, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
& Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus)
To avoid the on-going river construction around the Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir, I walked the area between the Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir and the Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir this time.
At Nikaryo Shukugawara Weir, various ducks (Eurasian Teal, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Common Goldeneye), shorebirds (Long-billed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin), grebes (Little, Great Crested), wagtails (White Wagtail, Japanese, Grey), Siberian Pipits, egrets (Great White, Little, Grey Heron), and gulls (Black-headed, Vega) were seen in the river.
The Common Goldeneye returned again this year following its visit the previous year.
On the riverbank, flocks of Dusky Thrushes, White-cheeked Starlings, and Brown-eared Bulbuls were seen, and Bull-headed Shrikes and Daurian Redstart were observed.
On the grassy area upstream of Tama-suido Bridge, perhaps invited by the calm weather with sunshine and no wind, Long-tailed Rosefinches, buntings (Meadow, Masked, Common Reed) and Warbling White-eyes appeared.
Many Black-headed Gulls and Great White Egrets were seen on the river.
One Great White Egret's beak appeared red. Perhaps it had already entered the breeding season?
A warbler that appears to be a Yellow-browed Warbler was found in a tree along the trail.
Around the small pond in the Nakanoshima area, birds such as Masked Laughingthrush, Chinese Hwamei, Brown-cheeked Rail and Eastern Buzzard were seen.
At Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir, possibly because the construction work had paused for the year-end holidays, the ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted, Falcated), Common Coots, Black-headed Gulls and grebes (Great Crested, Little) had returned.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans), Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, オオバン,
イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, キマユムシクイ, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ, カオグロガビチョウ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
1-day Trip in Tokyo area (Gunma,Tochigi,Saitama)
東京エリア(群馬,栃木,埼玉)1日間
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
In the morning, we headed to Watarase Retarding Basin.
On the way we drove around the paddy field of Itakura Town.
After two days of rain brought by a low-pressure system, that day began with light rain, but it cleared up beautifully under a strong winter-type pressure pattern. A strong northwest wind blew across the open farmland where nothing blocked the wind.
A Hen Harrier flew through that strong wind.
However, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Grey-capped Greenfinches, and Siberian Pipits, which usually perch in large flocks on power lines, were only seen in small numbers in the groves along the agricultural water channels.
Buntings and Dusky Thrushes also appeared scarce.
At the next field, Watarase Retarding Basin, strong winds made almost no birds visible in the reed beds except for a few Meadow Buntings and Rustic Buntings.
Also, we only observed a very few raptors such as one Eastern Marsh-Harrier and one Western Osprey, possibly due to the brief time spent there.
Due to the strong winds, in Lake Yanaka, only a few ducks, a few Black-necked Grebes and a Vega Gull were visible on the wind-sheltered shores.
But this time, we saw many Hawfinches near the lake.
In the smaller ponds and waterways within the reed beds, where the wind was weaker, we observed many Smews, Falcated Ducks, and one Oriental Stork.
We searched for Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes) but did not encounter it this time.
Meanwhile, we heard and saw the Long-tailed Rosefinch in several spots.
In the afternoon, we visited Minuma Nature Park to search for Baikal Teal.
Besides our target bird, we observed various ducks (Gadwall, Falcated Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck).
Next, we visited Shiba River No.1 Retention Pond to search for Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris) which was recorded a few days ago.
While we saw ducks, Smew, and Great Crested Grebes, the target bird was nowhere to be found.
According to a photographer there, it had been present in the morning but had flown away. It probably used this pond as a roost and went out foraging somewhere during the daytime.
Then we headed to Lake Sai.
The Lesser White-fronted Geese were still there.
This time, it seemed to be following a birder, allowing us to observe it from just a few meters away.
The ducks on the lake (Common Pochard, Tufted Duck) had gathered on the windward side near the embankment to avoid the strong wind.
Next, we visited Akigase Park.
We walked around the farmland, but didn't see any Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), and Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax) this time.
Perhaps due to the strong wind, we only confirmed the Masked Bunting among buntings.
But as for birds of prey, we saw a Eurasian Goshawk and a Common Kestrel.
We walked “Picnic-no-mori.”
Perhaps due to the wind and the afternoon timing, only a few birds were seen such as; Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eastern Buzzard, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Dusky Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, and one Common Snipe taking flight from a nearly dried-up pond.
The birds observed are;
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カリガネ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
オオバン, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus)
At the upstream and downstream sides of Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir, a big construction work to prevent flood was being carried out using large machineries to remove gravel that had accumulated on the riverbank.
The sandbar where I had often observed Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus) was on the verge of disappearing soon.
Due to this construction work, there were fewer ducks and egrets/herons, which are usually seen many around the weir.
In the grassland at the Noborito side, I saw Grey-capped Greenfinches, Masked Buntings, Green Pheasant, but their numbers were also small.
Raptors I saw there were Eastern buzzard, osprey, and kestrel.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, チョウゲンボウ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
1-day Trip in Saitama area (Chiba,Saitama)
埼玉エリア(千葉,埼玉)1日間
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)
Before going to these sites, we stopped by the paddy fields in Nagareyama City in Chiba Prefecture, where Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) had been reported shortly before our visit.
Unfortunately, we didn't see the target bird.
As we were leaving the site, a Green Pheasant appeared.
At Lake Sai, we soon spotted the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus), which had been recorded since about a month, swimming on the lake's surface near the shore.
When we went to the shore to get a closer look, it came up onto the nearby grass.
This species is generally very nurvus and will fly away immediately if people approaches, but this individual seemed to be special.
There were many Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks on the lake. There were also three species of greves (Little, Great Crested, Black-necked), Common Coots, three species of heron/egrets (Grey Heron, Great, and Little), and one Long-billed Plover.
Next, we visited the neighboring Sakuraso Park.
Unfortunately, a cold rain started to fall.
We searched for Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii) in the grass, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus) around the bushes, and Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) in the small trees near the water, but we did not see any.
Instead we saw many Meadow Buntings, Rustic Buntings, Masked Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Dusky Thrushes, and Hawfinches.
We also saw many Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks in the waterway.
Then, we moved to Akigase Park. The rain was getting even stronger. At "Kodomo-no-Mori," we looked for Chinese Bamboo-Partridge and Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera), but all we saw and heard were Eurasian Jay, Brown-eared Bulbul, Dusky Thrush, and White-bellied Green Pigeon.
The rain stopped when we went to the farmland next to the park.
We found several Azure-winged Magpies in the shrubbery of the adjacent soccer field, and several Eurasian Teal and one Brown-cheeked Rail in the waterway.
There were many Eurasian Tree Sparrows and buntings in the grasses on the abandoned rice fields. We found Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, and Masked Bunting, but no Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata).
Finally, we moved to "Picnic-no-mori" and searched for Japanese Green Woodpeckers.
We saw Great Spotted Woodpeckers several times, but the target bird did not appear.
When we were about to give up, we finally found one Great Spotted Woodpecker. It was very quiet.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, カリガネ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, トビ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, カケス, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
エナガ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉＆渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
We saw a flock of Carrion Crows, and Rooks including a few Daurian Jackdaws, and many Eurasian Tree Sparrows, White-cheeked Starlings, and Siberian Pipits perched on power lines.
It seemed that some work being done at the agricultural reservoir, and only Common Coots and a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks were found, but no Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus).
Then we visited Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
We drove around several spots in the vast field to see if there were any Northern Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus flammeus).
At one bank, a large number of photographers had gathered, so we expected that there might be some, but it turned out they were watching a balloon race. After a while, around 40 hot air balloons rose into the sky.
Eventually, it didn't seem like there was any Short-eared Owls yet.
After sunset, we observed Eastern Marsh Harriers roosting in the reed beds and headed home.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ,
コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
ツグミ, スズメ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii)
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
Oku-Nikko is a highland adjacent to the historical town Nikko.
We arrived at Lake Chuzenji in Oku-Nikko around noon.
It was the very cold day, with a strong and cold northwest wind and light snow, making it the mid-winter day.
At the campsite, we saw Tufted Ducks offshore, White and Japanese Wagtails in the stream, but no birds in the forest.
We searched for Steller's sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus) on the slopes of Mt. Nantai, but couldn't see.
That afternoon, we searched for Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) in the Yukawa River below Yu Falls.
We saw some Mallads and Brown Dippers, but unfortunately we couldn't find it.
In the afternoon for est with light snow falling and cold winds blowing, there were few birds, and we only saw a Japanese Green Woodpecker, Coal Tits, and Dusky Thrushes.
In the early next morning, we retried searching for Solitary Snipe in the Yukawa River below Yu Falls. In stark contrast to the previous day, the weather was calm and the sky was clear.
We saw some Eurasian Wrens, Mallads and Brown Dippers, but we couldn't find it this time.
Then, we walked along the boadwalk from Akanuma.
Near the parking lot, we saw a Meadow Bunting pecking at grass seeds by the side of the road.
Along the boadwalk, we saw flocks of Eurasian Siskin in several spots.
There were few tits, and we only saw one Willow Tit there, but we were lucky to see a White-backed Woodpecker.
In the river, there were many Mallads, several Common Pochards, and one Brown Dipper.
There was a report of sightings of a flock of about 100 Japanese Waxwings (Bombycilla japonica) and Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus), and some Pallas's Rosefinches (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi), so we drove around to several spots in Senjo-ga-hara in search of them, but unfortunately we didn't encounter any.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus), Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, トビ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, カワガラス, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ,
セグロセキレイ, マヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Igashira Park (Tochigi)
井頭公園(栃木)
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
Hybrid of Baikal Teal & Northern Pintail(Sibirionetta formosa x Anas acuta)
& Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
When we arrived at around 7am, before the gate open at 8:30am.
The strongest cold wave of the season hit Japan, bringing strong northwesterly winds in Tokyo, but the winds were unexpectedly weak at the site.
A female Red-flanked Bluetail and welcame us at first.
Many birds, such as Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Eurasian Wren, Masked Bunting, Rustic Bunting and Hawfinch, gathered in the wetlands in the natural botanical garden in the northern area of the park.
There were many Mallards and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in the center of the pond which located at the center of the park, and various types of waterfowl, such as Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Falcated Duck,Little Grebe and Great Crested Grebe, were seen on the south side of the pond.
A male Smew and a hybrid of Baikal Teal & Northern Pintail were also found.
A mixed flock of Long-tailed Tit, Japanese tit, Varied Tit, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and Great Spotted Woodpecker, was seen in the forest on the slope west of the pond.
Finally, a beautiful blue male Bluetail saw us off.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Hybrid of Baikal Teal & Northern Pintail(Sibirionetta formosa x Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモxオナガガモ(hybrid), コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, オオバン, トビ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
キクイタダキ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, ミソサザイ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, シメ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Mouth of the Abe River (Shizuoka)
安部川河口(静岡)
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus)
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis)
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus)
Since about a week ago, Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini), a vagrant species in Japan, had been observed daily, so we hoped it might still be staying.
Many gulls flew in from the sea, rested on the river mouth's sandbar, and then returned to the sea. Black-headed Gull dominated, with Black-tailed Gulls and Vega Gulls also coming.
But the target bird didn't appear.
While waiting for a long time, several Western Ospreys dove into the river right in front of us to hunt, so it did not get so boring.
We also observed Kentish Plover, Red-breasted Merganser, Black-necked Grebe, and Japanese Cormorant, etc.
The birds we observed are;
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
キンクロハジロ, ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, カワウ, ウミウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン,
シロチドリ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
3-day Birding Trip in Kyushu(Kagoshima,Saga)
3日間の九州野鳥観察旅行(鹿児島、佐賀)
Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo)
& Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha)
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus)
& White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio)
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
Eurasian Curlews (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis)
& Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)
On the first day, we headed Izumi in Kagoshima Prefecture.
On the way, we made a brief stop at the Sendai River in Satsuma Town.
Barn Swallows flew overhead, ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Spot-billed, Tufted) were on the river, and wagtails (Japanese, White), Little Egrets, Common Sandpipers, and Long-billed Plovers were seen on the riverbed rocks.
Our target in Izumi was six species of cranes, including the recently reported Siberian Crane.
Upon arriving at the crane wintering site, many Hooded Cranes and White-naped Cranes were foraging in harvested rice fields.
First, a crane with a mostly white body was spotted among the flock. It was a juvenile Common Crane.
Searching the surrounding area, a single large white crane was found in the distance. Sadly, that Siberian Crane had lost its right foot. I hoped it would manage to survive.
Further, a Demoiselle Crane and two Sandhill Cranes were also found among a nearby flock of Hooded Cranes.
We also saw a flock of Northern Lapwings. Ducks were mostly Northern Pintails.
At the pond in Fukunoe Rural Park, a flock of Black-faced Spoonbills was resting.
From the Izumi Crane Observation Center, several Daurian Jackdaws were spotted among a large flock of Rooks.
We searched for Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus) but did not find any.
The next morning, we visited Kogawa Dam in search of forest birds.
From the bridge over the Komenotsu River at the entrance of the forest road, we spotted a Crested Kingfisher in dark.
We searched for birds near the dam, but there were few signs of them.
However, after a while, probably as it warmed up and became active, we encountered a mixed flock of Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Y.k.kizuki), and Ryukyu Minivet.
We also heard what sounded like a Japanese Woodpecker tapping wood deep in the trees. We searched for a while but couldn't see it.
Ducks were seen on the dam lake, such as Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, and Tufted Duck.
The Mandarin Ducks were highly sensitive, staying in a hidden cove, and immediately flew off when we approached.
Then we returned to Izumi and searched again for Chinese Penduline-Tits and buntings in the reed beds spreading near the mouth of the Euchi River.
The wind was weaker than the previous day, but the birds didn't come out into view, and only Common Reed Buntings were spotted occasionally.
The birds observed In Izumi area (出水周辺) are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha), Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax)? Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, コサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ソデグロヅル, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, アネハヅル, ヒクイナ, オオバン,
タゲリ, イカルチドリ, セイタカシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ズグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ヤマセミ,
キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, キュウシュウエナガ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, オオジュリン
On the afternoon of the second day, we headed toward Saga.
We arrived at the Shiroishi Reclamation Area before 3 pm, and drove through the roads within the lotus fields.
Eurasian Teals and Northern Shovelers were seen in the withered lotus fields at many spots.
Also, in several fields, we spotted Tundra Swans, Eurasian Spoonbills, Northern Lapwings, Black-winged Stilts, Dunlins and Common Redshanks.
There were many ducks on the large agricultural reservoir.
They were Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Common Pochards, Mallards, Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Pintails, Eurasian Teals, Baikal Teals, Tufted Ducks, and Gadwalls.
Two Tundra Bean Geese, two Greater White-fronted Goose and a Smew were also spotted.
Above, Black-headed Gulls and Vega Gulls flew.
Looking out over the sea where vast tidal flats stretched out, many Saunders' Gulls and Common Shelducks were seen.
The morning of the third day, we visited Higashi-Yoka mudflats (Higashi-Yoka Higata) at the time of high tide. Looking out over the tidal flats from the eastern end, a large flock of Black-faced Spoonbills was seen in the distance.
Moving west with the sun at our backs, we continued our observations.
At high tide, the mudflats were almost completely submerged. As the water level rose, shorebirds could be observed up close, and many shorebirds were seen this time as well.
In addition to numerous Saunders' Gulls, Vega, Black-headed, and Black-tailed Gulls were also seen. We also spotted what looked like Mongolian Gulls with entirely white heads.
Common Shelducks had increased in number and were seen in large numbers.
Stopped by Higashiyoka Park's forest to look for birds.
While searching with a local birder, we saw and heard species like the Goldcrest, Eyebrowed Thrush, Pale Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush (orii), Daurian Redstart, and Red-breasted Flycatcher.
Finally, we drove around the farmland east of Saga Airport.
We found a flock of Eurasian Spoonbills and Black-faced Spoonbills, as well as a flock of Common Starlings.
The birds observed in Saga area (佐賀周辺) are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)?
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus)?
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Common Starling (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
ヒシクイ, マガン, コハクチョウ, ツクシガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ,
コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ナベヅル? オオバン, タゲリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ,
オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, トウネン,
ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ? ミサゴ, トビ, ハヤブサ, モズ,
ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キクイタダキ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ,
マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, オオアカハラ, ジョウビタキ, ニシオジロビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
4-day Trip in Miyake Island & Kanto-Koshinetsu area (Tokyo,Gunma,Tochigi,Ibaraki,Kanagawa,Nagano)
三宅島&関東甲信越(東京,群馬,茨城,神奈川,長野)4日間
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula)
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi)
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
In the morning of the 1st day, we visited the farmlands of Itakura Town.
Along the agricultural irrigation ditches, there were Meadow Buntings and Grey-capped Greenfinches in the grasses and small trees, while numerous Oriental Turtle-Doves and a few Duskey Thrushes perched in the trees.
And Bull-headed Shrikes and Daurian Redstarts were also perched here and there.
We drove around the vast harvested rice fields searching for Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) and Daurian Jackdaws.
We found a flock of Northern Lapwings but no Grey-headed Lapwings.
While Carrion Crows were dominant, two flocks of Rooks were also found, and within one of these, we found small Daurian Jackdaws.
Raptors seen were Eastern Buzzard, Eurasian Goshawk, and Hen Harrier.
In the agricultural water pond covered with dead lotus plants, Whooper Swans were seen as well as ducks.
The birds observed are;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator) Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オオハクチョウ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, タゲリ, タシギ, クサシギ,
トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Then we visited Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
The arrival of winter birds had just begun, so numbers and species were still limited.
In the reed beds, we saw Hawfinches, Daurian Redstarts, Rustic Buntings, and Eastern Marsh-Harriers.
In the small ponds scattered among the reeds and in the waterway, we observed a big flock of Falcated Ducks, and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Teals, Smews, and Great Crested Grebes.
In Lake Yanaka, there were Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Northern Pintails, and Great Crested Grebes, etc.
In the trees around the lake, there were Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Bull-headed Shrikes, Dusky Thrushes, and we managed to find Long-tailed Rosefinch.
We headed to a pond near thenartificial nest where 15 Oriental Storks were reported on the day, but not a single one was seen, perhaps out feeding. However, one was finally spotted at the edge of a large pond some distance away.
The birds observed are;
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
That night, we headed for Miyake Island (Miake-Jima).
The ship departed Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo at 22:30 and arrived at Miyake Island at 5:00 next morning.
The lingering effects of the front that passed through the previous night caused slightly stronger winds, resulting in the ferry departing under conditional sailing. However, the wind subsided, making for a comfortable voyage.
Upon arrival, it was still dark before sunrise. We drove along the road from Tsubota district to the entrance to Tairo Pond, hoping to hear Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica), but we could not confirm any calls.
As dawn broke, we visited the forest in the northern part of the island. Slowly driving along, we spotted an Izu Robin foraging on the dark ground.
Stopping the car further ahead and waiting a while, Izu Thrush appeared, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge called nearby, and the voice of White-bellied Green-Pigeon was heard from the distance.
A Japanese Bush-Warbler also showed itself in the bush.
Driving further, we also found a flock of Japanese White-eyes (stejnegeri).
After that, we observed Blue Rock Thrush and Japanese Cormorant along the coastal road south of the airport.
We saw Owston's Tit at the feeder in the garden of a lodge near Tairo Pond, then entered the forest around Tairo Pond.
Here, we newly found Pale Thrush and Kamchatka Leaf Warbler in the woods.
On the large pond, we saw Tufted Ducks, Common Goldeneye, Little Grebes, and Common Moorhens.
In the air, we observed Japanese Wood-Pigeon, Japanese Cormorant, Western Osprey, Black Kite, Eurasian Goshawk, and Eastern Buzzard.
Based on information obtained at the Visitor Center, we looked for the Japanese Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra japonica) in the pine trees near Ako Port but found none.
We then headed further north and visited Yakushi-do Shrine.
Here we observed the Izu Robin and left Miyakejima.
While observing seabirds on the ferry heading to Tokyo, none were seen at all until about an hour and a half after leaving Miyakejima Island.
Only a few Streaked Shearwaters finally started to appear after we approached Oshima Island.
No albatrosses were seen.
A small flock, possibly Ancient Murrelets, was observed flying.
It grew dark before entering Tokyo Bay, so no observations were possible within the bay.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus)?
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, カイツブリ, カラスバト, キジバト, アオバト, オオミズナギドリ, ウミウ, バン, ウミスズメ?
ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, シチトウメジロ, シロハラ, アカコッコ,
タネコマドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ホオジロ
On the 3rd day, we visited the Hayatogawa forest road of Miyagase Lake (Miyagase-Ko) in Kanagawa Prefecture in the morning.
Hayatogawa Forest Road was at the peak of autumn colors, with maple trees dyed red and yellow.
Near the forest road entrance, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Chinese Hwameis, and Japanese Grosbeaks were singing.
Red-flanked Bluetails and Dusky Thrushes also appeared while calling.
Black Kites soared overhead, and what appeared to be White-bellied Green-Pigeons flew by.
Daurian Redstarts showed themselves in many places along the forest road afterward.
Several Masked Buntings were confirmed on the grassland at the roadside.
We also encountered flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Grey-bellied Bullfinch, and tits (Japanese, Varied).
On the distant shore of the lake, flocks of Mandarin Duck were still present, though their numbers had decreased.
Grey Herons remained many, and several Great Crested Grebes had arrived.
We searched the slope along the forest road for Japanese Accentor, Long-tailed Rosefinch, and Grey Bunting, but they were hard to find.
We managed to spot one Japanese Accentor.
However, Long-tailed Rosefinch and Grey Bunting did not appear.
A Brown Dipper was found in the narrow stream caused by the lowered water level, but this time, the Crested Kingfisher was nowhere to be seen. This might have been due to the large number of birders and photographers who came on Sunday.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, トビ, コゲラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, カワガラス, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ウソ, イカル, アオジ
In the afternoon, we visited the middle reaches of Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa) in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Baseball was being played on the sports field, and the only birds we saw were White Wagtails.
We searched for Long-billed Plovers on the gravel sandbar but couldn't find any.
There were many Great White Egrets.
At the weir "Sagami O-zeki," we saw various types of ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal), Grebes (Great Crested, Little) and a flock of Common Mergansers/Goosanders.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン,
トビ, チョウゲンボウ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Then we moved on to the Tateshina Highlands.
Along the way near the highland, we spotted a Green Pheasant on the side of the road, flying into a rice field.
We headed toward the lodge while searching for Copper Pheasants (Sommerring's) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii soemmerringii) along the roads within the villa area.
In the evening at the lodge's feeders, Willow Tits and Wood Nuthatches visited.
The next morning, we searched again for Copper Pheasants around the lodge but had no luck.
We did see a flock of Pale Thrushes.
Returning to the lodge, we observed birds visiting feeders and water trays while having breakfast.
Tits (Willow, Varied, Coal, Japanese), Wood Nuthatch, Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Grey-bellied Bullfinch arrived one after another.
Japanese Grosbeak appeared just as we were about to leave.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジ, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ウソ, シメ, イカル
Then, we visited Togari-ishi Histrical Park.
The forest was alive with Dusky Thrushes and Pale Thrushes flying around.
We also saw Eurasian Jay, tits (Japanese, Varied), Long-tailed Tit, Daurian Redstart, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Brambling, Rustic Bunting, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, and Hawfinch.
Additionally, we were fortunate to spot a Yellow-throated Bunting.
In the pond, we saw Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Tufted Ducks, and Common Coots.
We searched for Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) and Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera) but did not find them.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula)
マガモ, カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, キジバト, オオバン, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, エナガ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, シメ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ
We arrived at Enrei before noon and searched for Pallas's Rosefinch.
We went to a spot where they had been seen, but they had just flown away. Back on the road, several photographers were shooting, and we saw a few Pallas's Rosefinches pecking at seeds of small shrubs.
We also saw a few individuals foraging on the road at another location.
Other species seen here were Grey-bellied Bullfinch, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, tits (Willow, Coal), Wood Nuthatch, Daurian Redstart, and Brambling, etc.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
キジバト, トビ, コゲラ, コガラ, ヒガラ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, ジョウビタキ, アトリ, オオマシコ, ウソ
Lastly, we visited Lake Suwa.
At the Kamaguchi Floodgate, the outlet where Lake Suwa flows into the Tenryu River, There were Smews and Common Goldeneyes.
Little Grebe, Great Egrets, Little Egret and Common Sandpiper were also seen.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis)?
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ?
カワウ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イソシギ, トビ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ
Around Lake Suwa & Tateshina (Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺&蓼科(長野)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Along the way to our destination, we saw Mt. Fuji covered in snow down to the fifth station. We also saw snow piled on top of Mt. Yatsugatake.
At Enrei, our first destination, we had expected there would be covered in snow, but there was none at all on site, making the boots we had prepared unnecessary.
The first bird to greet us was a flock of Hawfinches. As soon as we began walking, a Long-tailed Rosefinches appeared in a good viewing spot.
Pallas' Rosefinches, which hadn't visited this field last winter, came this winter and were pecking at seeds on small trees in several localities.
Red-flanked Bluetail, Goldcrest, Eurasian Siskin, and Grey-bellied Bullfinch also made appearances.
Once, we saw a flock that chirped while flying, likely Red Crossbills, but we couldn't identify them for certain.
Then we moved toward the campsite.
On the narrow road leading to the campsite, Bramblings and Rustic Buntings were foraging on the road.
Around the large trees at the campsite, tits, Dusky Thrushes, Eurasian Tree-Creeper, and Wood Nuthatches had gathered.
Next, we visited the Kamaguchi Floodgate, the outlet where Lake Suwa flows into the Tenryu River.
The Smews and Common Goldeneyes that gather here every winter had arrived again this winter.
Not only Black Kites, but also an Eastern Buzzard flew overhead.
The swans had not yet arrived at Lake Suwa.
In the afternoon, we visited Togari-ishi Historical Park.
We could not find Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica).
It was a time when the birds were less active in the afternoon, but we saw various species, particularly many Dusky Thrushes, Bramblings, Eurasian Siskins, and Rustic Buntings were seen.
The birds we observed are;
at Enrei
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), Pallas' Rosefinch (Carpodacus roseus roseus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica)?
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Lake Suwa:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
at Togariishi Histrical Site:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, オオバン,
トビ, ツミ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キクイタダキ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, オオマシコ, イスカ?
ウソ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
10-day Birding Trip in Japan
(Shiga, Kagoshima, Saga, Okinawa, Hokkaido)
10日間の野鳥観察旅行
(滋賀、鹿児島、佐賀、沖縄、北海道)
Lake_Biwa
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira)
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina)
White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni)
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)
& Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo)
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus)
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis)
& Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae)
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni)
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae)
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis)
Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea)
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus)
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri)
Flock of geese at Notsuke Peninsula
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
We visited many fields hoping to encounter as many species as possible. Unfortunately, we could not achieve the results we had hoped for. It was a bit early for the peak winter season, so some winter birds had not yet arrived. Also, because it was the non-breeding season, the birds were less active, making it difficult to find them within the limited time available.
On the first day, we visited the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, near Kyoto.
First, we headed to Kohoku Town at the northern tip of the lake.
In the rice fields, several Eurasian Skylarks flew overhead, and Dusky Thrushes, White-cheeked Starlings, and Rooks perched on the power lines.
In the northern Kohoku area, the Steller's Sea Eagle, which arrive here every winter, had arrived earlier than usual, and many photographers were waiting to capture it.
Unfortunately, during our stay, it was resting in the mountain forests, and we were unable to see it.
There were many ducks (Common Pochard, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck), Common Merganser, and grebes (Great Crested, Little) on the lake , though not as many as at peak times.
Vega Gulls perched on distant fences, and numerous shorebirds, likely Dunlins, rested on the weir below.
Taiga Bean Geese (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii) and Tundra Swans had reportedly arrived, but they were absent from the shore, perhaps out foraging somewhere.
Instead, a Long-billed Plover was found there.
Daurian Redstarts were present in the grassy areas along the shore. No buntings appeared.
Heading south along the lake, we visited Lake Sainoko, one of Lake Biwa's inner lakes, located in Omihachiman City.
We hoped to see smews, but they seemed not to have arrived yet.
We spotted an Eastern Marsh-Harrier flying over the reed beds which was pursued by a crow.
Perhaps because it was noon, passerines were scarce, and we saw Eurasian Skylarks, Daurian Redstarts, and Bull-headed Shrikes.
The last stop was at a lakeside green space (Kogan-ryokuchi) in Kusatsu Town, where we observed waterfowl on Lake Biwa.
Although not yet at peak numbers, we saw a very large number of ducks. Common Pochard were particularly numerous, and we also spotted Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, Eurasian Teals, and Great Crested Grebes.
On a small tree at the campsite, a Daurian Redstart and a Meadow Bunting were pecking at its berries.
In the nearby harvested rice fields, we saw Northern Lapwings.
The birds observed are;
- Around Lake Biwa (琵琶湖周辺):
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン, タゲリ, イカルチドリ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ,
トビ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ
Next day, we moved to Amami Oshima.
We arrived at noon, when the tide was low, so we visited Ose Coast first.
Along the way, we spotted a Blue Rock Thrush.
There were many shorebirds (Pacific Golden-Plover, Kentish Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-necked Stint, Dunlin), and a few Great Cormorants and Pacific Reef Herons on the rocky shore.
We saw a few Grey-faced Buzzards, too.
That evening for a short time and the following morning, we visited Amami Natural Forest. Here, we saw most of the species that inhabit this island (Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate), Grey-faced Buzzard, Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii), Amami Woodpecker, Ryukyu Minivet, Lidth's Jay, Varied Tit (amamii), Japanese Tit (amamiensis), etc.), but unfortunately we did not observe Amami Thrush (Zoothera major) this time.
The Amami Robin was also inactive, and we only heard their calls.
On the first day's night tour, despite the low appearance rate of birds, we managed to see the Amami Woodcock, Ryukyu Scops Owl, and Lidth's Jay.
The birds observed are;
- in Amami-oshima Island (奄美大島):
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Kentish Plover (Eurasian) (Charadrius alexandrinus alexandrinus),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii), White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii), Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) (Horornis diphone riukiuensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, カワウ, クロサギ, ムナグロ, ハシボソシロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ,
アマミヤマシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, ミサゴ, サシバ, リュウキュウコノハズク,
アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ルリカケス, ハシブトガラス, アマミヤマガラ, アマミシジュウカラ,
アマミヒヨドリ, リュウキュウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
On the afternoon of the third day, we headed to Izumi in Kagoshima Prefecture. The previous day, volcanic ash from Sakurajima's eruption had fallen heavily on Kagoshima Airport, causing flight cancellations.
We were worried whether the flight would depart as scheduled, but the wind direction was favorable, so it wasn't canceled and we arrived at Kagoshima Airport on time.
Upon arriving in Izumi, we observed cranes in the East Reclamation Area.
Searching for the Demoiselle Crane, which had come this winter for the first time in a long while, we spotted its smaller form among flocks of Hooded Cranes and White-naped Cranes.
We also found a Common Crane nearby.
Sandhill Cranes were spotted soon after, and right upon arrival, we saw all the cranes we had hoped to see.
Numerous ducks and large flocks of Northern Lapwings were also flying around the area.
At sunset that day and sunrise the next morning, we observed the cranes gathering at the roost in front of “Shin-Tsurumi-tei,” where we stayed, and heard their calls throughout the night.
Early in the morning, rooks gathered in large numbers on the power lines around the inn, aiming for the food to feed the cranes. Among them, a few Daurian jackdaws were also spotted.
At the reedbeds spreading at the mouth of the Euchi River, we searched for buntings and Chinese Penduline-Tits (Remiz consobrinus), but strong winds made it difficult to see them.
Then we headed toward Kogawa Dam. Along the way, near the Shinkansen bridge over the Komenotsu River, we searched for Falcated Ducks but found only one, which flew away immediately.
It seemed too early for the wintering flocks to have arrived yet.
The water level in Kogawa Dam Lake was low, and there were no Mandarin Ducks near the dam as expected.
After driving the roads around the dam lake a while further, we found a large flock of Mandarin Ducks.
We looked for passerines but saw none; Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) we hoped to see did not appear either. We checked the spot where flocks of White-bellied Green-Pigeons (Treron sieboldii sieboldii) usually gather, but on this day, there were none to be seen.
The birds observed are;
- In Izumi area (出水周辺):
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha), Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
"White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)" "Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
コハクチョウ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, アネハヅル,
バン, オオバン, タゲリ, クサシギ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ,
コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
We arrived in Saga on the evening of the fourth day.
We visited the Shiroishi Reclamation Area for a short time before sunset and again the following morning.
There were many ducks on the large agricultural reservoir. They were Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Common Pochards, Mallards, Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Pintails, Eurasian Teals, Tufted Ducks, and Gadwalls.
Among them, though still few in number, Baikal Teals were also found.
Two Tundra Swans were also there.
On the edges of floating solar panels installed on the reservoir, we spotted Great Cormorants, Vega Gulls, and what seemed to be a Taimyr Gull with yellow legs.
In the lotus fields, we saw Eurasian Teals, herons (Grey, Great, and Little), Common Moorhens, Common Coots, Common Sandpipers, and Dunlins.
Western Osprey, Black Kite, and Peregrine Falcon were perched on utility poles.
Green Sandpipers were also seen in narrow waterways.
Along the grassy banks of a large canal, we managed to spot buntings (Meadow, Chestnut-eared).
The morning of the fifth day, we visited Higashi-Yoka mudflats (Higashi-Yoka Higata) at the time of high tide. The mudflats had narrowed to about 200 meters, allowing us to see many shorebirds and Saunders' Gulls nearby.
We also saw a big flock of Black-faced Spoonbills.
We searched for Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) among the ducks, but could not find any as their numbers had not yet increased significantly.
We heard Greater White-fronted Geese were in a nearby field and searched for them but did not find any; instead, we found a Eurasian Spoonbill.
The birds observed are;
- in Saga area (佐賀周辺):
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Taimyr Gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, バン, オオバン,
ダイゼン, ハジロコチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, ツルシギ, アカアシシギ,
コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, セグロカモメ,
タイミールセグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ,
ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
We entered Okinawa on the evening of the fifth day.
The following morning, we first visited Komesu Coast in the southern part of Okinawa Main Island.
In the adjacent farmland, we found Brown Shrike, Pacific Swallow, Light-vented Bulbul, Brown-eared Bulbul, Zitting Cisticola, White-cheeked Starling, and Blue Rock Thrush.
We searched for wagtails on migration, but found no flocks. Only a few Eastern Yellow Wagtails flew up from the fields, and a few White Wagtails were spotted.
At a point where freshwater flowed from an underground dam onto the low-tide shore, many shorebirds (Pacific Golden-Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Long-toed Stint), ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail), and egrets (Great Egret, Little Egret, Pacific Reef Heron) were found.
Next, we visited Triangle Pond (Sankaku-ike) near the airport.
At low tide, the pond revealed a vast mudflat where we observed a flock of Black-faced Spoonbills, two Pied Avocets, shorebirds (Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Long-toed Stint), ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler), and egrets (Great, Little) crowded into the small area.
In the afternoon, we headed to the northern part of Okinawa Island.
First, we visited the farmlands of Kijoka.
Grey-faced Buzzards were calling well.
In the waterway, we found Striated Heron, Green Sandpiper, and Common Sandpiper.
We searched for Cinnamon Bittern but didn't find any.
Next, we visited Kaganji, but only saw Common Kingfisher in the waterway; no special species were found.
We continued north, entered Yanbaru National Park, and visited the Yona River and Benoki Dam.
We searched for Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii) but did not find it.
Around Benoki Dam, we saw and heard Japanese Wood-Pigeon, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Grey-faced Buzzard, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens), Varied Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito), Arctic Warbler, Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), and Grey Wagtail.
Around 8 pm, guided by a staff member from the Ada Garden Hotel where we stayed, we looked around the roosting points of the Okinawa Rail but couldn't find any individuals sleeping perched on trees. We were told that due to the recent cold weather, they had become less active and were quite difficult to spot.
In the hotel's backyard parking lot, we could see Northern Boobooks perched on trees in the darkness.
Before dawn the next day, we heard from another hotel staff member that he had seen a sleeping Okinawa Rail the previous night. We were immediately guided there and were able to see one bird sleeping in on a tree.
The following morning, around 6:00 am, just before dawn, we also saw an individual walking in the garden beside the hotel in the pre-dawn darkness.
After sunrise, we searched for Okinawa Robins around the hotel and along forest roads. We heard their calls but ultimately failed to see any.
We then visited Kin's agricultural fields in the central region. Here, we saw Cinnamon Bittern, egrets (Eastern Cattle, Grey Heron, Great, Medium, Little), Black-faced Spoonbill, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, shorebirds (Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Oriental Pratincole), Western Osprey, Grey-faced Buzzard, Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Brown Shrike, Pacific Swallow, Light-vented Bulbul, Blue Rock Thrush, White Wagtail, etc.
The birds observed are;
- in Okinawa Island (沖縄本島):
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus), Striated Heron (amurensis) (Butorides striata amurensis),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens) (Yungipicus kizuki nigrescens),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae), Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, ドバト, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
カワウ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, ササゴイ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, クロツラヘラサギ,
ヤンバルクイナ, バン, オオバン, ムナグロ, コチドリ, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, オグロシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ,
タカブシギ, イソシギ, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, ツバメチドリ, ミサゴ, サシバ, リュウキュウアオバズク, カワセミ, リュウキュウコゲラ,
チョウゲンボウ, シマアカモズ, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミヤマガラ, リュウキュウツバメ, タイワンシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ,
ダイトウウグイス, コムシクイ, リュウキュウメジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
On the afternoon of the seventh day, we entered Ishigaki Island (Ishjigaki-jima).
First, we headed for the Takeda Forest Road at the foot of Mt. Omoto.
Along the way, we spotted a few snipes flying over the rice paddies.
The forest road was quiet with few signs of birds; only a White-breasted Waterhen darted across the path.
Then, we visited the rice fields at Hiratabar at dusk.
In the dark, harvested fields with filled water, a Pied Avocet and a Saunders' Gull rested together.
A Black-shouldered Kite (vociferus) hovered overhead.
Early the next morning, we revisited the Takeda Forest Road.
As expected, the birds were active in the morning.
While it was still dark, we heard the call of the Ryukyu Scops Owl.
As it grew light, we heard the calls of the Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri), Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), and Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis).
We drove hoping to see the Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), but unfortunately, we didn't encounter any.
The Ryukyu Flycatcher also made an appearance.
While driving, we encountered several Ryukyu Serpent-eagles perched on branches overhanging the road.
Further on, a Malayan Night Heron took flight from the roadside and vanished into the forest.
Continuing on, we encountered a mixed flock. We confirmed Japanese Tit (nigriloris), Ryukyu Flycatcher, and Arctic Warbler. Ryukyu Minivet joined them there.
Based on information from birders we met there, we decided to head to Shinei Park, where we heard White-shouldered Starlings (Sturnus sinensis) and Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis) could be seen.
On the way, we passed through Nagura's farmland and Hiratabaru's rice paddies.
At Nagura, we saw White-breasted Waterhen, Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian), Medium Egret, Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Common Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Brown Shrike (Philippine), and Taiwan Bulbul (orii).
At Hiratabaru, we saw Eastern Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Great Egret (Eurasian), Medium Egret, Common Moorhen, Little Ringed Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, and Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed).
We searched for the target birds at Shinei Park but unfortunately did not see them.
Finally, we drove around the farmland east of the airport but only saw Common Pheasant and Pacific Swallow.
The birds observed are;
- in Ishigaki Island (石垣島):
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Black-winged Kite/Black-shouldered Kite (vociferus) (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii), Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) (Horornis diphone riukiuensis),
Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
コウライキジ, カルガモ, ドバト, リュウキュウキジバト, カワウ, ズグロミゾゴイ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン, コチドリ, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, タシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ,
ズグロカモメ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, シマアカモズ, オサハシブトガラス,
イシガキシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウウグイス, コムシクイ,
リュウキュウメジロ, リュウキュウキビタキ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ
On the night of the eighth day, we entered Tsurui Village in Hokkaido.
Along the way, we saw Red-crowned Cranes, Black Kites, White-tailed Eagles, Large-billed Crows, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Bramblings, etc.
The owner of Hotel TAITO, where we stayed, is a professional photographer who also guides. We checked with him about information for birds in the area, and he informed us that feeding of the Red-crowned Cranes at the Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary had been postponed until early December due to government guidance concerning avian influenza. While observation at the Sanctuary itself was not possible, he said a significant number could be seen around the roost near Otowa Bridge.
He also mentioned that the tree where the Ural Owl (japonica) (Strix uralensis japonica) had its nest near Dosanko Farm had been blown down by strong winds, making owl observation impossible there.
Early the next morning, we were able to see many cranes at Otowa Bridge as informed.
We also saw Whooper Swans, Common Mergansers/Goosanders, White-tailed Eagles, Steller's Sea-Eagles, Brown-eared Bulbuls, and Meadow Buntings.
Furthermore, in the yard of a private house beside the road heading back to the hotel, we found a flock of Common Redpolls and a Long-tailed Rosefinches.
Then we headed for Notsuke Peninsula (Notsuke-Hanto).
In the inland sea near the base of the peninsula, we saw a large flock of geese. Most were Tundra Bean Geese, with a few Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese mixed in.
Ducks and small grebes were also seen, but they were far away and backlit, making species identification difficult. Mallards could be identified from photographs.
On the open ocean side, midway along the peninsula, we found Greater Scaup, Black Scoter, Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, and Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver.
Closer to the parking area at the tip, Siberian Scoter, Black Scoter, and Long-tailed Duck were also found.
At the tip itself, we decided not to go further as we couldn't get any bird sighting information from birders walking back.
Steller's Sea-Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Slaty-backed Gull, Pelagic Cormorant, and Japanese Cormorant were seen in various locations along the peninsula.
While returning, we searched for Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha) but did not find any.
Then we headed to inn 'Washi-no-Yado' in Rausu.
We hurried to arrive before dark, but spotted a Crested Kingfisher (pallida) along the way.
Upon reaching the lodge, we began waiting for Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni) right after dinner.
The owner mentioned that three owls, a parent and its young, were often seen.
However, that night , the owl didn't appear until after 1:30 am the next morning. Unfortunately, we were unable to observe them.
The next morning, around the lodge, we saw Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Marsh Tit, and Brown Dipper.
On the way to Kushiro, we stopped at Rausu Port and Shibetsu Port.
At Rausu Port, we saw Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Common Merganser/Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Japanese Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Gull, Slaty-backed Gull, and White-tailed Eagle.
At Shibetsu Port, we saw Whooper Swan, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Black Scoter, Japanese Cormorant, Glaucous-winged Gull, Glaucous Gull, Slaty-backed Gull, and White-tailed Eagle.
At the end, we stopped by Lake Shirarutoro in Kushiro Wetland to look for Smew, which we hadn't seen yet.
After arriving, scanning the wide lake revealed a flock of several Smew in the distance.
Other species seen were Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser/Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Mew Gull (Kamchatka), Black Kite, and White-tailed Eagle.
In the woods, we found Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Carrion Crow, Large-billed Crow, Marsh Tit, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Eurasian Nuthatch (S.e.asiatica), Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica), and Japanese Wagtail.
The birds observed are;
- in Doto area, Hokkaido (道東):
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens), Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Grebe (sp), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus),
Crested Kingfisher (pallida) (Megaceryle lugubris pallida),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒシクイ, マガン, ハクガン, コクガン, オオハクチョウ, マガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カイツブリ(SP),
アビ, ヒメウ, ウミウ, ダイサギ, タンチョウ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, エゾヤマセミ, エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ハシブトガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, カワガラス, スズメ,
セグロセキレイ, アトリ, ベニヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ
Hase Water Distribution Reservoir (Kanagawa)
長谷配水池(神奈川)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus)
At the Hase Water Distribution Reservoir, located on a hill near the Great Buddha Hall of Kotoku-in Temple in Kamakura, many Eurasian Sparrowhawks are observed in early November.
Most of them fly from west to east, but some fly from east to west. They winter in Japan.
Took the bus from Fujisawa Station heading toward Kamakura Station and got off at the “Kamakura-zaka” stop. From there, climbed the steep stairs to the hill above the road tunnel on the Fujisawa side to reach a small plaza beside this reservoir.
I observed here during the morning.
According to the local birders who observe here daily, clear days with northerly winds are ideal for observation.
In the morning, clouds remained overhead, and the wind was northerly but weak.
A few Eurasian Sparrowhawks flew west, and the resident Western Osprey, Eastern Buzzard flew, and Barn Swallow were also seen.
Two flocks of cormorants flew overhead in formation. Their faces were noticeably white, probably representing Japanese Cormorants that might have come the area for wintering.
Dusky Thrushes, Bull-headed Shrikes, and Meadow Buntings appeared on the surrounding hillside trees, and Chinese Bamboo-Partridges, Chinese Hwameis, Warbling White-eyes, and Formosan squirrels were heard from the forests below.
Soon, blue skies spread overhead and it got warmer creating thermal updrafts, many Black Kites began flying and over 30 Eurasian Sparrowhawks also appeared soaring high.
Several Japanese Sparrowhawks also flew.
A flock of Pacific Swifts was also seen.
Near noon, the wind changed to a southerly direction, and the hawks' flights became fewer.
I observed one Eurasian Sparrowhawk perched on a nearby tree and ended the observation.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, ドバト, キジバト, ウミウ, アマツバメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ホオジロ
Fureai-no-mori Park & Izumi-no-mori Park in Yamato (Kanagawa)
ふれあいの森＆泉の森(神奈川)
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica)
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba)
Fureai-no-mori Park and Izumi-no-mori Park are adjacent parks rich in nature, located along the Hikiji River which originates from the Yamato Water Source within Izumi-no-mori Park.
Approximately 50 species of birds are observed here in a year.
This spring, a Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus, a rare species in the Tokyo area, was observed here.
Although the numbers were not as many, I observed more species than expected.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キジバト, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, カワセミ, コゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
1-day Trip in Kanagawa (Kanagawa)
神奈川県内1日間(神奈川)
Miyagase Lake in autum colour
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii)
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
The deciduous broad-leaved trees in the mountains around Lake Miyagase were beautifully changed their leaves' colour into red and yellow.
As we looked at the small pond with only a little water in front of the Miyagase Yamanami Center at Miyagase Lakeside Park, a flock of White-cheeked Starlings and two Japanese Wagtails had gathered to drink water.
As we began walking the Hayatogawa Forest Road, we were enveloped by the lively calls of Brown-eared Bulbuls and Chinese Hwameis.
We also heard the call of the Japanese Green Woodpecker.
Suddenly, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk flew right in front of us, chasing a small bird.
We heard the call of Japanese Grosbeaks but couldn't spot them; however, we did see four likely birds flying overhead.
Daurian Redstarts were seen and heard in several places along the forest road.
Lake Miyagase's water level remained low as ever.
A flock of Mandarin Ducks swam on the distant opposite shore.
Many Grey Herons were seen on the shore.
Grey Buntings were spotted on the slope near Kanazawa Bridge. A birder walking ahead of us mentioned seeing a large flock of about ten birds.
Under Kanazawa Bridge, the lowered water level had created a stream, where a Brown Dipper was seen diving and foraging.
Beyond Kanazawa Bridge, a Crested Kingfisher was observed.
This time, we also saw flocks of Pale Thrush and Grey-capped Greenfinch.
In the afternoon, we moved to the middle reaches of Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa).
First, we visited the Isobe Weir (Isobe-no-seki).
On the trail to the weir, we saw one Eastern Buzzard, one Western Osprey, and Black Kites.
What appeared to be a Japanese Quail was by the roadside, but it quickly hid in the bushes and we couldn't confirm it.
At the weir, we confirmed two subspecies of Great White Egret (A.a.alba, A.a.modesta).
We also observed Japanese Wagtail, Siberian Pipit, White Wagtail, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Common Coot, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and Meadow Bunting there.
Next, we headed to Sakai Sports Plaza (Sakai Sports Hiroba), but encountered traffic congestion on the roads within Atsugi City en route, resulting in only about 40 minutes of observation time there.
On the sports field, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Siberian Pipits, and White Wagtails were foraging.
At the weir "Sagami O-zeki," we saw various types of ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal) and Grebes (Great Crested, Little).
In the grassy riverbed, flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Hawfinches perched in trees were seen.
The birds observed are;
At Miyagase Lake:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
At Sagamihara River:
Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)?
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ウズラ? オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, クサシギ, イソシギ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
エナガ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, カワガラス, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba)
印旛沼(千葉)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Flock of ducks in Lake Inba-numa
We walked along the walking path along the southwest shore from the western tip of Lake Kita-Imbanuma.
A small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches, which I haven't seen very often this year, greeted us.
The Great White Pelican “Kanta-kun,” who has made his home at the small boat landing at the trailhead for nearly 30 years, is still healthy. He's usually just sleeping, but this time he showed us his flight to the fisherman’s small boat.
Near the entrance of the walking path, a few waterbirds were visible on the lake surface: Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Eurasian Teals, Falcated Ducks, Little Grebes, and Great Crested Grebes.
Also, several Black-headed Gulls were flying over the lake surface.
Heading east along the path, in the center of the lake, in addition to these, large flocks of Baikal Teals, many Common Pochards and Northern Pintails, and a few Eurasian Wigeons were seen.
Surprised by something, these ducks took flight all at once, making for a spectacular sight.
In the reed beds dotted with small trees on the shore side of the walking path, calls of Japanese Bush-Warblers, Brown-cheeked Rail, and what seemed to be Ruddy-breasted Crake were heard, and Masked Buntings appeared.
In the small trees, Bull-headed Shrikes, Chinese Hwameis, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Meadow Buntings, Daurian Redstarts, and Dusky Thrushes were perched.
On the grassland opposite the lake on the walking path, Meadow Buntings and Common Reed Buntings were seen, and calls of an Eurasian Wryneck were heard.
In the adjacent rice paddies, a Mute Swan which was pecking at the ratoon rice ears, and several Siberian Pipits were also seen.
The only raptors seen this time was Black Kite.
The birds observed are;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata) Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos) Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha) Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa) Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca) Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei) Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis) Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax)?
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コブハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, モモイロペリカン, アオサギ, コサギ, クイナ, ヒクイナ? オオバン,
ユリカモメ, トビ, カワセミ, アリスイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris)
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
Compared to my visit in early October, more trees had changed color, creating a landscape more like autumn.
Around the Hayatogawa Forest Road entrance, we were surrounded by calls of various birds.
In addition to the particularly noisy Brown-eared Bulbuls, the Chinese Hwamei , which mimics the call of the Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher ( I wonder how it learned it? ), and the Warbling White-eye were calling well.
Furthermore, we heard the calls of the Japanese Grosbeak and Daurian Redstart, a winter visitor.
As in the previous visit, we encountered mixed flocks of tits (Japanese, Varied), Warbling White-eyes, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers several times.
We heard the calls of Red-flanked Bluetails at some places but couldn't see them.
We also spotted winter visitors, Masked Buntings and Grey Buntings, in the grassy slopes.
The water level at Lake Miyagase remained low as in previous visits.
This time, there were many Mandarin Ducks on the shore and on the lake surface, which I hadn't seen last time.
Fortunately, two Crested Kingfishers and one Common Kingfisher were also spotted. One Crested Kingfisher caught a large fish.
Additionally, a small flock of Eyebrowed Thrushes and one Kamchatka Leaf Warbler, both stopping over during migration, were seen.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica), Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, キジバ, カワウ, アオサギ, トビ, カワセミ, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, オオムシクイ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ガビチョウ, マミチャジナイ, ルリビタキ,
ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ, クロジ
Togakushi Area (Nagano Prefecture)
戸隠周辺(長野)
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki)
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)
On the first day and the morning of the second day, we visited Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Togakushi Shinrin Shokubutu-En).
This site is located at east of Mt. Togakushi. The altitude of the garden is over 1,200m and it is a rich natural forest with the deciduous trees and conifers.
This garden is one of the famous birding spots in Japan to watch the summer birds and migrating birds.
It was cold in the early morning with a temperature of 1°C, and the broad-leaved trees had passed their peak of autumn colors and were beginning to shed their leaves.
Flocks of autumn migrants (Eyebrowed Thrush) and birds that had come to Japan for wintering (Dusky Thrush, Brambling, Eurasian Siskin, Japanese Grosbeak) were flying around this forest.
Several Mugimaki Flycatchers, which stop by this forest every year at this time of the year, could also be seen.
Resident birds of this forest such as woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Eurasian Jay, tits (Willow, Varied, Coal, Japanese), Japanese Bush-Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Tree-Creeper, Eurasian Wren, Brown Dipper, and Brown-headed Thrush were also seen. Among these, the Eurasian Jay, Japanese Green Woodpecker, and Willow Tit were particularly active and well-observed.
We tried to vsit Togakushi Campground, but the parking lot was full, so we gave up.
Instead, we stopped at “Kotori-no-ike" Pond. Here, we were able to see a White-backed Woodpecker, which we hadn't encountered at Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden.
Finally, we stopped at Oyachi Moor in Iizuna Town, but it was close to noon and bird activity was low.
We observed a White-bellied Green-Pigeon, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Tits, and a Eurasian Jay there.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ,
ミソサザイ, カワガラス, マミチャジナイ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ムギマキ, アトリ, マヒワ, イカル
1-day Trip around Tokyo Area (Tokyo, Chiba Prefectures)
東京近郊1日間(東京,千葉)
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida)
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis)
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis)
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica)
October, which used to be sunny most days, has become a season of autumn rains due to climate change. Though it didn't rain that day, it was cloudy with low temperatures and a cold north wind blowing.
At first, we visited Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen), one of the few remaining tidal flats in Tokyo Bay.
It was a new moon, and upon arrival, the tide began to lower, and the mudflats gradually expanded.
On the expanding mudflats, flocks of Eurasian Oystercatchers, Great White Egrets, gulls (Black-tailed, Slaty-backed, Black-headed), and shorebirds (Sanderling, Dunlin, Kentish Plover) began foraging.
Among the flock of Sanderlings, we saw Red-necked Stint and Red Knots.
As the mudflats expanded further, Grey Plovers that had been resting on offshore stakes also began foraging on the mudflats, and also Siberian Sand Plovers joined.
We also spotted several Bar-tailed Godwits flying offshore.
Then we visited Kasai-Rinkai Park (Kasai-Rinkai Koen).
Around the freshwater pond "Kami-no-ike," several Bull-headed Shrikes were flying around chasing each other, perhaps competing for territory. We heard calls of an Eurasian Wryneck but did not see it. In the pond, there were ducks (Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Mallard), Little Grebes, egrets (Little, Great, Grey), Great Cormorants, a Common Coot, and a Common Greenshank.
We looked for the Yellow Bittern, which had been sighted for the past few days, in the pond's reeds, but it did not appear soon. After waiting patiently, it finally showed up and began foraging.
At the brackish pond "Shimo-no-ike," no bird was found besides egrets.
From "Nishi-nagisa" shore, a flock of Greater Scaup was seen at the distance.
In the channel between it and "Higashi-nagisa" shore, we tried to observe a Eurasian Curlew closely, which we spotted from the distance, but by the time we approached, the mudflat where it was seen had already been submerged by the tide and it had gone. Instead, we saw several Common Sandpipers.
On the mudflats at "Higashi-nagisa," we could see many gulls and Eurasian Oystercatchers in the distance.
We searched for small birds in the forest and sunflower fields on the west side, but it was afternoon and the birds were inactive. We found nothing except Japanese Tits and Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
The birds observed are;
- At Sanbanze Seaside Park;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- At Kasai-Rinkai Park;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ヨシゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン,
ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ダイシャクシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, コオバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, カワセミ, アリスイ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
1-day Trip around the Northern foothills of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi)
富士山北麓周辺1日間(山梨)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius)
Unlike in the past, summer stretched through the entire month of September, and autumn rains fell during the first half of October. Yet this day, following the previous day, was clear and sunny.
Mt. Fuji was clearly visible up to its summit.
The first snowfall, usually seen during the first week of October, had yet to be seen, but the forests near the tree line were changing colors of autumn.
First, I visited the woods at Naka-no-chaya on the northeastern foothills.
As soon as we arrived, a mixed flock of Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and tits (Japanese, Coal) welcomed us.
Entering the forest, flocks of Japanese Thrushes, seen ten days ago were still remained and busily flying around. Among them, we found an Eyebrowed Thrush.
We also saw an Olive-backed Pipit that had come down from the subalpine zone.
Both male and female Narcissus Flycatchers remained, having not yet migrated.
Near the watering hole, Red-billed Leiothrixes chirped noisily, and Warbling White-eyes visited to bathe.
From there, we took the Fuji Forest Road.
There were unexpectedl many cars, perhaps because it was sunny Saturday. Hunters who came to hunt the overpopulated deer and mushroom pickers were among them.
The temperature dropped below 10°C, and it was a bit cold.
Along the way, in the grassy areas left by logged forests and young tree planting zones, we saw and heard Meadow Buntings and Bull-headed Shrike.
We also spotted Eurasian Jays flying over the forest several times.
In the forests from 1,000m up to the forest road's highest point around 1,800m, we saw Red-flanked Bluetails. In the distance, we also heard the call of the Grey-bellied Bullfinch.
Then, we stopped by Lake Saiko, but there were no waterfowl to be found.
At the endy , we visited Saiko Wild Bird Forest Park.
Perhaps because it was past noon and the birds were less active, there was no sign of any birds other than the friendly Varied Tits gathering for sunflower seeds fed by a visitor near the management building.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジバト, ツミ? コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, メジロ,
ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, ルリビタキ, キビタキ, ビンズイ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
& Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
& Common Coot (Fulica atra atra)
The weather forecast was cloudy, but light rain fell intermittently.
A Eurasian Goshawk perched on a willow tree, and feathers from a bird likely fallen victim to this raptor littered the nearby ground.
When the rain stopped, Meadow Buntings and Bull-headed Shrikes perched on small trees in the grassland and sang.
A Common Kestrel flew overhead, harassed by crows. And a Western Osprey also soared above the river.
Upstream of the weir, the number of ducks had increased. Many Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, and Tufted Duck were seen, perhaps stopping by on their migrations.
The sandbar upstream of the Keio Line had changed drastically from a week ago. Excavators were at work, the grass covering it completely gone, and gravel was being hauled away.
Maybe birds won't be coming to this spot for a while.
Under Tamagawara Bridge, Japanese Wagtails and Long-billed Plovers were found, as the last visit.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
3-day Trip around Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa)
東京周辺3日間(東京,神奈川)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis)
On the gravel sandbar, there were wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese), Long-billed Plovers and Common Sandpipers.
Ducks in the river were only a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Eurasian Teals.
There were egrets (Great, Little, Grey), too.
A few Bull-headed Shrikes were calling loudly at top of trees.
In the forest, a big flock of White-cheeked Starling was seen.
Then, we visited Tama Cemetery (Tama Reien) in Fuchu City, Tokyo.
At the park, a few Narcissus Flycatchers and Grey-streaked Flycatchers were seen.
At the hills of Sengen-yama Park, a family of Varied Tit, two Japanese Green Woodpeckers and a flock of Chinese Hwamei were seen.
We lloked for Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), but could not find any.
On the second day, we visited several sites in Kanagawa Prefecture. In the morning, we visited the Hayato-gawa Forest Road at Lake Miyagase.
The forest road was quiet, with few birds other than Brown-eared Bulbuls.
At several points, we encountered mixed flocks consisting of tits (Japanese, Vared, Coal), Warbling White-eyes, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers.
At Kanazawa Bridge, in addition to those flocks, we also saw a flock of Long-tailed Tits. In addition, we found one leaf warbler among them, but it wasn't singing, so we couldn't identify the species.
We searched the lake for Crested Kingfishers. While there were many Great Cormorants and Grey Herons, we couldn't find any Crested Kingfishers. However, we finally spotted one perched on a dead tree that had emerged as the lake water level dropped.
We scanned the sky for hawks. we spotted one unidentified individual flying over distant ridges and a Western Osprey flying over the lake.
Next, we visited Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin.
While wintering ducks were still scarce in the surrounding fields, here we observed not only the resident Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, but also Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Eurasian Teals, and Tufted Ducks.
In the adjacent vegitable fields, a few White Wagtails were seen. Among them, one Japanese Wagtail was found.
At the end of the day, we drove around the farmland in the Nittaku area along the middle reaches of Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa).
We searched for Green Pheasants (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes) but couldn't find any.
We saw herons (Great, Medium), flocks of White-cheeked Starlings, and Zitting Cisticolas.
On the third day, we headed for the northern foothills of Mt. Fuji.
The forecast was cloudy, but the mountains were shrouded in low clouds, and drizzle was falling.
We entered the forest road on the north face of Mt. Fuji, but perhaps due to the low temperature of 11°C and the drizzle, the birds were inactive and didn't appear.
However, the drizzle soon stopped and patches of blue sky began to show.
The birds became more active, and we saw mixed flocks such as Coal Tits, Japanese Tits, and Long-tailed Tits.
A small flock of Red-flanked Bluetails was also seen.
Fortunately, a Copper Pheasant also appeared.
Near the highest point of the road at 1800m, Red-flanked Bluetails were visible, and we also saw mixed flocks of Meadow Buntings, tits (Coal, Willow), and leaf warbler.
We searched for Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris) but couldn't find any.
On the descent, we also saw a Green Pheasant.
In the grasslands at the foot , we saw Meadow Buntings and Amur Stonechats too.
We stopped by the watering spot at Sozo-no-mori Campsite, but perhaps because it had rained, there was no sign of birds.
Unexpectedly, in the woods at Naka-no-chaya, a large flock of about 20 Japanese Thrushes was flying around and foraging on the ground.
Among that flock, we also spotted one Eyebrowed Thrush.
The birds observed are;
At Tama River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
At Tama Cemetery:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
At Miyagase Lake:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
leaf warbler (sp),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
At Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
At Nittajuku Veg. Field (Sagami River):
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
At Forest road at North-face of Mt. Fuji:
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
leaf warbler (sp),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
At Naka-no-chaya (Mt. Fuji):
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus)
ヤマドリ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, イソシギ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ?
ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メボソムシクイ, メジロ, セッカ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ,
ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, アカハラ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
I expected to see migrating birds stop over this site.
First, I visited the hills of Sengen-yama Park.
At this time of year, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata) and Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) stop by during migration, but none were found this time.
Other birds were scarce too, with only a few Varied Tits, Japanese Tits, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Warbling White-eyes, Chinese Hwameis, and Narcissus Flycatchers seen and heard.
Photographers gathered in the park at the cemetery's center, enthusiastically taking pictures.
Several Narcissus Flycatchers and Grey-streaked Flycatchers were seen feeding on ripe fruits of the trees in the park.
Also nearby, I heard the calls of a Japanese Green Woodpecker.
The birds observed are;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
ドバト, キジバト, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ガビチョウ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
This is my visit to this field after a six-month break.
It was Saturday, and many people were enjoying baseball and other sports on the riverbank grounds, and there were several anglers on the river.
On the gravel sandbar, there were wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese) and Common Sandpipers.
A Zitting Cisticola was also spotted.
Ducks were still few in the river, with only a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and one Northern Shoveler seen.
A Common Kingfisher was hunting.
Many egrets (Great, Little) were flocking along the shore.
In the forest, flocks of Brown-eared Bulbuls and a Bull-headed Shrike were seen.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, イソシギ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
One-day trip in the west area of Kanagawa Prefecture(Kanagawa)
神奈川西部(神奈川)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax)
In the morning we visited Mt. Gongen.
Near the parking lot, several Bull-headed Shrikes were loudly asserting their territories from treetops and fences.
Brown-eared Bulbuls were migrating westward in flocks.
Chinese Hwamei were moving among the bushes.
Eurasian Jays flew in the distance, and we also heard their calls.
As we began walking the trail, we saw a mixed flock consisting of tits (Japanese, Varied), Long-tailed Tit, Warbling White-eye, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
While observing this flock, a Japanese Green Woodpecker appeared nearby, allowing us to observe it closely.
While walking along the forest trail, searching for migrating flycatchers, Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), and leafwarblers, we found a Narcissus Flycatcher. Some birders observed the Oriental Cuckoo, but we didn't see it.
We heard the call of the Ryukyu Minivet but didn't see it.
The season of autumn hawk migration had started since the middle of September, and observations had begun at many sites all over Japan. This site is one of them and is located at the midpoint between Sagami Bay and the Tanzawa Mountains. At this site, as well, observations have continued everyday at the Observation Tower since 06 September, other than rainy days.
In the wide Kanto Plain, there are several hawk migratory routes, and the number of migrating hawks varies greatly depending on the wind direction and other factors. Unfortunately, the day we visited the site, it seemed that this was not on the route of the day. During our observation, we saw several Eastern Buzzards, Black Kites, a Grey-faced Buzzard and a Eurasian Goshawk. Additionally, on this day, a Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) and a Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis) were also observed.
Red-rumped Swallow flew near the Observation Tower.
White-bellied Green Pigeons, which go to the beach at Oiso to drink seawater on the beach, were seen several times at the distance.
*The day after our visit, it was reported that a kettle of 54 Grey-faced Buzzards was seen and totally 66 were recorded.
In the afternoon, we visited One Park.
Every year around this time, Garganey visit the small pond in this park. A few days ago, there was a sighting report, and upon searching, one bird was found resting in a hard-to-spot location.
Other species observed were a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, Eurasian Teals, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Grey Heron, Great White Egrets, and Little Egrets.
Then, we visited Sanada Reservoir near One Park.
We found a Common Snipe.
We walked along One River flowing beside of the reservoir to look for rails. In the stream, we saw Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Little Egret, Grey Heron, and Common Moorhen, but no rails.
We also observed a large flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
In the harvested rice fields, several White Wagtails were seen.
Above the fields, a few Barn Swallows and Red-rumped Swallows were flying.
One Eurasian Goshawk was flying while being harassed by Carrion Crows.
Then we visited the Sagami River near Sakai Sports Ground on the middle reaches of Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa).
Many White Wagtails were seen on the ground.
The trail to the downstream riverbank at “Sagami Big Weir (Sagami-Ozeki)” was unclear and hard to walk on. One Common Kingfisher was seen at the fishing pond. Egrets (Grey, Great, Little) were seen in the river, but ducks had not yet arrived; only a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and one Northern Pintail were found.
With little result, we visited the upstream Nittajuku area.
In the farmland, we saw flocks of Medium Egrets, Carrion Crows, and White-cheeked Starlings, as well as a Common Kestrel.
We searched for Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri), which usually stops here during migration, but found none.
Nothing special was seen in the river.
The birds obserbed are;
At Mt. Gongen:
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
At One Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus)
At Sanada Reservoir:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)
At One River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
At Sagami River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
バン, タシギ, トビ, オオタカ, サシバ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ,
カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ガビチョウ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Isa-numa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
& Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides)
Garganey (Spatula querquedula)
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax)
The temperature had finally dropped below 30°C as autumn had come to the Tokyo area, but that day brought summer-like weather with temperatures exceeding 30°C again.
The marsh, which was in full flood when we visited a month ago, had lowered its water level, exposing mudflats.
On the mudflats to the south, flocks of Black-winged Stilts, Black-tailed Godwits, Great Egrets, and Intermediate Egrets were seen, and a Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper were seen.
On the surrounding water surfaces, Eurasian Wigeons, Spot-billed Ducks, and Eurasian Teals were seen.
On the mudflats to the north, a flock of Common Greenshanks, a Common Sandpiper, and a Ruff were seen.
On the surrounding water, a flock of Eurasian Teals was found, with several Garganeys among them.
In the water channel to the west, three juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons were found.
In the trees of the adjacent park, flocks of Brown-eared Bulbuls and Grey-capped Greenfinches on their fall migration were seen.
Nearby, the shrill call of a Bull-headed Shrike asserting its territory was heard.
The birds observed are;
at Isanuma Marsh;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
バン, コチドリ, セイタカシギ, オグロシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, エリマキシギ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Shirakaba Pass (Nagano)
白樺峠(長野)
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis)
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)
This pass is famous as the best point to observe hawk migration in autumn.
A local group had been observing this site since August 30. On September 24, two days prior to our visit, over 3,600 hawks, the largest number this season, were observed.
On the first day of our visit, it was cloudy in the early morning but became sunny, and many hawk migrated over us.
During the morning, most were Crested Honey Buzzards, with a few Grey-faced Buzzards, Eastern Buzzards, Japanese Sparrowhawks, and Eurasian Goshawks seen.
We had hoped for four-digit numbers of Grey-faced Buzzards, but contrary to expectations, they did not come.
However, before 3 pm, flocks of Grey-faced Buzzards finally appeared.
The records reported by "Sinshu Raptors igration Research Group" are as follows;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 991
- Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 392
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 28
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 48
- Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus): 3
- Eurasian Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 4
We also saw a few White-throated Needletails, and flocks of Barn Swallows and Asian House Martins.
On the second day, we hoped to see Grey-faced Buzzards as the previous day, but unfortunately, while the eastern side near Matsumoto City was sunny, the skies above our observation point at Shirakaba Pass were cloud-covered, with occasional rain showers.
Conditions were not favorable for hawk migration. We reluctantly withdrew before 9 am.
The birds we observed are;
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
アオバト, ハリオアマツバメ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, ジョウビタキ
Coastal areas of Okhotsk (Hokkaido)
オホーツク沿岸エリア(北海道)
Parasitic Jaeger/Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus)
Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens)
Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris)
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
& Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris)
Leach's Storm-Petrel/Leach's Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous)
: all photos by S.Niwa
I visited Coastal areas of Okhotsk.
On this day, the wind was blowing from the northeast.
At first,I visited Masuura Coast.
I was able to observe two Aleutian Terns flying over the sea.
On arrived at Shari River, I observed Glaucous Gull and Herring (Vega).
Black-legged Kittiwake were also flying over the river.
Unfortunately,I couldn't observe Red-legged Kittiwake.
Around noon, many Pomarine Skuas, Arctic Skuas and Long-tailed Skuas flew in from offshore. About 2,500 birds gathered at the river mouth to rest.
There were also Fork-tailed Storm Petrels among them.
The birds obserbed are;
Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea),
Leach's Storm-Petrel/Leach's Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous), Fork-tailed Petrel/Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates furcatus furcatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Aleutian Tern (Onychoprion aleuticus), Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), Parasitic Jaeger/Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus),
Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens)
ハイイロミズナギドリ, コシジロウミツバメ, ハイイロウミツバメ, カワウ, ウミウ, アカエリヒレアシシギ,
ミツユビカモメ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ,
コシジロアジサシ, アジサシ, トウゾクカモメ, クロトウゾクカモメ, シロハラトウゾクカモメ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
This year, the extreme heat and autumn rainy season caused a series of days without hawk flights as same as the previous year.
However, we finally had a cool day with temperatures below 30°C (86°F).
We expected that hawks that had been waiting for migration must start moving.
I expected to see many hawks at Gongen, but unfortunately, only two Grey-faced Buzzards, two Crested Honey Buzzards, one Eastern Buzzard, one Western Osprey and one Japanese Sparrowhawk were observed.
However, at observation points on the south and west of my location, more Crested Honey Buzzards and Grey-faced Buzzards were seen, plus Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo) and flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons).
On this day, the hawks seemed to have chosen a route that bypassed Mt. Gongen.
Other species were Bull-headed Shrike, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Japanese Green?), swifts (Pasific, House), Barn Swallows, White-bellied Green-Pigeons, leaf-warbler, etc.
The birds obserbed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi), House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
コジュケイ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ,
コゲラ, アオゲラ? モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ
1-day Trip around Tokyo Area (Tokyo, Chiba, Ibaraki Prefectures)
東京近郊1日間(東京,千葉,茨城)
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
& Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
The temperature, which had dropped below 30°C due to the stalled autumn rain front, returned to summer 's heat exceeding 35°C after several days of continuous sunny weather.
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Kasai-Rinkai Koen), our first site, the sunshine was hot despite the early morning.
Near the entrance, a flock of White-cheeked Starlings greeted us noisily.
At the bird sanctuary, a family of Azure-winged Magpies were flying around the forest.
We looked for flycatchers on migration but couldn't find any.
In the saltwater pond, there were Little Egrets, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and a small flock of Eurasian Teals that had just arrived. Shortly after, a Common Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper also came to the expanded mudflats.
Far in the distance on the Higashi-nagisa tidal flats, many gulls and egrets were resting. Nearby, several Black-tailed Gulls and Little Egrets were also seen.
In the freshwater pond, several Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, a family of Little Grebes, and one Common Kingfisher were observed.
Near the parking lot, many Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Rock Doves gathered in the sunflower field to eat the seeds. A few Grey-capped Greenfinches were also seen.
A Bull-headed Shrike was also found in a nearby tree.
Next, we visited Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen), one of the few remaining tidal flats in Tokyo Bay.
That day was a neap tide, and when we arrived around 10 am, the mudflats had widened.
There were many gulls (mostly Black-tailed Gulls, with a few Slaty-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls) and many Great Egrets.
Offshore, there were numerous Great Cormorants.
Shorebirds were fewer than expected, with small flocks of Siberian Sand Plover, Sanderling, Red-necked Stint and Dunlin, and a few Great Knots, Grey Plovers, Kentish Plover and Terek Sandpipers, plus one Bar-tailed Godwit.
Eurasian Oystercatchers (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans), usually seen here, were not found this time.
The sea breeze was cool, but the tidal flats with no shade were tough , so we wrapped up earlier than scheduled.
After about an hour and a half by car, we visited the rice paddies and lotus fields in Inashiki City, located in the southern part of Japan's second-largest lake.
The outside temperature had risen to 36°C.
In the rice paddies of the Honshin area, we observed egrets (Medium, Great, and Eastern Cattle). On a subsequent visit, we saw a few Black-winged Stilts, Red-necked Stints and Little Ringed Plovers, and one Marsh Sandpiper.
In the Ukishima area, the number of lotus fields where the harvest had been done and the water surface spread out increased.
When we reached one lotus field, many shorebirds flew up from it. A Peregrine Falcon flew overhead. We approached that field to observe, but unfortunately only a few Long-toed Stints and Little Ringed Plovers remained.
In the other fields, we found a few Red-necked Stints and Wood Sandpipers, a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, a Ruff and a Green Sandpiper.
In the reed field of Ukishima, Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri) and Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis) were not seen or heard, perhaps because they were inactive after the breeding season.
The birds observed are;
- At Kasai-Rinkai Park;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Sanbanze Seaside Park;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
- Around Inashiki area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, ソリハシシギ,
イソシギ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, セイタカシギ, オオソリハシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ,
オバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
トビ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat & Fukudomi Reclaimed Land (Saga)
東与賀干潟&福富干拓(佐賀)
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi)
& Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer)
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii)
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi)
& Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Western Yellow Wagtail (Yellow-headed) (Motacila flava lutea)
The site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
This site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
This year, the September High Tide was forecast on the 8th at 9:27 AM with a peak height of 5.9m, followed by 6m on the 9th at 10:09 AM, and 5.9m on the 10th at 10:49 AM.
We visited at this period of time, but unfortunately, an autumn rain front appeared and stalled over northern Kyushu, causing unstable weather.
Arriving on the earliest flight on the 8th, we arrived around 10:00, slightly past the time of highest tide, but seawater had still filled up to 10m close to the embankment where we were observing, and a very large number of shorebirds could be seen nearby.
The dominant species was Dunlin, followed by Grey Plover.
There were also many Far Eastern Curlew, Eurasian Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, and Great Knot, which are few in the Kanto region near Tokyo.
Occasionally, the sunshine made it muggy, and then heavy rain fell, making observation not easy.
In the afternoon, we visited the agricultural fields at Fukudomi Reclaimed Land in Shiroishi Town.
The weather cleared up and the heat returned.
We searched for freshwater shorebirds and waterfowl among the lotus fields, canals, and the reservoir in this area.
In some of the lotus fields, lotus root harvesting was underway. In several fields where harvesting had already finished and the water surface was open, we observed Red-necked Stints, Temminck's Stints, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Great White Egrets, Intermediate Egrets, Little Egrets, and Grey Herons. We also found one Oriental Stork.
At Ariake Reservoir, although some distance away, we saw many Black-winged Stilts and a smaller number of ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Garganey, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard).
The next morning, the 9th, we planned to visit Mt. Eboshi (Eboshi-Dake) in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, to observe Chinese Sparrowhawks (Accipiter soloensis) migrating from the Korean Peninsula via Tsushima Island.
However, heavy rain was forecast for the area, making hawk migration completely no hope.
Therefore, we visited Higashi-Yoka Tidal Flat from early morning.
When we arrived before 6 am, the vast tidal flats stretched out, and shorebirds were still scattered far and wide across the area.
Great Egrets and several Far Eastern Curlews were observed relatively nearby.
As the water surface gradually expanded, flocks of relatively large -sized Common Greenshank and Grey Plover were found foraging along the edge of the water.
A single Peregrine Falcon flew over the mudflats but flew off somewhere. There was no particular disturbance.
As the water approached about 50 meters, construction began on the mudflat right in front of our observation point. A backhoe started collecting drifted-in dead grass and loading it onto a small truck.
Because of this, the shorebirds moved away and stayed from the construction site until the work was unable to continue due to flooding.
Although the rain wasn't an issue, an unexpected disturbance had occurred.
After the construction work ended, shorebirds began gathering near our observation point.
Dunlins and Grey Plovers were the dominant species.
We also saw medium-sized species such as Greater Sand Plovers, Whimbrels, Eurasian Curlews, Black-tailed Godwits, Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Great Knots, Red Knots, Curlew Sandpiper.
Also small-sized species, which could be identified at the closer distance, were Kentish Plovers, Terek Sandpipers, Red-necked Stints, Broad-billed Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones.
Within flocks of Grey Plover, we also found a Nordmann's Greenshank, species rare in Japan but frequently observed at this site, and a Ruff.
We visited Fukudomi Reclaimed Land twice, once in the noon and once in the evening.
Although fewer species were confirmed in the noon than the previous day. In the evening, perhaps as the birds became more active, new species were found such as Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Common Kestrel, Oriental Magpie, Zitting Cisticola, Grey Wagtail, and Western Yellow Wagtail. The Western Yellow Wagtails were migrants stopping over, and several flocks were found in the rice field and grasslands around the water channel.
The last day, the 10th, a heavy rain fell with thunder in the middle of the night, and the rain stopped once before dawn.
Early in the morning, we visited Fukudomi Reclaimed Land. We saw new species: Eastern Cattle Egrets, Black-tailed Godwits, and Dunlins.
Then, we got to Higashi-Yoka Tidal Flat before 8 am.
Unfortunately, it started raining again.
Perhaps due to the rain, the construction work that had been disturbing us the previous day was not carried out, but we had to observe in the bad condition in the rain.
We saw almost the same species as the day before. New sightings were a flock of over ten Black-faced Spoonbills, one Saunders' Gull, one Vega Gull, and a few Sand Martins.
The birds observed are;
- at Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat:
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Fukudomi Reclaimed Land:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Western Yellow Wagtail (Yellow-headed) (Motacila flava lutea), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ,
アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ,
メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, セイタカシギ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ,
チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, カラフトアオアシシギ,
クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, ミユビシギ,
トウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, サルハマシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, セグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, カササギ, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Tokyo Bay & Inashiki Area (Chiba, Ibaraki Prefectures)
東京湾&稲敷エリア(千葉、茨城)
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi)
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica)
Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)
& Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum)
At this time of year, the weather should be unstable due to the change of season from summer to fall, but it had been changed for a few years so that the sunny and extremely hot weather with temperatures over 35°C (95°F) continued.
The first site was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
When we visited the tide wa low and the tidal flats spreaded widely.
There were some flocks of gulls. Most of them were Black-tailed Gulls with a small numbers of Slaty-backed Gulls among them.
Also, while Eurasian Oystercatchers are still not many, their numbers had increased compared to the previous visit in May.
As for shorebirds, Sanderlings were flocking, and migrating Grey Plovers were also not few, but other species were scarce and observed: Siberian Sand Plover, Common Redshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Terek Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, and Dunlin.
We did not see Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri) and Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) this time.
The next site was Yatsu Tidal Flat (Yatsu Higata).
It had been a week since my last visit. This time, we were with the members of the Fureai Birdwatching Club.
By the 10 am start time, the temperature had already surpassed 30°C, and it was extremely hot in the sun.
At low tide, the eastern side was almost completely drained, spreading out into a vast mudflat. However, the western entrance side still had wide water, where we spotted Northern Pintails in addition to Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Greater Scaups. It must just arrived.
This year, not many shorebirds had note yet visited here. Furthermore, they were scattered across the vast mudflats, and searching for them in the intense heat was hard work.
However, as time passed and the tide rose, the birds gathered onto the narrowing mudflats and gradually became easier to spot.
Several dozen Red-necked Stints were observed.
Other species found were a few Little Ringed Plovers, Siberian Sand Plovers, Common Greenshanks, Terek Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Dunlins, and a Broad-billed Sandpiper.
Birding at Yatsu Tidal Flat left us exhausted, but we drove on for about an hour and a half to visit the Inashiki area.
When we visited a month ago, we observed flocks of Wood Sandpipers in the fallow rice fields.
This time, more lotus fields had been harvested, opening up water surfaces.
In several of these, we saw various species such as Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipes, Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stints, Long-toed Stints, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Ruff, and Oriental Pratincole.
There were also many egrets (Medium, Great) and swallows (Barn, Sand Martin).
In the reed fields, Marsh Grassbirds were still singing well.
The birds observed are;
- At Sanbanze Seaside Park;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- At Yatsu Tidal Flat;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- Around Inashiki area;
Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, タシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ,
イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ, ツバメチドリ,
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, トビ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, オオセッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
North-foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北山麓(山梨)
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
The temperature in Tokyo was forecast to exceed 38°C, breaking the record high for the year.
On the forest road, the temperature dropped to 16°C, feeling a bit chilly.
It was early morning, so the birds were active.
At lower elevations, flocks of Red-billed Leiothrix and Japanese Grosbeak were found.
A family of Brown-headed Thrushes foraging on the road was also seen.
Woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green) were frequently seen and heard.
Luckily, we saw a Copper Pheasant fly across the road.
At an altitude of nearly 1800m, we saw alpine birds such as Japanese Leaf Warblers, Grey-bellied Bullfinches, and Red-flanked Bluetails among the trees.
We saw a redish bird, looked like a Red Crossbill, perching on the tree top, too.
In the sky, we saw swifts (Pacific, House), swallows (Barn, Red-rumped, Asian House Martin), Black Kites, and Eastern Buzzards.
At the Sozo-no-mori Campsite, the The spot was nearly dried up after days of clear weather, with only a small puddle remaining.
However, it was a precious water spot on the volcanic Mount Fuji, and birds visited to drink and bathe.
Most were juveniles, and during about an hour of observation, we saw Coal Tits, Japanese Tits, Narcissus Flycatchers, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Grey-capped Greenfinches, and Meadow Buntings.
The birds observed are;
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi), House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
ヤマドリ, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, トビ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, ソウシチョウ,
アカハラ, ルリビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カワラヒワ, イスカ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ノジコ
Yatsu-Higata Tidal Flat (Chiba)
谷津干潟(千葉)
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
melanistic Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi)?
This spot is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia), and is good wintering point for waterfowl.
From middle of August until end of September is the season of the migration birds to the South/West.
Five minutes on the road under the heat of the sun from Minami-Funabashi Station, we arrived at the western entrance of Yatsu-higata Tidal Flat.
The water level was still high, and the mudflats had not yet appeared.
Here, one summering Greater Scaup and one Little Grebe were swimming together.
Also, several Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Great Cormorants, Great Egrets, and Grey Herons were seen at a distance.
We walked through the planted trees along the highway heading toward the visitor center.
We looked for summer birds in migration but didn't find any this time.
On the way back through this grove, we heard calls of Azure-winged Magpie.
The visitor center was cool with air conditioning.
In front of the center was a small tidal flat where we saw one Little Ringed Plover, several Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, several Great Cormorants and one unidentified black heron. This could be a melanistic individual of a Grey Heron.
On the west side of the center, several Little Egrets were gathered.
After a while, the tide gradually began to lower, revealing the mudflats. So, we went back out into the hot outdoors and walked along the east side, searching for shorebirds, making a round trip to the opposite shore from the center.
Unfortunately, shorebirds were very few.
On the east side, we found one Common Sandpiper and several Grey-tailed Tattlers, and on the north side, a flock of about 20 Red-necked Stints.
There was also one Medium Egret, too.
A Black-tailed Gull also came by.
Returning to the center, we waited a while in the cool air.
The mudflats expanded significantly, and we could see several Grey Plovers and Siberian Sand Plover flying in to the central flats.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ウミネコ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Paddy fields in Omoigawa (Tochigi) & Watarase Retarding Basin (Tochigi)
思川(栃木)のたんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(栃木)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
When we descended the Iroha-zaka Road from Oku-Nikko, it wasn't raining, the blue sky spread out, and the intense heat was back again.
Four days ago, we visited the rice fields in Omoigawa area. So this time, we explored the points where shorebirds were observed last time and places that we had not yet searched.
In this area, the sunny days continued for last four days, and the fallow fields that were dry last time remained dry. The places where there was water last time were also getting drier, but we observed almost the same shorebirds.
At Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi), we waited Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White-cheeked Starling and Barn Swallow which communal roost in the reed fields.
Two weeks ago, we were unable to locate the location where they roosted, however we managed to locate this time.
We saw huge numbers of Eurasian Tree Sparrows and White-cheeked Starlings flying above the reed fields in the twilight and covering the reeds.
However, there were not as many swallows as we had expected. It seems that they have already migrated south or scattered to different roosting points.
The birds observed are;
- at the paddy fields in Omoigawa area;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Watarase Retarding Basin;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, ムナグロ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, オオセッカ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Nikko area (Gunma,Tochigi)
日光エリア(群馬,栃木)
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis)
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)
In the early morning, we walked around the inn at Marunuma Highland.
The morning at an altitude of 1,300 meters was cool.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers were active.
We also saw a Japanese Green Woodpecker with them.
We also saw and heard Eurasian Jay, Brown-headed Thrush, and Japanese Grosbeak.
We took the ropeway, which started operating at 7:30 in the morning, to the summit station at an altitude of 2,000 meters in the middle of Mt. Nikko-Shirane.
Near the summit station, a large mixed flock of tits (willow and coal), goldcrests, and Japanese leaf warblers were busily moving about among the trees.
The calls of Sakhalin Leaf Warblers and Red-flanked Bluetails were heard as well.
From there, we walked along the mountain trail in the forest zone spreading across the slopes of Mt. Nikko-Shirane.
Although there were some steep climbs, we saw and heard Japanese Leaf Warblers, Red-flanked Bluetails, Spotted Nutcrackers, tits (willow, Coal), Goldcrests, Grey-bellied Bullfinches and Japanese Leaf Warblers nearby, which made us keep walking.
Finally, we were able to soak our tired feet in the footbath near the summit station.
We again took the ropeway and descended to the base station. Then we crossed the Konsei Pass and headed toward Oku-Nikko on the Tochigi Prefecture side.
We walked along the trail north of Senjogahara Marsh, but as it was afternoon, the birds were not active, and we only saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a mixed flock of tits dominated by Willow Tits, and a single Amur Stonechat.
Soon after, a heavy rain began to fall, so we ended our birdwatching.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジバト ノスリ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ホシガラス, キクイタダキ, コガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, アカハラ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
Prefectural Ikaho Forest Park (Gunma)
伊香保森林公園(群馬)
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
Even in the latter half of August, temperatures exceeding body temperature continued around Tokyo.
This is an ideal place to visit at such a time, since it is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters and the area around the pond named "Shida" is cooled by the cool air flowing out of the wind holes created by the cracks in the mountains and rocks as the results of the land deformation.
It seemed that it had rained the night before, and the ground was wet.
Perhaps because of this rain, the birds had enough water places to bathe in.
We waited at “Shida-no-ike Pond” for about four hours in the noon, but few birds appeared. Only Japanese Thrush, Varied Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, and Narcissus Flycatcher came to bathe.
Other birds we saw or heard were Eurasian Wren and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The birds observed are;
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
アカゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, クロツグミ, キビタキ
Paddy fields in Minami-furura (Saitama), Omoigawa (Tochigi) and Itakura (Gunma) & Watarase Retarding Basin (Tochigi) & Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
南古谷(埼玉)、思川(栃木)と板倉(群馬)のたんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(栃木)&多々良沼(群馬)
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
Swallows at Tatara Marsh
First, we visited the Minami-furuya area in Saitama Prefecture.
Unfortunately, we only saw a few Little Ring Plovers, and three snipes flying away from a rice field.
Next, we headed for Omoigawa area in Tochigi Prefecture.
On the way, we stopped at Isa-numa Marsh.
The marsh was full of water, and there were no mudflats.
We only saw a few Little Grebes, and a Little Tern perched on a stake.
In the Kira area in the south, there are several fallow fields filled with water, and in one of them, a few Little Ringed Plovers, a Red-necked Stint and a stint seemed like Little were found.
None were found in the Hasamada and Shimo-Kozuka areas this time.
The fallow fields in the Sosima area, where several species were observed 10 days ago, had dried up due to the recent sunny weather.
In the fallow fields where water remained, two Common Snipes, several Little Ringed Plovers and Wood Sandpipers were found.
In the Imazato area, a fallow field with a flock of about 50 Pacific Golden-Plovers was found.
On the way to our next destination, Itakura in Gunma Prefecture, we passed through the Watarase Retarding Basin.
The temperature reached 38°C, and there were no birds in sight.
One Oriental Stork flew overhead and landed in a nearby rice field.
We were able to observe it up close, but sadly, it had lost its right foot. Perhaps it had touched a high-voltage power line? We hope it survives.
There were few fallow fields in Itakura, but in one of them, several Little Ringed Plovers and one Long-toed Stint were found.
At another fallow field, a Green Sandpiper was seen.
We searched for snipes on the rice field banks, but only one Common Snipe was found.
The irrigation pond with full bloom lotus flowers, we found a Yellow Bitterns, Sand Martins and a family of Common Moorhen .
Finally, we visited Tatara Marsh in the evening.
Here too, the marsh was filled with water and there were no shorebirds.
Toward sunset, Eurasian Tree Sparrows began to return to their roosts in the reeds.
Next, the herons returned.
As the sun set and it became dark, numerous swallows returned to their roosts and flew around in the sky.
Ten days ago, we couldn't see this scene at the Watarase Retarding Basin, but we were able to see it here.
The birds observed are;
- at the paddy fields in Minami-furuya;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Snipe (sp),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Isa Marsh;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis)
- at the paddy fields in Omoigawa area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Watarase Retarding Basin;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Itakura;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Tatara Marsh;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, ヨシゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
バン, ムナグロ, コチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, ヒバリシギ, コアジサシ, トビ, ハヤブサ,
ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Miyagase Lake (Kanagawa)
宮ケ瀬湖(神奈川)
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris)
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii)
On the last day of the Obon holiday, the severe heat was forecasted for this day as well. To avoid the heat, we headed to the site early in the morning.
In the shadow of the forest road leading to Hayato-gawa Bridge, a bird that seemed to be a Japanese Thrush was feeding on the road.
However, at this time of year when the breeding season was over, no birdsong other than that of the Japanese bush warbler was heard.
From Hayato-gawa Bridge, we saw a flock of Grey Herons and Great Cormorants in the Hayato River.
There were few birds singing on the Hayato-gawa Forest Road, and we only heard one Blue-and-white Flycatcher singing in the distance.
When we arrived at a spot overlooking Lake Miyagase, we saw the water level had dropped significantly.
Then we heard calls of Crested Flycatcher nearby. We spotted one perched on a dead tree that had emerged from the surface of the water due to the low water level.
Crested Kingfishers appeared several times around Kanazawa Bridge, and we also saw one diving into the water for hunting.
According to a photographer nearby, five chicks had fledged in the beginning of August, and there were a total of seven birds.
From Kanazawa Bridge, we saw a Brown Dipper in a stream-like area where the water level had dropped.
At the Great Cormorant colony near Shirudare Tunnel, we also saw some birds still nesting.
The birds we observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)?
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ? ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, カワガラス, クロツグミ? オオルリ, キセキレイ
Paddy fields in Itakura (Gunma) and Omoigawa (Tochigi) & Watarase Retarding Basin (Tochigi)
板倉(群馬)と思川(栃木)のたんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(栃木)
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
We arrived near noon to avoid the traffic jams during the Obon holidays. There were many cars but less than the same time of the previous year and we can reach there without any heavy traffic jam because of the rain. On this day, in Kyushu, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded was causing major disasters.
At our sites where we visited, it was drizzling intermittently, but the temperature fell below 30°C. Although the rain slightly hampered birding, we were free from the hellish heat, making it a relatively easier birding at this time of year.
In the agricultural fields, many grey-capped greenfinches, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and white-cheeked starlings were forming flocks.
There was one peregrine falcon perched on a utility pole, which might be targeting these flocks.
Many egrets (Medium, Great White, Little, Grey Heron) were found in the paddies where rice had grown tall.
We checked the rice field banks one by one, looking for snipes passing through here during their migration at this time of year. It took a while to find them, but we spotted two birds that looked like Latham's Snipes.
We also found one Grey-headed Lapwing.
The irrigation pond was almost entirely covered with lotus and the flowers were in full bloom.
There were a few Yellow Bitterns, Common Coots and Barn Swallows.
Next, we visited paddy fields in Omoigawa in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
There were several fallow paddy fields on the north side (Soshima area), and there were Common Greenshanks, Pacific Golden-Plovers, Wood Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plovers.
We looked for shorebirds in the southern area, but no shorebirds were found.
At Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi), we waited Eurasian Tree Sparrow, egrets and Barn Swallow which communal roost in the reed fields.
Unfortunately, we were unable to locate where they roosted in the vast reed beds, so we were unable to observe spectacular scene this time.
However, it was cool due to the rain, and there were few people, so we were able to see many Green Pheasants.
We also saw a large flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches.
Marsh Grassbirds in the reed fields were singing in the twilight.
The birds observed are;
- at Itakura;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at the paddy fields in Omoigawa area;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at Watarase Retarding Basin;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri), Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, キジバト, カワウ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン,
ホトトギス, ケリ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, オオジシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, トビ, ハヤブサ, ハシボソガラス,
ヒバリ, ツバメ, ウグイス, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Kujukuri Coast (Chiba) & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
九十九里浜(千葉)&稲敷方面(茨城)
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida)
& Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Colony of egrets/herons
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
At first, we visited Katakai Fishing Port.
Two days ago, Typhoon Krosa approached close to this coast with strong wind and rain.
We visited hoping for gifts from this typhoon, but there were no special encounters.
The migration of shorebirds had not started in earnest and we saw several species that might have summered here (Sanderling, Red-necked Stint, Kentish Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Eurasian Oystercatcher) on the beach, as well as a early migrant Whimbrel.
A flock of Sanderlings, including a few Red-necked Stints, were busily foraging in the surf, seemingly oblivious to the surfers passing by on the beach.
A few Kentish Plovers and one Siberian Sand Plover were foraging leisurely on the beach a short distance from the surf.
Two Eurasian Oystercatchers were resting on the beach with a flock of Black-tailed Gulls.
Only one Whimbrel was found resting in the grassland around a large puddle on the beach.
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis) was not seen on this occasion.
Then, we headed towards Inashiki.
On the way, a colony of egrets/herons was found near the Shin-Kuriyama Bridge over the Kuriyama River, which flows through the town of Yokoshiba Hikari.
In several rice fields in Inashiki, egrets/heron, including Eastern Cattle Egret, and flocks of Wood Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover were found.
Small numbers of Common Sandpiper and Red-necked Stint were found among them.
It was difficult to find shorebirds in the lotus field, which was overgrown with lotus.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, チュウシャクシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ウミネコ,
トビ, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, オオセッカ, セッカ,
ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
1-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps)
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis)
The rainy season ended on 18 July, but with less rain than usual. Every day temperatures above body temperature were reported in many places in Japan.
First, we visited Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
The day we visited was Sunday, when we were allowed to enter this Ground Self-Defense Force training area.
In the vast open meadows, we searched for grassland birds.
After the breeding season, the meadows were quieter and fewer birds were seen than at the peak of the season, but there were still almost the same members such as three species of buntings (Meadow, Chestnut-eared and Masked), Amur Stonechat, Eurasian Skylark, Japanese Bush-Warbler,Black-headed Reed Warbler, Eurasian Skylark, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Common Cuckoo and Lesser Cuckoo, plus a large flock of Barn Swallow perching on a power line, perhaps using this area as a roosting ground.
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes) did not appear from the meadow, and Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii) and Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis) were not seen, probably having already left this site.
The surrounding forest was also quiet, yet mixed flocks of tits, Narcissus Flycatcher, Wood Nuthatch and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, as well as Oriental Turtle-Dove and Japanese Thrush were seen. However, identification was not easy in the intense sunlight on the canopy.
We visited Sozo-no-mori Campsite hoping that one of the few water spots on the volcanic Mt Fuji would be a good place to see birds which come for bathing in the continuing sunny days.
Despite expectations, only young tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow) and young Narcissus Flycatcher came to bathe and drink, but the Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) sometimes recorded at this spot did not appear.
In the surrounding woods, Meadow Bunting, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Lesser Cuckoo and Grey-capped Greenfinch were seen and heard.
As it was the climbing season and the roads up to the fifth stations were restricted to private cars, we drove on a forest road to the middle of the mountain, around 1,800 m.
The number of birds singing here had decreased significantly, however, the Japanese Thrush and Red-billed Leiothrix were still singing well.
This time, Crested Honey Buzzards appeared more often than usual, and we saw a scene that two Eurasian Jays chased after it.
Many Brown-headed Thrushes also appeared on the road.
At the highest point, it was cooler down to 19°C (66°F), shrouded in fog, and the Japanese Leaf Warbler was chirping cheerfully.
Red-flanked Bluetail were also seen.
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris) and Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica) did not appear.
On the descent, White-bellied Green-Pigeona and a big flock composed of tits, flycatchers, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Wood Nuthatch were encountered.
Next, we headed for Obora Spring, near Lake Yamanaka.
On the way to the spring, we saw a Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker.
A Japanese Thrush was singing well.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
キジバト, アオバト, ホトトギス, カッコウ, ハチクマ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
メジロ, コヨシキリ, セッカ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ソウシチョウ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ,
サメビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, クロジ
Asahikawa Area (Higashikawa, Asahikawa, Hokkaido)
旭川エリア (東川町,旭川市、北海道)
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi)
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica)
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis)
Unfortunately, since a frontal line stayed in this area, we could not go up to Mt. Asahidake, which we had planned, and the occasional heavy rainfall during our stay did not allow enough time for bird-watching.
First we walked in the town campsite at Asahidake Onsen for an hour at noon, when it wasn't raining.
Bird activity was not good as the breeding season had passed, but small flocks of Goldcrest, mixed flocks of tits (Marsh, Coal) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), and Brown-headed Thrush were seen.
Rain continued to fall throughout the evening of that day and into the morning of the next day, so birding was not possible.
We gave up bird watching at Asahidake Onsen in the mountainous area where bad weather was continuing, and headed for Kaguraoka Park in Asahikawa City.
This park is located 3km southeast of the city center, and is an undulating hilly area with natural forests of elm, mud and oak trees, about 500 Siberian cherry trees and the Chubetu River flows to the north.
Most of the park is natural woodland, and a good habitat for birds and animals.
The weather was unstable, with heavy rain and blue skies for a while, however, we encountered a variety of birds such as Asian Wood Nuthatch, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Russet Sparrow, Masked Bunting, tits (Marsh, Japanese), woodpeckers ( Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Pacific Swift (Northern), etc.
In the evening, we visited Nagayama Shinkawa, which is an artificial river that flows through the Nagayama district of Asahikawa City.
This river was constructed as a flood prevention measure for the Asahikawa city area where the Ushishube River, a watershed of the Ishikari River, flows. It branches off from the Ushishube River near the border between the Sakuraoka and Nagayama districts in the northeast of Asahikawa City, flows northwest, and joins the Ishikari River near Nagayama Bridge on the border with Higashi-Takasu. To fulfill its flood control function, the width of the waterway and the riverbed outside the bank is secured to be about 200 m, wider than the downstream of the Ushishube River.
Though this is an extremely artificial waterway, it is designed to improve the waterside environment, such as creating biotopes, in an effort to make it as close to nature as possible. As a result, many birds, mainly waterfowl, come to this river.
Some time before our visit, there was a report of White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus) sightings here, but unfortunately, only a few birds that appeared to be Pacific Swift (Northern) were seen.
However, we did encounter a large flock of nearly 100 Chestnut-cheeked Starlings on their way on migration.
Other birds such as Grey Heron, Oriental Reed Warbler, Masked Bunting, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Bull-headed Shrike, White-cheeked Starling, Mallard, etc. were also seen.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)? Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, キタアマツバメ, トビ, エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
キクイタダキ, ハシブトガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, オオヨシキリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ,
ムクドリ, コムクドリ, シロハラ? アカハラ, コルリ, キビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ
Nobeyama Highland (Yamanashi,Nagano)
野辺山高原(山梨,長野)
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
We took the old road from Kiyosato to Nobeyama.
The road was surrounded by a quiet forest with no cars passing by, and Narcissus Flycatcher and Japanese Tit were singing well even at noon.
We looked for Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) in the stream, but it did not appear during our observation.
In the farming areas of Nobeyama Highland, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Meadow Bunting and Chestnut-eared Bunting were seen.
Oriental Reed Warbler was also heard.
In the pastures, Amur Stonechat, Chestnut-eared Bunting and Eastern Buzzard were seen well.
The birds we observed are;
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
ホトトギス, カッコウ, トビ, ノスリ, アカゲラ? モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, セッカ? ノビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
Norikura Highland (Nagano Prefecture)& Mt. Norikura (Gifu Prefecture)
乗鞍高原(長野県) & 乗鞍岳(岐阜県)
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia)
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus)
Mt. Norikura-dake is a 3026 meter high, volcanic mountain along the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. Mt. Norikura-dake is the southernmost and third tallest peak of the Northern Japan Alps.
In summer, it is easy to climb thanks to buses running almost as far as the summit. One of Japan's highest roads leads to the Norikura Bus Terminal at 2700 meters above sea level, not too far from the peak.
We tried to buy a round-trip bus ticket to Tatamidaira at the ticket office as we had done in the past, but we were told that from July of this year, advance reservations were required.
Advance Reservation Required for Buses from Norikura Kogen to Mt. Norikura (Tatamidaira) ー Starting in 2025
We barely managed to purchase the few remaining available seats on the 9:30 outbound and 15:35 inbound buses at the ticket office, and we were able to head for Norikura-dake.
*The next day (Sunday), all buses were fully booked, making local purchase impossible.
Since we had almost two hours to wait for the third bus to depart, we birded the area around the bus stop.
We saw White-bellied Green-Pigeons perching in a treetop, Meadow Buntings singing in treetops, Daurian Redstart foraging on the road, and heard Lesser Cuckoos and Japanese Grosbeak.
We arrived at Mt. Norikura's Tatamidaira (2,702m) two hours later than expected. The weather was clear, the wind was light, and the temperature was comfortable even a bit cool.
Then we headed for Daikoku-dake, one of the summits of Mt. Norikura-dake. We walked along the road to Takayama and the trail to the summit, looking for alpine birds inhabiting the dwarf stone pines that widely cover the surrounding slopes.
We saw several Alpine Accentors perched on rocks. But Japanese Accentors were not activeand did not come out from the dwarf stone pines in the morning, and some apeared in the afternoon.
The birders who got the first bus saw a parent and child of Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica), but unfortunately we did not see them.
Spotted Nutcrackers were also hard to see and were finally seen in the afternoon.
Olive-backed Pipits flew well.
The other birds seen were Pacific Swift, Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Asian House Martin, Grey Wagtail, and heard calls like Japanese Leaf Warbler and Grey-bellied Bullfinch.
The next morning, we drove to the Sanbondaki bus stop in the middle of Mt. Norikura where we are allowed to go by private car.
On the way, Grey Buntings were singing well near the Kyukamura Norikura-Kogen Hotel.
Brown-headed Thrush was seen singing in the treetop of a tall tree.
Going further, two Crested Honey Buzzards were seen.
A Eurasian Wren was heard, too.
Near the Sanbon-daki Bus-stop, a Daurian Redstart was singing in the treetops and Pacific Swifts were seen soaring over the ridge in the distance.
We also heard a Blue-and-white Flycatcher, though from a distance.
We expected to see Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus), and Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), but not any were found.
We descended to Norikura Highland and walked on the Ichinose Meadow Trail. In the lovely meadow, Lesser Cuckoo and Common Cuckoo were singing and Bull-headed Shrikes were perched on the treetops. A family of Mallard was found in the small pond. Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) and Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata) were not found.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica)?
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)?
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Grey Bunting (musicus) (Emberiza variabilis musica)
マガモ, キジバト, アオバト, ホトトギス, カッコウ, アマツバメ, ハチクマ, トビ, ノスリ, コゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ,
カケス, ホシガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, ミソサザイ, アカハラ, コルリ,
ジョウビタキ, コサメビタキ? キビタキ, オオルリ, イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ, ウソ? イカル, ホオジロ, クロジ
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi)
柳沢峠(山梨)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi)
We expected to encounter Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), which had been reported several times recently.
Unfortunately, our target was not realised, but we did see families of Willow Tit and Siberian Blue Robin, and Narcissus Flycatcher carrying food to its chicks, the sightings those are only possible at this time of the year.
The birds observed are;
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
アオバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, カケス, コガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ウグイス, エナガ,
ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ガビチョウ, コマドリ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
京都御苑(京都)
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica)
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica)
On the way to the garden from the railway station (Demachi-yanagi), we checked the Kamo River from Kamo-O-Hashi bridge.
Red-rumped Swallow and Barn Swallow flew over the river surface, and Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Great Cormorant and White Wagtail were found in the river.
The day was also forecast to be extremely hot which was abnormally hot for June, but it was cooler in the forest in the morning.
We went to the point of the Northern Boobook, which visits here every year to breed, and fortunately the birder who had arrived earlier showed us where the male was, watching and guarding the nest box.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガモ, ドバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, トビ, アオバズク, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Hachioji Castle Ruins (Hachioji, Tokyo)
八王子城跡(東京)
The Black Paradise-Flycatcher, which visits this site every summer, has been here again this summer.
We heard and saw some other birds such as Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Narcissus Flycatchers, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Woodpecker, Varied Tit, Warbling White-eye, etc.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)?
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
コジュケイ, コゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ガビチョウ, クロツグミ? キビタキ, キセキレイ
4-day Trip of Ogasawara Cruise & Ogawasawara Islands (Tokyo)
小笠原航路,父島,母島 4日間(東京)
Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus)
Brown Booby (Brewster's) (Sula leucogaster brewsteri)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica)
South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki)
Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae)
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus)
Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca)
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus)
Bonin White-eye (hahasima) (Apalopteron familiare hahasima)
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens)
& White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi)
There are no flights to the Ogasawara Islands, and the only transport is by ship, which normally requires a total of six days, with 24 hours each way on the ship and a four-day stay in the Ogasawara Islands, but this time the ship's sailing schedule made for two days in the Ogasawara Islands, making the shorter trip in four days in total.
The ship set sail at 11.00 in the afternoon and slowly made its way through the calm waters of Tokyo Bay.
Daiba, an artificial island built in the bay during the Edo period for the placement of cannons, became a large nesting site for the Great Cormorant.
Around the entrance to the bay, many Streaked Shearwater were soaring over the sea surface.
A few Short-tailed Shearwater and Black-tailed Gull were also also seen.
Streaked Shearwater were abundant up to near the offshore of Hachijo-jima Island until the evening.
The next morning, near the Ogasawara Islands, various species of seabirds were seen, such as Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel, Tristram's Storm-Petrel, Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel, Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby (Forster's), Brown Booby (Brewster's).
Two White-tailed Tropicbirds and four Japanese Murrelets were also seen, which was rare in this waters.
The boat arrived at Chichi-jima Island at 11am and transferred to the boat for Hahajima, which departed an hour later.
On the waters to Haha-jima Island, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel, Tristram's Storm-Petrel, Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel, Brown Booby (Forster's) and Brown Noddy were seen.
As the boat was small, it was easy to observe Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel and others.
The next day, from the early morning until the departure of the boat for Chichi-jima at 12.00, we birded around the island of Haha-jima.
We looked for Bonin Greenfinch (Chloris kittlitzi) in the southern part of the island, but could not find any, probably having moved to the offshore islands nearby, where they breed.
We saw the endemic species/subspecies in this island such as Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens), Eastern Buzzard (toyoshimai), Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps), Japanese Bush-Warbler (H.d.diphone), Bonin White- eye (hahasima), Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Z.j.alani x stejnegeri), White's Thrush and Blue Rock Thrush.
From the boat to Chichi-jima, Bonin Petrel and Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua could be seen, which we had not seen on the outward voyage. This may have been due to the change in the environment, as the weather worsened and it was cloudy and slightly drizzling.
On arrival at Chichi-jima Island, we immediately transferred to the ship bound for Tokyo, which departed an hour later.
Observations on board until the evening resulted in the finding of a South Polar Skua and what appeared to be a Kermadec Petrel, which were not seen on the outward voyage.
The following day, five Black-footed Albatross were found in the waters off the Izu Islands and in Tokyo Bay.
The birds observed are;
White-tailed Tropicbird (Pacific) (Phaethon lepturus dorotheae),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Kermadec Petrel (Pterodroma neglecta neglecta)? Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii), Tristram's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates tristrami), Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae),
Red-footed Booby (Indopacific) (Sula sula rubripes), Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus), Brown Booby (Brewster's) (Sula leucogaster brewsteri),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki), Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Eastern Buzzard (toyoshimai) (Buteo japonicus toyoshimai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone),
Bonin White-eye (hahasima) (Apalopteron familiare hahasima),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
シラオネッタイチョウ, アカガシラカラスバト, クロアシアホウドリ, カワリシロハラミズナギドリ? シロハラミズナギドリ, オオミズナギドリ,
オナガミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アナドリ, オ−ストンウミツバメ, クロウミツバメ, アカアシカツオドリ, カツオドリ, シロガシラカツオドリ,
カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, クロアジサシ, ウミネコ, オオトウゾクカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, カンムリウミスズメ,
オガサワラノスリ, ツバメ, オガサワラヒヨドリ, ハシナガウグイス, ハハジマメグロ, イオウジマメジロxシチトウメジロ(交雑), トラツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
4-day Trip in Doto area (Hokkaido)
道東4日間(北海道)
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus)
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla)
& Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis)
The first site was Koshimizu Wildflower Park in Lake Tofutsu.
We expected to see grasshopper- warblers, but there was no sign of them, perhaps because the arrival was not early enough in the morning.
The species seen were Grey-capped Greenfinch, Amur Stonechat, Common Cuckoo, Latham's Snipe, Black Kite, Black-browed Reed Warbler and Siberian Rubythroat, etc.
Two Eurasian Hobbies were seen on the road near the Yanbe River.
We stopped at Shari Harbour, a haven for winter gull watching, but there were no gulls present.
On the shore at Utoro Harbour, a large flock of Slaty-backed Gull was seen at the mouth of a river.
Pelagic Cormorant and Japanese Cormorant were resting on the rocks, a Spectacled Guillemot was at sea and a White-tailed Eagle was flying on the hillside.
From Utoro, we headed to Rausu through Shiretoko Road.
This road through the Shoretoko Pass is the road that is open for the shortest period in Japan and is closed to heavy snowfalls during the long winter months. The road was closed at night when we visited.
We drove the road slowly searching for birds such as Sakhalin Leaf Warbler.
We saw and heard Oriental Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Pacific Swift (Northern), Japanese Bush-Warbler, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, Japanese Robin, Siberian Blue Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail and Masked Bunting.
At the Shiretoko Pass, we stayed there for a while to look for Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis), but it did not appear during our observation.
Many Slaty-backed Gulls were resting on the quay at Rausu Port. Many Pelagic Cormorants and Japanese Cormorants were perched, and a White-tailed Eagle was with them.
At Washi-no-yado Inn, We were told that Blakiston's Fish-Owl came around 10 times a night from about 19:30 to 03:00 to bring food to the chicks.
We waited in our room for the owls to come.
The first came a little before 20.00 and they came about 10 times that day.
This time the owls arrived early enough for me to get a good night's sleep. I walk around the inn the following morning and I saw and heard Crested Kingfisher (pallida), White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Oriental Cuckoo, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Grey Wagtail, etc.
We drove up the Shiretoko Road again after it opened at 8:00. Our results were not much different from the previous day, but at Shiretoko Pass there was a brief sighting information of Pine Grosbeak before our arrival.
Next, we headed inland to Lake Oketo in search of Northern Hawk-Cuckoo and Sakhalin Leaf Warbler.
We didn't see any of these birds this time, probably because we arrived in the afternoon, but we did see Hazel Grouse, Common Merganser, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Western Osprey, White-tailed Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Japanese Pygmy, Woodpecker (seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (seebohmi), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Black Woodpecker, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Eurasian Jay (Brandt's), Asian Wood Nuthatch, Narcissus Flycatcher and Hawfinch.
Early the next morning, we visited two sites on the shores of Lake Saloma, Wakka Wildflower Garden and Cape Kimuaneppu, looking for grasshopper-warblers and other grassland birds.
Several Sakhalin Grasshopper Warblers were chirping cheerfully in the meadow near the Wakka Wildflower Garden, but they were good at hiding and were only briefly visible.
In the garden, we didn't hear the chorus of birds that we hear at the peak season in June, perhaps because most of them had only just arrived, but we did see Gadwall, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Japanese Cormorant, Oriental Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Latham's Snipe, Black Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Eurasian Skylark, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat, Amur Stonechat, Black-backed Wagtail, Grey-crested Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch and Common Reed Bunting, etc.
We did not encounter Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii).
On the lake near the entrance to Cape Kimuaneppu, a large flock of Greater Scaup was seen.
There were also many Eurasian Wigeons, several Northern Pintails and Grey Herons foraging in the marshes.
In the grasslands and trees of Cape Kimuaneppu, Bull-headed Shrike, Marsh Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat, Amur Stonechat, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Meadow Bunting and Common Reed Bunting were seen.
The Grasshopper-Warblers were still not active and were not easy to see.
On the last day, we visited Lake Oketo in the morning. As this was a morning visit, we observed the species which we did not see or hear last time such as; Northern Hawk-Cuckoo, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Red-flanked Bluetail, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail and Black-backed Wagtail.
The birds observed are;
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Crested Kingfisher (pallida) (Megaceryle lugubris pallida),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
エゾライチョウ, オオハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, カワアイサ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト,
ヒメウ, カワウ, ウミウ, アオサギ, ジュウイチ, ツツドリ, カッコウ, キタアマツバメ, オオジシギ, オオセグロカモメ, ケイマフリ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オジロワシ, シマフクロウ, エゾヤマセミ, エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, チゴハヤブサ, モズ,
ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ハシブトガラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
シマセンニュウ, エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, カワガラス, クロツグミ, アカハラ,
コマドリ, ノゴマ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
5-day Trip in Miyake Island & Kanto area (Chiba,Ibaraki,Yamanashi,Nagano)
三宅島&関東(千葉,茨城,山梨,長野)5日間
Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes pleskei/Locustella pleskei)
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes)
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi)
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige)
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans)
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
The first site was Miyake Island (Miake-Jima).
The ship departed Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo at 22:30 and arrived at Miyake Island at 5:00 next morning.
At the port it was raining with strong winds, and we headed for the car rental office in the sideways rain.
At the entrance of the forest road to Tairo Pond, Ijima's Leaf Warblers were singing well even in the stormy rain.
Izu Robin could also be seen and heard in several locations.
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans), Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) and Izu Thrush were also seen.
Grey-capped Greenfinch and Owston's Tit were visited at the feeder in the garden of Nippanasou Inn.
On the road in the forest near Snapper Inn, most of the species (Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern), Japanese Green Pigeon (T.s.sieboldii), Lesser Cuckoo, Ijima's Leaf Warbler, Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri), Izu Thrush and Izu Robin were observed.
Unfortunately, Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina) was not seen this time, probably due to the bad weather.
We visited Izu Cape in search of Styan's Grasshopper Warblers, but strong winds and rain made observation impossible, so we went to Toga Coast near Toga Shrine. Fortunately, we were able to see a few birds here.
There were many Streaked Shearwaters, a Brown Booby and a Black-tailed Gull flying offshore from this beach.
The return ship to Tokyo around midday that day departed a little later than scheduled.
From the ship during the voyage, many Streaked Shearwaters were seen, with Short-tailed Shearwaters and Sooty Shearwaters.
A few Black-footed Albatross and strom-petrels (Tristram's, Leach's?) were seen, too.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Leach's Storm-Petrel/Leach's Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous)? Tristram's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates tristrami),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Ijima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes pleskei/Locustella pleskei),
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, キジバト, アオバト, クロアシアホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ハイイロミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ,
コシジロウミツバメ? オ−ストンウミツバメ, カツオドリ, アオサギ, ホトトギス, ウミネコ, ノスリ? ハシブトガラス,
オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, イイジマムシクイ, シチトウメジロ, ウチヤマセンニュウ, アカコッコ,
タネコマドリ, イソヒヨドリ, カワラヒワ, アオジ
On the second day, we visited several sites in Chiba and Ibaraki Prefectures.
The first stop was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
It was early in the morning, but it was Saturday and there were families on the mudflats who couldn't wait for the opening of the shellfish digging area, and shorebirds were congregating far away at the Urayasu end of the tidal flats.
The spring migration season had already ended and the species were few. Grey Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Greenshank and Grey-tailed Tattler were seen.
A small number of Greater Scaup were still remaining.
The next site was the the riverbanks spread in the river island of Tone River in the Kamisu area of Ibaraki Prefecture.
This is a valuable breeding site of Marsh Grassbirds, Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese), Marsh Harrier and Eurasian Bittern.
This time several Marsh Grassbirds showed their distinctive chirping flight.
Only two Japanese Reed Buntings/Ochre-rumped Buntings (Japanese) were singing on the reeds, probably due to the low temperatures.
Marsh Harrier and Eurasian Bittern were also seen and heard.
The last site on the day was Lake Inba-Numa (Inba-Numa) in Chiba Prefecture.
Ducks that had flocked on the lake during the winter had disappeared,and only Eastern Spot-billed Ducks were seen.
In the lakeside reed beds, there were Oriental Reed Warblers and Yellow Bitterns. They might have just arrived, and were not so active.
Several Green Pheasant were spotted on the banks of the surrounding paddy fields.
Ruddy-breasted Crake were unusually seen on the surrounding road, too.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris), Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)?
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
キジ, マガモ, カルガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, カワウ, サンカノゴイ, ヨシゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, ヒクイナ, オオバン,
ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ? ミサゴ, トビ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, コジュリン
On the third and forth days, we visited Mt. Fuji area in Yamanashi Prefecture.
First, we visited Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
This is the Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday and sometime on Saturday.
The day we visited was Sunday, and we could enter the site.
Unfortunately, the weather was not so good, cloudy and windy, and Mt Fuji was surrounded by clouds.
Although the birds were not very active because of this weather, a Latham's Snipe was soaring through the sky with its distinctive roar sound, and Amur Stonechat, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Skylark, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Masked Bunting, Common Cuckoo were singing on the grasslands.
In the woods of Naka-no-chaya, where we next visited, we saw and heard tits, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Wood Nuthatch, Asian Brown Flycatcher, woodpeckers (Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Lesser Cuckoo and Japanese Thrush.
Then we visited Okuniwa lodge.
Mt. Fuji above the fifth station was covered with roll cloud, and downwind there was a hanging cloud, which can be seen when strong winds are blowing.
When we arrived around noon, there was not a single car in the parking lot at the entrance to Okuniwa-so Lodge.
Two Grey-bellied Bullfinches were foraging on the road on the path downhill. There was no other sign of birds.
None of the usual photographers were present at Okuniwa-so Lodge.
We searched around and managed to find Coal Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler and Japanese Leaf Warbler.
The day before, the weather was fine and many people seemed to enjoy the variety of birds here, but this time it was very difficult.
By the time we got back to the car park, the roll cloud had disappeared and the wind had weakened, so we worked hard and climbed up the steep hill to the Ochudo Trail at the forest line. The Japanese Accentor was the target.
As we walked on this trail, we heard lively voices. We found five Alpine Accentors, probably a family.
After further searching, a Japanese Accentor was finally found where there was some Siberian dwarf pine.
On the way down to the car park, Willow Tit, Japanese Leaf Warbler and Red-flanked Bluetail were also seen and heard.
Early the next morning, we visited Obora-no-izumi Spring, near Lake Yamanaka.
In the villa area around the road to the spot, we saw and heard many birds, such as Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Ashy Minivet, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue -and-white Flycatcher, Grey-capped GreenfinchWhite-bellied Green-Pigeon, Lesser Cuckoo, Wood Nuthatch, Japanese Thrush, etc.
We then visited the Yanagisawa Pass on the border with Tokyo.
Although the birds were not very active at midday, Siberian Blue Robin, Japanese Robin and Red-billed Leiothrix were seen well.
Other birds seen and heard were White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Lesser Cuckoo, Black Kite, Eurasian Jay, Japanese Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Warbling White-eye, Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren, Narcissus Flycatcher and Blue-and-white Flycatcher.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, マガモ, アオバト, ホトトギス, カッコウ, オオジシギ, トビ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ,
カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, オオヨシキリ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ,
クロツグミ, コマドリ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Then, entering the Nagano Prefecture side, we stopped briefly at Togari-ishi Histrical Park, where we saw Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Lesser Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Ashy Minivet, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Japanese Thrush and Japanese Thrush, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Grey Wagtail and Grey-capped Greenfinch.
The last visit of the day was to the Tateshina Highlands villa area.
On the highest part of the villa, we were lucky enough to find a beautiful Copper Pheasant.
The next morning, we visited the Karuizawa Bird Sanctuary. We looked for Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), which we had not seen so far, but unfortunately could not find it.
Here we saw Lesser Cuckoo, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Ashy Minivet, Eurasian Jay, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit Long-tailed Tit, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren, Japanese Thrush, Siberian Blue Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and White Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail and Japanese Grosbeak etc.
At the pond at the entrance to Sengataki Fall, where we next visited, Mallard and Eurasian Teal were seen.
Brown Dipper were found in the rapids from the waterfall.
Japanese Thrushes were seen in the forest.
Other birds such as Common Cuckoo, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Siberian Blue Robin and Narcissus Flycatcher were also heard.
The last site visited was the agricultural area of Hotchi in southern Karuizawa.
Here, grassland birds (Lesser Cuckoo, Black Kite, Bull-headed Shrike, Barn Swallow, Brown-eared Bulbul, Oriental Reed Warbler, Black-browed Reed Warbler, White -cheeked Starling, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Meadow Bunting, Chestnut-eared Bunting)-were seen.
The birds observed are;
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
ヤマドリ, キジ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホトトギス, カッコウ, トビ, ツミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, センダイムシクイ, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ,
ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, カワガラス, クロツグミ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ,
イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
4-day Trip in Nansei Islands (Ishigaki,Amami)
南西諸島4日間(石垣、奄美)
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi)
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira)
Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes)
The first island to visit is Ishigaki Island (Ishjigaki-jima). The island is the gateway to the Yaeyama Islands, a group of remote isles 400 kilometers southwest of Okinawa's main island.
Ishigaki Island, a subtropical region, there are many endemic species and subspecies, including Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle, which is designated as a nationally protected speicies.
After about three hours of flight from Haneda Airport, we arrived at Ishigaki Airport.
First, we headed for the Takesada Forest Road.
We were looking for Iriomote Tit there. Iriomote Tit is an endemic species inhabiting only Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands and is very difficult to observe due to its small numbers, with only a few records even in this forest road in Ishigaki Island.
Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri), Ryukyu Flycatcher, Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri), Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) and Japanese Tit (nigriloris) were heard and seen, but we did not encounter Iriomote Tit but also Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle.
In the Nagura and Hiratabaru rice paddies we next visited, the spring migration season had passed and shorebirds were nowhere to be seen, with a few Eastern Cattle Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Zitting Cisticola and Scaly-breasted Munia were only observed.
At the mouth of Arakawa River that runs next to the rice paddies of Hiratabaru, we saw Pacific Reef Heron, Kentish Plover, Grey-tailed Tattler and Common Sandpiper on the mud flats.
No terns were observed.
Shorebirds were also scarce on the Ohama Coast, with only Grey-tailed Tattler and Ruddy Turnstone seen.
A few Pacific Reef Heron were also seen.
Early next morning, we headed for the Takesada Forest Road.
On the way, we found a Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) perched on electric wire along the road.
We spent the entire time on the forest road in time for our flight to depart, and re- searched Iriomote Tit.
One Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle was seen, which had not been seen the previous day.
When time was almost up, we finally saw two birds perched on a branch overhead.
The birds observed are;
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Kentish Plover (Eurasian) (Charadrius alexandrinus alexandrinus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Iriomote Tit (Sittiparus olivaceus), Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii), Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela)
インドクジャク, ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, アマサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, クロサギ,
シロハラクイナ, ハシボソシロチドリ, セイタカシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, カンムリワシ, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク,
リュウキュウアカショウビン, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, オリイガラ/オリイヤマガラ, イシガキシジュウカラ, ツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ,
ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, セッカ, カバイロハッカ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, シマキンパラ
In the afternoon, we moved to Amami Oshima.
A short visit was made at Amani Nature Observation Forest in the evening.
We saw White-backed Woodpecker (owston's), Ryukyu Robin and Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) that we had hoped to see here, but we could not see Amami Thrush nor Japanese Wood-Pigeon ( nominate).
We revisited the park the following morning. Most of the species present here (Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), Pacific Swift, Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii), White-backed Woodpecker (owston's), Ryukyu Minivet, Lidth's Jay, Varied Tit (amamii), Japanese Tit (amamiensis), Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), Amami Thrush and Ryukyu Robin) were seen and heard.
Unfortunately, the Amami Thrush, which we had hoped to see well, abandoned its nest about two weeks ago after being attacked by crows when incubation, so we were only able to confirm a brief glimpse of its flight.
In the afternoon, we visited paddy fields in Akina area.
Herons (Eastern Cattle, Eastern Great, Medium, Little), Cinnamon Bittern, Black-winged Stilt, Whiskered Tern and Zitting Cisticola were seen.
On the night tour with a local guide in that night, many Amami Woodcocks (singles and a family) and a few Ryukyu Scops Owls were seen.
In the next morning, we revisited the Amani Nature Observation Forest.
The rain from the previous night was almost over, but the we didi not see any new birds.
In the Ose Coast adjacent to the airport, ducks (Northern Shoveler,Garganey), some egrets/heron (Eastern Great(Eurasian), Pacific Reef, Chinese), Black-faced Spoonbill, Common Coot, shorebirds (Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Common Sandpiper) and terns (Little, Whiskered) were seen this time.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida javanicus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii), White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii), Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, シマアジ, ドバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, リュウキュウヨシゴイ,
アマサギ, クロサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カラシラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, オオバン, アマツバメ,
セイタカシギ, アマミヤマシギ, オオソリハシシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, コアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミヤマガラ, アマミシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, アマミヒヨドリ,
リュウキュウメジロ, セッカ, オオトラツグミ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
1-days Trip in Tokyo area (Ibaraki & Chiba Prefectures)
東京近郊(茨城、千葉)
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri)
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)
Shorebirds in Sanbanze
In the morning, we visited around Kasumigaura Lake (Ukishima, Inashiki) in Ibaraki Prefecture Under sunny and slightly hot weather, Marsh Grassbird, Zitting Cisticola and Oriental Reed Warbler were singing in the reed fields of Ukishima. They were easy to spot perched on low reeds that had not yet fully grown.
It was hard to find Ochre-rumped Bunting, and finally one was spotted in the distance. I am worried that the number of Ochre-rumped Bunting here seems to be decreasing.
We then drove through the lotus fields looking for shorebirds and wagtails. Unfortunately, only one Wood Sandpiper and one Japanese Wagtail were found in the field, as the water level was high and planting of lotus roots was under going.
On the dirt road, White-cheeked Starlings, Eurasian Skylarks, and Eurasian Tree Sparrows were foraging, and Meadow Bunting were singing on the power lines.
Remaining Common Coots and a Great Crested Grebe were found in the lotus fields and a canal.
Next, we stopped at Lake Inba-Numa (Inba-Numa) in Chiba Prefecture.
We saw two Green Pheasant couples in the surrounding rice paddies.
Great White Pelican, Kanta-kun, was resting on a small boat.
The expected Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis) had not arrived yet.
In the afternoon, we visited Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
When we arrived, the tide was coming up and shorebirds such as Dunlings, Grey Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, and Whimbrel were gathered on the mudflats that remained.
A few Greater Scaups still remained.
No Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans) was found this time.
One Azure-winged Magpie was seen perched on a power line on the side of a road nearby.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri), Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
キジ, カルガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, モモイロペリカン, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, バン, オオバン,
ダイゼン, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, ミサゴ, トビ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
1-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
Mt. Fuji
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis)
This is the beginning of a fantastic time of year for birdwatching on Mt Fuji.
Especially at this time of year, tits and other resident birds are in the midst of raising their chicks in the forests at lower altitudes.
Summer birds, which have just arrived, are active in territorial disputes and searching for partners.
Heavy rain with strong winds fell the night before, but the weather recovered early in the morning. There were clouds in the high sky, though. Mt Fuji was seen in magnificent form from the foot of the mountain to its summit.
First, we visited Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
This is the Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday and sometime on Saturday.
The day we visited was Sunday, and we could enter the site.
In the vast open meadows, we saw and heard buntings (Chestnut-eared, Masked), Oriental Reed Warbler, cuckoos (Common, Lesser), Chestnut-cheeked Starling flocks, Amur Stonechat, Eurasian Skylark, Japanese Bush Warbler, Latham's Snipe, etc.
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps), seen at the same time the previous year, was not seen this time, but Latham's Snipe had arrived.
It seemed that the meadow woulld be even more lively with full members in a little while.
In the woods of Naka-no-chaya, where we next visited, we saw and heard tits, Narcissus Flycatcher, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Wood Nuthatch, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Warbling White-eye, Siberian Blue Robin, etc.
The Narcissus Flycatcher was busy singing and moving around, perhaps to secure his territory.
There were photographers waiting for Siberian Blue Robin near a small puddle, but it was singing at a distance from there. Unfortunately, we were unable to see it.
From there, we headed to Sozo-no-mori Camp site via Fuji Forest Road. On the Fuji Forest Road, new species such as Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Meadow Bunting, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Grosbeak, Japanese Leaf Warbler, Varied Tit, Chinese Hwamei, were seen and heard. The Japanese Leaf Warbler was probably on its way to higher altitudes.
We observed the puddles in Sozo-no-mori Camp site for a short period of time.
Japanese Tit, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Brown-headed Thrush and Grey-capped Greenfinch appeared, but Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), which was expected, did not appear.
Then we visited Okuniwa lodge.
The water pond at Okuniwa lodge was in rather deserted condition, and the forest around the lodge was also quiet.
Although we managed to observe a few Goldcrests, Coal Tits, Japanese Leaf Warblers and Red-flanked Bluetails.
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida), Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris) and Spotted Nutcracker (Japanes e) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica) were not observed this time.
These were also not found on the forest road between the car park and the Osawa landslide.
Next, we descended the Subaru Line Road and headed for Obora Spring, near Lake Yamanaka.
On the way from the car park to the spring, we could hear Eastern Crowned Warbler and Narcissus Flycatcher singing in the forest along the road.
There were a few photographers at the spring, waiting to photograph the birds coming to the waterhole.
Here we saw Narcissus Flycatcher, tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow) and Eastern Crowned Warbler came to bathe.
We heard White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Oriental Cuckoo, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker, Japanese Thrush and Japanese Grosbeak, too.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, カイツブリ, キジバト, アオバト, アオサギ, ホトトギス, ツツドリ, カッコウ, オオジシギ,
トビ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, キクイタダキ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, オオヨシキリ,
ゴジュウカラ, コムクドリ, ガビチョウ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Hayatogawa Forest road, Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬 早戸川林道(神奈川)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)
The night before, three low-pressure systems passed over the Japanese archipelago at the same time, causing strong wind and rain, but by the morning the weather had turned around and cleared up, the air was clear, and the fresh greenery in the surrounding mountains was beautifully refreshed by the rain.
Summer birds such as Eastern Crowned Warbler, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, and Japanese Thrush were singing energetically.
An Oriental Cuckoo was heard on a distant ridge, too.
Also, one Asian Stubtail called loudly on the roadside so we could notice it and see it.
The residents, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Green Woodpecker, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, and Eurasian Wren, were also singing as well.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps squameiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
コジュケイ, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ツツドリ, トビ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ,
イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ヤブサメ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, クロツグミ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi)
柳沢峠(山梨)
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea)
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige)
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus)
The main targets were Japanese Robin and Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), which are regulary observed at this site every summer.
When we arrived at the site in the morning, there were already many cars at the parking lots.
As we started walking, a Brown-headed Thrush flew by, Coal Tits were moving busily in the trees nearby, a Blue-and-white Flycatcher, though not in sight, was singing in the treetops of a nearby tall tree, and Wood Nuthatches were chirping vigorously from here and there.
However, other than Coal Tit and Wood Nuthatch, there was not much bird singing. For other birds, it might be still a little too early for their breeding season.
Even though, we managed to see White-backed Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Red-billed Leiothrix, Eurasian Wren, Eurasian Jay, Willow Tit, etc.
Japanese Robin, our target, presented itself in front of many audiences silently.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
トビ, アオバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ソウシチョウ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, アカハラ, コマドリ, オオルリ, キセキレイ
2-day Trip in Kanto (Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi)
関東2日間(千葉,茨城,栃木)
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
& Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica)
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans)
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
Our first stop was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
This is the largest tidal flat in Tokyo Bay, located in the innermost part of the bay, and is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
We visited there, the shorebirds' spring migration had started.
It was the first day of the “Golden week,” a long spring vacation period, and even though it was early in the morning, the beach was filled with many tents set up by families waiting for the opening time of the fenced-in tidal flat for clam digging.
However, since the time was not yet open for clam digging, there were no people in the flats, and many shorebirds in beautiful summer plumage ( Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Red-necked Stint, Dunlin) and Eurasian Oystercatchers were flocking.
Many Littel Terns were soaring over the flats, and a large flock of Greater Scaup, which had not yet migrated, was seen offshore.
The next site was Lake Inba-Numa (Inba-Numa) in Chiba Prefecture.
Ducks that had flocked on the lake during the winter had almost disappeared, however there were some Falcated Ducks, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Great Crested Grebes.
No Oriental Reed Warbler or Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis), summer birds, were found in the lakeside reed beds, probably because they had not yet arrived.
A flock of Chestnut-cheeked Starling on its migration was found in the small trees.
Green Pheasant, Mute Swan, and a few Dusky Thrushes (winter bird) were seen in the adjacent rice paddies.
'Kanta-kun', the Great White Pelican, was resting in a small fishing boat on the shore.
Then, we visited the riverbanks spread in the river island of Tone River in the Kamisu area of Ibaraki Prefecture.
An Eastern Marsh-Harrier and an Eastern Buzzard welcame us.
Although still few in number, Marsh Grassbirds showed us their distinctive arcing flight whilst singing.
A Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) with a blackened head was singing at the tip of the reeds.
In the swamps that dot the reed beds, ducks (Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal), Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, egrets/herons (Grey, Medium), Common Coot, and Black-winged Stilt were observed.
Since the roads were congested with many cars on their “Golden Week” excursion, Inashiki area in Ibaraki Prefecture, the last site of the day, was a short birding in the lotus fields along the road.
We did not find many freshwater shorebirds, but we did see a black Spotted Redshank in summer plumage.
Other birds seen and heard were Wood Sandpiper, Common Snipe, egrets/heron (Grey Heron, Great, Little), and Oriental Reed Warbler, a summer bird.
In the evening, we arrived at Oku-Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture.
The snow, which had unexpectedly accumulated deeply three weeks ago, was almost melted and gone. However, the temperature was still cold, 3 degrees Celsius.
Early the next morning, we searched for Solitary Snipe and Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) on the trail between Yutaki Falls and Kotaki Falls.
We were lucky to find a Solitary Snipe foraging on a rock in the shallow stream.
No Brown Dipper were encountered this time.
Around the hotel in Yumoto, Asian House Martins, which had begun nesting in this area, flew overhead, Wood Nuthatch, Brown-headed Thrush, Japanese Grosbeak, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and Eurasian Jay were singing, and Long-tailed Tit, Russet Sparrow, Grey Wagtail and Black-backed Wagtail were seen.
We then walked the trail in Senjogahara Marsh from Akanuma. We did not find the expected Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) and White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), but we found Mallard, Eurasian Teal and Common Pochard in the river, Amur Stonechat in the meadow, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Dusky Thrush, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Russet Sparrow in the forest.
To avoid the traffic jam on the descending Irohazaka, we left Oku-Nikko in the morning and headed for Nikko Botanical Gaden, our next birding site.
On the way at Irohazaka, we heard Eastern Crowned Warbler, a summer bird, as well as tits.
Nikko Botanical Garden is an institute for research and education of Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo. The main activities of the Botanical Garden have centered on enriching the collections of temperate and alpine plants of Japan and adjacent regions for the purpose of botanical research and education. A total of 2,200 species (130 species of pteridophytes, 70 species of gymnosperms, and 2,000 species of angiosperms) are planted in the garden.
Thanks to the variety of trees and grasses and the rich nature suitable for them, this garden also provides good habitats for birds.
The garden was full of early spring flowers and fresh greenery. Because it was close to noon, the bird activity was not very good, and the number of birds found was small, but in addition to the residents' Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush- Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Chinese Hwamei and winter bird Pale Thrush, summer birds such as Ashy Minivet、Asian Brown Flycatcher、Narcissus Flycatcher and Blue-and-white Flycatcher were found.
The birds observed are;
At Sanbanze Tidal Flats, Lake Inba-numa, Middle-reaches of Tone River, and Inashiki area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
In Nikko area:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, モモイロペリカン, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン,
ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, アオシギ, オオジシギ, タシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ,
ツルシギ, タカブシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, コアジサシ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, セッカ,
ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, コムクドリ, ガビチョウ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, コジュリン
2-day Trip for Murodo, Mt. Tateyama (Toyama)
立山室堂2日間(富山)
Snow wall at Murodo
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica)
The first day was sunny and we arrived at Murodo in the afternoon after taking a bus from Nagano station to Ogizawa, then another bus, a cable car, a ropeway, and a bus.
On the way, it was crowded with many foreign tourists.
The area around Murodo was covered with deep snow.
First, we stopped by the visitor center to check on information about Rock Ptarmigan sightings. The explanation was that Rock Ptarmigan were often seen near Mikurigaike Onsen, where we were planning to stay that day, so we walked along the snow-covered trail to there.
A small group of people were gathering near the lodge where the Siberian dwarf pines were exposed from the snow.
As we approached, three bright white winter-plumaged Rock Ptarmigans were easily visible.
At this time of year, they are especially easy to see because they have established a territory and are defending it.
At other times of the year, it is difficult to see this bird because it is hidden in the Siberian dwarf pines, but this time it was very easy to observe it.
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia) and Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) had not yet returned to this spot.
The birds observed are;
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica)
ライチョウ
3-day Trip in Dohoku (Hokkaido)
道北3日間(北海道)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis)
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons)
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)
On the first day, we arrived in Asahikawa on an evening flight and stayed overnight. The next morning, we headed to Haboro Port for Teuri Island, but unfortunately it was raining lightly.
From Rumoi, we drove along the Nihonkai Ororon Line, the road running 290 km along the east coastal line of Hokkaido. >br> On the way to Haboro, we saw flocks of Black Scoter and Harlequin Duck and Red-breasted Merganser near the shore at several points.
We also saw flocks of swans and geese flying north in the sky.
At Haboro Harbor, we checked on the status of the boat's departure and were told that it had been cancelled the day before due to high waves, but would operate that day, but the next day the expected wave height was 1.2 m, so it would probably operate, but we could not be assured of its opeation.
Considering our succeeding plans, we decided to abandon the trip to Teuri Island.
Instead, we decided to drive further north along the Ororon Line in toward Sarobetsu and bird along the coast.
Around Haboro Harbor, Slaty-backed Gulls were resting on the roofs of houses. They will probably start nesting on these roofs during the upcoming breeding season.
There were also many Mew Gulls (Kamchatka) in the harbor. They might have stopped by on their migration.
There was also a large flock of Greater Scaup, and Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Harlequin Duck, Garganey and Japanese Cormorant in the bay.
In the grasslands, Amur Stonechat and Common Reed Bunting, both summer birds that appeared to have just arrived, migrating Dusky Thrush, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Olive-backed Pipit were also seen.
A White-tailed Eagle was on the embankment.
Also, Latham's Snipes, a summer bird, performed its flight display while making that distinctive sound.
Leaving the coast, we took a parallel road through the woods and saw Long-tailed Rosefinch, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit (Japan), Grey-capped Greenfinch, Masked Greenfinch, Masked Bunting, Eurasian Wryneck, and Dusky Thrush in the woods.
Returning to the coastal road again, and near Teshio, we found a large flock of Vega Gulls in the meadow, and flocks of Tundra Bean Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese here and there.
They were resting at this point, about 70 km from the northern tip of Hokkaido, the northernmost stopover point in Japan on their way to Sakhalin and further to Siberia.
From Teshio, we headed south on Route 40 inland to Asahikawa.
Large flocks of geese and swans were seen here and there along the way.
The next morning, the rain eased off a bit.
We visited Shunkodai Park in the city area.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker greeted us at the parking lot.
A Japanese Tit was holding nest material in its bill.
Grey-capped Greenfinch were abundant too.
Next, we headed to Asahidake Onsen.
As we entered the mountain road and gained altitude, the rain turned to snow. The road and surrounding forests were covered with snow and very beautiful.
There was so much snow around the Asahidake ropeway station that we could not access the bird watching points.
We looked for Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) in the stream, but could not see it this time.
We descended the mountain and looked for birds near the Chubetsu Dam Lake.
Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese Thrush were heard and seen. These summer birds probably had just arrived.
Winter birds such as Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba), Eurasian Siskin, and Hawfinch were also seen.
The birds observed are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus)?
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヒシクイ, マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ,
シマアジ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ, ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, ヒメウ, ウミウ, アオサギ, オオジシギ,
ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, トビ, オジロワシ, ノスリ, アリスイ, エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ハシブトガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, シマエナガ, ムジセッカ?
シロハラゴジュウカラ, クロツグミ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
6-day Trip in Nansei Islands (Ishigaki, Okinawa, Amami)
& Saga
南西諸島(石垣、沖縄、奄美)＆佐賀
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi)
Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae)
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii)
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori)
White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)
/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni)
Garganey (Spatula querquedula)
Shorebirds in Higashi-yoka Tidal Flats
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica)
with one strange colour individual
Also we visited Higashi-yoka Tidal Flats for migrating shorebirds.
Within the Nansei Islands, an important zoogeographic boundary has been drawn that separates the Palearctic Zone, which is temperate, from the Oriental Zone, which is tropical. As a result, the fauna is a diverse mix of elements of both, and many specialties are found in the isolated environment of the islands.
In addition, many species that came to these islands when they were once connected to the Eurasian continent survived the subsequent tectonic movements that broke them up into smaller islands and became endemic species or subspecies that have evolved uniquely and live only in those areas.
The first island to visit is Ishigaki Island (Ishjigaki-jima). The island is the gateway to the Yaeyama Islands, a group of remote isles 400 kilometers southwest of Okinawa's main island.
Ishigaki Island, a subtropical region, is one of the most important migratory stopover points in Japan, so many migratory birds can be seen during the seasonal changes. In addition, some birds that are considered summer birds near Tokyo are winter birds on this island. There are also many endemic species and subspecies, including Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle, which is designated as a nationally protected speicies.
After about three hours of flight from Haneda Airport, we arrived at Ishigaki Airport.
The temperature was warm, above 20 degrees Celsius.
First, we headed for the Takesada Forest Road. Along the road, Brown Shrike (Philippine) and Light-vented Bulbul were seen.
Also fa Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle soaring in the sky was also seen.
There was no Grey-faced Buzzard, which was still found a month ago.
Many egrets/heron (Eastern Cattle, Purple, Medium) were seen in the rice paddies.
There were few birds' calls except for Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) on the forest road, probably because it was almost noon and they had started egg-laying.
However, a Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle was seen up close.
In the rice fields of Nagura, our next stop, we saw Black-winged Stilt, Zitting Cisticola, Pacific Swallow, Light-vented Bulbul as well as egrets/heron, and in the canals, Common Coot and Green Sandpiper were also seen.
Next, we visited the rice paddies of Uratabaru, but there were no special birds other than herons. Several birders were surveying with a counter in their hands, scanning the paddies with a scope.
Next, we visited the rice fields of Hiratabaru, near the city center.
Many Black-winged Stilt were foraging in the rice paddies.
There were also egrets/heron such as Eastern Cattle, Great, Medium, Littel, and Purple. Great Egret was beautiful in its breeding color form.
There were many kinds of shorebirds as well, including Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Temminck's Stint, Long-toed Stint and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, too.
White-breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Common Snipe (?), Brown Shrike (Philippine), Pacific Swallow, Light-vented Bulbul, Brown-eared Bulbul, Zitting Cisticola, and Black-headed Gull were also observed.
In the Arakawa River that runs next to the rice paddies, we found a Collared Kingfisher, a rare bird in Japan that overwintered here.
At the mouth of the river, Pacific Reef Heron,
Pacific Golden-Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Greater Sand Plover, and Common Sandpiper were seen on the mud flats.
We checked Ishigaki Port and Shin-ei Park but did not find any starlings that we expected.
After sunset, we visited Furusutobaru Castle Ruins but had no luck.
Instead, many Yaeyama fruit bat were flying around.
Next, we looked for Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) perched on electric wire along the road to Banna Park, and found one.
In the park, Ryukyu Scops Owl was not as active as expected and we did not see any.
There was a Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) calling loudly by the side of the road, but we could not see it in the deep bushes.
The next morning, we visited the rice paddies of Hiratabaru, but could not find anyone other than the members of the day before.
In Nagura, a small flock of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were seen perched on an electric wire.
A few Whistling Green-Pigeons (medioximus) and three Ruddy Kingfishers (bangsi) were perched on the power lines along the road from Nagura's rice fields to the entrance of the Takeda forest road.
Several Crested Serpent Eagles and Ryukyu Flycatchers were seen on the forest road.
Then we visited the beach at Ohama.
On the rocky areas of the reef that began to expand with the receding tide, many shorebirds (Pacific Golden-Plover, White-faced Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Common Sandpiper), Pacific Reef Heron, Great Cormorant, and Blue Rock Thrush were seen.
A Black-winged Kite/Black-shouldered Kite was seen flying overhead on a road near the airport.
In the farming areas along the coast east of the airport, Common Pheasant (Korean), Indean Peafowl, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Purple Heron, White-breasted Waterhen, Brown Shrike (Philippine ), Pacific Swallow, Light-vented Bulbul, Brown-eared Bulbul, and Zitting Cisticola were seen.
Common Myna was nesting on the airport facility.
The birds observed are;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax), Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (phaeopyga) (Zapornia fusca phaeopyga/Porzana fusca phaeopyga),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
White-faced Plover (Charadrius dealbatus), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)?
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black-winged Kite/Black-shouldered Kite (vociferus) (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi), Collared Kingfisher (collaris) (Todiramphus chloris collaris),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii), Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, カルガモ, リュウキュウキジバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アカガシラサギ,
アマサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, オオクイナ, シロハラクイナ, リュウキュウヒクイナ, バン, オオバン,
ムナグロ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, セイタカシギ, タシギ? コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ,
クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, ユリカモメ, ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, ナンヨウショウビン, シマアカモズ, オサハシブトガラス,
リュウキュウツバメ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, セッカ, コムクドリ, カバイロハッカ,
イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ
In the afternoon of the second day, we moved to Okinawa Main Island and headed to Ada Garden Hotel located at the center of the Yanbaru forest area in the north.
The area by the hotel, which was still under construction a month ago, was now complete with a pond. According to the hotel staff, the construction had no effect on the Okinawa Rail, which had been a concern, and the birds have been seen continuously at this location.
We checked the trees where they used to sleep at night, but unfortunately they were not there.
We looked for Japanese Scops-Owl (pryeri) and Ryukyu Scops Owl on the road to the village of Hame in rain, but unlike our previous visit, they were less active and could not be seen this time.
The next morning, rain was over.
I looked by the hotel and saw an Okinawa Rail walking by. The bird then crossed the road and was feeding on the side of the road, where we were able to get a good look at it.
An Okinawa Woodpecker was also seen feeding on a large pine tree near the hotel.
Walking along the road nearby, several Ryukyu Minivets were flying overhead, calling.
We found a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens) on a tree.
We heard Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), too.
Next, we headed for the Benoki Dam.
The forest on the way to the dam was beautiful after the rain. We saw the Okinawa Robin in several places along the forest road.
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) could be seen, too.
A Grey-faced Buzzard flew in the sky.
We did not find the expected Okinawa Woodpecker at the Benoki Dam. We saw a few House Swifts flying overhead.
Pale Thrush had decreased in numbers, but a few still remained.
The next morning we visited the Komesu Coast and surrounding farmlands at the southern tip of Okinawa Island.
We had expected to see Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) and Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus), which were reported to have been seen in this area two days ago, but they seemed to have already left.
We saw one bird that looked like an Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed), but it quickly disappeared into the vegetation in the field and could not be confirmed.
A few Chestnut Munias were also seen.
There were many shorebirds at the point on the coast where fresh water from the dam under the farmland flows in. Pacific Golden-Plover, Grey Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Common Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Temminck's Stint （Calidris temminckii and Long-toed Stint were observed.
Ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Garganey) were also there.
White and dark molphs Pacific Reef Heron were also seen.
The last stop, Sankaku Pond in the Yone area, there were not many shorebirds, but a few Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, and Common Sandpiper were seen.
In the channel from the sea, a Black-faced Spoonbill, a Greater Scaup, a Common Redshank, and a few Common Greenshanks were found.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (Eurasian) (Charadrius alexandrinus alexandrinus), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)/Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)? Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens) (Yungipicus kizuki nigrescens), Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae/Pycnonotus formosae formosae), Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus), Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis)?
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla atricapilla),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana)? Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
カワウ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ヤンバルクイナ, バン, オオバン, ヒメアマツバメ,
ムナグロ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, セイタカシギ, ハリオシギ/チュウジシギ? タシギ,
チュウシャクシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ,
オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, エリマキシギ, ミサゴ, サシバ, リュウキュウコノハズク, カワセミ, リュウキュウコゲラ, ノグチゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, シマアカモズ, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, オキナワシジュウカラ,
リュウキュウツバメ, タイワンシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, ダイトウウグイス, コムシクイ? リュウキュウメジロ, セッカ,
コムクドリ, シロハラ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キンパラ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ
In the afternoon, we moved to Amami Oshima.
A short visit was made at Amani Nature Observation Forest.
Birds were inactive due to bad conditions with light rain and low temperature around 10 degrees Celsius.
However, a few Japanese Wood-Pigeons which are usually hard to find, many Oriental Turtle-Doves, a Whistling Green-Pigeon and a Grey-faced Buzzard were seen on the ridge road.
In the forest, Japanese Tit (amamiensis), Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), Pale Thrush were seen and Ryukyu Robin was singing a little.
On a night tour with a local guide in that night, many Amami Woodcocks and a few Ryukyu Scops Owls were seen.
Early the next morning, we revisited the Amani Nature Observation Forest.
The rain from the previous night was still falling, the temperature was low, and the birds were not very active, so we descended the mountain and visited the paddy fields of Akina area.
In Akina area, egrets/heron (Eastern Cattle, Grey, Great, Medium), ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Garganey, Eurasian Teal), a snaipe seemed like Pin-tailed, shorebirds (Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper), a Grey-faced Buzzard, a Common Kestrel, Common Moorhen, Barn Swallow and Zitting Cisticola were seen.
Waiting for the weather to recover, we revisited the Amani Nature Observation Forest.
The birds were also waiting for the weather to recover, and within an hour or so, we saw Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker, Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Japanese Tit (amamiensis), Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), Ryukyu Minivet, Amami Thrush, Pale Thrush, Ryukyu Robin, etc.
They re almost all the species we would expect to see in this forest at this time of year.
We then visited the Ushuku fishing port adjacent to the airport to look for migratory birds that may have taken shelter during this bad weather.
We found some Black-backed Wagtail (M.a.lugens) and a East Siberian Wagtail (M.a.ocularis).
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira), Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)?
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis)
カルガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ドバト, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウサギ, オオバン,
アマミヤマシギ, ハリオシギ? タカブシギ, イソシギ, サシバ, リュウキュウコノハズク, オーストンオオアカゲラ, チョウゲンボウ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, アマミヒヨドリ,
リュウキュウメジロ, セッカ, オオトラツグミ, シロハラ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ
On Day 6, we visited Ariake Sea in Saga area.
The Higashi Yoka Higata is a tidal mudflat at the mouths of Honshoe River and Hattae River on the north shore of the innermost section of Ariake Bay.
The Site is internationally important migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of the Grey Plover.
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill, and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew and Saunders’s Gull. More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders’s gull occur at the Site.
On the way to the site, we saw an Oriental Magpie (Oriental) which can be seen this area.
When we arrived at Higashiyoka, the mudflats were narrowing at high tide and there were many shorebirds.
However, it was raining with strong winds due to a passing cold front, so we were forced to observe from inside the car, where visibility was limited.
In such a bad condition, when the tide raised its highest level and the shorebirds came closer to us, we saw huge flocks of Dunlins, flocks of Far Eastern Curlews/Eurasian Curlew (Eastern), flocks of Whimbrel (Siberian), Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, etc.
There were many Common Shelduck with a Ruddy Shelduck among them.
Saunder's Gulls, Vega Gulls and a Black-faced Spoonbill flew in the front of us.
Then we visited the lotus fields and reservoirs in the Shiroishi area.
The winds weakened, but the weather remained unstable, with rain showers and sunshine.
Fresh-water shorebirds such as Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper were found in several lotus fields.
In the artificial nest tower, an Oriental Stork seemed to be holding its eggs.
In the reservoir, there were still many ducks remained, such as Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Garganey, Tufted Duck and Greater Scaup. The number of Greater Scaup was around a few thousands forming a big flock. Perhaps they sheltered in this pond because of the bad weather.
The original plan was to return to Tokyo and then take a boat to Miyake-jima, but strong winds were forecast and the boat was cancelled, so the trip had to end.
The birds observed are;
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps crista,tus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ツクシガモ, アカツクシガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロツラヘラサギ,
バン, オオバン, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, タシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ,
イソシギ, トウネン, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, ズグロカモメ, セグロカモメ, トビ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
3-day Trip in Kanto (Saitama, Tochigi, Gunma)
関東3日間(埼玉,栃木,群馬)
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus)
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae)
The first site we visited was Itakura Town in Gunma Prefecture. After summer-like days with temperatures exceeding 25°C (77°F), winter-like days with temperatures rising only to about 10°C (50°F) continued for several days, and cold rain was falling on the day of our visit.
Even so, Japanese Bush-Warblers were singing and Eurasian Skylarks were singing in the sky in the farmland.
Perhaps because raptors were inactive in the rain, Oriental Turtle-Dove were prominent.
Winter birds found were Common Reed Bunting in the reeds, ducks (Eurasian Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, and Northern Shoveler) in the canals and irrigation pond, and summer bird was Barn Swallow.
Grey-headed Lapwing were also seen.
The channels were swollen due to several days of rain, and shorebirds could not be seen because of the loss of mudflats.
At the Watarase Retarding Basin, where we next visited, an Oriental Stork was sitting and warming its eggs in the artificial tnesting tower near the north entrance.
A Green Pheasant was in the burnt reed beds around the nest tower and an Eastern Marsh-Harrier was flying in the distance. Along the road to the Omoide Bridge, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Tit, Meadow Bunting, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, etc. were seen and heard in the trees and bushes.
In the ponds scattered among the reed beds and the channel on the east side of the golf course, there were no anglers because of the rain, so the winter ducks (Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Falcated, Gadwall, Ferruginous Pochard), Great Crested Grebe, and Great White Egret (A.a.alba) were still there.
Many Dusky Thrush were seen clustered in the trees along the channel as the time of their migration had approached.
No shorebird was found.
Lake Yanaka, which had almost no water when I visited 11 days ago, had increased and the water level was close to normal.
However, waterfowl had not returned and a small number of ducks were seen in the distance.
On the road along the Watarase River in Nogi Town, White-browed Laughingthrush was seen this time again.
In the evening, we arrived at Oku-Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture.
Due to the winter-like weather up to the previous day, there was an unexpectedly large amount of snowfall. It was snowing lightly when we arrived.
We stopped at the campsite by Lake Chuzenji.
There was a construction work going on along the shore of the lake.
Common Coot, Tufted Duck, and Great Cormorant were seen on the lake, and a Common Merganser/Goosander was seen flying.
Several White Wagtails were chasing each other in the woods along the lakeshore.
A small flock of Dusky Thrush was also seen.
A Japanese Wagtail was also spotted.
We looked for Brown Dipper in a small stream and found one.
The next morning we walked Senjogahara Moor.
Unlike previous years, there was snow on the ground, but there was little snow on the wooden trail, which did not affect the walking.
A White-backed Woodpecker was seen near the entrance at Akanuma.
On the Yukawa River, Mallard, Common Pochard, and Common Coot were seen.
The Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), which breeds here, had not yet arrived.
There were no Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus) or Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) in the forest, which are usually seen at this time of year.
Due to the cold weather, Eurasian Wrens was not so actively singing.
There was just one but a beautiful male Red-flanked Bluetail.
We looked for Grey-bellied Bullfinch but could not find any, but eventually found a flock of them near the Aoki Bridge.
We were lucky enough to see several Long-tailed Rosefinch together there.
Wood Nuthatch and Goldcrest were heard in the woods near the Aoki Bridge, too.
In the afternoon, we visited Kotoku Ranch, but no birds were seen.
We could not approach Kotoku Marsh because of deep snow.
At Lake Yunoko with some ice on the surface, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Great Cormorant were seen, and in the surrounding woods and hot spring resort area, Eurasian Jay, Willow Tit, Wood Nuthatch, White-cheeked Starling, Daurian Redstart, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, and White Wagtail.
We looked for Japanese Woodpecker, which I had heard earlier in the morning, but we were unable to find it.
The next morning, many Asian House Martins were flying, which we had not seen the day before. They seemed to have arrived during the night.
We revisited the campsite by Lake Chuzenji and saw many deer and macaques, but no special birds.
Descending to Nikko, we visited the Nikko Botanical Garden.
This garden is an institute for research and education of Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo. The main activities of the Botanical Garden have centered on enriching the collections of temperate and alpine plants of Japan and adjacent regions for the purpose of botanical research and education. A total of 2,200 species (130 species of pteridophytes, 70 species of gymnosperms, and 2,000 species of angiosperms) are planted in the garden.
Thanks to the variety of trees and grasses and the rich nature suitable for them, this garden also provides good habitats for birds.
It was still a little early for summer birds and the winter birds had already left, so there were few birds, but Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Black Kite, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Wren, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Hawfinch were seen.
Finally, we visited Igashira Park in Mooka City, Tochigi Prefecture.
In the middle of the park there is a large boat pond, created from a former reservoir, and a wetland botanical garden with reeds and toadstools. Around the pond are wooded hills of Quercus serrata, sawtooth oak and cedar, where a variety of birds in different habitats can be observed.
It was a warm lunchtime and many families were visiting the park.
Most of the winter waterbirds in the pond had already left for the north, with Eastern Spot-billed Duck and a few wintering ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard and Eurasian Teal), Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Great White Egret (A .a. alba), Common Coot were seen.
In the surrounding trees, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Warbling White- eye were found.
The birds observed are;
In Itakura and Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
In Nikko area:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)?
At Igashira Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン,
ケリ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, トラフズク, カワセミ, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ,
カケス, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キクイタダキ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, カオジロガビチョウ, カワガラス,
ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ? オオジュリン
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
The hawk observation at this site was started on March 22 this year.
Until beginning of May, we can enjoy watching the migration of various kinds of hawks.
The weather forecast was cloudy, but sunny skies peeked through the clouds.
In the morning, the temperature was a cold 5°C (41°F), a significant drop from the 20°C (68°F) two days earlier. During the daytime, the temperature reached only 14°C.
It was warm under sunlight, but it was cold in the shade, requiring winter clothes.
The cherry blossoms in the open space in front of the observation tower may have lost some of their blooming vigor.
As expected, 24 Grey-faced Buzzards flew by 10:00 a.m. In the afternoon, most of them were far and high on the ocean side, but we counted 82 birds in total during our observation.
Also many Eastern Buzzards and Japanese Sparrowhawks flew.
Although not migratory, Eurasian Goshawks flew well around the site, and we saw three birds chasing each other.
Barn Swallow, Asian House Martin, as well as Pacific Swift flew, too.
A flock of Great Cormorant was seen flying in a triangular formation at high altitude.
The birds observed are;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カワウ, アマツバメ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, コゲラ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
One week ago, it was cold and snowed in the Tokyo area, but it suddenly warmed up a few days ago, with temperatures over 25°C (77°F), and I was hoping that Barn Swallow, a summer bird, would have arrived.
Dusky Thrush were flocking at one of the trees scattered in the meadow of the river. They seemed to be beginning their migration.
Many Brown-eared Bulbuls were pecking at the sprouts of the willow trees.
In the meadow, Meadow Buntings perched in obvious places and Japanese Bush-Warblers were singing well.
There were no flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch, which had been abundant during the winter.
Around the weir, many species of ducks, Common Coot and Grebes (Great Crested, Little) were still present, although their numbers decreased significantly.
A pair of Common Kingfishers were seen flying there.
The upstream bar of the weir was inaccessible due to river construction throughout the winter, but I was able to check there since the construction was over.
The gravel bar was covered with grasses, making it difficult to see, however I saw ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal) resting, and White Wagtail,s Siberian Pipits and a Long-billed Plover on the water's edge.
Two Barn Swallows were seen flying overhead here.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ? カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉＆渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans)
We first drove through the farming area in Itakura Town.
When we arrived at the field, Eurasian Skylarks in the sky and Japanese Bush-Warblers in the bush were singing well.
Many Dusky Thrush were seen in slightly grown wheat fields and in paddy fields where tillage had been done.
Driving along the irrigation channel, we found Grey-capped Greenfinches, Bull-headed Shrike and Meadow Buntings on small trees by the channel, and a few Common Snipes, a Green Sandpiper and a Siberian Pipit on the mudflats of the channel. Many Eurasian Teals were still found. A male and female Common Kingfisher were flying around together.
Two Grey-headed Lapwings were found adjacent to the channel.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, a open burning was carried out on March 1. Most of the vast reed beds had been burned away.
Thanks to this, we could see the former rice paddies and reservoirs before they were turned into flood control basins.
When I visited here in February, a pair of Oriental Stork were preparing for nesting in the artificial nest tower placed in the reed field. The reed field around the tower had been completely burned, but one Oriental Stork was found in the tower, so I was relieved to see it.
Meadow Buntings, looking beautiful in their breeding season, were singing in the trees and burned-out reeds beside the roads.
There were no ducks in the ponds scattered among the reed fields, and only a few ducks remained in the water channel. We hoped to see Garganey (Spatula querquedula) on their way to migration, but we did not see.
A few Little Ringed Plover were seen on the mudflats of the channel.
Photographers were waiting for Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris) to appear, which became easier to see due to the scarce reeds, but it did not appear during our observation.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ケリ,
コチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, トラフズク, カワセミ, コゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, カオジロガビチョウ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ferry route between Tokyo Bay and Hachijo Island, Tokyo
八丈島航路(東京)
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)
It is about 10 hours by Tokai Ferry from Takeshiba Pier, Tokyo.
I participated birding tour by the Fureai Birdwatching Club.
The rain that had been falling until before the ship's departure had stopped, but the westerly wind was strong. So the stopover at Mikurashima was cancelled.
When we arrived at Miyakejima at 5:00 the next morning, it was still dark, but when it got light near Mikura-jima and we saw many Streaked Shearwaters soaring above the sea.
Between Mikura-jima and Hachijo-jima, there were few birds, but a few Black-footed Albatrosses and Short-tailed Albatrosses were observed.
We disembarked at Hachijojima and walked around the port for about 30 minutes before the ship departed, where we saw Pacific Golden-Plover, Black-tailed Gull, Bull-headed Shrike, etc.
On the way back from Hachijo-jima to Mikura-jima, there was only Streaked Shearwaters.
Between Mikura-jima and Miyake-jima, Japanese Murrelets started to appear.
A Pelagic Cormorant was seen among flocks of Japanese Cormorants on a reef near the port of Miyakejima.
After leaving Miyake-jima, Short-Tailed Albatross and Black-footed Albatross appeared one after another.
Near O-shima, many Laysan Albatross also appeared.
Flesh-footed Shearwater and Red Phalarope were also observed.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Red Phalarope/Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus)? Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
キジバト, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, アカアシミズナギドリ, ヒメウ, ウミウ,
ムナグロ, ハイイロヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, トウゾクカモメ? シロハラトウゾクカモメ, カンムリウミスズメ,
トビ, モズ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
1-day Trip in Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ケ瀬1日間(神奈川)
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
: All photos by D.Ward
Since we departed a little late, we arrived at the site after 11:00 a.m. due to congestion on the road.
We looked for Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) in the river seen from Hayato River Bridge, but did not find any.
We walked along the Hayatogawa forest road.
It was already past the peak of winter birding season and the time was around noon, so conditions were not very good, but we saw Eurasian Wren and beautiful Red-flanked Bluetail.
However, the water level in Lake Miyagase was quite low and there was only a narrow stream at the observation point for the Crested Kingfisher, and unfortunately no sign of this bird.
The birds observed are;
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, ダイサギ, トビ, コゲラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,メジロ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ルリビタキ
7-day Trip in Nansei Islands (Ishigaki, Okinawa, Amami)
南西諸島(石垣、沖縄、奄美)
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni)
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans):
photo by B.Hacker
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae):
photo by B.Hacker
Japanese Scops-Owl (pryeri) (Otus semitorques pryeri):
photo by B.Hacker
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori)
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira)
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major):
photo by B.Hacker
Within the Nansei Islands, an important zoogeographic boundary has been drawn that separates the Palearctic Zone, which is temperate, from the Oriental Zone, which is tropical. As a result, the fauna is a diverse mix of elements of both, and many specialties are found in the isolated environment of the islands.
In addition, many species that came to these islands when they were once connected to the Eurasian continent survived the subsequent tectonic movements that broke them up into smaller islands and became endemic species or subspecies that have evolved uniquely and live only in those areas.
The first island to visit is Ishigaki Island (Ishjigaki-jima). In the recently planted rice paddies in Hiratabaru, north of the city center, it was still early in the spring migration season, and although many Little Ringed Plover were seen, no other shorebirds were to be found.
In one rice field, there was a flock of Eastern Cattle Egret.
The Collared Kingfisher (collaris) (Todiramphus chloris collaris) that has been staying in the Arakawa River this winter was not to be found.
There was a Pacific Reef Heron at the mouth of this river. We looked for starlings in the trees near Ishigaki Port and Shinei Park, but did not find any.
Next, we drove around the farmlands of Nagura.
Although there were not many birds due to the afternoon, we found Common Pheasant, Great White Egret, White-breasted Waterhen, Grey-faced Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Pacific Swallow, Light-vented Bulbul, Zitting Cisticola and Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed).
At sunset, we visited Furusutobaru Castle Ruins hoping to see Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria), but our hopes were not realized because the site was too dry.
Instead, we heard and observed many Ryukyu Scops Owls.
On the way to the inn in Nakhla, we found a Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) on a power line on the road near Banna Park.
The next morning we visited the Takeda forest road at the foot of Mt.Omoto.
Ryukyu Flycatchers were singing well here and there along the forest road.
A Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) was singing near the entrance.
A Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) was heard in the distance.
Several Crested Serpent Eagles could be seen nearby on the road.
We looked for Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae) and Iriomote Tit (Sittiparus olivaceus), but could not find them, however did encounter Japanese Tit (nigriloris).
We then stopped by the Inoda Auto Capmp Site to search for Malayan Night Heron.
There were persons at the camp site and we thought the bird might not appear, however, as we were about to leave there, we were fortunate to see a Malayan Night Heron near the exit.
Then, heading further north, we entered the Hirakubo Eco Road from Akashi.
Since it was around noon, we did not encounter any special species except for Blue Rock Thrush and Brown Shrike (Philippine).
We drove around the Ishigaki Airport area but did not find any special species.
In the evening and the next morning, we visited the Takeda Forest Road again.
Other than the species observed in the morning, no new additional species were found.
The birds observed are;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black-winged Kite/Black-shouldered Kite (vociferus) (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica namiyei),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) (Horornis diphone riukiuensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, ズグロミゾゴイ,
アマサギ, チュウダイサギ, クロサギ, シロハラクイナ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, サシバ,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, チョウゲンボウ, シマアカモズ, オサハシブトガラス, イシガキシジュウカラ,
ツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ,
セッカ, カバイロハッカ, シロハラ, イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
In the afternoon of the third day, we moved to Okinawa Main Island and headed to the Yanbaru forest area in the north.
The grassy area beside the Ada Garden Hotel, where we stayed, was undergoing major renovation work, so it seemed that Okinawa Rail would not be coming to the area for some period of time.
However, the hotel staff showed us a pair of rails sleeping on a tree at the side of the road in front of the hotel. It seemed that observation here would be possible for a while.
After 8:00 pm, in the darkness of the new moon, we birded on the road in the Ada area.
We were fortunate to see and hear Japanese Scops-Owl, Ryukyu Scops Owl, and Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) in a short time.
The next morning, we drove along the forest roads to the Benoki Dam looking for the Okinawa Woodpecker and Ryukyu Minivet, but we did not see any of them.
So we visited Yona River, where we saw the Okinawa Woodpecker a year ago in March, and there we were able to see it again.
We also saw Ryukyu Minivet at Nagao Bridge.
Returning to Ada Garden Hotel, we saw and heard Grey-faced Buzzard, Japanese Tit (okinawae), Pale Thrush and Okinawa Robin nearby.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Scops-Owl (pryeri) (Otus semitorques pryeri), Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
リュウキュウキジバト, ヤンバルクイナ, サシバ, リュウキュウオオコノハズク, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク,
ノグチゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, オキナワシジュウカラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ,
ダイトウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, シロハラ, ホントウアカヒゲ, ジョウビタキ
In the afternoon of the fifth day, we moved to Amami Oshima.
A short visit was made at Amani Nature Observation Forest in the evening.
Due to a one-hour delay in our flight from Okinawa, we had less time to observe here.
However, Lidth's Jay, White-backed Woodpecker (owston's), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), Grey-faced Buzzard, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii), Varied Tit (amamii), Japanese Tit (amamiensis), Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans), Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), Pale Thrush, Ryukyu Robin, etc were seen and heard.
The next morning, we revisited this site to look for the Amami Thrush, which we had not seen yet, but could not find it.
That night, we went birding at night with a local guide. Despite the occasional rain shower, we were able to see many Amami Woodcocks, and Ryukyu Scops Owl.
The next morning, we revisited the Amani Nature Observation Forest and finally managed to see an Amami Thrush.
The last visit was to the Kasari area, but due to the rain and wind, we did not see any new species.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
White-backed Woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii), Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, アマミヤマシギ, サシバ, リュウキュウコノハズク, アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミヤマガラ, アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, オオトラツグミ, シロハラ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ
6-day Trip in Doto Area (Hokkaido)
道東6日間(北海道)
Pigeon Guillemot (Commander Islands) (Cepphus columba kaiurka)
Pigeon Guillemot (Kuril Is.) (Cepphus columba snowi)
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)
Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri)
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus)
On the first day, we first visited Cape Kiritappu.
At Hamanaka Port, we saw Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Black-necked Grebe, gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Black-tailed, and Vega) and White-tailed Eagle.
Near the Kiritappu Lighthouse, the wind was weak and the sea was calm, and a Short-eared Owl was flying around.
Ducks (Greater Scaup, Harlequin, Black Scoter, Common Goldeneye), Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Red-throated Loon, Pelagic Cormorant, gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged), and two subspecies of Pigeon Guillemot (C.c.snowi, C.c.kaiurka) were seen on the sea.
Next we visited Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary.
We saw many gulls (Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Mew, Slaty-backed), Whooper Swan, Red-breasted Merganser, Pelagic Cormorant.
In the sandy meadows of the beach, a flock of Asian Rosy-Finch was flying.
In the forest around Shunkunitai Nature Center, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), Marsh Tit and Eurasian Nuthatch (S.e. Asiatica) were seen.
The next day we joined the Ochiisi Cruise.
On the way to Ochiishi Port, we detoured to the northern suburbs of Nemuro City to look for Northern Shrike and Rough-legged Buzzard, and were able to find the Rough-legged Buzzard.
The wind was a bit strong from the north, but the ship sailed on schedule.
In the bay of Ochiishi Port, there were Whooper Swan, ducks (Greater Scaup, Black Scoter, Harlequin, Eurasian Wigeon, Long-tailed, Common Goldeneye), Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant and gulls (Slaty-backed, Glaucous).
Outside the bay, many Spectacled Guillemots were seen, and Pigeon Guillemot (C.c.kaiurka) and Pigeon Guillemot (C.c.snowi) were also seen well.
One Least Auklet was also encountered.
Unfortunately, no Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella) nor Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile) were seen.
After the cruise, we visited Hanasaki Port.
Here we saw ducks (Harlequin, Black Scoter, Long-tailed, Common Goldeneye), Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, gulls (Slaty- backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged).
We visited the observation hide near Onnemoto Port and looked for Rock Sandpiper, but it did not appear in the place where we could see it during our observations.
Then, we looked for Red-faced Cormorant in the roost of cormorants on the criff at Nosappu Cape, but all except one Japanese were Pelagics.
The next day, we birded with a local guide.
We looked for Northern Shrike in the northern suburbs of Nemuro City, but could not find any.
Instead, a Short-eared Owl was found.
At Habomai Port, one Canvasback was seen among a flock of Common Pochard.
And we waited for a while for Rock Sandpiper to appear at the observation hide near Onnemoto Port.
Thanks to our wait, a flock of Sandpipers that had been behind a rock flew into sight for a short period of time.
We looked for Red-faced Cormorants at two locations on Cape Nosapu, but again our wish was not realized.
Early the next morning at sunrise, we visited the locations again, but there was already not a single cormorant left in the roost.
Then we searched for Northern Shrike in the northern part of Nemuro City and were lucky to find it.
We headed to Rausu.
On the way, we stoped over at Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary.
There were not many gulls than the last visit.
Since we cancelled the Ochi-ishi Cruise that was originally scheduled for that day, we took a detour and stopped at Yoroushi Hot Spring.
We looked for Solitaly Snipe in the river, but did not find any, but instead saw two Brown Dippers.
In the trees along the river, we found Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Coal Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Long-tailed Tit (Japan), Eurasian Nuthatch (S.e.asiatica), Dusky Thrush and Japanese Wagtail.
We then returned to our original route and checked the Shunbetu River estuary.
Whooper Swan, ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Tufted, Greater Scaup, Harlequin, Black Scoter, Common Goldeneye), and Red-breasted Merganser were seen.
Next, we visited Odaitto fishing port, where there were many gulls (Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Slaty-backed) sitting on the embankment, and we could observe them closely even when our car approached them without flying away.
The next stop, Sibetsu Port, had few birds and nothing special to note.
In the evening, we arrived at t"Washi-no-yado" in Rausu Town.
Checking the recent appearance of Blakiston's Fish-Owl, I found that they had suddenly started to appear less frequently four days ago, and the time of appearance was around 4:00 am.
It seems that the warmth of this winter has accelerated the breeding season, and the females have begun to hold their eggs.
We could eventually see one eagle a little before 4:00 a.m. the next morning after our arrival.
The next day, we saw Stejneger's Scoter together with Harlequin Duck and Black Scoter near the lighthouse on the Notsuke Peninsula.
The next day, we left the lodge early in the morning and saw a Ural Owl (japonica) in the village of Tsurui first.
Then we visited Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary, where we saw the courtship dance of Red-crowned Cranes.
After that, we drove around the Otowa Bridge and its vicinity, and observed Red-crowned Cranes, Eurasian Siskins, Bramblings, and other birds.
The birds observed are;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Rock Sandpiper (Pacific Coast) (Calidris ptilocnemis couesi),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Common Murre (North Pacific)/Common Guillemot (Uria aalge inornata),
Pigeon Guillemot (Kuril Is.) (Cepphus columba snowi), Pigeon Guillemot (Commander Islands) (Cepphus columba kaiurka),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Least Auklet (Aethia pusilla),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus),
Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni), Ural Owl (japonica) (Strix uralensis japonica),
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Northern Shrike Shrike (bianchii) (Lanius borealis bianchii),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha)
オオハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ,
アカエリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アビ, ヒメウ, ウミウ, タンチョウ, ヒメアマツバメ, チシマシギ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ウミガラス, ウミバト, アリューシャンウミバト,
ケイマフリ, コウミスズメ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, ケアシノスリ, シマフクロウ, エゾフクロウ, コミミズク, ,br> エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, オオモズ, ミヤマカケス, ハシブトガラス, ハシブトガラ, ヒガラ, ヒヨドリ,
シマエナガ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, カワガラス, ツグミ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, マヒワ, ハギマシコ
5-day Trip in Kanto (Saitama, Tochigi, Gunma, Nagano, Yamanashi, Kanagawa)
関東5日間(神奈川,埼玉,栃木,群馬,長野,山梨)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus)
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha)
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus)
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola)
After the coldest day of the year, winter birds started moving feeling coming spring.
Before all of them left the sites, we went around looking for them.
On the first day, we visited the Hayatogawa forest road at Lake Miyagase in Kanagawa Prefecture.
There were few winter birds this winter. Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) and Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea), which are usually seen at this site, did not visit, but Japanese Accentor, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart and Masked Bunting were seen.
There were also unexpected encounters with Japanese Grosbeak and Eyebrowed Thrush.
Next, we visited Hinata Forest Road located southeast of Mt. Oyama.
Here we again looked for Eurasian Bullfinch and Eurasian Siskin, but unfortunately we did not find any.
At Atsugi Nature Observation Park nearby, we saw Grey Bunting, which had been seen this winter. We also saw a Japanese Grosbeak.
In the next site, Yatoyama Park, we looked for Baikal Teal and Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae).
Baikal Teal was decreasing in number, but still remained together with Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, and Mallard.
Ryukyu Minivet was not found.
The next day, we visited the northern Kanto region.
The first site was the paddy fields and the irrigation pond in Itakura Town, Gunma Prefecture.
We saw Whooper Swan, Ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck), Common Kestrel, Russet Sparrow, Japanese Wagtail, Siberian Pipit, Masked Bunting, Common Reed Bunting, etc..
Rook was not seen probably they might have already moved out of the field.
The next site we visited, Watarase Retarding Basin, is a vast reed fields that spreads over four prefectures, Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, and Ibaraki.
Entering from the north entrance, two Oriental Storks were busy preparing for nesting in the artificial nest tower set up in the reed field.
Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, and Masked Bunting were foraging on the road through the reed fields, and Common Reed Bunting was pecking at the reed stalks by the side of the road.
We saw Eastern Marsh-Harrier and Western Osprey flying over reed fields, Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel and Bull-headed Shrike perching on trees in the reed fields.
Lake Yanaka was almost dried up and there was little water, so ducks and grebes were far away and few in number.
Many egrets were seen at distance.
White-browed Laughingthrush was found in the forest.
At Tatara Marsh in Gunma Prefecture, our next stop, we saw several Smews in the water swimming and diving in strong winds.
Other species were swans (Whooper, Tundra), ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted), and grebes (Littel, Great Crested) were still remaining in abundance.
Then, we headed for Karuizawa. On the way, we expected to see Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans) on the road around Kirizumi Dam and at Former Kumanodaira Station in Gunma Prefecture. However, we were not able to see it this time.
In the evening, we arrived in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
We drove along the Koze Forest road but did not see any Copper Pheasant or Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica).
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, tits (Willow, Varied, Coal, Japanese), Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren, Brown Dipper, Japanese Accentor, etc. were found.
In the pond in front of Sezon Museu, we saw Falcated Duck and various species of ducks.
The next morning, we drove along the Koze Forest road again, but did not encounter anything new.
At the Karuizawa Bird Sanctuary, in addition to tits, we saw woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted Woodpecker), Wood Nuthatch and Eurasian Tree-Creeper.
We left Karuizawa where we had little hope for further results early and visited Saku Bird Park.
Although the number of ducks in the ponds had decreased from the peak of the season, there were many species of waterfowl such as ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck), Smew, Common Merganser/Goosander, grebes (Little, Great Crested, Black-necked), Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, egrets (Great, Little).
Long-billed Plover and wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese) were found on a gravel bank in the Chikuma River that runs beside the park.
In the forest, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush-Warbler, White-cheeked Starling, Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Grey-capped Greenfinch, buntings (Meadow, Ridge, and Creek) were seen.
In the afternoon, we birded around the Togari-ishi Jomon Archaeological Museum and Ryujin Pond.
Ryujin Pond was not completely frozen over, and ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed) and Common Merganser/Goosander were in the open water.
In the forest, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted), Eurasian Jay, tits (Willow, Varied, Coal, Japanese), Brown-eared Bulbul, Long-tailed Tit ( trivirgatus), Wood Nuthatch (amurensis), thrush (White's, Pale, Dusky), Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, buntings (Rustic, Masked) Masked) were seen.
The lodge at Tateshina Kogen where we stayed that night was equipped with a feeder, and we were able to observe tits (Willow, Varied, Coal, Japanese), Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Japanese Accentor, Grey- capped Greenfinch, Asian Rosy-Finch, and Grey-bellied Bullfinch coming one after another from the room.
The next morning, we looked for Copper Pheasant, which had been observed lower to the lodge, but did not encounter any.
Later, we revisited the Togari-ishi Jomon Archaeological Museum. As we walked through the nearby wetlands, suddenly a large bird flew away from under our feet. It was a Solitaly Snipe.
In the evening, we visited Nobeyama Highland.
Birds were few, and we saw Green Pheasant, Black Kite, Eastern Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Wood Nuthatch, Dusky Thrush, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Meadow Bunting.
We waited for Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis) to appear until sunset, but unfortunately it did not appear.
The next day we visited several sites in Yokohama.
The first was Maioka Park.
Here, we saw various species such as Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Snipe, thrushes (Brown-headed, Pale, Dusky), Masked Bunting, tits (Varied, Japanese), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Warbling White-eye, White-cheeked Starling, Chinese Hwamei, Daurian Redstart, wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese), Grey-capped Greenfinch, ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed), Oriental Turtle-Dove, Great White Egret and Black Kite.
We waited for Brown-cheeked Rail and Ruddy-breasted Crake to appear there, but they did not appear soon enough, so we gave up and moved to the Imada Retarding Basin.
There, it was unexpectedly easy to see these two species.
The last site I visited was Kodomo Shizen Park.
A Ring-necked Duck, which has been visiting the park every winter for the past few years, was found among a flock of Tufted Ducks.
We looked for Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae), but did not see it during our observation.
A Japanese Green Woodpecker was briefly visible in the forest.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha), Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, キジ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ,
オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, クビワキンクロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
クイナ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, タゲリ, イカルチドリ, ヤマシギ, アオシギ, タシギ, イソシギ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, セッカ, ゴジュウカラ,
キバシリ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, カオジロガビチョウ, カワガラス, トラツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ハギマシコ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, クロジ, オオジュリン
3-day Trip in Southern Kyushu (Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Kumamoto)
南九州(鹿児島、宮崎、熊本)
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula):
photo by B.Hacker
Cranes in Izumi
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus):
photo by B.Hacker
In the morning of the first day, we visited Lake Miike in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Red-flanked Bluetail was visible in the bush on the slope.
We looked for Yellow-throated Bunting, but did not find there.
In the forest, there were not many signs of birds, but we saw Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Y.k.kizuki), Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis), Varied Tit, Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis), Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese), Wood Nuthatch (roseilia) and Pale Thrush.
Japanese Woodpecker (horii) was also seen outside the forest.
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri) was not seen this time.
At the campsite, we found Yellow-throated Bunting, Olive-backed Pipit, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, and Pale Thrush.
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae) did not appear.
In the lake, many ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Pintail) and Great Crested Grebe remained unmigrated yet.
Next, we returned to Kagoshima Prefecture and searched for Copper Pheasant (Ijima's) in Kagoshima Prefectural Forest.
When we arrived at the spot where this bird is often seen, there was a logging operation going on, so we did not have any hope of finding it.
Nevertheless, we walked around the area and found Pale Thrush and Grey Bunting.
Thus, we drove along the roads in the vast park, hoping to encounter it. Then, we found a Copper Pheasant (Ijima's) near the roadside plantings.
It quickly disappeared into the trees, but the white rump, which is a distinctive mark of this subspecies, was clearly seen.
Entering Izumi City, we first stopped a short distance upstream of the Hirose Bridge on the Komenotsu River.
Many Falcated Ducks were found in the adjacent farmland, but they were so nervous that they all flew away when we approached them.
There were not many waterfowl in the agricultural canals of Shiomi area, but a Green Sandpiper was seen.
Spoonbills were resting in the pond at Fukunoe-Noson Park.
As we entered the East Reclamation Area, we found many Hooded and White-naped Cranes, a few Sandhill Cranes, and a Common Crane among them.
Most of the cranes were still there, although they had begun their northward migration the week before.
From Shin-Tsurumitei, our lodge next to the Izumi Crane Observation Center, we were able to see many cranes returning to their roost in front of us in the evening.
The next morning, many cranes gathered at the feeding places in the East Reclamation Area and in front of Shin-Tsurumi-Tei.
Many Rooks were also flocking to the electric wires around the inn, aiming to get some of the food. Among them were a few Daurian Jackdaws.
At the Euchi River reedbeds nearby, many Chinese Penduline-Tits and Common Reed Buntings were seen.
We drove around this area and the West Reclamation Area looking for Chestnut-eared Bunting, and managed to see some in the grasses in the West Reclamation Area.
In the canal near Takeuchi Poultry Farm, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, and Japanese Wagtail were seen.
In the afternoon, we visited the mouth of the Kuma River in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Tidal flats were spreading at the mouth of the river, and shorebirds (Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Greenshank, Dunlin, Red-necked Stint, Temminck's Stint), Common Shelduck, gulls ( Vega, Black-headed, Saunder's, Black-tailed), and Black-faced Spoonbill were seen.
In the reclaimed area, many Chestnut-eared Buntings were found in cabbage fields.
On the last morning, we visited Kokawa Dam.
At the dam lake, we saw only a few Mandarin Ducks, which had been abundant during the winter.
A few other ducks (Gadwall, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck) were also seen.
A Crested Kingfisher was seen flying over the lake.
Along the roads around the lake, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Warbling White-eye, Red-billed Leiothrix, Pale Thrush, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, Grey Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Yellow-throated Bunting, Masked Bunting, Western Osprey and Eastern Buzzard were seen and heard, but were few in number.
A few White-bellied Green-Pigeons were seen on the walking trail.
At Sendai River in Satsuma Town, we looked for Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus) and Crested Kingfisher, but could not find any.
There were many wagtails (White, Grey) on the rocks in the middle of the river.
The birds observed are:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Copper Pheasant (Ijima's) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii ijimae),
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Hybrid; Hooded Crane & Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus monacha x Grus grus lilfordi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis) (Garrulus glandarius hiugaensis), Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Wood Nuthatch (roseilia) (Sitta europaea roseilia),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Common Starling (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, コシジロヤマドリ, オオヒシクイ, ツクシガモ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ,
オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, ナベクロヅル, オオバン,
タゲリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, ヤマセミ, キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ,
ヒュウガカケス, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツリスガラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ,
イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, キュウシュウエナガ, メジロ, セッカ, キュウシュウゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ,
ソウシチョウ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ, オオジュリン
Karuizawa (Nagano)
軽井沢 (長野)
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
We searched the forest roads around Lake Kirizumi, where Copper Pheasant had been reported since the end of the previous year.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Red-flanked Bluetail were found, but we were about to give up expecting to see Copper Pheasant as there were vehicles heading for Kirizumi Onsen, but we managed to see a male.
On the way back, a big flock of Rustic Bunting was seen near the entrance of the forest road.
On the Nakasendo Road (Rt 18) toward the Usui Pass at the entrance to Karuizawa, we expected to see Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis), but there was no sighting.
Instead, a Japanese serow was seen on the side of the road.
In Karuizawa, we first stopped at the Nagakura Park.
There were many mistletoe trees in the park, but no Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica). It was said that winter birds were scarce in Japan this year, and I was worried about whether we would be able to see this bird.
Next, we headed for Sen-ga-taki Fall.
Various ducks, such as Falcated Duck, could be seen closely in the pond located at the entrance to the forest road leading to this point.
We were luckily able to spot two Brown Dippers from the bridge at the entrance to the boardwalk leading to the waterfall.
That evening, we walked on the Koze Forest Road along the Yugawa River from an inn near The Wild-bird Forest in Karuizawa.
Here, there have been recent reports of Copper Pheasant and Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica), and Japanese Waxwing had been seen every year, so we looked for them.
Unfortunately, these could not be observed. However, a few birds were seen, such as Eurasian Jay, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted), tits (Coal, Japanese), Japanese Accentor, Wood Nuthatch, Eastern Buzzard and Dusky Thrush, etc.
Early the next morning, we drove on the Koze forest road.
Although it was early in the morning, there were unexpectedly several cars passing by, and the Copper Pheasant did not appear at this time either.
Next, we birded The Wild-bird Forest in Karuizawa.
A Red-flanked Bluetail was found in the stream, and woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted), tits (Coal, Japanese, Willow), Wood Nuthatch, Long-tailed Tit, Pale Thrush, Japanese Grosbeak, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Brown-eared Bulbul were found in the forest, but their numbers were not many.
The last site was at the farming area in Hocchi.
Usually it is difficult to drive on the farm roads here because the snow has not been plowed, but this time there was little snow on the roads, so there was no problem driving the car.
Here we saw flocks of Japanese Tit, Eurasian Tree Sparrow and buntings (Meadow, Rustic), Green Pheasant, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Bull-headed Shrike and a raptor seemed like Eurasian Goshawk chased by crows.
The birds observed are;
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca americana x penelope) hybrid, Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)?
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヤマドリ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ(雑種), マガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ,
キジバト, トビ, オオタカ? ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, カワガラス,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Maioka Park (Totsuka, Kanagawa)
舞岡公園(戸塚,神奈川)
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus)
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus)
The Maioka Park is located in the suberbs of Yokohama city.
There are ponds, rice fields and forests, providing the good habitats for the wintering birds such as snipes, finches, etc.
This site is famous for the regular wintering of Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) and Common Snipe, and is providing good opportunities for their observation.
They did come again this year.
There were also Ruddy-breasted Crake and Brown-cheeked Rail, who had joined as the regular wintering members recently.
It was said that, different from past years, there were few chances for encounters with Eurasian Woodcock.
On the day of our visit, the coldest wave of the winter brought the chilly and cloudy morning.
This time, the Eurasian Woodcock appeared once just before our arrival, but did not appear again during our three hours of observation.
However, in the morning when it was cold, a Common Snipe was found, and in the afternoon when the sun gradually began to shine, a Ruddy-breasted Crake and a Brown-cheeked Rail appeared from the dead grasses in the marsh. The Ruddy-breasted Crake soon moved back into the dead grasses, but the Brown-cheeked Rail, perhaps very hungry, remained in sight for a long time.
Other birds were also seen, such as Masked Bunting, Japanese Grosbeak, Hawfinch, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Brown-headed Thrush、Pale Thrush, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Chinese Hwamei, etc.
In particular, the Japanese Green Woodpecker was singing well, reminding us that spring would soon be coming.
Chinese Bamboo-Partridges were found at several points but were quiet this time.
Masked Buntings were seen at several points as well.
Dusky Thrushes are scarce this winter again, and only one was seen here.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, キジバト, ゴイサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, ヒクイナ, タシギ, トビ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, カシラダカ, アオジ
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉＆渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca)
We first drove through the farming area in Itakura Town.
Due to a low pressure system that passed over the Pacific coast of Tokyo, although it did not snow, the temperature was cold and it rained early in the morning.
However, upon late arrival, the rain weakened.
Grey-headed Lapwing and Green Phaesant appeared, perhaps because of the low number of raptors due to the rain that fell.
In the irrigation channel, Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, and Grey-capped Greenfinch were perched on the few small trees left after most of them were cut down.
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) and Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago) were not found, but wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese) were seen.
On the farmland where the wheat was still tiny, there were Eurasian Skylarks and Siberian Pipits.
There was also a grassy spot in the farmland with a flock of Common Reed Bunting.
In the irrigation pond, there were a few Whooper Swans foraging among the ducks. There were many of them last year, but fewer this year.
When the rain almost stopped, Eastern Buzzards and Merlins also appeared.
Although there were some spots where many sparrows were perched on power lines, they were all Eurasian Tree Sparrows, but we also found a large flock of Russet Sparrows in the same area as we usually see them.
Having given up looking for flocks of Rooks, we found one in a different area from the usual one.
In the afternoon, we visited Watarase Retarding Basin.
In the winter dead reed fields, many bunting (Meadow, Rustic, Common Reed, Masked) were seen. Many were also seen foraging on the roadside.
Although the number of raptors was few as a whole due to the morning rain, Eastern Buzzards were seen here and there, and Western Osprey, Eastern Marsh-Harriers, and Common Kestrel also appeared.
Two Oriental Storks were also seen, one flying over the reed fields and one in Lake Yanaka. At one of the ponds scattered among the reed fields, a Ferruginous Pochard, which had not been seen the previous December, had come back.
Other species were Common Pochard, Smew, and Common Moorhen, but the Falcated Duck, which is always abundant in this pond, had moved to a nearby river.
Lake Yanaka had been drained and dried up from January for water quality preservation reasons, but this winter there was still a lot of water.
Although many egrets could be seen in the distance, there were no smew and few ducks. A couple of smew was seen in the waterway next to the lake.
We looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) in the lakeside meadow, but could not find any, instead we found three species of thrush; Dusky, Brown-headed and Pale.
The White-browed Laughingthrush, which could not be seen during the previous visit in December of the previous year due to construction nearby, could be seen this time.
Finally, in addition to the Long-eared Owl, we were lucky enough to see a Short-eared Owl.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus), Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オオハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ,
バン, オオバン, ケリ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, トラフズク, コミミズク, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ,
モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ,
ムクドリ, カオジロガビチョウシロハラ, オオアカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Water reservoirs along Sai River (Sai-Gawa) in Azumino (Nagano Prefecture)
安曇野市犀川白鳥湖と御宝田遊水池 (長野)
Sai River
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)
Waterfowl in Swan Lake (Hakucho-ko)
; all photos by T.Endo
I visited two water reservoirs along Sai River, where we can observe Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) in winter.
At the first reservoir, called Swan Lake (Hakucho-ko), I found about 80 swans and other waterfowls, mostly Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra), Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintails (Anas acuta), Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) and Common Pochards (Aythya ferina).
The second reservoir Gohouden-Yusuichi is located about 5 km downstream of the first one.
Unfortunately, I could not find any swans there.
The waterfowl species found there was almost same as in Swan Lake.
Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) and Eurasian Wigeons (Mereca penelope) were also seen there.
The number of swan winter in these two reservoirs has been decreasing year by year.
List of species:
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Asian Tit (Parus cinereus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
コハクチョウ，オカヨシガモ，マガモ，カルガモ，オナガガモ，コガモ，ヒドリガモ，キンクロハジロ，ホシハジロ，ミコアイサ，
カイツブリ，カワウ，アオサギ，ダイサギ，オオバン，トビ，ハシボソガラス，シジュウカラ，セグロセキレイ，ベニマシコ，ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tone River (Ibaraki)
利根川中流(茨城)
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis)
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus)
There were many Black Kites perched on the electric wires, and a small flock of Northern Lapwings and Dunlings in the rice paddies.
A Merlin was eating a captured small bird on the road.
In the reed beds at dusk, many Eastern Marsh-Harriers and Hen Harriers were soaring before roosting.
Several Eastern Buzzards and Merlins perched on telephone poles and wires.
In the reed beds, buntings such as Meadow and Common Reed were moving around.
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)?
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, タゲリ, ハマシギ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ,
チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ,
タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コジュリン? オオジュリン
Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Ibaraki, Chiba Prefecture)
波崎・銚子漁港(茨城,千葉)
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
& Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
Glaucous Gull (Point Barrow) (Larus hyperboreus barrovianus)
& Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus)
Although it is the peak season for gull watching, we did not see as many gulls as before around the western side of Choshi Fishing Port.
However, in the central and eastern parts of Choshi Fishing Port, as well as in Choshi Outer Port, there were many gulls and cormorants (Pelagic, Japanese, Great) resting on the embankments.
The gulls at Choshi Outer Port were mostly Black-headed Gulls with a few Vega Gulls and a few Black-legged Kittiwakes.
Other birds found were a flock of Greater Scaups and one Black Scoter, Great Crested Grebes, Black-necked Grebes and Red-necked Grebes, Great White Egret and Pacific Reef Herons.
At the central and eastern parts of Choshi Fishing Port, the gulls were mostly Vega Gulls, followed by Black-headed Gulls and Black-tailed Gulls with several Slaty-backed Gull, Glaucous Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Taimyr Gulls, Mew Gulls, and Black-legged Kittiwakes.
Two of the Glaucous Gulls are smaller than the Vega Gull and seem to be subspecies “L.h.barrovianus".
Other birds seen were Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe and Great Crested Grebe.
We moved to the Hasaki side and checked Tone Park.
We looked for the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)at Tone Park, which was seen here last year, but could not find it.
There were many Black-headed Gulls, Gadwalls, Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Shovelers, Common Pochards, Tufted Ducks, Greater Scaups, and Great Crested Grebes.
On the embankment of the Tone River, many cormorants were resting, and small flocks of gulls were seen on some of the embankments.
Many of them were black-headed gulls. Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), which was seen last winter and the year before, was not found.
There was a small flock of Red-breasted Merganser on the inner water of the embankment.
The ocean was very rough, so we hoped that seabirds might have escaped into Hasaki Harbor, but there were no seabirds to be seen.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Glaucous Gull (Point Barrow) (Larus hyperboreus barrovianus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)?
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ドバト, ヒメウ, カワウ, ウミウ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, クロサギ, オオバン, ミツユビカモメ, ユリカモメ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ,
アラスカシロカモメ, セグロカモメ, アメリカセグロカモメ? オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ,
トビ, ハシブトガラス, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)
Blyth's Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
& Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
When we arrived at the site, about ten birders and photographers had already gathered.
The bird had appeared before our arrival, and we heard its call as we arrived. After a while, it came out to a viewable position in the reeds, and we were able to see it up close.
While observing this bird, one Ruddy-breasted Crake also made a brief appearance.
Falcated Ducks and Smews were seen on nearby water.
We then walked on the trail along the lake's shore.
Pale Thrush appeared on the trail, and many Meadow Buntings, Masked Buntings, and Rustic Bunting appeared in the grasses. There was a Meadow Bunting singing.
Various kinds of ducks were seen on the lake.
Especially Baikal Teal were very abundant and were clustered like a floating island in the center of the lake.
We looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) whether it had arrived this winter.
Unfortunately, we did not find any this time, but we heard a Brown-cheeked Rail and Dusky Warbler.
On the way back to the trail, there were only a few buntings. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk flew away from a nearby tree. This bird might have been the reason why many of the bunting we saw had disappeared.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans), Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blyth's Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, モモイロペリカン,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, セグロカモメ, タゲリ,
トビ, ハイタカ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムジセッカ, メジロ,
ヤブヨシキリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ
Atsugi Nature Observation Park (Kanagawa)
厚木自然観察園(神奈川)
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
We could see a Grey Bunting which had been observed there from the end of the previous year.
Also found a Pale Thrush and a Grey Bunting at a point nearby.
In a narrow valley with a small stream, outdoor activities were taking place, there were many people and few birds appeared. Nevertheless, we were able to see a Red-flanked Bluetail and a Pale Thrush.
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, アオジ, クロジ
Hinata Forest Road (Kanagawa Prefecture)
日向林道(神奈川)
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
When we arrived at the starting point of Hinata Forest Road, The temperature was 3 degrees Celsius, but the strong northerly wind was chilly.
A flock of about 40 Eurasian Siskins was flying over the parking lot.
At the starting point of the forest road, a mixed flock of tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, and Brambling were seen.
However, until the end of the road, we only occasionally saw and heard Varied Tit, Daurian Redstart, and Red-flanked Bluetail, and the Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea) that we had hoped to see did not appear.
Near the end of the forest road, a flock of Long-tailed Tits and a Red-flanked Bluetail were seen but no Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) appeared.
When we turned back and returned to the road we came from, we found a Japanese Accentor foraging on the road.
Perhaps because the winds were weakening and it was getting warmer, more birds were singing and a few Masked Buntings were seen.
The birds we observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ,
シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, アトリ, マヒワ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
We walked between the Noborito area and Nakanoshima area.
On this day, raptors appeared one after another.
That was nice, but perhaps it caused the appearance of fewer small birds.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン,
ヒメアマツバメ, イカルチドリ, タシギ, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ,
シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Mountain near Samukawa Clean Center in Iiyama City (Nagano Prefecture)
飯山市寒川クリーンセンター（ゴミ焼却場）周辺の山地 (長野)
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis)
Eurasian (Garrulus glandarius)Jay
; all photos by T.Endo
I visited north of IIyama City, where we occasionally find Mountain Hawk-Eagles (Nisaetus nipalensis) in winter.
Since the spot was near the border of Nagano and Niigata prefectures, one of the heaviest snowfall areas in Japan, I had to wait for a fine day.
The road condition was not good at that day, even though the slow fall was stopped.
The road around the spot was surrounded by snow walls of 2 m high.
When I arrived there at 10:00 am, fortunately the whether cleared up.
An Eagle appeared at 12:10, and soared high in the sky for 20 min.
Because of the reflection of sunlight, feather patterns of lower side of wings were clearly seen.
List of species:
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis),
Great spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Asian Tit (Parus cinereus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
クマタカ，アカゲラ，カケス，ハシブトガラス，シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒヨドリ
Okhotsk area (Hokkaido)
オホーツク・エリア(北海道)
Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius)
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris)
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus)
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla)
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus)
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
& Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
& Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus)
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus)
The species targeted were Steller's Sea-Eagle, Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea), Snow Bunting (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae), Common Redpoll (flammea) ( Acanthis flammea flammea), Common Raven (kamtschaticus) (Corvus corax kamtschaticus) and sea birds, but these seemed to arrive in low numbers this year, and eventually Steller's Sea-Eagle, and some seabirds such as Harlequin Duck, Goldeneye and Black Scoter were found.
The previous winter had extremely little snow, but this year there was snowfall. Temperatures were below zero degrees Celsius,, but not very low.
At the Yobito boardwalk at the shore of Lake Abashiri, where we first visited, we were greeted by four species of woodpeckers: Black, Japanese Pygmy (seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) and Great Spotted (japonicus).
We did not see any Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula), which had been recorded here.
Lake Abashiri was completely frozen over and there were several smelt fishing tents around.
The Abashiri River, which flows out of the lake, was not frozen near the city centre to its mouth, and Common Merganser/Goosander, Common Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, Greater Scaup and Tufted Duck were seen.
We looked for Snow Bunting near the mouth of the estuary, where Snow Bunting can sometimes be seen, but did not find any.
We drove around the large premises of Abashiri Port and visited Popo 260, an observation facility built on an embankment that provides a 260-degree view of the sea, and looked for seabirds.
Unfortunately, seabirds were scarce, and in addition to Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye and Common Merganser/Goosander, only one Black Scoter and two Red-necked Grebe were found.
On the way to Shari Town, where we stayed two nights, we stopped at Swan Park and Koshimizu Wildflower Park in Lake Tofutsu.
Almost the entire surface of Lake Tofutsu was frozen over, but the area around Swan Park was not and several Wooper Swans were seen.
A few Short-eared Owls seemed to be staying at Koshimizu Wildflower Park, but did not appear during our observations.
We checked the national forest near the mouth of the Yanbetsu River and saw a variety of birds around the river.
Steller's Sea-Eagle and White-tailed Eagle were perched in a tree overlooking the river, awaiting prey in the river.
In the forest, there were Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Marsh Tit, Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit (Japan), Asian Eurasian Nuthatch (S.e.asiatica), Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica), Eurasian Wren, Brambling, etc.
Mallard, Eurasian Teal were seen in the river. W
We looked for Common Raven (kamtschaticus ) (Corvus corax kamtschaticus), but we did not find any, probably because there were no deer carcasses to prey on.
Shari Port is a fishing port at the mouth of the Shari River and is known as a haven for gull-watchers. If you are lucky, Ross's Gull or Red-legged Kittiwake may enter the harbour on days when strong wintry winds blow.
On the second and third of the three days of our stay in Shari Town this time, the wind was a little stronger, so we expected to see these rare birds, but the wind seemed to be a little less strong.
Nevertheless, gulls such as Mew, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Vega and Black-headed were seen among many Slaty-backed Gulls.
In the harbour, Common Merganser/Goosander, Pelagic Cormorant, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye and one American Wigeon in a flock of Eurasian Wigeon were found.
Oshinkoshin Falls, about an hour's drive north on the Shiretoko Peninsula from Shari, just before Utoro town, is also a good observation point for Ross's Gull, various seabirds and eagles.
We visited here on the second and third days when the wind was strong, but saw only White-tailed Eagle, Steller's Sea-Eagle, Harlequin Duck, Pelagic Cormorant and Slaty-backed Gull.
On the last day, we visited Cape Notoro. There was little snow cover and grassland was exposed, probably due to the blowing winds, and we looked for Horned Lark (flava)/Shore Lark (Eremophila alpestris flava) and Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha), but could not find any. Looking out to sea, a White-tailed Eagle was perched on a rock nearby. There were many Harlequin Ducks and Pelagic Cormorants on the water. We looked for Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo) and other seabirds, but could not find any this time.
Yobito Fishing Port was frozen and covered with snow, with no gulls or seabirds.
In the adjacent forest, many White-tailed Eagles were perched on trees and were occasionally calling loudly. Flocks of Brambling, Eurasian Siskin and Grey-capped Greenfinch were also seen.
Finally, we visited Lake Memanbetsu Campsite.
This is a place with few people all year round, but it was busy with many cars and visitors for smelt fishing.
Despite the crowds, there were many White-tailed Eagles, Black Kites and some Steller's Sea-Eagles in the woods.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), Marsh Tit and Varied Tit were also seen there.
A Eurasian Skylark, rare in winter, was found in nearby farmland.
The birds observed are;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus pelagicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オオハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, オナガガモ,
コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, ヒメウ,
ユリカモメ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, カワセミ, エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ハシブトガラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
シマエナガ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, ミソサザイ, ツグミ, スズメ, アトリ, マヒワ, オオカワラヒワ
Izumi-no-Mori Park (Yamato City, Kanagawa)
泉の森(神奈川県大和市)
American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid (Mareca americana x penelope)
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus)
Izumi-no-Mori is a park that locates around the Yamato Water Source, the source of the Hikiji River, and is regarded as the core of nature in Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is designated as one of the Kanagawa Trust Green Spaces and its rich nature is being conserved.
The wooded area and waterside space form a unique ecosystem, nurturing a habitat for approximately 900 species of plants and 50 species of birds and other living creatures throughout the year.
Since it was noon when I started birding, the birds were not very active and I did not expect much.
I looked at Shirakashi Pond (Shirakashi-no-Ike), the largest pond in the park, and saw a Great Egret, a Little Egret and a Grey Heron at the same place. Eurasian Wigeons were also seen.
One of them was a hybrid of American Wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon.
Then a small whitish heron flew into the reeds in front of me. A photographer nearby said that he had been seeing a white heron looked like a Black-crowned Night Heron for several days, but he could not get a good picture of it.
I did see its movement in the reeds, but I could not see it clearly. After waiting for a while, I gave up and left the spot.
Just then, a small heron flew overhead and perched on a tree in front of me. It was a Chinese Pond-Heron, which is rare in the Tokyo area.
It was a happy New Year's gift.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid (Mareca americana x penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, キジバト, カワウ,
アカガシラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis)
In the forest, the leaves had fallen and it was bright.
As soon as I stepped into Mt. Sengen in the southwestern corner, I was immediately greeted by Long-tailed Tits.
Walking along the narrow trail, I expected to see Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera), and Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), but I did not encounter any of them this time.
However, a large thrush jumped out from the side of the trail and perched on the branch of a tree in front of me. It was White's Thrush.
It came back again this winter.
Entering Sengenyama Park across the Kisuge Bridge, I saw that tree logging work was in progress.
Recently, Japanese oak wilt has been killing many trees in the Tokyo suburbs, and here too, a large number of trees had died.
The work was to prevent accidents from occurring when these dead trees fall over.
In this situation, about 1/3 of the trees in the forest may be cut down.
In this park, there were many Brown-eared Bulbuls.
Other birds were few, but a White's Thrush was seen here as well.
Pale Thrushes, Japanese Grosbeaks, Long-tailed Tits, Warbling White-eyes, and Japanese Tits were also seen.
Returning to Mt. Sengen, I checked the bird bath.
There were no photographers who are the regular visitors in this spot.
Oriental Turtle-Dove, Brown-eared Bulbul, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, and Chinese Hwamei came to the water.
Neither Chinese Bamboo-Partridge nor Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) appeared.
In the park in the 5th District, a flock of Rose-ringed Parakee appeared.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジバト, トビ, コゲラ, ワカケホンセイインコ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, イカル
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Flock of Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae)
& Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba)
& Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta)
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
Today, I walked between the Noborito area and Nakanoshima area.
While the Tohoku area had been suffering from unusually heavy snowfall every day, the weather around Tokyo had been sunny, but it was the first time in a long time that the weather was cloudy and sometimes drizzly.
In the upper reaches of the Nikaryo-shukugawara weir, Great Cormorants gathered together to chase and capture fishes.
Egrets (Littel, Great) were also gathering, probably aiming to take some of the profits of the catch.
In the grassland along the river, we saw Masked Buntings, White-cheeked Starlings and Duskey Thrushes.
A Common Kestrel flew above us.
In the rapids downstream of the weir, ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler , Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal), Wagtails (White, Japanese), Common Sandpiper were seen.
We looked for the one-winged Common Merganser/Goosander that had stayed in this area since the previous year, but could not find it.
In the river near the Tama Aqueduct Bridge (Tama-Suido-bashi), we saw such as Common Pochards, Gadwalls, Eurasian Wigeons and Common Coots.
In the grassy area spreading along the riverbed upstream of the bridge, there were some birds in grassland such as buntings (Masked, Meadow, Rustic, Common Reed) and Grey-capped Greenfinch.
When we walked further upstream, in the woods along the riverbed, it started to rain.
There were many Brown-eared Bulbuls, but no other birds appeared, only Japanese Bush Warblers calling in the bushes.
In the river, we looked for Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula) but was not this time.
On the stone banks, wagtails (White, Japanese) and Long-billed Plover were seen.
A Vega Gull flew above us.
We searched for Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus) in the wando in the Nakanoshima area.
Insted, we found a Daurian Redstart and two Hawfinches perching on the trees, and a Eurasian Teal, a Common Moorhen and a Common Kingfisher in the water.
An Eastern Buzzard was perched on a willow tree in a large meadow at "Nakanoshima-no-watashi" area.
Due to the rain, no other birds in grassland appeared there.
When we arrived at Nikaryo-kami-gawara weir, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared over the Tama River.
Ducks including Tufted Duck , grebes (Littel, Great Crested) and gulls (Black-headed, Vega) were seen above and below the weir in the distance.
The Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), which was often seen at this weir, was absent this time.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン,
イカルチドリ, タシギ, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
4-day Trip in Izumi (Kagoshima Prefecture) & Kumamoto & Saga (Saga Prefecture)
出水(鹿児島)&熊本＆佐賀
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi)
& Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major)
& Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
Birds in Higashi-yoka Tidal Flats
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides)
& Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
On the first day, we birded in Izumi.
We drove around in the vast reclaimed land and checked several spots.
Near Fukunoe Coast, at the mouth of Kojiro River, there were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
A Black-faced Spoonbill was found in the rice field nearby.
In the reeds near Fukunoe Rural Park (Fukunoe Noson Koen), several Chinese Penduline-Tits were seen hiding in the reeds.
Many Oriental Turtle-Dove were perching on the surrounding trees, and many White-cheeked Starlings were gathering at the Japanese bead tree for its fruits. Pale Thrush also came to eat the fruits of this tree.
As soon as we entered the East Reclamation Area, we were welcomed by a flock of about 10 Eurasian Spoonbills and Black-faced Spoonbills.
Many cranes were seen near the Crane Watch Station. Most of them were Hooded Crane, followed by White-naped Crane. Two Sandhill Cranes and a Common Crane were also seen here.
In the ponds of the protected area, there were Common Shelducks.
In the surrounding farmland, many Grey-capped Greenfinches were resting on the plastic coverings for warmth.
In another field, there was a huge flock of Rooks, including some small Daurian Jackdaws, one of which was black-and-white patterned.
Northern Lapwings were also flocking nearby.
There were more cranes around the Izumi Crane Observation Center.
A Swan Goose was reported in this area, but we could not find it.
We looked for buntings in the reed beds near the mouth of the Euchi River, but unfortunately, the wind began to blow stronger and they did not appear.
The pond near Takeuchi Poultry Farm, which we visited in the evening, was almost empty of water, and mud flats were spreading.
There, shorebirds such as Little Ringed Plover, Common Snipe and Green Sandpiper were seen.
Many White-cheeked Starlings were also gathering, probably because they were roosting nearby.
A few rare Red-billed Starlings were also seen.
As the sun set, many of the cranes returned to their roosts in front of Shin-tsurumi-tei where we stayed for the night.
The calls of the roosting cranes were heard loudly throughout the night.
On the second day, after having breakfast while watching the cranes leaving their roosts at dawn, we headed for Kogawa Dam.
The cranes flying against the rising sun near the East Reclamation Area were so beautiful.
At Kogawa Dam, there were many Mandarin Ducks and other ducks. Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Western Osprey, Eastern Buzzard, and Mountain Hawk-Eagle appeared in the sky probably due to the sunny weather.
On the forest road, Pale Thrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, Grey Wagtail, and Masked Bunting appeared.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Ryukyu Minivet were also heard.
When we left the main road and walked on the path along the lake, there were over 50 White-bellied Green-Pigeons perched in the surrounding trees, and as we approached, they took off one after another.
In the afternoon, we again drove around the protected area of the cranes.
The weather was fine, but the cold wind started to blow strongly.
Brambling, Siberian Pipit and Grey-capped Greenfinch were flocking to the windless field to avoid the wind.
The flock of Northern Lapwing that was seen the day before was nowhere to be found.
It began to rain that night.
However, the calls of the roosting cranes were still heard throughout the night.
On the morning of the third day, the rain fell occasionally.
We drove around the Izumi Crane Observation Center and found a Common Crane among the many cranes that had gathered for the morning feeding.
No Swan Goose was found after all.
After that, we left Izumi and headed for Kumamoto.
The weather forecast predicted that the weather would recover more quickly to the north, so we skipped our originally planned visit to the mouth of the Kuma River and headed for the Shiranui Tidal Flat in Uki City.
When we arrived at Shiranui Tidal Flat, blue skies appeared as predicted, but it was low tide, so the mudflats spread widely and the birds were far away from us.
Although the numbers were small, Common Shelduck, Falcated Duck, Baikal Teal, Black-faced Spoonbill, Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Greenshank, Dunlin, Saunder's Gull Gull, etc. were seen.
Next, I visited Tachioka Nature Park in Uto City. This park is very famous for the beautiful sakura and considered to be one of the best sakura spots in Kumamoto. The park has large and small irrigation ponds and is a good birding spot.
Unfortunately, we arrived at noon, so the birds were not very active, but we saw ducks, Common Kingfisher, Pale Thrush, Yellow-throated Bunting, and Masked Bunting.
Next, we headed to Yokoshima Reclaimed Lands in Tamana City.
Driving through the vast reclaimed lands, we managed to find White-naped Crane and Black-faced Spoonbill in the farmland, and ducks (Common Shelduck, Northern Pintail, Mallard, Greater Scaup, etc.) on the beach.
However, we did not have good results, so we headed for Shiroishi Town in Saga Prefecture.
We managed to arrive at Shiroishi Reclamation about an hour before dark and looked for geese in Shintaku Reservoir, but found none, so we decided to try again the next day.
The next morning we visited the Higashiyoka Tidal Flat at the time of the highest tide, which was about 4.7m.
The mudflats were still widely spread out when we arrived, and we saw many Common Shelducks, Saunder's Gulls, Black-faced Spoonbills and shorebirds.
We saw three Pied Avocets among them.
As the tide rises, shorebirds could be observed in more closer distance. Dunlin, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew, and others were seen.
Nearby us a Hen Harrier flew above the reeds and hunted something.
We were also able to see a Red-breasted Flycatcher in the park, which had been observed for a few weeks.
Then we moved to Shiroishi Reclamation.
At Shintaku Reservoir, we saw huge number of Baikal Teals and many kinds of ducks.
Scanning the large pond with the scope, we found a swimming goose. Moving closer, we found Swan Goose, Tundra Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, and Leser White-fronted Goose flocking together.
A family of Whooper Swan was also seen in a large channel.
Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, and Common Shelduck were seen in the lotus field.
The birds observed are;
- at Izumi:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Kogawa Dam:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis) (Garrulus glandarius hiugaensis), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)?
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Sjranui Tidal Flats:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- at Tachioka Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Yokoshima Reclaimed Lands:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Higashi-Yoka mudflats:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), ,br> Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), ,br> Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Reclaimed lands in the Shiroishi area:
Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
サカツラガン, ヒシクイ, マガン, カリガネ, オオハクチョウ, ツクシガモ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ,
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ,
カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, バン, オオバン, タゲリ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ, ソリハシセイタカシギ,
タシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, クマタカ, カワセミ,
キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ,
ヒュウガカケス, カササギ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツリスガラ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, セッカ, ミソサザイ? ギンムクドリ, ムクドリ, ソウシチョウ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, ニシオジロビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula)
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis)
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus)
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus)
Today, I walked between the Noborito area and Nakanoshima area.
The upstream side of Nikaryo-kami-gawara Weir was under big construction, so I did not check this time.
In the river near the Tama Aqueduct Bridge (Tama-Suido-bashi), I saw such as Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon and Common Coot.
In the grassy area spreading along the riverbed upstream of the bridge, I looked for buntings, but found only two species, Meadow and Masked.
Further upstream, in the woods along the riverbed, there were flocks of Azure-winged Magpie, Chinese Hwamei, and White-browed Laughingthrush, as well as Masked Bunting, Warbling White-eye, Japanese Tit, and Peregrine Falcon and Eastern Buzzard.
In the river, there were Falcated Ducks, and Common Goldeneyes which is rare in this area.
On the stone banks, wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese), egret (Great White, Little), Long-billed Plover, and Vega Gull were seen.
I searched for Brown-cheeked Rail in the wando in the Nakanoshima area, but could only find Eurasian Teal and Common Coot.
Thrushes were only heared of Dusky's call twice. They seemed to be delayed in their arrival.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホオジロガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ,
トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ, ハヤブサ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, カオグロガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
3-day Trip around Tokyo area (Chiba, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi)
東京周辺3日間(千葉,茨城,神奈川,埼玉,群馬,栃木)
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans)
& Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia) at Sanbanze Tidal Flat
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii)
& Ducks at Natsume-no-Seki
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
On the first day, we headed to the eastern area of Tokyo.
Our first stop was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
This is the largest tidal flat in Tokyo Bay, located in the innermost part of the bay.
Early in the morning when we arrived, it was after the high tide and the tidal flats were beginning to expand.
A few Kentish Plovers were resting on the surf.
On the flats, Gray Plover were seen first, followed by flocks of Eurasian Oystercatcher, Sanderling and Dunlin.
Saunder's Gull was also seen.
Many Eurasian Oystercatchers, Vega Gulls and some shorebirds were still resting on the breakwater.
In the inner water of the breakwater, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup, and Red-breasted Merganser were seen.
We looked for Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri) but did not find it this time.
On the way to the next site near Sanbanze, a flock of Azure-winged Magpie was found in the roadside trees.
At Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
The next site was Natsume-no-seki Pond in Chiba Prefecture.
Natsume-no-Seki is an agricultural reservoir with a circumference of about one kilometer. It was known for the wintering ducks and swans. There are around 10,000 ducks at the most.
On the way to the pond, we found Northern Lapwings in a paddy field.
When we arrived at the pond, there were swans and many ducks.
The swans were Bewick's Swans with a Whistling Swan. No Whooper Swan was found.
The majority of ducks were Northern Pintails and Mallads. Baikal Teal was not as numerous as expected, but there were quite numbers of them as well.
Several Smew were also seen.
At Natsume-no-seki Pond:
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii), Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Then we visited the riverbanks and rice fields spread in the river island of Tone River in the Kamisu area.
We looked for raptors and found Eastern a few Buzzards and Eastern Marsh-Harriers.
We also saw Northern Lapwings, Bull-headed Shrike, White Wagtails, Siberian Pipits and Grey-capped Greenfinches.
In the river and the ponds, there were Great Crested Grebes, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Gadwall,Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck) and Common Coots.
We looked for swans in the rice paddies of Yotaura, but could not find any. A large flock of Northern Pintails and Common Pochards were seen in the pond.
At Tone River:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
The last site of the day we visited was the lotus fields of the Inashiki area.
Many of them were covered with nets, and there were no birds there. In one unnetted lotus field, we managed to find a Wood Sandpiper, a Ruff, and Common Snipes.
At dusk, we visited the reed field at Ukishima, where many birdrs and photographers were waiting for harriers to roost. During our observation, several Eastern Marsh-Harriers returned to the reed field.
At Inashiki area:
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)? Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
On the second day, we visited several sites in the western area of Tokyo.
Early in the morning, we walked on the Hayatogawa Forest Road along Lake Miyagase (Miyagase-Ko) between Hayatogawa Bridge and Shirudare Tunnel located at the half point of the frorest road.
We looked for Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) at Hayatogawa Bridge, but did not see it.
We saw some winter birds in this forest such as Eurasian Wren, tits (Varied, Coal, Japanese), Long-tailed Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail, Japanese Accentor, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Masked Bunting, etc. Especially, there were many Red-flanked Bluetails and Varied Tits this time.
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) and Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea) were not seen this time.
At Hayatogawa Forest Road:
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Next, We visited Atsugi Nature Observation Park (Atsugi Shizen Kansatsu-en).
Having received information that Grey Bunting had been observed there a few days before, we checked that point. Soon a Grey Bunting was observed.
In a narrow valley with a small stream, we found a beautiful Red-flanked Bluetail with bright blue back, a Masked Bunting drinking in the stream, a Pale Thrush foraging on a slope while removing fallen leaves, and an Eurasian Wren.
We also observed a Sparrowhawk flying overhead.
At Atsugi Nature Observation Park:
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
At the end of the day, we visited "Sagami Big Weir (Sagami-Ozeki)" on the middle reaches of Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa),
where a Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus) was seen three weeks before our visit.
Watching the stony bar, we found several Long-billed Plovers and White Wagtails and one Common Sandpiper.
A flock of twelve Common Mergansers/Goosanders and a large flock of several dozen Great Egrets were also seen.
Ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck) and Great Crested Grebe were seen upstream of the weir.
At Sagami River:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
On the third day, we visited several sites in the northern area of Tokyo.
The first site was Akigase Park (Akigase-Koen).
Akigase Park is located at a section of flood plain of the Arakawa River flowing the western edge of Saitama City.
In 1971, former Urawa City established the park as a measure to manage the rising issue of insufficient park availability stemmed from rapid urban expansion.
There is the forest of the wild bird leaving nature and the exercise facilities such as a baseball field, the tennis ground in this park.
Due to its variety in environment, this field is providing good habitats for various kinds of birds which prefer forest, grass field, and marsh.
This winter the number of thrushes such as Dusky, Pale and Whites was very small. We could not find any of thrushes this time.
However, a Japanese Green Woodpecker, a Eurasian Goshawk, and a flock of Chinese Hwamei were seen in the forest, and two Ryukyu Minivets was seen in the open field.
Also, a flock of Rustic Bunting was found in a grassy area in an abandoned farmland, and Eurasian Teals and Brown-cheeked Rail were found in a waterway.
At Akigase Park:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Next, we visited Itakura's farmland.
It seems that the number of Rooks is low this winter, and we found a flock of about 150 birds, not as large as in the past.
We looked for Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus) among them, but could not find any.
Raptors found were Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, and Hen Harrier. Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis) was not seen this time.
Green Sandpipers and herons were seen in the waterways.
We looked for Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) and Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans) but could not find them.
At the irrigation reservoir at Itakura, there were ducks (Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal), Grey Heron and Great White Egret, Common Moorhen and Common Coot. No swan was seen this time.
At Itakura area:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
The last site visited was Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
Watarase-yusuichi is a retarding basin located roughly in the center of Kanto plains. It is a facility to store water for daily use and to retain the river overflow temporarily to prevent flooding in the river basin.
There are three regulating reservoirs enclosed by embankments. The reservoirs and the river beds are covered with one of the largest reed beds in Honshu, the main island of Japan.
The diverse wetland environment of Watarase-yusuichi supports a habitat for many species. And forty species of birds have been recorded. From spring to summer, it is a breeding ground for some grassland birds such as Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri) and Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps), while in winter, it is a wintering ground for thousands of ducks, many buntings and some harriers (Eastern Marsh and Hen) which is cited as "endangered" in the red list of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan.
Although the birds were not very active since we visited in the afternoon, we saw Eastern Buzzard, Hen Harrier and Bull-headed Shrike in the reed beds; ducks (Falcated, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal), Smew, Great Cormorant and buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Common Reed) in the swamps scattered in the reed fields; Northern Lapwing on the river mudflatas; and ducks, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, and Long-tailed Rosefinch in the lake and surrounding grassland.
The Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca) that had been reported a few weeks prior to our visit was not found.
Thrush were few in this field as well, with only one each of Dusky and Pale observed.
We also looked for Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) and White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio), but unfortunately did not find them.
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ,
ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, バン, オオバン,
タゲリ, ダイゼン, イカルチドリ, シロチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, タシギ, ツルシギ? クサシギ, タカブシギ,
イソシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ツミ? オオタカ, ノスリ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, オナガ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, クロジ, オオジュリン
Showa Commemorative National Government Park (Tachikawa & Akishima, Tokyo)
昭和記念公園(東京都 立川市・昭島市)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
Formerly this place was a Japanese military airbase and in the postwar era operated by the US military. Then, it turned into a park as part of a project to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Showa emperor.
This park is very huge and there are ponds, forests, wide lawn, flower gardens, marshs, museums and sports facilities.
In the pond "Mizutori-no-ike", there were some ducks such as Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Mallad and Northern Pintail, and a Great Crested Grebe.
Pale Thrush and Dusky Thrush were in the canopy in the woods near Bird Sanctuary by the pond.
Masked Bunting was heard in the reeds around the pond.
At the bird sanctuary, Grey Heron and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker were seen. An Eurasian Goshawk flew above them.
Many crows were bathing in the pond at “Keiryu-hiroba".
A flock of Japanese Grosbeaks were singing in the trees near the pond, and Olive-backed Pipits and many Eurasian Tree Sparrows were foraging on the lawn.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, アオサギ, オオバン,
オオタカ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, イカル, アオジ
Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin(Kanagawa)
相模原貯水池(相模原,神奈川)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin is an artificial lake used as a source of water for Yokohama City's water supply. It is designated as one of the 50 best bird watching spots in Kanagawa, and is a popular spot for waterfowl observation.
Various species of ducks such as Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Falcated Duck, and Mandarin Duck were observed at relatively close distance.
Several Great Crested Grebes were also seen.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (kunikyonis) (Tachybaptus ruficollis kunikyonis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
カワウ, チュウダイサギ, オオバン, イソシギ, ハクセキレイ
Lake Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬湖(相模原,神奈川)
Lake Miyagase
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Lake Miyagase was filled with much water and was beautiful reflecting the surrounding forests of late fall foliage.
I looked for Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) at Hayatogawa Bridge, but did not see it.
As I started walking on the Hayatogawa forest road, a Eurasian Wren was singing and moving around on the slope near the road.
A White-bellied Green-Pigeon was also singing nearby.
Perhaps the arrival of winter birds is late this year, I did not see any Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea) or Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus), and birds were not seen until near the Kanazawa Bridge.
Around Kanazawa Bridge, tits (Coal, Japanese, Varied), Warbling White-eyes, Grey-capped Greenfinch, etc. were flocking.
As I walked further, I saw mixed flocks of Long-tailed Tit and tits, and while observing them, Brambling, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Japanese Accentor, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, and others appeared there.
Red-flanked Bluetail and Daurian Redstart continued to appear well after that. Red-flanked Bluetails were especially entertaining, as some of them were singing.
On the lake, I saw Grey Heron, Great Cormorant, Mallard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, etc.
I looked for flocks of Mandarin Duck, but the road construction was going on near where I usually see them, so I could see only two birds.
No Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) appeared, but two Common Kingfishers were seen. No Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) or other birds of prey appeared this time.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, マガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン,
トビ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, アオジ
Sakawa River & Kari River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川&狩川(神奈川)
Mt. Fuji, a view from Sakawa River
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
The Sakawa River runs through the Sakawa Lowland in the western region of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Hakone Volcano to the west and the Oiso Hills to the east and flows into Sagami Bay.
From Kaisei Station of Odakyu Line, I walked towards the downstream of the Sakawa River.
Mt. Fuji from the river bank was snow-capped and looked beautiful.
A flock of Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser) was seen in the stream.
Japanese Wagtail, White Wagtail, Siberian Pipit, Grey Heron, Great Egret (A.a.alba & A.a.modesta), Common Kingfisher Long-billed Plover and Little Ringed Plover were seen on the riverbanks.
A Eurasian Goshawk and Black Kite were resting on the riverbank, too.
Bull-headed Shrike and Grey-capped Greenfinch (C.s.kawarahiba) were perched here and there on the trees along the banks.
A Duskey Thrush was also seen.
In the tall grassy meadows along the riverbanks, Daurian Redstart, Meadow Bunting, Masked Bunting, Japanese Bush-Warbler and Zitting Cisticola were found.
Large-scale construction was underway at Iizumi intake weir at the confluence with the Kari River, and not as many ducks and gulls were seen as in the past years.
Eurasian Teal, gulls (Black-headed, Vega, Slaty-backed), Common Coot, etc. were observed, though in small numbers.
I walked upstream on the Kari River from the confluence with the Sakawa River.
Wagtails (White, Japanese, Grey) and Siberian Pipits were actively flying around on the riverbank.
Among ducks, we saw Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and also American Wigeon, which are rare in Japan.
There was also a flock of Common Merganser/Goosander.
The birds obserbed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus) Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ,アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, イソシギ,
ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, トビ, オオタカ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, セッカ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
3-day Trip in Izumi (Kagoshima Prefecture) & Saga (Saga Prefecture)
出水(鹿児島)＆佐賀(佐賀)
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans)
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia)
& shorebirds
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
On the first day, we headed Izumi.
On the way, we checked the Todoroki-no-Se (Todoroki rapids) of the Sendai River, which flows through Satsuma Town.
At this site, Crested Kingfishers (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) can sometimes be observed, but did not appear this time. Instead, a Common Kingfisher was seen.
Ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Tufted, Eurasian Teal), Common Coot and Littele Egret in the river, Long-billed Plover, Common Sandpiper and wagtail ( White, Grey) on rocks in the rapids, Long-tailed Tit (A.c.kiusiuensis), Blue Rock Thrush and Meadow Bunting on the riverbanks, and Barn Swallow and Asian House Martin flying overhead were seen.
In Izumi, we drove around in the vast reclaimed land.
Many cranes were seen. The predominant species was Hooded Crane, but there were also many White-naped Cranes and a few Sandhill Cranes.
We did not find any Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), perhaps they had not arrived yet.
It is said that 80-90% of the world's Hooded Cranes gather on the Izumi Plain, which is a very rare site where we can observe the cranes up close.
Small flocks of Black-faced Spoonbill and Eurasian Spoonbill were seen in the irrigation canals in the farmland, as well as flocks of ducks (mostly Eastern Spot-billed, with Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, etc.).
Many crows (Carrion, Rook, Daurian Jackdaw) were also seen.
Large flocks of Russet Sparrow were seen on power lines and grassy areas.
In the reed beds of the Euchi River, we looked for reedbirds. We saw Buntings (Meadow, Masked, Common Reed), but did not see Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus), which I expected to see.
Due to the rain that kept falling on and off, no birds of prey appeared except Western Osprey and Black Kite.
We observed Pale Thrushes and Dusky Thrushes, which had just arrived.
At sunset that evening, at the inn where we stayed (Shin-Tsurumi-Tei), we enjoyed watching the many cranes returning to roost in the farmland in front of the inn.
We visited the Kogawa Dam nearby in the next morning.
At the upperstream of Komenotsu River near Kogawa Dam, we searched for Crested Kingfisher and Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii), but they did not appear during our observation.
In the dum lake, we found many Mandarin Ducks.
There were also other kinds of ducks such as Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Common Pochard, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, and Tufted Duck.
Although it rained occasionally, when it stopped, flocks of White-bellied Green-Pigeon and Japanese Grosbeak, Red-flanked Bluetail, Masked Bunting, Western Osprey, Eastern Buzzard, and others appeared.
One Eurasian Sparrowhawk was resting on a tree branch on the road sheltering from the rain.
Then we headed towards Saga City.
The rain had stopped when we entered Saga City.
We searched for waterfowl in the farmlands and lotus fields in the reclaimed lands of Shiroishi Town.
In the lotus fields, ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal), Northern Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, and Common Snipe were foraging.
Green Sandpiper and White Wagtail were found in the smaller channels, and Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, and Smew were seen in the larger channels as well as ducks.
In the large reservoir (Shintaku-Tameike), there were many waterfowls.
Ducks found were Eastern Spot-billed, Mallard, Baikal Teal, Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Tufted, and Gadwall.
Several Tundra Bean Geese and one Greater White-fronted Goose, several Common Mergansers, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Vega Gull, and Whiskered Tern were also seen.
Raptors seen at the site were Black Kite, Hen Harrier, Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel and Peregrine Falcon.
The next morning we visited the Higashiyoka Tidal Flat at the time of the highest tide, which was about 5m under the new moon.
The mudflats were still widely spread out when we arrived, and we saw many Saunder's Gulls flying around, a large flock of Black-faced Spoonbills, and two Eurasian Oystercatchers foraging on the shore.
As the tide rises, shorebirds can be observed in closer distance. Dunlin, Kentish Plover, Siberian Sand Plover, Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew, and others were forming large flocks.
Three Pied Avocets were seen although they were in the distance.
Many Common Shelducks were seen in the sea.
The birds observed are;
- at Sendai River:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Izumi:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Hybrid; Hooded Crane & Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus monacha x Grus grus lilfordi)?
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Porzana fusca erythrothorax/Zapornia fusca erythrothorax)?
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)? Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Kogawa Dam:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Reclaimed lands in the Shiroishi area:
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida javanicus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Higashi-Yoka mudflats:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒシクイ, マガン, ツクシガモ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ,
トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ,
カナダヅル, マナヅル, ナベヅル, ナベクロヅル? ヒクイナ? バン, オオバン, タゲリ, ダイゼン, ハジロコチドリ,
イカルチドリ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, タシギ,
オオハシシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, セグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, クロハラアジサシ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, カゴシマアオゲラ, キュウシュウコゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ,
カササギ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, キュウシュウエナガ, メジロ, セッカ, ムクドリ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ? アオジ, オオジュリン
Yatoyama Park (Zama, Kanagawa)
谷戸山公園 (座間, 神奈川)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
In "Zama Yatoyama Park", a natural environment called "Yato" still remains, which is a valley with foothills and topography peculiar to the Kanto region.
Various environments, such as coppices, conifers, a rice field and a wetland, are conserved in the park.
Since it was a noon visit, the forest birds were inactive and not visible, except for the Brown-eared Bulbul.
However, Gadwall, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and Baikal Teal were observed closely at the pond.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans)
オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, トモエガモ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba)
Although it was reported that it had not been observed the day before our visit, we hoped that it might have returned again. Unfortunately, there was no sign of it among the Common Merganser/Goosander flock.
The Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), which had been seen the previous week, could not be found either.
Instead, a large flock of Great White Egret (A.a.alba), winter bird, had arrived.
We searched for the Scaly-sided Merganser in the Nittajuku area to try to find out if it had moved to the upper reaches of the river, but there was no merganser there.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ユリカモメ, トビ, カワセミ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser)
& Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
When I arrived, I heard the sound of gunfire from the riverbank. I heard that it was to chase away Great Cormorants, which had increased too much, but I was worried that other birds might also escape.
When I arrived at the spot where the target bird had been seen, photographers and birders who had already arrived told me that the sound of the guns had scared the flock of mergansers and they had flown away.
So, I stayed there and waited in the cold northerly wind for them to return back to the spot.
While waiting, I saw a Western Osprey flying overhead holding a fish and Great Crested Grebes flocking on the opposite shore of the river.
After a while, a flock of Common Merganser/Goosander returned, and after another while, a flock with a Scaly-sided Merganser returned.
Ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Common Pochard) and Little Grebe were seen on the upstream side of the weir, too.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, カワアイサ, コウライアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ユリカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
京都御苑(京都)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
I got off the train at Keihan Sanjo Station and walk to the site.
On the way, I saw wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese), ducks (Mallard, Eurasian Wigeon) and Grey Heron on the Kamogawa River.
I entered through the Teramachi-gomon Gate at the southeast side of the Kyoto Imperial Palace and walked around Dragonfly Pond, Site of Takatsukasa Residence, Kujo Pond, and checked out the forest of Munakata Shrine. There were many brown-eared bulbuls in this forest, among which several Japanese grosbeaks were seen.
Near Shirakumo Shrine, Warbling White-eyes were flocking to the flowers of the Japanese Spindle Tree.
Wagtails (White, Japanese) were feeding on the grassy area west of the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
Several Olive-backed Pipits were seen as usual in the pine trees in the Grasshopper Field northeast of the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
At the bird water bathing spot at the north-east corner, familiar Varied Tits and Masked Buntings were observed closely.
A Pale Thrush was seen at Imadegawa Ground, the last spot I passed.
The morning was warm like in October, but around noon, after birding, the temperature suddenly dropped and the weather suddenly changed to December-like with freezing rain.
It was a day that made me feel that the arrival of winter was just around the corner.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ドバト, キジバト, コサギ, オオバン, トビ, ハイタカ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, オオカワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ
Akigase Park & Lake Sai (Saitama)
秋ヶ瀬公園&彩湖(埼玉)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
& Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris)
At first, we visited Picnic-no-Mori.
The ponds in the area were full of water, and the paths in the forest were muddy.
In the ponds, we saw ducks (Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, and Eastern Spot-billed Duck).
In the forest, we encountered a flock of Japanese Tits.
Among them were Long-tailed Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and Japanese Green Woodpeckers.
Masked Bunting, Japanese Bush Warbler and Brambling were also found.
In the Mitsike Ground, a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch and two Hawfinches perched on tall tree treetops.
In the adjacent farmland, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Meadow Bunting, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow were seen in the abandoned grassland, and several Siberian Pipits were in the rice paddy field.
Many photographers were waiting to photograph an Eurasian Wryneck. We also waited for a while, but it did not appear.
A Daurian Redstart, a Bull-headed Shrike, and a Eurasian Goshawk appeared around the water channel.
A White Wagtail and several Eurasian Teals were seen in the channel.
In Kodomo-no-mori, we saw a few Eurasian Jay and a mixed flock of Japanese Tits and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
Then we moved to Lake Sai.
In the lake, there were many Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks.
Also found were a few Great Crested Grebes, a Gadwall, and a Eurasian Wigeon.
One Tundra Bean Goose was also found.
Several Siberian Pipits were seen on the lawn.
The birds we observed (*seen by othe birders) are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
*Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, アオサギ, トビ, オオタカ, カワセミ, *アリスイ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
1-day Trip at Northern & Western foots of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi & Shizuoka Prefectures)
富士山北西麓1日間(山梨、静岡)
Mt. Fuji with Snow cap
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
In the morning it was cloudy, Mt. Fuji was not visible, and the temperature was cold, below 10 degrees Celsius.
Near noon, it warmed up with sunshine, and in the afternoon, Mt. Fuji appeared, covered with a light snow capping.
It was the latest snowfall in the 130-year history of the meteorological observatory, 36 days later than the normal year.
The first site was Saiko Wild Bird Forest Park, the friendly Varied Tits welcame us.
At the front garden of the observation facility, Wood Nuthatch also came as well as Varied Tit.
A small flock of Eurasian Jay was noisy in the forest.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Japanese Green Woodpecker were also seen.
According to a park staff, winter birds this year have arrived later than usual, and no ducks have yet arrived at Lake Saiko.
Next, we visited the Asagiri Highlands, which spread out at 700 to 1,000 meters altitude in the western foot of Mt Fuji.
In the brush near the entrance to the field, we found regular Meadow Buntings and possibly just-arrived Rustic Buntings.
A Masked Bunting was also hiding in the bush.
We saw several Daurian Redstarts perching on trees.
An Amur Stonechat chasing bugs was seen in the center of the field. This bird had not yet left its wintering site and remained there.
Small flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch were also flying around the field. We looked for Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes) but did not see it this time, probably because of cars passing by often.
earched for Amur Stonechatsin the meadow, we managed to see two of them.
At Tanuki Lake, we search for waterfowl.
On the lake, we saw ducks (Mallard, Tufted Duck, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Wigeon), Common Coot and Great Cormorant.
A Common Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail also appeared.
Then we drove up the forest road on the north face of Mt. Fuji upto the altitude of 1,800m.
There were few birds, but small flocks of Willow Tit and Coal Tit, and at several spots near the highest point of the road, Red-flanked Bluetails were seen and Spotted Nutcrackers could be heard calling in the distance.
On the descent, we also encountered a flock of Red-billed Leiothrix and a flock of thrushes (Brown-headed, Pale). Pale Thrush might be just arriving.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, トビ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ソウシチョウ, シロハラ, アカハラ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Yokohama area (Kanagawa)
横浜エリア(神奈川)
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica)
At first, we visited Kodomo Nature Park (Kodomo Shizen Koen) in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japanese Bush Warblers, perhaps enlivened by the unseasonably warm weather, were singing.
On the trail in the woods, there were many Chinese Hwameis here and there.
A Japanese Green Woodpecker and Chinese Bamboo-Partridge were heard.
A flock of Tufted Duck was seen in the pond.
However, there have not be a Ring-necked Duck wintering here every winter for the past several years. Hopefully, it will come again this winter.
Next we visited the Imada Retarding Basin.
In the pond, there were ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal), Little Grebe, Great Cormorant and egrets (Grey Heron, Great White (A.a.alba), Little), Common Moorhen and Common Coot.
Brown-cheeked Rail is heard, too.
A Daurian Redstart, a Blue Rock Thrush and a few Grey-capped Greenfinches were also seen.
Then we moved to nearby Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park.
Four long-billed plovers were resting on a gravel sandbar on the Sakai River.
A Blue Rock Thrush was found on the roof of the information center, and a Daurian Redstart and Meadow Bunting were found on the fence along the river.
However, there were few ducks in the ponds, and only Bull-headed Shrike, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Meadow Buntings, and Grey-capped Greenfinches were seen in the reeds around the ponds.
The birds we observed are;
at Kodomo Nature Park:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Imada Retarding Basin;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
at Sakaigawa Retarding Basin;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, バン, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, カワセミ,
アカゲラ? アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata)
'Kanta-kun'
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)
Flock of ducks in Lake Inba-numa
Although we wanted to bird at Lake Teganuma, it was raining, so we gave up the plan. Instead, we went to Lake Kita-Inba-Numa (Inba-Numa) where Cackling Goose was being observed.
On the way there, we saw a small flock of swans in the rice paddies.
They might be roosting at Hakucho-no-Sato (Hometown of Swan) located at the north of the lake. Hakucho-no-Sato is said that the most southern wintering site of the swan from Siberia.
It was not raining at Kita-inba-numa, so we could get out of the car and birding.
The idol of this lake, 'Kanta-kun' (Great White Pelican), seemed to be fine.
Unfortunately, we did not find the Cackling Goose, but we did see Falcated Duck, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and other ducks.
There was a huge flock of ducks in the center of the lake, but since I did not bring a scope, it was difficult to identify them visually. From the blurry photos, it appeared that there were many Northern Pintail and Eurasian Teal.
Little Egret, Great Cormorant, White Wagtail and Japanese Wagtail were perched on the pilings of the lake.
Daurian Redstart, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Brambling, Japanese Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Meadow Bunting, and Masked Bunting were seen in the grasses and trees at the lakeshore. Brown-cheeked Rail was calling.
Some Red-rumped Swallows and Asian House Martins were still staying and flying over the lake.
The only raptors seen were Western Osprey and Black Kite.
The birds observed (*observed by another birder) are;
*Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)? Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ? コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ,
モモイロペリカン, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, オオバン, ミサゴ, トビ, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus)
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus)
The last time, about a month ago, there were still few winter birds, but this time more species could be seen, although in smaller numbers.
Those birds that were seen this time were Daurian Redstart, Siberian Pipit, Masked Bunting, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe and Great White Egret (A.a.alba).
In addition, I saw Brown-cheeked Rail, Long-billed Plover, Western Osprey, Masked Laughingthrush, and Chinese Hwamei this time, which I could not observe last time.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ミサゴ, トビ, カワセミ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, カオグロガビチョウ, ガビチョウ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Biwa (Shiga)
琵琶湖(滋賀)
Ducks in Lake Biwa
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse ecosystem to evolve in the lake.
This lake is an important place for water birds. About 5,000 water birds visit there every year.
There are many rich birding spots.
We visited the south-eastern lakeshore of Lake Biwa.
The first site was Kogan-ryokuchi Shina-1 Park in Kusatsu City.
On the way to the site, a flock of Grey-headed Lapwing was found in a nearby rice field.
There were not many ducks near the shore at Kogan-ryokuchi Shina-1 Park, perhaps still nervous because they had just arrived, but offshore there were a great many ducks such as Common Pochard, Eurasian Wigeon, etc., as well as Common Coot.
On the shore, wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese) were foraging, and in the trees, Bull-headed Shrike were calling loudly at the top, and Daurian Redstart and Japanese Bush-Warbler were moving around.
Black-headed Gulls flew above the lake, sometimes resting on sticks.
The next stop was the Karasuma Peninsula.
The expected shorebird was not found on the mudflats.
There were not many ducks here.
The birds obserbed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カイツブリ,
カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン, ケリ, ユリカモメ, トビ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ
2-day Trip around Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi & Shizuoka Prefectures)
富士山周辺2日間(山梨、静岡)
The first day of our visit was sunny, but the temperature dropped more than 10°C from the summer-like hot weather of the previous day, and a cold northerly wind blew strongly.
The next day was cold at 1.5°C in the morning at Lake Yamanakako, where we stayed, but it turned out to be a comfortable day with clear skies and temperatures rising gradually and warmer.
The first site was Saiko Wild Bird Forest Park, the friendly Varied Tits welcame us, but the other birds were no so active and quiet probably due to the cold northern wind.
Then we drove up the forest road on the north face of Mt. Fuji upto the altitude of 1,800m.
Meadow buntings were seen in the open logging areas and young shrub plantations on the way up.
There was also a large flock of Brambling that had just arrived.
Some thrushes (Brown-headed, Siberian? Dusky ?) Dusky ?) ) were seen and heard several times, but could not be identified firmly.
In the subalpine zone, Spotted Nutcrackers flew overhead several times.
Red-flanked Bluetails were also seen, too.
It was early afternoon at the Sozo-no-mori camp site, and there were no birds in the pool of water or in the surrounding woods, probably due to the puddles of water in the area from the rain that fell the night before.
We drove around the North Fuji Self-Defense Forces military site, which were open to the public on Sunday.
While it was not as busy as in summer and there were fewer birds, but we saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Skylarks and Grey-capped Greenfinches.
The last site visited that day was Obora Spring. We saw Great Spotted Woodpecker and other species in the villa woods along the way, but no thrushes had arrived yet.
Narcissus Flycatcher and Eurasian Wren were seen at the spring.
The next morning we headed first to the Juriki Highlands.
On the way, we found a flock of Grey-headed Lapwings in a freshly plowed field.
A Blue Rock-thrush was also found nearby.
A Daurian Redstart and several Japanese Grosbeaks were seen in the forest between the villa and the Japan Self-Defense Force site.
At the next site we visited, Marubi Nature Park, where winter birds had not yet arrived and there were not many birds.
But we encountered a mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Willow, Coal) with Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Ryukyu Minivet among them.
At Tanuki Lake, our next stop, we looked for Common Kingfisher, but the crowds of tourists made it difficult to find it. However, we finally found a Common Kingfisher at a narrow stream from a small weir of the lake.
We also saw White Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail there.
We saw Chinese Bamboo-Partridge in the bush along the shore of the lake, a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker perched on the trees.
On the lake, we saw ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck), Little Grebe, Common Coot and Great Cormorant.
As we checked the rapid river near Tanuki Lake, we were able to see a Brown Dipper flying away towards upstream. We also saw Wagtail (Grey, White) there.
Finally, we visited the Asagiri Highlands, which spread out at 700 to 1,000 meters altitude in the western foot of Mt Fuji.
A Green Pheasant appeared on the road in front of us.
There were flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch flying around in the vast grasslands.
We also saw a few Meadow Buntings.
We searched for Amur Stonechatsin the meadow, we managed to see two of them.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni)?
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)?
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キジ, コブハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, オオバン, ケリ, トビ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キクイタダキ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ,
カワガラス, マミジロ? アカハラ, ツグミ? ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, キビタキ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, マヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
2-day Trip around Tokyo Area (Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Tokyo Prefectures)
東京近郊2日間(山梨、静岡、東京)
On the first day, we visited several sites in the northern foot of Mt. Fuji.
The weather was cloudy and cool, suitable for birding. Although sometimes obscured by clouds, we were able to see the panoramic view of Mt. Fuji.
The first site was Saiko Wild Bird Forest Park. This park, surrounded by the Aokigahara sea of trees, is a home to about 210 species of wild birds.
As soon as we entered the park, friendly Varied Tits gathered around us and perched on our hands and heads.
Long-tailed Tits also gathered together.
We walked on the trails in the sea of trees, but lost our way in the vast park and stayed in the park longer than planned. Thanks to this(?), we encountered woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Japanese Green, Great Spotted), Eurasian Jay, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren and Narcissus Flycatcher. Flycatcher and others.
Next, we visited the grasslands of Asagiri Highlands.
We arrived at noon, two hours behind schedule.
Unfortunately, the time of day was not good and the birds were not active, so we did not see as many birds as we had expected, but we saw Grey-capped Greenfinch, Amur Stonechat, Meadow Bunting, Eastern Buzzard, Bull-headed Shrike, and others.
The last visit was the forest road up the north face of Mt. Fuji to an altitude of 1,800 meters. It was warmer than expected, 13°C (55°F).
A Spotted Nutcracker was seen briefly flying high above us on the forest road.
At the highest point, we managed to see a Red-flanked Bluetail and a Eurasian Tree-Creeper.
On the way down, a Green Pheasant was foraging on the side of the road. It was surprising to see Green Pheasant at a high altitude around 1500m.
We also saw a few Broad-headed Thrushes at the foot of the mountain.
On the second day, we visited Mt. Takao (Takao-San).
Mount Takao is different from the surrounding artificial forest, though it's 599 meters of sea level, it's overgrown with quite many trees luxuriantly because and a wildwood is left widely. The warm temperate forest mainly composed of oak kinds leads to a southern slope for standing out in particular, and the temperate forests mainly composed of a deciduous tree of a dog beech are spread in the north side slope. Thus this site is a good habitat for birds, insects and animals through four seasons in such wonderful environment.
On the way to the entrance of the trail from Takao-san-guchi Station, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, and Common Kingfisher were seen in the Annai River.
On the steep slope of the No. 1 Trail, Red-billed Leiothrix, Warbling White-eye, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, and Japanese Tit were seen and heard.
House Martins were flying overhead near the cable car station.
Walking on the No. 4 trail, we looked for Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata), but did not encounter this time.
Near the summit, we saw a mixed flock of Varied Tits, Japanese Tits, and Long-tailed Tits, including several Ryukyu Minivets.
We also saw many Brown-eared Bulbuls and a flock of Chinese Hwamei and Red-billed Leiothrix.
The birds observed are;
- Around Mt. Fuji;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キジ, トビ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, ミソサザイ,
ソウシチョウ, アカハラ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
- Around Mt. Takao;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
キジバト, アオバト, トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
3-day Trip in Saga and Nagasaki Areas (Saga & Nagasaki Prefectures)
佐賀＆長崎エリア3日間(佐賀、長崎)
The first stop on the first day was not in Saga Prefecture, but at Shiroyama Park, located at the foot of Hanatate-yama in Ogori City, Fukuoka Prefecture, adjacent to Saga Prefecture.
In the pond and swamp in the park, Little Grebe, Common Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, etc. were observed.
Next, we visited the Higashi-Yoka Tidal Flat (Higashi-Yoka Higata) in Saga City, Saga Prefecture.
This tidal flat is located on the deep northern shore of the Ariake Sea in Saga Prefecture, and is a mud flat that stretches to the south of the Higashi-yoka Reclaimed Land. It is one of Japan's most important migratory stopover and wintering sites for waterfowl, including endangered species such as the Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), and Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), as well as the site where the greatest number of shorebirds in Japan can be observed.
Unfortunately, the tide was neap and low on the day of our visit, and even at the highest level of 4 meters tide, the mudflats remained several hundred meters wide, making it hard to see waterfowl and shorebirds on the shore, but we did manage to see a number of species. Particularly, many Black-faced Spoonbills, Dunlins, Far Eastern Curlews, and Common Greenshanks were seen.
That evening and the morning of the second day, we searched for shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptor in the vast lotus fields and Shintaku reservoir in Shiroishi Town.
In lotus fields here and there, lotus root harvesting was underway. We looked for shorebirds in the fields where the surface of the water had opened up after harvesting. In some of the fields, we found freshwater shorebirds (Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, etc.).
Two Tundra Bean Geese were also found.
Many ducks were arriving at the reservoir.
Many herons (Great, Grey, Little, Medium) were also seen in the lotus fields and reservoir.
One Whiskered Tern was also seen in the water channel.
Raptors were seen like Black Kites as well as Western Osprey and Peregrine Falcon.
In the morning of the second day, we moved toward Isahaya Reclamation in Nagasaki Prefecture.
At Tara Town on the way, many seagulls (black-headed and black-tailed) were gathering on the Ariake Sea shore.
We also saw a small flock of Greater Scaup there.
Isahaya Bay was one of major mudflat areas where many migrating shorebirds visited, but it had now been dried up since the official shutdown of 7-km-long Sea Wall on 14 April 1997.
The Sea Wall cut off the water of Isahaya Inner Bay from the Ariake Sea.
Although the mudflat areas were lost, many birds are still inhabiting at the grassy plain and the fields.
Especially during the winter time, many birds of prey come to this vast farmland and reed fields. In mid-October, Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) regularly stop by on their way of migration.
This year, however, only a few raptors (Western Osprey, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Hen Harrier, and Common Kestrel) were seen probably due to the prolonged hot summer days.
In the waters enclosed by the Sea Wall offshore, there were ducks. Eurasian Teal were dominant, followed by Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Garganey, and one Baikal Teal.
Two Eurasian Spoonbills were also found.
On the third day, we gave up on Isahaya Reclamation, which was not very promising, and decided to look for migratory birds in the Nomozaki Peninsula.
The paddy fields we first visited were overgrown with grass, more than half of which had been abandoned due to the aging of the owners.
There we saw Amur Stonechat, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Meadow Bunting, and Bull-headed Shrike.
Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Dark-sided Flycatcher, and Asian Brown Flycatcher were also found in the surrounding trees.
Common Sandpipers, wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese), and Blue Rock Thrush were found in the stream.
In Kaba-shima Island, Daurian Redstart, Japanese Thrush, and Grey-streaked Flycatcher were seen on the road to the lighthouse.
We waited for the birds to come to bathe at the puddle, but they did not appear, so we walked along the road to the pond beside the beach.
On the way, the birders we met reported sightings of Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Narcissus Flycatcher, and Mandarin Duck, so we searched for these birds.
Narcissus Flycatcher was heard, and a Mandarin Duck was found hiding on the surface of the water in the bush, but no Japanese Wood-Pigeon was seen.
In the sky, we found many Black Kites. An Eastern Buzzard and a Grey-faced Buzzard were seen, too.
We made a brief observation at Mt. Gongen at the tip of the peninsula, but only saw Varied Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Warbling White-eye, and Grey-streaked Flycatcher, as it was in the noon hours.
The birds observed are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida javanicus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒシクイ, オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, バン, オオバン, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
セイタカシギ, タシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, コアオアシシギ,
アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, クロハラアジサシ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, サシバ, ノスリ,
カワセミ, キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, セッカ,
ムクドリ, コムクドリ, クロツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, サメビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
2-day Trip in the Southwest foot of Mt. Fuji (Shizuoka Prefecture)
富士山南西麓2日間(静岡)
Luckily, the weather of the days of our visit was rainless during the fall rainy season.
In the morning of the first day, we visited the Marubi Nature Park at an altitude of 500 to 600 meters. Around the parking lot near the central open space, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge and Chinese Hwamei were lively, and Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher was heard as well.
We walked along the path of cherry trees, with many dead trees, and occasionally took the side paths, where we could see a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Japanese Green Woodpecker.
We also saw an Eastern Buzzard flying overhead.
In the afternoon, we headed to the 5th station of Fujinomiya.
A large flock of more than 20 Grey-streaked Flycatchers was actively pecking at berries of trees at the entrance to the fifth station of Fujinomiya.
We walked through the forest at the 5th station of Fujinomiya, but alpine birds were inactive and we managed to see Spotted Nutcracker, Coal Tit, and Red-flanked Bluetail.
We then visited Mizugatsuka Park and Nishi-Usu-dzuka in the middle zone of the mountain, but due to the summer bird numbers being reduced by migration and the timing of our afternoon visit, birds were inactive here as well, and we saw only a few species and numbers of birds.
In the evening, we walked along the trail around Lake Tanuki, where our hotel is located. Little Grebes were calling actively in the lake, and a small flock of Eastern Spot-billed Duck was seen in the distance.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Japanese Wagtail were seen in the woods near the hotel.
Early in the morning of the second day, we circled the trail around Lake Tanuki.
At the lake, we saw Mallard, Great Cormorant and Common Coot as well as Little Grebe and Eastern Spot-billed Duck.
Wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese) were also seen on the shore.
In the surrounding trees, tits (Japanese, Varied), Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker formed a mixed flock.
Brambling, a winter bird, was also seen.
A Grey-faced Buzzard perched in a distant treetop.
Finally, we visited the Asagiri Highlands, which spread out at 700 to 1,000 meters altitude in the western foot of Mt Fuji.
There were large flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch flying around in the vast grasslands.
We also saw a few Meadow Buntings, Amur Stonechats, and Zitting Cisticolas.
A Green Pheasant appeared in front of us.
Eastern Buzzards and Asian House Martins were flying in the sky.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus)? Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis)?
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Grey Wagtail (Central Asian) (Motacilla cinerea melanope),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)?
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キジ, マガモ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, トビ, サシバ, ノスリ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, サンコウチョウ, モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コガラ? ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, セッカ, ゴジュウカラ? ガビチョウ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, エゾビタキ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, イカル? ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica)
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus)
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus)
& Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
This is my visit to this field after a six-month break.
Due to the flooding caused by a typhoon on August 30, the flow of the river had changed, and some of the riverbanks had been exposed to the strong rushing current, and the grassy ground had disappeared and gravel had spread out.
Perhaps due to this serious environmental change, the number of wagtails was few, and Meadow Bunting, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Long-billed Plover could not be observed.
Migrating Red-rumped Swallow, which can only be seen at this time of the year, were soaring over the grassy area, and Bull-headed Shrikes were loudly asserting their territories here and there.
Raptors were scarce, with a few Black Kites and a Common Kestrel.
Upstream of the weir, there were small flocks of wintering Eurasian Wigeon and Common Coot, as well as Little Grebes.
Egrets (Great, Little, Grey) and Great Cormorants were flocking around the weir.
Flocks of Bulbuls were moving westward.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
オオバン, イソシギ, トビ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
This year, the extreme heat and delayed autumn rainy season caused a series of days without hawk flights.
However, two days before our visit this site, hawks that had been waiting for migration at the Shirakaba Pass in Nagano Prefecture flew at once, and 5132 Grey-faced Buzzards, 283 Crested Honey Buzzards, 108 Eastern Buzzards, 99 Japanese Sparrowhawks were recorded.
I expected to see triple-digit numbers of birds at Gongen, but unfortunately, only a few each of Grey-faced Buzzard, Crested Honey Buzzard, Eastern Buzzard, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Eurasian Goshawk, and Common Kestrel were recorded.
However, Grey-streaked Flycatchers, which stopped by during their migration, were well observed.
Other species were Bull-headed Shrike, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), swifts (Pasific, House), swallows (Barn, Red-rumped, Asian House Martin), White-bellied Green-Pigeons, etc.
The birds obserbed are(* Observed by the other birders);
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi), House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera), Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), *Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
コジュケイ, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, エゾビタキ, *キビタキ
（*他の観察者による記録）
1-day Trip around Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山周辺1日間(山梨)
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas)
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus)
The weather changed from the midsummer heat of the previous week to the cooler and occasionally rainy weather due to a stagnant autumn rain front.
The first site we visited near Nakano-chaya at the northern foot of Mt. Fuji was cloudy, and drops of water fell from the trees in the forest, due to the rain that had fallen the night before.
We observed a Japanese Bush Warbler and a Japanese Woodpecker without appearing, a Narcissus Flycatcher that appeared briefly, and a Grey-faced Buzzard that appeared in the sky, but not many birds were seen as we had expected.
Then we headed for Okuniwa via the Subaru Line Road.
In the woods along Subaru Line Road, we eventually encountered a mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Varied, Willow, and Coal), Long-tailed Tits, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker among them.
As we gained altitude, we entered into the clouds, and when we were above 2,000 meters, we broke through the clouds and blue skies spread out above us.
It was a little chilly at the entrance to the Ochudo trail, but the sun was shining and it was comfortable.
A sea of clouds spread out below us, and Pacific Swifts and Red-rumped Swallows flew over it.
A Crested Honey Buzzard flew, too.
A Spotted Nutcracker perched in a nearby treetop.
At Okuniwa Lodge, Few birds came to the small pond there, only Coal Tit and Spotted Nutcracker during the observation. It was probably due to puddles of water caused by the previous night's rain.
We gave up observing at Okuniwa Lodge and walked along the trail that extended horizontally from the Okuniwa parking lot. Here we managed to see a Red-flanked Bluetail and a few Japanese Leaf Warblers, which we could not see at Okuniwa Lodge.
Next, we headed to the Sozono-no-Mori Camp Site at the foot of the mountain, where we had the strange experience of the temperature dropping from 16 degrees Celsius at the 5th station to 10 degrees Celsius at the foot of Mt. Fuji. We put on an extra jacket.
On the path near the parking lot, a Green Pheasant, which makes this his territory, was walking without fear of us.
There was no sign of birds in the pool where we usually watch birds coming to bathe.
Walking in the adjacent forest, we saw a Bull-headed Shrike declaring its territory on a tall tree by the side of the distant road.
We also saw and heard an Asian Brown Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Varied Tit, and Wood Nuthatch in the forest.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (kanoi) (Apus pacificus kanoi),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
キジ, キジバト, アマツバメ, ハチクマ, サシバ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス,
コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メボソムシクイ,
メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ルリビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat & Fukudomi Reclaimed Land (Saga)
東与賀干潟&福富干拓(佐賀)
Shorebirds gathered by embankment of Higashi-yoka
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
& Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major)
The Site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
This year, the unusually hot weather continued into September, and the three days we visited were sunny, so the heat was especially severe on the tidal flats and reclaimed land, where there was no shade.
The Higashiyoka-higata tidal flat is located at the deepest part of the Ariake Sea and is the sea area with the largest tidal range in Japan.
Especially during the three days we visited, the highest tide was 6.1 m due to the flood tide.
A few hours before the highest tide, we saw large and medium-sized shorebirds such as Common Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Far Eastern Curlew, Eurasian Curlew and Whimbrel foraging along the far distant surf.
Soon, as time passed, the surf became closer and closer, and as the flats narrowed, small-size shorebirds such as Dunlin, Red-necked Stint, and Grey Plover could also be observed.
On the second day, a large flock of Black-faced Spoonbills also arrived.
Almost an hour before the highest tide, the trails under the embankment were flooded and mudflats were disappeared. The shorebirds, which had been scattered over the vast mudflats, had no place to stay due to the disappearance of the mudflats and gathered in front of us, we observed the huge number of them closely while enduring the intense heat on the embankment.
Among them we found Siberian Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Great Knot, Red Knot, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper and Ruff, which are few in number around Tokyo.
Usually, we would watch shorebirds on the mudflats, which were spreading out again after the maximum high tide, but this time it was too hot and the birders started to leave one after another. We also decided to discontinue observation and moved on to the next observation site, the lotus fields in Fukudomi Reclaimed Land in Shiroishi town.
Most of the lotus fields were not yet harvested and were covered with lotus, and the surface of the water was wide open for shorebirds to forage at only a few fields, but there were many freshwater shorebirds and herons there.
The prominent species were Red-necked Stint, and Long-toed Stint, Little Stint, Little Ringed Plover, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, and Common Sandpiper were found among them. Many snipes (Latham's, Swinhoe's, Common) were also found.
In one of the lotsu fields, there was a large flock of Pacific Golden-Plover. A Ruff and Oriental Pratincoles also came to this field on the third day.
Three Oriental Storks and two Eurasian Spoonbills and a Black-faced Spoonbill were also seen.
There were many Barn Swallows and Sand Martins flying over the fields or perched on the electrical wires.
In Shintaku Reservoir, there were not many ducks but we found a flock of Garganey among them.
We drove around the Saga Airport area. Although flocks of Oriental Pratincole had stopped by the grasslands around Saga Airport on their migration previously, there was no sign of the birds due to extensive construction work of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force camp.
The birds observed are;
- at Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat(* Observed by the other birders):
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
*Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), *Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
*Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida javanicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Fukudomi Reclaimed Land:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Eurasian Spoonbill (major) (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens))
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, キジバト, コウノトリ, カワウ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ,
ムナグロ, ダイゼン, *ハジロコチドリ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ,
セイタカシギ, オオジシギ, チュウジシギ, タシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ,
ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, ツルシギ, *アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ,
タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン,
ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ, ツバメチドリ, *クロハラアジサシ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, カササギ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, オオヨシキリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
（*他の観察者による記録）
5-day Trip around Tokyo Area (Tokyo, Chiba, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama Prefectures)
東京近郊5日間(東京、千葉、茨城、神奈川、山梨、群馬、栃木、埼玉)
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis)
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis)
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis)
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
& Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
& Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
Garganey (Spatula querquedula)
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
At this time of year, the weather should be unstable due to the change of season from summer to fall, but this year continued to be sunny and extremely hot, with temperatures near 35°C (95°F).
On the first day, we visited Kasai-Rinkai Park (Kasai-Rinkai Koen) in Tokyo.
In the tidal flats on the Eastern Shore (Higashi-nagisa) in the distance, many gulls and egrets were resting.
One Far Eastern Curlew was found among them.
One Oriental Reed Warbler appeared in the reed beds of the freshwater pond.
In the forests, small flocks of Azure-winged Magpies were seen here and there actively moving.
We did not find any migrating flycatchers or leaf warblers, which we had expected.
Next we visited Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
With the tide turning toward low tide, a few tidal flats were beginning to appear, and a flock of Black-tailed Gulls landed on one of them with a few Slaty-backed Gulls among them.
On another tidal flat, Grey Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Great Knots, and Red-necked Stints began foraging.
Eurasian Oystercatchers also came and joined the gulls in foraging.
We heard that a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) had been found the day before, so we searched hard under the strong sunshine, but were unable to find it.
Instead, a few Kentish Plover were found on the shore.
Then we drove to Inashiki area in Ibaraki Prefecture.
In the reed field of Ukishima, Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri) and Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis), but could not see or hear them, perhaps because they were inactive after the breeding season.
A small flock of Eurasian Teal was resting in the small pond in the reed field, and among them we found a duck that looked like a Garganey.
In lotus fields, there were some fields with open water surfaces after the harvest were found.
In some of them, shorebirds (Little Ringed Plover,Black-winged Stilt, Common Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Temminck's Stint) were seen.
Many herons were also seen.
Several juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons were found resting on the shore at the channel.
On the second day, we visited Mt. Gongen in Kanagawa Prefecture.
By the beginning of September, the season of autumn hawk migration had started, and observations had begun at many sites all over Japan.
This site is one of them and is located at the midpoint between Sagami Bay and the Tanzawa Mountains. At this site, as well, observations have continued everyday since 02 September, other than rainy days.
In the wide Kanto Plain, there are several hawk migratory routes, and the number of migrating hawks varies greatly depending on the wind direction and other factors.
Unfortunately, the day we visited the site, it seemed that this was not on the route of the day.
Early in the morning, an Eastern Buzzard was spotted near the parking lot, and four Japanese Sparrowhawks flew over the Obsevation Tower, which seemed like a good start, but then there were no more flights.
In the distance, we saw hawks flying over the Tanzawa ridge, probably Black Kites and Eastern Buzzards.
Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, and a flock of House Swift flew over the Observation Tower several times.
Three Blue Rock Thrush occasionally perched on a cell phone antenna nearby.
White-bellied Green Pigeons returned to the mountains after drinking seawater on the beach were seen several times in the distance.
We searched for migratory birds in the forest.
We found a mixed flock of Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Warbling White-eye and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, and Brown-eared Bulbuls.
A beautiful Narcissus Flycatcher was also found.
A call sounded like a Japanese Green Woodpecker was heard, but not seen.
Oriental Cuckoo appeared near the Observation Tower but soon hid.
Then they headed for the Sagami River through a tunnel that opened the day before, which was blocked temporarily by a landslide caused by the typhoon at the end of August.
We looked for Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) in the nearby rice paddies, but could not find it.
A Common Kestrel was flying above the river.
We also looked for Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus) on the gravel riverbank, but could not find it because the river had changed its flow due to the typhoon. We looked for Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis) in a row of cherry trees, but could not find.
On the third day, we headed for Mt. Fuji.
At the foot of Mt. Fuji, the temperature was below 20℃, and it was comfortable to escape from Tokyo's heat. At the Sozono-no-Mori Camp Site, where we first visited, we found only Varied Tit and Willow Tit in the puddle, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker in the surrounding forest, so we headed for Okuniwa via the Subaru Line Road.
Japanese Leaf Warbler were heard from the woods alongside the road above 1500m, and Japanese Grosbeak were also seen.
On the trail from the parking lot to the Ochudo trail, we heard the calls of an hawk. A Crested Honey Buzzard was soaring above us. Another Crested Honey Buzzard perched in a tree on the Ochido trail.
A Dark-sided Flycatcher also perched in a treetop at a distance.
These birds were probably on their migration.
A bird looked like Japanese Accentor appeared for a moment, then quickly disappeared into the Dwarf Siberian pine.
After that, we visited Okuniwa Lodge.
Grey-bellied Bullfinch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, and Japanese Leaf Warbler came to bathe in the pond there.
We waited for Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) to appear, but suddenly it started raining hard, so we had no choice but to go down the mountain.
On the fourth day, we headed north and first visited the farming area of Itakura in Gunma Prefecture.
On a path beside a farm canal, a family of Green Pheasants were feeding on the rice that had grown on the field.
There were many egrets/herons (Great White and Medium) in the rice paddies.
Driving slowly along the farm path, we searched on the rice field banks and found some snipes. They were Latham's Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe and Common Snipe.
We also looked for Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), but could not find it this time.
At the irrigation pond, we saw Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and egrets, but no Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis).
In Watarase Retarding Basin, which we visited next, we looked for Marsh Grassbird, which inhabits only a few places in Japan, including Ukishima where we visited on the first day, but unfortunately neither its voice nor its appearance could be found.
Although small, a Black-browed Reed Warbler's song could be heard.
We visited the forest along the Watarase River where a flock of Waxwings had been found in early spring, and found that the forest at the riverside had been cut completely clear. We did not see any of the birds we had expected.
We looked for White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio), but could not find it this time.
The last stop of the day was the farm fields in the Omoigawa area of Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
There are paddy fields which are flooded with water as artificial fresh-water tidal flats to gather waterfowl.
This activity was started from 2015. After cutting the crops, the fields were filled with water.
This measure not only prevents the repeated cultivation disorder of the wheat and eliminates weeds,
but also increases creatures such as dragonfly and gengoro-crucians, and provides birds good feeding sites.
In one watered fallow field, there were several Little Ringed Plovers and Red-necked Stints, as well as Temminck's Stints. One that looked like Little Stint was also found.
We also checked the field where I had seen various shorebirds in August, but the water was dried up and there were no birds to be seen.
We went around the farmland looking for fallow fields with water.
While we were watching Little Ringed Plovers in a watered fallow field, a local birder came there. He was surveying shorebirds in the area and showed us two locations. At one of the locations, we found a Common Greenshank and a Ruff.
The fifth day was also sunny from the morning and the temperature rose steadily.
We visited Akigase Park in Saitama Prefecture in expectation of migratory birds.
At the Sakura Park neighboring Akigase Park, where we first visited, the cherry trees had almost no leaves on them, probably because they had been eaten up by caterpillars.
There were no cuckoos or flycatchers.
Chinese Hwamei could be seen well.
Next, we visited the “ Kodomo-no-mori” (Children's Forest) in Akigase Park.
As we entered the forest, we were attacked by numerous mosquitoes and forced to leave soon after, as it was no longer a good condition for birding.
In the farmland adjacent to the park, we saw Meadow Bunting, Zitting Cisticola, White-cheeked Starling, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey-capped Greenfinch, etc., and Common Snipe in the farm canal.
In Akigase Park's “ Picnic-no-mori” (Forest for Picnic), there were not as many mosquitoes as we had feared, but we saw only Japanese Tits and Warbling White-eyes.
Then we moved to Isa Marsh (Isa-numa).
The water level was high but there were mudflats around the walking bridge.
Many Black-winged Stilt were resting in the shallows.
One Garganey was found among a small flock of Eurasian Teal.
Many Little Ringed Plovers and Red-necked Stints were seen on the mudflats, as well as a Common Greenshank, two Long-toed Stints, and a Dunlin. Many herons were also seen.
Around the marsh, a Bull-headed Shrike was making loud territorial calls.
The original plan was to go to Mizumoto Park in Tokyo, but it was too hot and we could not expect any results, so we headed to Kasai Rinkai Park in hopes to see shorebirds.
However, when we arrived at the park, the tide was already high and the tidal flat was already disappeared, so we rushed to Yatsu Tidal Flat (Yatsu Higata) in Chiba Prefecture.
This tidal flat is connected to the sea by two narrow channels, so the tide is delayed for about 2 hours, so we hoped that there were still some tidal flats left.
When we arrived, there were a small patch of tidal flat left, but there were only flocks of Great Cormorant and Red-necked Stints.
According to the staff at the visitor center, most of the shorebirds were gone when a Western Osprey flew in.
The birds observed are;
- At Kasai-Rinkai Park;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Sanbanze Seaside Park;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Grey Plover (tomkovichi) (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Around Inashiki area;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At Mt. Gongen;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- At Sagami River;
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus)
- Around Mt. Fuji;
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Pacific Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- In Itakura area;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Watarase Retarding Basin;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- In Omoigawa area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Akigase Park;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Isa-numa Marsh;
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At Yatsu Tidal Flat;
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Western Osprey/Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus)
キジ, カルガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ,
ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン,
ツツドリ, ヒメアマツバメ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ,
オオジシギ, チュウジシギ, タシギ, オオソリハシシギ, ホウロクシギ, アカアシシギ,
コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ,
トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ,
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, ノスリ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, カケス, オナガ, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
キクイタダキ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メボソムシクイ, メジロ, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, セッカ,
ムクドリ, ガビチョウ, イソヒヨドリ, サメビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus)
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis)
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica)
By the beginning of September, the season of autumn hawk migration had started, and observations had begun at many sites all over Japan.
At this site, as well, observations have continued everyday since 02 September, other than rainy days.
After the typhoon that caused extensive disasters throughout Japan at the end of August, we had a few cooler days, but the hot days came back again.
However, autumn-like cirrus clouds were seen in the sky, and we could see Mt. Fuji and Sagami Bay well in spite of a little haze, and the occasional southeast breeze was comfortable.
On the walk way to the observation tower, I saw a mixed flock of Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Varied Tit, Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit, and Warbling White-eyes.
Nearby, a juvenile Blue-and-white Flycatcher was also found.
A Chinese Bamboo-Partridge was also calling.
Near the observation tower, two Oriental Cuckoos, including one with a reddish color, were found in the cherry trees.
We waited for the hawks to fly over the Observation tower. Various kinds of hawks flew over us, although there were not many of each.
House Swift, Barn Swallow, and Red-rumped Swallow also flew close by.
We also saw a White-bellied Green-Pigeon that came back from the Oiso Beach to drink sea water.
An Asian Brown Flycatcher on its migration was also seen.
The birds obserbed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
House Swift (subfurcatus) (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow/Lesser Striated Swallow (japonica) (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
コジュケイ, アオバト, ツツドリ, ヒメアマツバメ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ,
コゲラ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, エナガ, メジロ, ガビチョウ, コサメビタキ, オオルリ
Ferry route between Tokyo Bay and Hachijo Island, Tokyo
八丈島航路(東京)
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)
It is about 10 hours by Tokai Ferry from Takeshiba Pier, Tokyo.
Because of the recent abnormally hot and humid weather that makes birding outdoors difficult, although we did not expect to see many species of seabirds in summer, we hoped for a leisurely birding while enjoying the cool sea breeze on the ferry.
We originally planned to depart on August 30 and return on August 31, but a typhoon hit Japan, so we depended on September 1.
On the night of September 1, when we boarded the ship, we were showered with heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms, but on the following day, September 2, it rained for a short time, but we were able to birding with the cool sea breez without being affected by the rain.
In the waters of Mitake and Mikura Islands, we were surrounded by a huge number of Streaked Shearwaters, which breed in this area. It was beautiful to see them soaring in the background of rainbows on the ocean.
A few Bulwer's Petrel and Short-tailed Shearwater, and a Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua were also seen.
A dark morph Red-footed Booby was also found near Hachijo Island.
In Tokyo Bay, a small flock of Red-necked Phalarope and Black-tailed Gulls were seen in addition to Streaked Shearwaters.
The birds observed are;
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris/Puffinus tenuirostris),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Red-footed Booby (Indopacific) (Sula sula rubripes),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
オオミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アナドリ, アカアシカツオドリ, アカエリヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, トウゾクカモメ,
キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
Paddy fields in Omoigawa, Watarase Retarding Basin (Tochigi) & Itakura (Gunma)
思川のたんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(栃木)&板倉(群馬)
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae)
After the seventh typhoon of the year (AMPIL) made its closest approach to Tokyo on August 17, many shorebirds were reported to have been observed there, so we expected to see them.
When we arrived, the road beside the water-filled fallow rice field at the point was already occupied by cars with birders.
We passed by these parking cars looking for birds and found many Little Ringed Plovers, but no large shorebirds as we had seen in the previous visit.
As there was no place to park, we left this point and looked at the dry fallow field next to it, where we found a large flock of Pacific Golden-Plover ( more than 50 birds) foraging.
We looked for another spot in the southern area, but could not find any. We went back to the same spot and found fewer cars parked there, so we were able to get a good observation position.
In addition to the Little Ringed Plover, several Long-toed Stints were observed nearby.
As we drove through the wide rice paddy area, we looked for snipe on the banks and found two Latham's Snipes.
We also found a flock of about 30 Sand Martins resting on an electric wire. They usually pass through this area in mid-August.
Then, we passed through the Watarase Retarding Basin, looking for migrating cuckoos, but we didn't see any.
There were few other birds seen, but a few Marsh Grassbirds and Zitting Cisticola were singing in the reed beds.
Next we visited the paddy fields in Itakura.
The lotus flowers at the irrigation pond were past their peak and were in fewer numbers.
A few Common Moorhen, Common Coot and Eastern Spot-billed Duck were seen on the narrowed surface of the water.
Many Eurasian Skylarks flew off as we drove along the farm road in the farming area. Many herons were seen in the rice paddies.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, キジバト, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, バン, オオバン, ムナグロ, コチドリ,
オオジシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, ヒバリシギ, トビ, ノスリ, チョウゲンボウ, ハシボソガラス,
ヒバリ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオセッカ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Itakura (Gunma), Paddy fields in Omoigawa (Tochigi) & Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
板倉(群馬)&思川のたんぼ(栃木)&多々良沼(群馬)
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus)
& Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
& Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha)
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis)
& Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax)
We arrived near noon to avoid the traffic jams during the Obon holidays, but there were many cars and it took more time than usual to get there. It was also a very hot day, and the outside temperature exceeded 40°C on the way.
The rice in the paddies had grown tall and some of them had ears.
Many egrets (Medium, Great White, Grey Heron, Cattle) were found among them.
We looked for snipe on migration on the banks and farm roads, but found many skylarks and a few Grey-headed Lapwings, but no target. However, one Latham's Snipe did fly off from the edge of the rice paddy at our feet.
The irrigation pond was almost entirely covered with lotus and the flowers were in full bloom.
There were few birds, perhaps hiding in the grasses to avoid the extreme heat of the midday sun.
Next, we visited paddy fields in Omoigawa in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
There are fallow paddy fields which are flooded with water as artificial fresh-water tidal flats to gather waterfowl.
We looked for such fallow paddy fields, but there were few in the southern area, and no shorebirds were found even when we did find them.
There were several fallow paddy fields on the north side, and in one of them were a Black-winged Stilt, two Common Greenshanks, Ruffs, and Pacific Golden-Plovers. Ruffs were six and Pacific Golden-Plovers were eleven. There were three other small shorebirds, but they flew away and we were unable to identify them.
There were also many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks flocking in the next field over, but I could not guess why they were gathering there.
At Tatara Marsh, we waited Eurasian Tree Sparrow, egrets and Barn Swallow which communal roost in the reed fields.
As the sun hid in the mountains in the west, crows flew off toward their roosts somewhere.
The egrets were returning back to the shore of the marsh.
After a while, we found many swallows gathering in the reed beds in the west.
As we moved to that area, we saw many swallows gathering one after another, perching on the reeds or circling over the reed beds in large flocks.
Some of them flew so close to us that they were almost hitting us.
Surrounded by many swallows, Black-crowned Night Herons, who had lost their peaceful roosts, were also flying around together.
The flock of tens of thousands of swallows was spectacular.
The birds observed are;
- at Itakura;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at the paddy fields in Omoigawa area;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at Tatara Marsh;
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Kingfisher (japonica) (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
キジ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, オオバン,
ケリ, ムナグロ, セイタカシギ, オオジシギ, アオアシシギ, エリマキシギ, トビ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ツバメ, ウグイス, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat & Inashiki area (Chiba)
三番瀬&稲敷(千葉)
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)
& Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres)
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri)
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia)
This site is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
The shorebirds' fall migration had started, so we decided to go out in spite of the murderous summer heat.
It was a new moon and flood tide, and the tide was still high early in the morning when we arrived, so we had to wait a little while for the tidal flats to appear.
Grey-tailed Tattler, Great White Egret, and Black-tailed Gull were also waiting for the flats to appear on the stakes of the nets on the beach.
As soon as the tide lowered and the flats began to appear, they began to land and begin foraging.
Then a flock of about 40 Siberian Sand Plovers, a small flock of Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstone, and Red-necked Stint came too.
A flock about 30 Eurasian Oystercatchers also came.
Concerned about the hot temperatures, we left for Inashiki, our next stop.
We first visited the reed beds of Ukishima in Inashiki, hoping to see the Marsh Grassbird and Ochre-rumped Bunting that we wanted to see in this spot before the reed bed birds became inactive at noon.
As expected, several Marsh Grassbirds were performing their peculiar chirping flight.
Also, an Ochre-rumped Bunting was seen singing, though at a distance.
We looked for shorebirds in the lotus fields, but could not find any because the lotus fields were covered with lotus in full bloom. Instead, many herons were seen.
Only a few Little Ringed Plovers were found foraging with White-cheeked Starlings in an unplanted rice field.
A Grey-faced Buzzard flying in the sky and three juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons in the canal were also found.
The birds observed were;
- at Sanbanze Tidal Flat:
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Grey Plover (squatarola) (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Siberian Sand Plover (stegmanni) (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at Inasshiki area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
キジ, ドバト, キジバト, カワウ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, ミヤコドリ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ウミネコ,
サシバ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, セッカ, オオセッカ, ムクドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
Prefectural Ikaho Forest Park (Gunma)
伊香保森林公園(群馬)
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
When we left Oku-Nikko in the morning, the temperature was 14°C. But when we arrived at Shibukawa City at the foot of the mountain, it was an extremely hot 37°C. However, when we climbed the mountain and arrived at the site at an altitude of about 1,000 meters, the temperature dropped to a comfortable 24°C.
Furthermore, the area around the pond named "Shida" is cooled by the cool air flowing out of the wind holes created by the cracks in the mountains and rocks as the results of the land deformation.
This is an ideal place to visit in the mid summer.
When we visited at this time the previous year, there was a lot of water in the pond, but this time the water level was a little lower, which seemed good for observing the birds that visit the pond. According to a local birder who was there, the water had been drained a few days ago. We hoped that many birds would visit this pond to bathe, but unfortunately, only a few Japanese Thrushes, Narcissus Flycatcher, and Japanese Bush Warber appeared. Perhaps the birds were scared off by the fact that the pond had been drained a few days before, or perhaps it was because there were other puddles of water due to the evening shower the night before. I would like to try to visit here again.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
アオゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, クロツグミ, キビタキ, イカル
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光 (栃木)
Kirikomi Lake
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige)
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Oku-Nikko is not only a famous summer resort but also a famous birding field.
There are several birding spots such as Chuzenji Lake, Yunoko Lake, Senjyogahara Plateau, Odashirogahara Plateau and Karikomi & Kirikomi Lakes.
This time we headed first to Karikomi Lake.
When we arrived at the trail entrance leading to the lake, it suddenly began to rain. We waited for the rain lightened up for a while and started walking.
The birds were inactive due to the rain, but as we climbed into the subalpine zone, we heard Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese Leaf Warbler.
Japanese Robin were heard just before the descent to Lake Karikomi after passing over Kotoge pass. However, its song was distant and we could not confirm its appearance.
As we descended the steep slope, we encountered a mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Coal) and Goldcrest, many of which were juveniles.
When we arrived at Lake Karikomi, a Japanese Robin began singing nearby, and we were able to get a good look at it.
In the afternoon, we walked the trails on the north side of Senjogahara Marsh.
In the woods along the Sakasa River, a mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Coal, and Willow), Long-tailed Tit, and Eastern Crowned Warbler were busily flying among the trees.
Chestnut-cheeked Starling were also found.
In the grasslands, Amur Stonechats perched on small trees here and there.
A few Chestnut-eared Bunting were also seen.
On the trail, we encountered groups of lively hiking school children many times.
Early the next morning, we walked the trail on the southern side of the Senjogahara marshland. We enjoyed birding without being disturbed by any rain and lively groups of schoolchildren as we had been the day before.
A flock of juvenile Japanese Tits welcomed us at the entrance on the Akanuma side of the marsh.
A Mandarin Duck with its chick, which had just been born, was in a small waterway along the trail.
Masked Bunging, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Brown-headed Thrush and Amur Stonechat were seen on the trail along the Yukawa River.
Lesser Cuckoos and Common Cuckoos were singing in the distance.
We saw many juveniles this time.
The birds we observed (* at Katashina Village in Gunma)were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
*Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern)(Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, マガモ, カワウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, イワツバメ,
エナガ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, コムクドリ,
アカハラ, コマドリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, イカル, ホオアカ, アオジ, クロジ
2-day Trip in Mt. Fuji Area (Yamanashi,Shizuoka)
富士山 (山梨,静岡)
Mt. Fuji
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
This year's rainy season started about two weeks late, and instead of light rain falling every day, we had a series of sunny and extremely hot days followed by heavy rainy day, which was an odd situation. However, on the days of our visit, the normal rainy weather seemed to have returned.
Nevertheless, there was only a little bit of rain on the first day, which did not interfere with birding. On the second day, however, it managed to stay rain-free early in the morning, but after 10:00 a.m., it began to rain in earnest, making it difficult to continue birding.
On the first day, we first drove up the forest road on the northern face of Mt. Fuji to the 1800m elevation point, almost halfway of the mountain.
Near the entrance to the forest road, Meadow Bunting, Japanese Grosbeak, White-bellied Green-Pigeon and Eurasian Jay were seen and heard.
At a lower altitude, Japanese Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, and Great Spotted Woodpecker were seen, and Siberian Blue Robin was singing, though inactive.
At higher altitudes, Eurasian Wren and Japanese Leaf Warbler were heard, and at the highest point, Eurasian Bullfinch and Red-flanked Bluetail were seen. Northern Hawk-Cuckoo and Spotted Nutcracker were also seen.
We turned around and descended the same path, on the way we encountered a mixed flock consisting of Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Olive-backed Pipit and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
We also saw a pretty Narcissus Flycatcher.
Japanese Bush-Warblers were everywhere, and although we could hear them, it was difficult to see them.
Then we visited a small pool of water at a camp site.
In the small puddles, Japanese Tit, Coal Tit, Meadow Bunting, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Japanese Bush-Warbler and Japanese Trush appeared one after another.
A male Green Pheasant was also seen in the grassland.
Early in the morning of the second day, we visited Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
This is the Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday and sometime on Saturday.
Although it was a Friday when we visited, the site was specially open that day. Perhaps it was not well known that the site was open to the public on that day, there were no other birders or photographers on the site.
In the vast open meadows where no one was around, we saw many species of buntings (Chestnut-eared, Meadow, Masked), reed warblers (Oriental, Black-browed), cuckoos (Common, Lesser), Chestnut-cheeked Starling flocks, Amur Stonechat, Eurasian Skylark, Japanese Bush Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Bull-headed Shrike, etc.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, カワウ, キジバト, アオバト, ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, イワツバメ, ツバメ,
エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ,
メジロ, ミソサザイ, コムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキノビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ, ビンズイ,
カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Norikura Highland (Nagano Prefecture)& Mt. Norikura (Gifu Prefecture)
乗鞍高原(長野県) & 乗鞍岳(岐阜県)
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica)
Mt. Norikura-dake is a 3026 meter high, volcanic mountain along the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. Mt. Norikura-dake is the southernmost and third tallest peak of the Northern Japan Alps.
In summer, it is easy to climb thanks to buses running almost as far as the summit. One of Japan's highest roads leads to the Norikura Bus Terminal at 2700 meters above sea level, not too far from the peak.
Trusting the weather forecast, we left before dawn and arrived at the Norikura Highland early in the morning. As forecasted, blue skies spread out and the Norikura mountain range was seen beautifully and clearly.
When we got to the bus and arrived at the last stop, Tatamidaira, there was an unexpectedly strong wind that almost blew oury caps off several times.
First, I asked the park ranger about the status of the Rock Ptarmigans, and he told me that the chicks had already hatched and were now with their parents.
This time, we gave up climbing the peak of Daikoku-dake to avoid strong winds and instead walked along the road (Norikura Skyline) leading to Takayama on the west side, and then climbed up the trail of Daikoku-dake from the north side.
*The Norikura Skyline was closed to traffic due to ongoing restoration work on damaged sections that had collapsed due to heavy rains.
If there was no wind, we would have been able to observe Japanese Accentors singing on the Dwarf Siberian pines along the Norikura Skyline road and Alpine Accentors flying over the rocks on the slope, but strong winds kept them out of sight.
However, it seemed that the Spotted Nutcracker was not bothered by the strong winds and came very close to us.
The trail at Daikoku-dake was so exposed to the wind that it was difficult to walk straight.
There were two birders watching the slope, and in their line of sight, a male Rock Ptarmigan was lying still on the ground, like a stone.
It was hard to keep watching him in the strong wind, but after a while a female also appeared.
Having been lucky enough to see a pair of Rock Ptarmigan, we left the trail in the strong wind and returned to the Norikura Skyline to continue birding in a less windy area.
We saw a male Rock Ptarmigan again, and Spotted Nutcracker, Japanese Accentor, Red-flanked Bluetail, Japanese Bush Warbler and Alpine Accentor also appeared.
Japanese Leaf Warbler chirped well, but did not come out of the Dwarf Siberian pines.
The birds observed are;
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ライチョウ, マガモ, ノスリ, キジバト, カッコウ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, ルリビタキ, オオルリ, イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ
5-day Trip around Tokyo Area (Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, Ibaraki, Chiba, Kanagawa, Yamanashi Prefectures)
東京近郊5日間(群馬、栃木、茨城、埼玉、神奈川、山梨)
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas)
On the first day we headed towards Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
It was raining unfortunately, but the rain was not so heavy in the morning and there was not an obstacle to birding.
At first we drove around the farming areas of Itakura town.
Black-crowned Night Heron, herons/egrets (Medium, Eastern Cattle, Grey and Great), Grey-headed Lapwing, Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor), Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark and were foraging in the rice fields where the cultivated soil had been exposed before rice planting.
Yellow Bittern, Common Moorhen and Common Coot were seen in the irrigation reservoir.
The Watarase Retarding Basin was covered with lush green reed beds.
Reed warblers (Oriental, Black-browed), Meadow Buntings, Zitting Cisticola were singing loudly in the reed fiels.
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) also showed us its unique flying display as well.
We saw many Green Pheasants along the roadside through the reed fields.
We saw a Little Tern flying above Shinkawa River, too.
Common Cuckoo was also singing well.
On the artificial nest tower, there were four Oriental Storks. Two or three of them should be the chicks born this year.
We tried to see Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica) at Suzume Shrine nearby, however we could not find it this time.
However we could watch three Long-eared Owls in the Watarase Retarding Basin.
On the second day, we visited the riverbanks and rice fields spread in the river island of Tone River in the Kamisu area of Ibaraki Prefecture.
We looked for raptors, wagtails and reed warblers. We found many Black Kites, Oriental Reed Warblers and Carrion Crows but no wagtails.
Then we moved to the reed fields with some small swamps along Tone River.
We saw many Zitting Cisticolas and Oriental Reed Warblers, and three Eastern Marsh-Harriers, however we could see only one Japanese Reed Bunting, and a few Meadow Buntings and Marsh Grassbirds this time.
A few egrets were seen in the swamps.
The next site was Lake Inba-Numa (Inba-Numa) in Chiba Prefecture.
As usual, 'Kanta-kun', the Great White Pelican, welcomed us.
Ducks that had flocked on the lake during the winter had disappeared, leaving only a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and one Mandarin Duck, who seemed to be in some kind of physical condition.
Instead, summer birds; such as many Yellow Bitterns and Oriental Reed Warblers in the reed beds, and Whiskered Terns, a Little Tern, above the lake, and a Common Cuckoo at the distance could be seen and heard.
The last stop of the day was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture. The migration season had already passed and shorebirds were not to be seen anywhere.
The embankment where many Eurasian Oystercatchers and gulls usually rest was undergoing major construction and they were missing. They were found retreating a short distance away.
One Greater Scaup was resting on the shore, probably too sick to go to the breeding site.
On the third day, we visited the highland forest at Yanagisawa-Pass in Yamanashi Prefecture and the ruins of Hachioji Castle in Hachioji City, Tokyo.
Yanagisawa Pass is famous as a site where Japanese Robin, Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi) and Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica (Geokichla sibirica davisoni) can be seen in early summer.
The day we visited might be a little late in the peak season, so we did not hear any of these birds singing.
At the entrance to the forest road, Eastern Crowned Warbler and Japanese Grosbeak were singing, and we also heard drumming that seemed like Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Also, a Crested Honey Buzzard flew by with one call in the sky above.
Eurasian Wren and Narcissus Flycatcher were singing well along the road, and we were able to see them.
The Japanese Robin was only visible for a moment.
Tits seen were Japanese and Willow.
We saw a family of Wood Nuthatch.
On the way to Hachioji, we looked for Copper Pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii) but did not find any.
Next site, Hachioji Castle was a yamashiro, or mountain-castle, which is located near Mt. Takao in Hachioji, Tokyo.
Here the Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers that breed here every year were seen.
They were just incubating. The female and male were holding the eggs, taking turns.
The fourth day was rained heavily.
According to the weather forecast of the previous day, it was supposed to be cloudy in the morning, but it started raining early in the morning, sometimes heavily, and the conditions became severe for birding.
We first visited the mouth of the Sakawa River where a Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica affinis) was seen the day before, but only a few Little Terns were confirmed.
In the rain, we searched for Long-billed Plover. It was not easy to find one, but we managed to see one.
A Striated Heron flew in front of us for a moment.
Then we moved to Terugasaki Beach in Oiso Town.
In summer (May to October), a lot of White-bellied Green-Pigeons gather at this beach.
They inhabit in the Tanzawa Mountains, north of this beach.
They come to this beach to drink sea water.
I was wondering if they would come in the rain, but a flock of about 60 came while we were observing.
A few Streaked Shearwaters were soaring over the ocean in the distance.
We also saw Black-tailed Gulls and Great Cormorants resting on buoys.
When we arrived at Kodomo Nature Park, it was raining hard.
We looked for Chinese Bamboo-Partridge and Japanese Green Woodpecker, however we only hear some calls of Chinese Bamboo-Partridge.
The Japanese Bush-Warbler and Chinese Hwamei were alive even in the rain.
Since the rain was not going to stop, we had no choice but to leave the site.
On the fifth day, the weather was fine, a dramatic change from the previous day. Mt. Fuji, which we were heading for, was clearly visible against the blue sky.
We visited several sites at the north-east face of the mountain.
The first site was Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
This is the Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday and sometime on Saturday.
When we arrived at, we heard and saw a Chestnut-eared Bunting singing at the top of a tree.
Then we heard a Latham's Snipe's loud call. Upon searching, we found a snipe flying high in the sky, and then we also saw two snipes flying together competitively.
We also saw several snipes perching on dead trees in the grassland.
A flock of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were also flying around us.
We found many birds in the vast grassland, such as, Eurasian Skylark, Common Cuckoo, Lessor Cuckoo, Amur Stonechat, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Meadow Bunting, Masked Bunting and Black-browed Reed Warbler, actively singing.
The next stop, "Naka-no-chaya," there were some photographers waiting for birds to come to a small puddle.
Beside them, a Siberian Blue Robin was chirping in the bushes.
We walked in the forest and heard and saw tits (Willow, Japanese), long-tailed tit, Wood Nuthatch, Common Cuckoo, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Warbling White-eye, Narcissus Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Masked Bunting.
Two Eastern Buzzards also flew over the forest leisurely.
We also found a feather of a Crested Honey Buzzard.
Around the pond of Okuniwa-so Lodge near the fifth station, many photographers were waiting for birds. However, there were not many birds coming to the pond, probably because there were other puddles caused by the rain that fell the day before.
We saw Coal Tit, Japanese Leaf Warbler and Red-flanked Bluetail there.
We walked on the flat trail near the car park looking for birds.
There we managed to see Goldcrest as well.
The birds observed are;
- Around Watarase Retarding Basin;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At Middle-reaches of Tone River;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- At Kita-inba Marsh;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At Sanbanze Tidal Flat;
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail
- At Yanagisawa Pass;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At Hachioji Castle Ruins;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
- At mouth of Sakawa River;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Striated Heron (amurensis) (Butorides striata amurensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Terugasaki Beach;
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At Kodomo Nature Park;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
- Around Mt. Fuji;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オシドリ, カルガモ, スズガモ, カワアイサ, オオミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ,
ヨシゴイ, ササゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
モモイロペリカン, カワウ, ハチクマ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン, ミヤコドリ,
ケリ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, オオジシギ, ウミネコ, コアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ,
ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, トラフズク, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
サンコウチョウ, カケス, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ,
ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ,
メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
キバシリ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ,
ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, コジュリン
1-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus)
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas)
The start of the rainy season was later than usual, and fortunately on the day of our visit, there was a drizzle at the foot of Mt. Fuji in the morning, but at the midpoint of Mt. Fuji, we had breakthrough cloud cover and it was beautifully sunny.
At Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo) where we visited at first, The facility is a Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday. Although the field was covered with low clouds and occasional drizzle, there were many birds in the vast grassland, such as, Eurasian Skylark, Common Cuckoo, Lessor Cuckoo, Amur Stonechat, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Meadow Bunting, Masked Bunting and Black-browed Reed Warbler, actively singing.
A Latham's Snipe also showed us its flight display; circling with its loud call and swooping down with a thunderous feather sound.
Until about 20 years ago, there were several sites near Tokyo where Latham's Snipe visited as a summer bird, but now this is one of the few sites left. Even here, their numbers have been decreasing and it becomes harder to see them.
We saw Bull-headed Shrike, too.
In the small forest, in the grassland, we searched for nests of Chestnut-cheeked Starling but we could not find any.
Instead, we saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
In a part of the deep forest surrounding the grassland, we observed Japanese Tit, Coal Tit, and Narcissus Flycatcher.
On the Subaru Line, which heads to Okuniwa at the fifth station of Mt. Fuji, the road was shrouded in thick fog at the foot of the mountain, but suddenly the fog disappeared as we gained altitude, and blue skies spread out above us.
We broke through the clouds. A sea of clouds was spreading out below us.
It was sunny, so we did not feel the cold that we were afraid of.
We descended the steep slope to Okuniwa-so Lodge, listening to Japanese Leaf Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, and Eurasian Bullfinch.
We walked along the trails around the lodge, hearing singing but not seeing any birds.
However, two Spotted Nutcrackers were foraging on the trail and could be seen closely.
A group of nearly 450 school children came to the lodge, making birding a bit difficult.
At the small pond in front of the lodge, Eurasian Bullfinch, Red-flanked Bluetail, Japanese Leaf Warbler, and Coal Tit came to bathe.
We walked on the flat trail near the car park looking for Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis). A photographer who came after us was able to see it, but unfortunately we missed it.
Next, we descended the Subaru Line Road and stopped at Sozo-no-mori Camp Site.
We heard loud Green Pheasant calls nearby in the car park. We looked for them and found it standing proudly on a stump in the grassy area next to the park. He also showed us the drumming that beats the wings.
At the pool with a little water, there were some photographers waiting for birds coming to bathe. According to a photographer, he saw a Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), however during our observation, only Japanese Tits appeared.
In the forest, we could see and hear Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Siberian Blue Robin and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The birds observed are;
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)?
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Okuniwa (5th station of Mt. Fuji):
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- at Sozo-no-mori Camp Site:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
キジ, カワウ, ノスリ, キジバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, アカゲラ, モズ, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, コムクドリ,
コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Asahidake Onsen & around Ropeway station of Mt. Asahidake, Kitoushi Forest Park (Higashikawa, Hokkaido)
旭岳温泉, 旭岳・ロープウェイ駅周辺, キトウシ森林公園 (東川町,北海道)
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus)
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi)
Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis)
This national park is the largest national park in Hokkaido. It preserves a mountainous area of virtually unspoiled wilderness.
Asahidake-Onsen is a small hot spring resort at the foot of Mt. Asahidake (the highest mountain in Hokkaido, 2290 meters) and there is a ropeway station to Mt. Asahidake.
There are a few trails in the forests which are good for birding.
There is a short circular trail from the ropeway's upper stationand via a small pond named Sugatami.
On the trail around the camp site and the cross-country snow course in Asahidake Onsen, we made good birding in the morning.
We saw a few Brown-headed Thrushes, an Oriental Cuckoo, an and a Siberian Blue Robin singing at the top of tree.
Also we encountered a Black Woodpecker.
Other birds we heard and saw there were, Japanese Robin, Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Red-flanked Bluetail, Eurasian Jay, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Japanese Bush Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Grey Bunting and Masked Bunting.
We waited for Pine Grosbeak to appear in Siberian dwarf pine bush near ropeway's upper station.
Japanese Accentors appeared several times, but Pine Grosbeaks did not appear soon. After about an hour, a pair finally appeared on the pines.
Other species observed were Siberian Rubythroat, Olive-backed Pipit, Amur Stonechat, and Grey Wagtail.
We also visited Kitoushi Forest Park.
There were Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), tits (Japanese, Varied, Marsh), Narcissus Flycatcher, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Brown-eared Bulbul, Great Spotted Woodpecker, etc.
The birds we observed are;
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
ミサゴ, キジバト, ツツドリ, エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ハシブトガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ,
ムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, ノゴマ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, カヤクグリ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, ギンザンマシコ, ウソ, アオジ, クロジ
Sarobetsu Plain (Toyotomi-cho, Hokkaido)
サロベツ原野(豊富町,北海道)
Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata)
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis)
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus)
This is the northernmost national park in Japan which is comprised of three areas; isolated peak Rishiri Island on the ocean, Rebun Island with endemic plants, and the magnificent Sarobetsu wetland extending at the mouth of Sarobetsu River.
There are several birding spots in this plain; the area around Sarobets Visitor Center, the area around Horonobe Visitor Center, and Kabutonuma Park.
Around the Sarobets Visitor Center and Horonobe Visitor Center constructed on the high moor, we observe birds which habitat the glasslans, especially we were lucky enough to see an Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola ornata).
Yellow-breasted Bunting was a very popular bird in Hokkaido before.
However it declined rapidly in popuation and is now facing the danger of extinction.
It inhabits only in Sarobetsu Plain now due to trapping in its non-breeding range.
In the early morning, we saw a Lanceolated Warbler and a few Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler coming up and sang on small trees in the bush, which are very difficult to see since they are very shy and always hide in the bush.
We also enjoyed the dynamic air battle of Latham's Snipes performed over the plain.
In the forests in the plain like Kabutonuma Park, we can observe the forest birds and waterfols inhabitat in this area.
We saw a White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) in the forest, many Pacific Swift flying above the lake, a pair of Great Crested Grebe in the lake.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae)? Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオジシギ, ウミネコ,
キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, キタアマツバメ, アリスイ, エゾオオアカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ウグイス, マキノセンニュウ, シマセンニュウ, エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ,
エゾムシクイ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, ノゴマ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ,
ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオアカ, シマアオジ, アオジ
Haboro Port & Teuri Island (Hokkaido)
羽幌港＆天売島(北海道)
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo)
& Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis)
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)
*redish morph
Teuri Island is located in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Haboro Town in Hokkaido. This remote island is one of the world's most prominent seabird breeding grounds.
Eight species, Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Common Murre ((Uria aalge), Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo), Rhinocerous Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), and Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus) are breeding in this island.
On the drive-way from Asahikawa Airport to Haboro Town, we searched for Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo), but we didi not see this time.
At Hoboro Port, there was an Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat in a grass field.
On the galvanized-iron roof of a house, a few Slaty-backed Gulls were nesting and laying eggs.
On the ferry between Haboro Port, Yagishiri Island and Teuri Island, we saw many Rhinoceros Auklets and some Spectacled Guillemots.
In Teuri Island, it was fine and calm during our stay for three days.
We walked on the forest paths at the center of the island.
There were many Siberian Rubythroats, Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, Grey-capped Greenfinchs and Pacific Swifts, here and there.
I thought that the number of these species of birds may be the largest among the birding sites in Hokkaido.
We also visited the cape at sunset, where hundreds of thousands of Rhinoceros Auklets nest, and had a spectacular experience watching the vast number of auklets rushing toward their holes of nests with small fishes in their beaks to feed their chicks.
We observed many other species of birds, too.
There were also unexpected encounters, such as a flock of about 40 Red Crossbills that might be on their way on migration, and a rare reddish morph Oriental Cuckoo.
Other birders who went around the coast by boat in the morning said that they also observed sea Common Murres and Spectacled Guillemots well.
The birds observed (* by other birders) are;
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
*Common Murre (North Pacific)/Common Guillemot (Uria aalge inornata),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus, including one redish morph),
*Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii)?
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
シロエリオオハム, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
*ウミガラス, ケイマフリ, ウトウ, キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ(1羽は赤色型), *トラフズク,
キタアマツバメ, アリスイ, エゾアカゲラ, モズ, ミヤマカケス? ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, シマエナガ, ヒバリ, ウグイス, エゾセンニュウ,
エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, コムクドリ, クロツグミ, ノゴマ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, イスカ, ウソ, シメ, アオジ
4-day Trip in Doto and Okhotsk areas (Hokkaido)
道東＆オホーツク・エリア(北海道)
It was very cool when I stepped off the plane at Kushiro Airport, about 10 degrees Celsius lower than in the Tokyo area.
The weather around Tokyo was rough due to Typhoon No. 1, which passed over the Pacific Ocean to the east, but Hokkaido was less affected and had almost no rainfall.
On the forest road near Lake Hichirippu, the first stop, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and Eastern Crowned Warbler were singing in the fresh green trees.
Cuckoos, Northern Hawk-Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo and Oriental Cuckoo, which appear to had just arrived, were also seen and heard.
Pacific Swift (Northern) was flying overhead too.
At Kiritappu Marsh, there were many Black-tailed Gulls on the shore.
Although there were many Amur Stonechats in the marshland, no grasshopper-warblers could be observed, probably because it was around noon when we visited.
We heard Latham's Snipe flying in the sky. It showed us its flight display; circling with its loud call and swooping down with a thunderous feather sound.
Red-crowned cranes could be seen here and there along the road.
We visited Nosappu Cape in the late afternoon.
We looked for Red-faced Cormorant on the coastal cliffs, but there were none.
Observing the sea from the hide, Spectacled Guillemot, Ancient Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Japanese Cormorant and Pelagic Cormorant were flying in the distance.
One White-tailed Eagle also flew close by.
In the evening, two Red-crowned Cranes were seen close by from the cottage on the shore of Furen Lake.
A flock of Eurasian Wigeon was also seen.
In the next morning, we took an early morning walk through Shunkunitai Park.
We saw and heard many species such as Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), tits (Japanese, Coal, Marsh), Oriental Turtle-Dove, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Asian Wood Nuthatch, Chestnut-cheeked Starling and Grey-capped Greenfinch.
Then, we walked on the wooden paths of Furen Lake.
Many Eurasian Skylarks were seen in the meadow on the sandy beach between the lake and the sea.
Two Red-crowned Crane and shorebirds (Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel) were seen on the mudflats.
A Black Woodpecker was heard from the far distance of the dead woodland, but did not come close.
Japanese Bush-Warbler chirped cheerfully in the bush.
White-bellied Green-Pigeons were also seen flying several times.
Later in the morning, we drove through the forest roads at Onne Marsh.
Brown bears had been seen here some time ago and I was afraid of encountering one, but fortunately we only encountered its poop on the road.
Many species of birds such as; leaf warblers (Sakhalin, Eastern Crowned), Eurasian Wren, thrushes (Brown-headed, White's Thrush), Japanese Robin, Red-flanked Bluetail, Chestnut -cheeked Starling, Masked Bunting, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, cuckoo (Common, Oriental), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus), Eurasian Jay ( Brandt's), ducks (Mandarin, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Black Scoter), Common Merganser/Goosander and many others were observed at this field.
On the way to Rausu after leaving Nemuro, we stopped at Odaito and Notsuke Penisula.
Ducks such as Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Black Scoter and Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser/Goosander and Japanese Cormorant were resting in the cove at Odaito.
A Black-browed Reed Warbler was singing vigorously on a reed.
Along the roadside, hite-tailed Eagle, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Amur Stonechat and Narcissus Flycatcher were seen and heard.
In the grassland of Notsuke Penisula, Eurasian Skylark, Amur Stonechat, White Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Common Reed Bunting were found.
And there were Latham's Snipes on utility poles; White-tailed Eagles on the embankments; Red-crowned Crane, Lesser Sand-Plover, Common Redshank and Red-necked Stint on the mudflats; Grey Heron, Black Scoter, Japanese Cormorant, Black-tailed Gull and Slaty-backed Gull in the sea.
A Garganey was found in flocks of Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Greater Scaup on the pond in front of the hide.
A Red-necked Phalarope was on a small middle island of the pond and appeared to be holding eggs.
In the evening, we arrived at "Wasi-no-yado" in Rausu.
Friendly Brown Dippers greeted us in the stream in front of the lodge.
We finished an early dinner while it was still light and waited for Blakiston's Fish-Owl to come to the fishpond set up in the stream.
Two owls arrived shortly after dark. After swallowing a couple of fish, they took another fish and flew away. They would deliver the fishes to the chicks.
The next morning, we left the lodge early in the morning and headed for the Shoritoko Pass.
Asian House Martins were flying over the river flowing into Rausu Port.
The road through the Shoretoko Pass is the road that is open for the shortest period in Japan and is closed to heavy snowfalls during the long winter months. The road was closed at night until two days before we passed through, but this restriction was removed the day before and the road was now open all day.
Along the sulphur-scented river at the foot of the mountain, a small orange bird could be seen perched on a dead treetop in the distance. It seemed to be a Japanese Robin, although I could not confirm well because it had flown away immediately.
A Blue-and-white Flycatcher was also singing in the trees nearby the road.
Higher up the road, Oriental Cuckoo, Narcissus Flycatcher and Eurasian Bullfinch were seen and heard.
We waited for a while for Pine Grosbeak to appear on Creeping Pine at Shiretoko Pass, but unfortunately it did not appear. The conditions were good, with clear blue skies and brisk winds, but it was still a little early in the season.
As we descended the pass and moved towards the Sea of Okhotsk, the town of Utoro was shrouded in thick fog.
Seagulls were nesting on large rocks on the coast.
We stopped by Shari Port, a gull-watching haven in winter, but it was not like its peak and there were only a few Slaty-backed Gulls present.
In the grassland along the road near Lake Tofutsu, many Amur Stonechat, as well as Bull-headed Shrike, Siberian Rubythroat, Chestnut-eared Bunting and dark red Long-tailed Rosefinch were found.
On the boardwalk, there were few birds, probably because it was nearly noon, and a few Common Reed Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Masked Buntings were seen.
Here, too, Latham's Snipe was flying overhead.
On the lake and mudflats, ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail), Grey Heron and Little Ringed Plover were seen.
On the Yobito boardwalk on the shores of Lake Abashiri, there were many dead trees in the forest, with many holes in their trunks.
White-cheeked Starlings were entering and exiting through these holes. They were using these woodpecker holes as nests.
We looked for the woodpeckers that had made these holes, but did not see any at the beginning of the walk, but after 3am the birds became more active.
Mandarin Duck, Asian Stubtail, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Brown-eared Bulbul, Masked Bunting, Eurasian Tree-Creeper, Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Bush-Warbler, etc., followed by Black Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) were seen and heard. Especially Black Woodpeckers were observed foraging in very close distance.
Early the next morning, we visited Wakka Primeval Flower Garden.
A Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler was heard calling loudly from the meadow by the nearby the garden.
In the Primeval Flower Garden, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Siberian Rubythroat, Common Reed Bunting and Amur Stonechat were singing on the fence or small trees in the short grassland.
Searching for grasshopper-warbler, we managed to find one Lanceolated Warbler chirping on a small tree.
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/ Locustella ochotensis ochotensis) was not seen. It was a little early in the season.
Eurasian Wryneck and Long-tailed Rosefinch were also seen in dwarf trees.
Many Eurasian Skylark were flying around and Latham's Snipe singing in flight was also seen.
Then we entered into the forest of Notori Peninsula.
It was a little early for the optimum birding season here and there were few birds.
Bird looked like Siberian Thrush, Eurasian Wren, Oriental Cuckoo and Grey Wagtail were seen.
The last site we visited was the camp site at the shore of Lake Abashiri.
Here we saw many species such as Asian Brown Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Russet Sparrow, Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica), Mandarin Duck, White-tailed Eagle, etc..
We saw a snake rose up a tree where Eurasian Tree-Creeper was nesting. It was pitty to see the parerent of Eurasian Tree-Creeper were flying around the snake.
The birds observed are;
- at Hichirippu:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Kiritappu Marsh:
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- at Nosappu Cape:
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at Shunkunitai Park:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at Lake Furen:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius), Grey-faced Woodpecker (jessoensis) (Picus canus jessoensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Onne Marsh:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- in Odaito area:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)?
- in Notsuke Penisula:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- around Washi-no-yado:
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- on Shiretoko Pass Road:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige)?
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- around Lake Tofutsu:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- on Yobito boadwalk:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (amurensis) (Dryobates minor amurensis/Dendrocopos minor amurensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- Wakka Primeval Flower Garden:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- in Notori Peninsula:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni)?
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- around Memanbetsu Camp site:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オシドリ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, スズガモ, クロガモ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, アオサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, トビ, オジロワシ, タンチョウ, コチドリ, メダイチドリ,
オオジシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, アカアシシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン, アカエリヒレアシシギ,
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ケイマフリ, ウミスズメ, ウトウ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ツツドリ,
シマフクロウ, キタアマツバメ, アリスイ, エゾコゲラ, コアカゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, ヤマゲラ,
モズ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ, ウグイス, マキノセンニュウ, エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ, シロハラゴジュウカラ,
キタキバシリ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, マミジロ? トラツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, ノゴマ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カワガラス, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, ホオジロ? ホオアカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki), paddy field in Itakura (Gunma)
渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城),板倉のたんぼ(群馬)
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
; all photos by A.Minowa
I visited together with Fureai Bird-watching Club's members.
At this time of year, when it's sunny, it's very hot and hard to bird in the unshaded field, but the day we visited was cloudy and not so hot, and it was fairly comfortable.
Two months had passed since the last visit at the beginning of April and the reeds had grown well, covering the field in green.
Oriental Reed-Warblers, summer bird, were singing vigorously here and there in the reed fields.
Black-browed Reed-Warblers were also singing well.
Marsh Grassbirds were not many, and did not display their distinctive singing in flight, instead staying perched on the reeds and singing. Thanks to this, we were able to get a good look at it.
Eastern Common Cuckoo and Lessor Cuckoo were also heard and seen several times flying.
No Yellow Bittern flew during our observations.
Two Common Tern were seen on Yanaka Lake. It is rare to see this species at such a distance inland from the coast.
Then I drove around the area.
The first stop was at the hillside of the second basin.
Although it was a distance away, three Oriental Stork chicks and their parents could be seen on the artificial nest tower. The chicks seemed to have grown up very well.
Next, I visited to see the Long-eared Owl.
There were three chicks in each of two trees. The parents were resting in the nearby trees. The chicks had grown as large as the parents.
Then they went to the irrigation pond in Itakura.
Various waterbirds were seen, such as Common Moorhen, Common Coot, egrets, Common Kingfisher, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Yellow Bittern.
Egrets, including Medium Egrets, were seen in the farmland.
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) was not found, perhaps hiding somewhere out of sight while incubating.
The birds observed were;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, コウノトリ, ヨシゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, トビ, バン, オオバン, アジサシ,
キジバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, トラフズク, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, カオジロガビチョウ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市戸隠森林植物園(長野)
Togakushi
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos)
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
Brown Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus)
Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)
; all photos by T.Endo
I attended bird watching event held by Nagano branch of Wild Bird Society of Japan.
Even though the holyday season was over, there were very many birders, so that it was hard to find an empty parking lot.
We started walking from Midoriga-ike Pond, hearing songs of Siberian Blue Robin (Luscinia cyane) and Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina).
At this season, we could not easily spot shay birds through trees that have extended foliage day by day. We identify more than thirty species of birds, mostly by their songs. I tried hard to watch a Siberian Blue Robin, singing near the ground, but it was very shay and I could not take a good photo.
A leader of the event showed us a nest hole of White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos). Fortunately we could watch a chick showing up its face from the nest hole.
We enjoyed walking through woodland and returned to Midoriga-Ike Pond, after about 3 hours' walk.
List of species:
Mallard (Anus platyrhynchos), Northern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
European Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus saturates), Little Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos)，
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Jay (Carrulus glandarius),
Willow Tit (Parus montanus), Coal Tit (Parus ater), Varied Tit (Parus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
European Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris),
Japanese Grey Thrush (Turdus cardis), Brown Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus),
Siberian blue Robin (Luscinia cyane),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Oriental Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Japanese Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis)，Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza ciodes),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
マガモ，カルガモ，カイツブリ，カッコウ，ツツドリ，ホトトギス，キジバト，アオゲラ，オオアカゲラ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，
サンショウクイ，ハシボソガラス，カケス，コガラ，ヒガラ，アマガラ，シジュウカラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ミソサザイ，
ゴジュウカラ，キバシリ，クロツグミ，アカハラ，コルリ，キビタキ，コサメビタキ，ニュウナイスズメ，カワラヒワ，
ノジコ，アオジ，クロジ，ホオジロ，キセキレイ
Around Ulaanbaatar & Gobi Desert, Mongolia
ウランバｰトル周辺&ゴビ砂漠(モンゴル)
Great Tit (Parus major)
Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo)
Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius)
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)
Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria)
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)
Black-billed Capercaillie (Tetrao urogalloides)
: photo by M.Fujita
Since Mongolia and Japan are located at the same eco zone; Palearctic, very similar species or subspecies to japanese ones can be observed in Mongolia.
Sometime accidentally, the same species to Mongolia have been observed in Japan.
In such point of view, it is a very good chance to study rarely birds in Japan which are common species in Mongolia.
From middle of May to June is the best season to watch the migrating birds in Mongolia.
The weather in winter is terribly cold, but it becomes warmer in the middle of May.
The last visit eight years ago was a few days earlier than this time, and we saw snow on the day we arrived, but this time we did not feel so cold.
Mongolica Hotel & Resort, our accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, is located on the outskirts of the city, at the foot of the Songino-Khairkhan Mountain, with the Tuul River flowing beside it and surrounded by rich greenery.
Thanks to this environment, variety of waterfowl and woodland birds listed below could be observed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bar-headed Goose, Swan Goose, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Mandarin Duck, Garganey, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard,
Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Common Cuckoo,
Common Swift, Pacific Swift, Eurasian Coot, Little Ringed Plover, Common Tern, Great Cormorant, Black Kite, Eurasian Hoopoe,
Eurasian Kestrel, Amur Falcon, Brown Shrike, Oriental Magpie, Red-billed Chough, Daurian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Raven,
Azure Tit, Great Tit, Japanese Tit, Yellow-browed Warbler? Dusky Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, White-cheeked Starling,
Daurian Redstart, Isabelline Wheatear, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Gray Wagtail, Pied Wagtail/Baikal Wagtail,
Hawfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Little Bunting, Black-faced Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hustai National Park, where we stayed on days 2 and 3, is located west of Ulaanbaatar and has records of 223 bird species, about half of those observed in Mongolia.
Many grassland and hillside birds were seen here as follows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rock Pigeon, Demoiselle Crane, Cinereous Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Golden Eagle, Black Kite, Upland Buzzard, Eurasian Kestrel,
Oriental Magpie, Red-billed Chough, Rook, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mongolian Lark, Asian Short-toed Lark? Eurasian Skylark,
Barn Swallow, Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow,
Citrine Wagtail, Pied Wagtail/Baikal Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Meadow Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bayan Lake, we stopped over on day 3, is a small saline lake in the steppe grassland. The lake shoreline is partly covered by marsh with reeds and tall grasses.
Here many waterfowl, shorebirds and harriers could be observed as follows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bar-headed Goose, Graylag Goose, Swan Goose, Common Shelduck, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard,
Great Crested Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Common Swift, Eurasian Coot, Demoiselle Crane, White-naped Crane, Common Crane,
Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Northern Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, Temminck's Stint, Long-toed Stint, Mongolian Gull,
Common Tern, Gray Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, Cinereous Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Eastern Marsh Harrier,
Hen Harrier, Pallid Harrier? Black Kite, Upland Buzzard, Amur Falcon, Saker Falcon, Red-billed Chough, Rook, Common Raven,
Mongolian Lark, Asian Short-toed Lark? Eurasian Skylark, Bank Swallow? Eurasian Crag-Martin, Siberian House-Martin,
Taiga Flycatcher, Isabelline Wheatear, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow,
Gray Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail, Pied Wagtail/Baikal Wagtail, Gray-necked Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Hoh Nuur Lake, the next stop, we saw as follows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Common Merganser,
Rock Pigeon, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Tern, Common Tern, Cinereous Vulture, Black Kite,
Oriental Magpie, Red-billed Chough, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Raven, Eurasian Crag-Martin, Taiga Flycatcher,
Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On day 4, we headed from Ulaanbaatar to South Gobi.
Along its single road, which stretches across an endless plain that seems to be deserted except for the occasional camel or sheep, the following birds were seen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruddy Shelduck, Rock Pigeon, Pallas's Sandgrouse, Demoiselle Crane, Oriental Honey-buzzard? Cinereous Vulture,
Steppe Eagle, Black Kite, Upland Buzzard, Eurasian Hoopoe, Red-billed Chough, Common Raven,
Horned Lark, Mongolian Lark, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Common Rosefinch
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yolyn Am Valley is situated in the Eastern Mountain range of the Three Beauties in southern Mongolia. There is a narrow stream flows through the valley surrounded by high gorges. This stream freezes forming huge amount of ice during the winter. There was the ice still remained when we visited.
The valley is abundant with vegetation, mammals and birds. The name of this valley stands for the home of Yol vultures (Lammergier-Gypaetus barbatus) or bearded vultures, for having white feathers around their neck. The Yolyn Am valley is the most appropriate place to see the biggest bird of prey in Mongolia. When the sun rises Yol vultures start their day, searching for a prey.
There are many other rare birds inhabit around the valley, too.
We saw many birds as show below;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Cuckoo, Bearded Vulture, Himalayan Griffon, Golden Eagle, Upland Buzzard, Saker Falcon, Brown Shrike,
Oriental Magpie, Red-billed Chough, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mongolian Lark, Eurasian Crag-Martin, Siberian House-Martin,
Dusky Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Wallcreeper, Siberian Rubythroat, Common Redstart, Black Redstart,
Isabelline Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, Brown Accentor, Rock Sparrow, White-winged Snowfinch,
Pied Wagtail/Baikal Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Twite, Godlewski's Bunting, Little Bunting, Black-faced Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On day 6, the following birds and a Snow Leopards were observed at a tourist camp near Yolyn Am Valley and in the mountainous areas a short distance away from the camp.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruddy Shelduck, Rock Pigeon, Hill Pigeon, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Pallas's Sandgrouse, Common Cuckoo, Demoiselle Crane,
Oriental Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Bearded Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Himalayan Griffon, Upland Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel,
Red-tailed Shrike, Brown Shrike, Red-billed Chough, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mongolian Lark, Eurasian Skylark,
Sulphur-bellied Warbler, White-cheeked Starling, Bluethroat, Siberian Rubythroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, Taiga Flycatcher,
Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Isabelline Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, Rock Sparrow,
Gray Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Hawfinch, Common Rosefinch, Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, Pallas's Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following were seen in the park in the city of Dalanzadgad and near the airport.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eurasian Kestrel, Red-tailed Shrike, Dark-sided Flycatcher
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the afternoon of Day 6, we returned by plane to Ulaanbaatar and on the following day, Day 7, we headed for Terelj.
On the way towards Terelj, we stopped at a forest spreading along the banks of the Tuul River on the suburbs of Ulaanbaatar, where we saw the following birds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rock Pigeon, Curlew Sandpiper, Japanese Tit, White-crowned Penduline-Tit, Gray Wagtail, Common Rosefinch
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park of Mongolia is the nearest famous biding spot from Ulaanbaatar city.
Contrast to the South Gobi, the forest steppe with rich water spread, and many forest birds inhabit the area.
We stayed in Terelj from day 7 to day 9.
The following species were observed at the camp site where we stayed, in the riverside forest next to the Terelj Hotel and in the mountains a short distance away.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruddy Shelduck, Black-billed Capercaillie, Rock Pigeon, Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Pacific Swift,
Cinereous Vulture, Himalayan Griffon, Steppe Eagle, Japanese Sparrowhawk? Black Kite, Eastern Buzzard? Upland Buzzard,
Ural Owl, Eurasian Hoopoe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Amur Falcon, Brown Shrike, Northern Shrike,
Azure-winged Magpie, Oriental Magpie, Red-billed Chough, Daurian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Raven,
Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Great Tit, Japanese Tit, Mongolian Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Booted Warbler,
Barn Swallow (saturata), Asian House-Martin, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas's Leaf Warbler? Dusky Warbler, Arctic Warbler,
Lesser Whitethroat, White-cheeked Starling, Eyebrowed Thrush, Red-throated Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat, Taiga Flycatcher,
Daurian Redstart, Northern Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, Eurasian Tree Sparrow,
Gray Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail? Pied Wagtail/Baikal Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Common Rosefinch,
Pine Bunting, Pallas's Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Little Bunting, Black-faced Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On day 8, we visited Gun Galuut.
Gun Galuut Nature Reserve is a protected area, covering an area of over 200,000 hectares. The reserve is situated at 130 km east of Ulaanbaatar and is home to a diverse range of wildlife and ecosystems. The landscape of Gun Galuut is a unique combination of steppe, mountain, and riverine habitats. Especially, its wetlands provide a vital habitat for a wide variety of bird species.
We saw the following birds;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruddy Shelduck, Common Shelduck, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard,
Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Stejneger's Scoter, Common Merganser,
Horned Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Eared Grebe, Common Swift, Pacific Swift, Eurasian Coot,
Demoiselle Crane, White-naped Crane, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing,
Kentish Plover, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Sanderling,
Black-headed Gull, Relict Gull, Mongolian Gull, White-winged Tern, Common Tern, Eurasian Spoonbill,
Cinereous Vulture, Himalayan Griffon, Eurasian Kestrel, Horned Lark, Mongolian Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow,
Dusky Warbler, Daurian Redstart, Isabelline Wheatear, Pine Bunting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The birds observed during the trip are;
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), Graylag Goose (Anser anser), Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Stejneger's Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Black-billed Capercaillie (Tetrao urogalloides),
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto),
Pallas's Sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Common Swift (Apus apus), Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Common Crane (Grus grus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Oriental Plover (Anarhynchus veredus),
Kentish Plover (Anarhynchus alexandrinus), Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Sanderling (Calidris alba),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mongolian Gull (Larus argentatus mongolicus),
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo minussensis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia),
Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)?
Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis),
Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos),
Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus)?
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis)? Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus)?
Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius),
Ural Owl (Strix uralensis),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor),
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis), Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug),
Red-tailed Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides), Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus), Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus), Oriental Magpie (Pica serica),
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Daurian Jackdaw (Corvus dauuricus), Rook (Corvus frugilegus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Common Raven (Corvus corax),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater), Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris), Azure Tit (Cyanistes cyanus), Great Tit (Parus major),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
White-crowned Penduline-Tit (Remiz coronatus),
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), Mongolian Lark (Melanocorypha mongolica), Asian Short-toed Lark (Alaudala cheleensis)?
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata),
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)? Eurasian Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica tytleri),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica saturata), Siberian House-Martin (Delichon lagopodum), Asian House-Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus), Pallas's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus proregulus)?
Sulphur-bellied Warbler (Phylloscopus griseolus), Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus), Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides),
Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis),
Lesser Whitethroat (Curruca curruca),
Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Red-throated Thrush (Turdus ruficollis),
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica),
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica), Siberian Rubythroat (Calliope calliope),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla),
Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush (Monticola saxatilis),
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina), Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti),
Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka),
Brown Accentor (Prunella fulvescens),
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus), Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia),
White-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis),
Gray Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Grey-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis macronyx),
Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola), Pied Wagtail/Baikal Wagtail (Motacilla alba baicalensis),
Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi), Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus), Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch (Carpodacus davidianus), L
ong-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Twite (Linaria flavirostris),
Godlewski's Bunting (Emberiza godlewskii), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Pine Bunting (Emberiza leucocephalos),
Gray-necked Bunting (Emberiza buchanani), Pallas's Bunting (Emberiza pallasi), Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola),
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
インドガン, ハイイロガン, サカツラガン, オオハクチョウ, アカツクシガモ, ツクシガモ, オシドリ, シマアジ, ハシビロガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ,
カルガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, アカハシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ビロードキンクロ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, オオライチョウ,
ミミカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, カワラバト, コウライバト, キジバト, シラコバト, サケイ, カッコウ, ツツドリ,
ヨーロッパアマツバメ, アマツバメ, オオバン, アネハヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, コチドリ, タゲリ, オオチドリ, シロチドリ,
チュウシャクシギ, オグロシギ, イソシギ, コアオアシシギ, タカブシギ, ツルシギ, アオアシシギ, サルハマシギ, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ミユビシギ,
ユリカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ, ハジロクロハラアジサシ, アジサシ, アカアシアジサシ, カワウ, アオサギ, ヘラサギ,
ヒゲワシ, ハチクマ? クロハゲワシ, ヒマラヤハゲワシ, ソウゲンワシ, イヌワシ, ヨーロッパチュウヒ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ウスハイイロチュウヒ?
ツミ? トビ, ノスリ? オオノスリ, フクロウ, ヤツガシラ, アカゲラ, コアカゲラ, ヒメチョウゲンボウ, チョウゲンボウ, アカアシチョウゲンボウ, ワキスジハヤブサ,
アカオモズ, アカモズ, オオモズ, オナガ, カササギ, ベニハシガラス, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ワタリガラス,
ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ, ルリガラ, ヨーロッパシジュウカラ, シジュウカラ, シラガツリスガラ, ハマヒバリ, コウテンシ, アジアコヒバリ? ヒバリ,
ヒメウタイムシクイ, ショウドウツバメ? チャイロツバメ, ツバメ, アカハラツバメ, ニシイワツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
キマユムシクイ, カラフトムシクイ? オリーブムシクイ, ムジセッカ, ヤナギムシクイ, コムシクイ, コノドジロムシクイ, カベバシリ, ムクドリ,
マミチャジナイ, ノドアカツグミ, サメビタキ, オガワコマドリ, ノゴマ, ルリビタキ, オジロビタキ, シロビタイジョウビタキ, クロジョウビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
コシジロイソヒヨドリ, ハシグロヒタキ, イナバヒタキ, サバクヒタキ, セグロサバクヒタキ, ウスヤマヒバリ, イエスズメ, スズメ, イワスズメ, ユキスズメ,
キセキレイ, キタツメナガセキレイ, キガシラセキレイ, シベリアハクセキレイ, マミジロタヒバリ, ムジタヒバリ, ビンズイ, シメ,
アカマシコ, チュウゴクコウザンマシコ, ベニマシコ, キバシヒワ, ミヤマヒゲホオジロ, ホオジロ? シラガホオジロ, イワバホオジロ, シベリアジュリン,
シマアオジ, コホオアカ, シベリアアオジ
1-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis)
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)
This is the beginning of a fantastic time of year for birdwatching on Mt Fuji.
Especially at this time of year, tits and other resident birds are in the midst of raising their chicks in the forests at lower altitudes, and the parent birds are actively collecting food.
Summer birds, which have just arrived, are active in territorial disputes and searching for partners.
The area will become more lively when cuckoos arrive soon.
When we arrived at the Okuniwa car park, we were greeted by a Japanese Accentor perched in a small tree by the side of the road.
The water pond at Okuniwa lodge was in rather deserted condition, and there were few birds singing in the forest at the forest limit.
We also walked on a forest road near the Okuniwa car park.
We looked for Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), but did not encounter any, but instead three Goldcrests appeared, two of which fought vehemently, showing their orange crown feathers. It may have been a fight over the female.
A Eurasian Wren was also singing well nearby.
Next, we descended the Subaru Line Road and stopped at the pool with a little water at the nearby Sozo-no-mori Camp Site, but there were not many birds, so we left soon after and headed for Obora Spring, near Lake Yamanaka.
On the way from the car park to the spring, we could hear Eastern Crowned Warbler and Narcissus Flycatcher singing in the forest along the road.
There were many photographers at the spring, waiting to photograph the birds coming to the waterhole.
Here we saw a female Narcissus Flycatcher came to bathe.
On the way back to the car park, a Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus) was heard, so we looked for it but could not find, but a Narcissus Flycatcher singing nearby seemed to have incorporated the call of Chinese Bamboo-Partridge into its song.
The birds observed are;
- at Naka-no-chaya:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Subaru Line, Okuniwa, Oniwa, Ochudo and Narusawa Forest Road, Mt. Fuji:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
- at Sozo-no-mori Camp Site:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
- at Obora no Izumi & Yamanaka Lake:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
コルリ, ルリビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ハクセキレイ, カヤクグリ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Tsushima island, Nagasaki
対馬 (長崎)
Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza rutila)
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata)
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki) (Yungipicus kizuki kotataki)
Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata)
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus)
Blyth's Pipit (Anthus godlewskii)
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys)
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki)
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus cristatus)
We visited Tsushima Island located north to Kyusyu at the south-west entrance of the Japan Sea. This island is a crossing of migrating bird's paths.
In the afternoon of the first day, we rounded the Shimo-Tsushima area in the south.
Due to the continuous sunny days until then, there were few migratory birds left.
Nevertheless, in the fields around Takuzudama Shrine in the village of Tsutsu, buntings (Yellow, Yellow-browed, Little, Meadow, Chestnut), starlings (White-cheeked, Chestnut- cheeked), Grey-capped Greenfinch, Barn Swallow and Oriental Reed Warbler were seen.
In the paddy fields, egrets/herons (Western Great Egret (Eurasian), Medium, Grey, Little) were seen.
There was a report of an Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) but we could not visit that spot due to a time constraint.
Warbling White-eye, Brown-eared Bulbul, tits (Japanese, Varied) and Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki) were seen and heard in the forest.
At Tsutsu-zaki Cape, there were many Black Kites flying around and Osprey nests on the rocks of the cliffs at the tip, where they were incubating eggs.
Black-tailed Gulls and Japanese Cormorants were also seen in the surrounding sea.
The second day, it was not suitable for birding due to the passage of a cold front and strong winds and rain until the next morning. However, it was expected that this stormy weather would gift fall-out of migratory birds.
Early in the morning of the third day, many birders gathered at Tsutsu-zaki Cape and started looking for birds that might have landed to shelter from the stormy weather.
However, although the rain had stopped, there was still a strong wind blowing and no birds appeared.
We therefore left the Cape and drove the road towards "Bijin-dzuka" nearby.
In the trees along the road, many birds could be heard, quite different from the previous day: a flock of Eurasian Siskin was actively pecking at the flowers of the trees, and Mugimaki Flycatcher was also singing.
While we were observing these, we were informed that Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers appeared in Tsutsu-zaki, so we revisited there.
Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers were in the dense thicket of small trees and were not easily seen.
While we were trying to spot this bird, a Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) appeared on nearby cape tip. This bird regularly passes through the island every year, and is currently the only place in Japan where it has been regularly observed. Unfortunately, when we visited the point where it appeared, it had already flew away, so we unfortunately missed a rare opportunity.
We were anxious about the Osprey nesting on the cape cliffs, but there were no Osprey in the nest, just flying around it. The storm may have affected them and they might have given up on egg-incubation.
Later, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler and White-shouldered Starling were observed at Tsutsu-zaki Cape.
Ashy Minivet and Japanese Grosbeak were newly observed in the trees along the road towards "Bijo-dzuka", where a flock of Eurasian Siskin had been seen.
Then, there was information that a Yellow-breasted Bunting had been seen near Azamo village, and we headed towards there. The target bird did not appear soon afterwards.
While waiting, Masked Bunting, Meadow Bunting and Japanese Bush-Warbler were seen.
Then a Black Drongo was found nearby and it flew away over us.
A short time later, a Yellow-breasted Bunting perched on a nearby power line and stayed still so we could watch it well.
The Black Drongo then returned and perched on a nearby power line, too.
In a rice field, a snipe looked like Latham's Snipe was also found.
Grey-faced Buzzard could still be seen in the mountains.
In the evening, several Eastern Yellow Wagtails (simillima) were seen in a rice field at Tsutsu.
In another farm field, buntings (Yellow, Yellow-browed, Little), egrets/herons (Western Great, Medium, Catle), Oriental Reed Warbler, Oriental Pratincole and Green Sandpiper.
Also found what appeared to be Swinhoe's Snipe and Blyth's Pipit.
At night the Northern Boobook could be heard from the forests of Takuzudama Shrine.
Early morning on the fourth day, we again headed to Tsutsu-zaki Cape.
Here, Olive-backed Pipit and Narcissus Flycatcher were newly seen.
On the road towards "Bijin-dzuka", a variety of flycatchers (Grey-streaked, Dark-sided, Asian Brown, Narcissus and Mugimaki) were flocking.
Afterwards, we waited for a Brown Shrike found in the farm field at Tsutsu to re-appear before we left for the airport.
There, various buntings (Yellow-breasted, Yellow-browed, Little) perched on one tree nearby were pleasing us.
Just as we were about to leave, a nearby birder spotted the Brown Shrike perched on a reed and we managed to see the bird before the time was up.
Finally, an Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) and two Eastern Yellow Wagtails (simillima) were seen in the rice fields on the way to the airport.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki) (Yungipicus kizuki kotataki),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus cristatus),
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (mandshuricus) (Corvus macrorhynchos mandshuricus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Blyth's Pipit (Anthus godlewskii), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys),
Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata),
Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza rutila), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, コウライキジ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, ウミウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, サシバ, ムナグロ, オオジシギ, チュウジシギ, クサシギ, ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ, アオバズク,
ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, ツシマコゲラ, サンショウクイ, カラアカモズ, オウチュウ, サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, チョウセンハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ,
コムクドリ, カラムクドリ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, サメビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, ムギマキ, スズメ,
ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, コマミジロタヒバリ, ビンズイ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, イカル,
ホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, シマアオジ, シマノジコ, ノジコ, アオジ
8-day Trip in Nansei Islands (Ishigaki, Okinawa, Amami)
& Saga & Miyake Island
南西諸島(石垣、沖縄、奄美)＆佐賀＆三宅島
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus)
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi)
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana)
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis)
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni)
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major)
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
& Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)
Garganey (Spatula querquedula)
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops)
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina)
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis)
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)*immature
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Also we visited Higashi-yoka Tidal Flats for migrating shorebirds and Miyake Island for its endemic species/subspecies and seabirds.
Within the Nansei Islands, an important zoogeographic boundary has been drawn that separates the Palearctic Zone, which is temperate, from the Oriental Zone, which is tropical. As a result, the fauna is a diverse mix of elements of both, and many specialties are found in the isolated environment of the islands.
In addition, many species that came to these islands when they were once connected to the Eurasian continent survived the subsequent tectonic movements that broke them up into smaller islands and became endemic species or subspecies that have evolved uniquely and live only in those areas.
The first island to visit is Ishigaki Island (Ishjigaki-jima). The island is the gateway to the Yaeyama Islands, a group of remote isles 400 kilometers southwest of Okinawa's main island.
Ishigaki Island, a subtropical region, is one of the most important migratory stopover points in Japan, so many migratory birds can be seen during the seasonal changes. In addition, some birds that are considered summer birds near Tokyo are winter birds on this island. There are also many endemic species and subspecies, including Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle, which is designated as a nationally protected speicies.
Since the tide was low when we arrived, we first visited the beach at Ohama.
On the way there, we were greeted by a flock of Oriental Pratincole soaring over the sugar cane fields.
On the beach, we did not see as many shorebirds as we had expected in the vast expanse of low-tide rocky shore, and only saw some in the far distance at the edge of the surf. However, a few shorebirds, such as Greater Sand Plover, Pacific Golden-Plover,and Grey-tailed Tattler were seen nearby.
We decided to return again when the tide was higher and the shorebirds were easier to see, so we headed north to the "Eco Road" that runs through the pastureland on the east coast.
On the way, Brown Shrike, Light-vented Bulbul, Chestnut-cheeked Starling and Common Myna were perched on power lines.
On the "Eco Road," not many birds appeared because it was noon, but there were many Zitting Cisticolas in the meadow and a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher was heard nearby in the trees.
We heard an Asian Koel at distance as well.
Driving on a farm road at the northernmost tip of the island, a Common Emerald Dove flew away from the side of the road and showed us its beautiful appearance.
On the way back to Ohama Beach, we saw a few Common Myna at a ranch in the Ibaruma area, and a Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle in a pasture nearby.
At Ohama beach, the tide was rising very close to the shore, and shorebirds could be seen nearby, but no new species were seen.
Eastern Cattle Egret and Little Tern were also seen.
Then, we passed through Takada forest road on Mt. Omoto.
Brown-eared Bulbul, Ruddy Kingfisher, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher and Oriental Turtle-Dove were singing well.
Ruddy Kingfisher occasionally appeared.
Japanese Wood-Pigeon and Whistling Green-Pigeon were also heard.
A few Whistling Green-Pigeons were perched on a power line.
In the paddy fields of Shinkawa, there were herons, and one East Siberian Wagtail was also found.
After dark, we visited Banna Park.
Ryukyu Scops Owl were singing in several places, but we did not see them.
Later, we also visited the Hurusuto-baru, where we heard Ryukyu Scops Owl, but did not see Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria) that we expected to see.
The next morning, we first visited the farmlands of Hiratabaru and Nakura.
We saw a variety of herons (Purple Heron, Eastern Cattle, Grey, Great White, Medium, Little, Black-crowned Night).
At Takada Forest Road, we saw and heard a few Ryukyu Flycatchers in addition to the birds observed the day before.
In the nearby rice paddies, Cinnamon Bitterns were seen occasionally popping up from the river reeds.
We looked for Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris) in Banna Park, but did not encounter any, probably because the birds were incubating.
A Black-winged Kite managed to be seen in the coastal farmland next to the airport.
An Eastern Yellow Wagtail was also found in a sugar cane field where many Oriental Pratincole had been seen the previous day.
The birds observed are;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Asian Koel (chinensis) (Eudynamys scolopaceus chinensis),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii)(Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis), Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Grey-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis macronyx),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
コウライキジ, カルガモ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウサギ, クロサギ,
カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン, ムナグロ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ,
キアシシギ, イソシギ, ツバメチドリ, コアジサシ, ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
オニカッコウ, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, シマアカモズ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ,
リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, カバイロハッカ (インドハッカ）, コムクドリ,
イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, キタツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ, ビンズイ
In the afternoon of the second day, we moved to Okinawa Main Island and headed to the Yanbaru forest area in the north.
First, we visited the site where I saw an Okinawa Woodpecker last time at the beginning of March, but did not encounter it this time.
On the way to our hotel in the middle of the forest, we heard the Okinawa Woodpecker and Okinawa Rails.
At night, we drove the road between the hotel and the village of Ada. We heard Ryukyu Scops Owls at several places, but did not see any Okinawa Rail sleeping on trees.
Early the next morning, we headed for the Benoki Dam.
There were still a few flowers of the coral tree in the car park, but no Okinawa Woodpecker had come.
On the roads around the dam, we saw two Okinawa Rails.
Returning to the hotel and walking around the area in light rain, one Okinawa Rail, one Japanese Sparrowhawk and two Okinawa Woodpeckers were seen.
Okinawa Robin was heard but not seen.
On the forest road in the Yanbaru, we heard Okinawa Robins and a Ryukyu Minivet.
We left the Yanbaru forest and drove around the Okuma farming area, but heavy rain started to fall and we could not burd.
At noon, we visited the Kin farming area on the eastern coast of central Okinawa.
In the rice paddies with their idyllic scenery, Pacific Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Light-vented Bulbul, Scaly-breasted Munia and herons (Eastern Cattle, Grey, Medium and Little) were seen, and in the river Whimbrel and Common Greenshank were seen.
The next morning, we visited Komesu Coast located at the south of Okinawa.
This is a place where freshwater from an underground dam flows in and many shorebirds can be observed, but this time only a few Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Common Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Ruddy Turnstone, Pacific Reef Heron and Great Cormorant were seen.
In the farmland near the coast, in tobacco fields and freshly ploughed fields with compost, there were flocks of Eastern Yellow Wagtail (green-headed). Amongst them, a few Eastern Yellow Wagtail (simillima) were also found.
A flock of Barn Swallow (gutturalis) was perched on a power line, among which a few Barn Swallows (saturata) with reddish bellies were found.
Next, we went to Sankaku Pond in Yone, but the water level was still high and there were no shorebirds.
A resident who lives nearby introduced us tidal flats at Yone Fishing Port, so we visited there. A few Pacific Golden-Plover, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler and Little Tern were seen.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)?
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Barn Swallow (saturata) (Hirundo rustica saturata),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae/Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Robin (namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
マガモ, カルガモ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, リュウキュウツミ, ヤンバルクイナ,
リュウキュウコノハズク, バン, ムナグロ, メダイチドリ, ハリオシギ? チュウシャクシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ,
キョウジョシギ, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, コアジサシ, リュウキュウキジバト, ノグチゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, リュウキュウハシブトガラス,
オキナワシジュウカラ, ツバメ, アカハラツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, タイワンシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, ダイトウウグイス,
リュウキュウメジロ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, シマキンパラ, ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ
In the afternoon of the fourth day, we moved to Amami Oshima.
A short visit was made at Amani Nature Observation Forest.
The Visitor Centre was already closed, but a staff member working outside taught us about the nest hole of White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker and we were soon able to see this woodpecker.
Lidth's Jay, Varied Tit (amamii) and Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) were also seen.
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) and Ryukyu Robin were heard.
That evening we went on a night tour with a local guide.
We saw many Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni), Lidth's Jay and Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) sleeping on trees.
We were lucky enough to see one Amami Thrush, too.
Ryukyu Scops Owls were also seen several times.
Early the next morning, we revisited the Amani Nature Observation Forest.
We saw Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus and Ryukyu Robin), which we had not seen the previous day.
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate), Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi), Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) and Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) were also heard.
We descended the mountain and visited the paddy fields of Akina area.
Egrets (Eastern Cattle, Grey, Great White Egret, Medium Egret), Common Moorhen, Barn Swallow and Zitting Cisticola were seen.
A Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) was also heard.
We visited Ose Coast, but there were no shorebirds and few birds in the surrounding farmland.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)?,
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, サシバ? バン, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, セッカ, アマミヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, オオトラツグミ, アカヒゲ, キセキレイ
On Day 6, we visited Ariake Sea in Saga area.
The Higashi Yoka Higata is a tidal mudflat at the mouths of Honshoe River and Hattae River on the north shore of the innermost section of Ariake Bay.
The Site is internationally important migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of the Grey Plover.
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill, and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew and Saunders’s Gull. More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders’s gull occur at the Site.
On the way to the site, we saw an Oriental Magpie (Oriental) which can be seen this area.
When we arrived at Higashiyoka, the mudflats were narrowing at high tide and there were many species of shorebirds including Grey Plover,Far Eastern Curlew, various kinds of ducks, gulls (Saunder's, Vega, Black-headed) and Black-faced Spoonbils.
Several Oriental Reed Warblers were singing on the reeds by the shore.
In the afternoon, we visited the lotus fields and reservoirs in the Shiroishi area.
Flocks of shorebirds such as Wood Sandpiper and Black-winged Stilt were seen in the lotus fields.
There were also some Green Sandpipers in the canals.
Several Chinese Penduline-Tits were pecking at seeds of the grasses beside a canal.
There were few ducks left in the reservoir, but a small flock of Garganey that had stopped on their migration was seen.
The birds observed are;
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ツクシガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
カイツブリ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ,
チュウシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, キョウジョシギ,
トウネン, オジロトウネン, ウズラシギ, サルハマシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, コアジサシ,
ドバト, キジバト カササギ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツリスガラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
On the evening of the sixth day, we travelled to Tokyo and boarded a late-night ferry from Takeshiba Pier to Miyake Island (Miake-Jima).
It was the first day of a 10-day long holiday (Golden Week) and the waiting room was full of people waiting to board the ferries.
Miyakejima in the Izu island is called as haven for wild birds with the records over 250 species. Also there are endemic species/subspecies such as Izu Thrush, Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai), Owston's Tit, Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler, IIima's Leaf Warbler, Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri), Eurasian Wren (mosukei) and Japanese Robin (tanensis).
We arrived at Miyake-jima at 5am the next morning, then drove to the inn, rented a car and started birding thered.
Near the inn, Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, Izu Thrush, Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri), Japanese Wood-Pigeon and Japanese Robin (tanensis) were well seen and heard.
I heard a Northern Boobook closely before dawn of the seventh day.
At Cape Izu, we waited for Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler to appear and after a while saw one briefly in the first day. And we saw two in the next day. They had only just arrived and were few and inactive.
Many Streaked Shearwaters were soaring over the sea offshore.
We visited the afternoon of the seventh day and the morning of eighth day.
We walked the unpaved road towards the pond, we heard and see many birds such as; IIima's Leaf Warbler, Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans), Japanese Robin (tanensis), Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai), Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri), etc.
It was not easy to see them.
Owston's Tits were seen on the road at the west coast and an inn near Tairo Pond.
At Imasaki Coast, there were two Pacific Golden-Plovers and one Oriental Pratincole on their way of migration.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes pleskei/Locustella pleskei),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus), IIima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)? Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, クロアシアホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, ウミウ, トビ, ムナグロ, ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ,
カラスバト, キジバト, アオバズク, アマツバメ, ミアケコゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, オーストンヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ウチヤマセンニュウ, センダイムシクイ, イイジマムシクイ, シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ, コムクドリ,
クロツグミ, シロハラ? アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロリ
At the noon of eighth day, we rode the ferry again and headed towards Tokyo.
From February to May, we have a lot of chances to watch albatrosses; Short-Tailed Albatross, Black-footed Albatross and Laysan Albatross, and a huge number of shearwater; Short-tailed Shearwater, Streaked Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, etc.
The time; end of April is almost end of the season to watch albatrosses. We still have chance to see a few Short-Tailed Albatross and Black-footed Albatross.
There were many Streaked Shearwaters.
A few Sooty Shearwaters and Bulwer's Petrels were also seen.
And we saw a few Black-footed Albatrosses and immature Short-Tailed Albatrosses.
Three Japanese Murrelets are seen, too.
The birds observed are;
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea),
Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)? Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ハイイロミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ? アナドリ, ウミウ, カンムリウミスズメ
5-day Trip in Kanto (Tokyo, Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Nagano, Saitama, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki)
関東5日間(東京,静岡,山梨,長野,埼玉,栃木,群馬,千葉,茨城)
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi) in breeding form
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica)
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans)
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides)
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor)
bleached White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri)
& Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus)
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri)
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia)
The days were like summer, a drastic change from the cold weather of the previous days.
On the first day, we visited Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park near Haneda Airport.
The cherry trees in the park had passed their peak of bloom and were sprouting new leaves.
An Asian House Martin and Barn Swallow were flying overhead.
I checked the reed field, but did not see any Common Reed Bunting, perhaps they had already left or were resting at noon.
The mudflats were spread out by the low tide, but it was still early in the migration season, and we saw only Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper as shorebirds.
Grey Herons and Littel Egrets in their breeding plumage were seen.
The birds observed are;
- Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, オオバン,
コチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, アオジ
On the second day, we visited several sites around Mt. Fuji.
First, we walked around Juriki Highland at the southern foot.
It was beautiful with various types of cherry blossoms in full bloom in the background of Mt. Fuji.
Japanese Bush-Warblers, Chinese Hwameis, and tits were singing vigorously. Japanese Grosbeak, Meadow Bunting, and Masked Bunting were also singing well.
Several Red-billed Leiothrix appeared as well.
At "Bentoba," where there was a spring of water, a Grey Wagtail perched on a tree and chirped.
After a while Red Crossbill appeared and began bathing in the narrow stream of water.
Japanese Grosbeak, Wood Nuthatch, Japanese Green Woodpecker, and Eastern Crowned Warbler, a summer bird that had just arrived, were singing. An Eurasian Wren was singing loudly at a dry stream. We looked for it and found it not near the bottom of the stream as usual, but at the top of a tall treetop.
From there, we stopped at Mizugatsuka Park at an altitude of 1,450 meters.
It was still wintery and also it was noon, the birds were inactive, but we saw and heard Eurasian Bullfinch, tits ( Japanese, Coal, and Varied), Japanese Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Red-flanked Bluetail, Japanese Bush-Warbler etc.
The next stop, "Naka-no-chaya," where the cherry blossoms (Fuji-zakura, Pigmy cherry ) were also at their full bloom.
Here we saw and heard tits (Willow, Japanese, Coal, Varied), long-tailed tit, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Warbling White-eye, Wood Nuthatch, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Japanese Grosbeak and Meadow Bunting.
At the end of the day, we visited the Sozo-no-mori Camp site.
Since it was Sunday, there were many children at the camp site.
There was a small pool with shallow water where Japanese Tit, Coal Tit, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, etc. appeared to bathe.
In the surrounding woods, there was a small group of Dusky Thrush, among which a Brown-headed Thrush was found.
The birds observed are;
- Mt. Fuji area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis)?
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ? ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, キセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, イスカ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
On the early morning of the third day, we visited Togariishi Histrical Park, located at the northwestern foot of Mt. Yatsugatake.
The forest was filled with chorus of various birds.
There were resident birds such as woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow), Japanese Bush-Warbler, and Warbling White-eyes, Wood Nuthatch, Bull-headed Shrike, Eurasian Jay, the remaining winter birds such as thrushes (Pale, Dusky), Daurian Redstart, Brambling, Eurasian Siskin, Hawfinch, buntings (Rustic, Masked), plus summer birds that had just arrived such as Ashy Minivet, Japanese Thrush, Blue-and-white Flycatcher.
At "Ryujin-ike" Pond, there were many paired Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and a few Gadwall, Mallard, and Tufted Ducks still remaining.
Then, we visited Tateshina Highland at a higher altitude of 1500 m.
There were several lodges with bird feeders where many Japanese Grosbeaks and Eurasian Bullfinch gathered.
Higher up in these lodges, we were fortunate to see a Copper Pheasant.
Also, a Siberian Blue Robin, a summer bird, was singing, though we could not see it hidden in bamboo grasses.
We drove around the vast farmland of Nobeyama Highland, the last stop of the day, located at the southern foot of Mt. Yatsugatake.
The temperature was close to 20 degrees Celsius, but the wind from the mountains was cool.
Winter birds, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Dusky Thrush were still in large flocks.
A few Hawfinch, Meadow Bunting and Rustic Bunting were also remained.
Summer bird, Amur Stonechats were singing on small trees in the pasture.
The birds observed are;
- Mt. Yatsugatake area:
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヤマドリ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, ドバト, キジバト,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ,
クロツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ, コルリ. ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, イスカ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
On the morning of the fourth day, we visited Akigase Park.
The swamps that are scattered throughout " Picnic-no-mori" had been low on water during the winter but were full this time. However, there was only a pair of Eastern Spot-billed Duck.
Bunting in the meadows were also in low numbers, with only a few Meadow and Masked.
However, in the forest, large flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul and Dusky Thrush were actively pecking at the blossoms of the oak trees, probably on their way to migration.
There were also many Dusky Thrushes and Grey-capped Greenfinches on the lawn of the playground.
A few Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were among them.
In the farmland adjacent to the park, the reeds that had been there during the winter had burned away and there were no bunting.
Eurasian Skylark and Zitting Cisticola were chirping in flight.
The summer bird, Oriental Reed Warbler, was heard from the reed beds in the irrigation canal.
Several beautiful Masked Bunting with bright yellow breasts were busily moving in the brush.
Two males of Green Pheasant were also seen here.
At Kodomo no-mori, many photographers were gathered in one place, waiting to take pictures of a Japanese Robin hiding in the bushes. This bird is regular migrant during this time of the year.
Here we saw Chinese Hwameis, wintering Olive-backed Pipits, and a summering Narcissus Flycatcher.
In adjacent Sakuraso Park, we looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch in the bush along the waterway, but were unable to confirm it, although an apparent one was briefly spotted.
Again, there were many Dusky Thrushes and White-cheeked Starlings on the lawn.
The birds observed are;
- Akigase Park (*observed by other birders):
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
*Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
*コマドリ, キビタキ, スズメ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Next we visited Isanuma Marsh, but the water level in the marsh was so high that the reed beds were deeply flooded, as well as the mud flats.
We saw only a few Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Little Grebe, Common Moorhen and Common Coot on the surface of the water and a few Great White Egret and Great Cormorant on stakes.
The birds observed are;
- Isanuma Marsh:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, バン, オオバン, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ
In the afternoon, we visited Itakura paady field.
Here, we saw herons (Grey, Great White, Little), Common Kestrel, Grey-headed Lapwing, White-cheeked Starling, Dusky Thrush, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, and Meadow Bunting.
The birds observed are;
- Itakura paddy field:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, チョウゲンボウ, ケリ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
At the Watarase Retarding Basin, the ground, which had looked black with burnt reed cinders immediately after it was burned in early March, was now covered with green reed sprouts.
Oriental Stork on the artificial nesting tower was warming its eggs.
A pair of Green Pheasants were walking on the ground, hiding in the remaining reeds.
A Hen Harrier was still remaining.
There were no ducks in the swamps scattered among the reed field, but many Falcated Duck, Northern Shoveler, and Eurasian Teal were still remaining in the river.
On the mudflats of the river, we found migrating Little Ringed Plover, Spotted Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Wood Sandpiper, and Red-necked Stint.
Many herons were also seen there.
The birds observed are;
- Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, ヨシガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, コチドリ, オグロシギ, ツルシギ, タカブシギ, トウネン, キジバト,
トラフズク, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, カオジロガビチョウ,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
On the fifth and final day, the first stop was Kasai-rinkai Park.
Four Black-faced Spoonbills were perched and resting on stakes in the freshwater pond in the early morning when there were still few people around.
After a while, they flew to the brackish water pond and began foraging there.
In the freshwater ponds, there were a few ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, and Eurasian Teal) and Little Grebe, too.
In the channel between "Higashi-Nagisa Shore" and "Nishi-Nagisa Shore", there were a few Greater Scaups, a Red-breasted Merganser, and two Black-necked Grebes.
On the "Higashi-Nagisa Shore's" mudflats in the distance, a flock of gulls (Black-tailed, Vega, Black-headed), a flock of Eurasian Oystercatcher, and a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Eurasian Curlew were seen.
We looked for summer birds in the forest, but could not find any.
As an added bonus, we also saw a bleached White Wagtail.
The birds observed are;
- Kasai Rinkai Park:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, ウミアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ダイシャクシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Next we visted Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
On the tidal flats, there were flocks of shorebirds such as Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling and Dunlin. Some of them were in breeding form, which were beautiful.
There were also flocks of Black-headed Gull, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Great White Egret and Grey Heron.
Common Terns and Little Terns were perched on sticks in the distance.
In the bay, the Stejneger's Scoter, which wintered here, still remained among the flock of Greater Scaup.
The birds observed are;
- Sanbanze Tidal Flat:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ,
ダイゼン, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, アジサシ, コアジサシ,
キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
The last site we visited was the lotus fields in Inashiki.
It was still a little early for migrating shorebirds and only a few were found.
However the herons were so numerous, some in breeding form, that they looked like a different species.
The birds observed are;
- Inashiki area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
セイタカシギ, コチドリ, タシギ, タカブシギ, オジロトウネン,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ
Sanbanze Seaside Park (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
Black-headed Gulls (Siberian) (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
& Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri)
& Sanderlings (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida)
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Greater Scaups (American) (Aythya marila nearctica)
& Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri)
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis)
The day I visited was warm and the cherry blossoms, which had been delayed by the return of cold weather in the end of March, were in full bloom. But the mud flats of the Sanbanse were sometimes surrounded by a thin mist.
When I arrived at 6:00 a.m., the mudflats were gradually expanding with lower tides.
At first, a flock of Black-headed Gulls and Sanderlings came to the mudflats that appeared near the shore.
A few Red-breasted Mergansers were swimming in the water, and Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits were resting on the offshore fences.
A huge number of Great Cormorants were foraging on the distant shore.
Several Great Egrets and Grey Herons were also there.
As the mudflats extended, large flocks of Dunlin, Grey Plover, Lesser Sand-Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Oystercatcher came in.
Common Tern and Little Tern were also seen, although one each.
I looked for a Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), which had been seen for several days, but did not find it during my observations.
I moved to the embankment at the Funabashi side to check for ducks in the bay.
Many Greater Scaups were still remaining, and a Stejneger's Scoter, which I had not seen during my previous visit a month ago, was swimming very close by.
Other species found were Eurasian Wigeon and possibly a Greater Scaup x Tufted Duck (hybrid).
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヒドリガモ, スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, ウミアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, オオバン,
ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
アジサシ, コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans)
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis)
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus)
Still a small number of the winter birds remained in the field, such as Masked Bunting, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit, Dusky Thrush, Common Coot, and ducks (Falcated Duck, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal).
Dusky Thrush seemed to be flocking together and migrating.
The summer birds were Barn Swallow and Little Ringed Plover.
Barn swallows were collecting mud for nesting material in a puddle of water.
Although most of the winter birds were gone and summer birds were still few, the Japanese Bush-Warbler, Meadow Bunting, and Zitting Cisticola, which had been quiet in the bushes in winter, were singing lively.
The Green Pheasant became a little more active and could be heard and seen.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン,
コチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉＆渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris)
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica)
Constrast to the cold weather of the previous week, it was a record warm for March with temperatures near 30°C.
Eurasian Skylarks were chirping in the sky and Japanese Bush-Warblers were singing actively in the bushes.
Compared to our last visit 20 days ago, we saw a flock of Russet Sparrow, which we had not seen before. Where had they been?
Barn Swallow, a summer bird, had also arrived.
As for ducks, many Eurasian Teal, Falcated Duck, and Northern Shoveler were still remaining.
Though the number of hawks was small, various species such as Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Merlin, and Eurasian Sparrowhawk were observed.
The herons, such as Grey Heron, Great White Egret, and Little Egret, were beginning to transform their beaks and feathers into their breeding forms.
Eurasian Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons also appeared, perhaps attracted by the warmth.
Oriental Storks were found at the artificial nest tower as well as in rice paddies and rivers.
There were still many Meadow Bunting and Masked Bunting, and a few Common Reed Bunting were seen in the burned-out reed beds.
In the forest along the Watarase River, there was a flock of about 20 Japanese Waxwings.
A few Bohemian Waxwings were seen among them. A few Long-tailed Rosefinch were still seen in the bushes on the forest floor.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus), Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ,
コウノトリ, サンカノゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, クイナ, バン, オオバン, イソシギ,
ドバト, キジバト, トラフズク, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キレンジャク, ヒレンジャク,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, カオジロガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ishigaki Island & Iriomote Island(Okinawa)
石垣島&西表島(八重山,沖縄)
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus)
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata)
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus)
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans)
From the afternoon of day 1 to the morning of day 3, we birded in Ishigaki Island, and from the evening of day 3 to the morning of day 5, we birded in Iriomote Island.
In Ishigaki Island, we encountered Malayan Night-Herons at various places, like when we visited the island six years ago at the same time.
We also encountered a Japanese Night-Heron, which may have wintered here or was on its migration.
The Eurasian Hoopoe, which we had struggled to find last time, is said to be visiting in larger numbers this year, and we were able to encounter it in two places.
Also Ryukyu Flycatchers were singing at several locations on Takada Forest Road.
The Japanese Tit (nigriloris), which is difficult to encounter, was also found on Takada Forest Road and at Banna Park.
Ryukyu Scops Owl were heard well after dark and Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) were found perched on power lines.
However, no Eastern Yellow Wagtail were seen this time.
Shorebirds and pipits were seen in the rice paddies of Arakawa, but few were seen on the coast.
Instead, the Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) was heard in the coastal forest.
On the first day on Iriomote Island, we went on a night tour with a local guide.
When we drove out of the residential areas and along the farm roads, we often saw Ryukyu Scops Owls perched on step bolt of power poles and Northern Boobooks perched on fences to protect wild boars.
In the protected zone near the mouth of the Nakama River, fireflies were flying and bats were soaring our heads and we felt the abundance of nature of this island.
The following morning, we drove around the island to look for birds. Contrary to the lively night, it was quiet and difficult to find birds, except for Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri).
We looked for the Iriomote Tit, which is considered to be difficult to see, and it was hard to find, but another birders found it at the Nakama River reserve we had visited the night before.
Near the sugar refinery in Ohara, Grey Wagtail and Amur Wagtails (M.a.leucopsis) were seen in the irrigation canal and a flock of Black-winged Stilt were resting in the irrigation pond.
A large flock of Eastern Cattle Egret and several Black-faced Spoonbills were also foraging in the rice fields.
An East Siberian Wagtail (M.a.ocularis) was seen in the schoolyard of a nearby primary school.
Ryukyu Scops Owl and Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) were also heard well in Ohara residences after dark.
The birds observed were;
- in Ishigaki Island:
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi), Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus). Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis),
Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ミゾゴイ, ズグロミゾゴイ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, ダイサギ,
チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, ハイタカ? サシバ, ノスリ,
シロハラクイナ, バン, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, タシギ, チュウシャクシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ,
イソシギ,トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ツバメチドリ, ヨナクニカラスバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, カワセミ, ヤツガシラ, シマアカモズ, オサハシブトガラス, イシガキシジュウカラ,
リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ, キマユムシクイ? リュウキュウメジロ, カバイロハッカ, カラムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ホオジロハクセキレイ, ムネアカタヒバリ, タヒバリ
- in Iriomote Island:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris), Iriomote Tit (Sittiparus olivaceus),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis)?
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis)
マガモ,カルガモ,コガモ,クロツラヘラサギ,ゴイサギ,アマサギ,アオサギ,ダイサギ,チョウゲンボウ,ミサゴ,サシバ,シロハラクイナ,オオバン,
ミフウズラ,セイタカシギ,イソシギ,ヨナクニカラスバト,リュウキュウキジバト,チュウダイズアカアオバト,リュウキュウコノハズク,リュウキュウアオバズク,
ヤツガシラ,リュウキュウサンショウクイ,シマアカモズ,オサハシブトガラス,イシガキシジュウカラ,オリイヤマガラ,リュウキュウツバメ,セッカ,
イシガキヒヨドリ,コムシクイ,リュウキュウメジロ,シロハラ,リュウキュウキビタキ,スズメ,キセキレイ,ハクセキレイ,ホオジロハクセキレイ,タイワンハクセキレイ
Natsume-no-seki Pond, Hasaki & Choshi Ports and Inashiki area (Chiba & Ibaraki Prefectures)
夏目の堰、波崎港＆銚子港、稲敷エリア（千葉、茨城）
Baikal Teals flying over Natsume-no-seki Pond
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)
& Black-headed Gulls (Siberian) (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri)
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus)
Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
At first, we visited Natsume-no-seki Pond in Chiba Prefecture in the morning.
Since winter birds had begun their northward migration, I was concerned about how many waterfowl would remain in the pond. When we arrived at the pond, we found that the swans had already left, but many ducks were still remaining.
Baikal Teals were flying overhead forming large flock. I wonder d what had frightened them.
Most of the ducks were Mallard and Baikal Teal, with a few Northern Pintail, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal and Common Pochard.
We checked whether there were any migrating Garganey, but there were not.
Next, we visited the fishing ports in Hazaki and Choshi.
At the old Hasaki Harbor next to Tone Park, we searched for a Canvasback wintering there as in the previous winter, and fortunately we found it soon after.
We also checked the left bank of the mouth of the Tone River on the Hasaki side for a Little Gull, which have been visiting this site again from last winter, but did not find any.
A few Red-breasted Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes were floating in the distance inside Hasaki Port.
The inside of the port was calm, but the open ocean was rough, with large waves occasionally breaking against the breakwater.
According to a local birder, fishing boats could not go out that day because of the rough seas, and the number of seagulls in the port was small.
There were not many gulls in Choshi Port, too. Particularly, the number of Slaty-backed Gull and Mew Gull (Kamchatka) , which should be seen many, were confirmed very few.
We did not see Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris) which can be seen in the begging of March in the ordinally years.
Instead, we can see many Pelagic Cormorants nearby.
It was very beautiful in its shining green form.
However, fortunately, we found a Thayer's Gull sitting on a breakwater at the distance.
In the afternoon, we retry to search for the Little Gull at the old Hazaki Port and the left bank of Tone River.
And we found it in a flock of Black-headed Gulls on the breakwater at the left bank of Tone River. This individual is the 2nd Winter with the white back.
Then we headed to the Inashiki area.
On the way, we drove along the middle reaches of Tone River.
From the moving car's window, we saw many Eastern Marsh-Harriers and a Peregrine Falcon flying above the reed fields.
In Inashiki, we made a brief birding at a spot in Ukishima, and saw some shorebirds such as; Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint, Temminck's Stint, Long-toed Stint and Dunlin foraging in a lotus field.
There were Japanese Wagtail, too.
This area will be more attractive with many migrating shorebirds in end of April.
The birds observed are;
- at Natsume-no-Seki:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- in Hasaki & Choshi Ports;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- in Inashiki area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Little Stint (Calidris minuta), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, オオホシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン, タカブシギ, ヨーロッパトウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, カナダカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ヒメカモメ,
キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アオジ
1-day Trip Area around Tokyo Area (Tokyo, Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
東京近郊日帰り探鳥(東京,群馬,栃木,茨城)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
& Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis)
The first site we visited was Mizumoto Park.
Common Snipe, Brown-headed Thrush and Masked Bunting were seen in the wetlands near the parking lot.
In the forest, we looked for the Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi) that wintered here, but could not find it during our observation.
We saw Daurian Redstart, Bull-headed Shrike and Bull-headed Shrike in the garden, and White-cheeked Starling and Dusky Thrush in the wide lawn.
In the area of water, there were herons (Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret), ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Common Pochard), and Great Cormorant.
Next site was Mikamoyama Park near Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
Many hikers were visiting the park. Also many came to see the early spring wildflowers planted in the park.
We walked along the walking trails in the forest at the foot of the hill, but there were few signs of birds.
When we almost walked around the trails, we finally encountered many birds at the edge of the trail.
We saw three species of woodpeckers; Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, and Japanese Green.
Among the mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Varied), we found a Goldcrest.
Busy calls of what appeared to be a flock of Eurasian Siskin were heard from the canopy.
In the afternoon, we visited Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
The reed beds had been burned a week ago, exposing the blackened ground and providing good sightlines.
Two Oriental Storks were sitting on the artificial nest tower near the North Entrance. The birth of the chicks is anxiously awaited.
Many Falcated Ducks still remained in the scattered swamps and rivers. We saw Gadwall, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Mallad, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Smew, and a rare Ferruginous Pochard.
As we drove along the river, we spotted a large flock of birds. They were Rook and Northern Lapwing. They will take flight to their breeding grounds soon.
In the reeds that remained unburned, there were Meadow Buntings and Masked Buntings.
Various birds of prey were also seen, such as Eastern Buzzard,Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Hen Harrier and Common Kestrel.
Yanaka Lake is being dried up to improve the water quality, so there was almost no water and no ducks were to be found.
Walking along the road around the lake, we saw a Green Pheasant, perhaps lured by the warmth.
A Long-tailed Rosefinch was actively eating at the seeds of grasses, as if it was storing up nutrients for its departure soon.
The birds found were;
At Mizumoto Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
At Mikamo-yama Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン,
タゲリ, タシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, トラフズク, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ,
コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, カオジロガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
17-day Winter Birding Trip
(Hokkaido,Kumamoto,Kagoshima,
Okinawa,Ishikawa,Sado,
Tokyo,Saitama,Tochigi,Kanagawa)
17日間の冬の野鳥観察旅行
(北海道、熊本、鹿児島、
沖縄、石川、佐渡、長野、
東京、埼玉、神奈川)
The first five days (Feb. 20 - 24) were spent in the east of Hokkaido, in the north of Japan.
From an airplane landing at Kushiro Airport, I saw a landscape with surprisingly little snow cover. There was no snow at all on the roads, and driving a car, which I had been worried about, seemed easy.
However, after the day of arrival, the midwinter chill returned, and the temperature was cold as usual in Eastern Hokkaido.
From the airport to Tsurui Village, we slowly drove along the snow-free road looking for birds along the road.
As we approached Tsurui Village, we saw a small flock of Red-crowned Crane, a White-tailed Eagle perched on a telephone pole, and a Steller's Sea Eagle in the sky.
At the first stop, Tsurumidai, there was a Sandhill Crane, a stray bird here, among the many Red-crowned Cranes. Although a few Sandhill Cranes winter in Izumi, Kyushu, every year, this was the first time I had seen this bird on the snow.
The next stop, Tsurui Ito Red-crowned Crane Sanctuary, saw a stray White-naped Crane among the many Red-crowned Cranes. A large number of these birds winter in Izumi.
Then, we visited Otowa Bridge of Setsuri River.
This site is very famous for watching Red-crowned Cranes roosting in the river in the beautiful morning mist in winter.
Since it was past noon when we visited here, there was no morning mist, but two Red-crowned Cranes greeted us.
Common Merganser/Goosander, Smew, and Marsh Tit were also seen on the river.
After seeing a Hazel Grouse perched in a tree on the road and two Ural Owls (japonica) resting in the hollow of a large tree in the woods near there, we headed for Nemuro.
Along the way, at Akkeshi, we saw a small flock of Steller's Sea Eagle in the meadow, a large flock of Brown-eared Bulbul and Eurasian Tree Sparrow and a Hen Harrier around a cattle barn, a large flock of Whooper Swan and gulls (Vega, Glaucous-winged, Slaty-backed, Black-tailed Gull) on the beach, and Eastern Buzzards on telephone poles.
Early the next morning, we went birding in the woods around Nemuro Shunkunitai Nature Center, and saw tits (Japanese, Coal), Eurasian Nuthatch (S.e.asiatica) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Y.k.seebohmi), and heard druming sounds like White-backed Woodpecker (D.l.subcohmi).
After breakfast, we revisited the site.
Perhaps the slightly warmer temperatures helped to make the birds more active, and we saw Great Spotted Woodpeckers (D.m.japonicus) and Eurasian Tree-Creeper (C.f.daurica) newly.
We then headed for Ochi-ishi Port.
We checked out the inside of Ochi-ishi Port in the time before boarding the fishing boat for the cruise.
Though it was a distance away, we found several Whooper Swans and ducks (Mallard, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Black Scoter) and a few Red-breasted Mergansers. Gulls (Slaty-backed, Vega, Black-tailed) were resting nearby.
As we boarded the boat and headed out of the port, there was no wind and the waves were not very high, but it was very cold. Many Black Scoters, Harlequin Ducks, and a few Long-tailed Ducks were seen.
We also encountered many Spectacled Guillemots, several Common Murres, two subspecies of Pigeon Guillemot (C.c.columba & C.c.kaiurka), Least Auklet and Crested Auklet.
We did not find any Red-faced Cormorant this time, but did see a large flock of Asian Rosy-Finches flocking to a small island.
After the cruise, we headed to Hanasaki Port.
We looked for Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix) and Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) at this port with some hope, since they were observed there a few weeks ago. However, we did not find these.
However, many ducks (Black Scoter, Greater Scaup, Harlequin, Eurasian Wigeon), gulls (Vega, Slaty-backed, Glaucous-winged), Red-breasted Merganser, Red- necked Grebes and cormorants (Pelagic, Japanese) were seen.
Next we visited Cape Nosappu.
We looked for Red-faced Cormorant, which we did not see during Ochi-ishi Cruise, and fortunately we soon found it on the cliff.
From the hide, we observed seabirds, some of which we had seen on the cruise.
The last stop on the second day was Onnemoto Bird Hide.
Here we looked for Rock Sandpiper (Kuril Is.) (Calidris ptilocnemis quarta), which is often seen in winter, but we did not see the targeted bird as several Steller's Sea Eagle were perched on the rocks at the point.
Early the next morning, we took a walk along the shores of Furen Lake.
We saw many Glaucous Gulls, of which we had seen only a few, and Common Gulls (Kamchatka), of which we had not yet seen.
We looked for Asian Rosy-Finch and other species in the meadow, and saw a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch.
We then watched the feeding for sea eagles conducted by Lake Sunset Cottages, where we stayed.
The White-tailed Eagle and Steller's Sea Eagle that had gathered at a distance did not approach the feeding point, probably because the lake was not frozen over as in usual and there was not enough distance between the visitors and the feeding point.
We then headed for our next destination, the Notsuke Peninsula (Notsuke-Hanto).
On the way in Betsukai Town, we found a small flock of Long-tailed Tit (A.c.japonicus) in the forest along the road, which we wanted to see.
In the middle of the Northeast Peninsula, we found a flock of about 30 Asian Rosy-Finches flying over the coastal grassland.
At Notsuke Peninsula Nature Center, we received a permit to enter the tip of the peninsula, drove to the dead end of road, and then walked to the tip of the peninsula to look for birds in the meadows.
It was cutting cold.
After walking for a while, we finally found a flock of about twenty Snow Buntings.
From the Notsuke Peninsula, we headed for our final destination of the day, "Washi-no-Yado", to arrive before dark.
We managed to arrive at the inn before dark, finding many birders, including some who were not staying at the inn, already waiting in front of the observatory to see Blakiston's Fish-Owl.
As soon as we finished dinner, they came into the observatory and began to prepare for observation and photography.
One owl came to the fish pond around 7:30 p.m. that night and presented us with its biggest, powerful appearance in the world.
The next morning, we took a drift ice cruise on a small boat provided by "Shiretoko Rausu Lincle."
It was a great spectacle to get a close-up look at the many eagles (Steller's Sea-Eagle, White-tailed Eagle) and seagulls perched and soaring on the drifting ice spreaded to the north in Rausu.
After enjoying the cruise, we searched for Lapland Longspur (coloratus)/Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus coloratus) at the mouth of the Shunbetsu River in Bekkai following the information we got from the local guide the day before.
However, it did not appear during our observation.
Instead, we saw a flock of Whooper Swans mixed with Tundra Swans, a flock of gulls, ducks, and Common Redpolls.
We returned to "Wasi-no-yado" before dark, had an early dinner, and waited in our rooms for owl to come.
On this day, owls appeared both at night and in the morning, and two were seen at the same time in the night.
The next day, we checked around the coast of Shibetsu for Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), which we had not seen yet, but we did not find any.
We stopped at a fishing village and saw Long-tailed Rosefinches.
After seeing cranes at Tsurui Ito Red-crowned Crane Sanctuary and Tsurumidai, we stopped by Kushiro Ports to look for Stejneger's Scoter again.
We found many Black Scoters and Greater Scaups, but did not find the bird we were looking for.
That night, we flew from Kushiro to Sapporo.
Kushiro was sunny, but Sapporo had the heaviest snowfall of the winter, and in the falling snow, the small plane we were on tried to land at Okadama Airport, but the runway was not visible the first time and it managed to land the second time.
The city of Sapporo was also covered with fresh snow.
The next morning, we visited Makomai Park.
It was covered in deep fresh snow, but it was dry and the trails were well traced, so there were no obstacles to walking.
Shortly after we started walking, we found a flock of Bohemian Waxwing pecking at mistletoe berries.
Although at the nest of Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius) the resident was absent, there were White-backed Woodpecker (D.l.subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (D.m.japonicus). Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Y.k.seebohmi) and Eurasian Jay (G.g.brandtii).
As sunshine appeared, tits (Marsh, Japanese, Varied) and Eurasian Nuthatch (S.e.asiatica) began to sing.
The next stop, Nopporo Forest Park, had a deeper snow cover and many people were there for a walk/ski in the snow.
Unfortunately, there were few bird encounters in the park, and the expected Waxwings, Black Woodpecker and Grey-faced Woodpecker (jessoensis) (Picus canus jessoensis) did not appear.
Thus ended the 6-day birding trip in Hokkaido, and we moved on to Kyushu in the afternoon.
The birds observed in Hokkaido (2024 Feb. 20 - 25) are;
- in Kushiro area:
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Ural Owl (japonica) (Strix uralensis japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- in Akkeshi & Nemuro & Shibetsu areas:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Common Murre (North Pacific)/Common Guillemot (Uria aalge inornata),
Pigeon Guillemot (Kuril Is.) (Cepphus columba snowi), Pigeon Guillemot (Commander Islands) (Cepphus columba kaiurka),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo), Least Auklet (Aethia pusilla), Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha), Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Snow Bunting (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae)
- in Rausu area:
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii)
- in Sapporo area:
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
エゾライチョウ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ウミウ, ヒメウ, チシマウガラス, トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, ノスリ, オオバン,
カナダヅル, マナヅル, タンチョウ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ウミガラス, ウミバト, アリュウシャンウミバト, ケイマフリ, コウミスズメ, エトロフウミスズメ, ドバト,
シマフクロウ, エゾフクロウ, エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
キレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ハシブトガラ, シマエナガ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ,
キタキバシリ, ツグミ, カワガラス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニヒワ, ハギマシコ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ユキホオジロ
Birding in Kyushu started in Kumamoto Prefecture on Feb. 26.
The first stop was Kamiezu Lake in Kumamoto City.
Here we looked for the Chinese Grosbeak/Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria migratoria) that had been reported before our visit. Unfortunately, it did not appear during our observation, but it did appear shortly after we left. It was a pity.
Here we saw wagtails (Grey, White/Black-backed, Japanese), Black-crowned Night Heron, egrets (Medium, Little), ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot- billed, Northern Shoveler), and Bull-headed Shrike were seen.
Next we visited Shiranui mudflats and the mouth of Suna and Hachimaido Rivers.
In midwinter, large flocks of Common Shelduck, Saunder's Gull, and Baikal Teal can be seen at these sites, but most of them had already left these sites at the end of the winter when we visited. Although a small number of these species remained, we were able to observe them.
A small flock of Black-faced Spoonbills was also at a distance.
Many shorebirds (Dunlin, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover) that wintered here were also seen.
In the surrounding farmland, flocks of Russet Sparrow, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit and Grey-capped Greenfinch, and Daurian Redstarts, Eurasian Skylarks and Dusky Thrushes were seen, and buntings (Meadow, Masked and Common Reed) and Japanese Bush Warblers were found in the grassy areas.
The last site visited in Kumamoto Prefecture was the mouth of the Kuma River and the surrounding reclaimed land.
Barn Swallow was flying in the reclaimed land. There were no more ducks in the sea. A flock of Vega Gulls was resting at the mouth of the river, and among them was what appeared to be Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Heuglin's), which have yellow legs and darker backs than Vega.
We arrived in Izumi that evening.
First we checked the rice fields in the Fukunoe area, but there was only a small flock of Hooded Crane.
At the pond in Fukunoe-Noson Park, a flock of Black-faced Spoonbills, including Eurasian Spoonbills, was resting.
We then moved to the East Reclamation Area, where there were many Hooded Cranes and White-naped Cranes.
Among them we found a large white-bodied Siberian Crane, which had been visiting the area for two consecutive years.
Three Sandhill Cranes were also found nearby.
Other notable species seen were large flocks of Rook with a small number of Daurian jackdaws mixed in, and flocks of Carrion Crow.
The number of ducks were substantially lower than in mid-winter.
No Northern Lapwing flocks were seen. Only one individual with a damaged leg was seen.
In the reed beds of the Takaono River estuary, we looked for buntings and Chinese Penduline-Tit, and caught a glimpse of a bird thought to be a Chinese Penduline-Tit.
A Chestnut-eared Bunting also appeared in an open space.
At sunset on this day, from the room of the inn "Shin-Tsurumi-Tei", we enjoyed watching flocks of cranes returnning for roosting to the rice field in front of the inn.
The next morning, this time from the room, we enjoyed the sight of flocks of cranes leaving the roosts in the morning sun.
And we saw many rooks lined up around the inn on the power lines for the feeding for cranes that takes place every morning.
After breakfast, we drove around the West Reclamation Area. Here we saw the Siberian Crane amongst a flock of cranes. It seemed to be roosting here.
There were few ducks on the waterway.
Some Common Reed Buntings were seen in the reed beds of the Takano River estuary, and Japanese Bush Warblers were singing.
Checking the Iwashita River, which flows between Eastern and Western Reclaimed Lands, several Garganey, possibly on their way to migrate, were found in a flock of ducks of Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Mallard and Eurasian Teal.
Then we left the sanctuary of cranes and headed towards Kogawa Dam.
On the way, we explored the area around Kogawamura Bridge on the Komenotsu River just below the dam.
The expected Crested Kingfisher was absent, but Red-flanked Bluetail, Pale Thrush and wagtails (Grey, Japanese) were seen.
Ducks in the dam lake were much fewer than in mid-winter. In particular, only a few Mandarin Ducks could be seen.
On the road around the dam lake, tits (Japanese, Varied), Long-tailed Tits (A.c.kiusiuensis), Masked Buntings and Yellow-throated Buntings, and on the walking trail, Pale Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Japanese Grosbeak, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, White-bellied Green Pigeon (T.s.horii), Red-flanked Bluetail and Red-billed Leiothrix were seen.
Crested Kingfisher were also heard.
Thus ended the 2-day birding trip in Kyushu, and we moved on to Amami-oshima in the evening.
The birds observed in Kyushu (2024 Feb. 26 - 27) are;
- in Kumamoto Prefecture:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus heuglini),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- in Kagoshima Prefecture:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis),
White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Hybrid; Hooded Crane & Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus monacha x Grus grus lilfordi),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ツクシガモ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, ウミウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン, オオバン, ソデグロヅル, カナダヅル, マナヅル, ナベヅル, ナベクロヅル,
タゲリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, ハマシギ, セグロカモメ, ホイグリンカモメ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, カワセミ, ヤマセミ, カゴシマアオゲラ, モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツリスガラ, ツバメ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ソウシチョウ, メジロ,
ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ, オオジュリン
We arrived on Amami Oshima in the evening of Feb. 27.
It was already starting to get dark that day and we went straight to our hotel in Nase.
Early the next morning we headed for Amami Natural Forest.
On the road to the park, an Ryukyu Scops Owl was heard and seen on the side of the road in the still dim light.
As it became brighter, Ryukyu Robin (L.k.komadori), Black Wood Pigeon, Whistling Green-Pigeon (T.f.permagnus), Lidth's Jay, White-backed woodpecker (D.l.owstoni), Japanese White-eye (Z.j.loochooensis), etc. were seen and heard one after the other.
At Amami Nature Forest, Ryukyu Robin were very active, and males faced each other in front of one female, competing with each other with their singing and tail and wing spreading performances.
Ryukyu Minivet was also seen.
We looked for Amami Thrush (Zoothera major), which bred in the park last year, but we did not find this time.
Then we drove to Akina.
On the way, Grey-faced Buzzards were heard with their distinctive call.
On the beach, Barn Swallow flew over, and Blue Rock Thrush and Osprey were found.
Grey-faced Buzzards and Peregrine Falcon were in the farmland.
Pacific Swallow were also flying.
White Wagtails, Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) and Wood Sandpipers were seen in the paddy fields.
That night, in the rain, a local birder led us into another forest.
In the dark, Eurasian Woodcocks (wintering bird in Amami) and Amami Woodcocks were found on the road and in the meadow.
Ryukyu Scops Owls were not so active in the rain, but was heard and seen.
Various species of frogs and Okinawa pitvipers were seen instead as well as Amami Black Rabbits.
The next morning, before dawn, we drove on another forest road in the rain.
We looked for White-backed Woodpecker (Owston's), which we had not yet seen, but could not find it.
Finally, we drove around the Ushuku area.
On the grassy areas of the fishing port, Little Ringed Plovers, Wood Sandpipers, White Wagtail (Chinese) and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were foraging on the ground.
In fallow areas, Zitting Cisticolas, Dusky Warbler and Masked Buntings were found.
In agricultural fields, there were Blue Rock Thrushes, Naumann's Thrush and Pacific Swallows.
In the surrounding forest, Black Wood Pigeon and Whistling Green-Pigeon were perched side by side on the same single tree. Several Grey-faced Buzzards and Japanese Tits (amamiensis) were also seen.
On the beach, the high tide made shorebirds distant and difficult to identify, but several Pacific Reef Herons, Great Cormorants and Japanese Cormorants were seen closely.
Thus ended the 2-day birding trip in Amami-oshima, and we moved on to Okinawa Mainland in the afternoon.
The birds observed in Amami-oshima (2024 Feb. 28 - 29) are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, サシバ, ノスリ, コチドリ, ヤマシギ, アマミヤマシギ, タカブシギ,
カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク, オーストンオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
ルリカケス, ハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, アマミヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムジセッカ,
リュウキュウメジロ, シロハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
ホオジロハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, アオジ
We arrived on Naha Airport of Okinawa in the afternoon of Feb. 29.
First, we headed to the Yanbaru Forest in the northern part of the Okinawan mainland.
After entering the Yanbaru forest, we searched for birds while driving along forest roads.
Japanese Tit (okinawae), Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito), Pale Thrush and Brown-headed Thrush were seen.
An Okinawa Rail was found on the side of the road near Ada Garden Hotel, where we stayed that day.
In the night, we drove slowly along the road in the Ada area to look for birds.
Okinawa Rails were seen perched and resting on trees by the side of the road.
Several Ryukyu Scops Owl were also seen and heard.
Unfortunately, Japanese Scops-Owl (pryeri) (Otus semitorques pryeri) and Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo) were not found.
Early the next morning, we visited Benoki Dam to look for Okinawa Woodpecker, but did not encounter any.
We heard Black Wood Pigeon and Japanese Bush Warbler and saw Okinawa Robin, Grey-faced Buzzard and Naumann's Thrush.
Later, back at the hotel, an Okinawa Rail was foraging in the meadow next to the hotel and could be observed up close.
After breakfast, we birded near the hotel in rain.
Okinawa Rails, Ryukyu Minivets and Pale Thrush were seen, but we did not encounter the expected Okinawa Woodpecker.
We then left the hotel and drove around several forest roads looking for the Okinawa Woodpecker, but could not find it.
At the last point where we visited, we were finally able to see an Okinawa Woodpecker.
There we also saw a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens).
That afternoon, we birded the paddy fields of Kin.
Ducks were mostly Eastern Spot-billed Duck, with a few Mallard and Northern Pintail.
A few Common Moorhen and one White-breasted Waterhen were seen.
The shorebirds were Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Eurasian/Hudsonian Whimbrels, Grey-headed Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Common Greenshank.
There were also large flocks of wagtails, dominated by White Wagtail (Black-backed), with a few White Wagtails (M.a. leucopsis) amongst them.
Herons were also various, such as Great White Egret, Grey Hero, Medium Egret and Little Egret.
Small flocks of Scaly-breasted Munia were also seen in the grassland.
There were several Grey-faced Buzzards and a Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii), too.
The next morning, we visited Komesu Coast located at the southern part of Okinawa Island.
No shorebirds were found.
Ducks were Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, and egrets were Grey Heron, Great Egret (A.a.modesta) and Pacific Reef Heron.
There was also a Peregrine Falcon.
The last site we visited in Okinawa was "Sankaku Pond" near Naha Airport.
The condition was not so good in rainy and windy weather and slightly higher tide.
There were a few Black-faced Spoonbills, a Eurasian Spoonbill, Grey Herons and Little Egret.
A few species of shorebirds (Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, stints) were seen.
Light-vented Bulbul was also seen.
Thus ended the 3-day birding trip in Okinawa Mainland, and we moved on to Ishikawa Prefecture in the afternoon.
The birds observed in Okinawa Mainland (2024 Feb. 29 - Mar. 02) are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Striated Heron (amurensis) (Butorides striata amurensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Medium Egret/Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae), White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)?
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens) (Yungipicus kizuki nigrescens),
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae/Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ササゴイ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, リュウキュウツミ, サシバ,
ヤンバルクイナ, シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ, ケリ, コチドリ,
チュウジシギ, タシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン?
カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, カワセミ, リュウキュウコゲラ, ノグチゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
リュウキュウハシブトガラス, オキナワシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, タイワンシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ,
ダイトウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, シロハラ, オオアカハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ,
シマキンパラ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
We arrived on Fukui Airport in the afternoon of Mar. 02.
We headed to Katano Kamoike (Kamoike Observation Center) in Kaga City.
This is a shallow pond where many geese and ducks winter.
When we visited, there were geese and ducks but were at the opposite shore of the pond at a distant.
It was hard to see them even by spotting scope.
According to the staff in the center, there were huge number of Bical Teals in the midwinter, but they started to leave this pond in the begining of February, earlier than the ordinary year, and most of them had already left this site.
We walked around the center to look for any forest birds.
Nearby the center, we found a road closed due to the land slip caused by the big earth quake on Jan. 01.
Then we moved to Niigata Prefecture in the evening.
The birds observed around Katano Kamoike (2024 Mar. 02) are;
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, トモエガモ, ミコアイサ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, モズ, ヤマガラ, ツグミ, シメ
On Mar. 03, we rode on a jet foil for Sado Island.
Due to the rough weather, this was the only jet foil which operated in that day.
Inside the Niigata Harbour, we saw Red-necked Grebes, Horned Grebes, Black-tailed Gulls, Mew Gull (Kamchat,ka)s and Vega Gulls.
Outside the harbour, we saw Black-legged Kittiwakes and Ancient Murrelets.
In Sado Island, we drove around the paddy rice fiels looking for Crested Ibis.
We found a big flock of Eurasian Siskin on a tree at the street side, Smews in small ponds, but took time to find the target bird.
After a while, we finally found a few Crested Ibises in a small rice field sourounded by small hills. They seemed to shelter the strong wind and rain.
Then we could find more than ten Crested Ibises flocking at another rice field.
We saw a big flock of Dusky Thrushes foraging in a rice field.
Then we moved to Niibo Dam Lake.
In the dam lake, there were ducks (Mallad, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted) and Smew.
Due to rain, we could not see the forest birds.
We drove the road along the shore of Lake Kamo.
There were many waterfowl.
Ducks were Mallad, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Greater Scaup, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye plus Common Shelduck and Bufflehead. Bufflehead is very rare in Japan.
The others were gulls (Black-tailed, Vega), Red-breasted Merganser, Great Crested Grebe and Japanese Cormorant in the lake.
In the grassland along the lake, there were Masked Buntings and Japanese Tit.
To return Niigata Port, we took the ferry since the jet foil was not in operation due to the strong wind.
On the way back to Niigata Port, we could have a lot of time to search for the seabirds on the ship moving at the slower speed.
We added new species found such as Black-legged Kittiwake and Rhinoceros Auklet.
The birds observed on Ferry and in Sado Island (2024 Mar. 03) are;
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus),
Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, トモエガモ, ミコアイサ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, モズ, ヤマガラ, ツグミ, シメ
On Mar. 04, we visited "Snow Monkey Park" in Shiga Highland, Nagano Prefecture.
On the way from the bus stop to the park, we coudl see flocks of Eurasian Siskin, Brambling and Eurasian Bullfinch.
There were a mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied) and Goldcrest in the forest, too.
Great Spotted Woodpecker and Eurasian Jay were also seen there.
The birds observed at Snow Monkey Park (2024 Mar. 04) are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
トビ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ,
キクイタダキ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ウソ
From Mar.05 to 07, we visited several sites around Tokyo.
On Mar. 05, we visited Mizumoto park in the morning.
We looked for the Japanese Night Heron which was wintering there.
Thanks to a local birder, we could find the target bird soon. It stayed still in the bush and sometime moved a little.
We saw many birds as well, such as ducks, grebes, tits, thrushes, flycatchers, wagtails and buntings,
In the afternoon, we visited the Sanbanze mudflats.
In the tidal flats, there were Eurasian Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers , Kentish Plovers, Sanderlings, Dunlins, Vega Gulls, Black-headed Gulls and a Saunder's Gull.
In the water, there were Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Pintails, Greater Scaups and Red-breasted Mergansers, which wintered here, still remaining.
We looked for Stejneger's Scoter, but could not find it as it seems to have already left here.
We also stopped at the Urayasu Sanbanze Environmental Observation Centre on the Hinode coast to look for this bird, but again we did not find it.
On Mar. 06, we visited Akigase Park in the morning.
We first checked "Sakuraso Park."
Dusky Thrush, Hawfinch and Grey-capped Greenfinch were seen on trees and ground in the park.
Meadow Bunting and Masked Bunting were found in the bushes around the park.
Ducks in the waterways decreased, but Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Common Pochard and Tufted Duck were still present.
We looked for Rustic Bunting and White's Thrush in the forest of "Kibo-no-kuni Ground", but did not see any.
Then, we checked adjacent agricultural fields and found flocks of Rustic Bunting and Meadow Bunting foraging on the ground.
Next, we walked in the "Shougai Sport Area" and "Picnic-no-mori Forest."
In the grassland, we saw many Masked Buntings, Meadow Buntings.
We spotted a White's Thrush foraging on the ground on the park's path, where there were some bamboo bushes.
Then, we waited for Japanese Waxwing to appear near the mistletoe-strewn trees in the "Kodomo-no-mori Forest."
We waited for a long time and when we were about to give up thinking that one would not appear, a Japanese Waxwing finally came.
While we were waiting, we also saw Pale Thrush, White's Thrush, Chinese Hwamei, etc..
We headed to Watarase Retarding Basin that afternoon.
On the way, we passed through the rice fields of Itakura. There were no rook that seen in the midwinter.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, the reed beds had been burned a few days ago, exposing the blackened ground and providing good sightlines.
A Oriental Stork was standing on such blackened ground near the North Entrance.
Many Falcated Ducks still remained in the scattered swamps and rivers.
We saw Gadwall, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, and a rare Ferruginous Pochard.
In the reeds that remained unburned, there were Meadow Buntings and Common Reed Buntings.
Various birds of prey were also seen.
We looked for Green Pheasant, but only saw one female, probably because of the rain and low temperatures.
On Mar. 07, the last day of this tour, the rain finally stopped. However, it was cold and snowing lightly on the Omote-Tanzawa forest road in the Tanzawa Mountain Range.
It was not a good condition for watching Copper Pheasant and Mountain Hawk-Eagle, which we wanted to see here.
As expected, the bird activity was low, with flocks of Eurasian Siskin, small flocks of Eurasian Bullfinch, Eurasian Jay, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Japanese Bush-Warble, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, Brambling and others were seen and heard, but the target birds did not appear.
We then went down the mountain and visited Mt. Gongen to look for the Japanese Green Woodpecker, which we had not yet seen. The weather recovered and the skies turned clear, but the temperature was still cold, and we could not hear or see its distinctive voice.
We looked for rail/crake in One River and Green Pheasant in the surrounding farmland.
As soon as we looked in the river, we found a few Ruddy-breasted Crakes. Two Brown-cheeked Rails were also seen shortly after.
Sagami River At Sagami River, we looked for Green Pheasant in the surrounding farmland and Long-billed Plover in the gravel riverbed.
Construction was underway on the riverbank, and we were worried about the effects of the construction, but we found two Long-billed Plovers.
Lastly, we visited "Zama Yatoyama Park."
We had only 30 minutes before the closing time of the parking lot, so birding was extremely short, however we were finally able to see a Japanese Green Woodpecker up close. We also saw a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
The birds observed in Tokyo area (2024 Mar. 05 - 07) are;
- at Mizumoto Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Funabashi Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Hinode Coast:
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
- at Akigase Park:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Itakura Rice field:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- on Omote-Tanzawa Forest Road:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Mt. Gongen:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
- in One River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- in Sagami River & at Shindenjuku rice paddies:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Zama Yatoyama Park:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans)
キジ (キタキジ） オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, コウノトリ, ミゾゴイ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, クイナ, ヒクイナ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ケリ,
ダイゼン, イカルチドリ, シロチドリ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, オナガ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒレンジャク,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉＆渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
We first drove through the farming area in Itakura Town.
Compared to a month ago, we did not see flocks of Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans) and the number of Rooks was significantly reduced, perhaps due to the signs of an earlier-than-usual arrival of spring.
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) also seemed to have migrated away.
No raptors were also seen.
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) was also not found, probably having moved somewhere else.
Only Grey-capped Greenfinch and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit were still forming large flocks.
Then, we visited Watarase Retarding Basin.
Many Rustic and Meadow Buntings and some Masked Buntings were foraging on the road.
The small swamps in the reed fields were not frozen this time, and there were many Falcated Ducks and a few Smews.
Amazingly, we also saw one rare Ferruginous Pochard.
The number of raptors became fewer than one month ago.
One Common Kestrel looked like (F.t.tinnunculus), which is a different subspecies from (F.t.interstinctus) that is commonly seen in Japan, was found.
There were many photographers waiting to photograph the male Hen Harrier as it roosted in the reed beds in the evening.
The largest artificial lake in the field, Yanaka Lake, is dried up every year during this season to maintain water quality, and there was almost no water left. There were herons, Great Cormorants, non-diving ducks and two Oriental Storks in the remaining puddles.
We looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch on the roads around Yanaka Lake, but we did noto find it this time.
The long period of excavation work at the second basin until 2018 resulted in the absence of as many hawks as in the past, but recently birds have been returning to the basin. In particular, the Oriental Stork has been residing here, and a flock of eight birds was seen here on the day of our visit.
There were also four Taiga Bean Geese in the artificial pond.
The Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus), which had attracted many crowds a month ago, seemed to have already left the field, and there was no birder waiting for it.
Instead, the Long-eared Owl, which has been resident in this field, could be seen again this time. A total of five birds were observed.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オオヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, メジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ,
コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウセンチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオバン, クサシギ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, キジバト, トラフズク, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Around Shiroyama Lake (Kanagawa Prefecture)
城山湖周辺(神奈川)
On that day, a strong, warm southerly wind called "Haru Ichiban," a harbinger of spring, blew two weeks earlier than ordinary years, and the temperature quickly rose to nearly 20 degrees Celsius.
When I arrived, many photographers and birders were already waiting for the Copper Pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii), which had been seen here recently, to appear.
I joined them in waiting, but unfortunately, it did not appear during my observation.
However, while I was waiting, several species appeared one after another, such as Eurasian Bullfinch, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, Japanese Grosbeak, Hawfinch, and Northern Goshawk, and I was never bored.
The birds we observed are;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カワウ, オオタカ, アオゲラ? ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ミソサザイ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, アカウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ
Sanada Reservoir & Oone River (Kanagawa Prefecture)
真田遊水地＆大根川(神奈川)
When I arrived around noon, two birders were there, but they said they could not yet confirm the appearance of it.
Later, another birder came and pointed out a spot where he had already located the bird in the morning. Indeed, we found it sitting still as if hiding in the grass at the edge of a puddle.
Since there was no sign of movement, I moved to Oone River flowing beside of the reservoir to look for the Ruddy-breasted Crake that the birder who had just told me about the location of the snipe had seen in the river.
Soon after, I found the bird moving as if hiding in the reeds in the river. After a while, it came out from the reeds to an open space and began to bathe.
Back at the reservoir, the reater Painted-snipe began to move its body. Soon another two birds appeared from somewhere nearby.
At the same time, the Common Snipe that had been sleeping nearby began to move.
The birds we observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
reater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, コガモ, ヒクイナ, タマシギ, タシギ, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, スズメ
Hinata Forest Road (Kanagawa Prefecture)
日向林道(神奈川)
At dawn I arrived at the starting point of Hinata Forest Road.
In the dim light, an Eurasian Wren was singing lively from a nearby stream.
And voices of Japanese Green Woodpecker echoed through the forest.
As soon as I began walking, a small flock of Eurasian Bullfinch perched on a tree along the road, pecking at the seeds. I saw more of them foraging on the road at other locations.
Two small flocks of Eurasian Siskin were also pecking at tree seeds along the road, too.
There were several Red-flanked Bluetails and Daurian Redstarts, too.
I hoped for an encounter with Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans), which had been frequently seen on this forest road in the past, but it did not happen.
I also looked for Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis), but only Meadow Bunting and Masked Bunting appeared. Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) unfortunately did not appear either.
The birds we observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
I started from Miyagase Lakeside Park on Hayatogawa Forest Road, turned around near Hayatogawa Bridge, and returned back. As soon as I started walking, I encountered a flock of Bramblings.
A Japanese Tit was singing nearby and a Japanese Green Woodpecker was singing from the distant forest. They seemed to already sense the coming spring.
Afterwards, I encountered several flocks of Brambling. The largest flock was over 100 birds.
Just before the Kanazawa Bridge located at the middle of the road, I heard Eurasian Bullfinch singing, and searched around the area, but could not see them.
On the grassy slope there, I saw a Japanese Accentor, which I had been looking for.
On the road from Kanazawa Bridge to Hayatogawa Bridge, where many birds were seen in the previous visit, there were few birds seen this time.
The small trees on the slope along the road had been neatly cut down, and this may probably have had a bad affect on the birds.
On the return path from the Kanazawa Bridge, a Japanese Accentor was seen at the same location.
Red-flanked Bluetail and Daurian Redstart, which were seen well last time, were less this time.
Near the end of the road, two Long-tailed Rosefinch were finally seen, but they quickly disappeared.
A flock of Brambling were foraging on the ground there, and several Rustic Buntings and Meadow Buntings were also foraging
A Japanese Grosbeak was singing nearby.
Also, a Japanese Green Woodpecker was still singing.
The birds observed are;
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
カヤクグリ, ビンズイ, アトリ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Birding Sites for Waterfowl in Chiba & Ibaraki Prefectures
千葉&茨城エリアの水鳥観察
The first stop was the Katagai fishing port on the Kujukuri Coast faceing to the Pacific Ocean.
This site is known for the large puddle of water on the beach where migrating shorebirds stop by. However, at the time of our visit, it was not migration season and the pools had disappeared due to drought, and only a Eurasian Skylark could be seen at the spot.
On the sea, several flocks of Black Scoter and Great Crested Grebe were seen.
We looked for loon/diver, but we couldn't find him.
On the shore, Black-tailed Gulls and Vega Gulls were resting, and one Glaucous-winged Gull was seen perched on a breakwater.
In the fishing port, various species of ducks (Greater Scaup, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall), Black-headed Gulls, and Great Cormorants were seen.
Next, we went a little north along Kujukuri Coast and visited Yasashigaura Beach.
Harlequin Ducks had been observed here near the tetrapods, so we looked for this bird.
We found only Eastern Spot-billed Ducks near the first observation point, and found the target bird near the tetrapods a little distance away.
Then we moved closer and saw five of them.
Heading further north, we stopped at Iioka Fishing Port and Choshi Marina.
At Choshi Marina, we saw large flocks of Greater Scaup.
Next, we visited the fishing ports in Hazaki and Choshi.
We chose a Monday instead of a weekend when fishing is holiday, but when we arrived at the ports, there were few fishing boats in the ports and not many gulls, which was disappointing.
However, the number of large seagulls seemed to have slightly increased.
We were able to see Glaucous Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, and Mew Gull, which we had not been able to see on previous visits.
A female Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) had been seen this season after last season, so we searched for this one but could not see it.
Other birds were ducks (Greater Scaup, Tufted Duck, Gadwal, Northern Shoveler, Eastern Spot-billed Duck), grebes (Black-necked, Red-necked), Red-breasted Merganser, herons/egret (Grey, Great White, Pacific Reef), cormorants (Great, Japanese, Pelagic), Western Osprey and Black Kite.
In the evening, we visited Natsume-no-seki Pond and the rice fields around.
Due to the drought, the water in the pond was low, but there were still many ducks. Most of them were Northern Pintails and Mallards, with many Baikal Teals.
Only a samall number of swans were seen in the pond. Most of them seemed to be out foraging in the surrounding rice fields. We went around the surrounding rice fields and found several large flocks of swans.
Among them were a Snow Goose, two Tundra Bean Geese, and a Cackling Goose.
Two Whistling Swans with entirely black bills were also found.
The birds observed are;
- on Kujyukuri Coast:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- in Hasaki & Choshi Ports;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- around Natsume-no-Seki Pond:
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens),
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii), Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒシクイ, ハクガン, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ,
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ, ウミアイサ,
アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ,
カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, シロチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
キジバト, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
Since White's Thrush has been reported in several sites around Tokyo, I visited here expecting to see this species.
As soon as I started walking along the trail in the forest on the hillside adjacent to the cemetery, I soon encountered a mixed flock of Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits, and Warbling Eyes.
While I was observing them, a large bird perched on a nearby branch. It turned out to be White's Thrush, the bird I had been looking for. I was happy to see the bird so soon.
Another White's Thrush was seen at a different point.
Many Dusky Thrushes and a few Pale Thrushes were also seen.
I also saw two Red-flanked Bluetails.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ. ルリビタキ, アオジ
Around Tateshina Highland & Nobeyama Highland (Nagano)
蓼科高原&野辺山高原周辺(長野)
On the way, we stopped at the Togariishi Historical Site.
In the wet snows, not many birds could be seen.
At Ryujin Pond, the surface of the water became less icy than last time, and ducks and a few Common Mergansers/Goosanders were seen.
There was not much snow on the road to the cottage (Adagio) where we stayed this time.
On the bird feeder on the balcony of the lodge, there were tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow), Bramblings and Grey-capped Greenfinches.
The next morning, we started observing from the warmth of the room as the sun was rising.
First came Bramblinga and tits (Willow, Coal, Japanese), followed by a large flock of Japanese Grosbeak.
Grey-capped Greenfinches and Eurasian Bullfinches were also there feeding while the Japanese Grosbeak were in absence.
This time, no Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha) came.
Bohemian Waxwing, recently seen near the lodge, also did not appear.
Then, we stopped by Togariishi historical Site again.
Solitary Snipe was glimpsed in the swampy bushes.
In the afternoon, we visited Nobeyama Highland.
According to the weather forecast, the weather was supposed to improve, but although the snow had stopped, fog was still thick.
Near Takizawa Ranch, we were lucky enough to see a large flock of Bohemian Waxwings. It is rare to see a flock of only this species without Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) here.
At other locations, large flocks of Eurasian Siskins and Bramblings were also seen.
Several Long-tailed Rosefinches were also seen.
The birds we observed are;
at Togariishi Historic Site:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Tateshina Highland:
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
at Nobeyama Highland:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ,
キジバト, コゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ,
ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Around Lake Suwa (Okaya, Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺(長野)
On the day of our visit and the following day, heavy rain, or heavy snow at lower temp, was expected near Tokyo due to a low pressure system passing over the Pacific coast.
When we arrived at our first stop, Enrei, it soon began to snow. But the snow was humid, as the temperature was not so low.
Enrei is located at in the corner of the Yatsugatake center Plateau National Park.
This is our second visit this winter, following our last visit in the end of December.
We expected to see Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi) and Red Crossbill, which we saw last time.
Soon a large flock of over 50 Red Crossbills passed overhead, singing. Later, other small flocks flew overhead several times.
We walked looking for Pallas's Rosefinch, but it did not appear, and when we almost gave up, we found a small bird moving in the bushes, which turned out to be a Red-flanked Bluetail.
Not far from there, in the small trees, we finally found a small flock of six Pallas's Rosefinches.
Then we visited the north side of Lake Suwa.
At the Kamaguchi sluice gate of Lake Suwa, the starting point of Tenryu River, we looked for Smew (Mergellus albellus) and Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula), but they were not there this time as well as the last time.
At the swan flyover site at the mouth of the Yokogawa River, no swans but ducks, and flocks of Common Merganser (Goosander) and Great Crested Grebe in the distance were found.
The birds we observed are;
at Enrei
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Lake Suwa
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ,
ツグミ, ルリビタキ, アトリ, オオマシコ, イスカ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Onoji & Oyamada Ryokuchi Park (Machida, Tokyo)
小野路&小山田緑地(東京町田市)
We started from Onoji, which is located in Machida, Tokyo, and is designated as an area that preserves Tokyo's historical heritage and nature.
The hills and valleys are intricately terrain, forming a landscape of satoyama, consisting of hilly coppices and cultivated paddy fields and wet grasslands in the valleys, and various wildlife inhabit. To preserve this natural environment, it is managed using the traditional agricultural techniques.
In the wet grassland in the valley, where we first visited, Daurian Redstart, Bull-headed Shrike, and Oriental Turtle-Dove appeared well.
Several Masked Bunting also came out from the bushes.
A Pale Thrush was digging and foraging on the ground.
A Hawfinch perched in a small grove of trees.
A Red-flanked Bluetail was seen on the edge to the hill.
An Eastern Buzzard also appeared in the sky, and Eurasian Jay was also seen and heard.
On the trail in the woods, Masked Bunting were spotted foraging on the ground several times. Near the cattle barn, White Wagtail and Dusky Thrush were also seen.
We then entered Oyamada Ryokuchi Park.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker were seen near the entrance.
In the wetlands, two Red-flanked Bluetails were seen, and many Dusky Thrushes were bathing in the puddles, and Varied Tit and Eurasian Wrens were also seen there.
On the trail in the forest, two kinds of woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy and Japanese Green, were seen on dead trees at the same time.
Several House Swift were seen soaring in the sky above.
The birds observed were;
at Onoji:
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus).
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Oyamada Ryokuchi Park:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ノスリ, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The water level in the marsh was low and the bottoms of part of the marsh were dry.
Birds were few, but a few Long-billed Plovers, Black-winged Stilts, and Common Snipes were seen.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)?
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, イカルチドリ, タシギ, イソシギ, トウネン?
ユリカモメ, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Matsubushi Green-Hill Park (Matsubushi Midori-no-Oka-Koen)(Saitama)
松伏緑の丘公園(埼玉)
We visited Matsubushi Green-Hill Park (Matsubushi Midori-no-Oka-Koen) in Saitama Prefecture.
This park has a nature-like water environment and a rich green satoyama, which attracts many birds and provide pleasant birding.
It was reported that Red-breasted Flycatcher, one of the few winter birds in Japan, has been seen in this park. This was the second year in a row that this bird had been here.
Since we arrived close to noon, we were concerned that we might not be able to see the target bird easily, but we were soon able to see it as photographers were gathering to take pictures of the bird.
The birds found were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, オオバン, キジバト,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, ニシオジロビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Mizumoto Park (Tokyo)
水元公園(東京)
The first snowfall in Tokyo the day before was still a little on the ground.
It was a bit cold but sunny and the birds were active.
Around the wetland near the parking lot, there were many species such as Eurasian Wigeon, White-cheeked Starling, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Common Snipe, Brambling, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Bull-headed Shrike, Masked Bunting, and also Brown-headed Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Many birders and photographers gathered near the Bird Sanctuary.
One group was pointing their cameras and binoculars at a Varied Tit, a dark-colored variant called a "Benkei-yamagara".
Another group looked at a flock of Ryukyu Minivet.
The Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi), which had been seen here for some time, did not appear during our observation.
In the pond (Koaidame flood control basin), egrets, ducks (Common Pochard, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Tufted Duck), grebes (Little , Great and Crested) and Common Coot were observed.
Common Kingfisher, which is usually seen frequently, was seen only once this time.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, タシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Area around Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
We first drove through the farming area in Itakura Town.
Russet Sparrow, Tree Sparrow and Grey-capped Greenfinch were perched on power lines in flocks.
Raptors such as Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eastern Marsh-Harrier and Hen Harrier were also seen.
A flock of Rook was also foraging in a rice field.
In the irrigation canal, several Green Sandpipers, Common Snipe and egrets were seen, and in the trees along the canal, various birds were seen, such as Dusky Thrush, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Meadow Bunting and Rustic Bunting.
The small swamps in the reed fields in the Watarase Retarding Basin were mostly frozen. In the larger swamp, which was not frozen, there was a flock of Falcated Duck.
Many Rustic and Meadow Buntings and some Masked Buntings were foraging on the road, and Common Reed Buntings were perched on the reeds looking for insects in the stems.
Raptors such as Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eastern Buzzard and Western Osprey also appeared.
We looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch on the roads around Yanaka Lake, but it was not easy to find it, but we did manage to see it.
Many Smew were seen in the lake.
At noon, we left Watarase Retarding Basin and visited Mikamoyama Park nearby to look for woodpeckers.
We stayed only a short time, but found Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
We also saw a Goldcrest.
Later, we visited Tatara Marsh (Tatara-Numa).
Many of the swans were in the pond and on its shores, and one Greater White-fronted Goose was found amongst them.
Not many ducks were seen in the pond and were seen resting on the far bank opposite.
Then we stopped at the irrigation reservoir at Itakura.
Small numbers of swans and ducks were seen.
We returned to Watarase Retarding Basin again, but the weather changed suddenly, with snow clouds spreaded in the sky and light rain falling, which turned to snow after a while.
An Oriental Stork was seen flying in the distance but could not be seen closely.
As sunset time came closer, we observed Hen Harriers and Eastern Marsh-Harriers roosting in the reed beds. Many observers were waiting around.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Mikamo-yama Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
At Tatara Marsh:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン, タシギ, クサシギ,
タイミールセグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Yokohama area (Kanagawa)
横浜エリア(神奈川)
At first, we visited Kodomo Nature Park (Kodomo Shizen Koen) in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
On the trail in the woods, Chinese Hwamei were moving busily in the bushes.
A Japanese Green Woodpecker was found at a little distance, too.
The main trail in the park was busy with runners, but a small flock of Chinese Bamboo-Partridge was foraging on the slope beside it, without paying any attention to them.
A small flock of Tufted Duck was seen in the pond. Among the flock, a female Ring-necked Duck was soon found. Ring-necked Duck is a rarity in Japan, and this individual returned this season again.
Next, we visited Maioka Park (Maioka-Koen).
The Maioka Park is located in the suberbs of Yokohama city.
There are ponds, rice fields and forests, providing the good habitats for the wintering birds such as snipes, finches, etc.
This site is famous for the regular wintering of Eurasian Woodcock, and is providing good opportunities for their observation. It did come again this year.
There was also Ruddy-breasted Crake.
Then we moved to nearby Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park.
Ducks in the water were few in number, and the birds in the reed fields kept hiding in the grasses and did not come out due to the northerly winds.
Two Common Kingfishers were well observed in the field. A Green Pheasant was foraging in an open area, which is unusual for this time of year. A Northern Goshawk flew at the distance.
The Imada Retarding Basin had more bird species and numbers than Sakaigawa.
A stray Taiga Bean Goose was also found here.
In the reeds on the shore, Common Reed Buntings were busily pecking at the reeds' stalks.
The birds we observed are;
at Kodomo Nature Park:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Maioka Park;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Sakaigawa Retarding Basin;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Imada Retarding Basin;
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, キジ, オオヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, クビワキンクロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオタカ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン,
ヤマシギ, タシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Though the temperature was cool early in the morning, it rose quickly under clear, windless skies, making it hard to believe it was the middle of winter.
Upon information of Pallas's Bunting, I headed to an area a little further downstream than I usually walk.
The warmth of the day brought a variety of species to the trails in the forest on the way, such as Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Rustic Bunting, Masked Bunting, Dusky Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, and so on.
Several photographers were waiting to take pictures of Pallas's Bunting.
Soon a small flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrow appeared, followed by several Pallas's Bunting.
On this day, raptors such as Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, and Eastern Buzzard also appeared.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Pallas's Bunting (Western) (Emberiza pallasi polaris)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, カオグロガビチョウ, メジロ,
ムクドリ, アカハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, シベリアジュリン
One-day Trip in Chiba & Ibaraki Prefectures
千葉&茨城エリア
At first, we visited Natsume-no-seki Pond in Chiba Prefecture in the morning.
Natsume-no-Seki is an agricultural reservoir with a circumference of about one kilometer. It was known for the wintering ducks and swans. There are around 10,000 ducks at the most.
On the way to the pond, we found a Common Snipe, a Green Sandpiper and an Japanese Wagtail in a irrigation canal along the road.
We saw some Northern Lapwings flying and an Eastern Buzzard on a electrical pole.
When we arrived at the pond, there were swans and ducks.
Most of the swans were Bewick's Swans with a few Whistling Swans and Whooper Swans.
The majority of ducks were Northern Pintails, and the number of Baikal Teals was unexpectedly small.
Then, we found the reason for the low number of ducks. There was a Northern Goshawk on the other side of the pond eating a prey duck. This seemed to force many of the ducks to leave the pond this time.
One Greater White-fronted Goose and Tundra Bean Goose were also seen.
As we walked around the Tosho Prefectural Forest (Tosho Kenmin-no-mori) west of the pond, we saw many Warbling White-eyes busily flying in the forest.
A flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch was also seen.
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit was found in the rice paddies.
Then we moved to the riverbanks and rice fields spread in the river island of Tone River in the Kamisu area.
We looked for raptors and found an Western Osprey, a Common Kestrel, a Eastern Buzzard,a Hen Harrier and a few Eastern Marsh-Harriers.
We also saw Northern Lapwings, White Wagtails, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, Common Reed Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Dusky Thrushes and Zitting Cisticolas.
In the river, there were Great Crested Grebes, Common Coots and gulls (Black-tailed, Vega, Black-headed).
There were few ducks in the swamps scattered in the reed fields, and most were Northern Shoveler.
Next, we visited the fishing ports in Hazaki and Choshi.
The day was unusually warm but windy.
We visited the site hoping to see more seagulls, but there were few in species and numbers, perhaps influenced by the fact that the fishery was closed for the New Year's holidays.
Other than Gulls, Japanese Cormorants, various species of Ducks, grebes (Great Crested, Black-necked) and herons/egrets were observed.
Finally, we visited the Inashiki area.
A small number of shorebirds, such as Common Snipes, Green Sandpipers, Wood Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts, Common or Little Ringed Plover and Temminck's Stint, were found in the lotus fields where harvesting had finished.
Fortunately, a Falcated Duck was found in a narrow irrigation canal.
At the time of sunset, many Eastern Marsh Harriers soared over the reedbeds of Ukijima.
A female and a male Hen Harriers were also seen.
The birds observed are;
- at Natsume-no-Seki:
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)?
- at Tone River;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)<
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- in Hasaki & Choshi Ports;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- in Inashiki area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae)? Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus)?
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
キジ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ,
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ウミアイサ,
アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ? オオタカ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, タゲリ, ハジロコチドリ? コチドリ? タシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ? オオジュリン
Winter birds in mountain area in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市里山 (長野)
Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus)
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
; All photos by T.Endo
I visited Sakata-Yama Natural Trail and Garyu-Zan Mountain Park to look for winter birds several times during this winter.
In Sakata-Yama, I found regular winter birds, such as Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans), Long-tailed Rosefinches (Uragus sibiricus) and Red-flanked Bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus).
In last winter one of my friends watched a water rail in reed beds around a small pond at the foot of the mountain. Since I heard that, I carefully checked the spot whenever I visited, but could not find any. But, fortunately I watched one in this winter.
In northern Japan, this species is considered as summer birds, but here it seems to winter.
I also found Japanese Accentors (Prunella rubida) which breed only at high mountains such as Japanese Alps area, as winter birds in Sakata-Yama.
Winter Wrens (Troglodytes troglodytes) and Coal Tits (Periparus ater) are also observed only in winters here.
In Garyu-zan area I observed a flock of Goldcrest (Regulus regulus).
This species have not wintered for recent years in this area. But this year it seems to winter.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Grey Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Pale Thurush (Turdus obcurus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Oriental Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes Coccothraustes), Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus),
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)，Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)，
Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
マガモ，カルガモ，ダイサギ，アオサギ，クイナ，キジバト，ノスリ，コゲラ，モズ，キクイタダキ，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，カケス，
シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒガラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ガビチョウ，ミソサザイ，ムクドリ，ジョウビタキ，ルリビタキ，シロハラ，ツグミ，
スズメ，カヤクグリ，カワラヒワ，アトリ，イカル，ベニマシコ，ハクセキレイ，ホオジロ，カシラダカ，ミヤマホオジロ，アオジ
Around Mt. Yasts (Nagano)
八ヶ岳周辺(長野)
On the way, we stopped by Togariishi historical Site in Chino City.
A Solitary Snipe visits here every winter, and fortunately we could find this time.
Then we moved to the area of Ryujin Pond.
The pond was almost frozen.
On the ice, ducks were resting.
There were few birds, but a flock of Brambling was seen in the forest.
In the evening, we visited the firm fields in Nobeyama Highland.
We looked for Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis) but did not see any, instead we saw a large flock of Dusky Thrush.
The birds we observed are;
at Togariishi Historic Site:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)? Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
at Nobeyama Highland:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, トビ, オオタカ? ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ, コゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, ツグミ, スズメ,
セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Around Lake Suwa (Okaya & Chino, Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺(長野)
At first, we visited Enrei, which is located at in the corner of the Yatsugatake center Plateau National Park.
This field is located on a plateau 1,000m above sea level and is also known as the home of over 100 varieties of wild birds.
When we visited, it was cold below zero degrees Centigrade, but there was almost no snow on the road.
We expected to see reddish birds which visit there in the winter season.
There was almost as little snow cover as a year ago, but the number of birds had increased.
Red Crossbills, of which only a few were seen last time, were flying around the field in large flocks.
We were also lucky enough to see a flock of nearly 10 Pallas' Rosefinch, which did not visit this site last time.
Grey-capped Greenfinch, Brambling, Eurasian Siskin, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Red-flanked Bluetail, Coal Tits, Meadow Bunting and others were also seen.
We stopped at nearby Onodate Park (Kotori-no-mori), and saw some birds; tits (Japanese, Varied, Coal, Willow), Long-tailed Tits, Daurian Redstart, Brambling, Hawfinch and Japanese Grosbeak.
Then we visited the north side of Lake Suwa.
Smew (Mergellus albellus) and Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula), of which I saw many one year ago, were not seen at all.
The numbers of Common Merganser (Goosander) and Great Crested Grebe were also small this time.
The birds we observed are;
at Enrei
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Onodate Park (Kotori-no-mori)
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
at Lake Suwa
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus)
マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, トビ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, オオマシコ, イスカ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
The construction work that continued until the previous winter seemed to have been completed, and with no construction vehicles passing through, the birding in a tranquil environment returned as it had been before.
This time, I took the Hayatogawa Forest Road, starting from the Hayatogawa Bridge and turning around on the Konakazawa Park side.
I saw the regular winter visitors; Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Dusky Thrush, Brambling, Masked Bunting, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Japanese Accentor, and the residents; Japanese Tit, Varied Tit, Warbling White-eye, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Wren and Western Osprey.
There were more than 10 Red-flanked Bluetails, but not many others.
However, there was a flock of Eurasian Siskin this time.
Also, Asian House Martins were flying overhead probably due to the warm weather.
Fortunately, a flying Mountain Hawk-Eagle was seen at a distance.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)? Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ? クマタカ,
アオバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, アオジ
3-day Trip in Saga (Saga Prefecture) & Izumi (Kagoshima Prefecture)
佐賀(佐賀)＆出水(鹿児島)
The first stop was an overnight stay in Saga to visit the Higashi-Yoka mudflats (Higashi-Yoka Higata), and the lotus fields in the reclaimed lands in Shiroishi area.
The Higashi-yoka mudflat is vast, but at high tide the mudflat narrows and shorebirds and other waterfowl can be observed the largest number in Japan.
During the winter, shorebirds are fewer than in spring and fall migrations, but many endangered and rare species visit here, such as Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunder's Gull and Common Shelduck.
We visited at the time of the high tide of the new moon, but the first day was very cold with light rain and wind due to the passage of a cold front, and the next day was more colder with occasional snow flakes due to the first cold wave of the season, making it unsuitable for careful observation of birds scattered on the vast mudflats.
Nevertheless, we were able to observe a great number of Common Shelduck, Saunder's Gull, Dunling, Eurasian Curlew, Kentish Plover, Black-faced Spoonbill, and others.
Also, we saw spectacular cloud-like flights of them.
In the reclaimed lands in the Shiroishi area, most of the lotus fields had been harvested and the water surface had expanded.
A small flock of Pacific Golden-Plover was found in one of the fields, but there were no shorebirds in large numbers as in the migratory season.
Instead, many ducks were seen in the canals and the large irrigation pond. In particular, in the pond, there were a variety of ducks, especially a huge flock of Baikal Teal.
A Ruddy Shelduck, which are rare in Japan, was also found.
Perhaps targeting those ducks, everal Peregrine Falcons and a Northern Goshawk were seen.
On the way from Higashi-yoka to Shiroishi, a small flock of Oriental Magpie was seen.
The habitats of Oriental magpie is limited to northern Kyushu, including Saga and Fukuoka prefectures, and part of Hokkaido in Japan.
In the evening of the first day, we drove around the south area near Saga Airport and found several harriers (Eastern Marsh, Hen) soaring low over the meadow, perhaps nesting there.
Also we found Eastern Buzzard and Common Kestrel.
In the evening of the second day, we entered Izumi, our next visit.
It is said that 80-90% of the world's Hooded Cranes gather on the Izumi Plain, which is a very rare site where we can observe the cranes up close.
The results of the crane count on December 2 were as follows;
Hooded Crane 10,301
White-naped Crane 1,097
Common Crane 6
Sandhill Crane 4
Siberian Crane 1
Hybrid (Hooded Crane x Common Crane) 1
Total 11,410
We looked for these five species of cranes. Many Hooded Crane and White-naped Crane were seen here and there.
One Sandhill Crane was found in their flock on the first day in East Reclamation.
However, the other two species were not found. Even in the huge flocks of cranes that flew in and out of their roosts at sunset and sunrise, we could not find them.
We almost gave up, but we were happy to finally find a Common Crane and a Siberian Crane in the rice paddies of Shiomi area, the last spot we visited.
Shin-tsurumi-tei, where we stayed, is located right in front of one of two crane feeding points, and many cranes can be seen during the feeding time at around 7:00 in the morning.
Also, many rooks gather to take the food. Many Rooks were perched on the electric wires around the inn.
Among them, a few Daurian Jackdaws in small size were also found.
We visited the Kogawa Dam nearby.
At the upperstream of Komenotsu River near Kogawa Dam, we saw a Crested Kingfisher, a Common Kingfisher, two Brown Dippers and a Grey Wagtail.
Not many ducks could be seen on the road around the dammed lake.
However, as we walked along the walking trail, a large flock of Mandarin Ducks, which we had not seen until then, noticed us and took off in a hurry and were seen.
The birds observed are;
- at Higashi-Yoka mudflats:
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus heuglini),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Reclaimed lands in the Shiroishi area:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at south area near Saga Airport:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Izumi:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Common Starling (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Kogawa Dam:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis), Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オオヒシクイ, ツクシガモ, アカツクシガモ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ,
ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, ソデグロヅル, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル,
タゲリ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, ハジロコチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ,
ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, キタアラスカハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ホイグリンカモメ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト,
カワセミ, ヤマセミ, キュウシュウコゲラ, モズ, カササギ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
イソヒヨドリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)
As usual, 'Kanta-kun', the Great White Pelican, welcomed us.
Beautiful Falcated Ducks and Mallards flocked in the water near the shore.
In the centre of the lake, many Baikal Teals, Northern Pintails and Eurasian Teals were flocking together.
Bird activity was low, probably due to the afternoon time of day, but Dusky Thrush, Common Reed Bunting and Grey-capped Greenfinch appeared well.
The birds observed are;
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, モモイロペリカン, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオバン, タゲリ, セグロカモメ,
キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Tone River (Ibaraki Prefecture)
利根川(茨城)
We looked for raptors and found an Western Osprey, a Common Kestrel and a few Eastern Marsh-Harriers.
We also saw Northern Lapwings, White Wagtails, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, Common Reed Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Zitting Cisticolas.
In the river, there were Great Crested Grebes and Common Coots.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ,
オオバン, タゲリ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, セッカ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Ibaraki, Chiba Prefecture)
波崎・銚子漁港(茨城,千葉)
The day was warm and calm, as if the season had returned for more than a month.
It is still a little early for gull watching season, and the fishery was off at the weekend and there were no fishing boat unloading fishes, so the numbers of gulls were few.
We saw the basic species; Black-tailed Gull, Vega Gull, Slaty-headed Gull, Black-headed Gull, except for Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis).
In addition, we saw Vega Gulls which seems to be Mongolian, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls/Siberian Gulls.
Perhaps because of this warmth, there were very few Slaty-backed Gulls this time.
Other than Gulls, Japanese Cormorants, various species of Ducks, grebes (Great Crested, Black-necked) and herons/egrets were observed.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus)?
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus heuglini)?
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis)? Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, ウミウ,
トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ? オオセグロカモメ, ホイグリンカモメ? タイミールセグロカモメ? ユリカモメ,
ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ
Natsume-no-Seki Pond (Chiba Prefecture)
夏目の堰(千葉)
Natsume-no-Seki is an agricultural reservoir with a circumference of about one kilometer. It was known for the wintering ducks and swans. There are around 10,000 ducks at the most.
On the way to the pond, we searched for flock of swans in the rice paddies, but there was not. But we saw some Northern Lapwings.
When we arrived at the pond, the swans were still there.
Most were Bewick's Swans with a few Whistling Swans and Whooper Swans.
Many ducks which covered the whole surface of the pond had arrived again this year.
The dominant species were Northern Pintails, Mallards and Baikal Teals.
Eurasian Wigeons, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and Eurasian Teals were also seen among them.
One Greater White-fronted Goose was also visiting this year.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii), Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
コジュケイ, マガン, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
ミコアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, タゲリ, キジバト, モズ, ウグイス,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Mouth of Kuji River, Hiraiso Coast, Oarai Port, Lake Hi-Numa area & Lake Kasumigaura area (Ibaraki Prefecture)
久慈川河口&平磯海岸&大洗港&涸沼エリア&霞ケ浦エリア(茨城)
At first, we visited the mouth of Kuji River which flows the north of Ibaraki Prefecture.
Near the mouth of the river, there was a large sandy sandbar, on which a large flock of gulls was resting. The predominant species were Vega Gull and Black-tailed Gull, with a few Slaty-backed Gull.
Kentish Plovers and Dunlins and a Pacific Reef Heron were also seen.
On the river there were small flocks of Tufted Duck and a few Red-breasted Mergansers.
A large flock of Eurasian Wigeon were foraging in the grassland on the far bank.
Next, we drove south and stopped at the shore of Hiraiso.
A flock of Harlequin Duck were repeatedly diving on the wave-breaking rocky shore.
Japanese Cormorants and Pelagic Cormorants were resting on the rocks.
Large flock of Greater Scaup were seen offshore.
In the next stopover at Oarai, there was a flock of Falcated Duck in the harbour.
We looked for ioons/divers offshore but could not find any.
Next, we went around the Lake Hinuma area.
In Hinuma Nature Park (Hinuma Shizen Koen), Dusky Thrushes, Daurian Redstart, buntings (Masked, Rustic) and Bull-headed Shrike were observed in the marshy meadows.
Many Hawfinches were seen in the hillside forests.
Pale Thrushes, Dusky Thrushes, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Warbling White-eyes and Long-tailed Rosefinch were also seen.
On the lake, a huge flock of Tufted Duck and Greater Scaup looked like a broad band were seen in the distance.
Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Great Crested Grebe and Black-necked Grebe were seen near shore.
Finally, we went around the Kasumigaura area.
Large flocks of Northern Pintail and Eurasian Wigeon were seen in the lake.
A small number of shorebirds, such as Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper, were found in the lotus fields where harvesting had finished.
Over a dozen Eastern Marsh Harriers soared over the reedbeds of Ukijima at sunset.
A Merling was also seen flying at high speed as it swooped over the reedbeds.
A female Hen Harrier was also seen.
The birds observed are;
- at mouth of Kuji River:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- at Hiraiso Coast:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- at Oarai Port:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- in Lake Hi-Numa area:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- in Lake Kasumigaura area:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ,
ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, タゲリ, シロチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Lake Izu-Numa, Kabukuri-Numa Marsh & Shizu Bay (Miyagi Prefecture)
伊豆沼&蕪栗沼&志津湾(宮城)
In the afternoon, we searched for Leser White-fronted Goose in the farm fields of Minamikata area.
We checked flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose one by one and managed to find a few Leser White-fronted Geese in a flock.
In the evening, we arrived at Lake Izu-Numa.
We waited at the eastern end of the lake to watch geese roosting at sunset.
As the sun was about to disappear over the horizon, flocks of geese came back one after another and landed on the water.
The area of lake became very busy and lively all at once.
The next day, this time we got to Kabukuri Marsh before dawn and waited for the geese to leave their roost at sunrise.
In the darkness, we could already hear them chattering away.
As the eastern sky began to lighten, the flocks took off one after another. It was a wonder how there were so many geese in this small swamp, and so many flew overhead.
As it gets brighter, ducks on the water and remaining geese became visible.
Many Taiga Bean Geese, Whooper Swans and a few Cackling Geese were still remaining.
We looked for Eurasian Spoonbills which were observed a few weeks ago, but could not find them this time.
We walked around the marsh, and saw an Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Eastern Buzzards.
In the trees, there were several flocks of Long-tailed Tit, a few Long-tailed Rosefinches, and buntings (Masked, Common-reed, Meadow).
We revisited Minamikata area, and we found two Leser White-fronted Geese closely.
The last stop was Shizugawa Bay in Minami-sanriku town. Minami-sanriku town is located in the northeastern part of Miyagi Prefecture.
The birds observed are;
- in Minamikata area:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- at Izu-numa Lake:
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- at Kabukuri-Numa Marsh:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Sizu Bay:
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, マガン, カリガネ, シジュウカラガン, コクガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ,
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ura-Bandai Area (Fukushima Prefecture)
裏磐梯エリア(福島)
When we visited this site at the same time the previous year, we were able to observe a flock of Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) although only in a short time, so we thought we would stay here this time and enjoy birding for longer time.
However, when we arrived at the site, there was deep snow covering all the ground, which had not been there last time, and the trails in the forest were difficult to walk on even with the boots we had brought with us because no one had stepped on them.
We had no choice but to look for birds from our hotel room and by driving along snowploughed roads.
This time, due to the unexpectedly deep snowfall, we could hardly observe any birds.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra), ,
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)?
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ? ハクセキレイ, ウソ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
There was information that a Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea), one of the few winter birds near Tokyo, had been seen at Senjogahara Moor, so we were hoping to see it, as well as a Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) and a Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) wintering here.
At sunrise time, we arrived at the bottom of Yutaki Waterfall and walked the trail along the Yukawa River, looking for Solitary Snipe, but did not find it.
Instead, Brown Dipper were very active and well seen.
Next, we visited Sanbonmatsu Park in Senjogahara Marshland.
There, a flock of Common Redpoll had been observed since a few weeks ago, and on arrival, about 10 photographers were already waiting to photograph the birds, but they had not yet appeared.
We chose to return here some time later, and moved to Akanuma and walked the trail in Senjogahara Marshland.
Probably because the birds had already moved out of this area by the end of November, there were no birds to be seen besides a few Willow Tits and Dusky Thrush.
So we moved to Shobugahama beach on Lake Chuzenji to look for Steller's Sea-Eagle perched on a favourite tree on the mountainside, but this was also absent.
Small flocks of Common Merganser/Goosander and Common Coot were in the lake, and Japanese Wagtails and Long-billed Plovers were found by the shore.
We returned to Sanbonmatsu Park again, but Common Redpoll did not appear and photographers were leaving one by one.
We drove around the nearby woods looking for the bird, but could not find it, so we gave up and moved back to Shobugahama beach on Lake Chuzenji.
At Shobugahama beach, Steller's Sea-Eagle did not appear during our observations, but in the campsite forest, we saw many birds, such as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wood Nuthatch, Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Rustic Bunting and Eurasian Siskin.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ,
アカゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, カワガラス, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, シメ, カシラダカ
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Tokyo)
新宿御苑(東京)
Shinjuku Gyoen is located at the subcenter of Tokyo metropolitan, 10 minutes walk from the Shinjyuku station.
Shinjuku Gyoen was constructed on the site of a private mansion belonging to Lord Naito, a "daimyo"(feudal lord) of the Edo era.
Completed in 1906 as an imperial garden, it was re-designated as a national garden after the Second World War and opened to the public.
With 58.3 ha (144 acres) in size and a circumference of 3.5 km, it blends three distinct styles, French Formal Garden, English Landscape Garden and Japanese Traditional Garden, and is considered to be one of the most important gardens from the Meiji era.
Among the 20,000 trees which grow in Shinjuku Gyoen, there are the first examples planted in Japan such plants as tulip trees, planes, Himalayan cedars and bald cypresses, whose distinctive crown shapes give the garden a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
Sinjuku Gyoen is an ideal place to get close to nature and enjoy the changing seasons, the oasis for not only metropolitan and short-term visitors but also birds.
At the pond in Japanese Traditional Garden, there were Mandarin Ducks and a Littel Grebe, the regular winter visitor in this site.
In the other pond, there were Mallads, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Tufted Ducks.
We saw many Warbling White-eyes gathered on camellia flowers and persimmon fruits.
The thrushes (Dusky, Pale) and Brown-eared Bulbuls gathered on the tree beside the pond to eat its nuts.
Daurian Redstart and Eurasian Bullfinch were heard but unfortunately not seen.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, キジバト, コゲラ? ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, ウソ
Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
In the early morning, we arrived at Sozo-no-mori Forest.
There were already many photographers waiting for Two-barred Crossbill and Red Crossbill which come to bath in a small pool of water.
Many Red Crossbills were perched on the Japanese Larch next to the pool.
Later, Eurasian Siskins and Red Crossbills came down to the pool to drink water.
A crossbill with two white wing bars was found among them.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Two-barred Crossbill/White-winged Crossbill (Eurasian) (Loxia leucoptera bifasciata),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, イスカ, ナキイスカ, シメ, ホオジロ
Uji River (Uji, Kyoto)
宇治川(宇治市)
Unfortunately, the desired bird was not present, but a flock of Common Merganser/Goosander could be seen.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos).
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガモ, カルガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, ハシブトガラス,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Imashirozuka Burial Mound Park & Nakano-ike Pond (Takatsuki, Osaka)
今城塚古墳公園&中ノ池(大阪府高槻市)
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri)
Baer's Pochard is one of the rarest duck species, with a total global population estimated at only 250 to 1000 birds, and is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. It breeds in the area from north-eastern China to the Yangtze River basin, and winters mainly in China, with a few visitors in Japan during the wintering season.
Based on information that the Baer's Pochard had returned to the Imashirozuka burial mound this season.
There were various species of ducks in the moat remaining around the burial mound, but the target bird was not found.
Several Baical Teals were seen instead.
The local birder I met there told me that the target bird might have moved to Naka-no-ike Pond, about 1km away, where I had seen the bird two years ago.
On arrival at Naka Pond, I soon found Baer's Pochard swimming after Common Pochards.
The birds observed are;
- Imashirozuka Burial Mound Park:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
- Nakano-ike Pond:
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, アカハジロ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
京都御苑(京都)
Not many birds were observed around the bird bath at the north east corner of the garden probably due to the light rain at the previous night.
In the pine tree forest adjacent to the west side, called "Grashopper Field", Olive-backed Pipit welcomed us, as usual.
Dusky Thrush and Pale Thursh was also heard and seen.
The "Konoe Pond" in the northwest, which suffered typhoon damage and had been undergoing renovation for some time, was now reopened and had a small pool of dead water, making it a good watering place for birds and several Dusky Thrushes came to drink there.
Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Hawfinch were gathering in a large tree next to the pond to feed on its nuts.
Near the entrance to the Kyoto Imperal Palace, several Japanese Wagtails and White Wagtails were foraging in the ditch by the wall, unconcerned by many tourists.
Around the Shirakumo Shrine, where rare species are sometimes found, children were playing and nothing was seen.
We looked for Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese Grosbeak at Kujo Pond, and "Cricket Field" on the east side of the Kyoto State Guest House, but did not encounter them this time.
The birds observed were;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
アオサギ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
South-eastern part of Lake Biwa (Shiga)
琵琶湖南東部(滋賀)
The first stop was at the mouth of the Yasu River.
The previous visit was around noon and more species had been observed by local birders that morning, so this time we visited in the early hours of the morning. However, the area was covered by a deep fog and there was no visibility, so unfortunately it was not a good condition for birding.
Then we move to Kogan-ryokuchi Shina-1 Park and Shina-2 Park in Kusatsu City.
Here, too, the fog limited observation to near the lakeshore at first, but luckily a rare bird, the Ferruginous Pochard, which was one of the targets of the visit, was found close by.
Eventually the fog cleared and we could see further out to lake.
The number of Common Pochard was lower than last time, and Tuffted Dug was higher.
The birds obserbed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, ケリ, セグロカモメ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ウグイス, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
It is getting colder and colder day by day.
Winter birds are increasing at this site.
Bunting have been joined by Rustic and Masked in addition to Meadow.
A flock of about 20 Dusky Thrushes, probably stopping on migration, were foraging on the ground of the playing field.
There seemed to be all the species of ducks had arrived.
A number of Great Crested Grebe had already arrived as well.
There were Black-headed Gulls and some Vega Gulls. There was also what appeared to be a Mew Gull also flying.
White, Grey, Japanese Wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were all seen.
Raptors such as three Western Ospreys and an Eastern Buzzard were seen.
There were photographers waiting for Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), but it did not appear while I was there.
This time one Eurasian Wryneck and a small flock of Masked Laughingthrush were also seen.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, アリスイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ガビチョウ, カオグロガビチョウ, メジロ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Southern foothill of Mt. Yatsugatake (Nagano & Yamanashi)
八ヶ岳南部山麓(長野&山梨)
This year, many Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) and Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica) have been observed in various sites, so we headed out with the expectation of similar observations in this area.
In recent years, we have not seen snow on the mountains around this area at this time of year, but we saw snow-capped mountains at this time.
The site where we first visited was Daimon Dam in Kiyosato.
Here we did not see many birds.
There was no Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) in the dammed lake, only small flocks of Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Mallard.
The bunting was only Meadow Bunting, and numbers of Dusky Thrush were also few.
The next site was Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike) in the area of villas at Kai-Oizumi Highland in Hokuto City.
There was little water in the pond, and a few Mallards were observed.
In the forest, there were few birds probably due to the effects of the construction made in the previous year.
In the pond of Itomi, there were some ducks such as; Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Eurasian Teal.
Next, we walked along the trail to Doryu Waterfall.
There were many tourists here, however, we saw a rather unexpectedly number of birds, such as tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow), woodpeckers (Great Spotted, Japanese Pygmy), Log-tailed Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail, Dusky Thrush, Dusky Thrush and Eastern Buzzard.
The farming areas of Nobeyama had been completely harvested and were being cultivated for the coming winter.
Along the edges of woods adjacent to agricultural fields and in small wooded meadows along the farm fields banks, flocks of Long-tailed Rosefinch and thrushes (Dusky, Brown-headed), buntings (Meadow, Yellow-throated, Rustic), Grey-capped Greenfinches and Eastern Buzzard were seen. About a dozen long-tailed Rosefinch were pecking busily at grass seeds on the road.
The larch this year had many pine cones on it and we expected to see many winter birds attracted to them, but we did not see the flocks of Eurasian Siskin or Red Crossbill this time that we had hoped for. However, we saw flocks of Brambling and Dusky Thrush.
The birds observed are;
at Daimon Dam;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Kai-Oizumi:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
at Doryu Waterfall:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
at Nobeyama;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ
Hokone Visitor Center (Kanagawa)
箱根ビジターセンター(神奈川)
Hakone is an internationally well-known holiday resort that includes many renowned hot springs.
They have about 20 different qualities, nicknamed "Hakone Seventeen Spas."
I visited Hokone Visitor Center at Togendai, one of the birding spots in Hakone area.
The temperature on arrival was 0°C. The wooden deck at the trail's overlook was thinly iced over.
The weather was clear, with blue skies and autumn leaves.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker and Bull-headed Shrike were heard but not seen.
It seemed that the number of winter birds was still few.
Nevertheless, Japanese Grosbeak singing at the top of a tall tree, Thrush (Dusky, Pale) foraging on nuts in the canopy, Eurasian Bullfinch, Varied Tit and Meadow Bunting moving through the trees while calling were seen.
A small number of Common Coot were found floating in Lake Ashinoko, but no ducks were found.
The birds observed were;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
トビ, オオバン, アオバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
1-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
Although there had been summer-like days in the beginning of November, that day turned out to be as cold as December in ordinary year.
However, the weather was cloudy, but it did not rain and blue skies occasionally peeked through, which did not affect birding.
At first, we walked around the Naka-no-chaya area.
Small flocks of Dusky Thrush and Brambling were flying around the canopy.
Coal Tit, Japanese Tit and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker formed mixed flocks.
Wood Nuthatches also heard and seen well.
Several Yellow-throated Bunting were visible in the brush and the trail.
Then we drove on a forest road.
On the way, we encountered big flocks of Eurasian Siskin and Brambling. One of the Eurasian Siskin's flocks was quite big composed around 300 to 400 birds which looked like a river stream.
We found a small flock of Red Crossbill foraging nuts of Japanese Larch at distance.
Red-flanked Bluetails also appeared.
In Sozo-no-mori Forest, some photographers were waiting for Red Crossbill which come to bath in a small pool of water.
We walked around the forest, and we saw several birds such as Eurasian Siskin, Coal Tit, Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit,and Grey-capped Greenfinch.
Also we found a Red Crossbill perching on the top of the tree near photographers.
In the afternoon, we moved to Yamanaka Lake area.
In the lake, we saw Common Pochards,Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards and Mute Swans.
On the way to/from the Obora Spring in the villa area, we saw woodpeckers (Japanese Green, Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted), a mixed flock of thrushes (Dusky, Brown-headed, Pale) and a flock of Brambling, Hawfinches and Grey-capped Greenfinches.
The birds observed are;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コブハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ホシハジロ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, イスカ, シメ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ
3-day Trip in Amami Oshima (Kagoshima Prefecture)
奄美大島(鹿児島)
The first stop was the lawn at Ushuku Fishing Port to the north of the airport, but no birds were there.
Next we visited Ose beach, shortly north of the fishing port.
Many Reef Herons, including white molphs, were on the rocks spread at low tide.
Many Kentish Plovers and Lesser Sand-Plovers were resting near the surf.
A few Pacific Golden-Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Ruddy Turnstones, Red-necked Stint,s Dunlins and a Broad-billed Sandpiper were also found.
A small number of ducks (Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal) were also present in the tide pools.
One Peregrine Falcon was perched on a lighthouse in the distance.
Two Brown Boobies that were not expected flew offshore.
A further stop was made at Cape Ayamaru, further to the north, but no birds were seen.
Later, we stopped at Amami Nature Forest.
It was already past 16:30 and it was getting darker and darker in the forest, so there were no particular results.
We drove along the forest road along the ridge towards Nase. Ryukyu Scops Owl began to sing in the dark.
One Amami Woodcock was also found on the road.
In the early morning of the following day, we revisited Amami Nature Forest.
On the road to the forest, Japanese Wood-Pigeons appeared one after another.
Lidth's Jays also appeared several times.
Raptors (Grey-faced Buzzards, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel and Eastern Buzzard) also appeared. In particular, Grey-faced Buzzard were calling well.
In the forest, Ryukyu Robin and Whistling Green-Pigeons were not easy to spot as they were not singing much, and Amami Thrush, which had been seen until August, were not seen again.
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni) were also not seen.
We then went west down the mountain and around the paddy fields in Akina.
A Common Kestrel was persistently harassing a Grey-faced Buzzard perched on a power line.
One Black-winged Stilt was found, but no other shorebirds.
Only one White-breasted Waterhen was seen crossing the road.
We then moved south along the west coast in search of Japanese Cormorant, but were unable to find any. Finally, at the tip of Miyakozaki Cape, a flying one was found.
On the cape, Pacific Reef Heron, Lidth's Jay, Japanese Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail, Blue Rock Thrush and Grey Wagtail were also seen.
That evening, we went night-watching with a local guide.
Amami Woodcock could be seen several times.
Whistling Green-Pigeon, Ryukyu Scops Owl and Lidth's Jay were also seen.
Amami Thrush, which could not be seen in the Amami Nature Forest, could finally be seen here.
The next morning, we stopped at Amami Nature Forest.
Newly seen Ryukyu Minivet.
The birds observed are;
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, クロサギ, カツオドリ, ウミウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ,
ミサゴ, リュウキュウツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, シロハラクイナ, セイタカシギ, タゲリ, ムナグロ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
アマミヤマシギ, キアシシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, キリアイ, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, アマミコゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス,
アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ, ツバメ, アマミヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, オオトラツグミ, アカヒゲ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
Three-day Trip around Yatsushiro See (Kumamoto & Kagoshima)
八代海周辺(熊本、鹿児島)
There are several excellent birding sites in this bay.
At first, we visited two river mouths.
On the Shiranui mudflats at the mouth of the River Ono, many shorebirds stop by during the migration season, and Baikal Teal and Saunder's Gull are abundant during winter.
This time, perhaps because it was an off-season, there were fewer shorebirds, Baikal Teal and Saunder's Gull.
Daurian Redstart, Amur Stonechat, Russet Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Meadow Bunting were seen in neighbouring farmland.
Next, we visited the mouth of Kuma River (Kuma-Gawa).
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), which is seen at sea in winter, had not yet arrived.
A flock of about 100 Vega Gulls was resting at the mouth of the river. Two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were found among them.
About 10 Black-faced Spoonbills were resting on the middle islet in the distance.
On the reclaimed field, there were small flocks of Northern Lapwing, Russet Sparrow, White Wagtail, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit and Grey-capped Grayfinch. An Eurasian Sparrowhawk was chasing its prey.
In the evening, we arrived in Izumi. It is said that 80-90% of the world's Hooded Cranes gather on the Izumi Plain, which is a very rare site where we can observe the cranes up close.
In 2023, five Hooded Crane made their first arrival on Tuesday 17 October, five days later than the previous year.
At the time of our visit, numbers had increased further, with around 200 Hooded Crane and 10 White-naped Crane seen.
At its peak, the number is expected to increase further by about 50 to 70 times, to 14,000 birds, the same number as the previous year.
We stayed two nights at Guset House "Shin-Tsurumi-tei". This guest house is located near the feeding point in the west reclaimed land.
From the window of the room of the guest house, we can watch a huge number of cranes gathered in the dawn very closely soon. However, there were fewer cranes in front of the guest house this time, probably because feeding had not yet started.
A flock of Rooks was perched on the power lines around the guest house in the next morning. Looking closely, there was a smaller-bodied Daurian Jackdaw in the flock.
That morning, we visited the Kogawa Dam nearby.
At the upperstream of Komenotsu River near Kogawa Dam, we saw a Crested Kingfisher, a Common Kingfisher, a Brown Dipper and a Grey Wagtail.
Over the river, swallows (Barn, Red-rumped and Sand Martin) were flying around.
The water level in the dammed lake was significantly lower, and whether this was due to the water level or their late arrival, ducks were scarce in species and numbers, with only tens of Mallards and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and a few Mandarin Duck being seen.
As the weather worsened towards the afternoon, the forest birds around the dammed lake were also inactive, probably because of the worsening weather conditions.
Around 11.00am, strong rain began to fall, so we returned to Izumi.
As the cold front had passed and the rain began to weaken, we drove around the Izumi reclaimed land again.
The southerly wind that had been blowing until the morning changed to a northerly wind and started blowing strongly.
In addition to cranes, large flocks of Rook and Carrion Crow were seen here and there in the farmland, and many Dunlings, Pacific Golden-Plovers and Northern Lapwings were foraging in a puddled field.
Raptors such as Peregrine Falcon, Western Osprey and Eurasian Sparrowhawk were perched on a pole and a tree.
There were very large numbers of Eastern Spot-billed Duck and a few Eurasian Teal and Little Grebe on a narrow waterway.
In the river, Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Eurasian Teals were resting.
The next morning, we drove around the reclaimed land again.
In addition to the previous day's members, a Hen Harrier and a Common Kestrel appeared and flew overhead.
We saw many Russet Sparrows perching on the wires.
The birds obserbed are;
At Shiranui Tidal Flat:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Hybrid of Eurasian Wigeon x American Wigeon (Mareca penelope x americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia), Gull (sp),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
At Mouth of Kuma River:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
In Izumi:
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
At Kogawa Dam:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (A
nas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis), Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒシクイ, オシドリ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヒドリガモxアメリカヒドリ(雑種), マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
カイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ,
バン, オオバン, マナヅル, ナベヅル, タゲリ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, タシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, ヤマセミ, キュウシュウコゲラ,
モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
キュウシュウエナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, カワガラス,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Tow-day Trip around Lake Biwa (Shiga)
琵琶湖周辺(滋賀)
This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse ecosystem to evolve in the lake.
This lake is an important place for water birds. About 5,000 water birds visit there every year.
There are many rich birding spots.
We visited the south-eastern lakeshore of Lake Biwa.
The first sites were Kogan-ryokuchi Shina-1 Park and Shina-2 Park in Kusatsu City.
A huge number of ducks were clustered in this area.
Common Pochard was the most abundant, with Common Coot, Greater Scaup, Tufted Duck and Eurasian Wigeon also abundant.
There was also an American Wigeon among the flock.
We looked for Falcated Duck in this huge flock of ducks. Only one was finally found, probably late in arriving this year.
Black-headed Gulls were perched on the piles lining the offshore. One Whiskered Tern was also found there.
The next stop was the Karasuma Peninsula.
The expected shorebird was not found on the mudflats.
There were many ducks here too.
Also seen in the channel were a flock of White-cheeked Starlings, and Daurian Redstarts and Meadow Buntings.
Next, we visited the mouth of the Yasu River.
There were few birds, probably because it was the noon, but many Daurian Redstarts, Meadow Buntings and Japanese Wagtails were seen.
A Peregrine Falcon was perched on a telephone pole.
Black-headed Gulls, a Mew Gull and a Vega Gull were resting offshore of Lake Biwa.
Finally, we visited Kogan-ryokuchi Shina-2 Park again, and encountered a Short-eared Owl, which seemed to be on migration.
The next morning we revisited the south-eastern lakeshore of Lake Biwa again. As on the previous day, there were great numbers of ducks, and a Gadwall was newly found. Western Osprey and Eastern Buzzard were also seen.
Then, we visited Kohoku Wild-Bird Centre (Kohoku Yacho Center) in the north-eastern part of Lake Biwa. Ducks were fewer in number than in the southern part of Lake Biwa, however, a Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers were seen. Several Tundra Bean Goose were resting on the shore.
Several Bewick's Swans were also seen.
A Bull-headed Shrike, a Japanese Bush-Warbler, a Daurian Redstart and Masked Buntings were found in the grassland along the shore.
Driving around the nearby farmland, wagtails (White , Japanese) and flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch were seen.
The birds obserbed are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula), Ducks (sp),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒシクイ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ,
オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, イソシギ,
カモメ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, クロハラアジサシ, キジバト, コミミズク, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Downstream & Mouth of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流&河口(神奈川)
The Sakawa River runs through the Sakawa Lowland in the western region of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Hakone Volcano to the west and the Oiso Hills to the east and flows into Sagami Bay.
From Kaisei Station of Odakyu Line, I walked to the mouth of the Sakawa River.
Mt. Fuji from the river bank was snow-capped and looked beautiful. Japanese Wagtail, Grey Heron, Great Egret and Long-billed Plover were seen on the riverbanks. Great Egret A.a.modesta had disappeared and was replaced by A.a.alba, which is a wintering species.
Bull-headed Shrike, and winter visitors, Daurian Redstart and Grey-capped Greenfinch (C.s.kawarahiba) were perched here and there on the trees along the banks.
Another winter visitor, Hawfinch, was also seen.
At the Iizumi intake weir at the confluence with the Kari River, a flock of Common Coot, Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal were seen, as well as a Northern Shoveler and a Gadwall.
There was also a flock of Black-headed Gull and a flock of Slaty-backed Gull. A Vega Gull was amongst them.
Three Common Mergansers/Goosanders which had oversummer here, were also found in the distance.
Two Western Ospreys were resting on a sandbar.
Small flocks of Long-billed Plover and one Pacific Golden-Plover, wagtails (Japanese, White, Grey), flocks of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit, winter visitor, and flocks of egrets (Great, Little) and Grey Heron were seen in the sandbanks near the river mouth.
The birds obserbed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, ムナグロ, イカルチドリ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ
Two-day Trip for Togakushi Area (Nagano Prefecture)
戸隠周辺(長野)
Although this location is about five hours from Osaka, where we stayed the night before, by Shinkansen bullet train, local express train and car, many winter birds that had begun to arrive were expected to be observed at this site, one of the best birding sites in Japan, at this time of the year.
The first place we visited, Kagami-ike Pond, was crowded with tourists even on a weekday afternoon, but under a clear sky, the Mt. Togakushi with autumn leaves in the background of the pond were very beautiful.
On the other shore of the pond, a small flock of Mandarin Ducks were swimming.
Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and Eurasian Teals were also seen.
Next we visited Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Togakushi Shinrin Shokubutu-En), which is located at east of Mt. Togakushi, that evening and the next morning.
The altitude of the garden is over 1,200m and it is a rich natural forest with the deciduous trees and conifers.
Here, thrushes (Dusky, Eyebrowed, Pale) were flying around in the garden and folaging on the trees as expected.
We also saw and heard tits (Willow, Coal, Varied, Japanese, Long-tailed), Eurasian Jay, Eastern Buzzard, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, White-backed, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Eurasian Tree-Creeper, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Wood Nuthatch, Japanese Grosbeak, Red-flanked Bluetail, Brambling, Hawfinch and Eurasian Bullfinch.
There were many photographers waiting to take pictures of the Mugimaki Flycatcher at several locations in the Garden. We passed by but could not see this bird this time.
On the way back, we stopped by Oyachi Moor and Daiza-hoshi Pond, but there were not many birds.
The birds observed (*observed by other birders) are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
*Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ノスリ, アオバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ,
キバシリ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, *ムギマキ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, ウソ, シメ, イカル
(*他のバーダーによる確認種)
One-day Trip in Osaka City (Osaka City)
大阪市内(大阪)
Although Osaka Castle Park is located at the heart of the Osaka City, but this is located near Yodo River which is the fly way of the migration birds. So this park is an important oasis for the birds and it is one of the most renowned birding locations around here during migration seasons.
The day we visited was the late stage of the summer bird migration and the starting stage of the winter bird migration, and although the number of birds is small, but it is a time when summer, winter and resident birds can be observed.
Entering the park from Morinomiya Station, Japanese Tits and just arrived Daurian Redstart and Brambling came to bathe in a puddle on a large stone placed in "Citizen's Forest".
The Japanese Thrush that had been observed a few days earlier was not to be found.
On the way to "Hokoku Shrine", we saw Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Teals and a Little Egret resting in the South Outer Moat.
Around "Hokoku Shrine", we saw and heard Brown-eared Bulbuls, Warbling White-eyes, Daurian Redstart, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Common Kestrel.
Other birders saw a Japanese Thrush, but not us.
Around "Plum Grove", we heard and saw Bull-headed Shrike, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Warbling White-eye, Grey-capped Greenfinch, and two Daurian Redstarts which were seen chasing each other for territory.
At "Hida's Forest," many photographers were waiting to take pictures of Japanese Thrushes. We also waited for a short time, but could not get a good view of them.
Other species seen here were Mugimaki Flycatcher and Siberian Rubythroat, but we did not see any during our observation.
The birds observed (*by other birders) at Osaka Castle Park were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
*Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), *Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), *Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
In the afternoon, we visited Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary (Osaka Nan-Kou Yacho-En).
Osaka Nankou Bird Sanctuary is in the northwest corner of Sakishima landfill with about 1,000 ha area in Osaka Bay. West side of the sanctuary faces the Osaka Bay through the sea bank. After the reclamation in 1933, shorebirds began to utilize this area, and their numbers have increased gradually. In 1969, NGO actions began to conserve this area as habitat for shorebirds. As the result of these actions, Osaka City decided to build a bird park on the part of the landfill and it opened in 1983. Now Osaka Nankou Bird Sanctuary plays a role as an important stopover site, and is nominated as one of Japan's important wetlands by the Ministry of the Environment.
When we arrived, it had been almost 4 hours since low tide, and although it was neap tide in that day, and the mudflats in front of the observation center were narrowing, and the Dunlins and Spotted Redshanks and almost of other shorebirds that had been seen in the morning were hidden out of sight.
Only a few shorebirds such as Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, and Red-necked Stint were seen in the distance.
In the ponds, a few Common Coots, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Eurasian Teals, Grey Herons, White Egrets, Little Egrets, and Great Cormorants were resting.
Western Osprey was also seen flying around and resting on a stick in the pond.
We saw a bird seemed to be a Amur Stonechat and an Eurasian Sparrowhawk for a moment, but lost them soon befor identification.
A Bull-headed Shrike perched on a dead tree in a reed bed and was well observed.
We walked along a trail in the forest, but the birds were not very active, and only a Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Turtle-Doves, Warbling White-eyes, and Japanese Tits were found.
The birds observed at Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary (*observed by other birders) were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
*Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), *Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
*Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)?
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
*Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ?
オオバン, *ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, *ハマシギ, ウミネコ, ドバト, キジバト,
コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, *オオムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
*クロツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ? エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, *ムギマキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ
(*他のバーダーによる確認種)
Nanaura & Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat & Fukudomi Reclaimed Land (Saga)
七浦&東与賀干潟&福富干拓(佐賀)
The Site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
On the way from Isahaya Reclamation in Nagasaki to this field, we stopped at a pond in the reclaimed land at Nanaura, Kashima City.
On our previous visit in spring 2022, many Spotted Redshanks were seen resting on masonry in the pond, and this time Great Cormorant and Common Greenshank were seen.
We then visited the Fukudomi reclamation site in Shiroishi town.
When we last visited at the end of August, there were only a few ducks in Shintaku reservoir, but this time there were very many. Many ducks were also foraging in the adjacent farm field.
Some shorebirds were seen in the lotus fields where the harvest was over.
There were also ducks and small flocks of Black-winged Stilt on the wide irrigation canal. There were also many Sand Martins flying over the canal.
We visited Higashiyoka Tidal Flat at high tide.
It was exactly the day of High Tide, and at the time of the highest tide, that vast mudflat disappeared almost completely, and shorebirds scattered on the mudflats gather within the range where we could observe them.
Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Terek Sandpiper, Black-faced Spoonbill, Vega Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Saunder's Gull, which were not seen at the end of August, were found this time.
Dunlin increased in numbers and many had changed to winter plumage.
Several Nordmann's Greenshank were seen this time too.
The Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) seen the previous week appears to had already migrated away.
We drove around the Saga Airport area but did not find any special birds.
The birds observed are;
- at pond in Nanaura:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
- at Fukudomi Reclaimed Land:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ,コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, ハジロコチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ,
タシギ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ,
ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, カラフトアオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ,
ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ,
セグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ズグロカモメ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Nomo Cape (Nomo-zaki) (Nagasaki Prefecture)
野母崎(長崎)
Nomosaki is located on the southern coast of Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, facing the East China Sea.
This area is on the flyway of migratory birds, and in spring and autumn a variety of birds pass by here.
We did not encounter as many migratory birds as we had hoped, perhaps because the timing of the migration did not coincide, or because there are fewer birds in autumn than in spring. The only reward was a Brown Shrike (Philippine)at Suisen Park.
The birds observed are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus), Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
アオサギ, トビ, キジバト, モズ, シマアカモズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, イソヒヨドリ
Isahaya Reclaimed Land (Nagasaki)
諫早干拓地 (長崎)
The Sea Wall cut off the water of Isahaya Inner Bay from the Ariake Sea.
Although the mudflat areas were lost, many birds are still inhabiting at the grassy plain and the fields.
In mid-October, Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) is a regular annual visitor to the field, so we visited with the expectation of encountering this bird.
The bird had been recorded the previous week and we hoped that it would visit again during our visit, but unfortunately the encounter did not take place.
Although the target bird was not seen, there were unexpected encounters such as Pied Avocet, Tundra Bean Goose and Richard's Pipit.
Many birds of prey were observed, as well, such as Common Kestrel, Black Kite, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Western Osprey, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and possibly Hen Harrier and Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
Migratory swallows (Barn, Red-rumped, Asian House Martin, Sand Martin), Amur Stonechat, Garganey and shorebirds (Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank) were also seen.
Many winter ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Baikal Teal, Eurasian Teal), Grey-capped Greenfinch, Common Coot and Common Snipe had already arrived.
The birds observed are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Richard's Pipit (ussuriensis) (Anthus richardi ussuriensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, シマアジ, トモエガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, バン, オオバン,
ソリハシセイタカシギ, タシギ, ツルシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, キジバト, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ノビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, マミジロタヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
At the time of my last visit, on September 26, it was still hot, but it had become cooler and more like autumn.
The visibility was very good, with clear views of Tokyo, the Boso Peninsula, and Oshima Island in the distance, and a blue sky with almost no clouds.
We saw snow cap on Mt.Fuji which fell the day before.
Three days ago, the biggest number of migrating Grey-faced Buzzards of the season was observed at this site.
The next day was rainy, and the day of our visit was the second sunny day.
In the morning, several Grey-faced Buzzard kettles, about 20 in number, were visible high in the sky.
Grey-streaked Flycatchers perched frequently on the trees around the observation tower.
The birds obserbed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
コジュケイ, チョウゲンボウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ,
アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, エゾビタキ, カワラヒワ
Lake Kasumigaura Area (Ibaraki)
霞ケ浦周辺方面(稲敷市、かすみがうら市)
When we last visited on August 19, it was very hot and the fields were overgrown with lotus, and shorebirds were few, but this October the temperature finally dropped, and many of the fields were open after the lotus root harvest was over, so we were able to see many shorebirds that had arrived later than usual.
Intermediate Egrets, which will soon leave this area for their wintering sites in the south, were forming large flocks.
As the season changed, Brown-eared Bulbuls began their migration and flew westward in flocks.
We also saw flocks of ducks, Common Coots and Common Snipes, which had arrived for wintering.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, コガモ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
オオバン, セイタカシギ, ハジロコチドリ, コチドリ, タシギ, ツルシギ,
コアオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ,
ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ,
キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
By the beginning of September, the season of autumn hawk migration had started, and observations had begun at many sites all over Japan.
At this site, as well, observations have continued everyday since 30 August, other than rainy days.
This year, unusually high temperatures continued into September, but finally, at the end of the last week, the temperatures dropped and the weather became autum-like. The hawk migration, which had been delayed, came into earnest, with 4383 Grey-faced Buzzards and 364 Crested Honey Buzzards recorded at Shirakaba Pass on 24 September.
On the day I visited, despite sunny weather, with a cool and comfortable easterly breeze, with good visibility to the distance in low humidity atmosphere, it seemed as a good day for observation.
However, this time they seemed to fly different routes and we didn't see as many eagles as I had expected. Instead, I saw many Grey-streaked Flycatchers.
The birds obserbed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
コジュケイ, チョウゲンボウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ,
キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ,
エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ
Shirakaba Pass & Mt.Norikura (Nagano, Gifu)
白樺峠&乗鞍岳(長野、岐阜)
This pass is famous as the best point to observe hawk migration in autumn.
A local group had been observing this site since September 1, but no major hawk migrations had been observed to date.
On the day of our visit, it was sunny from the morning and many hawk migrations were expected, but the results were much less than expected. Occasionally Crested Honey Buzzards flew close by, but no flocks of Grey-faced Buzzard appeared. The records reported by "Sinshu Raptors igration Research Group" are as follows;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 189
- Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 127
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 4
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 15
- Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus): 2
- Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 3
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis): 2
Due to time constraints, we stopped observing here in the morning and headed for Mt Norikura in the afternoon.
We arrived at the Tatamidaira bus stop on Mt Norikura at around 2pm. The area was beginning to fog up and Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica) was expected to appear.
We walked carefully along the trail over the peak of Daikoku to the road on the Gifu side in search of this bird, but only saw an Alpine Accentor and a Spotted Nutcracker at close range.
We walked along the road towards the Tatamidaira bus stop and looked for Japanese Accentor. It was not easy to find one, but we did manage to spot a flock of a few.
The birds we observed were;
at Shirakaba Pass:
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)?
at Mt. Norikura:
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
ハチクマ, トビ, オオタカ, サシバ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, アカゲラ,
カケス, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ミソサザイ? イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
The one who first greeted us was a Large-billed Crow.
When I was about to put some bread I had bought at a convenience store near the station in my sack for lunch, the bird suddenly snatched it from me and fled. As the prey was large, it did not fly far, so I managed to get it back.
As time was limited this time, we rented bicycles to get around the park.
The first place we headed to was the Bird Sanctuary on the eastern side of the park.
A flock of Azure-winged Magpies were busily flying around near the entrance.
At Kami-no-ike Pond (fresh water pond) there, egrets (Grey, Great, Intermediate and Little) were found at the water's edge and a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron in the canal.
Ducks were few, with only one Eastern Spot-billed Duck and two Eurasian Teals.
The renovation work of the Watching Centre will continue until next year, which may affect the wintering of ducks.
The mudflats at Shimo-no-ike Pond (brackish water pond) were spread out by the low tide, but none of the expected shorebirds were present.
A small flock of birds was found in the trees along the trail, which was composed of Japanese Tits, Warbling White-eyes and an likely Narcissus Flycatcher.
Next, we crossed the Kasai-nagisa Bridge and went to West Beach.
There were Great Egrets, Black-tailed Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls on the beach.
Looking at the East Beach side, many gulls, egrets and Great Cormorants were foraging on the extended mudflats, but they were too far away to be identified.
Large shorebirds looked like Bar-tailed Godwits and a Whimbrel were also found.
Again, we returned to the park side and went around the forest on the western side.
A small flock of birds was found, including Japanese Tits, Varied Tit, Warbling White-eyes and an Eastern Crowned Warbler.
Perhaps it was nearly noon and the birds became less active, but no other migratory flycatchers were found.
Many Eurasian Tree Sparrow were gathering in the sunflower garden at Grass Field.
The birds we observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)?
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, コガモ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒヨドリ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, キビタキ? スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Miyagase Lake (Kanagawa)
宮ケ瀬湖(神奈川)
A reddish-molph Oriental Cuckoo (Horsfield's Cuckoo) stops by the lakeside cherry trees at this time of year on its migration. We heard that the bird had been seen again this year, so we set out to look for it.
When we arrived at the site late in the morning, there were already about ten photographers looking for this bird.
After a while, three birds were found, including one reddish molph.
The birds we observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
カルガモ, カワウ, トビ, キジバト, ツツドリ, モズ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, イソヒヨドリ
16-day Summer Birding Trip
(Hokkaido,Nagano,Gifu,Saga,
Okinawa,Kagoshima,
Yamanashi,Kanagawa)
16日間の夏の野鳥観察旅行
(北海道、長野、岐阜、佐賀、
沖縄、鹿児島、山梨、神奈川)
It was difficult to find birds that had become inactive after their breeding season, but luckily our itinerary was only changed on the last day and there was no standby day due to the rain even though several typhoons hit Japan.
The first five days were spent in the east of Hokkaido, in the north of Japan.
The area was normally supposed to be cool in summer, but the weather was unusual, with temperatures rising to nearly 35°C and not dropping at night when we visited. The region generally does not install air conditioning, so it was unbearably hot and schools were temporarily closed.
We stayed two nights at inn 'Washi-no-Yado' in Rausu, where we observed Blakiston's Fish-Owl family coming to the stream in front of the inn at night, and Brown Dipper coming during the day.
Gulls such as Slaty-backed Gull and cormorants such as Japanese and Pelagic were observed in the fishing harbours (Shibetsu, Utoro and Shari).
At Shiretoko Pass, the expected Pine Grosbeak (Sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis) did not appear, but a flock of several Eurasian Bullfinches and Pacific Swifts ( Northern) flying in the sky were seen.
At Shiretoko-Gogo, only part of the trail could be walked due to the appearance of a bear, and there were few birds.
At the Koshimizu Wild Flower Park (Koshimizu Gensei-Kaen) at Lake Tohutsu on the Sea of Okhotsk coast, we managed to see the remaining summer birds; Amur Stonechat, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Chestnut-eared Bunting and Common Reed Bunting.
On the way back to the inn, a Eurasian Hobby was perched on a power line, probably on migration.
The remaining two nights in Doto were spent at an inn on the shores of Lake Furen.
On the way to the inn, we detoured to the Notsuke Peninsula (Notsuke-Hanto).
Here, Black-necked Grebes, a winter bird that had just arrived, were flocks of several hundred in the sea far offshore.
Many White-tailed Eagles were seen on the breakwater along the road that runs through the narrow peninsula, Amur Stonechats, Eurasian Skylarks, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Eastern Marsh-Harrier in the grasslands and a variety of migratory shorebirds in the wetlands.
A flock of several Common Mergansers/Goosanders was resting on the Odaito Marsh.
Walking along the wooden paths laid out in Shunkunitai Park near the inn, there were many Grey Herons and two groups of Red-crowned Crane foraging in the shallow waters of Kazaren Lake.
A White-tailed Eagle perched majestically on a pile.
Eurasian Skylarks, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Chestnut-eared Buntings were flying busily over the meadows.
In the forest that had developed on the dune, a Black Woodpecker was lucky enough to come and perch on a tree in front of us.
On the 2.5-hour cruise from Ochi-ishi Port, Spectacled Guillemots, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklet, Streaked Shearwaters, Japanese Cormorants, and Red-faced Cormorants which can only be seen in certain locations.
There were no encounters with Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), whose numbers have been reduced by the recent increase of White-tailed Eagle in this area.
On the forest road along On-netou Marsh between the inn and Ochi-ishi Port, Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas) was searched for but not encountered, instead many birds such as White-bellied Green-Pigeons, Oriental Cuckoo(?), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), Eurasian Jay (Brandt's), tits (Marsh, Coal, Japanese), Long-tailed Tit (Japan), Asian Wood Nuthatch and Brown-headed Thrush were encountered.
Also found near the inn was a winter bird, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit.
At Cape Nosappu, the tip of the Nemuro Peninsula, where we observed the Nemuro Strait from the observation hut there. Japanese Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants and Slaty-backed Gulls flew nearby, and two large flocks of dolphins were spotted far offshore, perhaps there were schools of fish, and many seabirds were gathering together as well.
The last site in this area was Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary, where a Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) and Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler were seen and heard newly.
The next three days were spent in the Norikura Kogen Plateau in Nagano Prefecture, visiting this plateau and Mt. Norikura (Norikura-Dake).
The weather was fine and it was easy to reach the bus terminal at Mt Norikura, which is almost 3000 m high, by bus.
This mountain range has the highest number of Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica) in Japan, so there is a high chance of encountering them, but perhaps because the weather was too fine we did not encounter any.
Instead, there were many Spotted Nutcrackers (Japanese), which were taking Japanese pine nuts iand hiding them on the ground or between stones. Perhaps they were preparing for coming autumn and winter.
Other species seen were Alpine Accentors, Japanese Accentors and Asian House Martins.
On the Norikura Plateau, Daurian Redstart, previously a winter bird but recently breeding in central Honshu island even in summer, were found at two locations.
There were also several Mallards and Eurasian Teals at the pond. They seem to have oversummer there.
Eurasian Jays (japonicus) and Japanese Grosbeaks were often seen.
There were also tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow, Varied, Long-tailed), Warbling White-eyes, Eastern Crowned Warbler and Narcissus Flycatcher forming a mixed flock.
There was a bird crossing the road down the plateau on the return drive. Following the bird, it turned out to be a Copper Pheasant. There were two birds, probably a family. It was a lucky encounter with this bird, which is only seen by chance.
The next stop was an overnight stay in Saga to visit the Higashi-Yoka mudflats (Higashi-Yoka Higata), and the lotus fields in the reclaimed lands in Shiroishi area.
The Higashi-yoka mudflat is vast, but at high tide the mudflat narrows and shorebirds can be observed the largest number in Japan.
Although it was not yet peak season, we were able to observe a very large number of shorebirds on this visit.
A flock of Black-faced Spoonbills had already moved off on the first day when we arrived, but were seen on the second day.
Many of the lotus fields in Shiroishi's reclaimed land were covered with lotus, but some had open water surfaces after harvesting, where freshwater shorebirds were gathering.
Small groups of Black-faced Spoonbill were also found.
An Oriental Stork was also found near an artificial nest tower.
Next, we moved on to Miyako Island.
A typhoon was approaching the area and we were worried about our flight, but we were lucky to arrive.
However, due to the typhoon, it was sunny but the wind was blowing strongly.
We spent the night here and first stopped at Agarihenna Cape (Agariihenna-Zaki) & Bora Fishing Port to look for terns, but we did not find any, probably because they had migrated away after two typhoons hit in the previous week.
Next we visited Ikema Marsh (Ikema-Shitugen), but strong winds resulted in no birds being in sight.
A Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) was found on a dirt road nearby the marsh but soon disappeared into the grass.
We visited Ono Forest (Onosanrin) after sunset, and before dawn to early morning the next morning.
In the darkness, we saw what appeared to be a Cinnamon Bittern and two Malayan Night Herons, but they flew away after a moment and could not be confirmed.
We looked for Ryukyu Scops Owl, but they were less vocal and if they were singing they were not seen due to the deep trees. One Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) was perched on a tree in the dark, although it was not singing. One Common Emerald Dove and White-breasted Waterhen were found on the road before dawn; Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria) was not encountered.
As it became brighter, we looked for Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) and Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) in the pine trees, but although we heard them, we could not see them. After searching for a while, a Japanese Wood-Pigeon was finally seen.
Next we moved on to Okinawa, where many flights were cancelled due to the typhoon, but luckily our aircraft left on schedule.
The next morning we stopped at the Komesu Coast in the south of Okinawa.
The tide was still high and the only a small flock of shorebirds;Grey Plover, Sanderling (rubida) and Long-toed Stint.
Pacific Reef Heron white morph and dark morph were there.
We looked for birds in the surrounding farm fields, but did not find any.
The next site is Kin in central Okinawa. Here there are extensive farming areas and many waterfowl can be observed.
As we moved along the canal looking for Cinnamon Bittern, we found a variety of freshwater shorebirds, an Oriental Pratincole, a Whiskered Tern, an Eastern Yellow Wagtail (simillima), and a snipe looked like Pin-tailed Snipe in the paddy fields.
Further north, we entered the Yanbaru Forest. The first stop was at the Benoki Dam.
It was noon and the temperature was high and the bird activity was poor, but a Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) flew a moment in front of the car, and a Okinawa Robin was found on the shady forest road.
We then made several stops on our way to a hotel in the centre of the forest, but there was nothing special to observe.
We heard that an Ryukyu Scops Owl and an Okinawa Rail come to the trees next to the hotel at night to roost, so we waited for them, but they did not come that day.
Then we drove slowly along the road in front of the hotel and found a Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) on an electric wire and an Okinawa Rail on a tree branch beside the road.
The next early morning, birding around the hotel area was not very attractive this time, so we moved to the 'Yanbaru Discovery Forest (Yanbaru Manabi-no-mori)'.
Here, we saw Japanese Wood-Pigeons (nominate), Okinawa Robin, Varied Tit (amamii), Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito), Japanese White-eyes ( loochooensis).
On the way back to the hotel, Ryukyu Minivet was heard near Lake Hunga, so we looked for it but could not find it.
On the way back to Naha from the hotel, an Okinawa Woodpecker was heard in the Yanbaru forest, so we looked for it but could not find it either.
Next, we moved from Okinawa to Amami Oshima.
In the evening, we stopped over Amami Natural Forest for a short time. Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate),Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni), Lidth's Jay, etc., but no Amami Thrush (Zoothera major) was found.
That night, a local birder led us into another forest.
In the dark, several Amami Woodcocks were found on the road and in the meadow, plus Oriental Turtle-Doves (stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeons (permagnus), Ryukyu Scops Owls, Lidth's Jays and Ruddy Kingfishers (bangsi) perched on the tips of tree branches by the roadside, sleepinging and avoiding snake attacks. were found.
The expected Amami Thrush was not seen here either.
The following morning, we revisited Amami Forest Park to look for Amami Thrush and White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpeckerwith another local birder.
We managed to find White-backed Woodpecker (Owston's).
The original plan was to spend one night on Miyake Island, the next destination, but as the next typhoon was forecast to hit the island on the day of our return, we changed our plan and visited Myake Island as a day trip.
The ship departed Tokyo and arrived at Miyakejima early in the morning on schedule, without any particular typhoon effects.
At the inn where we planned to stay, we rented a car and immediately started birding.
An Izu Thrush and a Japanese Robin (tanensis) were foraging on the road in the dark nearby the inn.
We waited for Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes pleskei/Locustella pleskei) to appear at Cape Izu, but it did not.
Perhaps it was due to typhoon winds, or perhaps it had migrated away.
Next, we moved on to Tairo Pond.
Here Owston's Tit was seen.
We looked for Eurasian Wren (mosukei) and Japanese Robin (tanensis) around the pond but could not find any.
We visited the Visitor Centre "Akakoko-kan" and were informed that Japanese Robin (tanensis) often appeared in one of the facilities, so we searched for it and managed to find it.
The ship left for Tokyo in the early afternoon.
Seabirds were observed from the ship and many Streaked Shearwaters were seen, as well as Wedge-tailed Shearwater and Bulwer's Petrels. No albatrosses appeared.
On the last day, we went to see Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica), which were often observed at a puddle at the foot of Mt Fuji.
Unfortunately, the target bird did not appear. The recent rains may provide them a safer different water place.
Instead, three Crested Honey Buzzards, parents and juvenile, soared overhead, exchanging calls.
Finally, we visited the middle reaches of the Sagami River, which flows through central Kanagawa Prefecture, to look for birds on the riverbanks. Although there was only one of each, a Long-billed Plover and a Japanese Wagtail were found.
The birds observed are;
- in Doto area, Hokkaido (道東):
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile),
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)?
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Little Stint (Calidris minuta), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Murre (North Pacific)/Common Guillemot (Uria aalge inornata), Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)?
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris) Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis) Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata) Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)?
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヒドリガモ, カワアイサ, オオミズナギドリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チシマウガラス,
チゴハヤブサ, ハチクマ, トビ, オジロワシ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, タンチョウ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン,
ハジロコチドリ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, オオジシギ? キアシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, オジロトウネン,
サルハマシギ, キリアイ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ウミガラス, ケイマフリ, ウトウ,
キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ? シマフクロウ, キタアマツバメ, エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, クマゲラ,
モズ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ, シマエナガ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エゾセンニュウ, メジロ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, アカハラ, ノビタキ,
カワガラス, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ? オオジュリン
- in Mt. Norikura area (乗鞍岳周辺):
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヤマドリ, マガモ, コガモ, キジバト, アオバト, アカゲラ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キビタキ,
イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
- in Saga area (佐賀周辺):
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)? Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Pallas's Grasshopper-Warbler (rubescens) (Helopsaltes certhiola rubescens/Locustella certhiola rubescens)?
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コウノトリ, クロツラヘラサギ,
アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン,
ハジロコチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, チュウジシギ? タシギ,
オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ,
コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, カラフトアオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ,
オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, サルハマシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ,
モズ, カササギ, ハシボソガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, シベリアセンニュウ, オオヨシキリ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
- in Miyako Island (宮古島):
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)?
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus)?
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
インドクジャク, リュウキュウヨシゴイ? ズグロミゾゴイ? チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
リュウキュウツミ, シロハラクイナ, オオバン, ミフウズラ, ダイゼン, キアシシギ,
ヨナクニカラスバト, キジバト, キンバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク,
リュウキュウアカショウビン, リュウキュウツバメ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
- in Okinawa Island (沖縄本島):
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae), White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)?
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis)
アマサギ, チュウサギ, クロサギ, ヤンバルクイナ, シロハラクイナ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, ハリオシギ?
アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ,
ツバメチドリ, クロハラアジサシ, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, ノグチゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
リュウキュウハシブトガラス, オキナワシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ, ツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ,
リュウキュウヒヨドリ, ダイトウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ
- in Amami-oshima Island (奄美大島):
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
リュウキュウツミ, アマミヤマシギ, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ,
リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ,
ツバメ, アマミヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ
- in Miyake Island (三宅島):
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
IIima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
コジュケイ, チュウシャクシギ, カラスバト, キジバト, サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, イイジマムシクイ, モスケミソサザイ,
アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, イソヒヨドリ
- on ship from Miyake to Tokyo (三宅島航路(復路):
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)
オオミズナギドリ, オナガミズナギドリ, アナドリ
- at foot of Mt. Fuji(富士山麓):
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
ハチクマ, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, コサメビタキ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ
- at middle-reaches of Sagami River (相模川中流):
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, イカルチドリ, カワラバト, キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Middle reaches of Tone River & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
利根川中流&稲敷方面(茨城)
The week before this visit, the weather was very unstable in the Tokyo area due to two typhoons that hit Japan, but the day before the visit, the intense sunshine returned again, with temperatures below 30°C in the morning but rising to nearly 40°C by noon.
In the morning, we headed to the reed fields with some small swamps at the middle reaches of the Tone River.
As no wind was blowing, Marsh Grassbirds were more active than expected in the reed fields, and their distinctive flight with chirping could be seen here and there, which seemed unusual at the end of August.
Other birds in the reed fields were quiet, as is usual at this time of the year.
A few Zitting Cisticolas, Meadow Buntings, Japanese Reed Buntings and Oriental Reed Warblers had managed to be seen.
There was shallow water in swamps surrounded by reedbeds, where several species of shorebirds could be seen.
There were also flocks of herons.
When we arrived at the Inashiki area, it became very hot.
Most of the fields were still entirely covered with lotus,
There were shorebirds in a few open fields, mostly Little Ringed Plover, but a few Wood Sandpipers and one each of Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper were also seen.
The birds observed are;
- at middle-reaches of Tone River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)?
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)?
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Inashiki area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, ホシハジロ? カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ? バン,
セイタカシギ, ケリ, コチドリ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ,
ドバト, キジバト, モズ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi)
柳沢峠(山梨)
Compared to the last visit, three months ago at the beginning of May, birds were not singing so much and did not appear so well.
However, a juvenile Siberian Thrush was well observed thanks to the feeding by a photographer.
A juvenile Siberian Blue Robin was also observed at close distance.
This time, the birding was shortened due to a typhoon (LAN) approaching Japan, which was expected to cause a sudden weather deterioration.
The birds observed are;
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi)
アマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ヤマガラ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ソウシチョウ,
メジロ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, マミジロ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ
Prefectural Ikaho Forest Park (Gunma)
伊香保森林公園(群馬)
In the Tokyo area, there had been a week of dangerously hot days with temperatures exceeding human body temperature.
This is an ideal place to visit at such a time, since it is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters and is cooled by the cool air flowing out of the wind holes created by the cracks in the mountains and rocks as the results of the land deformation, and the maximum temperature was 28°C (82°F) this time.
The last time we visited in early June, the birds were in the midst of raising their chicks, and this time we saw many raised fledging chicks.
Generally, in mid-summer, birds that have finished raising their chicks stop singing and are difficult to spot, but many birds were gathering around the pond for water in the heat of the day, and even though it was almost noon when we arrived, the area was filled with a chorus of birds and they appeared one after another by the pond to drink and bathe.
Until around 4:00 pm, juvenile Japanese Thrush, juvenile Japanese Tit, and Japanese Grosbeak frequently came to the pond.
After 4:00 pm, when the sunlight faded from the pond, adults of Japanese Thrush and Japanese Grosbeak often appeared.
We waited for Siberian Thrush, but a photographer nearby said he had seen one, but we could not confirm it.
The birds observed are;
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni)? Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
アオバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, マミジロ? クロツグミ, アカハラ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, イカル, ホオジロ
North face of Mt. Fuji (Fuji-kawaguchi, Yamanashi)
富士山北麓 (富士河口町,山梨)
This time, we visited a small pool of water at a camp site where Red Crossbill and Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) were being observed.
When we arrived early in the morning, the pool had only a little water, as the water had dried up due to the sunny days.
We were worried about bird visits, but after waiting for a while, flocks of Red Crossbills came.
Following that, tits, Goldcrest, Meadow Bunting, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail, and Olive-backed Pipit visited.
In the surrounding area, Common Cuckoo, Lesser Cuckoo, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Eastern Crowned Warbler, and Eurasian Jay were seen and heard.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ ヤマガラ, エナガ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, キクイタダキ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, イスカ, ホオジロ
Okhotsk region (Hokkaido)
オホーツク・エリア(北海道)
While Tokyo and Osaka were hit by a heat wave of nearly 40°C (104°F), the area we visited was rather cold than cool, with maximum temperatures not reaching 20°C (68°F).
The previous visit was in early June, in the peak of the breeding season for birds, but this time it was the end of the breeding season, and we heard very few songs of birds, but we did see many families with fledgling chicks born this year.
In particular, Hazel Grouse, which are usually hard to see, often appeared with their chicks on the road in the woods in many places. And even when they noticed us, they did not immediately run away and hide, so we were able to observe them closely.
In addition, woodpeckers were observed well this time.
We saw and heard three species endemic to Hokkaido: Lesser Spotted, Black, and Grey-faced, and three subspecies endemic: Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi), White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), and Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus).
Instead, the coastal meadows (Wild Flower Garden) where many birds had been singing competitively in early June were now very quiet, and Lanceolated Warbler, Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler, Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler, and Black-browed Reed Warbler were hard to spot. Only Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warblers managed to be seen among them.
Small number of Siberian Rubythroat, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Masked Bunting, and Common Reed Bunting were seen.
However, Amur Stonechat was seen in great numbers.
We arrived at Lake Oketo in the dark before dawn but could not hear the chorus of various birds as in the previous visit.
However, a Grey Nightjar flew close by.
The birds observed are;
- Southern shore of Lake Abashiri (Yobito Peninsula, Near Memanbetsu Lakeside Camping site):
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- West area of Okhotsk Coast (Wakka Wild flower garden, Cape Notori, Lake Notori, Lake Saroma, Cape Kimuneppu):
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (amurensis) (Dryobates minor amurensis/Dendrocopos minor amurensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- East area of Okhotsk Coast (Abashiri Port, Lake Mokoto, Lake Tofutsu, Koshimizu Wild flower garden):
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Woodlands near Kitami City (Lake Tomisato, Kotohira-sakura Park, Lake Chimikepp, Lake Oketo):
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Grey-faced Woodpecker (jessoensis) (Picus canus jessoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor), Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
エゾライチョウ, オシドリ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
ハヤブサ, トビ, オジロワシ, オオタカ, タンチョウ, オオジシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, トウネン,
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ヨタカ, キタアマツバメ, カワセミ,
エゾコゲラ, コアカゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, ヤマゲラ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ハシブトガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, シマエナガ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, マキノセンニュウ, シマセンニュウ, エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ,
エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ,
マミジロ, トラツグミ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, ノゴマ, コルリ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ogasawar Cruise, Iwo-jima Cruise & Ogawasawara Islands (Tokyo)
小笠原航路,硫黄島航路,父島,母島(東京)
Only once a year, there is a cruise to sail the water of Iwo-jima Islands around South Iwo-jima (Minami Iwo-jima), Iwo-jima and North Iwo-jima (Kita Iwo-jima).
Iwo-jima Islands are the Japanese Volcano Islands chain south of the Ogasawara Islands and togerther with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago also known as the Bonin Islands.
South Iwo-jima and Kita Iwo-jima are uninhabited islands and their natures are strictly protected from influences of human activities. Thus, these islands are the paradise of sea birds. Rare species; such as boobies, tropical birds and terns, are breeding at these islands.
The Ogasawara Archipelago have never been connected to a continent, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes.
This has led to the islands' nickname of the "The Galapagos of the Orient", and their nomination as a natural World Heritage Site on June 24, 2011.
Also, these islands involved in the Oceania terrestrial ecoregions, as the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests.
In these unique conditions, the birding there is quite interesting.
On the way to Chichi-jima (the main island) by the ship from Tokyo Bay, around 24 hours, the shorebirds both of the Palearctic and the Oceania ecozones can be observed on the ship.
You can recognize the drastic change of birds between the first day and the second day crossing the border of these two ecozones.
In the Chichi-jima and Haha-jima islands, there are endemic species (subspecies) including two restricted-range species of birds; the Japanese Woodpigeon (Columba janthina) and the Vulnerable Bonin White-eye(Apalopteron familiare), formerly known as "Bonin Honeyeater".
The Japanese Woodpigeon was extirpated in the Iwo Island groups in the 1980s. However, it became easier to observe this Woodpigeon recently due to the protective measures such as the extermination of strolling cats.
Bonin White-eyecan be rather easily found in Haha-jima Island.
It is difficult to find Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kittlitzi) and Japanese Bush-Warbler (Cettia diphone diphone). Especially, Grey-capped Greenfinch is breeding at the attached isle of Haha-jima and Iwo Islands only, and only during summer, a small number is observed at Haha-jima Island.
It is easy to watch Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo toyoshimai), Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri x Zosterops japonicus alani) and Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis squamiceps).
During the migrating seasons in the autumn and spring, we can observe some migrating birds.
We cannot see the common residential birds in Tokyo area at the Ogasawara Islands.
When we sailed on the water of Tokyo Bay and Izu Islands, It was calm in Tokyo Bay, but the waters off the Izu Islands were whitecaps with southerly winds.
Inside Tokyo Bay, there were a few birds such as Great Cormorants and Black-tailed Gulls.
Streaked Shearwaters were observed barely off the Izu Islands.
The birds observed on the boat in the water of Tokyo Bay and Izu Islands are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
In the next morning, we were on the waters of Ogasawara Islands.
The sea surface was calm with few waves, and near Chichi-jima it was like mirrar with oil poured over the surface.
Streaked Shearwaters were replaced by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters.
Many boobies (Brown, Red-footed) flew with the ferry, aiming for flying fishes that surprised the ferry and jumped to the surface, and repeatedly dived to the sea surface in chasing the flying fishes.
Bulwer's Petrels appeared frequently.
Bonin Petrel, Bannerman's Shearwater and Brown Noddy also appeared.
Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel was also observed by other birders.
The birds observed on the boat in the water of Ogasawara Islands are;
Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Bannerman's Shearwater (Puffinus bannermani),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula rubripes), Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus)
After arriving at Chichi-jima, some of our members went to Minami Island to observe Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel and Brown Booby nesting there.
Near the harbour, we saw and heard the endemic subspecies of the Ogasawara Islands; Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps), Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone) and Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri), and Blue Rock-thrush.
The birds observed in Chichi-jima Island and Minami Island are;
Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica), Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone),
Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
The second night, we sailed towards Minami-Iwo-jima Island.
When day broke, the ship approached the island.
Since the weather was fine and sea was very calm, the ship could round twice closely the island.
Thus we could observe the birds of the island better.
We could watch Red-tailed Tropic Birds, White Terns and boobies flying around the island.
A Brown Booby (Brewster's) with a pink bill, which is rare in these waters, was also seen among the boobies.
The birds observed on the boat in the water of Minami-Iwo-jima Island are;
Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Bannerman's Shearwater (Puffinus bannermani),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Red-tailed Tropicbird (melanorhynchos) / Black-billed Tropic Bird / Black-billed Tropic Bird (Phaethon rubricauda melanorhynchos),
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula rubripes),
Brown Booby (Brewster's) (Sula leucogaster brewsteri), Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus), Common White-Tern (Pacific) (Gygis alba candida)
Then the ferry headed to Iwo Island and turned around the island.
After passing through the western side of Mt. Suribachi, the ferry passed by Kangoku Rock, where noodies (Brown, Black) are breeding.
It was a distance away, but we saw many noodies flying over the rocks, and occasionally some flew close to the ferry.
The birds observed on the boat in the water of Iwo-jima Island are;
Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Bannerman's Shearwater (Puffinus bannermani),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula rubripes), Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Sooty Tern (nubilosus) (Onychoprion fuscatus nubilosa),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus), Black Noddy (marcusi) (Anous minutus marcusi)
At the Kita-Iwo-jima Island, the ship could round twice closely the island, too.
We could watch many Red-tailed Tropicbirds, a few White-tailed Tropic Birds and Noddy and White Terns flying around the island.
And we could confirm the breeding colonies of Red-footed Booby on the grass fields and trees of the island.
The birds observed on the boat in the water of Kita-Iwo-jima Island are;
Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Bannerman's Shearwater (Puffinus bannermani),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii), Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae),
Red-tailed Tropicbird (melanorhynchos) / Black-billed Tropic Bird (Phaethon rubricauda melanorhynchos),
White-tailed Tropicbird (Pacific) (Phaethon lepturus dorotheae),
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula rubripes), Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus), Common White-Tern (Pacific) (Gygis alba candida)
After the Iwo Islands Cruise and one night stay at Chichi-jima Island, we walked Chichi-jima Island in the early morning.
Several White's Thrush were heard calling to each other near Oneyama Cemetery.
Several Japanese Wood-Pigeons (nitens) were pecking at berries on a tree near the ferry terminal.
The birds observed in Chichi-jima Island (2nd day) are;
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone),
Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
We visited Haha-jima Island by the morning boat and returned to Chichi-jima Islandby the evening boat.
It was sunny and very hot in the island. Escaping the direct sunlight by finding shadows, we made birding.
On the way towards the play ground, we saw and heard many Bonin White-eye.
And we could find one Japanese Wood Pigeon in a fruit farm.
There were many Japanese White-eyes which is a hybrid sub-species of one in Iwo Islands and one in Izu Islands.
There was also a flock of about ten Ruddy Turnstones in the port.
The birds observed at Haha-jima Island are;
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone),
Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri),
Bonin White-eye (hahasima) (Apalopteron familiare hahasima),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
Early in the morning in the last day of our stay on Chichi-jima Island, while it was still cool, we birded the island.
A flock of eight Japanese Wood-Pigeons were foraging under the tree plantations near the ferry terminal.
Previously, only a small number could be seen in Haha-jima Island, but now they can be seen commonly on this island as a result of measures such as the control of stray cats.
One Eastern Buzzard (toyooshimai), an endemic subspecies that had not been seen until then, was also seen well.
The birds observed at at Chichi-jima Island (3rd day)are;
Eastern Buzzard (toyoshimai) (Buteo japonicus toyoshimai),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone),
Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
The return passage also saw the same seabirds as on the outward passage.
カルガモ, シロハラミズナギドリ, オオミズナギドリ, オナガミズナギドリ, オガサワラミズナギドリ,
ハシボソミズナギドリ, アナドリ, クロウミツバメ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ,
アカオネッタイチョウ, シラオネッタイチョウ, アカアシカツオドリ, シロガシラカツオドリ, カツオドリ,
カワウ, オガサワラノスリ, キョウジョシギ. ウミネコ, セグロアジサシ, クロアジサシ, ヒメクロアジサシ, シロアジサシ,
アカガシラカラスバト, オガサワラヒヨドリ, オガサワラハシナガウグイス, イオウジマメジロxシチトウメジロ(交雑),
ハハジマメグロ, トラツグミ, イソヒヨドリ
2-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
This time of year is the best for birding on Mt. Fuji, but because it is during the rainy season in this region, the results depend significantly on the weather on the day of the visit.
This time, fortunately, it was blessed with clear skies in the morning.
At Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo) where we visited at first, The facility is a Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday. There were many birds, actively singing and flying around.
Until about 20 years ago, there were several sites near Tokyo where Latham's Snipe visited as a summer bird, but now this is one of the few sites left. Even here, their numbers have been decreasing and it becomes harder to see them.
While waiting for Latham's Snipe to appear, a number of Amur Stonechats perched on the grasses in the meadow in front of us.
Several Common Cuckoos were also flying around.
Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were busily flying around carrying food, perhaps to feed their chicks.
A Chestnut-eared Bunting was singing enthusiastically on a treetop.
Then, we heard Latham's Snipe nearby.
It suddenly rose into the sky and showed us its flight display; circling with its loud call and swooping down with a thunderous feather sound.
In another meadow, a number of Black-browed Reed Warblers were singing competitively like jazz singers.
We then drove on the forest roads in the foothills of the northern face of Mt Fuji.
Although it was hot at over 30°C (86°F) at the towns, the forest roads at higher altitudes were cooler.
However, there were few birds calling and few birds to be found, probably because most of them had finished or were in the process of raising their chicks.
The birds observed are;
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Green Pheasant (Shikoku) (Phasianus versicolor tohkaidi),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
- at Forest roads in the foothills of the northern face of Mt Fuji:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
トウカイキジ, トビ, オオジシギ, キジバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, アマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ,
メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキ,
ノビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
Prefectural Ikaho Forest Park (Gunma)
伊香保森林公園(群馬)
In this park, there is a small pond near the parking lot at the park management house. This pond is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters on the southwest foot of Mt. Futatsudake (1345 m), and there are many wind caves spouting very cold air nearby, so it is a very cool place in summer. This pond is a valuable water place for wild birds, and many birds visit there.
In summer, we can leave a hot town and meet many birds in a cool circumstance like a paradise.
The day of our visit was the third day of fine weather following record-breaking heavy rainfall from Typhoon Marwar, and although it was nearly 30 degrees Celsius hot near Tokyo, it was chilly there, even with a jacket, thanks to the cool air seeping from the mountain faces.
The pond was swollen due to the heavy rainfall.
The fresh green of the maples around the pond was beautiful.
A friendly Blue-and-white Flycatcher greeted us.
Various species of birds came to bathe in the pond.
Japanese Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush and Siberian Blue Robin particularly made frequent appearances.
The Brown-headed Thrush, whether foraging or gathering nesting material, picked up a beak full of fallen leaves at the pond's edge and carried them away.
Long-tailed Tits were visiting with their chilcks.
The birds observed are;
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)?
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ, サンショウクイ, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, クロツグミ, アカハラ,
コルリ, ルリビタキ? コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, イカル, ホオジロ
Sakae & Matsunoyama areas (Nagano, Niigata)
栄村＆松之山近郊(長野、新潟)
On the first day, at first, we visited the forest near Hirataki Station of JR Iiyama Line in Sakae Village.
Oriental Dollarbirds breed on this site every year.
On arrival, no Oriental Dollarbird was seen or heard.
A call that sounded like a White-backed Woodpecker was heard.
As we continued further along the forest road, an Ashy Minivet flew close by, and we heard Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Japanese Grosbeak singing.
Returning to the forest road, two Oriental Dollarbirds were perched on the power lines. It was confirmed that they had made a safe return visit this year.
In the afternoon, we visited the west south forest area in Matsunoyama area to search for Ruddy Kingfisher.
When we arrived there, we heard a Ruddy Kingfisher nearby but could not see it.
A Lesser Cuckoo flew close by and a Oriental Cuckoo was heard in the distance.
Several Grey-faced Buzzards, Russet Sparrows and White-cheeked Starlings were seen around the terraced rice paddies and a Crested Honey Buzzard perched on a tree beside the forest road.
Then we visited the area around "Bijinbayashi" a famous beech forest in Matsunoyama.
A variety of birds were heard and seen, but Tiger Shrike (Lanius tigrinus) was not found.
We visited the site again early the next morning. A Japanese Thrush was foraging on the ground and had a beak full of food.
Japanese Green Woodpeckers were also seen well.
Many fledging chicks of tits were also seen.
Oriental Reed Warblers were active, one of them was singing on a tall cedar treetop.
A Grey-faced Buzzard flew close by and Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Lesser Cuckoo and Ruddy Kingfisher were heard.
At Bijinbayashi, Ruddy Kingfisher, White-backed Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, Eurasian Jay, Narcissus Flycatcher were heard.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker and an Eurasian Jay were seen.
We then drove around the area and saw many Grey-faced Buzzards, Oriental Dollarbird and Yellow Buntings.
In the town of Matsudai, where we stayed this time, a Lesser Cuckoo and a Northern Boobook were heard at night in the background of a loud chorus of frogs.
Early in the morning of the third day, we visited forests on the suburbs of Matsudai town, where we heard a Ruddy Kingfisher, Narcissus Flycatchers and a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, and saw many Japanese Thrushes foraging on the road.
The birds observed are;
- Near Hirataki Station;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)?
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At Matsunoyama area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)?
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
- At Matsudai Town;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, ハチクマ, トビ, サシバ, キジバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス,
アオバズク, ブッポウソウ, アカショウビン, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ,
モズ, サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ノジコ
Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama Prefectures)
渡良瀬遊水地(群馬、栃木、茨城、埼玉)
Pied Harrier, which was said to have left the day before our last visit, had been found again.
In contrast to our previous visit, at 6am when I arrived, there was already a huge number of birders and photographers flocking to the site in search of the highly popular bird.
The target bird was reported to have appeared once early in the morning and then disappeared.
After midday, it was seen flying in the distance several times. It seemed to be flying over a fairly large range.
It then appeared in a spot where it had been frequently seen, but was resting for a long time hidden in a small tree in a reed field.
There was no sign of it flying out even when a crow got close, but when a Eatern Buzzard flew close by, it was finally visible as it took off from the small tree and flew around it.
It was a day of patience.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, マダラチュウヒ, ノスリ, キジバト,
カッコウ, ホトトギス, トラフズク, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ,
ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, ムクドリ,
キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The water level is high during spring and summer, and low during fall and winter, and the birds that can be seen change according to the water level.
Therefore, many species of birds can be observed throughout the year.
In summer, Yellow Bittern, Little Tern, Oriental Reed Warbler can be observed.
We expected to encounter Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida) or White-winged Tern/White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) which regularly stop by here on their way to migration at the end of May.
Unfortunately, there was no such lucky encounter.
At a Little Grebe nest on the edge of a reeds, some chicks were seen.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, バン, オオバン, コアジサシ,
キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
3-day Trip around Tokyo Area (Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Tokyo Prefectures)
東京近郊3日間(山梨、静岡、群馬、栃木、茨城、東京)
On the first day, we visited the area around Mt. Fuji.
The weather was cloudy and slightly warmer, suitable for birding. However, as it was a Monday, access to public facilities and the Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo) was not possible.
Having no choice, we observed from the outside at the Kitah-Fuji Military Base.
The expected display flight of Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii) was not observed, but Oriental Reed Warbler, Amur Stonechat, Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) and Chestnut-eared Bunting were observed at a distance.
Next, concerned about the worsening weather conditions, we headed for the Fujinomiya fifth station at an altitude of 2,400 m.
As we climbed up the road, the temperature dropped to around 13 degrees Celsius.
As we walked along the trail towards Mount Houei (a flank volcano on the southeastern side of Mt. Fuji emerged as a result of the 1707-1708 Hoei eruption of Mt. Fuji), we saw and heard the alpine birds, such as Olive-backed Pipit, Japanese Leaf Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Spotted Nutcracker, Brown-headed Thrush, Grey-bellied Bullfinch.
This time the expected Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) did not appear near the sixth station.
On the way descending to Mizugazuka Park at an altitude of 1500 m, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) and Siberian Blue Robin were seen and heard.
During a short time birding in Mizugazuka Park, Bull-headed Shrike, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Warbling White-eye, Siberian Blue Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher and Japanese Grosbeak were seen and heard.
The next day we headed towards Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
It was raining unfortunately, but the rain was light and there was not an obstacle to birding.
At first we drove around the farming areas of Itakura town.
Herons and egrets (Intermediate, Eastern Cattle, Grey and Great), Grey-headed Lapwing, Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) and Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark and were foraging in the rice fields where the cultivated soil had been exposed before rice planting.
Little Grebe, Yellow Bittern and Common Moorhen as well as Common Coot family were seen in the irrigation reservoir.
The Watarase Retarding Basin was covered with lush green reed beds.
The field, which had been crowded the day before with a lot of birders and photographers looking for the rare Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos), was quiet on the day after the bird was gone.
We looked for Little Tern or Whiskered Tern in Yanaka Lake, but did not see any this time.
Many Green Pheasants were and Meadow Buntings seen along the roadside through the reed fields.
In the reed fields, the unique flying display of Marsh Grassbird (Japanese), whose breeding grounds are limited to a few spots in Japan.
And Oriental Reed Warbler, Black-browed Reed Warbler and Zitting Cisticola were seen well.
Common Cuckoo was also singing well.
One of the two Oriental Stork artificial nest towers was empty, but two chicks and their parent were seen in the other.
Later, we could watch a Ural Owl at the nearby Nogi Shrine and a Long-eared Owl in the Watarase Retarding Basin.
On the third day, we visited Mt. Takao (Takao-San).
The rain of the previous day had stopped and from the train on the way we could see a good view of the beautiful Mt. Fuji.
There were Barn Swallow nesting in the Takaosan-guchi station yard, and Asian House Martins nesting under the elevated railway.
On the riverside path on the way to the cable car station, Kajika Frog (Buergeria buergeri) and Grey Wagtails were found in the river.
We took the cable car up to the top, walked to Yakuo-in Temple and back, and walked down Road No. 1.
We were surrounded by many calls and songs of various kinds of birds, such as tits (Coal, Varied, Japanese), Narcissus Flycatcher, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Japanese Green), Ryukyu Minivet, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Japanese Grosbeak, Lesser Cuckoo, Asian Stubtail, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Chinese Hwamei, Red-billed Leiothrix and Japanese Bush Warbler.
A Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher was heard but not seen.
A Mountain Hawk-Eagle soared above and from view spots overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Black Kites, Northern Goshawk (?) and Eastern Buzzards were seen flying.
Next, we visited Hachioji Castle Ruins.
Many birders and photographers had gathered to see Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher.
We waited for a while with them, but after hearing once a call without appearance, we walked around the castle ruins.
There we saw a Blue-and-white Flycatcher bathing in the stream.
We also saw a Narcissus Flycatcher and heard a White-bellied Green-Pigeon.
Most of the photographers gave up and left as it was getting dark and the Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher did not appear well.
When we were about to leave too, we heard a call nearby and saw the long-tailed bird.
The birds observed are;
- Around Mt. Fuji;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
キジバト, アマツバメ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, サンコウチョウ, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオアカ
- Around Watarase Retarding Basin;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis), Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
カワウ, トビ, バン, オオバン, ケリ, コチドリ, ドバト, キジバト, カッコウ, フクロウ, トラフズク, カワセミ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, ウグイス,
オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
- Around Mt. Takao;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)? Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
コジュケイ, トビ, オオタカ? ノスリ, クマタカ, キジバト, アオバト, ホトトギス, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス,
ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, イカル
5-day Trip in Nansei Islands (Okinawa Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture)
南西諸島5日間(沖縄、鹿児島)
Within the Nansei Islands, an important zoogeographic boundary has been drawn that separates the Palearctic Zone, which is temperate, from the Oriental Zone, which is tropical. As a result, the fauna is a diverse mix of elements of both, and many specialties are found in the isolated environment of the islands.
In addition, many species that came to these islands when they were once connected to the Eurasian continent survived the subsequent tectonic movements that broke them up into smaller islands and became endemic species or subspecies that have evolved uniquely and live only in those areas.
The first island to visit is the main island of Okinawa, the largest of the Nansei Islands.
At "Sankaku Pond" near Naha Airport, there were a few Black-faced Spoonbills, a few shorebirds (Pacific Golden-Plover, Common Redshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Common Sandpiper) were seen.
A Pied Avocet was found in the channel leading to this pond.
Next, we stopped by the paddy fields in Kin area in the central part of the main island of Okinawa.
Here we saw many kinds of waterfowl such as herons (Cinnamon Bittern, Chinese Pond-Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, and Intermediate Egret), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) and Zitting Cisticola.
Then we headed towards the vast forested area called Yanbaru in the north and stayed at the center of the forest.
After sunset, the local birder guided us on a nocturnal birding excursion. We were lucky to see two juvenile Japanese Scops-Owls (pryeri) and an Okinawa Rail sleeping on the gatepost of a private house.
The next morning, we walked around the area near the hotel for birding.
Several Okinawa Rails, Okinawa Woodpecker, Okinawa Robins (namiyei), Ryukyu Minivets and Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) were seen.
Near Benoki Dam, the red flowers of a dago attracted a variety of birds, among which was an Okinawa Woodpecker, which is usually difficult to see.
A Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) was heard in the nearby woods, but could not be seen.
Afterwards, we visited the farmlands of Kijoka and Kagamichi, where we saw Taiwan Bulbuls (formosae) and egrets.
The next day, they were scheduled to travel from Okinawa to Amami Oshima, but the flight, which was only one flight a day, was cancelled, resulting in a one-day delay in our arrival at Amami Oshima.
Moreover, the day we arrived, the wind and rain were so strong that we could not do any birding at Amami Forest Park, our first stop, so we had no choice but to drive around the rice paddies of Akina in the rain.
White-breasted Waterhen were seen here as well as herons.
After sunset, the local birder guided us on a nocturnal birding excursion.
It rained occasionally, but most of the time it had stopped.
Perhaps due to the heavy rain during the day, there were many frogs and a number of Okinawa pitvipers on the forest roads.
Two Whistling Green-Pigeons were resting close together on a power line, and Ruddy Kingfishers (bangsi) perched on tree branches and Ryukyu Scops Owl were seen courtship-feeding.
The next morning, we revisited Amami Forest Park. The weather recovered and it did not rain.
We saw Lidth's Jays and White-backed Woodpeckers (Owston's) well, but did not encounter any Amami Thrush (Zoothera major) after their chicks had fledged this time.
On the Ose coast, the last spot we visited, we were able to see many shorebirds.
The birds observed are;
- In Okinawa Main Island;
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Japanese Scops-Owl (pryeri) (Otus semitorques pryeri), Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi), Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens) (Yungipicus kizuki nigrescens),
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae/Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela)
クロツラヘラサギ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, リュウキュウツミ,
ヤンバルクイナ, バン, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, ムナグロ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ,
リュウキュウズアカアオバト, リュウキュウオオコノハズク, リュウキュウコノハズク, ヒメアマツバメ,
リュウキュウアカショウビン, カワセミ, リュウキュウコゲラ, ノグチゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
リュウキュウハシブトガラス, オキナワシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, タイワンシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ,
ダイトウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, シマキンパラ
- In Amami-oshima Island;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
アオサギ, チュウサギ, クロサギ, ミサゴ, シロハラクイナ, ムナグロ, シロチドリ, アマミヤマシギ,
コアオアシシギ, キアシシギ, オバシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, サルハマシギ, コアジサシ,
リュウキュウズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン,
アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ,
ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ, リュウキュウツバメ,
セッカ, アマミヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, アカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ
2-days Trip in Tokyo area (Ibaraki, Chiba & Kanagawa Prefectures)
東京近郊(茨城、千葉、神奈川)
At first we visited around Kasumigaura Lake (Ukishima, Inashiki) in Ibaraki Prefecture It was raining unfortunately, but we looked for fresh-water shorebirds in the lotus fields in Inashiki from the car while it was raining, and when the rain stopped, we looked for grassland species in the reed fields of Ukishima.
In the lotus fields, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Snipes, Grey-tailed Tattler, Common Sandpiper, and Red-necked Stints and Little Stints were seen.
Various species of herons (Eastern Cattle, Grey Heron (jouyi), Intermediate) and Green Pheasant (kigis) were also seen.
In the reed fields of Ukishima, we saw its unique arching flight of the Marsh Grassbird, which can only be seen in specific spots in Japan, and Japanese Reed Buntings, which sing beautifully at the tips of reeds.
In the afternoon, we visited Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
When we arrived, the rain had almost stopped and we were able to walk on the mudflats that had been widened by the low tide.
The clam digging was off that day, and there were few people on the mudflats.
Here we saw Eurasian Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Whimbrels (Siberian), Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings (rubida), Dunlins (Siberian), as well as Great White Egrets, Black-headed Gulls, Little Terns and Common Terns.
A small number of Greater Scaup still remained.
On the way back, fortunately two Azure-winged Magpies were seen outside the park.
The next day, we visited Maioka Park (Maioka-Koen) in the morning and Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park in the afternoon.
Maioka Park was covered with deep green. We walked in the park, sheltering from the occasional strong showers of rain.
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge,Chinese Hwamei, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Tit (minor), Varied Tit, etc. were seen well.
Asian Stubtails and Japanese Green Woodpeckers were heard, too.
At Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park, wind and rain became stronger, and unfortunately, birding became difficult halfway through and could not be continued.
Only Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Common Sandpiper,Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern), White-cheeked Starling, Japanese Wagtail and Meadow Bunting were seen eventually.
List of species, including the birds found from the ferryboat to Sakata port;
- around Kasumigaura Lake (Ukishima, Inashiki):
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Maioka Park:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キジ, カルガモ, スズガモ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, タシギ,
オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ,
トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, ユリカモメ, アジサシ, コアジサシ,
キジバト, アオゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ,
ガビチョウ, ハッカチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
Spring birds in mountain area in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市里山(長野)
Asian Brown Flycatchers (Muscicapa dauurica)
Gray-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Sakata-Yama
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
; All photos by T.Endo
I visited Sakata-Yama Natural Trail to look for summer birds on May 12.
When proceeding along the mountain foot, I heard songs of Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phyllosscopus borealoides) for the first time in this year．
In the mountain it was full of chorus of wild birds, such as Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone), Ashy Minivets (Pericrocotus Divaricatus), Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina) and Eastern Crowned Warblers (Phylloscopus coronatus).
While walking along the mountain trail, I heard a strong call, pik-wee. Then, I looked up and found a pair of Gray-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) soring high in the sky.
I also found a long-tailed male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata) for the first time in this year. The visit of this species was about 10 days earlier than normal years. I could not confirm a successful breeding last year, I hope that the breeding here will be in success this year.
On May 13, I visited Garyu-zan mountain, another “Satoyama” in Suzaka city to watch a nest of Black Kites (Milvus migrans).
The nest was on the pine tree near the top of the mountain. There were two chicks covered with white feathers on the nest.
List of species:
Eastern Sopt-billed Duck (Anus zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Striptopelia orientalis),
Gray-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus Divaricatus),
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrohynchos),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Eastern Crowned Warblers (Phylloscopus coronatus), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phyllosscopus borealoides),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey Starling (Sturnus cineraceus), Chestnut-cheeked Starlings (Agropsar philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Asian Brown Flycatchers (Muscicapa dauurica),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow(Passer montanus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Oriental Greenfinch(Carduelis sinica), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba), Gray Wagtail (Mitacilla cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
カルガモ，キジバト，サシバ，サンショウクイ，サンコウチョウ，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，
シジュウカラ，ツバメ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，センダイムシクイ，エゾムシクイ，エナガ，メジロ，
ムクドリ，コムクドリ，キビタキ，コサメビタキ，スズメ，イカル，カワラヒワ，ハクセキレイ，キセキレイ,ホオジロ
4-days Trip to Tobi-shima Island (Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture)
飛島(山形)
Tobishima is an island on the Japan Sea migratory route in spring and autumn, and can be reached by boat from Sakata Port in 75 minutes. The island is a paradise for Japanese birders during the migration seasons.
This time, we flew from Haneda to Sakata, stayed one night in Sakata, then took a boat the next morning to Tobishima, where we stayed two nights.
From the plane to Sakata, mountains covered with unseasonal snow of the day before were seen.
In Sakata, we visited Mogami River Swan Park near the mouth of the Mogami River and Hiyori-yama Park near Sakata Port.
Mogami River Swan Park is a place where many swans can be observed during the winter season, and there were a few lingering Bewick's Swans with damaged wings, and the others had already migrated away.
A small number of Mandarin Duck, Eurasian Wigeon and Eastern Spot-billed Duck were found.
Barn Swallow were flying over the riverbanks and Oriental Reed Warbler were singing energetically in the bushes.
In Hiyori-yama Park, a Chestnut-cheeked Starling was found in a large tree at the shrine. We were told that this bird nests in this tree every year.
In the forest, we saw a variety of birds such as Pygmy Woodpecker (Nippon), Japanese Leaf Warbler, Dusky Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, Black-backed Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Rustic Bunting, etc.
The Dusky Thrush, a winter bird in Japan, is rarely heard its song in Japan, but we were able to hear it this time.
The next morning, while waiting for the boat to depart at Sakata Port, Black-tailed Gulls flying around the boat and a small number of ducks (Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup) and Common Merganser/Goosander were found on the water within the port.
On the way to Tobishima, Streaked Shearwater, which can usually be seen, did not appear this time.
Instead, Ancient Murrelet, Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver, and Common Tern (Siberian) appeared in the waters near Tobishima.
The weather on Tobishima was fine, with blue skies and a clear view of Mount Chokai beyond the sea.
Many Black-tailed Gulls were nesting on the cliffs of a small island adjacent to the southern tip of the island, and chicks were seen.
A Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) was nesting on a nearby cliff.
Walking north on the island's ridge road, we found Ashy Minivet, Eyebrowed Thrush, Asian Brown Flycatcher, and Narcissus Flycatcher in the trees along the road.
Little Bunting, Rustic Bunting and Eastern Cattle Egret were foraging in the farm fields, and Pacific Swift (kanoi), Barn Swallow and Red-rumped Swallow were flying overhead.
Japanese Wood-Pigeon were heard and glimpsed near the center of the island. Oriental Cuckoos were also heard.
Several species of buntings (Little, Yellow-browed, Rustic Bunting, Masked, Black-faced) were foraging in the former school yard.
Early the next morning, we climbed up the anti-tsunami evacuation route near the inn to the road along the ridge line. Since it was early in the morning, thrushes (Japanese, Eyebrowed, and Brown-headed) were active and singing well.
After breakfast, we walked north along the island's east coast road. At the fishing port, we found Vega, Slaty-backed, among Black-tailed Gulls.
A Yellow Bunting was found in a grassy patch at a private residence on the way.
Two species of cormorants (Japanese and Pelagic) were seen on the beach at the north end.
In the schoolyard, buntings were foraging, as yesterday. In the deep forest at the north part of the island, we saw a Chinese Grosbeak and Bramblings.
Blue-and-white Flycatchers were also found.
On our third and final day on the island, we did not find any new species except for Daurian Redstart, probably because the sunny days continued.
Japanese wood-pigeons were seen well several times.
On the way to Sakata, we saw flocks of Streaked Shearwater, which we did not see on the outward passage.
List of species, including the birds found from the ferryboat to Sakata port (* observed by the other birders);
- at Mogami River Swan Park:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Hiyori-yama Park:
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
- on boat from Sakata to Tobishima:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-throated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica)
- in Tobishima Island:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
*Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Rufous-tailed Robin (Larvivora sibilans),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
*Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), *Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
*Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), *Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Chinese Grosbeak/Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria migratoria),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)
- on boat from Tobishima to Sakata:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
(＊他の観察者による報告)
キジ, コハクチョウ, オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カワアイサ,
オオハム, オオミズナギドリ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, サシバ, ノスリ, バン, イソシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, アジサシ, ウミスズメ,
ドバト, カラスバト, キジバト, ツツドリ, アオバズク, アマツバメ, コゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, サンコウチョウ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, *ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, キマユムシクイ, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
メジロ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, トラツグミ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, オオアカハラ, ツグミ, シマゴマ,
ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, *エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, *ムギマキ, *オジロビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, *タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, コイカル,
ホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, ノジコ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi) & Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura)(Tokyo)
柳沢峠(山梨)&山のふるさと村(東京)
The main targets were Japanese Robin and Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), which are often observed at this site every summer.
When we arrived at the site in the morning, there were already many photgraphers and birders coming to the site.
We started walking on the forest road, and we heard drumming of woodpeckers and a lot of calls of Narcissus Flycatchers and tits, but did not hear any Japanese Robin, Siberian Blue Robin or Siberian Thrush.
As we walked up the forest road, many people were gathered at one spot waiting for Japanese Robin and others to appear.
We heard Siberian Blue Robin nearby and looked for it, but could not find it.
We heard from a photgrapher that a Siberian Thrush was singing in a treetop early in the morning at this spot.
We left the crowds and headed further up the forest road.
White-backed Woodpecker and Brown-headed Thrush were seen near where the stream meets the forest road, and we also found the target Japanese Robin there. Two of them were present, moving silently around the ground and the bamboo grass by the stream.
A Mountain Hawk-Eagle appeared in the sky above.
Eastern Crowned Warbler and White-bellied Green-Pigeon were also heard.
When we returned to the crowd spot and asked him how was it, he told us that a Siberian Blue Robin had being seen.
Having seen one of our targets, we moved on to the next site, Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura).
There was a scarce of birds here this time, with only a few birds such as Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Narcissus Flycatcher and Grey Wagtail being seen.
The birds observed are (* observed by other birders);
- at Yanagisawa-Pass
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
*Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), *Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Yama no Furusato Mura
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
トビ, クマタカ, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, *マミジロ, アカハラ, コマドリ, *コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Winter birds were almost gone only small number of ducks (Eurasian Teals, Gadwall, Mallard) remained.
The migratory birds found were a few Little Ringed Plovers and Grey-tailed Tattlers.
The number and species of birds in this field decreased and only the breeding birds in this field remained.
In the grassland, Zitting Cisticolas, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Oriental Reed Warblers and Meadow Buntings were singing,
There were around ten Little Terns which were jumping into the river to capture fish.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus sturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, クイナ, オオバン, コチドリ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
8-day Trip in Nansei Islands (Okinawa Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture)
南西諸島8日間(沖縄、鹿児島)
Within the Nansei Islands, an important zoogeographic boundary has been drawn that separates the Palearctic Zone, which is temperate, from the Oriental Zone, which is tropical. As a result, the fauna is a diverse mix of elements of both, and many specialties are found in the isolated environment of the islands.
In addition, many species that came to these islands when they were once connected to the Eurasian continent survived the subsequent tectonic movements that broke them up into smaller islands and became endemic species or subspecies that have evolved uniquely and live only in those areas.
In addition, there are many migratory birds in this region. One possible reason for this is that the Nansei Islands is a stepping-stone chain of small islands stretching approximately 1,200 km from the southern tip of Kyushu to Taiwan. Moreover, the islands are geographically located near Southeast Asia and along the Chinese mainland, making them an easy route for migratory birds to use. The subtropical climate is also thought to be one of the reasons for the warm winters and ample food availability. Therefore, this area is considered to be an important wintering site for birds migrating globally, as well as a stopover for birds migrating further south.
The first island we visited was Ishigaki Island, the westernmost of the three islands.
This time, we visited Ohama Coast, the mouth of the Arakawa River, and rice paddies on the island and saw various species of shorebirds on their spring migration, as well as herons such as Purple Herons and Whiskered Terns.
We also visited the Takeda Forest Road at dusk and dawn and observed many Ryukyu Scops Owls, Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagles, Ruddy Kingfishers (bangsi), Whistling Green-Pigeons (medioximus), Japanese White-eyes (loochooensis), a few Ryukyu Flycatchers and Ryukyu Minivet, a Malayan Night Heron, a Common Emerald Dove, and a Japanese Thrush, a Grey Buntingn, etc.
At another spot, we encountered two Slaty-legged Crakes and a Japanese Night-Heron on its migration after sunset.
The next island to visit is the main island of Okinawa, the largest of the Nansei Islands.
First, we visited the vast forested area called Yanbaru in the north.
The storm we had been worried about the night before was over, but the forest road we planned to take was impassable due to flooding, and we had to turn back.
The next morning, the Okinawa Rail was seen just next to the hotel where we stayed.
After that, we headed to Hiji Waterfall to look for Okinawa Woodpecker, getting information from a barder at the same hotel.
It was difficult to find the nesting tree, but we managed to locate it and saw the target bird.
Another birder staying at the same hotel told us that he had seen Japanese Scops-Owl (pryeri) (Otus semitorques pryeri) on the road from the hotel to the village of Ada at midnight, and we also tried, but unfortunately could not see it.
Next, we stopped by the paddy fields in Kin area in the central part of the main island of Okinawa.
Here we saw many kinds of waterfowl such as herons (Cinnamon Bittern, Chinese Pond-Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, and Intermediate Egret), White-breasted Waterhen, shorebirds (Black-winged Stilt, Whimbrel, Wood Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper), Oriental Pratincole, Whiskered Tern, Pacific Swallow (namiyei), Zitting Cisticola and a snipe looked like Pin-tailed.
The location where we visited next was the southern part of the island, we saw many species of shorebirds (Black-winged Stilt, Common Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Whimbrel, Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper) on the shore around the fresh water flow from the underground damand and in cultivated fields nearby. Two rare Little Curlews were also found among them.
There were also wagtails (Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) , Eastern Yellow Wagtail (simillima) , Grey Wagtail , East Siberian Wagtail ) in the same cultivated field.
At "Sankaku Pond" near Naha Airport, there were eight Black-faced Spoonbills, one Eurasian Spoonbill, a small flock of Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian), and many kinds of shorebirds (Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Pacific Golden-Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Temminck's Stint, Long-toed Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper) were seen.
The last island we visited was Amami Oshima.
This is one of the Satsunan Islands, and is the seventh largest island in the Japanese archipelago (excluding the disputed Kurile Islands) after the four main islands, Okinawa Island and Sado Island.
It is located approximately 380 kilometres south of the southern tip of Kyushu and 250 kilometres (130 nmi) north of Okinawa.
This island is located at the east-north edge of the Indomalaya / Oriental ecozone.
At Amami Forest Park in the town of Ryugo-cho, we saw most of the endemic species/subspecies in this island such as Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii), Lidth's Jay, Japanese Tit (amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii), Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), Japanese White-eye (loochooensis), Amami Thrush, Ryukyu Robin (L.k.komadori).
We also drove along the Santaro and Asato forest roads after sunset, before dawn, and early in the morning, and saw Amami Woodcock,s Japanese Wood-Pigeons, Whistling Green-Pigeons (permagnus), Ryukyu Scops Owls, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex), Lidth's Jays, and others.
On these forest roads, we saw many Amami rabbits (Pentalagus furnessi), which only inhabit Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima. This rabbit is said to be one of the most primitive species of the rabbit family.
The birds observed are;
- In Ishigaki Island;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi), Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi), Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher/Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- In Okinawa Main Island;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Okinawa Rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae/Gallirallus okinawae), White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Little Curlew/Little Whimbrel (Numenius minutus),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nigrescens) (Yungipicus kizuki nigrescens),
Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (okinawae) (Parus minor okinawae), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (formosae) (Pycnonotus sinensis formosae/Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis)
- In Amami-oshima Island;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)?
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)?
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ,
ミゾゴイ, ズグロミゾゴイ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, ウミウ,
ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, リュウキュウツミ, サシバ, オオクイナ, ヤンバルクイナ, シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン,
クロヅル, セイタカシギ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ハジロコチドリ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
アマミヤマシギ, タシギ, ハリオシギ? オグロシギ, コシャクシギ, チュウシャクシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ,
アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, キリアイ,
ツバメチドリ, コアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ, ドバト, カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, ヒメアマツバメ, リュウキュウアカショウビン, カワセミ,
アマミコゲラ, リュウキュウコゲラ, ノグチゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ,
ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, オサハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, オキナワシジュウカラ, イシガキシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ,
ツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, タイワンシロガシラ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, アマミヒヨドリ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, イシガキヒヨドリ,
ダイトウウグイス, オオヨシキリ, リュウキュウメジロ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, オオトラツグミ, クロツグミ, アカヒゲ, ホントウアカヒゲ,
イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ? タイワンハクセキレイ, クロジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
Still a small number of the winter birds remained in the field, such as Masked Bunting, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit, Dusky Thrush, Common Coot, and ducks (Falcated Duck, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck).
The summer bird was Barn Swallow only.
Although most of the winter birds were gone and summer birds were still few, the Japanese Bush-Warbler, Meadow Bunting, and Zitting Cisticola, which had been quiet in the bushes in winter, were singing lively.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ツミ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ドバト, キジバト,
ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ,
セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
タヒバリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
One-day trip for Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo) & Sanbanze Seaside Park (Chiba)
葛西臨海公園(東京)&三番瀬(千葉)
The cherry blossoms in the Tokyo area were past their prime, and those in Kasai Rinkai Park were also about to fall.
Since the reconstruction of the observation center at Bird Sanctuary had started at the beginning of the month, we visited the Bird Sanctuary during the quiet time before the construction work started.
Perhaps partly influenced by the construction, most of the winter birds were gone, with only a few Northern Shovelers and Eurasian Teals remaining in the pond.
We looked for Common Reed Bunting remaining in the reeds in the pond, and only one was seen.
After rounding the sanctuary, police officers gathered at the seaside and did something. Apparently, a drowned person had been found.
We crossed over to the Nishi-Nagisa (West Beach), where the gates opened at 9:00 am.
The tide was low and mud flats were appearing and several Little Egrets were foraging.
In the channel between Nishi-nagisa (Western Beach) and Higashi-nagisa (East Beach), a few Greater Scaups were resting on the beach and a Far Eastern Curlew was seen foraging on the rocks.
Four Black-faced Spoonbills were observed foraging on the mudflats spread out on Higashi-nagisa (East Beach).
We left the Nishi-nagisa (West Beach) and explored the forest on the west side of the park, but did not find any pipits and Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica).
Small flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch were seen.
Then, we took a train and a bus to Sanbanse.
The mudflats were still spread widely, a flock of Dunlin and Sanderling was seen at the distant shore, and a flock of Black-headed Gulls, including some with heads turned black, were flying around on the mudflats.
Eurasian Oystercatchers were also foraging as well.
Looking east from the jetty to the water, many Greater Scaups were still left, and one Stejneger's Scoter, one Red-breasted Merganser, and several Great Crested Grebes were found among them.
Many Great Cormorants, Eurasian Oystercatchers, and Black-headed Gulls were resting on the breakwater, with a few Black-tailed Gulls and Vega Gulls also found.
As the tide rose and shorebirds could be seen closer, several Bar-tailed Godwits were seen among them.
The birds observed are;
at Kasai-rinkai Park;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
at Sanbanze (*reported by other birder);
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
*Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), *Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, ウミアイサ,
カンムリカイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
, ミサゴ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, コチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ホウロクシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, *アジサシ, *コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
The snow that was there at the time of the last visit in mid-January has almost disappeared, and many anglers were on the shores of Lake Chuzenji, as it was the opening day of the trout fishing season.
Ducks were significantly reduced in numbers and Common Merganser/Goosander was gone.
There was no snow on the wooden path on Senjogahara Moor and it was easy to walk on.
Birds were few, but a flock of waxwings was seen. Bohemian was dominant, with a small mix of Japanese.
Eurasian Wrens were singing well at several spots near Yudaki Fall.
Solitary Snipe and Brown Dippers were also seen.
Lake Yunoko, which was frozen in January, is now free of ice and a small number of ducks were seen.
Several male Red-flanked Bluetails were gathering near Koutoku-numa Marsh.
We have seen this scene before at this location, at this time of year.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ,
トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
キレンジャク, ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
カワガラス, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ウソ, ホオジロ
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
It was warm that day and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
There were no more winter birds in the paddy fields and only a few Meadow Bunting were seen in the grass.
The water in the irrigation pond was very high and there was little muddy ground at the bottom of the pond.
The swans, which were many at the time of our last visit at the end of January, had already left, but a small number of ducks still remained.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, one Oriental Stork was laying nest material on an artificial nest, preparing it for egg-laying.
In the reed field, there was still a Hen Harrier, a winter bird. It rested for a while on the bare ground of the reed fields, which had been burned in March.
Many Eurasian Teals and Falcated Ducks were still remaining in the canal.
The Falcated Duck appeared to have darker breeding plumage.
The birds observed are;
- at Paddy fields & Irrigation pond in Itakura Town
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Watarase Returding Basin
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, ヨシガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, カワウ,
トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
The hawk observation at this site was started on March 20 this year.
Until beginning of May, we can enjoy watching the migration of various kinds of hawks.
The cherry trees were blooming fully.
18 Grey-faced Buzzards (until 15:30) were recorded.
Mountain Hawk-Eagle did not appear this time prpbably due to the clouds on Tanzawa mountains.
Japanese Bush-Warblers and Warbling White-eyes were very active and singing very well.
The number was a few but we saw Asian House Martins and Barn Swallows.
The birds observed are;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カワウ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ジョウビタキ, イカル, ホオジロ
Miyako Islands (Okinawa)
宮古島(沖縄)
Miyako Island, the main island of the chain, is connected by bridges to Ikema Island on its north side, with Kurima Island in the south and with Irabu in the west. Miyako Islands are the only islands not inhabited by the venomous habu snake among the relatively large islands of the Ryukyus.
This visit was earlier than previous visits in April and July.
A small number of winter birds such as ducks, thrushes and Grey-faced Buzzards were still remaining, and a few shorebirds on their migration were seen.
Summer birds such as terns, Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi) and Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex) had not yet arrived.
On the afternoon of Day 1, the first site visited was Yonaha Bay at the west of Miyako Island.
At Kawamitsu Fishing Port, we were welcomed by a Brown Shrike (Philippine).
A small flock of Ruddy Turnstone were resting on the shore.
The next site visited was Kurima Island.
On this island, in April, flocks of Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum), Eastern Yellow Wagtail and Eastern Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla ocularis) were seen in the farming areas, so we looked around for these.
A flock of about 20 Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) was found, but no Oriental Pratincole. It might have not yet arrived.
Instead, many Grey-faced Buzzards were around.
The next stop was Sawada Coast on Irabu Island. As it was close to high tide, shorebirds could not be seen.
The last stop of the day was Ikema Marsh on Ikema Island.
There were still a few ducks which were winter birds.
Three Purple Herons, one of the targets in this field, were found. They were beautifully dressed in breeding plumage.
Grey Heron also had beautiful breeding plumage.
On the second day, the rain that had fallen early in the morning had stopped, but a strong northerly wind blew.
We gave up our birding at Ono Forest before dawn and headed for Agarihenna Cape with hopes of seeing migratory birds stopped by the northerly winds.
On the way, we looked for Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis) in farmland in the south-east of Miyako Island, but could not find any, perhaps hiding to avoid the Grey-faced Buzzards that were everywhere.
Several Northern Shovelers and Black-winged Stilts were seen in an irrigation reservoir with water.
At Agarihenna Cape, none of the expected migratory birds were found.
Next, we visited Ikema Marsh. In addition to the Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Eurasian Teal seen the previous day, there were Northern Shoveler and Tufted Duck.
The herons/egrets were the same.
The last site visited that day was Ono Forest.
We waited for a while near a shallow pond "Ryu-no-ike (Pond of Dragon)" in the forest waiting for the birds to come and bathe.
Slaty-legged Crake did not appear, but Brown-eared Bulbuls (pryeri), a Pale Thrush and an Ryukyu Flycatcher came.
Warbling White-eyes, Oriental Turtle-Doves (stimpsoni) and a Common Emerald Dove came to the branches of trees overhanging the pond.
Japanese Wood-Pigeon and Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) were calling around the pond. A Japanese Wood-Pigeon perching on a pine tree branch was also seen.
Day 3 was cloudy but the wind had stopped and the weather became calm, so we headed to Ono Forest before sunrise.
In the darkness, with no moonlight, Ryukyu Scops Owls and Northern Boobooks (Ryu Kyu) were calling.
While searching for Ryukyu Scops Owl, a Slaty-legged Crake was accidentally found resting in a small tree by the side of the road.
As it became a little brighter, Warbling White-eyes and Indean Peafowls also began to call.
After the sun rose, we walked on a trail through the forest, and suddenly a large bird flew up from the ground: it was a Malayan Night Heron.
Flocks of Pale Thrush and Ryukyu Minivet were gathered in a fig tree with berries.
Some Japanese Wood-Pigeons were calling on nearby pine trees.
Next stop was Yonaha Bay, where the tide lowered near noon.
Around ten Common Redshanks, several Common Greenshanks and about ten Grey Herons were foraging on the shore where the creek flows in beside the Akanagu Shrine.
We visited Kurima Island, intending to visit again there at the time of the lowest tide after noon.
The Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) seen on the first day was not found, perhaps having migrated.
We returned to Yonaha Bay again, this time to Kawamitsu Fishing Port.
There were only two Western Ospreys in the distance, but nothing else.
Suddenly two large flocks of shorebirds flew close by. One of the flocks landed nearby us.
It was a mixed flock of Lesser Sand-Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Ruddy Turnstone and Dunlin.
Two Pacific Golden-Plovers were also found in the flock.
We revisited Ono Forest at sunset that day.
A Slaty-legged Crake was bathing in a puddle on the road in the dim light.
As it got dark, Ryukyu Scops Owl and Northern Boobooks started calling again.
The morning of Day 4 was cloudy.
Again, we visited Ono Forest before dawn.
We enjoyed the calls of Ryukyu Scops Owl and Northern Boobook echoing in the darkness again.
When it became light, we drove north on the road along the eastern side of the forest and found a flock of Intermediate Egret in a irrigation pond with water by the road. They seemed to roost there.
Two Black-crowned Night Herons were also there.
When we went to the spot where a Malayan Night Heron had been seen the previous day, a White's Thrush was seen this time.
We next headed to Ikema Island.
There were no species newly seen at Ikema Mash.
Then, we then headed to Irrabu Island, and around noon, the weather forecast was cloudy, but it turned out to be far off and the weather was terrible, with strong southerly winds and heavy rain for a few hours.
As the weather turned a little better, with less rain and less wind, we headed for the Sawada Coast.
On the way, a flock of Dusky Thrush were foraging in the grassland of nearby Heisei-no-mori Park.
One Naumann's Thrush was found among them.
More than 100 Pacific Golden-Plover were flocking on the mudflats, which had been greatly widened by the low tide.
Small numbers of Kentish Plover, Lesser Sand-Plover and Common Greenshank were also found among them.
An Oriental Stork was also seen in the distance at the shore.
On Day 5, the last day of the trip, we visited the Ono Forest early in the morning.
The weather recovered.
In the fig tree, where flocks of Pale Thrush and Ryukyu Minivet were gathered two days ago, a Japanese Bush-Warbler (Sakhalinensis), a white-bellied bush-warbler, was busy moving inside like a leaf warbler.
On the lawn of the nearby Miyako Higashi Kindergarten, White Wagtail and Amur Wagtail were found.
At Agarihenna Cape, the next site, we saw a Brown Shrike (Philippine) and a Daurian Redstart.
Later, we checked out Yonaha Bay, but did not find anything particularly new.
Finally, we visited Sawada Coast in Irabu Island.
More Pacific Golden-Plover were feeding on the mudflats than the previous day.
Two Oriental Storks were also seen.
The birds observed are;
- at Ono Forest (Onosanrin)
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (sakhalinensis) (Horornis diphone sakhalinensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Miyako Higashi Kindergarten
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis)
- at Yonaha Bay (Yonaha-Wan)
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Lesser Sand-Plover (schaeferi) (Charadrius mongolus schaeferi),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Farm field in South-east area of Miyako Island
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- at Agarihenna Cape (Agariihenna-Zaki)
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Kurima Island (Kurima-jima)
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) (Horornis diphone riukiuensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- at Sawada Coast (Sawada-hama)
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Lesser Sand-Plover (schaeferi) (Charadrius mongolus schaeferi), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Heisei-no-mori Park in Irabu Island
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
- at Ikema Marsh
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri), ,br> Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) (Horornis diphone riukiuensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Ikema Fishing Port
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
インドクジャク, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ,
ズグロミゾゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, リュウキュウツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, オオクイナ, シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, チベットメダイチドリ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, ハマシギ,
ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, カワセミ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, シマアカモズ, オサハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, セッカ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, カラフトウグイス, リュウキュウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, ムクドリ,
トラツグミ, シロハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ,
ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロハクセキレイ
Fishing ports at Choshi & Hazaki (Chiba, Ibaraki Prefecture)
銚子・波崎漁港(千葉,茨城)
A Brown-headed Gull, a stray species in Japan, had been reported a few days earlier, so we visited the fishing ports in Choshi to look for it.
On arrival, many birders were waiting at Choshi's second and third fishing ports to see this rare visitor.
We rounded these places, but did not find the target gull.
During our search, we found out a Glaucous Gull for the first time this season. In ordinary years, we would always find some, but this year was unusual.
On the second round, we spotted a slightly larger gull with black wing tips amongst a large flock of Black-headed Gulls that were flocking to the waste water drained out of the fishing boat after the fish had been unloaded.
It flew around in front of us for a while and we were able to observe it well.
At another location, a Little Gull, another stray bird in this winter, was also seen this time again.
Most of the ducks had migrated, with only a few dozen Greater Scaup remaining at Choshi Port and about 200 at Choshi Marina.
At Choshi Marina, we looked for Lesser Scaup that might be among these, but they were too far away to be identified.
A small number of grebes remained, and their breeding plumage were coloured vividly.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus heuglini),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Brown-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
コジュケイ, オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, スズガモ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン,
カモメ, ワシカモメ, ウミネコ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ? オオセグロカモメ,
ホイグリンカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, チャガシラカモメ, ユリカモメ, ヒメカモメ, ミツユビカモメ,
ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ
Ferry route between Tokyo Bay and Hachijo Island, Tokyo
八丈島航路(東京)
It is about 10 hours by Tokai Ferry from Takeshiba Pier, Tokyo.
From February to May, we have a lot of chances to watch albatrosses; Short-Tailed Albatross, Black-footed Albatross and Laysan Albatross, and a huge number of shearwater; Short-tailed Shearwater, Streaked Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, etc.
February to March is a particularly good time to see three species of albatross; Laysan Albatross, Short-Tailed Albatross and Black-footed Albatross.
This time I was with members of the Fureai Birdwatching Club.
The weather was sunny and unseasonably warm, with a light southerly breeze and the sea conditions were calm, making watching seabirds from the boat easy.
On the other hand, this calm sea conditions may have worked against the seabirds, as they were not very active.
Black-footed Albatross were seen throughout on the outward passage from Miyake-jima to Hachijo-jima and on the return passage from Hachijo-jima to Miyake-jima. More were seen from Miyakejima to Tokyo Bay. They appeared in unexpectedly some numbers after entering Tokyo Bay.
Short-Tailed Albatross were seen in small numbers from Miyakejima to off Oshima.
Only two Laysan Albatrosses were seen around the entrance to Tokyo Bay, perhaps it had already moved further north water areas.
Lots of Streaked Shearwater were seen throughout the passage. On the way from Miyake-jima to Tokyo, a great number of them crowded around a fishing boat. Several Black-footed Albatrosses were also seen in the flock.
No other species of shearwater were found.
Many Japanese Murrelets were also seen as we passed the western side of Miyake-jima, flying in flocks of two or three.
Other species found were one Bulwer's Petrel, two Brown Bobbies and two Red Phalaropes.
A Jaeger/Skua was found near the entrance to Tokyo Bay, but could not be confirmed.
The birds observed were;
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Red Phalarope/Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus)?
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, アナドリ, コサギ, カツオドリ, ウミウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ムナグロ, ハイイロヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, トウゾクカモメ? カンムリウミスズメ,
キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
Higashi-Takane Forest Park & Midorigaoka Cemetery(Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園&緑ヶ丘霊園(川崎)
Japanese Waxwing, of which only two were seen on the previous visit on 20 Feb, increased to a flock of more than ten.
There was also an unexpected encounter with an Eurasian Woodcock.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, トビ, ヤマシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, アオジ
Amami-Oshima (Kagoshima Prefecture)
奄美大島 (鹿児島)
It is located approximately 380 kilometres south of the southern tip of Kyushu and 250 kilometres (130 nmi) north of Okinawa.
The island is of volcanic origin, with Mount Yuwan-dake at 605 metres above sea level at its highest peak.
The coast of the island is surrounded by a coral reef. It is surrounded by the East China Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east.
This island is located at the east-north edge of the Indomalaya / Oriental ecozone.
The climate of Amami Oshima is classified as a humid subtropical climate with very warm summers and mild winters.
Amami Oshima is home to several rare or endangered endemic animals, including Lidth's Jay, Owston's White-backed Woodpecker, and Amami Thrush which are now found only in Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima.
Also there are endemic subspecies such as; Amami Woodcock, Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus), Ryukyu Robin, Great Tit (amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii), White-backed woodpecker (Owston's), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii), Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), and Large-billed Crow (connectens).
At the time of this visit, the weather was cold for Amami Oshima and unstable with occasional showers of heavy rain and strong northerly winds. If it were migratory time, such bad weather would be a good opportunity to see many migratory birds on remote islands, but it was still early for this, and we were forced to bird in extra layers of clothing and had to avoid the rain and wind. Also, the activity of resident birds was not very active due to the bad weather.
The first site we visited was Ose beach, just north of the airport and facing the Pacific Ocean.
During a break in the rain, we observed ducks and shorebirds on the rocks on the beach.
Amongst Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Shovelers and Eurasian Teals, we found one remaining Common Shelduck, which had been observed the previous month.
Shorebirds were dominated by Pacific Golden-Plover, with a few other Little Ringed Plover and Kentish Plover found.
Other species seen were Great White Egret, Pacific Reef Heron, Great Cormorants, Western Osprey, Common Coots and White Wagtails.
Then we moved further north in the Kasari area.
A flock of thrushes was found, but they were very nervous and immediately hid in the trees nearby.
After a short wait, Brown-headed Thrushes (orii), Naumann's Thrushes and Dusky Thrushes returned and perched on the power lines.
Besides these, Pale Thrush were found all over the place.
A few Masked Buntings also appeared but soon went into a bush.
A few Red-billed Starlings and one Common Starling (Siberian) were found on a power line a short distance away.
The next morning we headed to Amami Nature Forest (Amami Shizen Kansatsu no Mori) before dawn.
Fortunately, although there was a cold northerly wind blowing, it was not raining.
On the forest roads along the way, as it began to get light, we heard Ryukyu Robin, Lidth's Jay, Japanese Wood-Pigeon, Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae), Japanese Bush-Warbler, and saw Pale Thrush on the road.
A Grey-faced Buzzard, which had been resting in a tree on the side of the road, flew out being surprised by our car.
At Amami Nature Forest, two Whistling Green-Pigeons (permagnus) were soon found perched on a tree by the roadside.
A Japanese Wood-Pigeon was also heard close by and saw flying.
Ryukyu Robins were spotted many times throughout the park, singing here and there. This bird is usually difficult to see in other seasons as it hides in the bushes, but this time it was very easy to spot.
White-backed woodpecker (Owston's), Japanese Tit (amamiensis) and Varied Tit (amamii) were also readily spotted.
Finally, an Amami Thrush made a brief appearance, so we were able to see most of our target birds in a few hours at this one site.
There was a birder looking for Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata), which had been seen recently, but seemed unable to find it.
Next, we moved on to the Akina area to the west. This is a good spot for observing freshwater fowl in a relatively large area of rice paddies.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the site, the weather worsened and strong winds began to blow. Perhaps because of this, only one Green Sandpiper and Grey and White wagtails were seen.
However, only many Grey-faced Buzzards were seen.
Next, we drove to the Amami Forest Police in the southern part of the island. Amami Forest Police is a vast forest park in the Fukumoto Basin at the foot of Mt Yuwan, the highest peak in the Amami Archipelago, in Yamato Village in the central part of Amami Oshima. The mountains are covered with subtropical vegetation and there is also a large lawn area.
It was the afternoon and light rain was falling occasionally, so not many birds appeared, but several Naumann's Thrushes, Dusky Thrushes, Pale Thrush and Olive-backed Pipits were foraging in the lawn area.
While observing, they suddenly flew away, followed by the Peregrine Falcon, the cause of that, appeared in the sky above.
After sunset, we went night-watching on the Santaro Forest Road with a local guide.
The Santaro Forest Road is located in the centre of the island and is a popular spot for watching nocturnal animals, including the Amami rabbit, at night. Due to concerns about the increase in roadkill of wildlife and increased stress on wildlife due to the recent increase in vehicles, rules for night-time use have been set and entry vehicles are controlled.
It was not raining, but a cold northerly wind blew, and two Amami Woodcocks and several Ryukyu Scops Owls were seen and heard, but no Amami Thrush were seen.
The next morning, while it was still dark, we headed for Kinsakubaru with a local guide.
We hoped to see Ryukyu Scops Owl and Amami Woodcock on the forest road on the way, but we only heard Ryukyu Scops Owl and saw only one Amami Woodcock.
This may have been due to another vehicle driving on the same road just before us.
As sunrise approached and it was getting light, an Amami Thrush was singing nearby, just before the entrance to Kinsakubaru Forest Road (Kinsakubaru Rindo), but we could not find it.
We parked at the entrance to Kinsakubaru Rindo and walked along the forest road.
Kinsakubaru Rindo is a forest road where primitive forest remains, and is a restricted area where you cannot enter unless accompanied by a local guide.
After 9am, tourists come and it is not suitable for birding, but early in the morning there were few people and it was quiet.
We hoped to see Amami Thrush, but only heard its voice.
Instead, White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpeckerand Japanese Wood-Pigeon appeared.
Next, we drove south along the west coast and visited the Forest Police again.
The members there were almost the same as the day before, but a White-cheeked Starling was newly found on the lawn.
Next, we headed north again to Akina.
At Akina, the wind was weaker and conditions more favourable than last time.
Thanks to this, we saw more birds than last time, such as a flock of Common Snipe, a Green Sandpiper and a Wood Sandpiper.
The next morning, as on the previous day, we drove on the same forest road to Kinsakubaru before dawn and on another forest road leading from Kinsakubaru to Naze.
Sadly again, Ryukyu Scops Owl and Amami Thrush were only heard and only one Amami Woodcock appeared.
Next, we revisited Amami Nature Forest (Amami Shizen Kansatsu no Mori).
Many Ryukyu Robin were seen there again.
Japanese Wood-Pigeon were also seen several times.
Then we drove towards the Ose coast.
On the way we found two Intermediate Egrets and a number of Grey-faced Buzzards.
In the Kasari area, there was still a flock of thrushes.
On the Ose coast, more shorebirds were found than last time, with Northern Lapwing, Lesser Sand-Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-necked Stint and Dunlin in addition to the previous members.
The birds found are;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (permagnus) (Treron formosae permagnus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (amamii) (Yungipicus kizuki amamii),
White-backed woodpecker (owston's)/Amami Woodpecker(Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni/Dendrocopos owstoni),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Lidth's Jay (Garrulus lidthi), Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Japanese Tit (amamiensis) (Parus minor amamiensis), Varied Tit (amamii) (Sittiparus varius amamii),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (ogawae) (Hypsipetes amaurotis ogawae),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Common Starling (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Amami Thrush (Zoothera major), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii),
Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コウライキジ, ツクシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, バリケン,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, バン, オオバン, タゲリ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
アマミヤマシギ, タシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
カラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク,
カワセミ, アマミコゲラ, オーストンオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
ルリカケス, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, アマミシジュウカラ, アマミヤマガラ, ツバメ, セッカ,
アマミヒヨドリ, ウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, ギンムクドリ, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ,
オオトラツグミ, シロハラ, オオアカハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, ツグミ, アカヒゲ, ジョウビタキ,
イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, アオジ
Higashi-Takane Forest Park & Midorigaoka Cemetery(Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園&緑ヶ丘霊園(川崎)
Frustratingly, however, the number of this bird varies greatly from year to year, and sometimes it doesn't appear at all.
Last year, there were almost no arrivals.
I was worried about this year's arrival, but I got news of its arrival and visited to see it.
However, I went round Higashi-Takane Forest Park (Higashi-Takane Shinrin-Koen), but there were no such birds, and even other birds were very scarce.
At that time, I was told by a visitor that the target bird had been seen at the neighbouring cemetery, so I went there and found a Japanese Waxwing on a mistletoe there.
The photographer there said there were two of them, but only one appeared during my observation.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ツグミ, オオカワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ
Go-no-ike Pond,Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Chiba, Ibaraki Prefecture)
神之池、波崎・銚子漁港(千葉,茨城)
On the way, we checked Go-no-ike Pond in the Kamisu City.
Go-no-ike Pond was a well-known spot to see Smew in winter. This time, no Smew could be seen. However, the weather, which had been warm and mild in the morning, suddenly changed and a strong southerly wind began to blow, and the sky looked as if it would rain at any moment, so we stopped observing quickly, so it is possible that we may have missed it.
In the fishing ports of Hasaki and Choshi, the number of large gulls such as Vega Gull seemed to had increased since the previous visit.
However, Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus) was not found this time either.
A beautiful Glaucous-winged Gull whose plumage had finished changing was seen.
Little Gull seemed to be moving around the area and was not encountered.
Some Red-necked Grebes and Black-necked Grebes were changing to summer plumage and were darker in plumage.
The birds observed are;
at Go-no-ike Pond:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
at Hazaki & Choshi Ports:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)?
Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ,
カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, カナダカモメ,
セグロカモメ, アメリカセグロカモメ? モンゴルセグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ハシブトガラス
Kashima Coast (Ibaraki Prefecture)
鹿島灘(茨城)
The Kashima Coast is a sandy beach stretching from Oarai Town to Kamisu City, where the Japan Current (Kuro-shio) flowing in from the Pacific Ocean and the Chishima Current (Oya-shio) flowing in from off Sanriku Coast collide, creating a seaward convergence rich in marine resources, where many seabirds can be observed.
Usually small numbers of loons (divers) and Ancient Murrelets had been seen in the fishing ports of Choshi and Hasaki, but as there were no such encounters this winter, we came to Kashima Coast, where they are more chance to be seen.
Although we visited several beaches, we met only a lot of surfers and only saw a few loons at a distance offshore.
The last beach we visited, Shimizu Beach, had only a few surfers, probably due to the lack of parking space, and here we were finally able to see Red-throated Loons/Red-throated Divers closely.
The birds observed were;
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
スズガモ, クロガモ, アビ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,ウミウ, トビ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ハシボソガラス, イソヒヨドリ
Lake Kasumigaura (Ibaraki Prefecture)
霞ケ浦(茨城)
It was the first visit in about a year, since December 2021. Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) and various freshwater shorebirds were seen at this location last time.
We expected to see something again this time.
Not as many as last time, but there were many Common Snipes (over 30) in one watered paddy, a flock of Dunlin and one Common Ringed Plover and three Little Stints in another paddy, two Black-winged Stilts in a lake, were found.
A variety of ducks were also seen on the lake.
At a small fishing port, there was a flock of gulls, mostly Black-headed Gull, but mixed in with them were Black-tailed Gulls, Mew Gull, Vega Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Little Stint (Calidris minuta), Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, タゲリ, ハジロコチドリ, タシギ, ヨーロッパトウネン, キタアラスカハマシギ, ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ,
タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
セッカ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
Since February 4, the first day of spring on the calendar (Risshun), about two weeks had passed. Reports of song of Japanese Bush-Warbler, a sign of the coming of spring, began to be heard around Tokyo.
I expected to hear the song in this field as well.
The sun was shining brightly and the sky was blue, but the temperature was still low.
Unfortunately, I did not hear the song of Japanese Bush-Warbler, but the buntings, which had been hidden in the bushes and hard to see, appeared in easy-to-see places.
Feathers of Grey-capped Greenfinch turned darker yellow and pretty.
A Brown-cheeked Rail also made a good appearance.
As for raptors, two Eastern Buzzards perched on the same willow tree, and a Common Kestrel soared overhead.
As for waterfowl, the ducks seemed to be unchanged in species and numbers, but no gulls were seen this time.
Common Kingfishers were active and I saw several of them.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ,
ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Tone River & Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Chiba, Ibaraki Prefecture)
利根川&波崎・銚子漁港(千葉,茨城)
On the way, we checked the riverbanks and rice fields spread in the river island of Tone River in the Kamisu area.
Several Eastern Marsh-Harriers were soaring over the reed fields on the riverbed.
Occasionally a small bird flew, but soon hid in the reeds. The only species that could be identified was Meadow Bunting.
In the rice field, a flock of about 20 Northern Lapwings were resting there to avoid the wind.
Eurasian Skylarks, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Meadow Buntings, Common Reed Buntings, etc. were appeared be surprised by our car.
Various raptors such as Western Osprey, Black Kites, Eastern Marsh-Harriers, Hen Harrier, and Eastern Buzzards were also seen.
No ducks were seen in the pond this time. There was one Common Snipe in the canal.
Vega Gulls, Black-headed Gulls flew over the river, and Common Coot were seen in the river.
In the old port of Hasaki, Canvasback still attracted many birders.
At the left breakwater at the mouth of the Tone River at the Hazaki side, Glaucous-winged Gull was seen at last on the third visit.
While observing this gull, a very small gull suddenly appeared. This was an unexpected encounter with the Little Gull, which we had not been able to find on our previous visit and thought might have already left the site.
At Hasaki's New Port, only a few Greater Scaup were seen, and only a few Red-breasted Merganser and Grebes (Great Crested, Black-necked) were seen, with few gulls.
Many Black-headed Gulls and Black-tailed Gulls were seen at Choshi Fishing Port as well.
Large gulls were also seen at several places. Most were Vega Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls, but a few Glaucous-winged Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also seen.
A >Black-legged Kittiwake was seen this time, too.
No Thayer's Gulls (Larus glaucoides thayeri) were found, and no Glaucous Gulls (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus) were seen this time either.
The birds observed are;
at Tone River:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
at Hazaki & Choshi Ports:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)?
Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オオホシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, タシギ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ,
セグロカモメ, アメリカセグロカモメ? モンゴルセグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ヒメカモメ, ミツユビカモメ,
キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Two days in search of rare birds around Tokyo (Chiba, Ibaraki, Tokyo)
東京周辺の珍鳥探しの2日間(千葉,茨城,東京)
At first we looked for the Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) at the fishing ports in Choshi.
The north wind was strong and there seemed to be no boats out fishing.
As in the previous visit, there were small number and few species of large gulls, but there were a huge number of Black-headed Gulls.
We searched hard for the one gull among them, but were unable to find it.
Next, we moved to the Hazaki side to look for the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) at the old Hazaki fishing port.
When we arrived, the ducks were resting with their faces in their feathers, and it was difficult to find the target bird among the similar Common Pochards because we could not see its distinctive large bill.
After a while, the ducks began to raise their heads and we were able to recognize it.
In the next morning, we visited Tama River in the Tama areas to search for the Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola).
At the site, where more than a hundred observers had gathered at one time to watch the popular bird, there were only a maximum of ten birders this time.
When we arrived, a new riverbed construction was starting nearby, and we did not immediately find the target bird, we worried that it had left the site.
But we did find it diving with Tufted Ducks and Common Coots.
Although the northwest wind was cold, the clear skies made the bird beautiful in the sunshine.
The last site we visited was Wadabori Park to look for Yellow-bellied Tit.
We arrived before noon, and there were nearly 10 birders and photographers waiting for the encounter with the bird. We were told that the bird appeared for a moment around 20 minutes before our arrival.
About an hour later, it appeared again for a brief moment, but quickly flew away, and only a few people saw or took pictures, and we did not get a good look either.
We waited until the evening, but it did not appear again.
The birds observed are;
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria),
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola),
Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus),
etc.
オオホシハジロ, ヒメハジロ, キバラガラ, 他
Swans and Geese in rice field and winter birds in mountain area around Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
小布施町延徳田んぼと須坂市里山の野鳥(長野)
Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus)
Greater white-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons)jpg
Been Geese (Anser fabalis)
Rooks (Corvus frugilegus)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus)
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
: All photos by T.Endo
I visited Entoku-Tanbo, one of the largest rice fields in Northern Nagano prefecture to watch swans.
Visits of swans in this spot may be dependent on climates of both here and the regular wintering spot of this species, Asahi-Ike pond in Jyoetu of Niigata prefecture. Only when rice field of Joetu is covered with snow, some of the swan flocks move south to this spot.
I watched about 50 Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus), 2 Greater white-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons), and 7 Been Geese (Anser fabalis).
I also watched large flocks of Carrion Crows (Corvus corone) and Rooks (Corvus frugilegus).
Although one of my friends spotted Daurian Jackdaw on Febuurary 01, I could not find any this day.
I also visited Sakata-Yama Natural Trail near the city center of Suzaka to look for winter birds.
I found regular winter birds, such as Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans), Long-tailed Rosefinches (Uragus sibiricus), Red-flanked bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus), White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea) and Japanese Accentors (Prunella rubida).
An invading species, Chinese Hwameis (Garrulax canorus) seemed to stay whole year in this area in these years.
A pair of Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) was soaring up in the sky. They might be wintering around the mountain.
List of species;
Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus), Greater white-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons), Been Geese (Anser fabalis),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Rooks (Corvus frugilegus), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Grey Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart(Phoenicurus auroreus), Red-flanked bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea), Pale Thurush (Turdus obcurus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Oriental Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica), Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata), Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), WhiteWagtail (Motacilla alba), Gray Wagtail (Mitacilla cinerea),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)，Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
コハクチョウ，マガン，ヒシクイ，アオサギ，キジバト，ハイタカ，ノスリ，コゲラ，モズ，ミヤマガラス，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，カケス，
シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒヨドリ，エナガ，ガビチョウ，ムクドリ，ジョウビタキ，ルリビタキ，トラツグミ，シロハラ，ツグミ，
スズメ，カヤクグリ，カワラヒワ，アトリ，イカル，ベニマシコ，セグロセキレイ，ハクセキレイ，キセキレイ,ホオジロ，ミヤマホオジロ，アオジ
Nobeyama Highland (Yamanashi,Nagano)
野辺山高原(山梨,長野)
On the way, we stopped at Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike) in Oizumi Town, Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture.
In last December, the bank of the pond was under construction and the forest had been extensively cut down, so there were no birds at all.
This time there were still few birds and not a single duck in the pond, but we did see a beautiful Red-flanked Bluetail with a deep blue back and a few Rustic Buntings.
We also saw just one Eurasian Siskin, which arrived in very low numbers this year.
The farming areas in Nobeyama Highlands were entirely covered with snow when we visited in last December, but this time there was no snow at all. This is due to the unusually low precipitation on the Pacific side of Japan since the beginning of the year.
Usually it is difficult to drive around the field, but this time there was no problem at all.
Furthermore, the warm like March temperatures made birding easy in what is usually a harsh field with cold strong breezes.
Because of the lack of wind, there were more buntings than usual this time, but I did not see any waxwings or siskings, which we had expected. These seem to be scarce this year.
In the evening, photographers were waiting to take photos of Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis) or Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus), but they did not appear during our observation.
The birds we observed are;
- at Tobisawa Reservoir:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
- at Nobeyama:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ,
ツグミ, ルリビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Around Tateshina Highland (Nagano)
蓼科高原周辺(長野)
Surprisingly, there was almost no snow on the road to the cottage (Adagio) where we stayed this time, which was unusual for this time of year. And finally when we reached the altitude (1,500 meters) where the lodge was located, we could see a lot of snow.
As soon as we arrived at the lodge, we heard tits and Eurasian Bullfinches from the bird feeder on the balcony.
Willow Tits, Japanese Tits, Varied Tits and Wood Nuthatches were coming on the bird feeder with seeds of sunflower.
The next morning, we started observing from the warmth of the room as the sun was rising.
First came the tits (Willow, Japanese, Varied), followed by a large flock of Japanese Grosbeak.
Grey-capped Greenfinch, Wood Nuthatch, Brambling and Eurasian Bullfinch were also there feeding while the Japanese Grosbeak were in absence.
Japanese Squirrels also came, but they kept eating paying no attention to the birds.
After 8:00, two Asian Rosy-Finches finally came, but they were startled by something and flew away with the other birds and did not return again.
After check-out, we checked points nearby where a Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans) had recently been seen, but there was no lucky encounter again.
Then, we stopped by Togariishi historical Site in Chino City and Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park in Hara Village.
At Togariishi historical Site, a Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) visits here every winter, and we expected to observe this bird. However, we could not find it this time, too.
But instead we saw a Eurasian Woodcock that flew out in surprise at us.
Then we moved to the area of Ryujin Pond.
The pond was almost frozen. There was one open spot where water was springing up, and ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Mallard, Eurasian Teal) were gathering there.
There were few birds again, with only a few tits, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a Paled Thrush in the forest.
At Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park, we expected to see Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica), but were told that they had not been confirmed yet this season.
We looked for Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus), which is supposed to be a winter bird but is resident here, however, we could not find it, perhaps at the wrong time of the day.
The view of Mt. Tateshina, Mt. Kirigamine, and the Japanese Northern Alps from the restaurant here was stunning.
The birds we observed are;
at Tateshina Highland:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
, Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Togariishi Historic Site:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Yatsugatake Bunka-mura:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, トビ, オオタカ, ヤマシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, スズメ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ハギマシコ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
Around Lake Suwa (Okaya & Chino, Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺(長野)
At first, we visited Enrei, which is located at in the corner of the Yatsugatake center Plateau National Park.
This is our second visit this winter, following our last visit in mid-December. We expected to see Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi) and Red Crossbill, which we did not see last time.
However, it wa said that Pallas's Rosefinch was not seen this season, and we could not see it this time either.
But we saw Red Crossbill, though in small numbers and only for a short time.
Other species such as Red-flanked Bluetail, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), and Yellow-throated Bunting also appeared.
Then we visited the north side of Lake Suwa.
As same as the last visit, a flock of about 30 Smew and a few Common Goldeneyes were seen near the Kamaguchi Water Gate, the source of the Tenryu River.
We saw ducks, Common Mergansers (Goosanders) and Great Crested Grebes as well, but their number had decreased.
No swans were seen this time, too.
The birds we observed are;
at Enrei
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica)?
at Lake Suwa
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, イスカ, ミヤマホオジロ
Mine Park (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
嶺公園(群馬)
There are ponds and forest, and nature is rich. We can meet various birds.
In the pond, there were Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Teal and Mandarin Ducks.
This time we saw Smew too.
It was just noon and perhaps the timing was not good, so it was hard to find any birds other than friendly Japanese Tits and Varied Tits in the hills and valleys.
There was only one spot, the grassy area in the swamp, where a variety of species were gathered.
Among them, a Long-tailed Rosefinch and a Red-flanked Bluetail showed us their beautiful appearance.
Also seen this time were a flock of five Eurasian Jays.
The two introduced species; Chinese Hwamei and White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio), which we had seen every time we visited there, only Chinese Hwamei appeared this time.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, トビ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Tone River, Shimo-nitsute area (Honjo, Saitama Prefecture)
利根川 下仁手地区(本庄市)
Since the Rough-legged Buzzard appeared around 10:20 a.m. when we visited three days ago, we were a little later, arriving at the field at 9:30 a.m. this time.
A friendly Eastern Buzzard greeted us at the entrance to the riverbank.
While we waited for the target bird, we enjoyed watching Meadow Buntings, Rustic Buntings, Common Reed Buntings, and Eurasian Skylarks in the grasses on the riverbank, and Japanese Wagtails, Long-billed Plovers, Common Sandpiper, and a Green Sandpiper on the sandbar.
A Hen Harrier flew over the river grass in front of us, too.
The bird we waited appeared suddenly in front of us again around 11:15. This time it flew and hovered close to us for a while.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus), Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
マガモ, オナガガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, ケアシノスリ,
イカルチドリ, クサシギ, イソシギ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Area around Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
This time, priority was focused on spots that we could not visit last time due to time constraints.
In the rice paddies of Itakura, we looked for flocks of Russet Sparrow again, but this time we found only one Russet Sparrow in a flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrow.
Next, we visited the irrigation pond in Itakura, where we skipped the previous visit.
There were nearly 100 swans and many ducks. Most of the swans were Bewick's Swans, with a few Whooper Swans and a Whistling Swan among them.
The next spot was the historic zone of "former Yanaka Village" in Watarase Retarding Basin.
Perhaps it was not the right time of day for birding, but there were not many birds in this zone.
However, along the road between here and Lake Yanaka, we saw many birds such as; Eastern Buzzard, Brambling, Daurian Redstart, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Brown-headed Thrush, Dusky Thrush, White-cheeked Starling, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Meadow Bunting, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Tit, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, etc. ,, which appeared one after another.
Lake Yanaka has been drained and dried every year from late January to February to improve water quality, but this year there was still plenty of water, and smew and other waterfowl could be seen in the distance.
Next, we visited the so-called "Hawk viewing platform" overlooking the No. 2 Retarding Basin.
This used to be a famous observation spot for harriers and merlins that used to roost in the reed fields, but after the construction work to collect sand and soil to reinforce the banks of the rivers to prevent flood damage in Tokyo which had continued for many years.
Now the construction work had finally been ended, and we visited the site to check on the situation, but did not see any harriers flying in the reed fields.
An Oriental Stork was on an artificial nest tower in the distance. It seemed to have already started preparing for nesting.
The birds observed are;
At Itakura:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ,
オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, セグロカモメ, キジバト, コゲラ,
モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
オオアカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Tone River, Shimo-nitsute area (Honjo, Saitama Prefecture)
利根川 下仁手地区(本庄市)
The Tone River is the second longest rive with the first widest basin in Japan, flowing through the area near Tokyo. The site of our visit has a wide riverbed covered with grasses, and wide sandbanks with trees.
In the grasses, large flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Grey-capped Greenfinch, and a few Meadow Buntings and Long-tailed Rosefinches were seen.
In the river at the distance, ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Common Goldeneye) and herons (Grey Heron, Great White Egret) were seen.
Several Rough-legged Buzzards had been observed in this area for sometime ago.
Although a Northern Goshawk, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, and several Black Kites appeared, the Rough-legged Buzzard, the target of this visit, did not appear.
When we were about to give up, it suddenly soared over a sandbank a short distance away, repeated hovering and circling, and then hid in a large tree in the sandbank.
It was about 10 minutes of show time.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus), Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガモ, カルガモ, ホオジロガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, ケアシノスリ,
オオバン, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ
Fishing ports at Choshi & Hazaki (Chiba, Ibaraki Prefecture)
銚子・波崎漁港(千葉,茨城)
This was the first visit in this winter, later than usual, due to information that there were fewer gulls this season.
There were few gulls at Choshi No. 1 Fishing Port, with only a few ducks and grebes in the port.
A certain number of gulls were seen at Choshi No. 2 Fishing Port.
Black-headed Gulls, Black-tailed Gulls, Vega Gulls, and Slaty-backed Gulls were resting on the breakwater.
A small number of Mew Gulls, a Vega Gull (Mongolian), and a Lesser Black-backed Gull were found among them.
Black-headed Gulls were especially numerous this time, flying around the port as well as resting on the bank.
Among them, one Little Gull, which is extremely rare in Japan, was seen flying together.
At Choshi No. 3 Fishing Port, ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup), grebes (Red-necked, Great Crested, Black-necked Grebe) and two Pacific Reef Herons were seen in the port, as well as Black-headed Gulls and a few Black-tailed Gulls and Vega Gulls on the tidal flat.
Next, we moved to the Hazaki side to see the Canvasback that has been seen this winter at the old Hazaki fishing port. The target bird was soon spotted among a flock of ducks.
Next, we headed to check out the seabirds in Hasaki New Port. Here, in addition to Greater Scaup, we saw a small flock of Black Scoter and a small flock of Red-breasted Merganser.
This season was unusual as reported, neither Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) nor Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), which can always be seen in ordinary years, could be seen.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オオホシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ヒメカモメ,
ハシブトガラス, ハクセキレイ
Natsume-no-Seki Pond (Chiba Prefecture)
夏目の堰(千葉)
On the way to the pond, several flocks of swans were foraging in the rice paddies. Most were Bewick's Swans with a few Whooper Swans.
A Cackling Goose was found in one of the flocks and four Snow Geese in another flock. These were confirmed to be wintering in this pond this winter.
Natsume-no-Seki is an agricultural reservoir with a circumference of about one kilometer. It was known for the wintering ducks and swans. There are around 10,000 ducks at the most.
The dominant species were Northern Pintails, Mallards and Baikal Teals.
Eurasian Wigeons, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Teals, Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks were also seen among them. A small number of Bewick's Swan were still remaining.
The birds observed were;
Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens), Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), ,br> White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ハクガン, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
オオバン, タゲリ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
It was cold but calm with no wind.
There were a few sprinkles of rain, but after a while the sky cleared up.
Dusky Thrush and Grey-capped Greenfinch were forming large flocks. They seemed to be preparing for their migration.
Buntings were not very active, but occasionally perched on the grasses or small trees. A Common Reed Bunting was seen here for the first time this season. Their numbers were low this season.
A Zitting Cisticola appeared, perhaps sensing the spring and became active.
I heard a Eurasian Skylark singing for the first time this year, too.
Waterfowl at the weir were so far away on the other side of the river that it was not easy to identify them, but many Great Crested Grebes could be identified.
Raptors seen were Western Ospreys and Eastern Buzzards this time.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), N0orthern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Sapporo & Ishikarri, Hokkaido
札幌&石狩(北海道)
Sapporo is the Hokkaido's largest city. There are many excellent birding spots.
Sapporo area in late January is the coldest month of the year, with maximum temperatures below 0°C, and a lot of snowfall.
The coldest wave of the season hit during our visit this time as well.
However, on the first day, the cold wave was still not so strong in Noporo Forest Park, located east of Sapporo, and the weather was sunny and unexpectedly warm.
In the natural forest inside Nopporo Forest Park, there is a comparatively large amount of forest remaining that is situated in a transition zone between temperate forest and subarctic forest. It is a mixed conifer and broadleaf forest. Its broadleaf forest contains Mongolian oak, Japanese Judas tree and Japanese linden, and its subarctic conifer forest consists mostly of Sakhalin fir. Approximately 140 kinds of birds can be seen in year, including the black woodpecker, a protected species; owls; the blue-and-white flycatcher; the narcissus flycatcher; the long-tailed tit; the Japanese tit; and the great spotted woodpecker.
On the day of our visit, the forest was covered with deep snow, but the trails we chose were well traversed by walkers and easy to walk.
We entered the forest from the Osawa entrance and immediately saw a small group of Japanese Waxwing congregating on mistletoe near the entrance, followed soon after by a mixed group of tits (Marsh, Coal, Japanese, Varied), a small group of Long-tailed Tit (Japan), Asian Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica), Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica), Grey-bellied Bullfinch and Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi).
Further into the forest, we saw Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) and White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris).
We did not see any Black Woodpecker, although many conifers along the trail were deeply marked with Black Woodpecker's bite marks.
Gray-faced Woodpecker was seen at the end of the walk.
We visited Maruyama Park on the evening of the first day.
This park is located just 3 kilometers west of the heart of Sapporo, measuring about 70 hectares, stretches out at the foot of the Maruyama mountain, next to the Hokkaido Jingu shrine. With amenities including a zoo, a recreational canal, a public square, and sports facilities such as a baseball diamond and a multi-purpose field, the park is a place where locals come for rest and recreation. It is also much-loved as a destination for cherry blossom viewing. The old-growth forest of Maruyama has been designated as a wildlife sanctuary. Alongside other small animals such as squirrels, over 100 species of bird live here, making this a convenient destination for birdwatching.
When we visited the park, the entire area was covered with snow and it was difficult to climb Mt. Maruyama. And the ponds were frozen and covered with snow.
Perhaps the time of day was not good, but we only saw a few tits in the canopy of the trees.
On the second day, we visited Makomanai Park.
This park is a famous site for watching waxwings (Japanese, Bohemian), and is recommended to visit especially during the snowy season.
Crested Kingfisher (pallida) (Megaceryle lugubris pallida) and Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) can also be seen on the Makomanai River.
This park is a famous site for watching waxwings (Japanese, Bohemian), and is recommended to visit especially during the snowy season. Crested Kingfisher (pallida) (Megaceryle lugubris pallida) and Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii) can also be seen on the Makomanai River. On the day of our visit, the forecasted strong cold wave covered the area, resulting in heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, in contrast to the previous day.
This made conditions difficult for birding, but we did see the regular species; flocks of Japanese Waxwings and Dusky Thrushes.
Unfortunately, we did not see any Crested Kingfishers or Brown Dippers.
Hearing from several local birders that Black Woodpecker could be easily seen in the early morning and evening, we changed our plan to visit Nishioka Park in the afternoon but stayed this park and waited for Black Woodpecker to return to its nest in the evening. It was hard to wait in the cold for several hours, but we could see the Black Woodpecker returned to the nest as we had heard.
The next day we visited Ishikari City, located north of Sapporo. When we started from the northern part of Sapporo by car, the weather was fine, but as we entered Ishikari City, it started snowing and it sometimes turned into a blizzard.
At Ishikari East Pier, our first stop, it was dangerous to get out of the car because of the snowstorm, and we could not see the seabird in the fishing port, which we had expected.
However, when we were beginning to think that we would have to give up our observation, the snowstorm began to occasionally subside and we were able to see seagulls flying in the distance and seaducks in the bay. The gulls were hard to identify because they were so far away, but most of them were Glaucous Gulls, followed by Slaty-backed Gulls and Vega Gulls.
The ducks seen were flocks of Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, and Common Goldeneye, as well as Red-breasted Merganser and Japanese Cormorant.
Later, we visited the mouth of the Ishikari River, but it was blizzarding hard there, so birding was not possible.
In the afternoon, we visited Yamanote-dori Avenue.
Although this is a busy road in the western urban area of Sapporo, but in the winter waxwings, thrushes, and pigeons, and occasionally Pine Grosbeak (Sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator (Pinicola enucleator) (Sakhalinensis) gather to the fruits of roadside trees of Japanese rowan.
Unfortunately, we did not see any birds we expected to see this time.
The birds observed were;
- Nopporo Forest Park:
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Grey-faced Woodpecker (jessoensis) (Picus canus jessoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- Maruyama Park:
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- Makomanai Park:
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- Ishikari East Pier:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
スズガモ, シノリガモ, ホオジロガモ, ウミアイサ, ダイサギ, ウミウ, オジロワシ, ハイタカ,
シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ミツユビカモメ,
エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, ヤマゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ハシブトガラ, シマエナガ, ヒヨドリ,
シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, ツグミ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, ウソ, シメ
Area around Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
The purpose of the visit was to look for species that we could not see during our last visit two weeks ago.
Around noon, we arrived at our first site, a farming area in Itakura.
This time we were able to find a flock of wintering crows (Rook and Daurian Jackdaw), which we could not see last time.
Until recently, large flocks used to visit this field in winter and it was not difficult to find them because they looked like a black cloud when they were flying. However, their numbers have recently decreased in this field
But, Rook used to be dominant and Daurian Jackdaw were scarce, but this time many Daurian Jackdaw were found in the flock.
Russet Sparrow, which also could not be seen last time, were found in small numbers among the flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrow. In the past, this species used to form large flocks on its own, but it seems to have decreased considerably recently.
Next, we visited the Watarase Retarding Basin.
This time, we searched carefully for the Long-eared Owl, which we could not find last time, and managed to find it.
Many Eastern Marsh-Harriers, which were not seen last time, could be seen in another area of the reed field in the basin.
Also this time, we were able to see Short-eared Owl, which just started to fly in the evening, at a different place from last time.
In addition to the duck such as Falcated Duck and Northern Shoveler that we saw last time, there was a rare Ferruginous Pochard in a marsh in the reed field.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus), Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, メジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, カナダヅル, キジバト, トラフズク, コミミズク, モズ,
コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
There was information that a Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus), one of the few winter birds in Japan, had been seen at Lake Chuzenji since early January, so we were hoping to see it, as well as a Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) and a White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) wintering here.
On the lake, ducks (Tufted Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Greater Scaup), Common Mergansers and Common Coots were seen, but the birds we were waiting for did not appear.
After some time, we left the lake and headed for Senjogahara Moor.
We tried to go to the downstream part of Yudaki Fall, but the trail to there was too deep with snow, so we gave up to visit.
Around Kotoku Ranch, we found a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Wood Nuthatch, but there were few birds.
Near the entrance of the Akanuma trail, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Willow Tits, Long-tailed Tit, Grey-capped Greenfinches and a small flock of Eurasian Bullfinch were seen. The red birds in the snowfield were beautiful.
We went back to the lake again, but the target birds did not appear.
But we enjoyed to watch a Brown Dipper foraging nearby without worrying us.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
マガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, カワガラス, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ウソ
Tokyo Bay (Chiba)
東京湾(千葉)
The first site was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen).
The Tokyo area had been sunny from 1st of January, but on this day it was cloudy and seemed like it was going to rain at any moment. However, the temperature was relatively high and the wind was weak, so it was easy to bird.
There were no birder or photographer on the shore at dawn.
In the still dim light, I heard birds calling from a grass on slope near the shore. Looking carefully, there were many Kentish Plovers resting. They seemed to be roosting in this grass.
As it became brighter, a small flock of Grey Plover and Dunlin came to the mud flat. Since the time of the highest tide was at 9:21 on this day, the mudflats were gradually flooded, and the flock of Dunlin flew around the shore for a while and then flew away.
A few Red-breasted Mergansers and flocks of Greater Scaup were seen offshore.
As the mud flats were disappearing, I moved towards the breakwater.
There were many Eurasian Oystercatchers, Vega Gulls, Dunlins, Grey Plovers, and Kentish Plovers resting on the breakwater.
Among them were Slaty-backed Gulls and a plover likely to be a Common Ringed Plover.
A small flock of Northern Pintail, a small flock of Greater Scaup, a Red-breasted Merganser, a Great Crested Grebe, and a Black-necked Grebe were seen on the water near the breakwater.
Then I moved to Yatsu Tidal Flat (Yatsu Higata).
This tidal flat is located near Sanbanze.
Sanbanze is facing to Tokyo Bay, and Yatsu-Higata is jointed to Tokyo Bay with two small channels.
Both of these two spots are very important stopover points for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
From middle of August until end of September is the season of the migration birds to the South/West.
In contrast to Sanbanze, which faces Tokyo Bay, this site is connected to the sea by two channels, and there is a time lag between the tidal cycles between these two sites.
When I arrived at this site, there were still some mudflats in the distance, but no shorebirds could be seen.
Instead, a Saunder's Gull was flying.
Soon it started to rain, so I left this site and headed to the next destination, Hinode Coast in Shin-Urayasu, which is the opposite shore of Sanbanze.
In the previous year, the Urayasu Sanbanse Environmental Observation Center was constructed on the Hinode Coast, allowing visitors to observe seabirds without worrying about rain.
On the coast, there were Eurasian Wigeons and Northern Pintails, but Greater Scaups, Common Goldeneyes, and Red-breasted Mergansers were far away due to a fishing boat staying near the coast and could not be identified easily even by the scope.
I managed to find a Horned Grebe and a Black-necked Grebe, but not Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), which had been observed here for few days ago.
The birds observed are;
- at Sanbanze Tidal Flat
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Common Coot (Fulica atra atra) Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans) Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola) Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae) Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis) Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae) Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus) Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis) White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus) Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus) White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Yatsu Tidal Flat
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica) Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi) Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta) Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) Common Coot (Fulica atra atra) Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia)
- at Hinode Coast (Shin-Urayasu)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica) Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula) Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus) Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis) Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Common Coot (Fulica atra atra) Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae) White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, ハジロコチドリ, シロチドリ, キタアラスカハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Izumi River, Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park & Imada Retarding Basin
和泉川＆境川/今田遊水地公園(神奈川)
I started to walk from Shimo-iida station of Yokohama Subway Line.
On the walking path along Izumi River, it was quiet with few birds probably due to the noon time.
At Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park, there were also few birds.
Ducks in the water were few in number, and the birds in the reed fields kept hiding in the grasses and did not come out due to the northerly winds. Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Northern Goshawk flew in the sky, but I wondered if they would capture any prey?
At Imada Retarding Basin I saw a Ruddy-breasted Crake luckily.
The birds we observed are;
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)?
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, アオジ, オオジュリン?
Maioka Park (Totsuka, Kanagawa)
舞岡公園(戸塚,神奈川)
The Maioka Park is located in the suberbs of Yokohama city.
There are ponds, rice fields and forests, providing the good habitats for the wintering birds such as snipes, finches, etc.
This site is famous for the regular wintering of Eurasian Woodcock and Common Snipe, and is providing good opportunities for their observation. They did come again this year.
There was also Ruddy-breasted Crake, who had joined as the regular wintering member recently.
Chinese Bamboo-Partridges were found at several points but were quiet this time.
Masked Buntings were seen at several points as well.
Dusky Thrushes are scarce this winter again, and only one was seen here.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, コガモ, ヒクイナ, ヤマシギ, タシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, アオジ
Wadabori Park (Tokyo)
和田堀公園(東京)
Wadabori Park is located alongside Zenpukuji River and next to Omiya-hachimangu Shrine, the third largest shrine among the 23 wards of Tokyo, after Meiji Shrine and Yasukuni Shrine.
I visited there for the Yellow-bellied Tit, which is one of the rare winter/migratory birds in Japan.
I waited for some time, but no tits came in.
Instead, Ryukyu Minivets and Pale Thrushes appeared.
A large brown bird flew by our side in low suddenly. This bird seemed to be an Eurasian Woodcock.
Tired of waiting, I walked a little and saw a Japanese Sparrowhawk perched on a tree not far, and a Japanese Tit was calling out warningly nearby. Apparently, this bird of prey was the reason why the tits did not appear.
In the pond of the park, ducks were swimming and a Grey Heron was catching fish.
Brown-eared Bulbuls and a Dusky Thrush came to drink in the shallow water.
Rose-ringed Parakeet was also there.
When I returned to the original point, the Japanese Sparrowhawk was gone and birders and photographers gathered to look at the canopy of conifers.
There was the Yellow-bellied Tit moving together with Japanese Tits, Varied Tit, Long-tailed Tits, and Warbling White-eyes in the branches and leaves.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, アオサギ, カワウ, ツミ, ヤマシギ,
キジバト, ワカケホンセイインコ, カワセミ, コゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, キバラガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
The weather was fine and calm witout wind.
We started the birding from Sakai Sport Playground and walked towards Hon-atsugi Station along Sagami River.
A flock of Asian House Martins was flying over the departure point, and one Barn Swallow and House Swift could be seen among them. Due to recent global warming, wintering of these species, which were formerly summer birds, seemed to have become the normal in this spot.
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were foraging on the lawns of several baseball/soccer grounds.
A few Eurasian Teals and Common Coots were in the narrow water channel beside the ground.
Along the channel, Masked Buntings, Dusky Thrushes, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Daurian Redstarts and Meadow Buntings appeared in the grassland and on the small trees.
At the weir (Sagami Ozeki), there were various kinds of ducks (Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Tufted, Northern Pintail), herons (Great White Egret, Grey), Common Coots and Common Mergansers/Goosanders.
More than ten Common Merganser/Goosander were in the stream and on a small sandbar.
Here, over five Barn Swallows were flying, too.
Various raptors (Western Osprey, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eastern Buzzard, Black Kite) also appeared well this time.
A small flock of Azure-winged Magpie were also lively making calls, too.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca americana x Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Tama, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(多摩)
This rare bird was found just a month ago and attracted a lot of Japanese birder's and bird photographers. At the peak time, it attracted about two hundred watchers, but recently the number of visitors seemed to have decreased.
This time, it moved about 200 meters upstream from the previous point, and was still diving frequently.
Although there were only a few Eurasian teal at the last visit, this time various species of ducks were seen. In particular, a Common Goldeneye, which is rare in the middle reaches of this river, was repeatedly diving together with the Bufflehead.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ヒメハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, ドバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, シメ, ホオジロ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
When I visited last time, large-scale constructions were underway at two locations, and dump trucks and mixer trucks were passing by on the forest road, so there were very few birds along the forest road.
This time, I was hoping that the number of birds would be increased just after the New Year's holiday.
I arrived at the entrance to the forest road past 6:00 a.m. It was still dim and the road was very quiet as it was the time of the year when the sun rises the latest.
When it became a little brighter, I saw a Daurian Redstart moving on the slope by the road.
Eurasian Jays and tits also began to sing.
Since there was no construction work on the river this time, I expected and looked for Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) on the surface of the lake, but could not find it.
I also did not see Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), which are usually found. There were also only a few Greate Cormorants.
On the forest road, only a small construction vehicle and a truck with a backhoe passed by this time, and no other construction vehicles came and went as in the previous visit.
However, there were only a few birds, probably due to the construction work that continued until the end of the year, such as two Long-tailed Rosefinches, no Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris/Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea), no Japanese Accentor (Prunella prunella).
However, Pale Thrushes and Dusky Thrushes, which were not seen last time, were seen, and Red-flanked Bluetail and Daurian Redstart were seen here and there.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, アオジ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
In the forest, the leaves had fallen and it was bright.
At the bird bath, there was no photographers this time and was very quiet.
We saw some Masked Buntings,Brown-eared Bulbuls,Japanese Bush-Warbler, Warbling White-eyes, Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush and fortunately White's Thrush.
A friendly Red-flanked Bluetail was seen by a trail.
A Japanese Green Woodpecker was on a dead tall tree, trying hard to peel its bark searching for worm.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ,
トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, シメ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
This time, I walked downstream from the Tamagawara Bridge, taking the opposite course than usual.
Whether birds were feeling the change of the year and spring, or whether it was earlier than usual time of visit, many Long-billed Plovers were actively flying and calling.
Chestnut-eared Buntings and Zitting Cisticolas also appeared.
Many House Swifts were also flying in the sky.
In addition to Western Osprey, Black Kite, and Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eastern Buzzard was also seen.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Area around Watarase Retarding Basin (Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
We first visited Matsubushi Green-Hill Park (Matsubushi Midori-no-Oka-Koen) in Saitama Prefecture.
This park has a nature-like water environment and a rich green satoyama, which attracts many birds and provide pleasant birding.
It was reported that Red-breasted Flycatcher, one of the few winter birds in Japan, has been seen in this park.
After arriving at the park, we saw ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal), grebes (Little, Great Brested) and Common Moorhens and Common Cootsin the large pond that is located at the center of the park.
Several photographers gathered at the base of a hill in the park for Red-breasted Flycatcher.
After a while, the target bird appeared and showed us its cute appearance.
Later, we walked around the pond and found a Northern Goshawk perched as if it was a bird of prey.
Several photographers gathered at the base of a hill in the park for Red-breasted Flycatcher. After a while, the desired bird appeared and showed us its cute appearance.
Later, we walked around the pond and found a Northern Goshawk perched in a tree in Nakajima and hiding in the trees.
We then visited a site near the Tone River in Kazo City where we saw Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto decaocto) a year ago, but could not see it this time.
Near noon, I went birding at the area from the central entrance to the birding hide in Lake Yanaka of the Watarase Retarding Basin.
There were not many, but Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Smew, and Great Crested Grebe were seen.
A Vega Gull was flying in the sky.
Long-tailed Rosefinches and Meadow Buntings were seen at the roadside bushes near the birding hide, foraging seeds of grasses.
Then we headed to Tatara Marsh (Tatara-Numa) before revisiting Watarase Retarding Basin in the evening.
At Gaba Swamp, there were many visitors who came to see the swans, but most of the swans had moved to the Takara Swamp side. Instead, many Northern Pintails were crowded around the foods fed by the visitors. At Tatara Marsh, there was a flock of Bewick's Swans. Two Whistling Swans were also found among them. There were also two Greater White-fronted Geese with them.
Two Oriental Storks were also nearby.
Ducks, Vega Gull, Smews, Little Grebes, Great Crested Grebes, and Great Cormorants were seen in the swamp.
And birds of prey such as Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, and Eastern Buzzard appeared, too.
As sunset time was getting closer, we returned to Watarase Retarding Basin.
On the way, we passed through the rice fields of Itakura, but could not find any Rook (pastinator), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), or Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), which should have been seen during the winter.
When we returned to Watarase Retarding Basin, there were birders waiting to watch the harriers roost. Another group was on the bank of the Watarase River waiting for a Short-eared Owl to appear. Usually in winter, many Eastern Marsh-Harriers are gathering near dusk, but this time we did not see a single one, so we decided to wait at the Short-eared Owl point. While it was still daylight, one owl started flying far away and gradually flew closer and closer to us and landed near us. As the sun set, we moved to the point of the harrier and waited, but only one what appeared to be a Hen Harrier flew over the reed field.
The birds found were;
At Matsubushi Green Park (Matsubushi Midori-no-Oka-Koen):
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
At Tatara Marsh:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
At Itakura paddy field:
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ,
ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
バン, オオバン, セグロカモメ, キジバト, コミミズク, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ニシオジロビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Shakujii Park (Tokyo)
石神井公園(東京)
Shakujii Park is a greenery-rich urban park in Nerima Ward, that preserves the natural landscape of old Musashino area. The park contains the artificial Shakujii Pond and Sanpoji Pond, which used to be one of the three major springs in Musashino. These ponds are surrounded by mixed forests and adjacent farmland, and their diverse habitats provide an urban oasis for many birds.
We entered the park from the entrance on the Shakujii Pond side and checked the reed field by the pond, but we did not find any bird.
Hearing a loud call from the forest, and we saw two Rose-ringed Parakeets. This species is an introduced species that breeds in the Tokyo area.
There were many kinds of ducks in the ponds. There were also beautiful Falcated Ducks at Sanpoji Pond.
A friendly Black-crowned Night Heron was seen in close distance.
A Common Kingfisher was attracting many photographers.
A Northern Goshawk was seen twice being chased and harassed by crows above us.
Some Japanese Bush-Warblers were heard and caught a glimpse in the bushes by the trail.
We looked for Masked Bunting, but did not find any.
Other birds seen were such as Japanese Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, several Dusky Thrush, a Hawfinch, and a House Swift.
The birds observed are;
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, カワウ,
オオタカ, オオバン, キジバト, ワカケホンセイインコ, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ツグミ, シメ
Around Tateshina Highland (Nagano)
蓼科高原周辺(長野)
On the way, we stopped by Togariishi historical Site in Chino City.
A Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) visits here every winter, and we expected to observe this bird. However, we could not find it.
Then we moved to the area of Ryujin Pond.
The pond was almost frozen. There was one open spot where water was springing up, and ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Mallard) were gathering there.
There were only a few tits, a Meadow Bunting and a Bull-headed Shrike in the forest.
When we arrived at a small cottage (Bergcot) in snow at the south foot of Tateshina Mountain at an altitude of 1,500 meters, Willow Tits, Japanese Tits, Varied Tits and Wood Nuthatches were coming on the bird feeder with seeds of sunflower. We waited for the other birds such as Asian Rosy-Finch or Eurasian Bullfinch, but did not appear in the day.
From the dawn of the next morning, we waited for the birds coming to the bird feeder.
The first to appear was a Japanese marten.
When it became brighter, the birds came one after another.
In addition to yesterday's members, a flock of about 30 Japanese Grosbeaks, and a few Grey-capped Greenfinches and Eurasian Bullfinches also came.
Near check-out time (10.00), a Japanese Accentor appeared, followed by several Asian Rosy-Finch which was our main target.
After check-out, we checked points where a Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans) had recently been seen, but there was no lucky encounter.
The birds we observed are;
at Togariishi Historic Site:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Tateshina Highland:
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, チョウゲンボウ, キジバト, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, スズメ,
カヤクグリ, オオカワラヒワ, ハギマシコ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
Around Lake Suwa (Okaya & Chino, Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺(長野)
At first, we visited Enrei, which is located at in the corner of the Yatsugatake center Plateau National Park.
This field is located on a plateau 1,000m above sea level and is also known as the home of over 100 varieties of wild birds.
When we visited, it was cold below zero degrees Centigrade, but there was almost no snow on the road.
We expected to see reddish birds which visit there in the winter season, but probably due to the cars passing on the snow-free the road that had not yet closed, we did not see Pallas' Rosefinch (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi).
A small flock that looked like Red Crossbill flew overhead, but we could not confirm it.
We stopped at nearby Kotori-no-mori, and saw a small flock of Hawfinch there.
Then we visited the north side of Lake Suwa.
A flock of about 20 Smew and a few Common Goldeneyes were seen near the Kamaguchi Water Gate, the source of the Tenryu River. On the unfrozen shore of the lake, flocks of ducks dominated by Common Pochard or Eurasian Wigeon were seen, and near the shore flocks of about 20 Common Merganser (Goosander) and Great Crested Grebe were also seen.
No swans were seen this time.
The birds we observed are;
at Enrei
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica)?
at Enrei Kotori-no-mori
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
at Lake Suwa
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ,
ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, イスカ? シメ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi, Tama)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城,多摩)
Today, I walked upstream from the Noborito area, extending my usual observation area, as I had had information about a Bufflehead, a stray bird in Japan, the day before.
I looked for it on the way until the Yanokuchi area, but there were almost the same members as the last time.
Then, I got a call from a bird pal telling me that the Bufflehead was near Seiseki Sakuragaoka, so I headed there and luckily I was able to see the Bufflehead.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ヒメハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ,
セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ガビチョウ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Tama Forest Science Garden, Hachioji, Tokyo
多摩森林科学園(八王子, 東京)
Though Mt. Takao is very crowded with many tourists, this park is very quiet, and is a hidden spot for birders.
However, despite it was a weekday, there were a slightly more number of birders and photographers there for Yellow-throated Bunting which had been seen recently.
A flock of a few Yellow-throated Buntings were soon found, but they were restless and moved through the streamside trees and could not be observed closely enough.
I then walked around the park, but there were still a few winter birds.
Instead, there were many Japanese macaques.
The birds observed were;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ
Ura-Bandai Area (Fukushima Prefecture)
裏磐梯エリア(福島)
Since we arrived after 3pm, we had little time for observation before sunset and it was snowing with rain, so we focused our search on the Japanese Waxwing, whose arrival had been reported on this site a while ago.
As the specific location of the bird was unknown, we checked the Mistletoes in the woods around the Kyukamura Hotel.
Fortunately, we were soon able to find a tree with a flock of about 50 birds perched on it.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica)
ヒレンジャク
Lake Izu-Numa, Kabukuri-Numa Marsh & Shizu Bay (Miyagi Prefecture)
伊豆沼&蕪栗沼&志津湾(宮城)
& Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons)
In the evening, we arrived at Lake Izu-Numa.
We waited at the eastern end of the lake to watch geese roosting at sunset.
There were still few geese on the water, only ducks and smew.
As the sun was about to disappear over the horizon, flocks of geese came back one after another and landed on the water.
The area of lake became very busy and lively all at once.
The next day, this time we got to Kabukuri Marsh before dawn and waited for the geese to leave their roost at sunrise.
In the darkness, we could already hear them chattering away.
As the eastern sky began to lighten, the flocks took off one after another with a loud clatter of feathers. It was a wonder how there were so many geese in this small swamp, and so many flew overhead.
As it gets brighter, ducks on the water and remaining geese became visible.
A few Cackling Goose were still remaining.
There were also Eurasian Spoonbills, and this year there were four of them together.
We walked around the marsh, and saw an Eastern Marsh-Harrier, but no White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) this time.
In Minamikata area, we searched for Leser White-fronted Goose.
We checked flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose one by one and managed to find a few Leser White-fronted Geese in a flock.
The last stop was Shizugawa Bay in Minami-sanriku town. Minami-sanriku town is located in the northeastern part of Miyagi Prefecture.
The birds observed are;
- at Izu-numa Lake:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
- at Kabukuri-Numa Marsh:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- in Minamikata area:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
- at Sizu Bay:
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オオヒシクイ, マガン, カリガネ, シジュウカラガン, コクガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ,
オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
キジバト, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ
Hachirogata reclaimed land (Hachirogata Kantakuchi) & Oga Peninsula (Akita Prefecture)
八郎潟&男鹿半島(秋田)
Hachirogata is a reclaimed land from Lake Hachirogata, which used be the largest lake next to Lake Biwa in Japan.
This is the large wintering site and stop over site for White-fronted Goose, Taiga Been Goose, Tundra Bean Goose and other ducks and geese.
In recent years, it has become the largest wintering site in Japan for Snow Goose, which have increased thanks to enthusiastic conservation efforts.
In summer, Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri) and Eastern Marsh Harrier breed in the reed beds.
This area is designated as a Special Protection Area of Ogatasougen National Wildlife Protection Area.
We arrived at the site shortly before sunset and searched for flocks of Snow Goose for a short time before getting dark, but were out of time for the day.
From dawn the next day, we visited the points on the Oga Peninsula for Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans), but unfortunately we did not find any.
After that, we went to the Hachirogata reclaimed land to look for Snow Goose and rounded possible points, where Taiga Bean Goose, Tundra Bean Goose, Whooper Swan and Tundra Swan were seen here and there, but no Snow Goose could be found.
When we were about to give up, we met a birder who had seen at the point we had not yet visited. Then we went there and found a few Snow Geese amongst a large flock of Swans.
While we watched them for a while, a large flock of several hundred Snow Geese appeared in the sky and flew over us for some time.
In the large channel in the reclaimed land, a flock of Common Merganser (Goosander) were also seen, as well as ducks.
The birds observed are;
- at Hachirogata reclaimed land:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens),
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Oga Pennsula:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
キジ, オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, マガン, ハクガン, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ,
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, ウミウ, トビ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Niigata area (Niigata Prefecture)
新潟エリア(新潟)
At first, we visited Sakata Lake in Niigata City.
Sakata, the Ramsar site, is a freshwater lake with marshes along its shores. It is located in a basin among sand dunes surrounded by farmland and pine forests. The lake has no river inflow, but is fed by groundwater running under the dunes. It has only one outlet and the water drains into a river from a gate on the east end of the lake and irrigates lotus ponds and rice paddies in the lower reaches of the river. Because it does not freeze over in winter, Sakata is a wintering site for waterfowl such as swans, geese and ducks. More than 3000 Tundra Swans winter here every year.
We arrived at this site at around 07:00, and most of the swans had already flown to their feeding grounds, so numbers were small.
There were many ducks on the water. Most were Mallards. A few Smews were also seen.
We stopped over Toyanogata Park in Niigata City. Near the building of library, there was a Long-eared Owl resting in a tree.
Next, we drove to Pond Hyo-ko (Hyo-Ko)in Agano City.
The pond was made in 1639 in Edo period as an irrigation reservoir. And this is the first place in Japan where the people succeeded in feeding swans in 1954. This came to be known nationwide as the “Swan Lake,” and it greatly influenced the movement for the wild bird protection. The local people, from children to the elderly, participate actively in the community-based protection activities. Because of these historic backgrounds and local people's efforts for conservation, people can watch swans and other water birds right in front of them.
We were able to get close to the birds and observe in detail.
In the evening, we visited Fukushimagata Lagoon in Niigata City.
Fukushimagata Lagoon is one of the habitats registered by East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) where many migratory waterbirds winter, including about 5,000 Taiga Bean Geese, 5,000 Tundra Swans, and 20,000 ducks. We can see over 220 kinds of birds in this site in year.
Cold rain began to fall heavily and we avoided the rain and birded at the observation tower, but there were not many waterbirds on the water surface.
A few Eastern Marsh-Harriers flew over the reed fields.
The White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) observed recently was not to be seen.
Many Taiga Bean Goose and Tundra Swan were seen in the surrounding rice fields.
Birds in the reed fields were inactive due to the rain, but a few Common Reed Buntings were found.
We revisited the following morning, but conditions were not good, with light rain falling.
One Whistling Swan was found amongst a flock of swans.
The birds observed are;
- at Lake Sakata:
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
- at Toyanogata Park:
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus)
- at Pond Hyo-ko:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Hybrid American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope x Mareca americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus l0ineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
- at Fukushimagata Lagoon:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オオヒシクイ, マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ雑種,
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, キジバト, トラフズク, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Takanosu Pond (Takanosu-Ike) (Wakayama Prefecture)
鷹巣池(和歌山県有田郡有田川町)
This pond is one of the ponds scattered along the middle reaches of the Arita River (Arita-gawa), surrounded by fields of mandarin orange.
A Black Stork has visited this pond again this year, following last winter's visit.
When I arrived, the pond was almost out of water, and an Oriental Stork was in the small area of water that remained.
I looked for Black Stork but did not see any in sight. There were a few photographers at the distance, so I went there and found the target bird in a stream at the bottom of the dried-up pond. At first it was difficult to see it because it was in the channel, but eventually it moved into a better location so I could see its whole body.
The birds we observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black Stork (Ciconia nigra), Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ナベコウ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
トビ, イカルチドリ, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
South-eastern Lakeshore of Lake Biwa (Shiga Prefecture)
琵琶湖南東岸(滋賀)
The numbers of ducks appeared to be decreasing a little compared to about a month ago. They seem to have moved to other sites.
However, there were still a huge number of Common Pochard and Tufted Duck, and many were resting with their heads buried in their feathers, making it difficult to find the target Ring-necked Duck amongst them.
Instead, three Red-crested Pochards were found. A small number winter in Lake Biwa every year, but it is rare to see three at the same time.
I asked a local birder who was watching nearby about Sandhill Crane, which had also recently been reported, and was told that it had already left the area, so we almost gave up, but a friend of the birders informed us that they were in a rice field in Moriyama, and we were lucky enough to see two of them. I had never expected to see them in this area.
Three days later, we visited Lake Biwa again.
On the way, we stopped by Miidera Temple in Otsu City.
This temple has a large site on the southwest of Lake Biwa, foot of Mt. Hiei.
A Red-flanked Bluetail with a beautiful blue back was calling well by the three-storey pagoda.
We looked for Ring-necked Duck at Lake Biwa, but again we did not spot any.
Only one Red-crested Pochard still remained.
The birds we saw are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
アカハシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, カナダヅル, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ルリビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
Kodomo Nature Park (Kodomo Shizen Koen) (Yokohama)
こども自然公園(横浜)
On the way, I made a detour to see Desert Wheatear, stray bird, that had been seen near Kugenuma for a few days. When I arrived at 7am, many birders and photographers were already surrounding this bird which was foraging in the farm field and perching on fences or roofs.
At Kodomo Nature Park, A small flock of Tufted Duck was seen in the pond of the Kodomo Nature Park. Among the flock, a female Ring-necked Duck was soon found. Ring-necked Duck is a rarity in Japan, and this individual returned this season again following the previous winter.
One Common Kingfisher was also seen in the same pond, diving into the pond.
In the hillside forest, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Masked Buntings and Chinese Hwameis were seen moving in the bushes, Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Warbling White-eyes in the trees, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and Japanese Green Woodpecker were on dead trees.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti oreophila),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, クビワキンクロ, キンクロハジロ, アオサギ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, サバクヒタキ, ハクセキレイ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
In addition to the last visit about 11 days ago, new winter birds joined such as Hawfinch in trees, Rustic Bunting in the meadow, and Falcated Duck in the river.
A Baikal Teal was also seen, which seemed to have stopped by on its way to the migration.
Raptors also increased, with Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon and Western Osprey circling above. The Eurasian Sparrowhawk attacked birds in the grasses.
A Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), which had been seen the day before at a site a little further downstream, was not seen in this field.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオバン,
イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Around Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村周辺(横浜)
We started to walk from Mitakedai Park along Tsurumi River.
In the river we saw many birds; waterfowl such as several species of ducks (Gadwall, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal), Great White Egret, Little Egret, Common Sandpipers, Common Kingfishers and wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese); Bull-headed Shrikes, and winter birds such as Masked Buntings, Dusky Thrush and Daurian Redstart.
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, winter bird, were seen on the firm field in Jike Hometown-village.
One Bull-headed Shrike was observed holding a lizard and trying to impale the prey on a twig for later consumption, too.
Not many birds were seen in the hillside forest, with a few Japanese Tits, Varied Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Brown-eared Bulbuls and Warbling White-eyes, and Japanese Bush-Warblers, Chinese Hwameis and Masked Buntings in the bushes by the trail.
A few Rustic Buntings were finally seen in the valley. They will increase in numbers soon.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Western & Southern foothills of Mt. Yatsugatake (Nagano & Yamanashi)
八ヶ岳西部&南部山麓(長野&山梨)
There was no snow at all on the mountains and the forests at the foothills were in full autumn leaf colour.
The site where we first visited was Togariishi historic site in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture.
A Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) visits here every winter, and we expected to observe this bird. However, we could not find it this time, probably the timing was slightly too earlier.
A White's Thrush was heard, and was sighted by the side of a stream running through the forest, but was very nervous and quickly disappeared.
At Ryujin Pond, there were a some kinds of ducks (Mandarin, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal). They were also nervous as well about our presence, probably because they had just arrived.
On the hedge of the building adjacent to the pond, Japanese Tit, Varied Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Daurian Redstart and Long-tailed Rosefinch gathered.
Small flocks of Brambling, Dusky Thrush and Rustic Bunting were seen in the forest in the area of the pond.
After the Togariishi historic site, we headed for Nobeyama.
Driving south along the western foot of Mt. Yatsugatake and we stopped by Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike) in the area of villas at Kai-Oizumi Highland in Hokuto City.
The pond was under construction and there was little water, and a part of the forest had been extensively logged, there were few birds probably due to the effects of the construction.
Then we alsostopped by Daimon Dam in Kiyosato.
It was just noon and the birds were not very active, so not many birds were seen.
In the farming areas of Nobeyama, some tractors were in operation for some preparation towards the coming cold winter in the fields where harvesting had been completed.
The day of our visit was warm and mild, very unlike the mid-November weather in Nobeyama. As usual, the wind was blowing down from Mt Yatsugatake, but it was not a biting cold breeze.
Along the edges of woods adjacent to agricultural fields and in small wooded meadows along the farm fields banks, flocks of Rustic Bunting and Grey-capped Greenfinch were seen, as well as Long-tailed Rosefinch, Meadow Bunting, Japanese Tit, Willow Tit, Wood Nuthatch and others were seen.
At sunset, we looked for Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis), but only a few Eastern Buzzards appeared.
The birds observed are;
at Togariishi historic site:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Kai-Oizumi:
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Daimon Dam;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
at Nobeyama;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, トビ, ハイタカ? ノスリ, オオバン, キジバト,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, トラツグミ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, カワガラス,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
This time I wanted to check if the early winter birds had arrived.
The construction work after the super-typhoon in 2019 still going on upstream on the river near the Hayato-gawa bridge, and Kanazawa Forest Road. Construction vehicles often came and went on the forest road.
Whether due to the construction work or the sufficiency of food in the forests around the forest road, the number of birds on the forest road was very small, with only a few Daurian Redstarts, Meadow Bunting, Masked Buntings, woodpeckers (Japanese, Great Spotted, Japanese Green) and Chinese Hwameis were seen.
Mixed flocks of tits (Japanese, Varied) and Warbling White-eyes and a small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch were also seen.
Subsong of a Red-flanked Bluetail was heard but not seen.
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) was not observed.
On the lake, Mandarin Ducks, Mallards, a Little Grebe and Grey Herons, Great Cormorants and a Western Osprey were seen.
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) did not appear, possibly due to the construction works.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, マガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
In addition to the last visit about a month ago, new winter birds such as Masked Bunting and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit had arrived.
Ducks had also increased in species and numbers.
Several Black-headed Gulls were also resting on the weir together with ducks, and one Black-headed Gull caught a large fish, which appeared to be a little too big for it.
A Common Kestrel and a Peregrine Falcon were also present, perhaps due to the increasing numbers of prey in the field.
A Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus) had been seen a few days ago at a site a little further downstream.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ハイタカ? オオバン, イカルチドリ,
ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Around Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター付近(滋賀)
It was late for birding as it was after noon when we visited, but we were able to observe a unexpectedly many species of birds.
Tundra Swans were resting on the lakeshore in front of the centre.
There were also many ducks in the lake, although fewer than on the south area of the lake.
Gulls were perched on stakes in the distance.
A Long-tailed Rosefinch and Masked Buntings were found in the grassland along the shore.
There was also an out-of-season small flock of Barn Swallow.
Black Kites, Grey-headed Lapwings, Eurasian Skylarks, Amur Stonechat, Russet Sparrows, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, White Wagtails, Japanese Wagtails, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, Grey-capped Greenfinch and others were resting or foraging in the farm field around the centre.
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) may arrive here soon.
The birds observed are (* by the Center staff):
*Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), *Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
*Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), *Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
*Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
*Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
*Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
*Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), *Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
*Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
*Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
*Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
*Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
*Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
*Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
*Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
*ヒシクイ, *マガン, コハクチョウ, *ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, *オナガガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, *スズガモ, *カワアイサ, *カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, *チュウヒ, *ハイタカ, オオバン, ケリ, *ムナグロ,
*タシギ, *ハマシギ, *カモメ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, *カシラダカ, アオジ, *オオジュリン
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
The weather was fine and a little hot.
There were not yet many ducks in Kamo River on the way to the garden, but a Common Sandpipers was seen this time.
There were no birds in the bird bath in the garden, probably because of the rain the day before.
However, there was a Pale Thrush in the surrounding trees, which seemed to have just arrived, and was very nervous, as if it was not yet at home.
There was also a remaining Narcissus Flycatcher.
An Olive-backed Pipit, also likely to have just arrived, was found in a grassy area of the pine trees.
Grey-streaked Flycatcher on their way to migration and Japanese Green Woodpecker were also seen.
Other birder observed flocks of Brambling and Japanese Grosbeak.
The birds observed are:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)?
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, チュウダイサギ, トビ, オオタカ? イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ
Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine (Kyoto)
石清水八幡宮(京都)
A large tree (Ogatama-no-ki, Michelia compressa) next to the shrine had many fruits on it, which attracted Narcissus Flycatchers, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Warbling White-eyes and Eyebrowed Trush have gathered there.
Two sparrow hawks soared in the sky. They appeared to be a Japanese Sparrowhawk and an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, judged from the photographs.
The birds we observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, マミチャジナイ, キビタキ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
South-eastern Lakeshore of Lake Biwa (Shiga Prefecture)
琵琶湖南東岸(滋賀)
This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse ecosystem to evolve in the lake.
This lake is an important place for water birds. About 5,000 water birds visit there every year.
There are many rich birding spots.
We visited the south-eastern lakeshore of Lake Biwa.
The first site was Lake Ibanai in Higashi-Omi City.
Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard and Northern Shoveler were seen in the shallow water.
Moving further south, the next site visited was Lake Nishinoko (Nishi-no-Ko) in Omi-Hachiman City.
Bird banding was taking place when we arrived. We were shown the birds that had been captured, most of them were Siberian Rubythroat, others were Dusky Thrush, Eurasian Wryneck, Common Reed Bunting and so on. We were able to see closely these insidious birds, which we would not be able to encounter easily in ordinary birding at this time of the year.
There were few ducks in the lake, and only one Western Osprey, a few Black Kites and an Eastern Marsh-Harrier were the only birds of prey.
They will be increasing in numbers towards the winter season.
The last site visited was Kogan-ryokuchi Shina-2 Park in Kusatsu City located further south.
A huge number of ducks were clustered in this area. Common Pochard was the most abundant, with Tufted Duck and Eurasian Wigeon also abundant.
Amongst the flock we searched for a Ferruginous Pochard, which we had been given information about in advance by a local birder, but it was very hard to find it as the ducks were sleeping with their heads buried in the body, moving around, or diving.
There was also an American Wigeon among the flock.
The birds we saw are;
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオバン, ケリ, ユリカモメ, キジバト, カワセミ,
コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ノゴマ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
The weather was fine, the autumn leaves were at their best, and many sightseers started crowding in early in the morning since the place had been featured on the morning TV news. The parking lot at Senjogahara was already full and we had to wait for a while for parking.
A Japanese Bush-Warbler was chirping near the entrance to the trail from Akanuma.
There was also a Brown Dipper in the stream that runs right beside the trail. This was the first time I had seen one in this place where there are many people passing by.
Moving further on, there were a Brown-headed Thrush, a Dusky Thrush and Bramblings around Toringo crabapple (Malus sieboldii) trees. They seemed to be feeding on the berries of these trees.
On the boardwalk along the Yu-kawa river, flocks of Brambling were seen well.
We also encountered small mixed flocks of tits, long-tailed tit and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker at several points.
In the grassland, Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis) had been observed until a week ago, but no birds were seen as they had already migrated away.
Several Mallards were seen in the river.
At the farm field adjacent to Senjo-gahara, we saw some Meadow Buntings and a Bull-headed Shrike.
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) did not seem to have arrived yet.
In the afternoon, the return route was already heavily congested, so we had to return home in the early time.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ゴジュウカラ,
カワガラス, アカハラ, ツグミ, アトリ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Daiza-hoshi Pond & Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano Prefecture)
大座法師池&戸隠森林植物園(長野)
On the way we stopped by Daiza-hoshi Pond.
In the distance we saw flocks of Eurasian Wigeon and Common Coot. Yet the species and numbers were not many.
It was a little past the peak of the autumn foliage season in Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Togakushi Shinrin Shokubutu-En), located on a plateau 1,200 meters above sea level at the foot of Mount Togakushi in northern Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, but with sunny skies expected, many cars were already parked in the parking lot when we arrived.
Wood Nuthatches were flying around in the parking lot, and the small chirp of Eurasian Wren was heard near the entrance to the botanical garden's walkway.
In the small pond in the garden, there was small flocks of Eurasian Wigeon and Tufted Duck, one Eurasian Teal, and a family of Little Grebe.
At the gate of the approach to Okusha, many photographers and birders gathered, waiting for the Mugimaki Flycatcher to come to the nearby Euonymus fortuneis berries.
Usually in late October, Eyebrowed Thrush and Mugimaki Flycatcher pass through this field on their migration,
We also waited there for a while. During our observation, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and tits came to eat the berries frequently. After about an hour, the bird came, but it did not stay for very long and soon left.
We waited the bird to return for another few moments, but then gave up and went for a walk around the garden.
We looked for Eyebrowed Thrush, White-backed Woodpecker, Tree Creeper, etc., but only saw a woodpecker looked like a Woodpecker flying away, calling.
Usually we see not only Eyebrowed Thrush but also Dusky Thrush, but we did not see any on this day.
In the afternoon we moved to the camping site. Here, too, many cars were parked in the parking lot, and there were many photographers and birders in the site.
A Mugimaki Flycatcher appeared in the morning at the Euonymus fortuneis berries here, but during our observation, Grey-streaked Flycatcher and Narcissus Flycatcher visited frequently.
Small flocks of Brambling were also seen descending to the ground to forage.
The next morning, although there were some clouds, it was a good day and the temperature was not too cold.
In the yard of the inn, two Eurasian Jays were down on the ground foraging for something.
First, we entered the botanical garden as on the previous day.
We heard the lively song of a Japanese Grosbeak near the entrance.
A large flock of brambling was also flying around.
At the pond, a juvenile Little Grebe was seen nearby.
While we waited for the Mugimaki Flycatcher at the torii gate, we saw a thrush flying overhead to the south, so we walked along the approach looking for the thrush.
In the middle of the path, we found several Dusky Thrushes and an Eyebrowed Thrush perched on a tree in the distance.
We also managed to see one Tree Creeper in the garden.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ハイタカ? オオバン, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, マミチャジナイ, ツグミ,
エゾビタキ, キビタキ, ムギマキ, オオルリ? ハクセキレイ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
After consecutive cold and rainy days during the previous week, the sunny skies returned and the temperatures rose. I checked how many winter birds had returned to this field.
Three species of wagtails (Grey, White, Japanese) were busily flying around on the sandbar.
There was also flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinches.
Only a small number of species and number of ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal) were seen around the weir yet.
Little egrets and Great Cormorants had gathered and were resting on the weir.
Flocks of Bulbuls were moving westward.
A small flock of Red-rumped Swallow was seen in the sky.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, コシアカツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
1-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
The cold, drizzly weather until the day before turned out to be sunny and warm on the day of our visit.
We headed for Okuniwa slowly, stopping on the way for birding on the Fuji-Subaru Line.
On the road to the second station, we could see and hear tits, Warbling White-eye, Narcissus Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit and Japanese Grosbeak among the broadleaf trees along the road.
In the coniferous forest zone higher up, we saw and heard Red-flanked Bluetail and Goldcrest.
From the parking lot at the entrance to Okuniwa Natural Park, we walked along the Chudo trail to Oniwa.
Being near the forest limit, it was a bit windy, and here we only heard Japanese Bush Warbler and saw Coal Tit.
Eurasian Bullfinch and Coal Tit could be heard on the steep downhill trail to the Okuniwa Lodge.
There were no photographers around the bird bath at the lodge, where many photographers crowded during the summer, and only a Coal Tit was bathing.
When we started observing there, the bird bath refilled the water by the lodge owner.
After a while, Eurasian Bullfinch and Red-flanked Bluetail came to bathe at the bird bath.
Goldcrest and Spotted Nutcracker appeared around, but did not visit the bird bath and could not be observed closely.
Then, we went for a walk in Okuniwa Natural Park. We did not feel cold, which we had worried about, and saw Red-flanked Bluetails and Coal Tits in the calm, sunny forest.
In the afternoon, we once descended the Subaru Line and drove through the forest road in Narusawa area.
Japanese Grosbeak, tits (Japanese, Varied, Willow, Coal), Japanese Bush Warbler, Eurasian Jay, and flocks of Red-billed Leiothrix were seen and heard.
Somehow, we did not see any woodpeckers this time.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)?
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジバト, アオバト? モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ? ルリビタキ, キビタキ, ウソ, イカル
One-day trip for Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo) & Sanbanze Seaside Park (Chiba)
葛西臨海公園(東京)&三番瀬(千葉)
Due to the passage of a warm front, it rained from the previous night until early in the morning, so we waited for the rain to stop and visited Kasai Rinkai Park at first.
We checked out the sunflower field first.
There were no Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri), but a small group of Grey-capped Greenfinch was seen.
The forest at the west end of the park had been cut down and became smaller by the construction of the Olympic facilities. Oriental Turtle-Dove and Japanese Tit were only observed.
There were several Great White Egrets on the ocean side, but no sea ducks were observed yet.
The tide level was just low, and the mudflats of the protected Higashi-Nagisa area were wide spread, and many gulls and Great Cormorants were seen in the distance.
Some Great Cormorants and Black Kites were resting together in a tree on a nearby bank.
There were no ducks in the ponds at the Ornithological Garden, besides a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Common Coots, as I had expected. It seems they had not yet arrived.
However, we were lucky enough to see Brown-cheeked Rail this time.
Next, we headed to Sanbanze.
Upon arrival, a sudden shower of rain began to fall. After waiting for a while, the sun started to shine and the rain stopped, so we started birding.
About three hours had passed after the lowest tide, and the tide level was rising. The mudflats, which had spread out widely, gradually became narrower and narrower, and shorebirds could be observed closer to the shore.
Although fewer in number than at the peak of the migration, there were still many species of shorebirds to be seen.
Many Eurasian Oystercatchers and Great White Egrets were also seen.
A small flock of Greater Scaup was seen at sea. Their numbers will increase soon towards winter.
Gulls were mostly Black-tailed Gulls, but a few Vega Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls were also seen.
The birds observed are;
at Kasai-rinkai Park;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
at Sanbanze (*reported by other birder);
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
*Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Lesser Sand-Plover (atrifrons) (Charadrius mongolus atrifrons),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, スズガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, クイナ, オオバン,
ミヤコドリ, *ムナグロ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, オナガ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Chausu-Yama in Nagano City (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市篠ノ井茶臼山植物園(長野)
I attended a bird watching event of Wild Bird Society of Japan.
We visited Chausu-Yama, a typical satoyama in northern Nagano prefecture to look for autumn visitors.
In October, black fruits of Cornel trees (Swida macrophylla) grown in mountain areas, attracts some Flycatcher species during their southward travel.
The main target of the day was Spot-breasted Flycatchers (Muscicapa griseisticta).
Fortunately, we could find a bird on the top of a dead branch near Cornel trees.
We also saw a Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) on the same spot.
At the foot of the mountain, I found a pair of Siberian Stonechats (Saxicola maurus), another attractive autumn visitor.
List of species;
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Oriental Honey Buzzard (Pernis orientalis), Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Spot-breasted Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Oriental Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
キジバト，ハチクマ，トビ，コゲラ，モズ，カケス，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒヨドリ，
エナガ，キビタキ，エゾビタキ，コサメビタキ，ノビタキ，キセキレイ,カワラヒワ,ホオジロ
One-day Trip around Inashiki area (Ibaraki)
利根川中流&稲敷方面(茨城)
In the morning, we headed to the reed fields with some small swamps at the middle reaches of the Tone River.
Two swans were seen flying overhead on a road near the Tone River. They were probably just arriving.
At the site, the weather was almost clear but a northerly strong wind was blowing over the reed fields on the riverbed.
Two Eastern Marsh-Harriers were soaring over the reed field.
In the swamps scattered, there were large flocks of Northern Pintail, Common Pochard and Eurasian Teal, which seemed to have just arrived.
Among the flocks were a small number of Mallard and Northern Shoveler.
One Greater Scaup and one Garganey were also seen.
The birds were still nervous and did not stay on the water surface and repeated to fly around the area.
The birds in the reed fields were inactive due to the strong winds.
We managed to see Zitting Cisticolas and Eurasian Skylarks foraging on the road.
In Inashiki, harvested lotus fields with open water surface increased.
Though the number of shorebirds had decreased at the end of the migration, many species of shorebirds could still be seen in the fields.
There were still many Sand Martins and Barn Swallows, which had gone from the other areas near Tokyo.
The birds observed are;
- at middle-reaches of Tone River:
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Inashiki area (*observed other birder):
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Ruff (Calidris pugnax), *Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)?
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)?
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ,
オオバン, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, コアオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ,
トウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, エリマキシギ, *アカエリヒレアシシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ? ユリカモメ? ドバト, キジバト, ツツドリ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ノビタキ? スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ
One-day Trip in Western Area of Kanagawa Prefecture (Kanagawa)
神奈川西部 (神奈川)
The first site we visited was Terugasaki Beach in Oiso Town.
In summer (May to October), a lot of White-bellied Green-Pigeons gather at this beach.
They inhabit in the Tanzawa Mountains, north of this beach.
They come to this beach to drink sea water.
However, only a small number of White-bellied Green-Pigeons came this time.
According to a person who monitors the site every day, fewer White-bellied Green-Pigeons arrive on days with low temperatures. The day before the cold front passed, and the temperature dropped quite a lot, so this may have had an effect.
Streaked Shearwater could be seen soaring above the surface of the sea in the distance.
Black Kites and Black-tailed Gulls also were observed close by.
Next, we headed to Mt. Gongen in Hadano City.
Here, a hawk migration observation survey is being conducted.
The weather on the day was fine after a series of rainy days, and more migration was expected after the poor results by then, even though it was already the last stage of migration.
The observation team recorded a total of 68 Grey-faced Buzzards, but we missed two kettles and only observed a small number flying at a distance.
We did, however, see a Japanese Sparrowhawk perched on a dead tree nearby.
Varied Tits were seen well, collecting nuts and carrying it somewhere to store for the coming winter.
There were still a few berries of dogwoods, which attracted a few Grey-streaked Flycatchers.
The most common bird observed was a Brown-eared Bulbul, which was also on its way westwards.
The last visits were Oone Park in Hadano City and Sanada Reservor in Hiratuka City nearby.
At Oone Park, there had been Garganeys (Anas querquedula).
We tried to find among many Eurasian Teals, but we could not find them this time. They might have left this site already.
However we saw many Eurasian Tealswhich had just arrived for wintering.
Also we saw many Black-crowned Night Herons and Little Egrets, too.
The birds obserbed are;
- at Terugasaki Beach:
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Mt. Gongen (*reported by local observation team):
*Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), *Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), *Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
- at Oone Park & Sanada Reservoir:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, オオミズナギドリ, ゴイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
*ハヤブサ, *ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, タシギ, ウミネコ, ドバト, アオバト,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, *イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, *クロツグミ,
イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
One-day Trip around Watarase Retarding Basin
渡良瀬遊水地近郊
At first, we drove around the farm fields in Itakura Town.
Some of the rice fields have already been harvested and the rest will soon be harvested.
A Common Snipe was foraging in a water-filled, harvested paddy field.
There was still a small number of Intermediate Egret remaining, besides Grey Heron and Great White Egret (Ardea alba modesta).
Passerines were inactive and not seen due to light rain, but Eurasian Skylark and Bull-headed Shrike were actively calling well.
The hawks were Black Kites and Eastern Buzzard seen. They will increase in numbers towards winter.
Only a few Little Grebes were seen in the pond, which is regularly crowded with ducks during the winter season. Soon they will be coming back to overwinter.
White-cheeked Starling and Eurasian Tree Sparrow were forming flocks.
Next, we visited the Watarase Retarding Basin.
The reed fields, where reed warblers and others had been abundant during the summer, were very quiet, thanks in part to the light rainfall.
Even Meadow bunting, which usually forages on the road, seemed to be resting somewhere.
However, Green Pheasant appeared well here and there. Some were families with juvenile birds born this year. They may not be afraid of birds of prey not active in the rain.
Small ponds scattered in the reed fields and in the channel were visited by flocks of ducks (Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler), either wintering or stopping off on their migration, as well as Eastern Spot-billed Duck. Two Oriental Storks were in a rice field near one of the artificial stork nests.
Then we drove around the farming fields in the Omoigawa area.
We looked for shorebirds, but could not find any watered fields, neither could we find the birds we were looking for. When we were about to give up, we finally found a flock of ten Pacific Golden-Plover in a field with a small puddle of water.
Common Kestrels were seen in several places.
We returned to Watarase Retarding Basin in the afternoon. The rain occasionally stopped.
Like they had been waiting for it, Meadow Bunting appeared on the roads and began busily foraging.
Black Kites were also drying their feathers here and there.
A Bull-headed Shrike, an Oriental Turtle-Dove and an Oriental Cuckoo were seen perched on one large tree in the reed field. The Oriental Cuckoo was stopping over on the way of migration.
The last stop was at the irrigation ponds in Ikura, but it was not lively as in summer.
The birds observed are;
- in Itakura area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret/Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis ),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail / Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- in Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret/Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus)?
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- in Omoigawa area:
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret/Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea modesta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/ Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
キジ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ? ノスリ, バン, オオバン, ムナグロ, タシギ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト,
ツツドリ, カワセミ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ,
エゾビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The water level of the marsh was down and the muddy shore was appeared, and some shorebirds, such as Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshanks and Temminck's Stint, were stopping by.
However, besides the resident Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, there were no wintering ducks or migratory Garganey (Spatula querquedula), which we expected to see this time.
There were many herons and egrets resting on the stakes lining the edge of the marsh's middle island.
A small group of Brown-eared Bulbul flew westwards.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
, カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, チョウゲンボウ, オオバン,
コチドリ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン, モズ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Downstream of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流(神奈川)
The Sakawa River runs through the Sakawa Lowland in the western region of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Hakone Volcano to the west and the Oiso Hills to the east and flows into Sagami Bay.
The river was muddy and swollen due to the heavy rainfall caused by the typhoon that had passed the day before.
Perhaps due to this, there were only a few herons on the riverbed.
A Common Sandpiper was foraging on a concrete block submerged in the water, undaunted by the rushing stream.
An Amur Stonechat on migration was found in the grassland.
A call that sounded like an Oriental Reed Warbler was heard from a tree on the bank, and searched for it but found a Bull-headed Shrike. Apparently the bird was imitating the call.
A Black-winged Petrel (Pterodroma nigripennis) was rescued just after the typhoon a month ago, but no such bird carried by the typhoon was found this time.
The birds obserbed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ,
イソシギ, ウミネコ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, セッカ,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ノビタキ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Terugasaki Beach, Oiso (Kanagawa)
照ヶ崎海岸 (大磯, 神奈川)
In summer (May to October), a lot of White-bellied Green-Pigeons gather at this beach.
They inhabit in the Tanzawa Mountains, north of this beach.
They come to this beach to drink sea water.
The reasons below are considered why the White-bellied Green-Pigeons need to take sea water;
- Their foods in the summer season are mainly baccas of cherry-tree or cornel which do not include enough sodium for them.
To supplement sodium, they drink sea water.
- They feed chicks the pigeon milk which produced by themselves. They need to take nutrition for their chicks.
Even in the bad condition like that high waves wash the rocks of the beach, the pigeons drink water at the risk of life.
A typhoon passed the day before our visit. There were many dead trees and other debris washed up on the beach.
Over fifty White-bellied Green-Pigeons were seen flying away on our arrival.
Shortly after a short wait, the flock returned and could be observed landing on the rocks on the beach and drinking seawater.
The birds observed are;
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)
オオミズナギドリ, トビ, ウミネコ, ドバト, アオバト
Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
稲敷方面(茨城)
The rain that had been falling early in the morning had stopped by the time of arrival and did not bother our birding.
Harvesting in lotus fields, which was not done the last time, about a month ago, had started here and there. So, the number of fields that had been harvested and the open water surface had expanded was increasing. And all the paddy fields had also been completed harvested and became open to be seen.
Such changes in the field conditions resulted in more spots where shorebirds could be observed than in the previous visit.
Small flocks of Marsh Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-tailed Godwits and Spotted Redshanks were newly found. A few Pectoral Sandpipers, which only visit Japan in small numbers, were seen in the harvested rice paddies.
Common Snipes, Ruff, Long-tailed Stint and Wood Sandpiper were also found in those fields, but were difficult to spot as they were hiding in the rice stumps and the second ears.
Eastern Cattle Egret, which had been abundant last time, had migrated away.
Zitting Cisticola were quieter and were not found.
Instead, Bull-headed Shrikes were territorially calling loudly here and there.
Eurasian Teal had arrived.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ,
ツルシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン,
オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, アメリカウズラシギ, ウズラシギ, エリマキシギ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
By the beginning of September, the season of autumn hawk migration had started, and observations had begun at many sites all over Japan.
At this site, as well, observations have continued everyday since 29 August, other than rainy days.
On the day I visited, despite sunny weather, with a cool and comfortable easterly breeze, with good visibility to the distance in low humidity atmosphere, it was a good day for observation.
In this favorable condition, a variety of hawk species appeared, though in small numbers, and were enjoyable.
Grey-streaked Flycatchers and Asian Brown Flycatcher also perched in the treetops nearby.
Various species of swallows and swifts also flew well.
A flock of White-bellied Green-Pigeons returning to the mountain after taking seawater at the beach was also seen.
The birds obserbed are;
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat & Fukudomi Reclaimed Land (Saga)
東与賀干潟&福富干拓(佐賀)
The Site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of the grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
The two days we visited were the peak of the shorebirds' fall migration, and the flood tide was especially high, so we saw huge flocks of many species as well as a Saunder's Gull on the mudflats near the shore, which narrowed at the high tide.
Small flocks of Eurasian Spoonbill and Black-faced Spoonbill were also flying.
In the Fukudomi Reclaimed Land nearby, there were freshwater shorebirds in the harvested lotus fields, ducks including migrating Garganeys and a Greater White-fronted Goose in the irrigation reservoir, and about 10 Whiskered Terns and several Western Ospreys were observed together along a canal.
More than ten Oriental Pratincoles were resting on the bare land behind Saga Airport.
The birds observed are;
- at Fukudomi Reclaimed Land:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana)?
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat:
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus/Limicola falcinellus sibirica),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- around Saga Airport:
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガン, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン, セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, タシギ,
オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ,
アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ,
ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ, ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ, ズグロカモメ, クロハラアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, モズ,
カササギ, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ? ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Mt. Eboshi-dake (Sasebo, Nagasaki)
烏帽子岳(佐世保,長崎)
This mountain is located at the most northern point in Kyushu Island on the autumn migration route of Chinese Goshawk from Siberia and Korea to Philippines and Indonesia.
Two days before our visit, 14,415 Chinese Goshawks were observed at Tsushima, the previous point on the migratory route, and 536 were counted at Mt. Eboshi-dake.
On the first day of our visit, however, the weather conditions in Tsushima and the Korean Peninsula, the hawks' departure points, were not so good, and the number of hawks observed was low, at 48.
Two days later, we revisited the site in the afternoon. 201 hawks were observed in that morning, and only a few were observed in the afternoon in the evening.
I wondered if this year's record as close to the 11,286 Chinese Goshawks observed on September 15, 2020 would be achieved.
On the other hand, the number of Crested Honey Buzzards migrating from the Honshu side should increase soon, and eight were observed on the day of our visit.
The birds we observed were;
Green Pheasant (Kyushu) (Phasianus versicolor versicolor),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Chinese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter soloensis),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キュウシュウキジ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, アカハラダカ, アマツバメ, ハシボソガラス,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, エゾビタキ, ホオジロ
Isahaya Reclaimed Land (Nagasaki)
諫早干拓地 (長崎)
The Sea Wall cut off the water of Isahaya Inner Bay from the Ariake Sea.
Although Isahaya Bay deserves the status of a wetland of international importance, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries claimed that the project was inevitable for flood control and more agricultural lands.
Although the mudflat areas were lost, many birds are still inhabiting at the grassy plain and the fields.
When we visited there, it was earlier than the birding season from October.
The number and species of birds were fewer. In the reclaimed rice fields, we saw a few shorebirds.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
タカブシギ, イソシギ, ウズラシギ, ウミネコ, ズグロカモメ, キジバト, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Sanbanze tidal flat & Yatsu-Higata tidal flat (Chiba)
三番瀬&谷津干潟(千葉)
Sanbanze is facing to Tokyo Bay, and Yatsu-Higata is jointed to Tokyo Bay with two small channels.
Both of these two spots are very important stopover points for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
From middle of August until end of September is the season of the migration birds to the South/West.
When we arrived at Sanbanze, two hours had passed from the lowest tide, yet the mudflats were still widely spread out.
Perhaps the peak of the shorebirds' migration had passed or the next flocks yet to arrived, there were no big flocks, but small flocks of Grey Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Sanderlings and Great Knots, with a few Kentish Plovers, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Red-necked Stints, Terek Sandpipers, Red-tailed Tattlers, Red-necked Stints, Red-tailed Tattlers Dunlins were seen.
There was also small flock of Eurasian Oystercatchers, and were big flocks of Black-tailed Gulls and Great White Egrets.
As the number of observers increased and the flocks of birds moved away, we left the mudflats and checked the sea side.
There was a Great Crested Grebe in the distance, which was unusual for this time of year, probably over-summering.
Next, we headed to Yatsu Tidal Flat.
There had been a few shorebirds, but they went away after one Peregrine Falcon appeared and chased them away.
There were a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron hiding and resting in the reeds and a Little Grebe beside the Observation Center.
The birds observed are;
at Sanbanze;
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
at Yatsu-Higata;
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ,
ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, チュウシャクシギ, オオソリハシシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ,
イソシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ,
ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Cemetery Tama, Fuchu, Tokyo
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
Migrating birds visit in this season every year.
The record-breaking hot summer was over and the temperature dropped below 30 degrees Celsius. However, due to a super typhoon that was stalling near the Okinawa area, the weather was unstable and there were several days of heavy showers even in the Tokyo area far from it.
Fortunately, the day of my visit was cloudy and it did not rain, and blue skies could be seen.
Although I searched for migratory birds in the forest of the hill, there was no sign of birds among a loud chorus of cicadas.
When visiting at the point where I regularly see Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, I encountered a mixed flock of about 20 tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed), Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers.
As I looked carefully at the flock, I recognized a slightly larger bird. It turned out to be one of the targets; Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher. Two of them were busily flying around in the trees.
I also found a leaf warbler which seemed to be an Eastern Crowned Warbler.
Later, I also saw a Grey-faced Buzzard soaring overhead. After circling several times, it flew away to the west.
The birds observed are;
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
サシバ, キジバト, コゲラ, サンコウチョウ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ
Middle reaches of Tone River & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
利根川中流&稲敷方面(茨城)
In the morning, we headed to the reed fields with some small swamps at the middle reaches of the Tone River.
Unfortunately, it was raining heavily and strong north-easterly winds were blowing, which was not so good for birding.
There were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in the swamps, and sometimes they would suddenly fly away as if frightened by something.
We looked for Garganey (Spatula querquedula) among them, which might stop by to avoid such bad weather, but they were not there.
Instead, one Eurasian Teal was seen.
Birds in the reed beds were quiet due to the bad weather, however, many Zitting Cisticola were foraging on the dirt road.
One Common Snipe was also resting on the road.
Several Eastern Marsh-Harriers were seen flying over the reed fields and resting in a small tree.
Then, on the way to Inashiki, we drove through the Yotaura area.
Several large flocks of herons were in the rice paddies. Eastern Cattle Egrets and Intermediate Egrets were dominant, with a few Grey Herons and Great White Egrets.
There were a Northern Pintail among Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in the pond. It might be on its way to migration.
When we arrived at the Inashiki area, it was raining hard again. After a short wait, that rain began to weaken, so we resumed birding to search for shorebirds in the lotus fields.
Most of the fields were still entirely covered with lotus, but we found many species of freshwater shorebirds in some fallow fields.
This time, Little Ringed Plover and Red-necked Stint were abundant.
Other species observed were Common Greenshanks, Green Sandpipers, Wood Sandpipers, Terek Sandpiper, Ruff, Little Stint, Temminck's Stint, Long-tailed Stints, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, and Broad- billed Sandpiper.
The birds observed are;
- at middle-reaches of Tone River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Yotaura area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Inashiki area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Little Stint (Calidris minuta),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ,ソリハシシギ,
イソシギ, トウネン, ヨーロッパトウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Paddy fields in Omoigawa (Tochigi) Itakura & Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
思川のたんぼ(栃木)&板倉&多々良沼(群馬)
There are paddy fields which are flooded with water as artificial fresh-water tidal flats to gather waterfowl.
Some days before our visit, a Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae) and a Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), which are uncommon in Japan, were reported, and we expected to encounter them, but it seemed that they had already left the site.
We searched for the watered fallow fields and fresh-water shorebirds there.
Little Ringed Plovers were abundant in the shallow water fields, as were Wood Sandpiper, Red-necked Stints, Long-toed Stints and Common Snipes.
A Common Greenshank and a Black-winged Stilt were found in deeper water.
Small flocks of Sand Martin were flying over the grown rice plants.
Many herons moved from their breeding sites were also seen.
Next, we visited the irrigation pond in Itakura. The pond was almost entirely covered with lotus and the flowers were in full bloom.
Yellow Bitterns were flying through the lotus, and Common Moorhens and juvenile Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, which had grown to the same size as their parents, were seen in the few remaining open water.
Barn Swallows were resting on the nearby power lines. A few Sand Martins were also seen among them.
At Tatara Marsh, we waited Eurasian Tree Sparrow, egrets and Barn Swallow which communal roost in the reed fields.
No sparrow roosting was observed this time.
The number of swallows was also low (several hundreds), and the usual roosting in the reed beds could not be confirmed. They might be roosting in different places this year.
The birds observed were;
- at the paddy fields in Omoigawa area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Itakura;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Tatara Marsh;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, バン,
セイタカシギ, コチドリ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, トウネン, ヒバリシギ,
キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ,
セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光 (栃木)
Oku-Nikko is not only a famous summer resort but also a famous birding field.
There are several birding spots such as Chuzenji Lake, Yunoko Lake, Senjyogahara Plateau, Odashirogahara Plateau and Kirikomi Lake.
At Senjyogahara Plateau and Odashirogahara Plateau, there are wide grass field surrounded by forests of deciduous broad-leaved trees and Japanese larch.
During the long holiday (Obon) in mid-August, even with the largest number of COVID-19 infections on record, there was a great number of people moving like before because there were no restrictions on activities.
We visited the field to avoid this period, but the birds had finished raising their offspring, and the field was very quiet. Therefore, there were few birds that appeared.
First, we walked the trail from Tachiki-Kannon to the Italian Embassy Villa on the shore of Lake Chuzenji and back.
There were no waterfowl in the lake, but in the woods by the lake, we saw Wood Nuthatch, flocks of tits (Long-tailed, Japanese, Willow), woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted) Woodpecker, flycatchers (Narcissus, Blue-and-white) were seen.
We also saw what appeared to be an Eastern Crowned Warbler.
Next, we visited Senjyogahara Plateau.
In early summer, many summer birds can be seen in the grasslands and forests along the Yukawa River, but the birds were very quiet in this time.
Here, too, we saw flocks of fledglings of tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow, and Long-tailed), Woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, and Japanese Green) and flycatchers (Narcissus, Blue- and-white) in the forest.
We looked for Amur Stonechats in the meadows, but only one appeared, and soon disappeared for a short time. Two Eastern Buzzards flew.
Some anglers were in the Yukawa River, where fishing is allowed only during the summer season, but about ten Mandarin Ducks, which seem to have bred here, were swimming and resting on driftwoods without paying any particular attention to them. Occasionally, they jumped at dragonflies perched on twigs or stakes.
In the afternoon, near Kotoku Ranch, it began to rain heavily. We saw one Olive-backed Pipit perched on the ranch fence just before the rain started.
Finally, we visited the Onsen-dera area of Yumoto, and when the rain eased off, we saw tits flying on the mountainside.
Early the next morning, we revisited the Senjyogahara Plateau.
The heavy rain of the previous night had stopped, and blue skies were appearing.
On the trails with no visitors, we saw Mallards and a Grey Heron in the river, a Brown-headed Thrush on the wooded trail, and Masked Buntings, Bull-headed Shrikes, and Japanese Grosbeaks in the forests.
In the afternoon, we stopped by the Nikko Botanical Garden.
Nikko Botanical Garden is located nearby Nikko Station. This is an institute for research and education of Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, but is open for public. The main activities of the Botanical Garden have centered on enriching the collections of temperate and alpine plants of Japan and adjacent regions for the purpose of botanical research and education. A total of 2,200 species (130 species of pteridophytes, 70 species of gymnosperms, and 2,000 species of angiosperms) are planted in the garden.
This environment makes it a good site for birding as well.
This time, however, the time of year and time of day were not good, and we only confirmed Eurasian Jay and Brown-eared Bulbul.
The birds we observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)?
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, マガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
センダイムシクイ, ゴジュウカラ, アカハラ, ノビタキ, サメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ビンズイ, イカル, アオジ
Hirugano Plateau (Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture)
ひるがの高原(郡上,岐阜県)
At first we visited a famous pond where White-throated Needletais gather.
It is said that more White-throated Needletails visit early in the morning and late in the evening. We arrived around 7:30 a.m., and although a few were seen until 6:30 a.m. according to the local birders on the site, none appeared for a while.
After about an hour, one finally appeared. It glided over the surface of the pond and drank some water.
Several Asian House Martins also appeared and began chasing the White-throated Needletail.
An Intermediate Egret was seen flying just above the surface of the water. As we watched, surprisingly, it caught fishes swimming on the surface of the water flying.
From the surrounding woods, song of a Japanese Thrush was heard, and a few Japanese Grosbeaks and Bull-headed Shrikes were also seen.
We waited for the White-throated Needletail to appear again, but gave up at 9:00 a.m. and headed for the Hirugao Wetland Botanical Garden and Bunsuirei Park.
Pacific Swifts and Barn Swallows were flying over the marshland.
Meadow Buntings were singing from the meadow, but the birds were inactive as the breeding season was at its end.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus), Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウサギ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, ハリオアマツバメ, アマツバメ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, クロツグミ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
Okutainai & Matsunoyama (Niigata Prefecture)
奥胎内&松之山(新潟)
At first, we visited Okutainai.
Okutainai is located in Bandai-Asahi National Park and is an area of wild nature consisting of the valley of the Tairai River, which originates from the Iide Mountain Range, and the surrounding deep forests.
Because it is one of the snowiest areas in Japan, visitors can only reach this area in summer and autumn, from June to November, when the access road is open.
The Okutai Hutte is located at the end of the access road and is available for overnight stays.
We stayed at this hutte this time.
The first day was calm, cloudy in the morning and occasionally sunny in the afternoon.
Compared to my previous visit in early June, there were fewer birds singing and appearing less frequently, as most birds were either incubating eggs or their chicks had left the nests.
However, Blue-and-white Flycatchers greeted us with their songs in the treetops here and there along the valley.
Ruddy Kingfishers were heard in several places, but seen only once.
A female Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher appeared briefly, but hid without making any call.
Two Grey-faced Buzzards were flying on the slope of the mountain. Perhaps they were looking for a nesting place?
White-backed Woodpecker were not observed well.
The Japanese Scops-Owl seen the day before could not be found that day.
When the sun was setting and it was getting dark, we went to the Okutainai carpark, which is located a little downstream from the hutte.
As it became dark, we heard Oriental Scops-Owl in the distance.
A Grey Nightjar was also heard nearby only briefly. We looked for it and found it on the lawn of the dam's administration facility.
When we returned to the hutte, it started to rain.
It continued to rain strongly throughout the night with thunder and lightning until dawn. This caused a power outage in the hutte
At dawn around 4:00 a.m., the rain temporarily stopped, so we went out for birding.
Because of the early hour, Warbling White-eyes and Narcissus Flycatchers were singing well.
However, thunderstorms started again, and we had to return to the hutte and departed for our next destination, Matsunoyama, earlier than scheduled.
We arrived at Matsunoyama before 11 am.
Here, about 200 km southwest from Okutainai, it was not raining, and sunny.
Matsunoyama is one of the world's heaviest snowfall area, with an average snowfall of 3.5 meters and a maximum of 5 meters in winter. Thanks to the heavy snowfall, the area is covered with Japanese beech forests.
In a small valley with scattered farmlands and forests, we heard songs of Meadow Buntings, Oriental Reed Warblers, Yellow Bunting, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Narcissus Flycatchers, Lesser Cuckoo, and so on, even though it was almost noon.
From the woodlands a short distance away, Japanese Thrush, Japanese Grosbeak, Oriental Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Ruddy Kingfisher and Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher were also heard.
A Wood Nuthatch family, a Eurasian Tree-Creeper, Asian Brown Flycatchers and Grey-capped Greenfinches were also seen. Grey-faced Buzzards, Black Kites and a Crested Honey Buzzard also appeared in the sky, and the Crested Honey Buzzard performed a distinctive display flight, flapping its wings.
We did not see any Tiger Shrike (Lanius tigrinus) this time, probably because they had already left the nest and moved on.
In the woods near Matsunoyama-onsen, we were able to see two Oriental Dollarbirds that arrive here every summer.
On the nearby plateau, there was a large flock of Russet Sparrows, nearly 100 in number, which were born this year.
The birds observed are;
- at Okutainai:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Scops-Owl (japonicus) (Otus sunia japonicus),
Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- in Matsunoyama:
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
ハチクマ, トビ, サシバ, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, コノハズク, ブッポウソウ,
ヨタカ, アカショウビン, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, サンコウチョウ,
カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, クロツグミ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ニュウナイスズメ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ノジコ
2-day Trip in Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
This time of year is the best for birding and photographing on Mt. Fuji, but because it is during the rainy season in this region, the results depend significantly on the weather on the day of the trip.
This time, fortunately, it rained in the afternoon of the first day, but the rest of the day was cloudy, and the second day was blessed with clear skies.
At first, we visited Okuniwa Natural Park at the 5th station of Mt. Fuji.
On the Subaru Line heading for Okuniwa, we heard the Siberian Blue Robin and various other birds singing.
The elevation of Okuniwa is about 2200 m, and is a typical site of a parasitic volcano of Mt. Fuji.
It is covered with grass and trees, and mosses and mushrooms grow on the ground.
Goldcrests greeted us on the steep descent from the Okuniwa parking lot to the Okuniwa-so Lodge.
Okuniwa-so Lodge, where meals and lodging are available, has a specially prepared bird bath and many alpine birds can be observed closely.
Although it had rained the night before our visit, there had been no rain for several days before, so there were no other watering places on Mt. Fuji, and Red-flanked Bluetails, Eurasian Bullfinches, Goldcrests, Japanese Leaf Warblers and Coal Tits came frequently to bath and drink at this small pond of Okuniwa-so Lodge.
In Okuniwa Natural Park, a Japanese Bush Warbler, which usually only sings in bushes and rarely shows itself, was singing at the top of a tree.
From there, we walked on Oniwa and Chudo trail a little higher on the mountain.
There, Olive-backed Pipit repeatedly sang in a treetop and then flew to another treetop.
Japanese Accentor did not appear very often, but did sing on the nearby treetops several times.
When we returned to the parking lot, it began to rain.
On Subaru Line, we descended in rain and occasional fog.
We stopped at the Kawaguchiko Field Center and attempted to visit the water point there, but unfortunately it was not allowed to enter the area.
So we headed for the Narusawa Forest Road.
Unfortunately, it was raining hard from time to time, and although we heard cuckoos (Oriental, Lessor Common, Northern Hawk) and Siberian Robin, we could not see any of them.
A Japanese Robin appeared on a stump for a second, but quickly disappeared.
On the next morning, Mt. Fuji looked beautiful in the blue sky.
In Fuji-yoshida Town, Barn Swallows and Asian House Martins were flying in the blue sky.
At Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo) where we visited at first, The facility is a Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday. Though it was early in the morning, there were many persons entering the vast facility area picking wild vegetables.
There were also many birds, actively singing and flying around.
Until about 20 years ago, there were several sites near Tokyo where Latham's Snipe visited as a summer bird, but now this is one of the few sites left. Even here, their numbers have been decreasing and it becomes harder to see them.
Soon we heard Latham's Snipe nearby.
While watching Asian Brown Flycatcher, Amur Stonechat's family, Oriental Reed Warbler, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Chestnut-eared Bunting and Bull-headed Shrike. Latham's Snipe began to fly and presented its unique flight display. The birds then repeated the flight several times, chased each other, and perched on a dead tree nearby.
The Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were raising their chicks in the holes of the dead tree made by woodpeckers, and were actively carrying bugs to their nests.
Eastern Buzzard, Common Cuckoo and Lesser Cuckoo were also seen and heard.
We drove along the edge of the surrounding forest, but with the rising temperatures, cicadas began to sing and we had a hard time finding the birds.
Masked Bunting, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Warbling White-eye, Great Spotted Woodpecker, and Green Pheasant were seen and heard there.
After that, we drove along the shores of Lake Yamanaka and visited the Obora Spring in the villa area.
There were a few Mute Swans and a Great Cormorant in the lake.
Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Green Woodpecker and Shika Deers were seen in the forests near the spring.
Narcissus Flycatchers, Blue-and-white Flycatchers, Japanese Tits, Coal Tits, and Varied Tits repeatedly came to bathe at the spring.
The melodious song of a Japanese Grosbeak was heard from the surrounding forest.
A female Japanese Thrush and a Grey-capped Greenfinch also came in the afternoon.
A mixed flocks of juvenile tits (Long-tailed, Japanese, Coal, Varied) and Warbling White-eyes were seen along the road toward the carpark located a short distance away from the spring.
Near the carpark, White Wagtails, darkened in breeding plumage, were foraging on the ground.
The birds observed are;
- at Subaru Line, Okuniwa, Oniwa, Ochudo and Narusawa Forest Road, Mt. Fuji:
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Green Pheasant (Shikoku) (Phasianus versicolor tohkaidi),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- at Obora no Izumi & Yamanaka Lake:
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
トウカイキジ, コブハクチョウ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオジシギ, キジバト, ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス,
アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, キクイタダキ,
ミソサザイ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
スズメ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
The rainy season had started in this region, but the day I visited was cloudy without rain.
It was the latter half of the breeding season, and although there were no birds singing on the treetops, various species were heard from the woods along the forest road, such as Eastern Crowned Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, and so on.
Also seen were juveniles born this year of Japanese Tit, Varied Tit, and Blue-and-white Flycatcher.
Great Cormorant, which had been repelled several years ago and reduced in number for a while, had formed a colony again.
The birds reported are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus).
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
クロツグミ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, イカル, ホオジロ
Around Watarase Retarding Basin
渡良瀬遊水地近郊
At first, On the way, we stopped at a cattle barn in Kazo City.
This time we were lucky enough to see a Eurasian Collared-Dove.
This bird is believed to have been introduced from overseas during the Edo period as a game bird for the General Shogun's "hawk hunting".
About 20 years ago, there were about 10,000 birds inhabiting Saitama Prefecture, and it is designated as the bird of the prefecture.
However, due to the disappearance of their habitat and the decrease in feeding places caused by development, their numbers have drastically decreased in recent years, and only 29 birds were confirmed in the wild in a survey conducted in 2020.
Next, we visited the Watarase Retarding Basin.
Common Cuckoos were heard in the distance, and Oriental Reed Warblers and Black-browed Reed Warblers were singing in chorus in the reed fields, letting us feel the coming of summer.
A Lesser Cuckoo perched and was calling on a nearby tree.
Marsh Grassbirds, which can only be seen in limited sites in Japan and China, were also singing and soaring.
There was also a stork in the artificial stork nest tower, which was newly built this year in addition to the existing one.
We looked for Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus) breeding here, but could not find it as it had already left the nest.
In Itakura, some wheat fields had not yet been harvested, and here and there rice planting had started.
Not many herons were seen, perhaps gathering in their breeding sites.
There were a few Grey-headed Lapwings.
Yellow Bitterns were seen flying around the reeds in the irrigation pond.
Families of Little Grebe and Common Moorhen were also there.
Next we visited a shrine in the suburbs of Sano City.
This is the site where Northern Boobook have been breeding every year, but we couldn't find it this time.
Next, we visited Nogi Shrine, which is located next to Watarase Retarding Basin.
Every year here, Ural Owl (momiyamae) (Strix uralensis momiyamae) is breeding.
This time, we could not find it as it had already left the nest.
Finally, we visited Suzume Shrine nearby.
We could not see Ural Owl but saw a Northern Boobook.
I hope that raising chicks in this summer will be successful.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus)?
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto decaocto),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, バン, オオバン, ケリ, コチドリ? キジバト, シラコバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス,
アオバズク, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Northeast foot of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山北東山麓(山梨)
The day was sunny and Mt. Fuji was clearly seen to the summit.
Tokyo was the hottest day of the year, with temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F).
At first, we visited Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
Until about 20 years ago, there were several sites near Tokyo where Latham's Snipe visited as a summer bird, but now this is one of the few sites left. Even here, their numbers have been decreasing and it becomes harder to see them.
As we rounded the site, we found many Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, Amur Stonechats, Chestnut-eared Buntings and Black-browed Reed Warblers, which are the dominant summer birds here.
Amur Stonechats, Chestnut-eared Bunting and Black-browed Reed Warbler were actively singing on grasses and small trees in the grasslands.
Chestnut-cheeked Starlings seemed to be raising their chicks in the holes of dead trees in the trees within the grassland.
A few Common Cuckoos and Lesser Cuckoos were also seen, flying around the trees and perching on treetops in the grassland, perhaps looking for an opportunity of brood parasitism.
We also saw a Common Cuckoo being chased away by small birds.
However, we did not see or hear Latham's Snipe.
There was a spot on the site where many birders and photographers were gathering. We heard that Latham's Snipes were in the grasses in front of them.
We could hear Latham's Snipe's calls from two different points.
After waiting for a while, although we did not notice when it took off, a Latham's Snipe showed us its characteristic display flight in the sky overhead.
Then, we drove up the the Fuji Subaru Line tollway toward Okuniwa Natural Park at the 5th station of Mt. Fuji.
The elevation of Okuniwa is about 2200 m, and is a typical site of a parasitic volcano of Mt. Fuji.
It is covered with grass and trees, and mosses and mushrooms grow on the ground.
Okuniwa-so Lodge, where meals and lodging are available, has a specially prepared bird bath and many alpine birds can be observed closely.
Along the trail from the Okuniwa parking lot on the Subaru Line down to Okuniwa, many Japanese Leaf Warblers were singing, and some were seen flying among the nearby trees.
Near the lookout, a few Coal Tits and a Red-flanked Bluetail were seen, but not as many as expected.
We waited for a while to see if Spotted Nutcracker would fly over the tree line on Mt. Fuji, but it did not appear this time.
At the bird bath of Okuniwa-so Lodge, Coal Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail, and Eurasian Bullfinch came to bathe. Several Goldcrests often visited the nearby Japanese larches.
We returned to the Okuniwa parking lot on the Subaru Line and walked further up Ochudo and Oniwa from there.
Ochudo is a route that circles Mt. Fuji, which is said to be the border between gods and humans, and was once a path of faith that only those who had climbed Mt. Fuji three or more were allowed to walk.
After passing through the forest and reaching the tree line, the trail leads through a sparsely vegetated area of small trees.
The upper slopes are bare surfaces of the rugged Mt. Fuji.
Here we saw Japanese Accentors, Japanese Leaf Warblers, Goldcrest, and Red-flanked Bluetail.
We looked for Olive-backed Pipit and Spotted Nutcracker, but they did not appear.
We then descended the Subaru Line and ascended the Takisawa Forest Road, but there were few birds, perhaps because of the noon time.
In the evening, we visited "Obora no Izumi," a spring located in the villa area of Yamanaka Lake.
This spring, located about 1,000 meters altitude, is famous as a place where many birds come to bathe.
We stayed until it became dark in the valley where the spring is located, and Japanese Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Japanese Thrush, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, etc. came one after another.
Woodpeckers, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, and Oriental Cuckoo were heard from the vicinity.
The birds observed are;
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Green Pheasant (Shikoku) (Phasianus versicolor tohkaidi),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
- at Okuniwa, Ochudo, Oniwa and Takisawa Forest Road, Mt. Fuji:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- at Obora no Izumi & Yamanaka Lake:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)?
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
トウカイキジ, アオサギ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオジシギ, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ,
コムクドリ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ,
カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ? カワラヒワ, ウソ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
Nanohana-dai (Hadano, Kanagawa)
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
It seems that the migration of Crested Honey Buzzard in the latter half of this spring's hawk watching season is now in its final stages.
The pattern of migration this spring was unusual due to the different atmospheric pressure pattern from that of ordinary years, and the migration in the southern Kanto area seemed to be later than usual.
The day before I visited, Honey Buzzards flew nearby, but on the day of my visit, despite the similar weather, not even Black Kite flew in the morning.
At around 11:00, a few resident Eastern Buzzards began to fly, and Barn Swallows and Asian House Martins also began to fly.
Then, Peregrine Falcon, Grey-faced Buzzards and Crested Honey Buzzards appeared, and some of them migrated toward the northeast.
A few White-bellied Green-Pigeons, which were probably going to drink seawater, were seen flying toward the coast of Oiso several times.
From the distance, an Oriental Cuckoo and a Lesser Cuckoo were heard.
Ashy Minivets, Narcissus Flycatcher, Grey-capped Greenfinches, and Japanese Grosbeaks were seen nearby, too.
The birds observed are;
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ハヤブサ, ハチクマ, トビ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
サンショウクイ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, キビタキ, カワラヒワ, イカル
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The water level is high during spring and summer, and low during fall and winter, and the birds that can be seen change according to the water level.
Therefore, many species of birds can be observed throughout the year.
In summer, Yellow Bittern, Little Tern, Oriental Reed Warbler can be observed.
At the end of May, Whiskered Tern and White-winged Tern regularly stop by here on their way to migration.
On May 23, these two marsh terns were observed. However, the next day, May 24, they had already left and could not be found.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida), White-winged Tern/White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, バン, オオバン,
コアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ, ハジロクロハラアジサシ, キジバト, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi), Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura) & Hachioji Castle Ruins (Tokyo)
柳沢峠(山梨),山のふるさと村&八王子城跡(東京)
The main targets were Japanese Robin and Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), which are often observed at this site every summer.
When we arrived at the site early in the morning, the rain stopped on the previous night, but it was still misty. Therefore, visibility was poor, and although we could hear calls of birds such as tits, Japanese Robin, Oriental Cuckoo, Japanese Bush-Warbler and Narcissus Flycatcher, it was difficult to spot them when we started walking along the forest path.
As we walked for a while, a photographer was feeding and taking pictures of the birds that were gathering for the food. Thanks to him, we were able to see Japanese Tits, Willow Tit, Siberian Blue Robin, and Grey Bunting at close distance.
Further up the forest road, the mist cleared and visibility became clear. We looked for Siberian Thrush, but found only Eurasian Jay and a small flock of Red-billed Leiothrix. So we turn around and headed back.
On the way back, we saw a Eurasian Wren singing enthusiastically.
We checked the stream where we had heard a Japanese Robin when we first started our walk and found two of them.
Having seen one of our targets, we moved on to the next site, Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura).
Near the visitor center, Grey Wagtails and Narcissus Flycatchers were seen and heard.
On the lakeshore trail, Japanese Grosbeaks and Brown-eared Bulbuls were gathering for the fruits of the cherry trees.
We heard Narcissus Flycatcher and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
We also heard Crested Kingfisher and Eastern Crowned Warbler. We searched for the Crested Kingfisher, but could not find it. Only one Eastern Crowned Warbler was seen this time.
In the afternoon, we visited the ruins of Hachioji Castle.
Hachioji Castle was a yamashiro, or mountain-castle, which is located near Mt. Takao in Hachioji, Tokyo.
Our target was the Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers that breed here every year.
As we headed up the trail further along the stream, a Narcissus Flycatcher was singing.
Further up the trail, many photographers were taking photos pointing their cameras toward the upper part of the forest. There was a nest of Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher that looked like it was still in the process of being made, and a female was occasionally seen entering the nest. The male was found nearby.
We looked for other pairs, but this was the only pair we saw this time.
A Lesser Cuckoo, which seemed to have just arrived, was singing well.
The birds observed are;
- at Yanagisawa-Pass
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- at Yama no Furusato Mura
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- at Hachioji Castle Ruins
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
カワウ, トビ, アオバト, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
クロツグミ, コマドリ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, イカル, クロジ
Island Miyakejima & Cruise (Tokyo)
三宅島&航路(東京)
We departed for Miyakej-ima by Miyake Ferry on the night of May 18.
We arrived at Miyake-jima at 5:00 a.m. on May 19, and started birding from 5:30 a.m. until night, and again early morning on May 20.
On Miyake-jima, we saw the typical birds such as Izu Thrush, Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler, IIima's Leaf Warbler, Japanese Wood-Pigeon, Japanese Robin (tanensis), Eurasian Wren ( mosukei), and Owston's Tit.
We also heard Northern Boobook, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher, Oriental Cuckoo and Lesser Cuckoo.
On the ferry back to Tokyo, we saw Black-footed Albatross, Streaked Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, and surprises: Tropicbird and South Polar Skua.
The birds observed
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
White-tailed Tropicbird (Pacific) (Phaethon lepturus dorotheae),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki), Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes pleskei/Locustella pleskei),
IIima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis), etc.
コジュケイ, クロアシアホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アナドリ, シラオネッタイチョウ,
ウミネコ, オオトウゾクカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, カラスバト, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, アオバズク,
ミアケコゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ウチヤマセンニュウ, イイジマムシクイ, シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ, アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, 他
Nobeyama Highland (Yamanashi,Nagano)
野辺山高原(山梨,長野)
At one spot in the woods along the road on the entrance of the Umi-no-Kuchi side of the highland, tits (Japanese, Varied, Coal), Long-tailed Tit, Warbling White-eye, Japanese Thrush and Japanese Grosbeak were gathering.
Cold winds were blowing down from the Yatsugatake Mountains under cloudy skies on the highland farmland, and a small number of birds were seen at the edge of the surrounding forests.
A small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch and a pair of Daurian Redstart, which have recently been reported breeding in Japan, were found.
A small number of Amur Stonechats were also seen.
A pair of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were seen, too.
They will probably raise their chicks this summer in this field.
The birds we observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
コムクドリ, クロツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden & Oyachi Marsh (Oyachi-Shitsugen) (Nagano)
戸隠森林植物園 & 大谷地湿原(長野)
However, here as well, the large amount of snowfall this winter could have had some effect on the birds. We saw Narcissus Flycatcher still fighting for territory and Brown-headed Thrush collecting nesting material.
On the other hand, we heard Japanese Thrush, Japanese Grosbeaks, Oriental Cuckoo and Siberian Thrush singing vigorously atop tall trees, Eurasian Wrens singing excitedly near the ground, and Ashy Minivets soaring and calling busily overhead.
Asian Brown Flycatcher and Eurasian Tree-Creeper seemed to have begun egg-laying.
The bamboo grass and small bushes along the trail had been cut several meters wide, probably to keep the bears away from the trail. Perhaps because of this, we did not hear any Siberian Blue Robin or Grey Bunting.
Also, the number of woodpeckers seemed to be low. Perhaps the super typhoons that took down many large and dead trees had an effect, resulting in fewer in their numbers. We saw a few Great Spotted Woodpecker, but did not encounter any White-backed Woodpecker.
The next morning, at dawn, we revisited the garden.
We looked for Siberian Blue Robin, Grey Bunting, Siberian Thrush, Japanese Thrush, and White-backed Woodpecker, which we could not hear or see the day before.
We encountered Siberian Blue Robins at two locations, one of them being spotted by a birder with good eyesight. Thanks to her, we could see a singing Siberian Blue Robin perched in a tree.
We saw a Japanese Thrush as well.
Little Grebes were collecting grasses and makings a floating nest in the middle of the pond.
Later, at "Kotori-no-ike" Pond near the garden, we heard a few Grey Bunting, and near the entrance of the campsite, we encountered a White-backed Woodpecker.
We also heard a Common Cuckoo, which we had not recognized the day before. It seemed that they had just arrived.
Near noon, the garden was crowded with visitors and the parking lot became fully occupied. We moved to Oyachi Marsh in Iizuna. The reed beds spreading in the center of the field had been mowed away.
Several Oriental Reed Warblers perched and sang on the surrounding trees.
Crested Honey Buzzard, Eastern Buzzards and Black Kite flew overhead.
Asian Brown Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher and Blue-and-white Flycatcher were observed in the surrounding forest.
The birds we observed are;
- at Togakushi area;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- at Oyachi Marsh;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ハチクマ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト,
カッコウ, ツツドリ, アマツバメ, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, マミジロ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, ツグミ, コルリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ノジコ, アオジ, クロジ
Madarao Highland, Nagano
斑尾高原 (長野)
There are wet-land and forests which are good birding spots. I believe that the population of Yellow Bunting, which breeds here as a summer bird, is particularly high.
On the way to the highland, we saw a Grey-faced Buzzard perched on a utility pole, Russet Sparrows perched on electric wire and treetop, and a family of Japanese Wagtail in a rice field filled with water before the planting.
This time, perhaps because it was a bit earlier than previous visits and the winter snowfall was heavy in this winter, lingering snow was seen here and there in the field.
The snow at Numa-no-hara Marsh seemed to have just melted, and although Skunk cabbage and Yellow marsh marigold were in full bloom, other flowers and grasses were not yet sprouted.
Perhaps because of this, and also because of the weather that looked as if it would rain at any moment, there were fewer birds than in previous visits.
Even so, a few Yellow Bunting were singing sweetly.
Japanese Thrush presented its melodical song.
Japanese Bush-Warbler, Grey Bunting and Asian Stubtail were heard from the bushes.
An Oriental Cuckoo was heard from a distant ridge. No other species of cuckoo had arrived yet.
In the sky, four Crested Honey Buzzards soared at once, perhaps just arriving or stopping by on their migration. One of them performed a unique wing-flapping display.
After sunset, we revisited the marsh in search of Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka) and Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis), but unfortunately, rain started to fall and we did not encounter any.
We visited the marsh early the next morning but had no particular results due to drizzling rain.
The birds we observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, ハチクマ, トビ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ, アカゲラ,
サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, キビタキ,
ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ノジコ, アオジ, クロジ
Low mountain in Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都市低山(京都)
Blue Rock Thrushes (Monticola solitarius)
Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus)
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica)
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana)
; all photos by A.T.
I observed regularly in my local patch to monitor spring migration and departure of wintering birds.
This spring (March to April) was rather cold and arrivals of spring migrants were relatively late.
Wintering birds remained longer.
On March 27, a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes (Monticola solitarius) was seen and the male was singing well.
The final record of Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) was March 30.
An Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps) arrived on April 2, but this bird was apparently a passing one.
The earliest Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus) arrived on April 4 (it was still cold).
On the same day, I saw a group of four Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) forming a small kettle and migrated toward east.
On April 7, I heard a Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae).
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus) was first recorded on April 10.
On April 8, the first individual of Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana) arrived. The volume of the song was very small and it must have just arrived. The individual was the same one I observed last year.
A Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) was first heard on April 9. I saw four birds flying in the blue sky on April 11.
On the same day, I heard the first song of Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis) and Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica).
This day was apparently the first major peak of spring migration. After this, there was a spell of rain.
Narcissus Flycatcher increase since April 15 and there were conflicts here and there.
On April 17, I heard an Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus). This was relatively early in this place.
On April 20, there was another wave of migration.
I heard a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides) singing well, which also issued high-frequency (5 kHz) calls, suggesting that there was another individual and the bird might have been in excitement. If I had only heard the calls, I would have thought it to be a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus tenellipes), although the season was too early.
Sakhalin Leaf warblers arrived in a large number on April 23 and I heard them in different locations. This species appears to have been rich in this year and I sporadically recorded the species until May 11.
I saw a pair of Eastern Crowned Warblers. A bird was carrying nest material and another bird was guarding it.
It became warmer and I heard song of Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) on this day.
The final, and a late, record of Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) was on April 21 (probably a passing bird).
I heard a Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige) on April 21 (this species is not abundant here).
There was also a singing Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala). Black-faced Buntings had apparently arrived on migration and stayed here for a while.
After a spell of somewhat rainy days, there was another peak of migration on April 28.
I heard the song of a Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane). This species is also not so abundant here like Japanese Robin, but I recorded this species multiple times in this year.
On the same day, I heard the song and call of Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), relatively rare visitor here.
After rain on April 29, new birds arrived.
I heard a Rufous Hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus) in the morning sky on April 30.
On the same day, I heard the song of Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus). The species identification was made later after recording a better song and comparison with other data and description in a field guide.
The song was composed on two or two plus half notes and resembled that of Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica), but has trembling notes similar to other Turdus species.
After identifying this song, I noticed that this species was passing in a considerable number and characteristic low flight calls were also recorded.
On May 2, a Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane) was singing in a garden of a house and the song was brilliantly heard.
A number of thrushes (some of them may have been Eyebrowed Thrushes) arrived on this day and high calls were heard high from trees.
On May 4, there were unfamiliar calls, which turned out to be the call of an Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), which stayed on the next day and its song was also heard.
May 5 was the day of Eyebrowed Thrush and I could record the song closely.
On May 6, the pair of Blue-and-white Flycatchers started feeding chicks and the male suddenly became silent.
On this morning, I saw a small heron flying away from a stream upon my appearance. This must have been a Japanese Night Heron (Gorsachius goisagi) considering the location and the season.
On May 8, while recording a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, I also recorded the song of Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas). This song was three-note pattern and this type of song is often confused with Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus). The song of Kamchatka leaf warbler is different in that the final note of the three notes is lower and can be safely distinguished.
On May 12 before rain, high-frequency notes drew my attention. Hearing trill calls, I initially thought it to be an Asian Brown Flycatcher, but the song turned out to be in very high frequency (in the range of the song of Asian Stubtail and similar to the call of Goldcrest). I identified this bird to be a Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica). The record of this species is rare, particularly in spring. I only once saw and heard a perched and singing bird long time ago in the middle of May.
On the same day, I heard the call of a Black-faced Bunting, very late in season and was a passing bird.
Early on May 13, Ural Owl (Strix uralensis) was particularly active. After calls (I heard them very close), song continued long. I could even hear the song of two birds in broad daylight (although the weather was cloudy). I could hear the song even after 8:00 a.m.
Rain persisted up to May 14 and I could hear the Dark-sided Flycatcher at the same place three days in a row.
イソヒヨドリ, ミソサザイ, ヤブサメ, センダイムシクイ, ノスリ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, サンショウクイ, オオルリ,
コシアカツバメ, キビタキ, クロツグミ, コサメビタキ, ツツドリ, エゾムシクイ, アトリ, ルリビタキ, コマドリ, アオジ, コルリ,
ノジコ, ジュウイチ, マミチャジナイ, マミジロ, ミゾゴイ, メボソムシクイ, サメビタキ, フクロウ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市戸隠森林植物園(長野)
I attended a bird watching event held by Nagano branch of Wild Bird Society of Japan.
Togakushi is one of the most famous birding spots in subalpine zone of Japan, and there have been too many birders during the holyday week, so called Golden week (April 29 to May 8 in this year).
However after the very busy week, calm returned to the forest park, and birding was very confortable.
In the forests we could hear songs of Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Siberian blue Robin (Luscinia cyane), and Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata).
Old and dangerous boardwalks are now replaced by new ones, and unfortunately, some part of the park is not permitted to walk.
The most exciting event this day was to encounter a male Siberian Thrush (Zoothera siberica), a rare summer visitor. We could enjoy the bird, perched on a branch, singing for about 20 minutes.
I observed this species for the first time in my life.
A leader of the event showed us a nest hole of Treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) and a nest of Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica).
We could take photos of Siberian Blue Robin (Luscinia cyane) after waiting for 10 minutes at the point where we heard a song of the bird hiding behind a bush.
We enjoyed walking through woodland for about 3 hours.
List of species:
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) ,
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans), Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus),
Oriental Cuckoo (Cululus optatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Willow Tit (Parus montanus), Coal Tit (Parus ater), Varied Tit (Parus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicas),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus,
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris),
Siberian Thrush (Zoothera siberica), Japanese Grey Thrush (Turdus cardis), Brown Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (Luscinia cyane),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica), Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
コガモ, キンクロハジロ，カイツブリ，アオサギ，トビ，ハチクマ，ツツドリ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，サンショウクイ，ハシブトガラス，カケス，
キクイタダキ，コガラ，ヒガラ，ヤマガラ，シジュウカラ，メジロ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ミソサザイ，ゴジュウカラ，キバシリ，
マミジロ，クロツグミ，アカハラ，コルリ，キビタキ，コサメビタキ，ニュウナイスズメ，キセキレイ，イカル，カワラヒワ，マヒワ，ノジコ，アオジ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat & Shin-urayasu Coast (Chiba)
三番瀬&新浦安海岸(千葉)
Many shorebirds were seen around tide pools left on the mudflats spread by low tide. Dunlin, Grey Plover, Sanderling, and Eurasian Oystercatcher were still remaining in large numbers. There were also many Red-necked Stint, Lesser Sand-Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and Grey-tailed Tattler which were on their way to migration. Many of them were in beautiful breeding plumage.
There was a small flock of Black-headed Gulls and one Saunder's Gull.
While I was watching for a while, terns were gathering in large numbers. Common Terns formed a large flock over 100 in number.
There were still a few dozen Greater Scaup and one Great Crested Grebe at sea.
Next, I visited the Shin-urayasu Coast to look for Wandering Tattler, which had been confirmed to have stopped by two days before.
On the way to the sighting point, I saw a small flock of Ruddy Turnstone feeding on seaweed on the quay and a Grey-tailed Tattlers resting on tetrapods.
Since a photographer who had arrived earlier had found the target bird at the point, I was able to see it easily.
The birds observed are;
- at Sanbanze Tidal Flat
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Shin-Urayasu Coast
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
スズガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ,
キアシシギ, メリケンキアシシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, アジサシ, コアジサシ,
ドバト, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Mt. Takao (Tokyo)
高尾山(東京)
Mt. Takao is located about 50 minutes away from Shinjuku by train, close enough for a day trip of leisurely hiking on the mountain. The Japanese have regarded it as a holy mountain since the Edo period. The summit of Mt. Takao is 599 meters above sea level. This mountain has the rich habitats for birds because it sits inside the natural boundary between Japan's subtropical and temperate forests. Trees and plants of both woodland types grow in abundance on the mountain slopes.
It was the last holiday of the Golden Week in May, and there were concerns about crowds, but it was not as crowded as we had worried.
As soon as we got off the cable car and started walking, we heard the song of a Narcissus Flycatcher. However, we could not find it. After that, we heard singing here and there, but could not see them.
We also heard the calls of tits, Chinese Hwamei and Japanese Thrush, but we could not find them obstructed by the fresh green foliage.
On the way back, we somehow spotted Varied Tit, Narcissus Flycatcher, Japanese Grosbeak and Blue-and-white Flycatcher.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, クロツグミ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ハクセキレイ, イカル
Tsushima island, Nagasaki
対馬 (長崎)
We visited Tsushima Island located north to Kyusyu at the south-west entrance of the Japan Sea. This island is a crossing of migrating bird's paths.
On April 29, the scheduled flight was canceled due to strong winds, so we had to wait at Nagasaki Airport for a very long time in hopes of getting canceled seats on the last flight. We barely managed to secure our seats and arrived in Tsushima that night, but we wasted half a day of birding time.
However, the birding results on this island are brought about by bad weather.
As expected, many migratory birds stopped by the island the next day.
In the morning, along the road from Izuhara-machi to Cape Tsutsu, we were greeted by bird songs such as Japanese Thrush, Siberian Blue Robin, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Ashy Minivet, Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki), etc.
At Cape Tsutsu, an Ashy Drongo, and a mixed flock of White-shouldered Starlings, Red-billed Starlings and White-cheeked Starlings were seen perched on power lines.
Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Dark-sided Flycatcher and Brambling were seen near the tip of the cape.
A Japanese Cormorant and a Pelagic Cormorant were resting on a rock offshore from the tip of the cape.
One Western Osprey flew in sight, and another was found incubating on the direction of its flight and landing.
On the way south from Cape Tsutsu to Azamo, we saw a small flock of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings perched on an electric wire in a village.
On trees and power lines along the coast of Azamo, there were Yellow Buntings and Masked Buntings.
And in a field, there were Little Buntings, Yellow-browed Buntings, Masked Buntings, Black-faced Buntings, and Black-browed Buntings foraging. They were foraging in the field, and when people approached them, they hid in the hedge of a neighboring house or in bunches of abandoned farmland.
An Eurasian Hoopoe also appeared in the same field.
In addition, a Little Curlew was found there.
In a field in the adjacent community of Nan-in, a Chinese Pond-Heron was stopping by.
In another field, a flock of Eastern Yellow Wagtail (plexa) and White Wagtail (M.a.ocularis) were seen.
A Citrine Wagtail (Northern) (Motacilla citreola citreola) had been seen prior to our arrival but did not appear during our observations.
Many buntings (Little Bunting, Yellow-browed Bunting, Masked Bunging, Black-faced Bunting, Rustic Bunting) were foraging in the same field.
In another field, a Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata) was observed in the afternoon but was not encountered by us.
In the afternoon, we went north and visited the rice fields of Komoda and the wetlands of Kashi, but we did not get any particular results.
The next morning we visited Nan-in before sunrise.
Compared to the previous day, wagtails had disappeared and the number of bunting had decreased.
The Chinese Pond-Heron was still staying.
We then moved on to Azamo.
One Chinese Egret was found in the beach.
As we approached the trees where bunting species were seen the day before, various birds flew away. It was difficult to identify what they were, but one was identified as a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher because it had two long tails.
There were still many bunting in the field.
Little Curlew was still there.
A Striated Heron and a Black-crowned Night Heron were also seen.
We moved north again that day, heading for the northern island.
On the way to Tsutsu, we found an Oriental Dollarbird perched on an electric wire.
A Red Turtle Dove/Red Collared-Dove (humilis) (Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis) had been observed a few days before at Tanohama on the northern island, but was not found.
Instead, one Red-throated Pipit and several Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were seen in Sago. They appeared to have just arrived and looked too tired to fly very well.
Finally, we returned to Nan-in, but the birds remained scarce there.
On the last day, we had a limited birding time of about 5 hours before sunrise to the departure. First we headed to Azamo. We were very fortunate to see a Tsushima leopard cat on a road in the mountains near the Nan-in.
In Azamo, however, it seemed that most of the birds had left and the number of birds had decreased significantly.
At Nan-in, there were almost no birds left.
We spent the time before our departure at Aso Bay Park.
There was a small group of Eurasian Teal in the pond.
We also saw a few Paled Thrushes, which may breed here.
The birds observed (*reported by local birding club as of May 01) are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Striated Heron (amurensis) (Butorides striata amurensis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Little Curlew/Little Whimbrel (Numenius minutus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (kotataki) (Yungipicus kizuki kotataki),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Ashy Drongo (leucogenis) (Dicrurus leucophaeus leucogenis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (mandshuricus) (Corvus macrorhynchos mandshuricus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (magnus) (Aegithalos caudatus magnus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)?
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas)?
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Thrush sp,
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Grey-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis macronyx), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, ササゴイ, ゴイサギ, アカガシラサギ,
アマサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カラシラサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
タシギ, コシャクシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, ブッポウソウ, ドバト, アオバト,
ヤツガシラ,ツシマコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, ハイイロオウチュウ, サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, チョウセンハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, チョウセンエナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, キマユムシクイ?
メボソムシクイ? エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, コムクドリ, カラムクドリ, ギンムクドリ, ムクドリ,
クロツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミsp, コルリ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, サメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ,
ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, キタツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
タイワンハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, ムネアカタヒバリ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, カシラダカ,
ノジコ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ
Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat (Saga)
東与賀干潟(佐賀)
Higashiyoka-higata is a tidal mudflat at the mouths of Honshoe River and Hattae River on the north shore of the innermost section of Ariake Bay.
The Site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of the Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's Gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
We visited just in time for the New Moon spring tide, when the tide was high in the morning and the mudflats were narrowing, should allowing us to observe shorebirds and other waterfowl at a relatively close distance. However, on April 29, the weather was terrible with heavy rain and strong winds, so we had to avoid the rain and observe from inside the car, so conditions were not good.
Still, we were able to see large flocks of Dunlins flying around like clouds, which was a spectacular sight.
Whimbrels and Grey Plovers were also very abundant.
Large Far Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Black-faced Spoonbill were also seen in large numbers.
There was an individual that looked like an Asian Dowitcher, but we could not be sure.
Saunder's Gull was still around.
Flocks of Common Shelducks and Northern Shovelers were seen on the sea surface.
Next, we visited a regulating pond in Nanaura, Kashima City.
Spotted Redshanks, Common Greenshanks and Grey-tailed Tattler were resting in clusters on rocks near the southeast shore of the pond.
Four days later, we revisited Higashi-yoka at the morning high tide.
This time the weather was fine and we were able to observe from outside the car.
We enjoyed this hot spot with the largest concentration of shorebirds in Japan, but were very tired observing too many birds as well.
One Ruddy Shelduck was seen among a flock of Common Shelducks.
More than 300 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were crowded and foraging in a small lotus field nearby.
We birded around Saga Airport and saw many Oriental Reed Warblers singing in the grassy area.
We also visited Fukudomi Land Reclamation in Shiroishi Town on the west side of Higash-yoka.
The area is littered with lotus fields.
We looked for shorebirds and found a flock of 17 Black-winged Stilt, a few Wood Sandpipers, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, and Little Ringed Plover in several locations.
A small number of ducks were resting in the pond.
The birds observed (*reported by local birding club as of May 01) are;
Green Pheasant (Kyushu) (Phasianus versicolor versicolor),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), *Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
*Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus)?
*Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
*Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris),
*Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), *Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), *Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea),
*Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
*Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), White-winged Tern/White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
キュウシュウキジ, ツクシガモ, アカツクシガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, *アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, *カラシラサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, トビ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, *メダイチドリ, シベリアオオハシシギ? *オオメダイチドリ, *オオハシシギ,
オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, ツルシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ,
タカブシギ, キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, *コオバシギ, トウネン, *アメリカウズラシギ, ウズラシギ, *サルハマシギ,
*ウミネコ, ズグロカモメ, *アジサシ, ハジロクロハラアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, モズ, カササギ, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
ヒバリ, セッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Nomo Cape (Nomo-zaki) & Kaba Island (Kaba-Shima) (Nagasaki Prefecture)
野母崎&樺島(長崎)
Nomosaki and Kabashima are located on the southern coast of Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, facing the East China Sea.
This area is on the flyway of migratory birds, and in spring and autumn a variety of birds pass by here. Some of them are rare species in Japan. It seems like a remote island in the Sea of Japan. The advantage compared to the remote islands is that we can visit here without taking a boat, so we can visit even in bad weather. This makes it possible to follow in a timely manner the migratory birds that drop in to take their rest in bad weather.
The day before we visited, the weather was stormy with light rain and strong winds, so we hoped that perhaps many migratory birds had come in to avoid the bad weather.
When we arrived in the Takahama area before noon, we saw not many but a few migratory birds such as buntings (Little, Yellow-browed, Yellow Bunting, Masked, Black-faed), wagtails (M.a.ocularis, M.t.taivana/M.f.taivana, M.t.plexa), Richard's Pipits, Red-billed Starling, and egrets (Eastern Cattle, Grey Heron, Great White Egret) in the abandoned fields and the surrounding unplanted rice paddies.
At Suisen Park, although it was just after noon and the time of day was not good, Yellow-browed Buntings, Little Bunting, and Olive-backed Pipits were foraging on the lawn under the wisteria trellis.
Around it, adults and juveniles of Grey-capped Greenfinches were flying around.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Y.k.kizuki/D.k.kizuki) and Eastern Crowned Warbler were also heard.
The island of Kabashima, where many migratory birds were seen during the previous visit, was disappointing this time as it was deserted this time.
We visited the Takahama area at dawn the next day.
A Ruddy-breasted Crake was calling.
As it became brighter, many birds began to sing.
A Chinese Pond-Heron and a Chestnut-cheeked Starling were new to be seen.
At Suisen Park, the Olive-backed Pipit and Yellow-browed Bunting were not observed.
There were few birds on Mt. Gongen.
The island of Kabashima had even fewer birds than yesterday.
Revisiting Suisen Park in the afternoon, a Green Pheasant (Kyushu) was found singing on the slope.
In the evening, we visited the Takahama area again.
A Little Ringed Plover was newly found in the creek.
The next morning we left this field for a visit to the tidal flats of Higashiyoga in Saga and then to Tsushima, and returned to this field four days later.
The day of the move to Higashiyoka and Tsushima was stormy again, with strong winds and heavy rain.
When we returned, the weather had recovered and the temperature was a little lower.
At our first visit to the Takahama area, the members of the field had been replaced.
One Chinese Pond-Heron was seen, not sure if it was the same individual.
Little Buntings, Yellow-browed Buntings, Masked Buntings, and Black-faced Buntings were seen again, though in smaller numbers.
I was lucky enough to encounter a beautiful Yellow-breasted Bunting stopping by.
Birds were still scarce at Kabashima.
There was a report of a Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza rutila), but we could not find it.
The stormy weather of a few days ago seemed not to have brought migratory birds to this area.
The next morning, before moving to the tidal flats of Higashiyoka, we visited the Takahama area again.
Yellow-breasted bunting, which had been hard to see the day before in the dead grass on the ground, perched on reeds and small trees, so we were able to get a good look.
The birds observed (*reported by other birder) are;
Green Pheasant (Kyushu) (Phasianus versicolor versicolor),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)?
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Thrush sp,
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (plexa) (Motacilla tschutschensis plexa),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis),
Richard's Pipit (ussuriensis) (Anthus richardi ussuriensis), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys),
Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)
キュウシュウキジ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ヒクイナ, コチドリ, クサシギ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, キュウシュウコゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, キマユムシクイ? センダイムシクイ, メジロ, コムクドリ, ギンムクドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミsp, イソヒヨドリ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, シベリアツメナガセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ, マミジロタヒバリ,
ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, シマアオジ, ノジコ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ
Yatsu Tidal Flat & Katakgai Coast (Chiba), Tone River & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
谷津干潟&片貝海岸(千葉),利根川&稲敷方面(茨城)
In the morning, we visited Yatsu Tidal Flat.
This is one of the major tidal flats in the Tokyo Bay. It is surrounded by buildings but is connected with the Tokyo Bay through two narrow channels. Due to the inflow and outflow of seawater through these narrow channels, the tidal change is delayed here by about 1.5 hours from Tokyo Bay.
At the time of arrival there were some mudflats at a good observable distance.
Many Red Knots, which had been seen on the nearby Sanbanze tidal flats since the week before, could be seen as well. We enjoyed to observe them in their beautiful bright red summer costumes very closely.
Many of the Dunlin that wintered here were still remaining, and their bellies were getting so black.
There were also many Whimbrels and a few Bar-tailed Godwits stopping by on their migration.
As the tide came up and the mudflats became narrower, we moved to Katakai on the Kujukuri Coast.
Here, rainwater pools on the beach and forms a large puddle, where shorebirds on their migration often stop.
When we visited, several Whimbrels, Bar-tailed Godwits, Little Ringed Plovers and a Ruddy Turnstone were observed.
One Kentish Plover was found on the beach.
Two Little Terns, which recently arrived, flew in the sky above and were also bathing in the puddle. They would probably raise their chicks at a shore nearby.
The weather, which had been cloudy until then, was turning into worse like it was going to rain, so we move on to Inashiki not to stay there so long.
On the way, we stopped at the banks of the Tone River in the Kamisu City area.
In the reed fields, Japanese Reed Buntings were singing on the tips of reeds.
Zitting Cisticolas and Marsh Grassbirds were repeating flights while calling.
A few Eastern Marsh-Harriers were also flying over the reed fields.
Eurasian Bitterns were heard in several places.
A Oriental Reed Warbler, which might have just arrived, was also singing loudly.
Many kinds of ducks were still remaining in the ponds.
A Merlin and a Chestnut-cheeked Starling were also seen, probably on their way to migration.
In the afternoon, we drove around the Inashiki area.
Many of the lotus fields spread over the area had been cleaned up of the remnants of dead lotus and had begun to be planted again. Common Snipes were found in some of the fields where dead lotus still remained. In the same field where many shorebirds had gathered on our previous visit in February, we again encountered many species of freshwater shorebirds of Black-winged Stilts, Ruffs, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint and Little Ringed Plover. Unfortunately, it started to rain heavily and it was not able to take much time to observe well.
The birds observed are;
- at Yatsu Tidal Flat:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Katakai Port:
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Tone River
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Inashiki area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Little Stint (Calidris minuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ,
サンカノゴイ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ,
タシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, コアオアシシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ,
キョウジョシギ, コオバシギ, ミユビシギ, ヨーロッパトウネン, ウズラシギ, サルハマシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ,
コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ,
セッカ, オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, コジュリン
Island Miyakejima & Cruise (Tokyo)
三宅島&航路(東京)
This time, in addition to the endemic species/subspecies of this island, I aimed to see IIima's Leaf Warbler and Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes pleskei/Locustella pleskei), which are summer birds and breed on this island.
The weather was cloudy and little bit cool in the morning but became warm in the noon.
Since birding time on the island is limited to about 6 hours, I visited only two sites; around Izu Cape in the northern part of the island and Tairo Pond in the southern part.
Styan's Grasshopper Warbler/Pleske's Grasshopper-Warbler, one of my targets, had just arrived the island and seemed to be still inactive. I searched the grasslands near Cape Izu, but all I found were Japanese Bush-Warblers.
A local walker I met there told me that she had heard the bird for the first time that day in this year. After a little more time, in May, it will become easier to see.
At the field near Tairo Pond, I was not able to see Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni) this time.
According to the staff of Akakokko-kan, visitor centor near Tairo Pond, the number of Owston's Tit is decreasing due to a poor acorn harvest of Japanese chinquapin due to a disease.
IIima's Leaf Warbler, my other target, was singing actively here and there in the forests around the pond. This green bird in the fresh green is very hard to spot, but it did appear in front of me once, so I was able to get a good, up-close look.
Japanese Bush-Warbler, Warbling White-eye (Z.j. stejnegeri), Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (T.t.mosukei) and Japanese Robin (tanensis) (L.a.tanensis) were hiding and not seen but were singing actively in the bushes here and there.
Izu Thrush were hard to find this time, but I somehow saw one at Akakokko-kan.
Japanese Wood-PigeonsJapanese Wood-Pigeons were heard in several places and flew close by twice, showing the black body with its iridescent gloss.
On the return ferry from Miyake Island to Takeshiba Pier, a variety of seabirds were observed.
The weather was cloudy and a little cooler, but with a weak southerly wind forward in the direction of the ship, the swell was low and the waves were calm, making for good observation conditions.
The large number of Short-Tailed Albatross seen about one and a half months ago may have moved to northern waters, where they were reduced in numbers.
However, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel, Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua and Long-tailed Jellyfish, which were not seen last time, were encountered.
Jaeger/Skua started to appear when approaching the Boso Peninsula. Every time, two birds appeared at a time.
A small bird was heard nearby while observing off Oshima Island. I looked for them and found two Warbling White-eyes were flying desperately alongside the ship. I was tempted to advise them to land on the boat, even though it would be a free ride.
The birds observed
- at Miyake Island
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
IIima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Izu Robin (Larvivora tanensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)?
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- on Ferry from Miyake Is. to Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes),
Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri)
コジュケイ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, アカアシミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アナドリ,
チュウダイサギ, コサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ミサゴ, ウミネコ, トウゾクカモメ, シロハラトウゾクカモメ, カンムリウミスズメ,
カラスバト, キジバト, ミアケコゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, イイジマムシクイ,
シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ, アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, イソヒヨドリ, キビタキ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Mouth of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川河口(神奈川)
We expected to see some shorebirds under migration.
Upstream of the weir, most of the ducks seen in winter had left, but there were still many Eurasian Teals and one Gadwall.
There was also a flock of nearly ten Vega Gulls, probably on migration.
Moving downstream, there was a Little Egret with reddish foots in the breeding time.
A few Eurasian Wigeons, winter birds, were still remaining.
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits with reddish breast were also seen.
House Swift, Barn Swallow and Asian House Martin were flying over the river.
A few Little Ringed Plover were found while searching for shorebirds on migration on the riverbanks.
Suddenly, one Little Curlew landed nearby. This is a rare passenger that has the records at this site in the past during the spring migration season.
The birds obserbed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Little Curlew/Little Whimbrel (Numenius minutus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, オオバン, コチドリ, コシャクシギ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, ヒメアマツバメ,
カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, イワツバメ, セッカ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ
Nanohana-dai (Hadano, Kanagawa)
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
As the conditions were not good for hawks to fly, not a single hawk could be seen during my observations.
Instead, the song of the Japanese Robin was heard.
A small flock of Brown-eared Bulbul probably on their migration passed by, too.
As there were no signs of the rain stopping, and I descended the mountain.
The birds observed are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
アオサギ, コゲラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, コマドリ, オオルリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
A flock of about 10 Dusky Thrush, probably on their way back north, perched on treetops with budding new leaves.
Only Meadow Bunting were found. Other buntings seemed to have left for their breeding sites in the north.
The number of ducks had also decreased significantly and other than the resident Eastern Spot-billed Duck, only about 10 Eurasian Teal, one or two Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Shoveler remained.
The Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), which were still many in the previous visit, had all gone.
Two Vega Gulls which were seen the last visit still stayed.
A few Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits with reddish breasted were seen.
The summer birds were as same as the last visit; Barn Swallow and Asian House Martin, but increased their number.
This time, in addition, House Swifts were also flying.
A few Little Ringed Plovers, on the migration, were seen as well.
Regarding the residents of the field, one Brown-cheeked Rails was seen well again.
Japanese Bush-Warblers, Eurasian Skylarks and Zitting Cisticolas were singing.
A Common Kestrel, a Peregrine Falcon and a Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) also appeared.
A Blue Rock Thrush was seen, too.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
ヒメアマツバメ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ
Nanohana-dai (Hadano, Kanagawa)
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
The hawk observation at this site was started on March 21 this year.
And on April 08, migration of 110 Grey-faced Buzzards were observed.
Until beginning of May, we can enjoy watching the migration of various kinds of hawks.
At the site, Mt Fuji was visible, but visibility on the sea side was not good and the Miura and Izu Peninsulas were not visible in the morning. However, by midday the haze had reduced and the Boso Peninsula, Oshima Is. and Izu Peninsula became visible.
Grey-faced Buzzard did not appeared until noon, but eight migrated in the afternoon.
Non-migratory Eastern Buzzards flew well.
Summer birds, Japanese Thrush and Blue-and-white Flycatcher, were heard.
An Ashy Minivet also flew twice.
Many Asian House Martins also flew around singing in the afternoon.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus) Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, サンショウクイ,
カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, クロツグミ, オオルリ, イカル, ホオジロ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
京都御苑(京都)
On the way to the garden from the railway station (Demachi-yanagi), I checked the Kamo River from Kamo-O-Hashi bridge.
Petals scattered from the cherry trees on the riverbank floated on the surface of the river.
A Grey Wagtail, a Little Egret and Eurasian Teals were seen in the stream.
As I entered the park, Japanese Tits and Long-tailed Tits were pecking at the freshly budding greenery. The tails of the Long-tailed Tits looked bent, and It appeared to be beginning to warm its eggs.
At the bird bath, hawfinch, warbling white-eyes and Japanese grosbeak came.
Around there, friendly Japanese Tits, Varied Tit and Masked Buntings were observed very close by.
Several Olive-backed Pipits were found under pine trees.
On the grassland, a few White-cheeked Starlings, and many Pale Thrushes and Dusky Thrushes were seen.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, コサギ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Kyoto Botanical Gardens, Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都植物園 (京都)
The cherry trees in the park were in full bloom, flowers and plants such as tulips were also at their best and many people came to take a stroll.
The birds were familiar, and we could observe them closely.
I heard a Pale Thrush singing.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, コサギ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, スズメ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Mount Inari (Kyoto)
稲荷山 (京都)
This mountain is the sacred area covered with primeval forest protected since the ancient time.
I took a walk there in the mornings and looked for birds in the precincts of Fushimi Inari Shrine and the adjacent Fukakusa Cemetery.
Despite the off-season, when the winter birds were leaving and the summer birds were awaiting their arrival, unexpectedly many birds were observed.
Many Paled Thrushes were still to be seen here and there, and Dusky Thrushes also remained.
A friendly Red-flanked Bluetail was also observed close by.
Summer birds, such as Barn Swallow flew in the sky and Eastern Crowned Warbler was singing in a tree with fresh green leaves.
A Blue Rock Thrush was seen in this field for the first time and was singing well.
Red-billed Leiothrix were increasing in numbers and forming a large flock.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Home of Konze (Konze-no-sato) (Ritto, Shiga)
こんぜの里(栗東市、滋賀県)
There were few birds, probably due to the off-season, but Meadow Buntings, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Warbling White-eyes, Pale Thrushes, Bramblings, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese Grosbeak were seen along the roads around the wide lawn of the park, which overlook Lake Biwa below.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
シロハラ, ルリビタキ, アトリ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
Still a small number of the winter birds remained in the field, such as Masked Bunting, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit, Grey-capped Greenfinch (C.s.kawarahiba), Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Vega Gull, Common Coot, Great Crested Grebe and ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck). There were also a flock of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit and a few Falcated Ducks, probably on their way of migration.
The summer birds were as same as the last visit; Barn Swallow and Asian House Martin.
A few Little Ringed Plovers, on the migration, were also found.
Regarding the residents of the field, two Brown-cheeked Rails stayed for a long time in an easy-to-see place. However, there was a Japanese weasel near one of the birds and I was worried that it seemed to be targeting this bird.
Japanese Bush-Warblers, Eurasian Skylarks and Zitting Cisticolas were singing well.
Northern Goshawk and Eastern Buzzard also appeared.
A Blue Rock Thrush, which has recently expanded its habitat to inland areas, was also met. This bird was also singing.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ,
セグロカモメ, キジバト, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ホオジロ, アオジ
Area around Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
The farmland in Itakura was covered with the green of wheat.
Rook, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit and Rustic Bunting have already migrated away, and winter birds such as Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart, Grey-capped Greenfinch (C.s.kawarahiba), Masked Bunting and Common Reed Bunting were still seen in small numbers. They will be leaving shortly.
Ducks in the irrigation pond became very few in number, too.
Also seen were several Eastern Buzzards and a Common Kestrel perched on electricity poles, and a Grey-headed Lapwing on the bank of a farming field.
Barn Swallows were also seen, which had arrived as summer birds.
The vast reed beds of Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi) were burnt in the field at the beginning of this March, exposing the hidden ponds and the ruins of the rice paddy banks.
On the exposed land, Green Pheasants, which had been quietly hiding in the reeds during the winter, were well visible.
Black Kites, Eastern Marsh-Harriers, Eastern Buzzards and Common Kestrel were flying overhead.
In the remaining reeds on the burnt field, Meadow Buntings, Eurasian Skylarks and Zitting Cisticolas were seen, as well as winter birds such as Long-tailed Rosefinch, Dusky Thrushes Common Reed Buntings were also found.
In the ponds located between the golf course and Shin-kawa River at Retarding Basin No.1, there were still some Falcated Ducks.
The heart-shaped lake, which had been dried up for purification of the water between January and March, still had a low water level and birds were gathering around the puddles in the distance.
Among them were two Oriental Storks.
A flock of about ten Vega Gulls were also resting, having stopped over on their migration.
The ducks were difficult to identify from the distance, but Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler and Eurasian Teal could be recognized.
Mikamo-yama Park was full of visitors who came to see the wildflowers at their best at this time of year.
The only birds seen were a few Dusky Thrushes, Japanese Tits and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
In Tatara Marsh (Tatara-Numa), Whooper and Tundra Swans and Northern Pintails, which were many last time, had disappeared..
Waterfowl were reduced, with only a few Falcated Ducks, Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Teals, Little Grebes, Great Crested Grebes, Grey Herons, Great White Egrets, Little Egrets, Great Cormorants and Common Coots being seen.
The birds found were;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ケリ, セグロカモメ, キジバト, カワセミ, アカゲラ? モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Island Ishigaki (Okinawa)
石垣島(八重山,沖縄)
Ishigaki Island is 90 kilometers around, and covered with mountains, including Mt. Omoto-dake, rising 526 meters above sea level, the highest in Okinawa.
The coral reef sea there is famous throughout the world.
In the suburbs of the city of Ishigaki spread the sugarcane fields.
Since this island is at the north-east edge of the Indomalaya Ecozone as well as Okinawa, different species or subspecies from the Honshu island can be observed.
Also this island is on the route of migrating birds and here is a good stop-over site for them.
And sometimes, some birds of the continental visit this island accidentally.
The end of March, when we visited this time, was the beginning of spring migration, and is also the timing when some of the birds that wintered on the island remain but summer birds do not come yet.
During the stay, the temperature was around 20 °C (68 °F) and the second and third days were cloudy with occasional light rain. On the last day, the fourth day, in Tokyo winter-like cold returned and snow fell and here the weather was windy, rainy and stormy.
Thanks to this weather, birding was comfortable, not too hot and not exposed to the strong tropical sun. However, the migration in this spring was abnormal, with the arrival of Eurasian Hoopoe and Chinese Blackbird (Turdus mandarinus mandarinus), which are typical birds usually stopover in March, starting at the end of last year, and the arrival of starlings, which stopover at the end of March, was yet few, according to a local birder.
* However, after we returned home, it was reported that, thanks to the rough weather on the last day, some migratory birds, such as starlings, had entered the island.
The birds observed are;
(** Species in Indo-Malaya Zone, * Different subspecies from Kanto area)
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos)**albinistic, Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Himalayan Buzzard (Buteo refectus)?
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), *Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
*Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis), Northern Shrike Shrike (Black-headed) (Lanius schach schach),
*Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
*Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), *Barn Swallow (saturata) (Hirundo rustica saturata),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
*Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
*Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) (Horornis diphone riukiuensis),
*Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
*Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
*White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Amur Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis/Motacilla leucopsis),
*White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, マガモ(白化), カルガモ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ,
カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, リュウキュウツミ, サシバ, ヒマラヤノスリ? シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ,
ムナグロ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ,
トウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウミネコ, リュウキュウキジバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, カワセミ, ヤツガシラ,
シマアカモズ, タカサゴモズ, リュウキュウハシブトガラス, イシガキシジュウカラ, ツバメ, アカハラツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ,
イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, カバイロハッカ, カラムクドリ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロハクセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ, アトリ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
The winter birds still stayed in the field were Masked Bunting, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit, Grey-capped Greenfinch (C.s.kawarahiba), Dusky Thrush, Vega Gull, Common Coot, Great Crested Grebe and ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck).
This time, summer birds; Barn Swallow and Asian House Martin, were found.
Chestnut-eared Bunting and Little Ringed Plover, on the migration, were also found.
Various residents of the field, becoming more and more active, were also seen.
Japanese Bush-Warblers were singing here and there, and Eurasian Skylark and Zitting Cisticola were singing in the sky.
Bull-headed Shrike seemed to be starting to nest.
Green Pheasant, which had not come out of the bush during winter, appeared out in the open.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Igashira Park (Tochigi)
井頭公園(栃木)
At the Torimi-tei (bird-watching observatory) by "Boat-ike Pond", visitors can watch birds while receiving explanations from staff of the Wild Bird Society between November and March.
When we arrived at around 11am, the temperature had risen to nearly 20°C and we took off our jackets and started walking in lighter clothing.
Near Torimi-tei at "Boat-ike Pond", many visitors were feeding bread to carps and ducks.
The ducks that gathered on the bread were mostly Eurasian Wigeon, with Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Northern Pintail also there.
One American Wigeon and several American and Eurasian Wigeon hybrids were also found.
There were many Falcated Ducks, Gadwalls and Mallards in this pond, as well as two Smews.
There were also many Great Cormorants in breeding plumage.
In the shallow water ponds in "Wetland Botanical Garden (Shicchi-shokubutu-en), there were many Eurasian Teals.
Around the bushes, Masked Buntings, Grey Bunting and Japanese Bush-Warbler were hiding.
Some Chinese Bamboo-Partridge were singing loudly.
A Brown-cheeked Rail made an appearance in the marshy grassland.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
コジュケイ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ミコアイサ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, クイナ, オオバン, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ,
ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, シメ, アオジ, クロジ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
It was very warm in Tokyo, with temperatures above 20°C like April, and even in Oku-Nikko, which is over 1,500 m above sea level, the minimum temperature exceeded 0°C.
There was more snowfall this winter than in the past few years, and there was still plenty of snow on the ground, so it was not possible to visit some of the birding spots such as Kotaki Fall and Kotoku Marsh.
From the road by Lake Chuzenji, Tufted Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers and Great Crested Grebe were seen in the lake.
The Akanuma car park at Senjogahara Moor was closed due to the deep snow, so we parked at the car park of Akanuma Teahouse which is closed for the winter, and walked on the trail along Yukawa River.
Eurasian Bullfinches were singing near the entrance to the trail.
There are few birds on the trail, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Large-billed Crow, Japanese Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Wood. Nuthatch and Dusky Thrush were only encountered.
In the stream of Yukawa, Mallads and Common Coots were seen at several points, and on the next morning, a Brown Dipper was seen.
In the farmland to the east of Senjogahara Moor, Japanese Macaques were seen perched in the trees at the foot of the mountains in the distance.
Long-tailed Rosefinches, Japanese Tits and Coal Tits were seen in the hedgerows of farmhouses.
At Koutoku Ranch, there were few birds on the first day due to the wind, but the following morning, a flock of Eurasian Bullfinch were seen, as well as Eurasian Jays, Japanese Tits, Coal Tits, Willow Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Almost half of Lake Yunoko in Yumoto Onsen was frozen over, and Tufted Ducks and Common Coots were seen on the unfrozen surface of the water on the Onsen side.
Coal Tits were busy foraging in the grassy ground exposed by the melting snow on the lakeside.
A small number of Eurasian Teals and a few Japanese Macaques were resting in the wetland at the source of the hot spring, as if the area was warm and little comfortable.
We walked the snowshoe trail near the Yumoto ski slope, but did not encounter any birds, probably because of the wind.
The road from Tachiki-Kannon to Mt Hangetsu, where we stopped on our way back, was closed for the winter season, a big flock of Eurasian Siskin was seen near the closing gate.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea)
マガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, トビ, オオバン,
キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, ツグミ, カワガラス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, アカウソ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
When we arrived at 15:00, the tide was lowest on the day of small-tide and the mudflats extended far out to the sea.
Only a few Lesser Sand-Plovers were in the tide pools on the shore nearby, and most of the birds were gathered on the far away shores at Narashino City side.
As we were wearing rubber boots, we walked around 500 meters crossing some tide pools on the way to a spot where we managed to watch through the scope them.
There were still quite a number of Dunlin remaining there.
Greater Scaup seemed to have almost all left and were few in number.
Many Black-headed Gulls were concentrated there.
There were also many Eurasian Oystercatchers, Sanderlings and Grey Plovers, as well as Northern Pintails, Vega Gulls, Mew Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls.
In the flocks, we looked for Saunder's Gulls (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersi) with their blackened heads, but we could not find them.
* The following day, it was confirmed that three birds were observed in Yatsu Tidal Flat nearby on that day.
From there, we moved onto the breakwater and saw Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Pintails, Greater Scaups, Red-necked Grebes and Black-necked Grebes in the water in front of the breakwater.
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri) and Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) were not seen, probably having migrated away.
A Grey Heron with remarkably reddened feet and bills was found on the shore.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, オオバン,
ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, タシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Kurohama Marsh (Kurohama-numa) (Saitama)
黒浜沼(埼玉)
This swamp and the surrounding reed fields are protected by local volunteers, preserve the Saitama nature, preserve valuable plants, and record 130 species of birds.
We saw buntings (Meadow, Masked, Common Reed) and Japanese Tits in the reeds.
We looked for Pallas's Bunting, which had been observed this winter in many places in Japan, especially in western Japan. We saw one looked like it this time.
There were many Bull-headed Shrikes, too.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Pallas's Bunting (Western) (Emberiza pallasi polaris),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, キジバト, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, シベリアジュリン, オオジュリン
Akigase Park (Saitama)
秋ヶ瀬公園(埼玉)
Arrivals of waxwings this winter had been very few, and there was no information until February in the Tokyo area, but it was confirmed four days ago that three Japanese Waxwings (Bombycilla japonica) had visited this park. It was only confirmed on this one day, but not since then.
We visited the park hoping for their return, but unfortunately there were no encounters.
Flocks of Hawfinch were seen in the park, perhaps stopping over on their way to migration.
There were still many Dusky Thrushes and Paled Thrushes on the grounds.
We also met a beautiful Red-flanked Bluetail.
In the areas where the dead grass was open burnt in the farmland, in addition to Meadow Buntings, Masked Buntings, Common Reed Buntings, Rustic Buntings and Chestnut-eared Buntings could still be observed.
The breeding species in this field, Long-tailed Tit was collecting nesting material and Eurasian Tree Sparrow was in the tree hole preparing the nest.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ferry route between Tokyo Bay and Hachijo Island, Tokyo
八丈島航路(東京)
It is about 10 hours by Tokai Ferry from Takeshiba Pier, Tokyo.
From February to May, we have a lot of chances to watch albatrosses; Short-Tailed Albatross, Black-footed Albatross and Laysan Albatross, and a huge number of shearwater; Short-tailed Shearwater, Streaked Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, etc.
February to March is a particularly good time to see three species of albatross, Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Short-Tailed Albatross and Black-footed Albatross, and this time we chose a day when conditions seemed good with a strong south wind to see them. We boarded on the ferry departing from Tokyo on the night of 4 March. We also hoped to see Brown Booby, jaegers/skuas and Japanese Murrelet.
Three low-pressure systems appeared near Hokkaido on the day and strong winds blew in these waters as well, but they were westerly rather than southerly as forecast.
Around 6am the next morning, by the time we made a stopover at Mikura Island, dawn was breaking and it was getting brighter. Many Streaked Shearwater were seen gliding over the sea surface as it gradually became brighter.
One Short-Tailed Albatross was seen flying near the island after departing Mikura Is..
Streaked Shearwater were seen in most of the waters on the route to Hachijo-jima, sometimes forming large flocks.
Two Black-footed Albatrosses were also seen.
In Hachijo-jima, in the short time before the departure of the return ferry, we birded the harbour area and saw Pacific Golden-Plovers, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Common Sandpipers, etc.
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate). (Columba janthina janthina), and Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops) were not encountered.
On the return ferry from Hachijo Is. to Mikura Is., the results was almost the same as on the outward voyage, but there were a huge number of Streaked Shearwaters in the waters between Mikura Is. and Miyake Is.
In addition, about fifty Short-tailed Albatrosses and thirty Black-footed Albatrosses were soaring around in this water. It was very exciting to be surrounded by these amazing numbers of seabirds around the ship.
Near the harbour at Miyake Is. a large flock of Black-tailed Gulls were landing on the sea.
The area from Miyake Is. to the waters where Oshima can be seen on the port side of the ship is the most potentially resultant area at this time of year, but for some uncertain reason, it was not good this time.
We did not encounter any Laysan Albatross in this area, which we had expected.
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), Parasitic Jaeger/Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus), Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens) also did not appear.
But a few Japanese Murrelets, Black-footed and Short-tailed Albatrosses and many Streaked Shearwaters appeared.
The birds observed were;
- on Ferry Mikura Is. -> Hachijo Is. -> Miyake Is. ;
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
- around Ferry Terminal in Hachijo Is.;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans)
- on Ferry Miyake Is. -> Entrance of Tokyo Bay. ;
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, アオサギ, カツオドリ, ウミウ, ムナグロ, メダイチドリ, イソシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, カンムリウミスズメ, キジバト, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス
Tone River, Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Ibaraki, Chiba)
利根川、波崎&銚子漁港(茨城,千葉)
On the way, we stopped over at the river side of Tone River, and we saw an Western Osprey, Black Kites, Eastern Marsh-Harriesr, Eastern Buzzards, ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal), buntings (Meadow, Common Reed), Daurian Redstart, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, etc.
We expected to see Japanese Reed Bunting singing, but no calls were heard, and we saw one with a blackish head, but it quickly hid in the reeds and we were unable to confirm it.
On the breakwaters at the mouth of the Tone River on the Hazaki side, many cormorants were resting, and a flock of gulls was also seen, dominated by Black-headed Gull and Black-tailed Gull, with Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Vega Gull and Slaty-headed Gull among them.
At Hazaki Fishing Port, there were fewer anglers as it was a weekday, probably due to this, more seabirds were seen, unlike the last time we visited on a weekend.
Black-necked Grebe Large formed a big flock and were repeating catching bate by the synchronized diving.
It was distant, yet we saw a flock of about fifty Red-breasted Mergansers near the harbour bank.
A small flock of Black Scoter was also seen in the harbour, as well as Tufted Ducks and Greater Scaups.
A various kinds of ducks (Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup) were seen at the former Hazaki Fishing Port by Tone Park located a little upstream from the mouth of Tone River.
We moved across the Tone River to Choshi on the other side of the river.
Despite it was a weekday, there were no fishing boats off-loading fish, and the number of seagulls on the embankments of the Tone River and the breakwater of the fishing port was lower than when we last visited in mid-February, perhaps because they were out to the offshore.
Nevertheless, many species of gulls could be observed.
We also saw an American Herring Gull, which regularly visits the field every winter, thanks to an enthusiastic birder who has been coming here for years.
The birds observed were;
- at Tone River;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)?
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Hazaki Fishing Port;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Choshi Fishing Ports;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Glaucous Gull (Point Barrow) (Larus hyperboreus barrovianus),
Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus),
Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ,カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, アラスカシロカモメ, カナダカモメ, セグロカモメ, アメリカセグロカモメ,
モンゴルセグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コジュリン? オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Once again I expected to see birds beginning to move at the first sign of spring.
The temperature had risen and I was sweating wearing the winter clothes I had been wearing.
Among the birds that wintered in this field, the Rustic Bunting was not confirmed.
The numbers of the Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, the Dusky Thrushes, the Grey Herons and the Great White Egrets were also decreasing.
The Masked Buntings and the Grey-capped Greenfinches seemed to be still staying in the grassland.
The ducks also seemed to have decreased in numbers.
The flocks of Common Reed Bunting, probably on migration, seen last time were again observed.
Other species that seemed on the move, such as a Brown-headed Thrush, a Vega Gull and a Black-headed Gull, were also seen this time.
The number of Japanese Bush-Warbler singing was increasing and they became better singers than last time.
There was also an Eurasian Skylark singing in the sky.
Two Long-billed Plovers were also seen singing and flying around.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオタカ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ,
アカハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Musashino Park & Sengen-yama Park (Tokyo)
武蔵野公園＆浅間山公園(東京)
When I went to Nogawa River flowing on the north side of the park and found some birders on the open land of the regulating pond beyond the stream, looking enthusiastically at the bird.
I was lucky enough to see the target bird, so I moved on to Sengen-yama Park (Sengen-yama-Koen), located in the adjacent Tama Cemetery.
The mid-winter chill of the previous week was gone and the warmth of early spring came in.
Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, which had formed mixed flocks in mid-winter, were now separated and individually busy.
Two Ryukyu Minivets were seen heading north over the sky.
The birds observed are;
at Musashino Park;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Sengen-yama Park;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, ツグミ, スズメ, シメ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Once again I expected to see birds beginning to move at the first sign of spring.
It was calm without wind and it was getting warmer.
There was a flock of Common Reed Buntings foraging in the reeds of the grassland, which I did not see last time.
Meadow Buntings, Masked Buntings, Rustic Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Warbling White-eyes were also seen as well as last visit.
Japanese Bush-Warblers were singing in several places. This was my first time to hear them this year.
I also heard an Eurasian Wryneck.
Masked Laughingthrush and Chinese Hwamei were also calling.
There were still many ducks, Common Coots and Great Crested Grebes around the weir.
Dusky Thrushes, White Wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were found on the playgrounds, but their numbers had decreased since last time.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps) Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, アリスイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, カオグロガビチョウ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ikuta Park (Kanagawa)
生田緑地 (神奈川)
The day of our visit was a holiday and there were many visitors to the park, but not only that, there were fewer birds than in ordinary winter.
No Dusky Thrush or Pale Thrush were seen this time. The only winter birds we saw were one Red-flanked Bluetail and several Masked Buntings. There was a bunting with breast pattern like Black-faced Bunting (Western) (E.s.spodocephala/S.s.spodocephala).
However, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and Japanese Green Woodpeckers were frequently seen.
The Japanese Bush Warblers also came out of the bushes frequently, as if feeling the signs of spring.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)?
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ルリビタキ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ?
River Nogawa (Tokyo)
野川(東京)
There is a 10-20 m cliff line, known as Kokubunji-gaisen, in Musashino, Tokyo. River Nogawa flows along this cliff line. The slopes and the top of the cliff are dotted with copse and there is a spring at the base of the cliff. The spring water makes a small stream and flows in the urban area. Though the river is surrounded by the housing area, this provides a rich nature environment such as Musashino Park (Musashino-Koen) and Nogawa Park (Nogawa-Koen).
I walked from Musashino Park to Nogawa Park and further downstream to look for the Garganey, which was seen the last winter.
Furthermore, I looked for any rare species that had started to move and stopped by at the change of season.
Unfortunately the birds were few, and I didn't see any of the species I had expected.
Dusky Thrushes, which were late to come this winter, were standing here and there in the open spaces of the parks, in their unique pose of looking a bit upwards.
In the river I found ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Shoveler), Common Moorhen, Common Coot, herons (Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great White Egret), Common Kingfishers, a Common Snipe, Japanese Bush-Warblers, etc.
The birds observed are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
オオタカ, バン, オオバン, タシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ
Mine Park & Omuro Park (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
嶺公園 & 大室公園(群馬)
There are ponds and forest, and nature is rich. We can meet various wild birds.
Until a few years ago, we could see many Yellow-throated Buntings (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula) in this park, but last winter we could not. This year, we came here hoping to see them. Unfortunately, we could not meet them recently.
In the pond, there were Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Eurasian Teal, but no Mandarin Ducks.
It was just noon and perhaps the timing was not good, so it was hard to find any birds other than friendly Japanese Tits and Varied Tits in the hills and valleys.
The two introduced species; Chinese Hwamei and White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio), which we had seen every time we visited there, only Chinese Hwamei appeared this time.
We did not see Yellow-throated Bunting this time as well.
In the sky, several Black Kites were soaring, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a Northern Goshawk, as well as an Eastern Buzzard appeared.
We then moved on to Omuro Park. This park is a little lower in altitude than Mine Park and there are many ancient tombs scattered in the park. Some of the trees around the large pond are densely parasitic with mistletoe, and this is a famous spot for waxwings which stop by at the end of each winter. The previous year around this time, waxwings had been recorded, but this time they had not yet been confirmed.
There were many Northern Shovelers, Mallards and Eurasian Teals in the pond, and a Mandarin Duck was found amongst the flock of Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
There were many Dusky Thrushes and White-cheeked Starlings on the lawn.
Woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green) and Bramblings were seen in the trees.
A Northern Goshawk suddenly appeared and perched in a nearby tree, but without hunting it hid in the tree as it was chased by crows.
The birds observed are;
at Mine Park:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Omuro Park:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, カイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Oneyama Forest Park (Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture)
小根山森林公園(群馬)
In the roadside farm field near the park, there were many Rustic Buntings and some Bramblings foraging.
In the park, many Bramblings were resting on the trees in the parking lot in front of the park office.
Daurian Redstart was also flying around nearby.
At the feeders beside the office, there were only a few Japanese Tits and Varied Tits, probably having already finished their meal. In the past, many kinds of birds used to come to the feeders, but lately there seemed to be few.
The birds obseved are;
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ノスリ, コゲラ, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, アトリ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Primary Regulating Reservoir of Komoro Power Station & Saku-la-saku Park (Saku, Nagano)
東電小諸発電所第一調整池 & さくラさく公園 (佐久)
When we arrived after noon, the light sun was shining and there were many walkers in the park enjoying their weekend stroll.
The pond was half frozen, and the number of ducks seemed smaller than on my previous visits.
There were a few Smews, but no Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser).
We saw Meadow Buntings, Japanese Tits, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Dusky Thrushes, Daurian Redstarts, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Hawfinch, White Wagtail, Bull-headed Shrike, Brambling and Japanese Wagtail on the riverbank.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, アオサギ,
トビ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, シメ, ホオジロ
Karuizawa (Nagano)
軽井沢 (長野)
The farmland and hilly villas of Hocchi were covered with deep snow.
A small number of birds such as Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Meadow Buntings, Dusky Thrushes, Hawfinch, Daurian Redstart and Little Egret gathered in the irrigation canals running near the residential houses located at the edge of the farmland.
There were also Long-tailed Rosefinches in the groves in the fields and Rustic Buntings in the grasslands of abandoned farmland.
The Wild-bird Forest in Karuizawa, located in the Nagakura area, was also covered in deep snow, so we did not enter the forest this time, but checked the Kose Forest Road along the Yukawa River.
Two Dusky Thrushes and an Eastern Buzzard were seen near the entrance to the Misosazi trail, but there were no Japanese Waxwings (Bombycilla japonica) in the mistletoes.
In the small pond at the entrance to the forest road to Senga-taki Fall, there were a few ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallards, Eurasian Teals).
In the surrounding trees we saw woodpeckers (Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Japanese Green Woodpeckers), Japanese Tits, Warbling White-eyes, Wood Nuthatch, Daurian Redstart and Bramblings.
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans) did not appear.
There were a number of mistletoes on the precincts of the shrine in Nagakura Park, but there were no waxwings.
A few bramblings were foraging on the ground.
At Lake Shiozawa, in addition to the Eastern Spot-billed Duck, a small flock of Eurasian Teal and a Mandarin Duck among the flock were seen.
Opera-Karuizawa, where we stayed, is an inn with a national forest behind it, and a bird feeder has been set up, so we could observe the tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow), Wood Nuthatch, Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, etc. that come there from our warm room.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
キジバト, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
I started the birding from Sakai Sport Playground and walked towards Hon-atugi Station along Sagami River.
The weather was fine and calm witout wind, and a Japanese Tit was singing somewhere nearby.
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits and Duskt Thrushes were foraging on the lawns of several baseball/soccer grounds.
A small flock of three Eurasian Skylarks were also seen foraging.
A Common Coot was in the narrow water channel beside the ground.
Along the channel, Masked Buntings, Dusky Thrushes and a Brown-headed Thrush appeared on the path and grassland, and red Long-tailed Rosefinches, Daurian Redstarts and Meadow Buntings appeared one after another on the small trees.
At the weir (Sagami Ozeki), there were some ducks (Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Tufted), herons (Little Egret, Grey) and Common Mergansers/Goosanders.
Some of the ducks were showing courtship behavior, and I saw one pair of Falcate Ducks mating.
Five Common Merganser/Goosander were resting on a small sandbar, and one more flew from upstream and joined the flock.
Birds of prey were few, only two Common Kestrels, a Western Osprey, and a few Black-eared Kites.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, キジバト,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ,
オオアカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Fishing ports at Choshi (Chiba Prefecture)
銚子漁港(千葉)
This time, since it was the peak time of the seagull watching here and a weekday when the fishery was in operation, there were far more seagulls in the harbor than last time on week-end of the middle of January. When we arrived at the port near noon, the unloading of fish from the fishing boats was already finished, so we didn't see seagulls flocking around the boats, and many of them were resting on the breakwaters or flying in the sky.
It felt like the normal winter scenery of Choshi fishing port had returned again.
However, the typical tough birding routine of identification of the species of seagull in great numbers while shivering in the cold has also been revived.
About half of those resting on the breakwater were Black-tailed Gulls, followed by Black-headed Gulls, Vega Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls.
A few Glaucous-winged Gulls, Glaucous Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Mew Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes were found among them. One of the Glaucous Gull was small in size and looked like "Point Barrow" (L.h.barrovianus).
Thayer's Gull was found in the evening by one of us who stayed until the next day.
We did not have time to observe other seabirds, and saw sea-ducks such as Common Pochards, Tufted Ducks, Greater Scaups and a Black Scoter, grebes such as Red-necked Grebes and Great Crested Grebes, herons such as Grey Herons and a Pacific Reef Heron, and cormorants such as Japanese Cormorants and Great Cormorants.
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans), loons/divers, or Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus) were not be observed this time.
The birds observed were;
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Glaucous Gull (Point Barrow) (Larus hyperboreus barrovianus)? Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus)? Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, アラスカシロカモメ, カナダカモメ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ?
オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, ハシブトガラス, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
Natsume-no-Seki Pond (Chiba Prefecture)
夏目の堰(千葉)
Natsume-no-Seki is an agricultural reservoir with a circumference of about one kilometer. It was known for the wintering ducks. There are around 10,000 ducks at the most. The dominant species are six to eight thousand Northern Pintails and about two thousand Mallards.
Only a few swans occasionally stayed for a few days before, but in January 2006, a large flock of swans suddenly arrived. Since then, the number of swans has increased, and in February 2015, 1,600 swans were counted. Over 1000 swans have been migrating to the area every winter regularly. They feed on the fallen or second ears of rice in the rice fields a few kilometers away from the pond.
When we arrived at the pond, some of the swans had already started to leave their roosts and were flying around the pond.
There were huge number of ducks covering the surface of the water and many swans still in the pond.
Among the many Northern Pintails and Mallards, there were also many Baikal Teals and Eurasian Wigeons, and a few Eurasian Teals, Northern Shovelers and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
There was also a Whistling Swan together with Bewick's Swans.
Looking carefully checking one by one, we also found an American Wigeon, a hybrid between an Eurasian Wigeon and an American Wigeon, a hybrid between a Baikal Teal and another species, and a Green-winged Teal.
We looked for the Cackling Goose (minima) (Branta hutchinsii minima), which was said to be roosting here this winter, but unfortunately we could not find it in the pond and in the surrounding rice paddies.
In the surrounding rice paddies, there were many flocks of swans foraging.
We also saw a large flock of Northern Lapwing flying above the paddy fields.
In the abandoned field beside the pond, despite its small area, there were some meadow birds such as Chestnut-eared Buntings, Common Reed Buntings and Japanese Bush-Warbler.
The birds observed were;
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii), Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Eurasian Wigeon x American Wigeon (M.penelope x M.americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Baikal Teal x ?? (S.formosa x ??),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Eurasian Teal/Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca/Anas carolinensis),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, ヒドリガモxアメリカヒドリ(雑種), マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ,
トモエガモ, トモエガモx??(雑種), コガモ, アメリカコガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, モズ, ハシボソガラス,
ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオアカ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
I hoped to see some of the birds that had started to move at the first sign of spring, but a cold north wind was blowing even though the weather was fine, and the birds were not very active.
There were fewer birds to be seen than on my previous visit about a month ago.
There were a few flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch and Warbling White-eyes flying around the meadows at the river bed.
The Masked Bunting was nervous, popping out of the meadow when approached and then quickly hiding again.
However, this time I had some good results of a glimpse of Brown-cheeked Rail and finding of a few Falcated Ducks among the ducks flocking at the opposite shore avoiding the wind.
On the gravel sandbank, there were still two Long-billed Plovers.
In the playground, Eurasian Skylarks, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits and White Wagtails were foraging on the grass as before.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ,
クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)&稲敷方面(茨城)
First, we visited Lake North Inba-numa.
The last time we visited at the end of October last year, the ducks were still in their Eclipse plumage, but they had completely changed into breeding plumage, especially Falcated Duck had become very beautiful.
Baikal Teals, which were too far away to be identified last time, could be identified and see its huge flock somehow from the north eastern point of the lake.
We were also able to see Common Pochard, Tufted Duck and Smew, which we had not seen last time.
While watching Baikal Teals, over thirty Tundra Bean Geese flew over and landed on the surface of the lake at a distance. This species is uncommon here, probably moved here from the usual wintering place due to freezing in the recent colder weather.
The number of buntings increased in grassland along the shore of the lake with the addition of Common Reed Bunting and Masked Bunting.
Long-tailed Rosefinches were also seen.
Meadow Buntings started to sing.
In the surrounding farmland, Northern Lapwings were widely dispersed. They will soon be leaving for the North Country.
On the way to Inashiki, we stopped at Sakata-ga-ike Pond and Boso-no-Mura Park near Inba-Numa.
The number and species of ducks had increased in the pond. Several Baikal Teals and Smews were seen closely.
In the forest of the hill of Boso-no-mura, the activity of the birds was poor due to the time of day at noon, and only a few were seen or heard.
In Inashiki, we first stopped at Amada Reclaimed Land.
On the wide open grass field in the reed beds, there were some Northern Lapwings and occasionally some Common Snipes flew up and hid in the grass at a glance.
An Eastern Buzzard was perched on a pile.
In the reeds, Common Reed Buntings were foraging for stem worms.
Eastern Marsh-Harrier and Hen Harrier glided low over the reed bed.
Next we headed for Nishinosu Reclaimed Land.
On the way, we saw a flock of over fifty Dunlins in a lotus field.
The paddy fields, where we saw some shorebirds at the end of October the previous year, were dry and there were no shorebirds except for one Northern Lapwing.
There were many dead ducks hanging from the bird netting, which has recently increased in the area, making us feel sad.
In the lotus fields in the Ukishima area, Common Snipes were seen here and there.
In a dried field, a flock of Pacific Golden-Plover was seen.
At one lotus field in the Motoshin area, many birds were gathered, such as shorebirds (Northern Lapwings, Pacific Golden-Plovers, Common Snipes, Green Sandpipers, Wood Sandpipers, Ruff), Dusky Thrushes, White Wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were observed.
While we were watching them, a large flock of starlings gathered nearby. The flock disappeared before taking a closer look at them after the birds in the lotus field. A flock of White-cheeked Starlings, including five Common Starlings (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi), was seen the previous week.
Finally, we visited the reedbeds of Ukijima at sunset, and observed more than ten Eastern Marsh-Harriers and Hen Harriers roosting there.
We did not have time to look for Peregrine Falcon (Peale's) (Falco peregrinus pealei), which has recently been observed in the Inashiki area.
The birds observed are;
- at Lake Inba-numa:
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Sakata-ga-ike Pond & Boso-no-Mura Park:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Inashiki area:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, ヒシクイ, コハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
モモイロペリカン, カワウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, クイナ, オオバン,
タゲリ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, キタアラスカハマシギ, エリマキシギ, セグロカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Tatsumi-ike Pond in Nagano city (Nagano Prefecture)
辰巳池(長野市)
: All photos by T.Endo
Tatsumi-ike Pond is a small water reservoir near JR Kita-nagano station in eastern bed town of Nagano City. This pond is known as a site for watching Baikal Teals (Anas Formosa).
I observed 2 male and one female Baikal Teals among other common waterfowls.
Dominant species were; Eastern Spot-billed Ducks (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca), Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope) and Northern Pintails (Anas acuta).
Pairs or several individuals of Northern Shovelers (Spatura clypeata) foraged in circle, turning round and round, a specific style of foraging exclusively observed in this species. Formation of spiral water streams is said to accumulate planktons to be fed.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha)，Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Bikal Teal (Anas formosa), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Northern Shoveler (Spatura clypeata),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
カルガモ，マガモ，コガモ，トモエガモ，オカヨシガモ，ヒドリガモ，オナガガモ，ハシビロガモ，カワウ, ハシボソガラス，ヒヨドリ, ツグミ
Saitama area (Saitama Prefecture)
埼玉方面(埼玉)
We visited Sakuraso Park and Akigase Park (Akigase-Koen) first.
The temperature was 0 degrees Celsius and it was still cold, but it was the first day of spring (Risshun) on the Japanese calendar, and Japanese Tits in the forests and Meadow Buntings in the farm field were singing very well.
Since my visit a week ago, the birds had become more active and we saw more.
In the forest, there were many Hawfinch, Rustic Bunting, Dusky Thrush, and Japanese Tit as in the last time, plus White's Thrush, Azure-winged Magpies, and Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
In the ponds, there were Northern Shovelers in addition to Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
In the abandoned meadows in the farmland, there were Chestnut-eared Buntings and Zitting Cisticolas in addition to Meadow Buntings and Masked Buntings.
In the irrigation canals in the farmland, we observed not only Meadow Buntings, Daurian Redstarts and Long-tailed Rosefinches, but also Eurasian Teals and a warbler that seemed to be Dusky Warbler.
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica), which had come to the mistletoes the previous year at this time, had not yet arrived. I wondered if this fickle bird would come this year as well?
Next we visited Kitamoto Nature Observation Park (Kitamoto Shizen-Kansatsu Koen).
Kitamoto Nature Observation Park, which extends over 30ha, is designed as the Urban Ecology Park in Saitama Prefecture.
It is also the studying field for the Saitama Nature Study Center.
It is playing an important role as the vital base of the ecological network to protect endangered species and effectively conserve nature in Saitama prefecture, as well as creating a place for the residents of the prefecture to relax.
The park covers various scenery like woodlands, wetlands and grasslands, where there are habitats for many wild animals, birds, frogs, insects etc.
Approximately 1,700 species of insects and 160 species of wild birds can be found in this park. For birding the winter is the best season.
The birds in this park were very friendly.
On the surface of the frozen pond, White Wagtail and Japanese Wagtail were acting like dancers.
In the central marsh, a Common Snipe was foraging nearby.
Many Rustic Buntings were foraging on the grassland at the western side.
A Yellow-throated Bunting had been observed in this area recently, and we waited for a while looking for it, but could not find it easily. However, we were lucky enough to see it when we almost gave up.
As we passed by the wetland nearby, we heard a Brown-cheeked Rail calling loudly and managed to see it through the crowded grass.
We did not see Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica), which is often observed in this park during the winter.
Lastly, we revisited the area around confluence of Wadayoshino River and Ara-kawa River in Kumagaya, which I had visited about three weeks ago.
The Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus), which I saw last time, had recently become more active spreading its range wider area, so we did not encounter it this time.
Instead, we saw Short-eared Owls at two locations very well, one of which hunted a mouse right in front of us.
We stayed until after sunset waiting for possible Long-eared Owls (Asio otus otus) to come to the trees, but they did not appear, perhaps because they were nervous of us.
As it got darker, Green Pheasants and Long-billed Plovers, which had been quiet until then, started to call.
The birds observed are;
at Sakuraso Park & Akigase Park:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus)?
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Kitamoto Park:
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
In the area around confluence of Wadayoshino River and Ara-kawa River:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
キジ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, クイナ, オオバン, タゲリ, イカルチドリ, タシギ, キジバト, コミミズク,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ムジセッカ? ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ,
カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ
Winter birds in mountain area in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市里山(長野)
I visited Sakata-Yama Natural Trail and Garyu-Zan Mountain Park to look for winter birds several times during this winter.
In Sakata-Yama, I found regular winter birds, such as Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans), White's Thrushes (Zoothera aurea), Long-tailed Rosefinches (Uragus sibiricus) and Red-flanked bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus) while I missed rare winter visitors which we saw last year, such as Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), Asian Rose Finches (Leucosticte arctoa) and Pallas's Rosefinches (Carpodacus roseus).
Strangely, regular winter visitors, Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea), Coal Tit (Parus ater) and Willow Tit (Parus montanus) seemed to be absent in this winter.
One of joyful surprises while strolling along the trail of Sakata-Yama is to encounter a Japanese Serow (Capricornis crispus), which seems to happen once a year for me. On December 22, I saw one.
In Garyu-zan area I observed flocks of Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni) for the first time in this area.
An invading species, Chinese Hwameis (Garrulax canorus) seemed to stay whole year in Garyu-Zan area, for this couple of years.
Fortunately, I found Japanese Accentors (Prunella rubida) which breed only at high mountains such as Japanese Alps area, in both Sakata-Yama and Garyu-Zan area in this winter.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow(Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul(Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart(Phoenicurus auroreus), Red-flanked bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea), Pale Thurush (Turdus obcurus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow(Passer montanus), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Oriental Greenfinch(Carduelis sinica), Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes Coccothraustes), Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba), Gray Wagtail (Mitacilla cinerea),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)，Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
マガモ，カルガモ，アオサギ，キジバト，トビ，ハイタカ，ノスリ，コゲラ，モズ，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，カケス，
シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ガビチョウ，ミソサザイ，ムクドリ，ジョウビタキ，ルリビタキ，
トラツグミ，シロハラ，ツグミ，スズメ，カヤクグリ，カワラヒワ，アトリ，イカル，ベニマシコ，
セグロセキレイ，ハクセキレイ，キセキレイ, ホオジロ，ミヤマホオジロ，アオジ
Area around Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
We first visited the rice fields of Itakura in Gunma Prefecture. A small flock of Rooks welcomed us on the power lines at the roadside near the farm field. This is the spot where the Rooks usually gather at sunset, just before roosting.
On the path in the meadow along the small ditch, we saw Rustic Buntings, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Oriental Turtle-Doves, Dusky Thrushes etc. Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus) did not appear.
In the field, Eastern Buzzards and flocks of White-cheeked Starlings, Rooks, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits and Eurasian Tree Sparrows were seen in many places on wires and poles. A Merlin was seen on a power line. The Russet Sparrow, seen regularly each winter, was not found this time.
In the rice fields that had not yet been ground broken, a flock of Rooks was seen. There were also a few Daurian Jackdaws among them. Two Grey-headed Lapwings were also found. In the past, large flocks of Rooks wintered in this field that looked like clouds, but recently such large flocks are no longer seen, probably because they have spread to neighbouring areas.
Then we moved to Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
On the roadside in the reed fields, Meadow Buntings and Rustic Buntings were foraging, as the scene always repeated in winter.
In the ponds located between the golf course and Shin-kawa River at Retarding Basin No.1, there were no anglers yet and there were Falcated Ducks, Mallards and Northern Shovelers as well as one Smew and one Eurasian Bittern. The Eurasian Bittern is a year-round resident in this field, but is very difficult to see, so we were very lucky to be able to see it this time.
A pair of kingfishers were perched facing each other on the reeds, perhaps at the start of the breeding season.
The Shin-kawa River was frozen in the shallows.
Two Common Snipes, Great White Egrets and Carrion Crows were seen on the river sides, and small flocks of Smew, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Mallard were seen in the river.
The adjacent reed field had been burned widely by a fire in mid-December the previous year. On this burnt ground, Masked Buntings, Meadow Buntings and Eurasian Skylarks were foraging. Common Reed Buntings were pecking at the stems of the remaining reeds.
At the historic site of the former village hall, many Hawfinch were seen.
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) was not seen there this time.
Then we left Watarase Retarding Basin and headed for Mikamo-yama Park.
On the way, we saw a flock of Northern Lapwing, Long-billed Plover and Common Snipe on the muddy bank of the Watarase River at the edge of the basin area.
At Mikamo-yama Park, there were many visitors walking around.
The Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) was not seen, possibly because it is still early or because the number of birds wintering in Japan this winter was low.
There were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in the pond, but few other birds in the park.
In the afternoon we visited Tatara Marsh (Tatara-Numa).
There were a lot of swans there this winter as well.
Whooper and Tundra Swans and many Northern Pintails gathered at the feeding area in the Gaba Marsh.
There were also many Swans, Eurasian Wigeons and Great Cormorants in the Tatara Marsh.
Ten Greater White-fronted Geese, rare here, were seen on the shore. They seemed to have become used to people and were not at all afraid of them.
Smew and Great Crested Grebe were swimming in the distance in the marsh.
A Vega Gull was seen in the flock of Great Cormorants.
Then we went back to Itakura.
There were also swans and ducks in the irrigation reservoir at Itakura.
The swans were Tundra Swan (Bewick's Swan) (C.c.bewickii), and one Tundra Swan (Whistling Swan) (C.c.columbianus) was found among them.
Once again, we returned to Watarase Retarding Basin. Many photographers were already waiting on the bank overlooking Retarding Basin No.1 for taking pictures of harriers which roosting there.
Retarding Basin No.2 used to be the main roosting area for harriers, but due to the long term construction work of soil and sand extraction, the roosting area has been deserted.
There were not many birders or photographers there, but there were a few Eastern Marsh-Harriers flying over the reed fields, even though it was still early before sunset when they were roosting. It seems that they might be coming back to the site again for their roosts after the end the most of the construction works.
One of the birds was white from head to shoulders, probably due to partial albescence.
An artificial nesting tower for Oriental Storks was built in Retarding Basin No.2 and has been successfully breeding there for several years. In the distance, a Stork was seen making a nest on top of this tower.
We returned to Retarding Basin No.1 and waited for the harriers to return.
Until sunset, Eastern Marsh-Harrier were occasionally seen, but few in number.
Near sunset, Eastern Marsh-Harriers and Hen Harriers increased.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Mikamoyama Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
At Tatara Marsh:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, コウノトリ, サンカノゴイ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, ケリ,
ハジロコチドリ, イカルチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ? モズ,
コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Yatoyama Park (Zama, Kanagawa)
谷戸山公園 (座間, 神奈川)
Various environments, such as coppices, conifers, a rice field and a wetland, are conserved in the park.
As I had not seen a White's Thrush yet this winter, I visited this site where there were many reports.
While waiting and birding around the spot with many sightings, I observed a male and female Japanese Green Woodpecker, Pale Thrushes and Dusky Thrushes.
After ten o'clock, a Red-flanked Bluetail appeared at the point, then finally a target White's Thrush. This bird was not afraid of us and continued to forage on the slope.
Usually in winter there are many ducks in the pond in the park, but probably because it was frozen in the cold this winter there was neither of ducks nor waterfowl there.
There was a report of Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae), so I looked for it around the park, but did not encounter it.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オオタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Akigase Park & Sakuraso Park & Lake Sai(Saitama)
秋ヶ瀬公園&桜草公園&彩湖(埼玉)
Akigase Park is located at a section of flood plain of the Arakawa River flowing the western edge of Saitama City.
In 1971, former Urawa City established the park as a measure to manage the rising issue of insufficient park availability stemmed from rapid urban expansion.
There is the forest of the wild bird leaving nature and the exercise facilities such as a baseball field, the tennis ground in this park.
Due to its variety in environment, this field is providing good habitats for various kinds of birds which prefer forest, grass field, and marsh.
This winter the number of Dusky Thrush and Hawfinch, which are usually common winter birds, was very small wherever we visited so far, but this time these birds were relatively many in this site. Is this environment here suitable for these birds, or had their numbers become normalized by the end of January?
There were many Masked Buntings and Rustic Buntings in the meadows.
As for the thrushes, Dusky and Pale were seen a lot, but White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) was not encountered.
The ponds in the site were not frozen over, but there were no ducks other than Eastern Spot-billed Duck.
Bull-headed Shrikes were seen here and there, but no hawks were seen this time.
In Sakuraso Park, the grassland where Japanese primrose grows was burned, and Dusky Thrush and White-cheeked Starling were foraging there.
In the past, Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) was seen in this burned grassland, but it was not seen this time.
In this park, Bull-headed Shrikes were seen here and there, but no hawks were seen as well.
There were many Masked Buntings in the surrounding reed field adjacent to the lake. The only other buntings seen were a few Meadow Buntings in flight.
There were no hawks perched on the trees.
In the lake, there were very large flocks of Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks. Other waterfowl found were some Great Cormorants, some Great Crested Grebes, a Little Grebe and a Smew.
No Seagulls were present.
The birds observed are;
at Akigase Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Sakuraso Park:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
at Lake Sai:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, オオバン,
ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ? モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Ibaraki, Chiba Prefecture)
波崎・銚子漁港(茨城,千葉)
On the way to the fishing ports of Hasaki and Choshi, we stopped at Hasaki Seaside Park to look for loons/divers in the sea of Kashimanada Coast, but we could not find any.
At the fishing ports of Hazaki and Choshi, last time there were very few gulls because it was the beginning of the gull watching season and the fishery was off on Sunday, so there were no boats unloading fishes.
This time, after a month, we were expecting to see more gulls. However, the number of gulls and other seabirds in the ports was still lower than the usual winters, and there were no fishing boats unloading on Saturday, so the gulls were not active. Nevertheless, there were three spots on the breakwaters where gulls and cormorants were gathering. Fortunately, two of them were close enough to observe with spotting scope.
On the breakwater in the Hasaki side, one of them, Black-headed Gulls, Black-tailed Gulls, Vega Gulls, Slaty-backed Gulls and Japanese Cormorants were resting. Two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, one Mew Gull and two Pelagic Cormorants were found among them.
On another breakwater in the Hasaki side, there were also Black-headed Gulls, Black-tailed Gulls, Vega Gulls, Slaty-backed Gulls and Japanese Cormorants. And we found a Black-legged Kittiwake, a Glaucous-winged Gull, a Glaucous Gull, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Thayer's Gull among them.
The third gathering point, the breakwater at the Choshi side, was too far away to have precise identification, but we were able to see one Black-legged Kittiwake and five Pelagic Cormorants among the flock.
In front of it, in the port, many ducks were seen. Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup and Common Pochard were dominant, but one Lesser Scaup was seen. In other ports, ducks such as; Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup, Common Pochard, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, and Tufted Duck, grebes such as; Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Black-necked Grebe and other grebes, and a few Red-breasted Merganser were seen. Neither of Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus) nor Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) were seen this time.
There were a few herons such as Grey Herons, Little Egrets and Pacific Reef Herons. Pacific Reef Herons, which we missed last time, were observed well, which were flying and chasing each other.
On the way back we stopped at a sandproof forest at Kimigahama, but only saw a few small birds, like Masked Bunting.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Iceland Gull/Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus)?
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, コスズガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, シロチドリ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, カナダカモメ,
セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ? オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ,
ドバト, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Maioka Park (Totsuka, Kanagawa)
舞岡公園(戸塚,神奈川)
The Maioka Park is located in the suberbs of Yokohama city.
There are ponds, rice fields and forests, providing the good habitats for the wintering birds such as snipes, finches, etc.
This site is famous for the regular wintering of Eurasian Woodcock and Common Snipe, and is providing good opportunities for their observation. They did come again this year.
There was also Ruddy-breasted Crake, who had been there the year before.
Chinese Bamboo-Partridges were calling loudly in several spots.
Masked Buntings were seen closely, as they are familiar with visitors.
Dusky Thrushes are scarce this winter, and only one was seen here.
Instead, there was only one, but Brown-headed Thrush, which made frequent appearances at the visible places.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, ヒクイナ, ヤマシギ, タシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Kai-Oizumi, Daimon Dum (Yamanashi) & Nobeyama (Nagano)
甲斐大泉&大門ダム(山梨)＆野辺山(長野)
Driving south along the western foot of Mt. Yatsugatake and entering Kobuchizawa, the snow on the road disappeared.
The first site we visited was Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike) in the area of villas at Kai-Oizumi Highland in Hokuto City.
There is a small birding spot, with a short trail along with a small stream through a Japanese larch forest and a trail around a reservoir.
There was no snow on the field at all, but most of the surface of the reservoir was frozen due to the cold, and Eurasian Teals were walking on the ice.
When we visited at the end of November, there were still few winter birds, but this time we saw many Rustic Buntings, a small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch, some Bull-headed Shrikes and Hawfinch etc.
We looked for Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula), which used to be seen here frequently, but could not find it.
Then we visited Daimon Dam in Kiyosato.
There was almost no snow here either, but most of the dam lake was frozen, there were Mallards and Common Pochards in the open water on the upstream side, but no Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) which seemed to have moved elsewhere.
In the meadows there were as many Rustic Buntings as at the end of November. A Japanese Accentor was also seen again.
There were also some Long-tailed Rosefinches, which were not seen last time.
When we were in the farm fields of Nobeyama, the conditions had changed drastically and it was covered with snow. There were snow piles and puddles on the road in many places. Part of the roads were closed due to the heavy snow.
Also a chilly wind was blowing from Mt Yatsugatake, though not so strong.
We looked for flock of Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha) in the fields covered by snow but found none, only a few Dusky Thrushes, Meadow Buntings and Green Pheasants.
We made several rounds of the wide field to expect the appearance of Ural Owl at sunset, but did not encounter it.
On the way home after dark, a silhouette of an Ural Owl glided over our car on the road near the Daimon Dam.
The birds observed are;
at Kai-Oizumi:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Daimon Dam;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
at Nobeyama;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, マガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, カヤクグリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Around Tateshina Highland (Nagano)
蓼科高原周辺(長野)
On the way, we stopped by Togariishi historical Site in Chino City and Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park in Hara Village.
Here also covered with snow.
A Solitary Snipe visits here every winter, and we expected to observe this bird. However, we could not find it.
Then we moved to the area of Ryujin Pond.
The renovation work was finished last year and Ryujin Pond was full of water and almost frozen. There was one open spot where water was springing up, and ducks were gathering there.
In the forest where there were wooden walks before, all the wood boards had been removed and new walking paths had been made. There were only a few tits and woodpeckers, perhaps due to the construction work that had been taking place for the long time and the change in circumstances.
When we arrived at a small cottage (Bergcot) at the south foot of Tateshina Mountain at an altitude of 1,500 meters, the owner of the house soon put a lot of sunflower seeds on the feeders on the veranda. Immediately, Willow Tits, Japanese Tits and Wood Nuthatches came. But Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha), many of them were observed here the last winter, did not appear.
The next morning at dawn, we took a walk on the roads around the inn. I looked for Copper Pheasant (Sommerring's) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii soemmerringii), but could not find any tracks on the snow. Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis) was also not found.
When we returned to the inn, the owner had put seeds on the feeders on the veranda. When we entered the inn, a lot of Japanese Grosbeaks came and occupied the feeder.
Flocks of Eurasian Bullfinch, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Brambling were also visiting.
After a good breakfast watching a lot of birds, we headed to the Togariishi historic site again.
After searching for the Solitary Snipe we had missed the previous day, we found this bird in a tiny stream, hiding in the grass and foraging.
We were happy to be able to see it again this year.
The birds we observed are;
at Togariishi Historic Site:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Tateshina:
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ, キジバト,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ
Around Lake Suwa (Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺(長野)
This field is located on a plateau 1,000m above sea level and is also known as the home of over 100 varieties of wild birds.
The field was covered with snow due to a lot of snowfall, which has not happened in recent winters.
We arrived just as the sun was rising, and the distant peaks of the Japanese Northern Alps were beautifully coloured with Morgenroth.
As soon as we started walking on the fresh snow, a flock of about ten red birds flew into a small tree nearby. They were Pallas's Rosefinches, one of our main targets here. After this we encountered this red bird at several points.
We saw another red bird, Long-tailed Rosefinch, at several points too.
We also saw Red-flanked Bluetails, Daurian Redstarts and mixed flocks of tits (Coal, Willow, Varied and Japanese).
Woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted and Japanese Green) were also seen and heard.
Just as we were about to give up on the Red Crossbill, which was our other target here, a small flock of about four birds flew over our heads.
This time, the weather was fine, but the temperature was so low that the camera did not work due to the extremely low temperature, so I had to use it while warming up the camera battery.
The next destination was the north side of Lake Suwa.
In the past, the lake used to be entirely frozen every winter, but not recently. However, due to the cold weather this winter, the lake was almost entirely frozen.
A small flock of Smew's, Common Coots and a Common Goldeneye were seen near the river gate at the point where the Tenryu River flows out from Lake Suwa.
At this point, waxwings visit in late winter, but at the time of our visit they had not yet arrived.
Near the mouth of the Yokogawa River, where the surface of the lake was not frozen, there were flocks of ducks and Bewick's Swan. The ducks were mostly Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards and Common Pochards, with Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Northern Pintails, Tufted Ducks and a Baikal Teal. All the swans had their heads buried in their bodies and we could not see their faces, but one of them that did show its face happened to be a Whistling Swan.
In the distance at the centre of the lake, on the unfrozen water, a few Common Mergansers/Goosanders were spotted.
The birds we observed are;
at Enrei
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Suwa Lake
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, トビ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ベニマシコ, オオマシコ, イスカ, シメ, ホオジロ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
In the forest, the leaves had fallen and it was bright and I could see through the forest.
At the slope where White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) was often seen in the past, the trees had been logged and the undergrowth had been cut down as if it had been shaved with clippers for the vegetation of the day‐lilies, and no birds besides Brown-eared Bulbuls were seen there.
However, in areas where day-lilies do not grow, the trees and underbrush remained, providing a good habitat for birds, such as Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Pale Thrushes, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Masked Buntings, Red-flanked Bluetail, Chinese Hwameis, Chinese Bamboo- Partridge were seen and heard.
An Eastern Buzzard was also appeared and circled overhead for a while.
At the park in the cemetery, a Rose-ringed Parakeet, a Pale Thrush, a Dusky Thrush and Bramblings were observed.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, ノスリ, キジバト, ワカケホンセイインコ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, アトリ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
I visited the Tamagawa river again after three weeks.
Although it was beginning to snow heavily in northern Japan and on the Sea of Japan side due to a strong low pressure, it was cold but sunny and calm at this field.
I could see Dusky Thrushes and Rustic Buntings which were not seen last time. The number of them seemed to be normal as usual for winter.
So, it became like the usual winter. Besides a Western Osprey, no birds of prey were present this time, so the little birds appeared more at ease.
An early Meadow Bunting was singing.
Many Great White Egrets were in flocks, resting on or flying over the river.
Upstream of the weir, a dredging work was taking place and most of the ducks, such as Eurasian Teals and Eurasian Wigeons, were gathering below the weir.
Gadwalls and Common Coots were seen in large numbers up the weir, as if they didn't matter so much.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Area around confluence of Wadayoshino River and Ara-kawa River (Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture)
和田吉野川と荒川の合流点付近(熊谷)
A Rough-legged Buzzard, a rarity in the Tokyo area, had been observed at this point just a few days ago, and Short-eared Owls were also observed as in every winter.
Since it was the last day of a three-day holiday, we were worried that we might not reach the site before sunset due to the traffic jams on the way, but we managed to arrive half an hour early and were able to see the Rough-legged Buzzard first, followed by two Short-eared Owls.
We watched two Common Kestrels and four Eastern Buzzards as well.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コガモ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ノスリ, ケアシノスリ, キジバト, コミミズク, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, オオジュリン
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
The day before, Tokyo had snowfall of 10cm for the first time in four years.
In this field, there was snow on the forest roads and trees as well. However, there was no snow on the forest floor.
The birds seemed to have moved deeper into the forest, as they could not get food on the snow-covered roads and grass slopes.
However, it was a good result to see a very red Long-tailed Rosefinch this time.
Masked Buntings and Red-flanked Bluetails also appeared nearby in several points.
Daurian Redstart could not be seen in the morning, but as it got warmer near noon, they appeared in several points.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, マガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, キジバト,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, アオジ
Higashi-Takane Forest Park (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園(川崎)
This park is ones of few area which preserves the nature of ancient Musashino field.
The day we visited was the first day of the midwinter, sunny but cold with a strong north wind.
We looked for White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) on the hillside, but did not find even Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus) or Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus). The number of thrushes is unusually very few this winter.
In the dip of the slope, where there were water and seeds for food, Japanese Tits, Varied Tits and Masked Buntings gathered.
In the wet plant area, a Common Kingfisher suddenly flew away with a shrill call, at the same time a Japanese Sparrowhawk appeared to follow it. The Japanese Sparrowhawk then perched on a nearby tree and then flew away.
In the ponds of the wet plant area, there were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and a Grey Wagtail.
At the spot where the photographers had gathered, a Red-flanked Bluetail was seen.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カルガモ, ツミ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ルリビタキ, キセキレイ, アオジ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
Last time only Daurian Redstart was seen, but this time most of the regular wintering members were observed except Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus).
Red-flanked Bluetail were seen in several places, one was a beautiful male with a strong blue colour.
The Japanese Accentors were seen together at one location. We were able to observe them foraging on the slope.
The Eurasian Bullfinches were heard at several points, but were in the upper parts of the forest out of sight from the trail, and only once, for a very short time, we saw the underparts of a few flying birds.
Bramblings were flying forming in flocks of about 20 birds.
Masked Buntings were also seen and heard along the trail in several places.
A single Eurasian Siskin was seen alone, not forming a flock.
There were few birds in the lake, such as one Western Osprey, a few Mandarin Ducks on the far shore, two Great Crested Grebes and two Mallards, and a few Great Cormorants.
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) was not found this time either.
This time there were many snow monkeys (Japanese macaque) near the trail.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, マガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン,
キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ウソ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
Birds on the river meadows appeared few due to the slightly strong north wind. The appearance of Japanese Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel and Peregrine Falcon might have affected as well.
The ducks around the weir were difficult to identify as they were far away near the opposite bank, avoiding the wind.
However, the Great Crested Grebes were more noticeable with their white appearance and confirmed that their number had increased since a month ago.
There were also nearly 20 Little Egrets gathered together at one spot.
On a pebble sandbar, nine Long-billed Plovers were resting together.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ツミ,
オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
Tone River, Yotaura & Lake Kasumigaura (Ibaraki Prefecture)
利根川、与田浦＆霞ケ浦(茨城)
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)
& Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii)
On the way, from the road along the Tone River, we saw raptors such as Common Kestrels, Western Osprey, Black Kites, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Eastern Buzzards, and Northern Lapwings.
We also drove around the farmlands of Yotaura, where a Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia) had been seen in the recent past, but although there was a flock of swans, there was no Cackling Goose among them.
At Kasumigaura, we saw shorebirds wintering there, as well as three Pied Avocets, which were seen in many places this season.
The birds observed were;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Horned Grebe/Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Ringed Plover (Eastern) (Charadrius hiaticula tundrae), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Little Stint (Calidris minuta)? Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola, Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カンムリカイツブリ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, ソリハシセイタカシギ, タゲリ,
ハジロコチドリ, コチドリ, タシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, ヨーロッパトウネン? オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ,
キジバト, モズ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Fishing ports at Hazaki & Choshi (Ibaraki, Chiba Prefecture)
波崎・銚子漁港(茨城,千葉)
It was the coldest morning in that December, but the site was calm and warmer than expected, as there was no wind, so it was not hard to make observations outside the car.
However, there were very few gulls to observe. As there was no fishing boat unloading at the weekend holiday, the gulls did not gather near the harbor.
But we saw the basic species; Black-tailed Gull, Vega Gull, Slaty-headed Gull, Black-headed Gull, except for Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis).
In addition, we saw Glaucous Gulls, and Vega Gull which seems to be Mongolian.
Other than Gulls, Cormorants (Japanese, Great and Pelagic), various species of Ducks, grebes (Great Crested, Black-necked, Red-necked), Red-breasted Mergansers and herons/egrets (Grey, Little) were observed. Pelagic Cormorant, Harlequin Duck and Red-necked Grebe were scarce.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus)? Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, ウミネコ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ (キアシセグロカモメ)?
オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, ハシブトガラス, メジロ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Jike Hometown-village Area (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村エリア(横浜)
We started Fujigaoka station of the Denen-toshisen Line heading Jike Hometown-village via Moegino Park, Mitake-dai Park and walking path along Tsurumi River.
Moegino Park is a small park located in a new residential area with a pond at the centre.
In this pond, we saw ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Common Pochard, Tufted) and Common Moorhens.
Mitake-dai Park is also a small park surrounded by new residential areas on a hill.
Here we saw a Hawfinch etc.
We walked on the Tsurumi River walking path for about 2km and saw many birds such as ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal), wagtails (especially many Grey Wagtails), Bull-headed Shrikes, Common Kingfisher and White-cheeked Starlings.
I looked for Brown-headed Thrushes (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), which had been observed by the birder I met, but could not find any. We did not see any thrushes at all, which made me feel how few thrushes there were in this winter.
At Jike Hometown-village (Jike Furusato-mura), several flocks of Rustic Buntings were seen in the rice paddies and in the groves beside them, which had not been seen a week ago.
In the puddles in the rice paddies formed by the previous day's rain, we saw a few wagtails (White, Grey).
We did not encounter any Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus).
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ,
トビ, ツミ? バン, オオバン, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Okutama area (Tokyo)
奥多摩エリア(東京)
At first, we visited Hibara Forest of Tokyo Citizen (Hibara Tomin-no-Mori).
On the way, we saw a Japanese black bear beside the road.
There were few birds inside the site, but most were seen near the entrance.
A friendly Eurasian Wren was moving busily in the small stream running through the site.
A flock of about fifty Bramblings flew over the mountain and White-bellied Green-Pigeons was heard.
Eurasian Jay, tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Long-tailed), Warbling White-eye, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart and Brambling were seen in the forest along the adjacent road.
Then we moved to "Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura)", a park located on the shore of Lake Okutama.
A Red-flanked Bluetail was seen near the visitor's centre.
Then we walked on the lakeside trail. We looked for Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans) and Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) which were seen two years ago in January, but did not encounter them.
Instead, we saw flocks of tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow and Long-tailed), Red-flanked Bluetails, Daurian Redstart, Eurasian Wren and Eurasian Tree-Creeper.
In the lake there were flocks of Mandarin Ducks and Mallards, and Little Grebes.
A Crested Kingfisher suddenly flew out from under our feet and flew away very fast.
The birds we observed are;
- at Hibara Forest of Tokyo Citizen (Hibara Tomin-no-Mori)
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
- at Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オシドリ, マガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, アオバト, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, カケス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, キバシリ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, アトリ, イカル, ホオジロ
Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村(横浜)
The trees on the hill were in full autumn color and the rice fields had already been harvested. Eurasian Tree Sparrows, which were abundant in the rice fields three weeks ago, were flocking in the bamboo grasses at the edge of the hill forest. A Northern Goshawk appeared in the harvested rice fields, but was soon chased away by crows. Masked Buntings and Chinese Hwameis were seen in the bushes in a small valley. An Ural Owl was heard from the deeper parts of a valley. I expected to see more winter birds but no Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) or Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica) seemed to have arrived yet. The maples turning to red were flocked with tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed), Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers.
The birds observed are;
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Ural Owl (momiyamae) (Strix uralensis momiyamae),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
カイツブリ, オオタカ, キジバト, フクロウ, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アオジ
Kinko Bay (Kirishima City & Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture)
錦江湾(霧島市、鹿児島市)
These tidal flats and reclaimed land are geographically important as stopover and wintering sites for migratory birds, so many migratory birds use these sites and precious species such as Black-faced Spoonbill can be seen.
It was around noon when we visited, but we could see many Waterfowl. In the pond, there were Black-faced Spoonbills, Eurasian Spoonbills, herons, and many Great Cormorants hunting fishes actively grouped together.
In another pond surrounded by reeds, there were Black-crowned Night Herons, Brown-cheeked Rail, Common Moorhen, Common Coots and ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal and Tufted Duck).
There were also many ducks and Great Cormorants on the mudflats that spread the the mouth of the river.
A few Little Ringed Plovers and Common Sandpipers were also seen.
Next we visited Taniyama Port in Kagoshima City.
This is a site where Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus) are often seen in autumn and winter, but we didn't have time to look for them.
The birds obserbed are;
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ツクシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, クイナ, バン, オオバン,
コチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ,
ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
National Miike Wild Bird Forest (Miike Yacho-no-Mori) (Miyazaki)
御池野鳥の森(宮崎)
This park is located in Kirishima mountain range on the border of Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture. The biggest eruption in the history of Mts. Kirishima occurred about 4,200 years ago. The intense eruption and explosion created a large crater, which was filled with water and became a lake, current Lake Miike. The area of about 115 ha including a part of Lake Miike, its surrounding forest and Lake Koike is "the National Miike Wild Bird Forest", which was designated as the Japan's first national wild bird forest in 1973. A large part of the trees in the Wild Bird Forest are forested ones, and a sizable forested land from around the end of Edo Era still remains. The forest is almost natural one with little artificial work carried out. So far, at least 18 fish species, at least 18 species of mammals and 147 species of wild birds have been observed there.
In the forest behind the campsite, we can see Fairy pitta (Pitta nympha), Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major), and Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana) in summer, but in winter, when we visited, the leaves of the broad-leaved trees had fallen and the ground and streams were dry, so it was quiet.
However, around the entrance of the woodland trail we saw and heard Wood Nuthatch, tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Brown-eared Bulbul, Warbling White-eye, Eurasian Wren, Red-flanked Bluetail and White-bellied Green-Pigeon.
At the campsite, we observed Daurian Redstart, wagtails (Grey, White), Olive-backed Pipit and Pale Thrush.
In the crater lake, there were many Eurasian Wigeons. An American Wigeon was also found.
The birds obserbed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (roseilia) (Sitta europaea roseilia),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, カルガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, オオバン, キジバト, アオバト,
キュウシュウコゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ミソサザイ, キュウシュウゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ
Kogawa Dam (Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture)
高川ダム(出水市,鹿児島県)
There were a lot of ducks of a variety of species in the dam lake.
The number of Mandarin Ducks was particularly remarkable.
The forest road had been washed out at the upper stream flowing into the dam lake, so we had to walk a long way where we normally drive.
The thrushes, which were seen well at the end of December when we visited the previous year, were very few, with only one each of Dusky and Pale this time.
We saw the usual members such as Japanese, Varied and Long-tailed tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Red-flanked Bluetail, Daurian Redstart, Grey Wagtail, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Masked Bunting as well.
Unusual sightings were a Pacific Reef Heron in the river under the dam and a Mountain Hawk-Eagle flying over the mountains.
The birds obserbed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), >
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, トビ, クマタカ, オオバン, キジバト, カワセミ,
キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
Izumi (Kagoashima Prefecture)
出水(鹿児島)
Here is designated as a special monument, since more than 10,000 cranes from Siberia and China winter in Izumi. This site is the Japan's largest migratory ground for cranes.
As of the record on 04 December, 2021, the number of cranes are;
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha): 15,145
White-naped Crane (Grus vipio): 1,546
Common Crane (Grus grus): 8
Hooded Crane x White-naped Crane: 2
Arctic Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis): 5
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus): 1
_____________________________________________
Total: 16,706
On the afternoon of the first day we arrived at the East Reclamation site (Higashi Kantaku).
Small flocks of Hooded Cranes and White-naped Cranes were scattered over the general farmland near the entrance to the reclaimed area.
One Common Crane was found in one of the flocks.
A Eurasian Spoonbill was also present in a water channel.
There were plenty of cranes on the farmlands in the vast protected area surrounded by fences and nets.
A few Common Shelducks were found in the flooded rice fields where the cranes and ducks roost at night.
We were lucky to see a Siberian Crane, one of our targets, foraging near the observation hut. It was easy to identify it from its almost white appearance.
There are two breeding populations of this species in the Arctic tundra of western and eastern Russia. The eastern populations migrate during winter to China, while the western population winters in Iran.
Among the cranes, they make the longest distance migrations. Their populations, particularly those in the western range, have declined drastically in the 20th century due to hunting along their migration routes and habitat degradation. The world population was estimated in 2010 at about 3,200 birds, mostly belonging to the eastern population with about 95% of them wintering in the Poyang Lake basin in China, a habitat that may be altered by the Three Gorges Dam.
Occasionally it overwinters in Japan. This is the record for the first time in nine years at Izumi. Two birds were seen here for a while, but unfortunately one of them died.
An Arctic Sandhill Crane was also seen closely by the road beside the protected area.
We also managed to see a small flock of Tundra Bean Goose and a Leser White-fronted Goose among them which were almost obscured by the grass.
We visited Fukunoe Agricultural Park (Fukunoe Noson Koen) located east of Higashi Kantaku. In the pond there were Black-faced Spoonbills, Eurasian Spoonbills, herons and ducks resting.
There was a flock of White-cheeked Starlings with a Common Starling in the flock.
At sunset, we watched the flocks of cranes and ducks flying back to their roosts in the evening sky from our room at Shin-Tsurumi-tei, an inn right next to the roost protection area in West Reclamation site (Nishi Kantaku).
Even in the darkness after sunset, we heard the noisy calls of the cranes.
The next morning, when it became brighter, the cranes took off one after another from their roosts.
After 7 o'clock a car drove into the protected area and started feeding the cranes. In the latter half of December previous year, many cranes had flocked to the food, but this time there was no such behavior and the cranes did not crowd the feeding place. This may be because the second shoots were still present in the harvested rice fields and there was still enough food available without depending on the feeding.
A lot of crows gathered around the inn.
Most of them were Rooks and a few Daurian Jackdaws were found among them.
Lastly, we revisited Fukunoe Noson Koen.
Unlike the previous day's visit, the tide was lower and the water in the channels and ponds was shallower, and in addition to the members of the previous day's member we saw Green Sandpipers, a few Black-winged Stilts and a flock of about 40 Dunlins.
In the reeds around the pond, with no wind in contrast to the previous day, buntings (Masked, Common Reed) and Chinese Penduline-Tits were seen.
Olive-backed Pipits were also seen in the nearby pine trees.
The birds observed are;
Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris), Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio),
Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Common Starling (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヒシクイ, カリガネ, ツクシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
オオバン, ソデグロヅル, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, セイタカシギ, タゲリ, クサシギ, イソシギ, ハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツリスガラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Sendai River (Satsuma Town, Kagoshima Prefecture)
川内川(さつま町,鹿児島県)
There were Barn Swallows flying over the river and many White Wagtails on the rocks of the riverbed.
There were many ducks and Common Coots in the river. Most of the ducks were Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Mallards.
We expected to see Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) but it did not appear.
The birds obserbed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Tokyo)
新宿御苑(東京)
Shinjuku Gyoen was constructed on the site of a private mansion belonging to Lord Naito, a "daimyo"(feudal lord) of the Edo era.
Completed in 1906 as an imperial garden, it was re-designated as a national garden after the Second World War and opened to the public.
With 58.3 ha (144 acres) in size and a circumference of 3.5 km, it blends three distinct styles, French Formal Garden, English Landscape Garden and Japanese Traditional Garden, and is considered to be one of the most important gardens from the Meiji era.
Among the 20,000 trees which grow in Shinjuku Gyoen, there are the first examples planted in Japan such plants as tulip trees, planes, Himalayan cedars and bald cypresses, whose distinctive crown shapes give the garden a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
Sinjuku Gyoen is an ideal place to get close to nature and enjoy the changing seasons, the oasis for not only metropolitan and short-term visitors but also birds.
An unexpectedly rare bird, Verditer Flycatcher, visited this garden.
Recently, there were some records of this species in western Japan, but I have never heard of it in eastern Japan. Is this an effect of global warming?
I was not sure if the bird would still be there as a few days had already passed since the day it was first announced, but when I arrived at the site, there were many photographers and birder watching the bird and I was able to see this rare bird!
In the same area, mixed flocks of Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese Tits and Long-tailed Tits were seen.
A few Masked Buntings were also moving around in the wet ground.
Later, I visited the pond in Japanese Traditional Garden where Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) are seen every winter, but I could not see them as they seemed to be hiding in the shade.
At the other ponds, Mallads, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Northern Shoveler, Little Grebes and Common Kingfisher were seen.
Thrushes were scarce at this site as well, only one each of Pale Thrush and Dusky Thrush were confirmed.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus thalassinus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, カイツブリ, ハイタカ, オオバン, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ロクショウビタキ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Kamo River (Kamo-gawa) & Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
鴨川&京都御苑(京都)
On the way to the Imperial Palace, I saw a few herons and a few ducks resting in the Kamo River.
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser) seemed not to have arrived yet.
Many birds were gathered around the bird bath at the north east corner of the garden. A Pale Thursh was also heard.
Birds such as Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Tits, Varied Tits and Bramblings came to bathe in the bird bath.
I looked for White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) and Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni) in the meadow to the east of the palace, but could not find them, probably because the grass was mown lower than usual.
The area around Kujo Pond in the south of the Garden was not accessible due to the renovation of the bridge.
A flock of about 100 Japanese Grosbeaks flew over the woods at the southeast.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオバン,
ドバト, キジバト, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, イカル
Lake Biwa (Shiga)
琵琶湖(滋賀)
This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse ecosystem to evolve in the lake.
This lake is an important place for water birds.
There are many rich birding spots.
First we went to the mouth of the Yasu River in Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture.
Pied Avocets had been seen at many places in Japan this year and there were four birds at this site.
We started birding about 1km upstream from the mouth searching for this bird.
In the river Little Grebes, wagtails (White, Japanese), Great White Egrets and Western Osprey were seen, in the riverbank Meadow Buntings and Daurian Redstarts were seen, and Hen Harrier flew over the riverbank.
A Common Kestrel, Eurasian Skylarks, Bull-headed Shrikes and White-cheeked Starlings were seen in the surrounding agricultural fields.
Eventually, four Pied Avocets were found in Lake Biwa, a short distance from the mouth of the river. At that time, Lake Biwa was at its lowest water level in 14 years, and the place where the Pied Avocets were present was a bit far from the shore, but still shallow.
Ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted) and grebes (Little, Great Crested), Common Coots and one Vega Gull were also seen around.
Next we visited Karasuma Peninsula located on Lake Biwa's southeastern shore in Oroshimo-cho, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture.
Usually many waterfowl are seen in this area, but this year, due to the unusually low water levels, only a few were observed nearby.
Two Long-billed Dowitchers were busily foraging on the mudflats that had appeared due to the low water levels.
The birds we observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ,
オオバン, ソリハシセイタカシギ, オオハシシギ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ
Nomura Pond (Inami-cho, Kako-gun, Hyogo Prefecture)
野村池(稲美町,兵庫)
A common species with a wide-ranging distribution in Eurasia, but a rare stray bird in Japan, Greylag Goose, was staying at this pond.
A variety of water birds were seen in the pond.
Among them, this bird was easily found.
The birds observed are;
Greylag Goose (Siberian) (Anser anser rubrirostris),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ハイイロガン, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ
Nakano-ike Pond (Takatsuki, Osaka)
中ノ池(大阪府高槻市)
Baer's Pochard is one of the rarest duck species, with a total global population estimated at only 250 to 1000 birds, and is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. It breeds in the area from north-eastern China to the Yangtze River basin, and winters mainly in China, with a few visitors in Japan during the wintering season.
Nevertheless, when I visited here, even on a Saturday, there was no birder there. This individual is a regular visitor to this pond every winter, so this species seems not to be rare for the local birders.
More strangely, there was only this duck and no other ducks in the pond.
The birds observed are;
Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi)
アカハジロ, アオサギ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
At the river grassland, where had been more birds three weeks ago, even no buntings appeared in sight.
A Eurasian Wryneck was calling in the bushes but did not appear.
Around the weir, ducks were increasing in species and numbers. This time Gadwall and Common Pochard joined in the numbers.
Vega Gulls and Black-headed Gulls were also visiting.
While I was watching the ducks, a Peregrine Falcon suddenly perched on a nearby sluice. This may have been the reason for the small birds being out of sight that day.
At the river bulkhead and riverside playgrounds, wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits and Eurasian Skylarks were seen, but their numbers were not many, probably due to the holiday crowds.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ,
オオバン, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, アリスイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ
Daimon Dum, Kai-Oizumi (Yamanashi) & Nobeyama (Nagano)
大門ダム&甲斐大泉(山梨)＆野辺山(長野)
At first, we visited Daimon Dam in Kiyosato.
There were Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Mallards, Mandarin Ducks and Grey herons in the dam lake. The number of Mandarin Ducks were few this time.
On the forest road around the dam site, we saw Rustic Buntings and Japanese Accentors.
Then we visited Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike) in the area of villas at Kai-Oizumi Highland in Hokuto City.
There is a small birding spot, with a short trail along with a small stream through a Japanese larch forest and a trail around a reservoir.
There were a few tits, Brambling, Grey-capped Greenfinches, and Eurasian Siskins.
In the reservoir, there were Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Eurasian Teals.
We searched for Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula), bur could not find.
There was no snow at the farm fields of Nobeyama and only a little on the mountain.
Although it was recorded as the coldest day in Japan exceeding that of Hokkaido a short time ago, the day we visited it was not so cold without strong wind.
In the bushes around the vast farm fields, there were Long-tailed Rosefinches and Meadow Buntings.
Dusky Thrushes, which are usually there, were not seen.
The Northern Shrike Shrike seemed not to have arrived yet.
In the woods we looked for Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica), Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica) and Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis) but did not find any, however a large flock of about 50 Dusky Thrush was seen. They seemed to be on the move or had just arrived. It seems that the thrushes are arriving late this year.
We waited until dark for the Ural Owl, which is expected to appear at sunset, but unfortunately it did not appear on the scene for us.
The birds observed are;
at Daimon Dam;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)?
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Kai-Oizumi:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
at Nobeyama;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ?
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ゴジュウカラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, カヤクグリ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Narayama Park (Kanagawa)
奈良山公園(神奈川)
Many Mandarin Ducks winter here every year, and at about 3 o'clock when I arrived, they appeared in the open water.
I waited for a while, but the target bird did not appear. This species had been seen in the area for two consecutive years recently, three years ago and two years ago.
There were also Common Kingfisher, Black-crowned Night Herons, Long-tailed Tits and Brown-eared Bulbuls.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
オシドリ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, カワセミ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ
Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村(横浜)
Many Eurasian Tree Sparrows were perched on the power lines above the harvested rice fields.
Daurian Redstart, Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Tits and Chinese Hwameis were seen in trees on the sunny slopes of the hill where the Shrine is on.
In the bushes on the slopes in shade, I heard Japanese Bush-Warblers and Masked Buntings.
In the Kumano Pond a Tufted Duck was grooming its feathers, surrounded by anglers.
Nearby, a mixed flock of Japanese Tits, Varied Tits, Warbling White-eyes, Long-tailed Tits and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker were moving busily among the trees.
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), common in winter here, had not yet arrived.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, キンクロハジロ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ? ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アオジ
Ura-Bandai Area (Fukushima Prefecture)
裏磐梯エリア(福島)
When we arrived near noon, there was a bit of a break in the clouds.
We walked the trail around Nakase Marsh (Nakase-Numa).
In the woods, we encountered a mixed flock of Tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow and Long-tailed), a flock of Eurasian Siskins, and a few Dusky Thrushes in the distance.
Only one Mallard was seen in the pond.
Next we started to search the area around the Kyukamura Hotel, but had to give up because of the starting rain.
The rain did not stop after that. In the rain, we birded near the Goshiki-numa Visitor Centre and the trail between Lake Yanagi-numa and Lake Ao-numa.
We had few results due to the rain, but tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow ), woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), Eurasian Jays, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Eurasian Wren, Dusky Thrushes and Red Crossbills were somehow seen.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
ツグミ, マヒワ, イスカ, アオジ
Lake Izu-Numa and Kabukuri-Numa Marsh (Miyagi Prefecture)
伊豆沼&蕪栗沼(宮城)
In Kabukuri Marsh, the first arrival of Greater White-fronted Goose was confirmed on 22 September, followed by the arrival of Cackling Goose on 27 September, and tens of thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese, thousands of Cackling Geese and hundreds of Taiga Bean Geese were recorded in October.
As we approached the Furukawa interchange on the Tohoku Expressway, we saw flocks of geese flying nearby.
First, we headed for Lake Izu-Numa.
On the way we saw flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese foraging in the harvested rice fields at many places. In some of the flocks we also saw some Cackling Geese.
A Merlin was perched on a nearby wire.
Flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese and Whooper Swans were seen in the rice fields around Lake Izu-Numa.
In the lake, there was still plenty of lotus covering a large part of the surface.
Since It was noon and most of the geese roosting had left the lake, there were only a small number of Whooper Swans, Tundra Swans and Greater White-fronted Geese in the lake.
The number of ducks, Great Crested Grebes, Great White Egrets and Common Coots were not yet many.
The White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) had not yet arrived.
On the way from Lake Izu-Numa to Kabukuri-Num Marsh a few Leser White-fronted Geese were seen among a flock of Greater White-fronted Goose in a rice field.
At Kabukuri-Num Marsh, we walked on the trail until watching the geese roost at sunset.
Although it was still early before sunset, many flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose were already gathering around the marsh.
Many Taiga Bean Goose were seen in the swamp.
An Eastern Buzzard and an Eastern Marsh-Harrier were also seen.
Numbers and species of ducks were small here too, perhaps due to the delay in arrival because of the warm weather.
At sunset, a huge number of geese returned for their roosts from all the directions.
At the dawn of the second day, we visited Kabukuri-Num Marsh again.
Before dawn, as the eastern sky began to brighten, the geese and swans resting in the swamps began to increasingly make calls. Suddenly, with a roar of wings like a bomb bursting, a large flock of geese took off from the water. Some flew away, some flew around the marshes, and some landed on the marshes again, and for a long time the great spectacle of nature was played out before our eyes.
After watching the impressive roost, we took a walk on the trail. Long-tailed Rosefinches, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Daurian Redstart, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Hawfinch, Meadow Buntings and Bull-headed Shrike, and birds of prey such as the Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Northern Goshawk and Eastern Buzzard were seen.
The birds observed are;
- around Izu-numa Lake
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- around Kabukuri-Numa Marsh
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オオヒシクイ, マガン, カリガネ, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ,
オカヨシガモ, マガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
オオバン, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ
Katano Waterfowl Sanctuary (Katano KamoIke) & Reclaimed land of Shibayama Lagoon (Ishikawa Prefecture)
片野鴨池&柴山潟干拓地(石川)
Katano KamoIke is designated as part of the Ramsar Site. The area is only 10 hectares but it is a rare place despite its size. There are two reasons for this: one reason is that many kinds of waterfowl, such as Greater White-fronted Goose and Bean Goose use this pond as a resting place during winter. The other is the coexistence of the local people and the birds in the pond. The local populace follow strict rules: they stay away from the pond and they don't open their windows to watch the birds during autumn and winter.
At this pond, hunting of ducks, Sakaami-ryo, is conducted. Sakaami-ryo is a traditional method of catching wild ducks, which has been handed down for over 300 years. In the evening of winter, hunters wait for wild ducks to come, holding a net on the hill and catching them by throwing the net up when the wild ducks come flying directly overhead. Hunters catch wild ducks with the Sakaami-ryo method only and don't use hunting rifles in order to preserve the population of wild ducks.
Our visit was still too early for the peak of the waterfowl season here, but there was already a big flock of Taiga Bean Geese (Middendorff's) resting in the middle of the pond.
A Greater White-fronted Goose circled over the pond but was not landing on water quickly, probably due to the absence of its mates.
Mallards and Eurasian Teals were the predominant duck species, with other species such as Northern Shovelers and Mandarin Ducks.
Only a few Baikal Teals were present. According to the staff of the observatory, Mallads and Baikal Teals are the most abundant species in this pond during the peak season.
One Western Great Egret (Eurasian) from the continent was also seen.
High in the sky an Eastern Buzzard was circling.
Suddenly the waterfowl were in a panic. A large Mountain Hawk-Eagle appeared, but quickly disappeared into the trees around the pond.
Hearing that the swans that roost in this pond are found during the day in the reclaimed land of Shibayama Lagoon in the northern part of the pond, we visited there.
There were several flocks of swans in the rice fields after harvesting, about 200 in total. A flock of Tundra Swans was seen nearby.
The birds observed are;
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オオヒシクイ, マガン, コハクチョウ, オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
カイツブリ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ノスリ, クマタカ, ハクセキレイ
Kitasaga and Hirosawa Pond (Kyoto Prefecture) (Kyoto Prefecture)
北嵯峨&広沢池(京都)
When I arrived, it was sunny early afternoon and not many birds were apparent.
Even familiar Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus) were only distantly heard.
While walking in the region of rice paddies, there were a large number of Rock Doves foraging on the ground. Then, suddenly, they flew up and there was a raptor swooping on them. It was an adult Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). The bird almost caught up a dove, but the hunting failed. After this failed hunting, the goshawk returned to the direction of the mountain and perched there for a while.
There are usually Meadow Buntings (Emberiza cioides) foraging on the grassy fields, but this time they were entirely absent.
Wagtails were not seen where they should be.
This was probably due to human disturbances -- fine weather, warm and Sunday afternoon, there were a number of people strolling.
Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) were foraging quite close to human paths. They must have been accustomed to human presence.
Since there were not many birds in the paddy fields, I moved to Hirosawa Pond.
There were some buntings. Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) were heard in several places and they might have just arrived.
In the pond, Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) and Great Egrets (Ardea alba) were foraging on shallow water.
Some ducks were also present.
I could hear repeated notes of a Ruddy-breasted Crake (Zapornia fusca), but could not see the bird.
On distant poles, two Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) were resting. Despite favorably looking winds, they didn't show a sign of flight.
A Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis) suddenly flew above and a hawk followed. It was an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). Despite its own crisis, the wagtail sang paradoxically. The bird apparently did not became a victim of the hawk.
While watching this event and foraging waterbirds, a Western Osprey started flying and hovered on the pond, and swooped. The hunting was apparently not successful and the bird tried again. When leaving the pond, I heard the voice of a Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus).
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Rock Dove (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (Zapornia fusca), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
カイツブリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ドバト, キジバト, ヒクイナ, クイナ, ケリ,
トビ, ミサゴ, オオタカ, ハイタカ, カワセミ, アオゲラ, コゲラ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, モズ, シジュウカラ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ジョウビタキ, ウグイス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, アオジ, カシラダカ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
I visited the northern half of Kyoto Imperial Garden.
It was a sunny day with many people and not so many birds were present.
The paths which were damaged by a typhoon three years ago were restored and I could hear Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) in several locations.
The pond, which had been dried up after the typhoon was being repaired, but I was not sure whether the original landscape would be restored.
The only location I could see birds were around the water bath.
There were initially only Warbling White-eyes (Zosterops japonicus), then some tits.
It was my surprise that photographer were waiting for Red-billed Leiothrixes (Leiothrix lutea) to come for foraging and bathing in the bath. This invasive exotic species is increasing in number, but they were usually forest birds. It was a surprise to see them in an urban park like here. The voice of this species was indeed heard in several locations in the Imperial Garden.
There were, however, several wintering species as used to be: Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni) and Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla).
They were not yet many in number and probably due to the broad daylight, I couldn't hear the call of thrushes.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
, Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea)
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, メジロ,
セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, ウグイス, アトリ, イカル, カワラヒワ, アオジ, ソウシチョウ
Mount Inari (Kyoto)
稲荷山(京都)
This mountain is the sacred area covered with primeval forest protected since the ancient time and beautiful bamboo forest.
I did birding at Fushimi Inari Taisha and Fukakusa Cemetery.
There were many Brown-eared Bulbuls in the forest of the shrine, calling noisily.
There were not any signs of thrushes or buntings which winter in this field. However, I saw a few friendly Daurian Redstarts.
I saw Japanese Bush-Warblers in the bushes and tits (Japanese, Varied) in the trees.
Also a White-bellied Green-Pigeon flew nearby.
I also heard a Japanese Grosbeak. The number of this species will be increasing from now on.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
マガモ, キジバト, アオバト, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, イカル
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
A variety of species of birds were gathering in the river grassland.
In addition to Meadow Buntings, Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Grey-capped Greenfinches, there were also Daurian Redstart and Masked Buntings, both of which were new to the field this season. The Masked Buntings might be a flock on the move.
On the weir, many Great Cormorants and Little Egrets, and a few Great White Egrets and Grey Herons were resting.
Eurasian Wigeon were abundant, with Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teals and Tufted Ducks also seen.
Great Crested Grebe has also increased.
The number of Common Coots increased significantly.
At the riverside playgrounds, besides White Wagtails and Eurasian Skylarks, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits which are also new for the season, were arriving.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, クイナ, オオバン, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, , ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)&稲敷方面(茨城)
On the way to Lake North Inba-numa (Kita-Inba-numa, we stopped by the nearby Hakucho-no-Sato (Hometown of Swan) to check if the swans had arrived, but they had not. Soon many Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) and Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii) will be arriving again this winter.
At the north-west area of Lake North Inba-numa (Kita-Inba-numa), we found the lovely old Great White Pelican named "Kanta-kun" who is living here more than twenty years.
A fair number of the ducks that winter here had arrived at the lake, and more numbers and species are expected to arrive soon.
At close range, Mallard were abundant, with a few Falcated Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons and Eurasian Teals. The ducks were still in the eclipse forms and the Falcated Ducks had not yet transformed into the beautiful appearance.
There was big flocks in the distance, but they were so far away that we were unable to identify the species such as Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa) or others except for Northern Pintails which we managed to identify with a spotting scope.
Diving ducks such as Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) and Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) were not also confirmed this time.
A small number of Great Crested Grebe were seen.
Smew (Mergellus albellus) was not arrived yet.
In the surrounding paddy fields, Chestnut-eared Bunting and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were seen.
Meadow Buntings were often found in the lake shore meadows.
Many Common Reed Buntings had returned for wintering.
However Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting/Black- faced Bunting faced Bunting (personatus) (Emberiza personata/Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), and Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) seemed not to have arrived yet.
On the small trees among them, Bull-headed Shrikes, Daurian Redstarts and Grey-capped Greenfinches were seen. Two Daurian Redstarts were chasing each other, perhaps in a territorial dispute.
A Brown-cheeked Rail was not seen but was heard.
Western Osprey, Eastern Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Black Kites were seen in the piles in the lake and in the sky. The Eurasian Sparrowhawk was persistently followed by a crow.
On the way to Inashiki, we stopped at Sakata-ga-ike pond near Inba-Numa.
In winter many ducks can be seen here.
Also here, the number and variety of ducks were less than in the peak time, but Northern Shovelers and Eurasian Teals were flocking to the bread given by visitors.
In the afternoon, we searched for shorebirds at Inashiki Area in Ibaraki Prefecture.
We drove and walked around the rotus fields. At a rotus field, there was a mixed flock of shorebirds composed of Common Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Spotted Redshanks, Marsh Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher,
At the other rotus fields, we found Black-winged Stilt, Green Sandpiper, Pacific Golden-Plover and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.
This time we found only one Common Snipe and also no tiny shorebirds.
It was too early for the arrival of many Common Snipes and was already past the peak of the shorebirds' migration.
Instead, the number of birds of prey seemed to be increasing. We saw various species such as Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Eastern Buzzard and Western Osprey.
Before sunset, at Ukishima, we saw Eastern Marsh-Harriers and Merlins returning to their roosts in the reed field here, including one Hen Harrier.
The birds observed are;
- at Lake Inba-numa:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Sakata-ga-ike Pond:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Inashiki area (*confirmed by other birders):
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
*Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator)? Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
*は他のバーダーによる確認種
キジ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, モモイロペリカン, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, クイナ, バン, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, *タゲリ, ムナグロ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, ツルシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, ウズラシギ,
キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス? ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, オオジュリン
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
This time I wanted to check if the early winter birds had arrived.
The construction work after the typhoon of the year before last was still going on upstream on the other side of the river near the Hayato-gawa bridge, but there were no construction vehicles coming and going on the trail like last year. It was still earlier than the best season, so there were not many birders. Thanks to these, I was able to enjoy birding in a quiet setting.
At several points I heard and saw the Daurian Redstarts that had just arrived, but no other winter birds were seen.
At a few points I encountered mixed flocks consisting of Long-Tailed Tits accompanied by Japanese Tits, Varied Tits, Coal Tits, Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. Red-billed Leiothrix, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Ryukyu Minivet were also found in these flocks.
Eurasian Jays were also seen frequently.
In the lake, flocks of Mandarin Ducks were wading, calling like puppies.
A Western Osprey was perched on a dead tree on the other side of the lake.
I heard a few calls like Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) but could not locate it. Instead I found a Common Kingfisher.
After another few weeks, the winter birds, such as; Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) or Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), will be seen in this field.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Bunting sp.
コジュケイ, オシドリ, マガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, コサメビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロSP
Tomakomai-Oarai Ferry (Hokkaido<->Ibaraki)
苫小牧-大洗航路(北海道>茨城)
From the morning of October 26th, we observed sea birds on the cruise route to Oarai.
During the morning it was raining.
We saw lots of Streaked Shearwaters, Laysan Albatrosses, Black-footed Albatrosses, Northern Fulmars and gulls.
The birds reported are;
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), etc.
コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, フルマカモメ, オオミズナギドリ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, 他
Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村(横浜)
There are several long narrow paddy fields, called as "Yatoda", which were made on small valleys sandwiched by hills of miscellaneous trees.
At the end of these small valleys, there are small tranquil reservoirs.
This area maintains the rural scenery of traditional Yokohama.
We started birding from the middle reaches of the Tsurumi River in Aoba Ward of Yokohama City. We walked upstream along the right bank of the river.
In the stream there were a few ducks (Mallads, Eurasian Teals, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks), Grey Heron, Common Moorhen and Common Sandpiper.
Bull-headed Shrikes, Azure-winged Magpies, White-cheeked Starlings and Eurasian Tree Sparrow were seen in the neighbor fields.
We also heard a Daurian Redstart, which probably had just arrived.
We left the river and walked along the irrigation canals in the fields of Jike Furusato-mura.
White Wagtails and Grey Wagtails were seen in the canal and Bull-headed Shrike and White-cheeked Starlings in the surrounding fields, but no winter birds were seen yet.
On the hills, tits and Chinese Hwameis were seen.
Chinese Bamboo-Partridges were also heard.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, バン, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ,
モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
Masuichi Beach, Mt. Sokuryo (Sokuryo-zan) & Mt. Onnasokuryo-zan (Muroran), Lake Poroto (Shiraoi), Tomakomai Experimental Forest (Tomakomai)
マスイチ浜,測量山,女測量山(室蘭),ポロト湖(白老)、北大苫小牧研究林(苫小牧)
On 24 October, we joined the morning birding at Mt. Sokuryo (Masuichi beach) organized by Muroran Chapter of WBSJ. We enjoyed many Eastern Buzzards (hundreds), Eurasian Sparrowhawks (dozens), Northern Goshawks, Japanese Sparrowhawks and Peregrine Falcons.
A Steller's Sea-Eagle for the first time this season was also seen.
Many (thousands?) of small birds migrated, such as Long-tailed Rosefinches, Meadow Buntings, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, White-cheeked Starlings and Brown-eared Bulbuls.
After the morning birding at Mt. Sokuryo, we visited Mt. Onnasokuryo nearby.
Long-tailed Tits (Japan) and Russet Sparrows were seen.
There were also many Eurasian Sparrowhawks, Northern Goshawks and Eastern Buzzards.
Asian Wood Nuthatches were foraging for Japanese yew berries.
On 25 October we visited Masuichi beach before dawn.
The wind had calmed down and about 50 Eastern Buzzards formed a kettle and then were crossing the bay.
On the way back to Tomakomai, we stopped by Lake Poroto.
At the parking lot, a Goldcrest was seen very closely.
An Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) was also close by, picking at tree trunks and moving around.
An Eurasian Magpie was perched on a power line on the side of the road.
In Tomakomai we visited the Tomakomai Experimental Forest. We observed Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser/Goosander, tits (Japanese, Varied, Marsh), Asian Wood Nuthatch, Eurasian Tree-Creeper ( daurica) etc...
The birds reported are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii), Eurasian Magpie (camtschatica) (Pica pica camtschatica),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
マガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, ウミウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, オオワシ, ツミ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
オオセグロカモメ, キジバト, エゾアカゲラ, ミヤマカケス, カササギ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ハシブトガラ, シマエナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, キクイタダキ,
シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, ムクドリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
多々良沼(群馬)
A rare migrant or winter bird in the Tokyo area; Pied Avocet was seen. At first it was at a distance, but after a while it came close to us.
A Temminck's Stint was also observed.
Ducks were still few, and swans had not yet arrived.
The birds reported are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), etc.
カルガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, トビ, ソリハシセイタカシギ, オジロトウネン,
ユリカモメ, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, 他
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
The previous day it was cold and rainy as if the calendar had moved forward two months to Christmas time. On the day of the visit, although the north wind was a little stronger, it was warm with sunshine.
No summer bird was found this time.
The number of ducks had increased more and a new member; Mallard, had come.
The Great Crested Grebes had also arrived.
Many Little Egrets were still seen.
Suddenly, a flock of Large-billed Crow soared into the air. One Northern Goshawk was being challenged and chased by them.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオタカ, バン, オオバン, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
Due to the passage of the cold front, it snowed lightly at Yumoto in Oku-Nikko the night before, and the temperature dropped to -7 degree Celsius in the early morning of the day. This is the temperature of late November in this place, and the plain of Senjogahara was covered with white frost.
Perhaps because of the unusually warm weather of previous days, there were not yet many species or numbers of winter birds.
At Yunoko Lake, Eurasian Wigeons and Common Coots were seen.
At Senjyogahara Plateau, plenty of Malus sieboldii berries were ripening and several Brown-headed Thrushes were feeding on them.
In the stream, there were Mallards. One Solitary Snipe was seen, but it was very nervous and had flown away soon.
There was also a Brown Dipper, which was not afraid of us and was foraging for food in the stream.
Near Kotoku Farm, many photographers were attracted by a single Daurian Redstart.
A flock of Brambling and a flock of tits (Japanese, Willow and Coal) were seen near Kotoku Marsh.
At the farm field adjacent to Senjo-gahara, we saw some Rustic Buntings.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis) Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カワウ, ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, アカハラ, ジョウビタキ,
カワガラス, アトリ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Daiza-hoshi Pond & Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano Prefecture)
大座法師池&戸隠森林植物園(長野)
On the way we stopped by Daiza-hoshi Pond.
In the distance we saw flocks of Eurasian Wigeon and Common Coot on the opposite shore. Yet the species and numbers were not many.
At Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Togakushi Shinrin Shokubutu-En), probably due to the abnormally warm weather this year, the leaves have not changed much in the autumn colours, and the number of birds was very few for this time of year.
However, we encountered several mixed flocks mainly consisting of Willow Tits, Wood Nuthatches and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers.
Among these mixed flocks, Eurasian Tree-Creepers and Grey-streaked Flycatchers were also observed.
Usually in late October, Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus) and Mugimaki Flycatcher pass through this field, and on the first evening of this visit, when the park was quiet, a few Mugimaki Flycatchers were found pecking at the fruits of the Euonymus fortuneis.
As for the Eyebrowed Thrush, we saw a few thrushes, but could not identify the species.
Ashy Minivets and Blue-and-white Flycatchers were also seen, which is unusual for this time of year.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
thrush SP.,
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
ヒドリガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, オオバン, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
サンショウクイ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ウグイス,
ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, ムギマキ, オオルリ, マヒワ, イカル, ツグミSP, アトリ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
The summer like heat until a few days ago had subsided, but the shine was still intense and hot.
The flock of Red-rumped Swallow seen a week ago was not seen this time.
The number of ducks had increased a little. Tufted Duck joined the group newly.
Many Little Egrets were still seen.
A Common Kingfisher was seen very close by, as if it was not afraid of people or was not in good condition.
The False acacia forest was lively with flocks of White-cheeked Starling, flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul, and a mixed flock of Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
A Narcissus Flycatcher also stopped by.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオバン, ドバト, カワセミ,コゲラ,モズ,ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, キビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
The migration of Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) at this site had been almost over.
The weather forecast was false and it rained for two hours in the morning. The weather recovered after 11am and blue skies spread over us in the afternoon, but only Eastern Buzzards and Black Kites were observed.
Instead, Pacific Swifts and House Swifts flew closely by.
A flock of White-bellied Green-Pigeons also flew nearby.
As soon as the rain stopped, Grey-streaked Flycatchers, which had been sheltered until then, appeared in the treetops, and several flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul moved westwards, calling noisily.
Early in the morning a flock of about 10 Japanese Thrushes was observed by another birder, but I managed to find only one among the trees.
The birds obserbed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
コジュケイ, トビ, ノスリ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, クロツグミ, エゾビタキ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
It was very hot on this day, as it was back in summer since the beginning of October.
The Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), which I observed on my last visit on 29 September, was not heard. It must have migrated to the south even though the weather remained hot.
There was a flock of over 10 Red-rumped Swallows flying around on their migration.
Bull-headed Shrikes were singing here and there.
Many Little Egrets were also seen.
Ducks were still very few, but Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal had arrived newly.
A Northern Goshawk had also returned, perhaps due to an increase in the number of small birds for prey.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ドバト, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, コシアカツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Inashiki area (Ibaraki)
稲敷地区(茨城)
The harvesting of the lotus fields was in progress compared to our last visit, and the fields with open water had increased.
There, various species of freshwater shorebirds were seen.
In particular, flocks of Marsh Sandpiper were seen at the several fiels.
There was also a flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.
Other species seen were Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Wood Sandpipers, Spotted Redshanks, Temminck's Stints, Common Greenshanks, Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Stints, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Ruff, etc..
There were also many Sand Martins flying around.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, バン, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, オグロシギ,
ツルシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン,
ウズラシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The water level of the marsh was down and the muddy shore was appeared, and shorebirds, such as Black-winged Stilts, Long-billed Plover, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint and Temminck's Stint, were stopping by.
There were many herons and egrets resting on the stakes lining the edge of the marsh's middle island.
The species and numbers of ducks were still few, but we found one Garganey amongst a flock of Eurasian Teal.
A Peregrine Falcon appeared aiming at the ducks and persistently tried to hunt them, but failed.
In the sunflower field beside the marsh, there were many Grey-capped Greenfinchs gathering for the sunflower seeds.
The birds observed are;
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, コガモ, シマアジ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, トビ, オオバン, セイタカシギ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, イソシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Downstream of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流(神奈川)
The Sakawa River runs through the Sakawa Lowland in the western region of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Hakone Volcano to the west and the Oiso Hills to the east and flows into Sagami Bay.
Fortunately, the large Typhoon Mindulle (No.16) did not hit Japan and passed by Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean the day before.
There was no typhoon disaster, but I did not expect any typhoon GIFT, but I visited to check just in case.
As I thought, I couldn't find anything special.
There were many Great Cormorants and herons/egrets (Grey, Great, Little) near the mouth of the river.
One Black-headed Gull was also seen.
As for shorebirds, many Common Sandpipers and one Long-billed Plover were found, but no other species were found.
Ducks gathered around the weir, but were still few in number and in species.
Three Common Mergansers (Goosanders) were resting approximately 4km from the mouth of the river.
Nearby, a few Red-rumped Swallows were still flying around.
Several flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul migrated westwards.
The birds obserbed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, サシバ, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, コシアカツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki)
多摩川中流(川崎)
The weather was sunny and the cool breeze blew from the north.
So far this year there have been no typhoons hitting, and the riverbanks have not been devastated like the year before.
However, the numbers of birds were small.
There were still a few Barn Swallows flying around and I heard the call of an Oriental Reed Warbler from the bush.
There was no ducks except for the resident Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, which were seen this time last year, and only a single Common Coot was seen.
Several juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons were resting in the brush by the water, rather uncommon here.
Near the weir there was a flock of Little Egrets.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
オオバン, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ,
スズメ, セグロセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
The end of September is usually the peak of the migration of Grey-faced Buzzards at this site, but until the day before the results had been very low.
However, the numbers of hawks observed in the surrounding sites were increasing, so I expected to see more this time. When I arrived at Hadano station, I saw a Crested Honey Buzzard soaring in the sky, which gave me a good sign of good day.
From the observation tower at Mt. Gongen, we could see Mt. Fuji with snow on the top in the west, but there were clouds over Tokyo and eastern Kanagawa in the east and Tanzawa in the north, and a strong north wind was blowing which made us feel a little chilly.
In the morning there were only a Crested Honey Buzzard and a few Grey-faced Buzzards, but near noon two flocks of Grey-faced Buzzards appeared and formed small kettles.
This was the first time this season that we were able to observe the typical hawk migration.
A Common Kestrel attacked a Peregrine Falcon, and the air battle was exciting.
The birds obserbed are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
アオサギ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ,
ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
Several fine days had passed since my last visit, and many hawks apparently passed already, the prospect to see many hawks did not look very high. Nearly 80% of annual number of Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) had already passed Shirakaba-toge Pass in Nagano Prefecture.
As expected, we could not see many hawks especially in the morning.
A juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard passed very close to us at 8:25 a.m., but there were not many other birds.
At 9:39, we had a call from the other side of the observing site that a kettle was present. There were a number of Grey-faced Buzzards forming a kettle. This was the only sizable kettle of this species seen relatively close on this day.
There was at least one Crested honey buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis) among them. I hadn't seen this species until this time, in contrast to the previous days. It initially looked like the prospect to have a close look at this species was not high.
The situation changes after 10 a.m. when the number of passing hawks increased. A Grey-faced Buzzard attacked a Crested Honey Buzzard on the air. It initially looked to ignore the attack, but suddenly flew upside down and went on the counterattack. It may have been a rare sighting since the Crested Honey Buzzard is temperate and often dismiss attacks.
On Sep. 20, I reported that the fraction of juvenile birds among Crested Honey Buzzards apparently increased.
After five days since the last observation, I expected that most Crested Honey Buzzards would be juveniles. However, many adult birds passed during this peak until sometime after 12 a.m. It was pleasant to see various colors and shapes of this species again.
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) had significantly increased.
Grey-faced Buzzards also flew, but not formed a large flock.
Around the peak, we saw a mixture of these three species.
At 12:27, there was a kettle only composed of crested honey buzzards. They flew long above us.
The movement of individual birds was slower than in kettles mainly composed of Grey-faced Buzzards, and we could enjoy slow movement of these large birds.
After 1 p.m. low clouds arrived and some rain droplets fell. Under this condition, hawks flew low and were sometimes seen against the landscape below us.
At that time, the majority of birds became Eastern Buzzards.
The final show was seen just before 2 p.m.
There was a kettle of more than 30 birds and about half of them were Eastern Buzzards, but both Crested Honey Buzzards and Grey-faced Buzzards were also present.
This was the largest kettle observed on this day, but was somewhat distant and the transparency had become very low due to the very moist air.
This time, I could hear more passerine birds.
I heard calls of Muscicapa species, and once there was a conflict on the air. From the behavior, they looked like Grey-streaked Flycatchers (Muscicapa griseisticta) but I was not sure.
I also heard Kamchatka Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus examinandus) and at least two individuals lurked around us.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)?
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハヤブサ, アカゲラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ,
コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
After watching a large number of Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis) on Sep. 19 and following the report of a large number of hawks reported in Shirakaba-toge Pass in Nagano Prefecture on the same day, I visited Mt. Inoko again.
On the contrary to Sep. 19, it was a hot, humid day.
In the morning, passing hawks were much less than we expected and we talked about the close encounter with Crested Honey Buzzards on the preceding day.
It even seemed hopeless despite the large number recorded in Shirakaba-toge Pass.
There were sporadic kettles of Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) distantly, but they were almost invisible to small binoculars.
However, Crested Honey Buzzards occasionally passed (much less frequent than on the preceding day).
There was a big difference in age distribution.
We saw juvenile birds frequently in contrast to adults on the preceding day. It meant that new groups of birds which started after the passage of the typhoon. I picked up interesting individuals among them. One of the bird had two distinct tail bars resembling an adult male, but the other features indicated a juvenile. The other bird also had relatively distinct tail bars. Birds with these features challenge age identification and we wondered whether distinct tail bars could be an indication of juvenile males (sex identification in juvenile Crested Honey Buzzards has not yet been established).
I considered that the appearance of these newly appearing juvenile Crested Honey Buzzards might be a precursor of coming Grey-faced Buzzards, which might have started slightly slower than Crested Honey Buzzards.
This expectation turned to be right. After 11 a.m., there appeared relatively close kettles of Grey-faced Buzzards. They became even more abundant and some of the passed just above us.
Although they were not a continuous flow as expected, we could see hawks most of the time passing here and there between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
After then, the number suddenly decreased.
We could see, however, Crested Honey Buzzards sporadically passing and sometimes forming small kettles.
Probably due to the hot weather, migrant passerine birds were not remarkable.
Loud cicada voice wiped out otherwise audible delicate sounds of flycatchers.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), * Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) (seen by other observers),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ツミ, トビ, ハヤブサ, コゲラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ショウドウツバメ, キセキレイ,
コサメビタキ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
I visited one of the "hawk mountains" to see migratory raptors.
There was the first major peak of migration of Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis) on Sep. 15. After then, a typhoon passed near us and I expected that there would be a big wave after the passage of the typhoon.
Hawks arrived as I expected. There were a large number of Crested Honey Buzzards with various colors and shapes and we enjoyed them. Most birds were adults, and this was indeed an indication that these birds (adults arrive earlier) were forced to stop migration due to rain and that they all started moving soon after the weather improved.
There was also a flock of Pacific Swifts (Apus pacificus), which appeared when the clouds passed.
It was a relatively windy day and the condition was probably not very favorable for Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus), less powerful in flight compared to Crested Honey Buzzards. There were not so many Grey-faced Buzzards and kettles I saw were mainly composed of Crested Honey Buzzards.
A small number of Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) and Japanese Sparrowhawks (Accipiter gularis) also passed.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, ツミ, トビ, アマツバメ, キジバト, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ,
コサメビタキ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
Since migrations of Grey-faced Buzzards were increasing at many of the observation sites, and it was expected at this site as well. However, perhaps due to the cloudy weather in the east and the rather strong wind from the north-east, the number of hawks passing close to us was not many.
A few Grey-streaked Flycatchers were seen this time.
Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers and Narcissus Flycatchers were found in mixed flocks of tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed) and Warbling White-eyes.
At the watering place, Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Tit were seen bathing.
The birds obserbed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Cemetery Tama, Fuchu, Tokyo
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
Migrating birds visit in this season every year.
There were few birds in the field and few birders or photographers.
When we were about to give up, we found a mixed flock of Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Pygmy Woodpecker in the canopy of the forest on the hill. Among them was a slightly larger bird, which turned out to be a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher.
At a different location, Grey-streaked Flycatchers and Asian Brown Flycatchers were found in the treetops of a dead tree.
The birds found are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica)
キジバト, コゲラ, サンコウチョウ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
This site is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
Now is the later half of the season of the migration birds to the South/West.
On the day of our visit, it was mid-tide and we arrived at 5.30am, about three hours after low tide, when the water level was rising and the mudflats were gradually being flooded. We were able to observe the shorebirds closely as they moved closer to the shore, pushed by the rising tide.
Sanderlings were the dominant shorebird species observed, with Dunlins, Grey Plovers and Terek Sandpipers also abundant.
There was a flock of about 15 Great Knots, with one Red Knot among them.
There were also small flocks of Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey-tailed Tattler.
A Kentish Plover, a Pacific Golden-Plover, and a few Lesser Sand-Plovers and Red-necked Stints were also seen.
On the beach and on the breakwater, there were large numbers of Eurasian Oystercatchers and Black-tailed Gulls.
There were also flocks of Great White Egrets and Grey Herons.
Large flocks of Great Cormorants were flying about and fishing at the sea.
The birds observed were;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, ミヤコドリ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
オオソリハシシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ドバト, オナガ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Mikawa Bay (Aichi)
三河湾(豊橋,愛知)
We arrived at the site before 6 am and there were already several photographers and birders waiting for their target, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is a very rare bird in Japan, although in recent years it has been seen somewhere during the seasonal migration of spring and autumn.
Although a few Red-necked Stints were found in the surf, the desired bird was not among them.
After some waiting we were finally able to see it in a small flock of Red-necked Stints as it was spotted at another point some distance away by another birder.
Other species seen were a few Lesser Sand-Plovers, many herons (Great White, Little, Grey) and Great Cormorants.
Next we visited Makusa Bay in Tahara City.
Here the Great Crested-Tern is observed every year in the period August to September.
When we arrived, we only saw Black-tailed Gulls and Great Cormorants, but a birder who had arrived before us had seen one, so we waited for a while.
After waiting for about half an hour, we saw one flying in from offshore towards the piles where it usually rests, but it didn't stop at the pile and flew off at this time, but we managed to see it flying.
The birds obserbed are;
- at mouth of the Toyokawa River;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), duck sp,
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at MakusaBay;
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Great Crested-Tern (cristatus) (Thalasseus bergii cristatus)
カルガモ, カモsp, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, メダイチドリ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ,
ミユビシギ, トウネン, ヘラシギ, ウミネコ, オオアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, ツバメ, セッカ, スズメ
Paddy field of Hiratsuka (Kanagawa)
平塚の田んぼ(神奈川)
We drove round some fallow fields in the rice paddies that extend to the north of the Tokaido Shinkansen line.
Due to the continuous rain last week, the water had become too deep to expect any small shorebirds.
Many birders gathered in one fallow field looking at and photographing a Ruff. This was a juvenile female, who was not afraid of people and could be seen from a distance of several meters.
At the next fallow field, there were ducks. One of the ducks was a Eurasian Teal that seemed to have just migrated from the north.
In another fallow field there was a snipe, but it was difficult to identify the species.
In the last fallow field we stopped at, there were a few Little Egrets, but their feet were black, which could be young.
The birds obserbed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)?
Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, コガモ, チュウサギ, コサギ, チュウジシギ? エリマキシギ, ドバト, ツバメ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was still earlier for the peak of the migration of hawks. It was rainy and cloudy since the beginning of September in the area around Tokyo, with almost no sunshine and a lower temperature for this time of year of around 20 degrees Celsius. On the day of our visit, we saw the sun after a number of days. The temperature was still low though raised up to 22 degrees Celsius at noon. The first snow cap was observed on Mt Fuji, 25 days earlier than the average year.
There were only a few hawks that migrated across. but we were able to observe many kinds of hawks (Peregrine Falcon 1, Western Osprey 2, Black Kite 1, Japanese Sparrowhawk 3, Grey-faced Buzzard 6, Eastern Buzzard 1).
There were some hawks that didn't migrate (Western Osprey 1, Japanese Sparrowhawk 2, Grey-faced Buzzard 5, Eastern Buzzard 2) as if they were still hesitant to go across.
There were also many House Swifts flying over the sky.
Several flocks of White-bellied Green-Pigeons were seen flying between the coast and the mountains to drink the seawater.
There were a mix flock of Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese Tits, Varied Tits including one Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher.
The birds obserbed are;
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)?
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ,
ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ
Birding Trip to find shorebirds in the suburbs of Tokyo (Ibaraki)
東京近郊でシギチドリ探鳥旅行(茨城)
This time, we visited the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture.
We started birding from Tonemachi, located on the left bank of the Tone River.
No fallow fields were found in this area, and in Ryugasaki City, the next site, as well.
As we entered Inashiki City and looked around the harvested lotus fields, we found shorebirds there.
Little Ringed Plover and Wood Sandpiper were abundant here again, but a variety of other species were also seen.
Snipe were relatively well observed as well.
Some Bull-headed Shrikes had already started their high-pitched calls, signs of autumn.
The birds observed are (*observed by other birders);
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei).
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Snipe sp., Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
*Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ,
バン, セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, オオジシギ, チュウジシギ, タシギ,
コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン,
ヒバリシギ, キリアイ, エリマキシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Birding Trip to find shorebirds in the suburbs of Tokyo (Saitama, Tochigi, Gunma)
東京近郊でシギチドリ探鳥旅行(埼玉,栃木.群馬)
Flock of swallows
; photo by R.Kinomura
The first site was the paddy field in Kawagoe.
When I visited alone a week ago, I couldn't see any shorebirds at all, probably because the puddles in the fallow fields were swollen and deepened by the heavy rains the day before. This time the puddles were fairly deep thanks to the continuous sunny weather.
A Black-tailed Godwit was easily spotted, as reported in advance.
In addition, about 20 Golden Plovers flew over us twice.
Snipes were also seen on the banks of the rice fields and in the sky.
Then we headed for the paddy fields in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
On the way we stopped at Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi) to look for migratory birds and cuckoos, but we could not find any. We did not find any Oriental Storks, either.
In the paddy fields in Oyama, shorebirds were found in several fallow paddy fields with water. The most abundant species was Little Ringed Plover, and there were small flocks of Wood Sandpiper, Pacific Golden-Plover, Common Greenshank and Red-necked Stint and a Green Sandpiper.
The outside temperature was 37 degrees Celsius and we must make our observations from inside the car.
Then we visited the paddy field in Itakura Town in Gunma Prefecture.
There is an irrigation pond here, the surface of which is covered with lotus flowers in full bloom.
Several juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons were resting in the narrow channel of the pond.
The paddy fields were full of rice. We drove slowly around the narrow farm roads looking for snipe, but unfortunately found only one.
In the evening, we visited Tatara Marsh to watch communal roosting of swallows.
A few thousands of Barn Swallow came back to the reed fields in the twilight.
The birds observed there are;
- At the paddy field in Kawagoe area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)? Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At Watarase Returding Basin;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At paddy fields in Omoigawa:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At At paddy fields in Itakura Town:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)?
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At Tatara Marsh:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae)? Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica)?
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, バン,
ムナグロ, コチドリ, オオジシギ? チュウジシギ, タシギ, オグロシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, エリマキシギ,
ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ショウドウツバメ? ツバメ, コシアカツバメ? エナガ, ヒバリ,
セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Norikura Highland (Nagano Prefecture)& Mt. Norikura (Gifu Prefecture)
乗鞍高原(長野県) & 乗鞍岳(岐阜県)
Mt. Norikura-dake is a 3026 meter high, volcanic mountain along the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. Mt. Norikura-dake is the southernmost and third tallest peak of the Northern Japan Alps.
In summer, it is easy to climb thanks to buses running almost as far as the summit. One of Japan's highest roads leads to the Norikura Bus Terminal at 2700 meters above sea level, not too far from the peak.
We took the first shuttle bus of the morning from Kamikochi back to Sawando, then drove towards Mt Norikura, arriving at the Sanbon-daki bus stop at the foot of the mountain around 9:20am.
While waiting there for the shuttle bus to Tatamidaira on Norikura, a Golden Eagle appeared in the sky.
We heard Japanese Leaf Warbler and Eurasian Wren, too.
Upon arrival at the Tadamidaira bus stop, we walked towards Mt. Daikoku-dake.
Above the trail, where alpine plants such as Dicentra peregrina were in full bloom, Asian House Martins were swiftly flying.
At Mt. Daikoku-dake, it was windless but occasionally foggy. Pacific Swifts and Asian House Martins were flying nearby.
As we walked on the narrow trail through the scrub of Pinus pumila, we heard the high-pitched song of Japanese Accentors.
Unfortunately Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica), which we had expected, did not appear.
We walked on the car road towards Takayama, looking for Alpine Accentors and Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica). Alpine Accentors and Japanese Accentors appeared, but Spotted Nutcracker did not, probably because it was not good time nearly noon.
We saw and heard Red-flanked Bluetails and Japanese Leaf Warblers at distance.
On the way we met birders who said they had seen a family of Rock Ptarmigan along the road, so we went to that spot, but again no birds were seen front of us.
When we returned to the bus station, the weather had suddenly changed, with clouds surrounding us. There were Alpine Accentors flying around, but we couldn't stay long and had to take the bus which was leaving shortly.
Soon after we got on the bus it started to rain, and as we changed to the car at Sanbon-daki and drove to Norikura Highland it started to pour very heavily. We gave up birding in the evening.
Heavy rain, which fell intermittently throughout the night, stopped by sunrise the next morning. Mt. Norikura was flushed red in the morning sun.
We went birding around the inn in Norikura Highland.
White-bellied Green-Pigeon was heard in the distance, and a few Japanese Tits, Warbling White-eyes and Meadow Bunting were heard in the surrounding forests.
Grey Wagtails were seen near the stream.
As a Meadow Bunting was singing nearby, we looked for it and were lucky enough to find not only the Meadow Bunting but also a family of Daurian Redstart perching on the power lines nearby. This bird is a winter bird in Japan, but recently the number of records of the breeding in the central part of Honshu has been increasing.
We birded the walkways around the Kyuka-mura Hotel, but with no results, and the weather showing signs of worsening, we left the site earlier.
On the roadside at the lower part of the highland, we saw a family of Japanese serow. This was the first time I had seen this species in such a resident area.
The birds observed are;
Golden Eagle (Japanese) (Aquila chrysaetos japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ニホンイヌワシ, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, イワツバメ, メボソムシクイ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ
Kamikochi (Nagano)
上高地(長野)
Kamikochi is a popular resort in the Northern Japan Alps of Nagano Prefecture, offering some of Japan's most spectacular mountain scenery. Kamikochi is a roughly 15 kilometer long plateau in the Azusa River Valley, about 1500 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by tall mountains, including Nishi-hotakadake (2909 m), Oku-hotakadake (3190 m), Mae-hotakadake (3090 m) and the active volcano Yake-dake (2455 m), and is the entrances of the trails to these mountains..
In early summer, a variety of summer birds can be seen along the walking trail along the Azusa River. Particularly, it is famous for its relative ease of sighting of Japanese Robin. Other birds such as the Japanese Bush Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Grey Bunting, Masked Bunting, Meadow Bunting, Brown-headed Thrush, Eurasian Wren, Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Grey Wagtail, Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii), Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis), Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus), and Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus) are also inhabiting the area. In the last few years, the breeding of Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus) has also been recorded.
We arrived at the Kamikochi bus station at noon on the first day, having taken the Shuttle bus from Sawando.
From there we walked to the Kappa-bashi bridge. From that suspension bridge over the Azusa River, we could see the high mountains whose ridges were covered with clouds.
We walked further upstream, birding along the left bank.
It was difficult to find the birds as they were inactive and quiet, as they had already finished raising chicks and it was noon time.
We managed to find a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler moving among the trees without making any calls.
Further up the path, we spotted a Japanese Robin singing loudly close to the trail.
At the turn-off for today's route, near Myoujin Pond, we saw a Coal Tit and Oriental Turtle-Doves.
No ducks were to be seen in the pond.
On the way back, we took the right bank of the river.
There were fewer people on that side of the river and it was after 3 o'clock in the afternoon when the birds started to be active, so we saw and heard more birds such as Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Wren, Japanese Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher, Grey Eurasian Bullfinch, Bunting and Grey Bunting.
The next day, from dawn, we birded on the trail from the Kappa Bridge towards Taisho Pond on the downstream side of the Azusa River.
Mallards were found in a small swamp in a marshy area.
Buntings (Grey, Masked, Meadow), Narcissus flycatchers and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers in the surrounding trees, Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Brown-headed Thrush in the canopy and Pacific Swifts in the sky were seen and heard.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
マガモ, キジバト, アマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ヒガラ, エゾムシクイ, ミソサザイ, アカハラ,
コマドリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ウソ, ホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
Ferry route between Tokyo Bay and Hachijo Island, Tokyo
八丈島航路(東京)
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina)
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae)
Red-tailed Tropicbird (melanorhynchos) / Black-billed Tropic Bird (Phaethon rubricauda melanorhynchos)
Sooty Tern (nubilosus) (Onychoprion fuscatus nubilosa)
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea) or Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
Hachijo Island is a lush, green, sub-tropical island in the Philippine Sea formed by two adjacent volcanos, and is the most southerly island of the Izu Island chain.
It is about 10 hours by Tokai Ferry from Takeshiba Pier, Tokyo.
T thought that Typhoon No.8 (Nepartak), which landed in the Tohoku region after taking an unusual course towards the Kanto region, might be blowing away some rare birds, so I hastily took the ferry.
On the outbound passage, I started observing when arriving at Miyake-jima Island in the morning, but had to interrupt the observation once as the rain became heavier near Mikura-jima Island.
Though it was still dim, I saw a drastic increase in the number of Streaked Shearwaters at the point where Mikura-jima was seen at the side, and among them I spotted Bulwer's Petrels and what appeared to be a Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel.
After resuming, there were only a few Bulwer's Petrels flying around.
At Hachijo-jima I saw two Japanese Wood-Pigeons and two Pacific Swifts flying over the harbour, and an Izu Thrush flying away from the coastal trees.
The birding on the inbound passage was similar to that of the outbound passage, but I found two Sooty Terns and a Red-tailed Tropicbird flying in the distance near Mikura-jima.
After passing Miyakejima I saw two Black-footed Albatrosses and some more Bulwer's Petrels near Oshima.
Lastly, in Tokyo Bay, a single Sooty Shearwater or Short-tailed Shearwater flew, and ended my observations.
I also saw a flock of about twenty dolphins.
Thanks to the vibration-proof binoculars, discovery became much easier.
The birds observed are;
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea)? Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)?
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae)?
Red-tailed Tropicbird (melanorhynchos) / Black-billed Tropic Bird (Phaethon rubricauda melanorhynchos),
Sooty Tern (nubilosus) (Onychoprion fuscatus nubilosa),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops)
クロアシアホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ハイイロミズナギドリ? ハシボソミズナギドリ? アナドリ, クロウミツバメ?
アカオネッタイチョウ, セグロアジサシ, カラスバト, アマツバメ, アカコッコ
Siga Kogen Highland (Nagano Prefecture)
志賀高原四十八池(長野)
Shiga Kogen Highlands locate in Joshinettsu National Park in Nagano Prefecture, and known as the largest ski resort area in Japan. In summer, we can enjoy panoramic views while hiking along various walking tails.
I attended a bird watching event held by Nagano branch of Wild Bird Society of Japan. The main goal of the walk was Shiju-hachi Ike Wetlands, or Wetlands with 48 ponds, located at the center of the highlands.
We first used a ski lift at Suzurikawa area of route 292 to climb up to the Wetlands. From the terminal of the lift, it was about 1 hour walk to the central part of the wetlands.
We enjoyed songs of Red-flanked Bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus) and Japanese Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus xanthodryas). These species breed only at subalpine forests such as here and Mt. Fuji.
We also heard songs of Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone), Japanese Grey Buntings (Emberiza vriabilos) and Eurasian Wrens (Trogrodytes trogrodytes).
The hiking in highland forests at this season was very comfortable.
List of species:
Northern Spot-billed Duck (Anus zonorhyncha),
European Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Little Cuckoo (Cuclus poliocephalus),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicas) ,
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jangle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Coal Tit (Parus ater),
Asian House Martin (Delichon urbica),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone), Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Japanese Grey Bunting (Emberiza vriabilos)
カルガモ，カッコウ，ホトトギス，アマツバメ，トビ，ノスリ，モズ，ハシブトガラス，ヒガラ，イワツバメ，
ウグイス，メボソムシクイ，キクイタダキ，ミソサザイ，ルリビタキ，ウソ，ホオジロ，クロジ
Miyako Islands (Okinawa)
宮古島(沖縄)
In the Tokyo area, it was the midst of the rainy season, and the previous day's heavy rains had caused a massive landslide in Atami, resulting in a number of victims. In the Okinawa area, on the other hand, the rainy season was over two days before our visit, and the midsummer season had begun.
The main purpose of the visit was to see the various species of terns that breed on the islands and the endemic species of the area.
Terns were found in many places on the islands, particularly around Agarihennazaki and Bora fishing port in the south-east of Miyako Island, where Black-naped Terns and Roseate Terns were nesting on rocks near the shore, and Brown Noddies (pullus) and Bridled Terns were nesting on coral atolls offshore.
At Sawada Coast (Sawada-hama) on Irabu Island, Black-naped Terns were also nesting.
Here, we saw a family of Oriental Storks with one juvenile, several Pacific Reef Herons, too.
A Whiskered Tern and several Little Terns were flying in Yonaha Bay.
In the middle of Ikema Island, there is a marsh.
There, some Purple Herons, some Yellow Bitterns, Cinnamon Bittern, a family of Little Grebe, a family of Common Moorhen, some White-breasted Waterhens and Common Coots and Zitting Cisticolas were well observed.
We also had good views of Pheasant-tailed Jacana, which has been visiting this spot every year recently, though at a distance.
A single Western Osprey and a flock of six Oriental Pratincole were also appeared, too.
Ono Forest (Onosanrin) is the largest subtropical primeval forest in Miyako and extends to about 119 hectares.
It is the best site for the birding in Miyako-jima, where the most number of birds can be seen.
We visited here in the evening, before dawn and early morning.
Before dawn, Ryukyu Scops Owls and Northern Boobooks were calling here and there in the darkness.
As it became a little brighter, Ruddy Kingfishers (bangsi) and Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers (illex) started to sing.
A number of Yaeyama fruit bats (Pteropus dasymallus yayeyamae) flew in the canopy and eventually began to hang from the branches of the pine trees.
As dawn broke, Brown-eared Bulbuls (pryeri), Japanese White-eyes (loochooensis), Japanese Wood-Pigeons, Oriental Turtle-Doves (stimpsoni), Common Emerald Doves, Whistling Green-Pigeons (medioximus) and many others started to be all in full chorus.
Although we couldn't see them, we heard the calls of an Asian Koel from deep in the forest.
As the sun went down in the evening, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Ruddy Kingfishers, Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers, Ryukyu Flycatcher and Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) appeared to take a bath in the pond.
The pre-planting sugar cane fields on Miyako and Kurima islands, we saw many fledgelings of Oriental Pratincole.
We also managed to find a Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) in a vegetable field.
The birds observed are;
- at Agarihenna Cape (Agariihenna-Zaki) & Bora Fishing Port
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Roseate Tern (Indo-pacific) (Sterna dougallii bangsi), Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana sumatrana),
Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus anaethetus), Brown Noddy (pullus) (Anous stolidus pullus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Ikema Island (Ikema-Jima)
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Ono Forest (Onosanrin)
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria), White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Asian Koel (chinensis) (Eudynamys scolopaceus chinensis),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Northern region of Miyako Island (Miyako-jima)
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum)
- at Southern region of Miyako Island (Miyako-jima)
Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Kurima Island (Kurima-jima)
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Yonaha Bay (Yonaha-Wan)
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Sawada Coast (Sawada-hama)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
インドクジャク, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, ヨシゴイ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ,
ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, クロサギ,
ミサゴ, オオクイナ, シロハラクイナ, バン, オオバン, ミフウズラ, レンカク, チュウシャクシギ, イソシギ, ツバメチドリ,
ベニアジサシ, エリグロアジサシ, コアジサシ, マミジロアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ, リュウキュウクロアジサシ,
ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, ホトトギス, オニカッコウ,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ,
リュウキュウハシブトガラス, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ,
イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ
Terugasaki Beach, Oiso (Kanagawa)
照ヶ崎海岸 (大磯, 神奈川)
In summer (May to October), a lot of White-bellied Green-Pigeons gather at this beach. They inhabit in the Tanzawa Mountains, north of this beach.
They come to this beach to drink sea water.
The reasons below are considered why the White-bellied Green-Pigeons need to take sea water;
- Their foods in the summer season are mainly baccas of cherry-tree or cornel which do not include enough sodium for them.
To supplement sodium, they drink sea water.
- They feed chicks the pigeon milk which produced by themselves. They need to take nutrition for their chicks.
Even in the bad condition like that high waves wash the rocks of the beach, the pigeons drink water at the risk of life.
We visited the site together with young birder S.Niwa in the evening.
Around 100 White-bellied Green-Pigeons were recorded each morning in this season.
Perhaps because our visit was in the evening, they did not appear for long. After a while a flock of 6 birds appeared and we managed to observe them.
The birds observed are;
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)
オオミズナギドリ, トビ, ウミネコ, ドバト, アオバト
Mt. Fuji (Fujinomiya fifth station, Mt. Fuji Skyline), Shizuoka
富士山 富士宮5合目, 富士山スカイライン (静岡)
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas)
; photo by S.Niwa
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
; photo by S.Niwa
Fujinomiya fifth station (Shin-5gome) is located at the half point (2,400 meter high) to the top of Mt. Fuji. It is the forest breaking point of this mountain.
Until two days ago, the weather had been forecast to be rainy and we were not sure if we would be able to go, but the day before the forecast had changed to cloudy and we headed for Mt Fuji as planned.
It was still raining when we arrived at Mizugatsuka Park on the Fuji Skyline, but the summit of Mt Fuji was clearly visible.
This year, from the 10th of July, the Fujinomiya-guchi road will be closed to private cars, but on the day of our visit we were still able to drive up to the fifth station.
As we started to move up towards the fifth station, the rain had lessened, but the clouds had begun to surround us. Sometimes the area was shrouded in mist, sometimes it would suddenly open up and we would be able to see Izu Peninsula and Suruga Bay in the distance.
On the lower plains, the breeding season has almost ended and the birds became quiet, but on this site, at altitudes between 1500m and 2500m, the birds were still busy raising their chicks.
At around 1500m a Siberian Thrush was heard and some Brown-headed Thrushes crossed the road at the front of us. And Pacific Swifts flew overhead.
As the altitude increased, the species of birds changed from those in the lower elevations, such as the Narcissus Flycatcher and Blue-and-white Flycatcher, to the subalpine birds, such as Japanese Leaf Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese Robin.
We walked from the car park at the fifth station to the sixth station and back through the forest zone.
In the forest zone, we saw and heard many Japanese Leaf Warblers, Olive-backed Pipits, Red-flanked Bluetails, Eurasian Bullfinches and Goldcrests.
Spotted Nutcrackers also flew making calls around the area, although we only saw them once due to the haze.
At about the 6th station above the tree line, we saw Japanese Accentors singing on low bushes and Olive-backed Pipits showing their unique flight.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ノスリ, カッコウ, ホトトギス, アマツバメ, アカゲラ, モズ, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, コガラ, ツバメ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, ガビチョウ, キクイタダキ,
ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, マミジロ, トラツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, ルリビタキ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ, ウソ, ホオジロ
Oze Marshland (Ozegahara) (Fukushima, Gunma, Niigata)
尾瀬(福島,群馬,新潟)
Oze Marshland is Japan's largest highland marsh (approximately 8 square kilometers) at an altitude between 1,400 and 1,700 meters.
Oze is the 29th national park in Japan, opened on 30 August 2007, and was registered as a Ramsar Convention site in November 2005 in recognition of its value as a wetland habitat for migratory birds.
It is said to have been formed in the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago. Because of the special geographical conditions of the highland basin, plants that evolved in the Ice Age are still growing naturally now. The beautiful scenery is especially enjoyable when the moor is covered with blooming skunk cabbage in spring and day lilies in summer.
We can enjoy birding on highland from spring to autumn. Especially in summer, comfortable birding in the cool atmosphere is enjoyable.
There are two entrances to Ose Marshland, Oshimizu and Hatomachi Pass (Hatomachi-toge), and this time we entered from Hatomachi Pass.
From the middle of May to the beginning of October, there are restrictions on private cars coming into the area, so it is necessary to park car in the Tokura area and take a bus or taxi to the trail entrances.
As we parked our car in the Tokura area and were about to enter the bus, we noticed a Mountain Hawk-Eagle circling above us. Another one joined it soon after. This unexpected appearance surprised us greatly. The next day in the afternoon, we saw the same bird again in this car park.
On the way from Tokura to Hatomachi Pass, I heard Meadow Bunting and Eastern Crowned Warbler in the bus.
At Hatomachi Pass, there were some nests of Asian House Martins in the eaves of the house, and several very grown-up chicks in the nests were being fed by their parents.
The trail between Hatomachi Pass and Yamanohana in the Oze Marshland is a well maintained wooden path with a height difference of 200m, making it easy to walk.
This trail passes through a mixed forest of coniferous and broad-leaved trees along a stream, where we can see various sub-alpine birds.
This was the latter part of the breeding season, so the singing was probably much reduced. Furthermore, it was noon time and the birds were inactive. Nevertheless, we heard and saw several species of birds, such as Japanese Bush-Warbler, Narcissus Flycatchers, Blue-and-white Flycatchers, warblers (Japanese Leaf, Sakhalin Leaf, Eastern Crowned), Siberian Blue Robins, Japanese Robin, Wood Nuthatch and Northern Hawk-Cuckoo.
In the afternoon of the first day we walked around Ozegahara from Yamanohana to Miharashi.
The vast high moor was covered with white Cotton-sedges.
On the small trees and dwarf shrubs, Amur Stonechats and Chestnut-eared Buntings were singing. Some of them had nesting material in their bills. They seemed to be busy making nests.
In the woods beside the river that runs through the moorland, a pair of Russet Sparrow were nesting in a dead tree and carrying food for their chicks. When a Japanese Green Woodpecker came close to the nest, it chased away this very different sized bird with great aggression.
From the surrounding mountains of the moorland, we heard Common Cuckoos and Lesser Cuckoos, although fewer than I had expected.
At Miharashi, the houses of the lodges were home to nesting Asian House Martins and Russet Sparrows, and many Asian House Martins were flying around the area.
There was also White Wagtails and Grey Wagtails.
After sunset, we heard Latham's Snipes howling their unique flapping in the dark at the distance.
Early the next morning, from Miharashi, we saw a fantastic view of the grasslands, part of which was shrouded in mist, with Mt. Shibutsu in the background lit up by the morning sun.
Around the lodge, there were already a lot of Asian House Martins flying around with their lively calls, and we heard one call of Latham's Snipe in the distance.
Then, we took a short walk on the trail uphill to Ozenuma from Miharashi.
The birds were active in the early morning, and we heard songs of Brown-headed Thrush, Narcissus Flycatchers, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Siberian Blue Robins, warblers (Japanese Leaf, Eastern Crowned), Grey Bunting and White-bellied Green-Pigeons.
We also heard strong drumming of woodpeckers, too.
In the morning we walked Oze Marshland on course from Miharashi to Yamanohana via Yoppi Bridge and Ushikubi.
In addition to the birds we had seen the previous afternoon, we saw three cuckoos fighting on the edge of the surrounding wood, heard the songs of Masked Buntings and Grey-capped Greenfinch in the woods along the river, and saw swifts like White-throated Needletails flying above the ridge of a distant mountain.
We also spotted a pair of Mallards in a pond.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus)?
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
マガモ, アオサギ, トビ, クマタカ, オオジシギ, キジバト, アオバト, ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ホトトギス,
ハリオアマツバメ? アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, コガラ,
イワツバメ, ヒバリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, コムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, クロジ
Sugadaira Moor (Nagano Prefecture)
菅平湿原(長野)
Sugadaira Highlands at an altitude of about 1,500 m, locate in Joshinettsu National Park in Nagano Prefecture, and known as a summer and winter resort area for various sport activities.
I attended a bird watching event held by Nagano branch of Wild Bird Society of Japan.
We started walking from a parking lot of Natural Museum of Sugadaira, hearing noisy songs of dominant bird of this season, Oriental Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus).
Behind the museum, walking trail is equipped around and across the moor (length: 3.5 km, width: 1.2 km).
At this season, we could not easily spot shy birds through trees that have extended foliage. Dominant trees around the moor are Manchurian Ashes (Fraxinus mandshurica) and Alders (Alnus japonica).
This day, most birds we could identify was by songs and calls.
We enjoyed songs of Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina), Brown Flycatchesr (Muscicapa dauurica) and Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone cantans).
We also heard fighting voices of Oriental cuckoos (Cuculus canorus), a brood parasite of Oriental Great Reed Warbler.
Surprisingly, I heard songs of Chinese Hwamei (Garrulaz canorus), a notorious invader species, for the first time around this place. Breeding area of this species seems to be expanding year by year.
After walking around the moor, we moved to one of Skiing slopes nearby, to find grassland birds. There, we could find Siberian Stonechats (Saxicola maurus) and Grey-headed buntings (Emberiza fucata).
These birds breed only in highland, and in city area even in northern Nagano Prefecture we see them only on migration in spring and fall.
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Lagopus mutus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
European Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Little Cuckoo (Cuclus poliocephalus),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Oriental Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulaz canorus),
European Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Sturnus phillippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus),
Japanese Gray Thrush (Turdus cardis),
White Wgtail (Motacilla alba),
Oriental Green Finch (Carduelis sinica),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Grey-headed Buntings (Emberiza fucata), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
キジ，カイツブリ，キジバト，カッコウ，ホトトギス，トビ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，モズ，ハシボソガラス，カケス，
シジュウカラ，ツバメ，ウグイス，オオヨシキリ，ガビチョウ，ゴジュウカラ，コムクドリ，キビタキ，コサメビタキ，
ルリビタキ，ノビタキ，クロツグミ，ハクセキレイ，カワラヒワ，ホオジロ，ホオアカ，アオジ
Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
The rainy season had started in this region and rainy days continued, but on the day of my visit there was no worry about rain according to the weather forecast. Early in the morning the sky was blue and the temperature gradually rose making it feel hot and humid.
The green of the trees had deepened and it was difficult to find the birds though we heard them.
The species I observed this time were almost the same as on 6th June.
The Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers were still nesting.
At some small streams, young Blue-and-white Flycatchers were singing actively at nearby treetops.
The juvenile tits were outstanding.
I did not encounter the Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major) that was reported a few days ago.
Instead, a Crested Honey Buzzard appeared in the sky and circled above.
The birds reported are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アオゲラ?
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ
Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata)
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
; all photos by S.Niwa
I saw a variety of summer birds such as Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher and Ashy Minivet.
Also, s Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher was nesting. It was good to see the male nearby.
On the way back, I tried to go to the site near Tanzawa Home where Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major) was seen, but the road from Miyagase was closed unfortunately.
The birds reported are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, キジバト, ホトトギス, カワセミ, コゲラ, サンショウクイ,
サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス,
センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Lake Sai (Saitama)
彩湖(埼玉)
We got information that two adults and one juvenile Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica) in summer plumage had been seen here for several days.
When we arrived at the lake, there were already many birders and photographers observing and photographing the birds. However, no young birds were seen during our observations.
Two adult birds could be seen very close to us.
It is very rare to see this bird in Japan at this time of the year and it was a rare opportunity to see the adult birds in summer plumage at close distance.
There were several Great Cormorants resting in the lake.
A flock of hundreds of White-cheeked Starlings were flying around the lake.
The birds we observed are;
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
シロエリオオハム, チュウサギ, カワウ, ドバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
セッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ
Lake Abashiri, Okhotsk Coast, Lake Chimikeppu, Lake Oketo, Sounkyo Gorge & Kitami City (Hokkaido)
網走湖,オホーツク海岸,チミケップ湖,オケト湖,層雲峡&北見市(北海道)
It is the time of the year when the rainy front stalls and the rainy days continue in the area further south than Hokkaido. However, Hokkaido is not affected by the front and the weather is sunny.
This region has a wide variety of birding spots, such as many lakes and marshes, wild flower gardens along the coast and deep forests spread on the foots of the inland mountains.
Lake Abashiri, near Memanbetsu Airport, spreads over Abashiri City and Ozora Town and is part of Abashiri National Park. The Abashiri River flows into the lake from the south, collecting the Memanbetsu River and other rivers and flows out again from the northeast into the Sea of Okhotsk as the Abashiri River. On the eastern shore, there is a large peninsula named Yobito. The lake is a brackish lake with a surface elevation of 0 m. When the tide is high, seawater flows back from the lower reaches. The wetlands are covered with alders and Japanese apricot trees.
We visited Yobito Peninsula on the first day and the area around the Memanbetsu Lakeside Camping site on the southern shore of the lake on the last day.
It was not the best of hours for birding as it was noontime on both days, but there were many White-tailed Eagles perched on the trees or flying in the sky.
In the marshes at the Yobito Peninsula, White-cheeked Starlings were using the woodpecker holes in dead standing trees for nesting and feeding their chicks.
Masked Buntings were moving among the grasses, and Narcissus Flycatchers and Eastern Crowned Warblers were singing in the woods.
Near Memanbetsu Lakeside Camping site, there were some ducks such as Mandarin Ducks, Gadwalls, Eurasian Wigeons and Mallard.
The Wakka Wild Flower Garden is a sandy hill nestled between the Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Saroma. Lake Komuke and Lake Sibunotsunai are also located by the Sea of Okhotsk. Thease sites are very good birding spots to watch birds in the grass field.
We visited there on the morning of the second day.
When we arrived at the Wakka Wild flower garden at sunrise, a Latham's Snipe was perched on the power lines near the entrance.
In the grassland, Chestnut-eared Buntings were perched on small bushes, Eurasian Skylarks were singing on the sticks, piles and in the sky, and Lanceolated Warblers were singing continuously in their bug-like voices on the bushes.
A small flock of Red-breasted Mergansers were foraging near the beach and a flock of Greater Scaups were resting a short distance away.
Over the grassland, a few Latham's Snipes were performing occasional display flights in which they circled above, calling, then swooped down with their tail feathers spread producing a thunderous sound.
As the temperature rose, Amur Stonechats, Black-browed Reed Warblers, Siberian Rubythroats, Common Reed Buntings and Long-tailed Rosefinches appeared one after another on the small trees, singing loudly.
Eurasian Wrynecks also began to sing loudly.
An Eastern Marsh-Harrier glided low over the grassland.
From the woods at a distance, a Common Cuckoo was heard.
Heading further north along the Okhotsk coast, we visited Lake Komuke and Lake Sibunotsunai located south of Monbetsu City.
In the grass around the lakes we saw Black-browed Reed Warblers, Amur Stonechats, Siberian Rubythroats and Common Reed Buntings.
We also saw an Eastern Yellow Wagtail.
In the lake there were a variety of ducks such as Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, and Black-tailed Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls.
In the Inland region; Kitami City, Tsubetsu Town and Okiado Town are surrounded by vast forests.
This time we visited Lake Chimikeppu in Tsubetsu Town, Lake Oketo in Oketo Town and Kitamigaoka Observatory in Kitami City.
On the afternoon of the second day we visited Lake Chimikeppu.
As we entered the forest road towards the lake, a Black Woodpecker passed nearby with a loud call. We heard the loud drumming sounds, too. We also found some trees with large holes of food marks in the area, but no nesting holes were found.
There were many White-bellied Green-Pigeons and Oriental Turtle-Doves.
Asian Brown Flycatchers and tits (Japanese, Marsh) were found in fresh green trees, Japanese Robins, Siberian Blue Robins, Eastern Crowned Warblers, Sakhalin Leaf Warblers, Narcissus Flycatchers and Blue-and-white Flycatchers were singing in the surrounding bushes and forests.
We revisited the site on the afternoon of the fourth day, but gave up birding because the storm made it dangerous to pass through the forest, so we tried again early the next morning. The weather was sunny and mild in contrast to the previous day. There were a lot of fallen trees on the forest road to the lake, but it was properly cleared and there was no obstacle to the passage.
We didn't see any Black Woodpecker s on this day, but we did see a White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris).
We also saw a flock of White-throated Needletail (Northern) by the lake.
On the second night, we went out to Lake Oketo. On the way to the lake, many Yezo sika deers jumped onto the road and almost hit the car.
As it got dark near the lake, we heard Brown-headed Thrush, Siberian Thrush, Northern Hawk-Cuckoo and Oriental Scops-Owl, but not as many as we had expected.
At dawn on the third day we visited Lake Oketo again.
On the road towards the lake we heard the chorus of a variety of birds such as Brown-headed Thrushes, White's Thrushes, Japanese Robins, Siberian Blue Robins, Narcissus Flycatchers, Blue-and-white Flycatchers, Oriental Cuckoos and Eurasian Wrens.
There was a couple of Common Merganser/Goosanders swimming in the lake.
It was just one call, but we heard a Ruddy Kingfisher.
We drove on the forest roads around the lake, looking for Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas), but did not see this time.
Also unexpectedly, we saw one White-tailed Eagle.
We revisited on the afternoon of the fourth day, but due to the storm, there were no results.
On the morning of the fifth day we visited the Kitamigaoka Observatory located south of Kitami city area. A small-scale broad-leaved forest spreads out on the slope of the hill with an outlook over Kitami City.
We looked for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (amurensis) (Dryobates minor amurensis/Dendrocopos minor amurensis) but could not find it.
Instead we saw a family of Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (A.c.japonicus). The parents were feeding their juveniles.
In the bushes by the side of the road, an Asian Stubtail was singing in a high-pitched insect-like voice.
We stayed in Sounkyo in the afternoon of the third day and in the morning of the fourth day.
The ropeway and the lift to Mt. Kurodake (1,984 m) were in operation, but we did not go there this time because of the excessive amounts of snow.
Around the ropeway station, the cliffs close in on the Ishikari River. The Sounkyo campsite is located on a rather gentle slope of this cliff, and here we saw two Northern Hawk-Cuckoos, a Japanese Sparrowhawk, and three Eurasian Jays (Brandt's).
Sounkyo Auto Camping Site is located at the downstream of the river. There is a little flat land between the river and the cliffs on both sides, and in the forests there, we saw woodpeckers (Great Spotted, White-backed), tits (Japanese, Marsh), Brown-eared Bulbul, warblers ( Sakhalin Leaf, Eastern Crowned), Asian Wood Nuthatch, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Russet Sparrow, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Masked Bunting, etc.
We walked for a while on the Ginsendai-sen forest road along the Horokaishikari River, a tributary of Ishikari River.
Two Brown Dippers and Eurasian Wrens were seen in the stream.
On a broad bank of the river, two Eastern Buzzards circled overhead.
From the slopes we heard the songs of Brown-headed Thrushes, Japanese Robins and Narcissus Flycatchers.
The third day was warm and sunny, but the next day a storm blew through the narrow gorge with strong winds, making birding difficult near the ropeway station.
At Sounkyo Auto Camping Site, a little further down the road, the wind was less strong and we saw White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris), but the wind gradually increased and we had to leave again.
Further down the road, we drove around the hills near Kamikawa Town. Here we saw a many birds such as Amur Stonechat, Eurasian Skylark and Meadow Bunting.
The birds observed are;
- Southern shore of Lake Abashiri (Yobito Peninsula, Near Memanbetsu Lakeside Camping site):
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (subcerthiola) (Locustella ochotensis subcerthiola)?
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- Okhotsk Coast (Wakka Wild flower garden, Lake Komuka, Lake Sibunotsunai):
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Woodlands near Kitami City (Lake Chimikepp, Lake Oketo, Sounkyo Gorge, Kitamigaoka Hill):
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Scops-Owl (japonicus) (Otus sunia japonicus),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Black Woodpecker (Common) (Dryocopus martius martius),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- Eastern foot of the Daisetsu Mountains (Sounkyo Gorge):
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Eurasian Jay (Brandt's) (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, アオサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
トビ, オジロワシ, チュウヒ, ツミ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオジシギ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, キジバト, アオバト,
ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, コノハズク, ハリオアマツバメ, キタアマツバメ, アカショウビン,
アリスイ, エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, モズ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, シマエナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス,
マキノセンニュウ, シマセンニュウ? エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ, シロハラゴジュウカラ,
キタキバシリ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, マミジロ, トラツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, ノゴマ, コルリ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, カワガラス, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, ベニマシコ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Juriki Plateau, Mizugatsuka Park, Takahachi, Mt. Fuji Skyline, Otainai Seiko-en Park (Shizuoka)
十里木高原, 水ヶ塚公園, 高鉢, 富士山スカイライン, 御胎内清宏園 (静岡)
Like two days ago, the weather was fine and Mt Fuji was clearly seen.
At first we visited a mixed forest and pasture between a water spring called Bentoba and the Susono City Fuji Museum on Juriki Plateau, 880m altitude at the southern foot of Mt. Fuji.
There are many stream channels on Mt. Fuji, but all are so-called "mizunashi-gawa", meaning that no water flows through them. The reason for this is that the soil of Mt. Fuji is covered with dark red volcanic eruptions with many tiny pits called "scoria" so that rainwater and snowmelt do not remain on the surface but quickly seep underground. However, in this site there is a constant flow of water all year round, making it an oasis for birds.
As we started to walk, Green Pheasants suddenly took off from the ground nearby.
We looked for Latham's Snipe, an annual summer visitor to the pasture. The pasture used to be entirely covered with grass, but this time it was mostly ploughed and there was little grass area. We sometimes see the display flight of Latham's Snipe flying overhead with a very distinctive sound, but we did not hear even a call other than Common Cu. There were no Latham's Snipes perched on the poles. As we were about to give up, a Latham's Snipe took off and flew in the grasses and we were lucky to see it.
In the forest beside the pasture, we observed a number of species, such as Eastern Crowned Warblers, Japanese Grosbeaks, tits (Japanese, Varied), Japanese Thrushes, Japanese Bush Warblers, Chinese Hwameis, Narcissus Flycatcher, and Blue-and-white Flycatchers.
In the forest near Bentoba, where there is an excellent spring, we saw Japanese Thrushes, a Siberian Blue Robin and a Red-billed Leiothrix.
Next we drove up a little to visit Mizugatsuka Park at an altitude of about 1500m. This is a site where many Siberian Blue Robins can be seen every year, but we could not enter the site because of construction work.
We heard a Northern Hawk-Cuckoo in the distance.
We then moved up a little to the forest around the Takahachi car park at an altitude of about 1600m. Here we observed tits, Eurasian Wrens, Japanese Leaf Warblers and a Eurasian Tree-Creeper.
The last site we visited was Otainai-Seikouen. This park is a lava field buried by the eruption of Mt. Fuji in 1707, which has been covered with trees and turned into a forest.
In previous years, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata) have nested here, but this year many of the trees were cut down for the Japanese oak wilt, so we could only enter a small part of the park. We could not see any Japanese Paradise-Flycatchers.
We observed Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), tits (Japanese, Varied) and Ashy Minivets this time.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キジ, ノスリ, オオジシギ, キジバト, アオバト, ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
キバシリ, クロツグミ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ビンズイ, イカル, ホオジロ
Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山周辺(山梨)
This year the rainy season started about two weeks earlier in western Japan. On the day of our visit, it was raining lightly before dawn, but recovered quickly after dawn. Mt Fuji, with a little snow still on the peak, was rising in front of us.
At first, we visited Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo).
Since last year's visit was near noon and we didn't see Latham's Snipe which we hoped to see, this time we arrived early in the morning.
The facility is a Ground Self-Defense Force training area, but due to historical practice, local residents are allowed to enter the training area every Sunday. Though it was early in the morning, there were many persons entering the vast facility area picking wild vegetables.
There were also many birds, actively singing and flying around.
In the grassland there were a lot of Amur Stonechats and a fair number of Chestnut-eared Buntings, Chestnut-cheeked Starlings and Common Cuckoos. There were also a small number of Masked Buntings, Meadow Buntings, Black-browed Reed Warblers and Lesser Cuckoos.
From the forests surrounding the site, Japanese Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher and Blue-and-white Flycatcher were heard.
We tried to find Latham's Snipe, but unfortunately only heard it once from the distance, perhaps the many people entering the site made them away?
Then, we drove up the forest road at the north side of Mt. Fuji.
As soon as we entered the forest road, we could hear the Eastern Crowned Warblers.
At the foot of the road, Japanese Thrushes and an Oriental Cuckoo were heard from the canopy and Asian Brown Flycatchers and Narcissus Flycatchers were seen aside the road, but the cicadas were annoying with the rising temperatures. As it was close to noon, there were few calls of Siberian Blue Robins.
Around the highest point of the forest road near the fifth station, the temperature dropped to around 13 degrees Celsius and it felt cold when the sun went down in the mist. The cicadas were no longer singing, and instead we heard the calls of Eurasian Wrens, Japanese Leaf Warblers, Coal Tits, Red-flanked Bluetails and Japanese Robins.
The birds observed are;
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
- on Forest roads in the North face of Mt. Fuji:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica)?
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, オオジシギ, アオバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ホシガラス? ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ,
メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ,
クロツグミ, コマドリ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ,
カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Hachioji Castle Ruins (Hachioji, Tokyo)
八王子城跡(東京)
In the forest, we heard and saw the summer birds such as Narcissus Flycatchers, Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatchers, and Black Paradise-Flycatchers.
The Black Paradise-Flycatchers nest in this field every summer.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ? サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キビタキ, オオルリ, イカル
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Winter birds were almost gone only a few Eurasian Teals remained.
The migratory birds have almost finished their migration and only a flock of Grey-tailed Tattler was seen.
The number and species of birds in this field decreased and only the breeding birds in this field remained. In the grassland, Oriental Reed Warblers and Meadow Buntings were singing, White-cheeked Starlings were busy carrying food to their chicks waiting in their nests, and Little Terns were jumping into the river to capture fish.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, コチドリ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Nomo Cape (Nomo-zaki) & Kaba Island (Kaba-Shima) (Nagasaki Prefecture)
野母崎&樺島(長崎)
Nomosaki and Kabashima are located on the southern coast of Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, facing the East China Sea.
This area is on the flyway of migratory birds, and in spring and autumn a variety of birds pass by here. Some of them are rare species in Japan. It seems like a remote island in the Sea of Japan. The advantage compared to the remote islands is that we can visit here without taking a boat, so we can visit even in bad weather. This makes it possible to follow in a timely manner the migratory birds that drop in to take their rest in bad weather.
The week before we visited here, the weather had been very bad and the area was full of migratory birds.
At the time of our visit, most of the migratory birds had already left. Nevertheless, we were able to see some remaining members and a few new ones arriving daily.
On the afternoon of the first day, we were guided to the spots by an enthusiastic local birder. Thanks to him, we got detailed watching spots and up-to-date information.
In the Takahama area of Nomosaki there is an area of farmland adjacent to the beach. The farmland and fallow fields attract passeriformes and the stream attracts waterfowls.
A few days ago there were a variety of birds here, but the Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata) and the Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza rutila) had gone, and there were still a few Black-faced Buntings, Yellow-browed Buntings, Little Buntings, Eastern Yellow Wagtails and Eastern Cattle Egrets.
In addition to these, Black Drongo, Little Ringed Plovers and Grey-tailed Tattlers were seen on the second day and Lesser Cuckoo and Chinese Pond-Heron on the third day.
A Green Pheasant, Northern Boobook and Japanese Woodpecker (holii) were heard, and Barn Swallows, Asian House Martins, Red-rumped Swallow, Pacific Swifts and House Swifts flew in the sky.
Suisen Park is located near the coast and is surrounded by small hills with a small pond and a narrow channel. Here we saw a Amur Stonechat on the first day, on the second day a flock of White-cheeked Starlings mixed with one White-shouldered Starling, a White Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail and a Yellow Bunting on the second day, and Yellow-browed Buntings, Masked Buntings and a Black-faced Bunting (Western) on the third day.
Mt. Gongen is located at the tip of Nomozaki, at an altitude of 198 metres. Many migratory birds can be seen here such as White-bellied Green-Pigeon and Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata).
This time we saw some leaf warblers and Varied Tits.
Kabashima Island is adjacent to and connected by a bridge to the south of Nomosaki Cape. The birds that travel across the East China Sea first descend on this island to rest.
At the southern end of the island, near the lighthouse, there is a hide with a bird bath. On the second evening an Asian Stubtail appeared.
There is a dam in the valley just under the lighthouse. The field around the dam attracts shrikes, buntings and warblers. Until a few days ago a Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus cristatus) had been recorded.
We saw a Black-faced Bunting and heard a Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler and an Oriental Reed Warbler. We also saw several Black-winged Stilts, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, a Little Grebe, a Chinese Pond-Heron, two Western Ospreys and a family of Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis).
Other birders reported a Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus) and a Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami).
On the trail up along a stream from this dam, a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black). two Oriental Dollarbirds, leaf warblers (Yellow-browed), tits (Japanese, Varied), Japanese Bush Warblers and Rufous-tailed Robins were observed.
A Brown Shrike (Japanese) (Lanius cristatus superciliosus) and an Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus micropterus) were recorded by a local birder.
We hoped to see Black-naped Oriole (diffusus) (Oriolus chinensis diffusus) on the ridge, but did not appear.
On the morning of the third day we saw a big flock of Brown-eared Bulbuls just arrived. There were also a lot of new arrivals such as Asian Brown Flycatchers, Narcissus Flycatchers and Blue-and-white Flycatchers which were actively fly-catching on the ridge.
We saw a Brown Shrike (Philippine) just arrived, too.
The birds observed (*reported by other birder) are;
Green Pheasant (Kyushu) (Phasianus versicolor versicolor),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola)?
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
*Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus micropterus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
*Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)?
*Brown Shrike (Japanese) (Lanius cristatus superciliosus), *Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus cristatus),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Black Drongo (cathoecus) (Dicrurus macrocercus cathoecus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
*Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Rufous-tailed Robin (Larvivora sibilans),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), *Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami),
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Black-faced Bunting (Western) (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala),
*Lapland Longspur (coloratus)/Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus coloratus)
キュウシュウキジ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ , コサギ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, ヤマシギ? キアシシギ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, アオバト,
*セグロカッコウ, ホトトギス, アオバズク, *ヨタカ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, ブッポウソウ,
キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, サンショウクイ? *アカモズ, *カラアカモズ, シマアカモズ,
オウチュウ, サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, シマセンニュウ,
オオヨシキリ, *ムジセッカ, キマユムシクイ, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
メジロ, コムクドリ, カラムクドリ, ムクドリ, シマゴマ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ,
ホオジロ, *シロハラホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, ノジコ, シベリアアオジ, *ツメナガホオジロ
Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat (Saga)
東与賀干潟(佐賀)
Higashiyoka-higata is a tidal mudflat at the mouths of Honshoe River and Hattae River on the north shore of the innermost section of Ariake Bay.
The Site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of the Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's Gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
Since this site has vast mudflats, the best time to visit is the highest tide of the spring, when the birds can be seen closely.
This year, however, there was no spring tide at the beginning of May, which is the peak of the migration of shorebirds, so we had no choice but to visit on a day when the tide was not so high.
We visited the site in the evening of the first day and the early morning of the second day, when the tide became the highest.
Even at the highest tide, there still remained a very wide mudflat and the shorebirds were distant and dispersed, but we managed to see thousands of birds with a spotting scope.
Dunlings dominated, with many Whimbrels, Ruddy Turnstones, Common Greenshanks , Grey Plovers and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.
Flocks of Red-necked Stint sometimes came close to us. We looked for Spoon-billed Sandpipers among them. We were hoping to find one as it was seen at this time last year, but we didn't find any. No Spoon-billed Sandpipers have been found yet this season.
Long-billed Dowitchers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-tailed Godwits, Far Eastern Curlews and Great Knots were also present in some numbers.
We also saw an Asian Dowitcher and a Eurasian Curlew. Asian Dowitcher is rare in Japan, fortunately a local birder found it.
There was a small flock of Spotted Redshank, some of them had changed to black breeding plumage.
There was also a flock of over ten Black-faced Spoonbills resting.
There was a small flock of Saunder's Gulls, probably juveniles, no adults with black heads.
A small number of Common Shelduck, Falcated Duck, Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Pintail were also resting.
We also visited Fukudomi Land Reclamation in Shiroishi Town on the west side of Higashi-yoka.
The area is littered with lotus fields. We looked for shorebirds there, there were many Wood Sandpipers and a few Pacific Golden-Plovers.
Some Common Snipes and a Pin-tailed Snipe were seen.
A small number of ducks were resting in the pond, among them there was an unexpected Greater White-fronted Goose.
The birds observed (*reported by other birder) are;
- at Higashiyoka Tidal Flats (Higashiyoka-higata);
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
*Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Fukudomi Reclaimedd Land (Fukudome-kantaku);
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガン, ツクシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ , チュウサギ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン,
ムナグロ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, ハリオシギ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, シベリアオオハシシギ,
オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ,
ツルシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ,
キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ウズラシギ, *サルハマシギ, ハマシギ,
ズグロカモメ, コアジサシ, ドバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ,
セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Kujukuri Coast (Chiba), Tone River & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
九十九里浜(千葉),利根川&稲敷方面(茨城)
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)
; photo by R.Kinomura
In the morning, we visited Katakai Fishing Port in Ciba Prefecture.
Even though a year had passed, COVID-19 had not been controlled and the infection was still spreading. A cold spell made the morning sunny, but the temperature dropped and cold strong winds were blowing. Despite this conditions, there were still quite a lot of surfers coming out to the beach from early in the morning.
The previous day's storm had created a large puddle on the beach.
We saw many kinds of shorebirds (Red-necked Stints, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Dunlins, Ruddy Turnstones, Kentish Plovers, Little Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Terek Sandpiper) around it.
There were also Little Terns bathing in the puddle.
We did not see Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis). or the Aleutian Tern (Onychoprion aleuticus) that had been observed the previous day.
The sea was very rough and high waves were washing up on the shore. We looked for shearwaters but only saw terns and a few Black-tailed Gulls.
Unable to endure the low temperatures and cold strong winds for long, we left the coast and headed for the Tone River basin.
On the way, a Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) was observed.
When we visited this site in the end of March, we saw and heard a few Marsh Grassbirds, Japanese Reed Buntings/Ochre-rumped Buntings, Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)s and Eastern Marsh-Harriers.
This time, the Common Reed Bunting had gone, and instead Oriental Reed Warblers, which we had not seen last time, were singing lively.
The number of Marsh Grassbirds visible increased and their distinctive song and arching flight were observed.
A small number of Japanese Reed Buntings were also singing, but they were not very active probably due to the strong wind and low temperatures.
There were still a few Eastern Marsh-Harriers flying over the reedbeds. They may breed here.
In the pond, there were still many Eurasian Teals and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, a few Northern Shoveler, and a Garganey. The Garganey had perhaps evacuated here in the storm of the previous day. The ducks were all scampering away as an Eastern Mash Harrier flew above them.
We were fortunate enough to see the flight of a Eurasian Bittern, which had only been heard last visit.
We found some birders watching nearby, so we went there, where we were delighted to see a flock of twelve Black-tailed Godwits, three Black-winged Stilts and a few Common Snipes.
The vast rice fields spread out on the north side of the river had just been planted with rice and all the area was covered with water.
As we drove around the area, we saw many Whimbrels on the banks of the paddy fields and on the farm roads.
In the afternoon, we moved to Inashiki area.
The sky was clear in the morning, but in the afternoon the weather suddenly changed. Suddenly dark clouds appeared, the temperature dropped rapidly and it occasionally rained.
In a lotus field there were manyWood Sandpipers and Common Snipes gathered together.
In another lotus field there were Red-necked Stints and Temminck's Stints.
There was also a lotus field where a big flock of Pacific Golden-Plovers was present with two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.
The Little Stints (Calidris minuta), which had been reported recently, seemed to have left the area and was not found.
The birds observed are;
- at Katakai Port:
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Tone River
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Inashiki area:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, カイツブリ, サンカノゴイ, アオサギ, チュウサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, サシバ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
タシギ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, キョウジョシギ,
トウネン, オジロトウネン, ウズラシギ, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, コアジサシ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, コジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Winter birds such as Masked Bunting, Dusky Thrushes, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Eurasian Teals were still remaining, and summer birds were Barn Swallows with the new addition of Little Terns and Oriental Reed Warbler.
I also saw Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, Little Ringed Plovers and Intermediate Egrets which had stopped here on migration.
The residents; Green Pheasants, Zitting Cisticolas, Eurasian Skylarks, Japanese Bush-Warblers, White-cheeked Starlings, Bull-headed Shrikes and Meadow Buntings, were also active in their breeding season. There was a juvenile of Bull-headed Shrike.
Although the numbers were small, a variety of species were observed.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ,
オオバン, コチドリ, コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ,
コムクドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Island Yonaguni, Okinawa
与那国島(八重山,沖縄)
/td>
Yonaguni Island is located at the most west side of Japan facing to Taiwan with 111 km distance.
This island is at the north-east edge of the Indomalaya Ecozone as well as Okinawa. The island has been isolated from the continent or big islands.
Also this island is on the route of migrating birds and here is a good stop-over site for them.
Spring migratory birds pass through the island from the end of March to April, and at the time of our visit it was almost at its end.
Yet, thanks to the hard rain and the northerly wind in the first half of the visit, we observed quite a lot of species.
In Kubura area, on the west side of the island, we rounded a few points.
In a pond called Mitou, herons were using it as their roost, and there was one pair of Tufted Ducks that had not yet migrated. On the fourth day, a Black-winged Stilt was also present. There were also many Barn Swallows (gutturalis).
In the schoolyard of Kubura Junior High School there were always Rock Pigeons foraging, and on the 3rd and 4th day a small flock of White Wagtails (M.a.ocularis) was seen.
Around the adjacent Kubura Primary School and the cemetery, a flock of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings was seen. A White-shouldered Starling was seen in the flock on the third and fourth days, and many White-cheeked Starlings were also mixed in on the third day.
On the coastal hills north-west of Kubura Junior High School, one Brown-headed Thrush, one Common Kestrel and several Pacific Golden-Plovers were seen on the second day.
In the lawned park at Kubura harbour, a Common Sandpiper was seen on days 2 to 5, two Olive-backed Pipits (Indian), two Bramblings and a Pin-tailed Snipe on days 2 and 3. In the grasslands around the harbour, a Blue Rock-Thrush (Indian) (M.s.pandoo) was seen on day 2, a male Amur Stonechat on day 3 and a female Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat and a Terek Sandpiper was seen on day 4.
On the forest road via Mantabaru Forest Park, which links the northern foot of Mt Kubura with the northern foot of Mt Yonaguni, many Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) and Japanese White-eye ( Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) were seen, and a few Whistling Green-Pigeons (medioximus) perched on a power line.
In the early morning, Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) sang well and we saw them several times.
Furthermore, we heard Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri), Ryukyu Flycatcher, Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi), Japanese Bush-Warbler (riukiuensis) and Oriental Reed Warbler.
We also saw Grey-faced Buzzards on migration.
After sunset and before sunrise we saw Northern Boobooks (Ryu Kyu) and migrating Japanese Night-Herons perched on a power lines and heard Ryukyu Scops Owl and Slaty-legged Crake at the distance.
On the road at the south-west foot of Mount Inbi, we saw a Black-headed Bunting perched on a power line.
In Hikawa area, we visited the irrigation channel and the bandoned cultivated lands.
Many shorebirds (Common Redshank, Common Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Terek Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstones, Red-necked Stints) were seen in the irrigation channel on the second and third days.
At the bandoned cultivated land, a number of herons (Eastern Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Intermediate Egrets and Little Egrets) were resting in puddles in the former paddy fields.
Two Chinese Pond-Herons were also lurking in the tall grasses.
There were many Zitting Cisticolas and several Little Buntings in the meadow, too.
In Sonai area, we visited rice fields and abandoned fields along the Tabaru River, a sandy open space in a coastal cemetery, Sonai junior high school yard, and a sugar cane fields near a former meteorological station.
Many Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpipers and herons (Eastern Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons, Purple Heron, Great White Egrets, Intermediate Egrets, Little Egrets) were seen in puddles in rice fields and the puddles in the abandoned fields.
Many Barn Swallows flew over the filed. On the fifth day, we saw a Barn Swallow (saturata) with a red belly was seen, too.
On the fifth day, a Ruddy-breasted Crake, a Broad-billed Sandpiper and a Citrine Wagtail were seen, too.
In the grass fields in the abandoned fields, there were many Zitting Cisticolas, Light-vented Bulbuls and a few Brown Shrikes.
In the sandy open space in a coastal cemetery, on the second and third days when there were puddles, many species of shorebirds (Pacific Golden-Plover, Kentish Plover, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Greater Sand Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Red Knot and Red-necked Stints) were seen.
On the Sonai junior high school yard, there were a few Common Mynas.
On the fourth day, many Oriental Pratincoles were present in the unplanted sugar cane field near the former meteorological station.
Two Little Curlews were also seen at the far end of this field.
A Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) was also seen on the third day in a hibiscus planting near this field.
On the fifth day, we also met a Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) in a nearby field.
In the pastures of Cape Agari (Agari-saki) at the eastern end of the island, we saw many Oriental Pratincoles and several Pacific Golden-Plovers on the second and third days. Especially on the second day, we saw a flock of about 50 Oriental Pratincoles falling from the sky.
Also on the second day, a Red-throated Pipit was foraging at the roadside.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria), White-breasted Waterken (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (phaeopyga) (Zapornia fusca phaeopyga/Porzana fusca phaeopyga),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura), Snipe (sp),
Little Curlew/Little Whimbrel (Numenius minutus),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus sibirica),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Barn Swallow (saturata) (Hirundo rustica saturata),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Daito) (Horornis diphone restrictus),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis), Blue Rock-Thrush (Indian) (Monticola solitarius pandoo),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Citrine Wagtail (Northern) (Motacilla citreola citreola), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis/Motacilla ocularis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala)
カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ミゾゴイ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ,
ムラサキサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, サシバ,
オオクイナ, シロハラクイナ, リュウキュウヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, ミフウズラ, セイタカシギ,
ムナグロ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, ハリオシギ, ジシギSP, コシャクシギ,
アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, コオバシギ,
トウネン, キリアイ, ツバメチドリ, ドバト, ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, リュウキュウアカショウビン, ダイトウウグイス, オオヨシキリ,
シマアカモズ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, ツバメ, アカハラツバメ, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ,
リュウキュウメジロ, カバイロハッカ, コムクドリ, カラムクドリ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, ノビタキ,
イソヒヨドリ, アオハライソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キガシラセキレイ,
キセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, ムネアカタヒバリ, アトリ, コホオアカ, ズグロチャキンチョウ
Island Ishigaki (Okinawa)
石垣島(八重山,沖縄)
After arriving in the evening, we headed for the rice fields in Nagura to look for Glossy Ibises. The flock of nineteen was confirmed on April 01 and had been staying there since then.
On the way near the airport, we saw a Peregrine Falcon landing in a sugar cane field.
We drove around the fields in Nagura and found an Eurasian Hoopoe, but did not find the target flock, so we decided to try again the next day, and then headed for the paddy fields in Ohama, hoping for the appearance of Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea)
at sunset.
There, we saw herons and heard the calls of Indean Peafowls, but we did not see Watercock.
After sunset, we visited Banna-dake Park to look for Ryukyu Scops Owl. Here we saw and heard Ryukyu Scops Owls in several spots.
We also heard the call of a Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu).
The next morning we started again at sunrise to look for Glossy Ibises in the rice fields of Nagura. We saw three Black-faced Spoonbills, eight Black-winged Stilts, and two Marsh Sandpipers.
But we couldn't find Glossy Ibises by ourselves and a local birder helped us to find them at the rice field of Ulatabaru west of Nagura. We saw about 10 birds, but there were 17 birds in total.
At the mouth of the Arakawa River, we observed a white-morph Pacific Reef Heron and shorebirds (Whimbrel, Little Ringed Plover, Pacific Golden-Plover, Common Greenshank, Red-necked Stints).
And in the rice fields of Arakawa, we saw Common Moorhens, Oriental Pratincoles, Pacific Swallows and Eastern Yellow Wagtails (taivana, simillima).
We then drove through the forest roads of Mt. Omoto (Omoto-Dake), where we saw two Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagles perching in the close distance from us without seeming concerned about us. They looked like drying their feathers after rain.
At the Ohama Coast, there were many shorebirds (Pacific Golden-Plovers, Grey Plover, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Greater Sand Plovers, Common Greenshanks, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Ruddy Turnstones, Red-necked Stints, Curlew Sandpiper), a black-morph Pacific Reef Heron and Little Terns.
We went around the pastures on the east side of the airport, but this time we could not see Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus)
.
The birds observed were;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
White-breasted Waterken (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (phaeopyga) (Zapornia fusca phaeopyga/Porzana fusca phaeopyga),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi), Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) (Motacilla tschutschensis tschutschensis), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, カルガモ, オナガガモ, カイツブリ, ブロンズトキ, クロツラヘラサギ, ゴイサギ,
アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, カンムリワシ,
シロハラクイナ, リュウキュウヒクイナ, バン, セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ,
オオメダイチドリ, タシギ, チュウシャクシギ, コアオアシシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, トウネン,
ツバメチドリ, コアジサシ, ドバト, リュウキュウキジバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, ヤツガシラ,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, ヒメアマツバメ, リュウキュウアカショウビン, カワセミ,
シマアカモズ, オサハシブトガラス, ツバメ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ,
イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, カバイロハッカ, コムクドリ, シマキンパラ,
ツメナガセキレイ, マミジロツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ
Jogashima Island (Kanagawa)
城ケ島(神奈川)
So instead we visited Jogashima Island (Joga-Shima) at the tip of the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture.
This is a place where seabirds, which can only be seen offshore, can be observed from land when the wind blows strongly from the south at this time of year.
On this day, the wind was blowing strongly not from south but from the south-west, and we saw countless Streaked Shearwaters soaring above the sea, and flocks of Black-tailed Gulls passing close by.
Some flocks of Short-tailed Shearwaters flew at distance were observed, too. Several Long-tailed Jaegers also passed slightly offshore.
A Little Ringed Plover was seen on the sandy shore and a Ruddy Turnstone on the rocks.
The birds observed (* reported by other birders) are;
* Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), *Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes),
* Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea), Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), *Phalarope SP.,
*Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
*Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), *Parasitic Jaeger/Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus),
Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
*クロアシアホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, *アカアシミズナギドリ, *ハイイロミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, クロサギ,
カワウ, ヒメウ, トビ, コチドリ, *チュウシャクシギ, キョウジョシギ, *ヒレアシシギ類, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
*トウゾクカモメ, *クロトウゾクカモメ, シロハラトウゾクカモメ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Hinata Forest Road (Kanagawa Prefecture)
日向林道(神奈川)
I started walk early in the morning.
There were several photographers waiting to take photos of Copper Pheasant at several points about 1km from the starting point. Many reports of sightings had been made in this location since March.
I also waited for a while, but could not see it. I heard that some of them had encountered it.
I headed further towards the end of the road, and saw many Japanese Bush-Warblers singing here and there.
There were also Long-tailed Tits and Varied Tits.
A photographer encountered a Japanese Thrush.
I also saw a migratory Grey-faced Buzzard flying overhead.
Near the end of the forest road, some photographers were waiting for Mountain Hawk-Eagles. They were photographing something. It was an Japanese Serow (Capricornis crispus).
I waited together with them, but even after 10 o'clock no target birds appeared but a few Eastern Buzzards.
Near noon, one Mountain Hawk-Eagle finally appeared high in the sky.
The birds observed (* recorded by other birders) are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
*Copper Pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
*Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, *ヤマドリ, トビ, ツミ? サシバ, ノスリ, クマタカ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, *クロツグミ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
The same members as last time were observed, but no Vega Gull was present.
There were still a few ducks left.
A flock of Little Egrets in breeding plumage was seen. They seemed to be on the move to the breeding sites.
In the grass fields on the riverbanks, some Meadow Buntings were singing at the tops of small trees and Zitting Cisticolas were flying and singing.
A few Masked Buntings were still left.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
コジュケイ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
The weather was fine, and the wind was weak. The sight was a little hazy.
It was a day of surprises.
In the early morning an Ural Owl appeared.
Then we saw two Mountain Hawk-Eagles and a juvenile Golden Eagle flying over the distant ridge of Tanzawa mountains.
We also heard a Japanese Robin.
Twenty-one Grey-faced Buzzards were seen. Most of them flew far along the foothills.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus), Golden Eagle (Japanese) (Aquila chrysaetos japonica),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Ural Owl (Strix uralensis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea)
トビ, サシバ, ノスリ, ニホンイヌワシ, クマタカ, フクロウ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, コマドリ, オオカワラヒワ, アカウソ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
As well as Grey-faced Buzzards and other hawks, calls of Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige akahige) had been reported at this site since 5 April.
We also expected Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps) to be there, too.
We couldn't see both of them on this day, but we saw several flocks of Pacific Swifts passing overhead.
A Long-tailed Tit appeared, and we saw its long tail was bent. Probably it was incubating eggs.
It was a bit cold with the cold air from the north, but this was the usual temperature of the ordinary year. The air was clear and we could see Mt Fuji and the Boso Peninsula in the distance.
On this day 17 Grey-faced Buzzards were recorded. They appeared in various ways, passing through the valley along the mountain or under the forest on the sea side.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea)
トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, オオカワラヒワ, アカウソ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
I saw Barn Swallows and Asian House Martins, which I had not seen on my last visit to this site (17 March).
In addition, a small flock of House Swifts was flying around.
Other than these, almost all the same species as the last time were seen.
However, I did not see any Common Reed Buntings or Chestnut-eared Buntings.
There were still a small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch.
Vega Gulls still remained and increased its numbers.
Two Common Kestrels were flying above the riverbed.
A Green Pheasant was in a very visible place, calling and drumming.
The number of White-cheeked Starlings had been increased and they could be seen here and there.
I heard Long-billed Plovers flying and singing along the river.
There were also waterfowl around the weir.
The number of herons was low, only one Great Egret and one Grey Heron were seen.
Around ten Great Crested Grebes, a big number of Common Coots, many Eurasian Wigeons and Gadwalls, and some Eurasian Teals were seen.
Two Falcated Ducks were found among them.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting (Emberiza personata)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ,
モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
The hawk observation at this site was started on March 22 this year.
And on March 29, migration of 102 Grey-faced Buzzards were observed.
Until beginning of May, we can enjoy watching the migration of various kinds of hawks.
The cherry trees were blooming fully.
22 Grey-faced Buzzards (until 15:20) were recorded.
A Mountain Hawk-Eagle appeared as well.
In the morning other birds, such as Japanese Bush-Warblers and Warbling White-eyes were very active and singing very well.
A small flock of Eurasian Bullfinches were seen, too.
The number was a few but we saw Barn Swallows, Asian House Martins and Pacific Swifts.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)?
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea)
コジュケイ, トビ, オオタカ? サシバ, ノスリ, クマタカ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, アカウソ
Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
It was very warm that day and we didn't need a jacket. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
There were many Dusky Thrushes in the grasses along the canals in the rice fields of Itakura Town. They seemed to be flocking together as the time for their northward migration was coming.
In addition to Meadow Buntings, there were also Common Reed Buntings and Masked Buntings.
We found a Russet Sparrow, whose number was low in this field this winter.
There was a flock of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits on the power lines above the rice paddies.
The water in the irrigation pond was very low and muddy bottoms appeared.
There were a few flocks of Eurasian Teal, a few Northern Shovelers, Mallards and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in the remaining puddles.
Some of the Great White Egrets and Grey Herons had changed to their breeding colours.
On the muddy ground there were a few Common Snipes, and a small flock of Little Ringed Plovers on migration.
There were also a few Grey-headed Lapwings flying around, calling loudly to each other.
Some Barn Swallows were flying overhead, which had just arrived.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, there was still a Hen Harrier, a winter bird. It glided over the reedbeds for a while, then landed in and disappeared.
Lake Yanaka, which had been sun-dried during January and February, was restored with water but only a small number of Eurasian Wigeons were present.
On the shore of the lake in the distance, there were many Vega Gulls resting.
There were hundreds of Common Reed Buntings in the trees along the road around the lake and in the nearby reedbeds. Wherever we looked at, we found this bird.
A few Brambling and Meadow Buntings were also seen among them.
Occasionally, Green Pheasants were heard and were also appeared on the roads.
On an artificial nest, a stork was incubating its eggs.
The birds observed are;
- at Paddy fields & Irrigation pond in Itakura Town
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Watarase Returding Basin
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, カルガモ, マルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ケリ, コチドリ, タシギ, セグロカモメ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Oarai-Tomakomai Ferry (Hokkaido<->Ibaraki)
大洗-苫小牧航路(北海道>茨城)
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Thick-billed Murre/Brunnich's Guillemot/Thick-billed Murre (arra) (Uria lomvia arra)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
; photo by R.Kinomura
We rode on Oarai-Tomakomai Ferry between Oarai (Ibaraki) and Tomakomai (Hokkaido).
This ferry route links Tomakomai Port and Oarai Port in about 18 hours. Two sailings every day; evening ferry and mid-night ferry from each port. The evening ferry departs from Oarai Port at 19:45 and arrives at Tomakomai Port at 13:30 next day. The night ferry departs from Tomakomai Port at 01:30 and arrives at Tomakomai Port at 19:30 same day.
We got on the mid-night ferry both on going and returning to/from Tomakomai.
On the going way, we started birding from 6 am on March 27.
The weather was rather warm and fine, and the sea was very calm with no waves or swells. At the end of March, there are many Auks on this route, and this condition was very good for Auks watching.
The ferry was sailing off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture.
There were a small number of Streaked Shearwaters, a few loons/divers, and many gulls.
Offshore of Iwate Prefecture, the number of Ancient Murrelet increased and we saw many flocks of this species.
We also saw several Fork-tailed Storm-Petre despite the calm sea conditions.
In the area around Shirigasaki in Aomori Prefecture, the entrance to the Tsugaru Strait, many seabirds were seen. In particular, we saw several Crested Auklets, which I could not see in March last year, and a large flock of phalaropes (over 1,000 birds), making for a great finale to the outward voyage.
After arriving at Tomakomai Port, we got off the ship and got on the same ship again to return back Oarai Port.
The next morning, we started birding at dawn.
The weather was cold and cloudy but the sea was still very calm with no waves or swells as well.
Near Shiriyazaki in Aomori Prefecture, we did not see as many seabirds as we did the previous day.
A very large number of Ancient Murrelets and Rhinoceros Auklets were seen off the coast of Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures.
We saw several flocks of Black Scoters flying north, probably heading for their breeding sites.
We also saw several Black-footed Albatrosses.
As the ship approached Kinkazan in Miyagi Prefecture, the weather was getting worse and worse. Swells began to appear. Streaked shearwaters, which had not been seen in the area up to that point, were increasing in number and seemed to be soaring pleasantly. There were also many gulls in this area.
We also saw some Pomarine Jaegers/Pomarine Skuas, and further, a young Short-Tailed Albatross, which we had not expected.
After that, the seas became rough and we had to quit birding, but some of the members who continued birding saw several Tristram's Storm-Petrels in the waters off Ibaraki Prefecture, which is rare to see on this shipping route.
The birds observed (* observed by other member)are;
- on the going way (Oarai to Tomakomai)
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-throated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis),
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Fork-tailed Petrel/Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates furcatus furcatus),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), Red Phalarope/Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Thick-billed Murre/Brunnich's Guillemot/Thick-billed Murre (arra) (Uria lomvia arra),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
- on the return way (Tomakomai to Oarai)
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-throated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis),
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea),
*Tristram's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates tristrami),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Thick-billed Murre/Brunnich's Guillemot/Thick-billed Murre (arra) (Uria lomvia arra),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
クロガモ, ウミアイサ, アビ, オオハム, シロエリオオハム, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, フルマカモメ,
オオミズナギドリ, ハイイロミズナギドリ, オ−ストンウミツバメ, ハイイロウミツバメ, アカエリカイツブリ,
ウミウ, アカエリヒレアシシギ, ハイイロヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, ハシブトウミガラス, ウミスズメ, エトロフウミスズメ, ウトウ
Tone River, Inashiki area & Lake Hinuma
利根川, 稲敷エリア, 涸沼(茨城)
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
At first,we visited Tone River.
When we visited this site in May, we saw and heard many Oriental Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis), Marsh Grassbirds (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri) and Japanese Reed Buntings/Ochre-rumped Buntings.
The Oriental Reed Warbler, a summer bird, hadn't arrived yet, but we expected to see Marsh Grassbirds and Japanese Reed Buntings/Ochre-rumped Buntings. We were lucky to see a few Japanese Reed Buntings/Ochre-rumped Buntings, which was changing into their summer plumage, singing in the reed fields.
And Common Reed Buntings, winter bird, were still there.
There were also a few Eastern Marsh-Harriers flying over the reedbeds. Some of them may breed here.
In the pond, there were still some ducks and Smews.
We could hear a Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern in the reeds beside the pond.
Afterwards we looked around the lotus fields and reclaimed land in the Inashiki area, but didn't get much result.
At the time of sunset, we visited Lake Hinuma,
In the lake, there was a flock of Greater Scaups. At the distance, we saw many ducks but could not identify them. A flock of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits were flying over the surrounding reed fields and rice paddies, probably to roost.
The birds observed are;
- at Tone River
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- in Inashiki area
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great White Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Lake Hinuma
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, サンカノゴイ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, ハヤブサ, ハイタカ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, タシギ, イソシギ, キジバト,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, スズメ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, コジュリン, オオジュリン
Choshi & Hazaki areas (Chiba & Ibaraki Prefectures)
銚子&波崎エリア(千葉,茨城)
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
The weather was very warm and not windy. So we could do birding outside the car.
At first, we visited the Togawa fishing port on the south side of Choshi.
There were no gull.
There was only a flock of Greater Scaups in the harbor.
Then we visited the fishing ports in Choshi.
There were many fishing boats anchored in the harbour, busily unloading sardines into trucks.
However, we did not see many gulls. The gulls that had been reported a week ago , such as Glaucous Gull (Point Barrow) (Larus hyperboreus barrovianus), Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri), American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus heuglini), were missing.
A few Glaucous Gulls (pallidissimus) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls/Siberian Gulls (L.h.taimyrensis), amaong Black-tailed Gulls, Vega Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls, were seen.
In the harbours of Hazaki area, there was only a few gulls at the distance breakwaters.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, スズガモ, クロガモ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ,
セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, キジバト,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, イソヒヨドリ
Island Miyakejima & Cruise (Tokyo)
三宅島&航路(東京)
Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
; photo by R.Kinomura
It was around 6:00 a.m. when we arrived at the bus stop near Tairo-ike Pond by the first bus that runs in conjunction with the arrival time of the ship. The time of the sunrise was getting earlier and the road to Tairo Pond was already bright.
The birds became so active that their chorus surrounded us in the contrast to my last visit one month ago.
Last time, only one Japanese Robin (tanensis) sang, but this time, it was competing to sing here and there.
The Japanese Waxwings that I couldn't see last time were still there, and we saw two flocks of them flying around.
Japanese Wood-Pigeons were also heard on mountain slopes and in forests, and were seen flying, but we could not find any perched in trees.
We heard calls possibly of IIima's Leaf Warbler at several points. It had come to this island as the summer bird.
There were no ducks left in Tairo-ike Pond, only a flock of Common Coots and some Little Grebes.
A Eurasian Sparrowhawk and several Eastern Buzzards appeared above the pond as well as the last visit.
At Akakokko-kan, there was no sign of birds coming for bathing in the water in front of the house. There might be many water points in the island temporarily made by the strong rain the day before. However, we were greeted by a friendly Eurasian Wren (mosukei) and an Izu Thrush.
From the point overlooking the ocean near Akakokko-kan, we saw many Streaked Shearwaters flying in flocks, a Black-footed Albatross, and several whales (Sperm whales?).
The conditions for birding on the return ship were not the best but not so bad for seabird watching with some waves.
As soon as the ship departed from the island, Short-Tailed Albatrosses flew. They continued to appear until near the waters off Oshima Island.
As we got closer to Oshima Island, Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses also appeared as well.
As for Tristram's Storm-Petrel, which I was expecting to see this time, only one bird was seen, probably due to the calm weather.
We couldn't see any Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii) nor Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus) this time.
Off the coast of Oshima, we saw a huge flock of seabirds, probably tens of thousands of them, in the distance. There were whales and dolphins gathering nearby as well. Most of them seemed to be Streaked Shearwaters, and it was as if we were watching the scene of the ALEUTIAN MAGIC.
The birds observed are;
- in Miyake Island *species peculiar to Izu Islands
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
*Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), *Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*IIima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
*Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
*Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), *Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
*Japanese Robin (tanensis) (Luscinia akahige tanensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea)
- on the return boat to Tokyo
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Tristram's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates tristrami),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
コジュケイ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, オ−ストンウミツバメ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, カラスバト, キジバト, ミアケコゲラ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, イイジマムシクイ, シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ,
シロハラ, アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, オオカワラヒワ, アカウソ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
I visited this site hoping that swallows would already have arrived here. On March 18 last year, I had seen Asian House Martins (Delichon dasypus dasypus), but I couldn't see any this time.
The trees on the riverbed were beginning to bud.
I saw most of the same species as on my last visit two weeks ago, but the winter birds had significantly reduced their numbers.
However, there were still several flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch.
The number of buntings that were actively flying the last time I visited had decreased as well, and the remaining Common Reed Buntings, Masked Buntings and Chestnut-eared Buntings were hiding in the bushes and did not appear often.
The number of waterfowl around the weir was also reduced drastically, with Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) disappearing, and the Gadwalls decreasing to about 30, almost half of the previous time.
Three Vega Gulls and a Western Osprey were flying over the river.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
In contrast to the previous day's spring storm with thunderstorms, it was a warm day with temperatures over 20 degrees Celsius. The first cherry blossoms in Tokyo were reported.
On the beach, the sunlight was strong, but the west wind was also very strong.
When we arrived around noon, the vast mudflats spread out at the spring tide.
It was Sunday and many people were on the mudflats, but in between there were many Dunlings.
There was also a Saunder's Gull, whose head had turned to black. It would soon be leaving this site.
We also saw a small flock of Eurasian Oystercatchers, a few Sanderlings and Grey Plovers, a Kentish Plover, and a few Black-headed Gulls, Vega Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls.
On the water, we saw flocks of Greater Scaups in decreasing numbers, a few Black-necked Grebes, and a few Red-breasted Mergansers offshore. The Black-necked Grebes were changing into their summer plumage.
The birds observed were;
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
スズガモ, ウミアイサ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, ドバト, ハシブトガラス, メジロ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Zama, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(座間,神奈川)
There are rich habitats for birds at the middle reaches of the Sagami river; such as paddy fields, farms, river-beds with bushes.
I expected to see flocks of Japanese Grosbeaks stopping by on their way to their spring migration at this time of the year, as well as Chinese Grosbeak/Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria migratoria) that could be with them, and Barn Swallows (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) that had just arrived as summer birds.
Meadow Buntings and Rustic Bunting which is the winter bird were seen in the grassland around the cultivated fields.
There were also Dusky Thrushes here and there.
As soon as I reached the river bank, a flock of about 30 Japanese Grosbeaks flew close to me. The Japanese Grosbeaks perched on small trees on the riverbed and some of them drank water from the river.
I looked for a Chinese Grosbeak among the flock, but could not find one.
In the grassy area of the riverbank, there were flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Common Reed Buntings.
Large-scale flood protection work for typhoons was also carried out in this river, however, I saw ducks and a few king Common Mergansers/Goosanders downstream of the construction site.
No swallows were to be seen. It seemed that they had not yet arrived.
The birds observed are (*obseved by other birder);
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カワアイサ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, イカルチドリ, キジバト,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Nara Palace Site (Heijokyu-Ato)(Nara Prefecture)
平城宮跡(奈良)
Upon information of an Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), I visited a pond within Nara Palace Site. I have learned from local birders that the bird had been seen for a short time near noon on the preceding day.
When I arrived relatively early, there were much activities of passerine birds, such as Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus).
It was still cold and Japanese Bush Warblers (Horornis diphone) were calling initially (later song was heard), but Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) were singing in the sky.
Although we expected a hint of movement of the Eurasian Bittern earlier in the morning, but no one saw the bird.
There were several Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) foraging and a Great Egret (Ardea alba) and Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) sometimes visited.
But as we waited for a few hours nothing special happened and some birders already suspected that the bird had already left.
We saw a flying Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), which was the only raptor we saw.
We waited rather desperately, but one of local birders who regularly visit this site did not miss the slightest movement. This bird was a very tough target and not all birders recognized it immediately. Even after several minutes, birders were explaining each other where this bird was.
It was lucky for me to witness and video-capture of the bird. It looked like a yellow spot slowly moving among the reeds.
Although this site is famous for Eurasian Wrynecks (Jynx torquilla), I could only observe the birds around the pond and had not chance to see a wryneck.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Chinese Bamboo Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus)
カルガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, サンカノゴイ, ダイサギ, オオバン, バン, クイナ, クイナ, ノスリ, モズ,
カワセミ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, メジロ, ヒバリ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, シロハラ,
ジョウビタキ, ウグイス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ, コジュケイ
Area around Numazu City (Shizuoka)
沼津市周辺(静岡)
The first field was Ukishima Marsh (Ukishima-Shitsugen).
At Akua Plaze Recreational Land, we saw buntings (Masked, Meadow, Common Reed), Dusky Thrushes, Oriental Turtle-Doves, Bull-headed Shrikes,etc. around the pond and reed fields, ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Eurasian Wigeon), Little Grebes and Common Coots in the pond, a Eurasian Bittern and a Great White Egret in the wet land, and a Grey-headed Lapwing, Oriental Turtle-Doves and White-cheeked Starlings in the adjacent farm fields.
Eurasian Bittern is endangered in Japan due to its small population, lack of habitat such as vast marshlands and reed fields, and decreasing number of small animals to feed on. It is very difficult to observe it in daytime because it hides in the marsh and rarely appears in open areas, and it is very shy, so we were very lucky to see it easily here.
There are many fallow fields dotted here and there with reeds growing in the farming land that spreads in the Ukishima Marsh.
We saw many passeriforme such as buntings (Common Reed, Meadow, Masked), Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Grey-capped Greenfinches, and Bull-headed Shrikes.
In the middle of winter, birds of prey such as Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), and Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis) can be seen, but not this time.
We saw Grey Herons nesting on the trees.
We also heard the songs of Eurasian Skylarks and a Green Pheasant.
At Ukishimagahara Nature Park, where many Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) had been recorded before, we did not see this time.
The second field was Fuji River (Fuji-Gawa).
We first visited the left bank, but the approach to the river was difficult, so we headed to the right bank.
At the mouth of the river, a large riverbed spread, and there are also runways for small planes.
So it is not easy to search for birds with binoculars only. We watched the birds using a spotting scope.
In the river there were ducks especially many Gadwalls this time, The number was over sixty.
There were also grebes(Little, Great Crested), gulls (Slaty-backed, Black-tailed, Vega), herons (Grey, Eastern Great), cormorants (Japanese, Great), Common Mergansers, and Common Coots.
We also saw a flock og shorebird (Sanderling?), too.
The final destination was Oku-Suruga Bay (Oku-Suruga Wan).
It seemed as a in-between season in this field, we could not find any murrelet or loon.
The birds we observed are;
At Akua Plaze Recreational Land:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Farm fields in Ukishima Marsh:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Ukishimagahara Nature Park:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
At Mouth of Fuji River:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida)?
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
At Oku-Suruga Bay:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
サンカノゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン, ケリ, ミユビシギ?
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
As soon as I started walking along the forest road, I was greeted by a flock of Long-tailed Tits, Gray Buntings and Masked Buntings.
A Japanese Bush-Warbler was singing well.
But soon the silence was broken. The construction work, which I thought had already finished, had resumed, and construction vehicles and many dump trucks came and went along the forest road.
However, there were several flocks of Eurasian Bullfinches and Japanese Bush-Warblers at several points.
I heard unfamiliar calls coming from a stream. As I looked at them, it turned out to be frogs. They seemed to be in their spring breeding season.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)?
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
マガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ? コゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ルリビタキ,
ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, アカウソ, アオジ, クロジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
The temperature had risen further entering March, and I was sweating while wearing layers of clothing.
I heard a Green Pheasant, Eurasian Skylarks, and a Japanese Bush-Warbler singing.
The birds in the grasslands of the riverbed became more and more active, especially various species of buntings such as Meadow, Common Reed, Masked, Rustic, and Chestnut-eared.
The number of waterfowls at the weir had decreased except for Great Crested Grebe, Gadwalls and Common Coots.
Around 10 Great Crested Grebes formed a flock, and the male's head became flashy, and courtship behavior was also seen.
The number of tge Godwalls exceeded 70.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン, セグロカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Seta River around Nango Araizeki (Shiga Prefecture)
南郷洗堰周辺の瀬田川(滋賀)
I visited this site with some expectation to meet Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula).
Around the water dam, it initially seemed promising looking at many ducks. These ducks, however, were a large flock of Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) and there were not many ducks of other species.
Down the river, I couldn't see Common Goldeneyes, which are frequently seen here. In the shallow region, there were a flock of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) and Gadwalls (Mareca strepera).
Further down, I finally found a female Common Goldeneye, but I didn't see any other individuals. It may have been that these birds had already moved or they didn't stay here since construction was under way.
The voice of Black Kites (Milvus migrans) was continuously present, and there were several birds on the sky and chasing each other. Some birds stayed on poles or trees and called each other. Their breeding season had already started and these birds looked particularly active.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, カワウ, コサギ, オオバン, トビ,
ハシブトガラス, カワセミ, モズ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, メジロ, ウグイス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ
Ikejiri (Hirinosawa Pond) (Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture)
池尻(平野沢池) (京都府亀岡市)
Ikejiri (Hirinosawa Pond) is a famous birding location in Kameoka region of Kyoto. It is composed of three major ponds and many ducks winter here.
In this winter, Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana) were also recorded.
The region is surrounded by Satoyama forest and is suitable for watching wintering forest birds.
There were not so many ducks as I expected (both in number and species). It may have been that some ducks may have already started moving.
One pond was mainly occupied by dabbling ducks. The majority was Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) and Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope).
Particularly interesting was the behavior of Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata). The male birds issued the characteristic voice and followed females. The male birds also made a short-distance flight with voice and landed on the water. This was apparently a sequence of display behavior.
Another pond was occupied only by a flock of Common Pochards (Aythya ferina). These birds also showed some degree of display behavior with various voice, in contrast to what usually looks a "silent" species.
Surrounding low mountains, covered with favorable trees, are not far and birds of prey are expected here.
During my stay, I saw a soaring Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus).
I've heard that a Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) can be expected to soar on these mountains and there is also information of the presence of Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) in summer, both reflecting the well-preserved habitat.
I heard the song of Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone) first time in this season.
List of species:;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
, Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, キジバト, カワウ, オオバン,
トビ, ノスリ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, カケス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, ジョウビタキ,
メジロ, ウグイス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo) & Shin-urayasu Coast (Chiba)
葛西臨海公園(東京)&新浦安海岸(千葉)
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis) & Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
At the first place I visited, the West shore (Nishi-Nagisa) in Kasai Rinkai Park, I saw a Eastern Buzzard, a Peregrine Falcon, and a Western Osprey, but there were only about ten shorebirds (Kentish Plovers, Dunlins).
At the Birds Sanctuary, it was interesting to see a Ruddy-breasted Crake pecking at a dead bullfrog.
On the East shore (Higashi-nagisa) observed from AMeDAS (Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System) Point, I saw two Black-faced Spoonbills and about 2,000 Great Crested Grebes.
At Shin-Urayasu, I looked for a Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) among the flock of Greater Scaups, but I found one Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter.
Lastly, although it was very far away, I found a pair of Long-tailed Ducks displaying courtship behavior.
The birds observed are;
- at Kasai-Rinkai Park:
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola, etc.
- at Shin-Urayasu:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), etc.
スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, コオリガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ノスリ, ヒクイナ, シロチドリ, キタアラスカハマシギ, 他
Choshi area (Chiba Prefecture)
銚子エリア(千葉)
At first, we visited Kimigahama Shiosai Park in Choshi, and searched for the Yellow-bellied Tits (Periparus venustulus), rarity bird in Japan, which were observed one month ago.
When we revisited the spot where we had seen this bird last time, we met a photographer who had seen two of them a while before us. We searched and waited around for a while, but unfortunately, the birds did not appear during our time of observation.
The flocks of Eurasian Siskin that we saw on our last visit were also seen this time. The yellowish color of them had deepened.
Then we visited the fishing ports in Choshi.
The weather had been very warm for February recently, but on this day, the winter chill had returned. The cold north wind was blowing strongly, making it hard to go outside for gull watching. So we had to watch mostly from inside the car. As it was the weekend and the fishery was off, there were no fishing boats loaded with fish. Most of the gulls were resting in the waters behind the breakwaters far away avoiding the wind. Even nearby gulls were mostly flying. Therefore, we could only observe a few flocks resting on the relatively nearby breakwaters or a mud flat.
On the mud flat, there were many Black-headed Gulls, followed by Black-tailed Gulls and Vega Gulls. A small number of Slaty-backed Gulls, Glaucous Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen among them.
At Fishing Port No.3, there were two Black-legged Kittiwakes which is the regular visitor at this point.
At a breakwater between the Fishing Port No. 1 and No. 2, we were able to observe a flock of gulls resting closely.
We also saw Pelagic Cormorants with the greenish gloss.
Next, we visited the Togawa fishing port on the south side of Choshi, where the north wind was blocked.
The fishery was not in operation there either, so there were few gulls.
We found a small flock of a Lesser Black-backed Gull on the breakwater.
In the harbor, we saw a Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) nearby.
The last site was Iioka Fishing Port. We searched the harbor for loons/divers and murrelets, but found only Common Pochards.
On the sea side, we saw flocks of Black Scoters and Greater Scaups in the distance, as well as some Black-throated Loons/Black-throated Divers.
The birds observed were;
at Kimigahama Shiosai Park:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
at Choshi Fishing Ports:
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis) Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
at Togawa Fishing Port & Choshi Marina:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
at Iioka Fishing Port:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-throated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ホシハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ, オオハム, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ,
シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, マヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Around Tateshina Highland (Nagano)
蓼科高原周辺(長野)
On the way, we stopped by Togariishi historical Site in Chino City and Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park in Hara Village.
In the forest near Ryujin Pond, the construction equipment was removing the old wooden path.
Thus, only a small flock of Eurasian Siskin and a few tits were seen.
No Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica) was seen in dried Ryujin Pond.
In the forest at the historical site, we saw a mixed flock of birds (Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Japanese Tit, Varied Tit).
We saw three kinds of woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green).
At Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park, we expected to see waxwings, but there was only one Japanese Waxwing this time.
When we arrived at a small cottage (Bergcot) at the south foot of Tateshina Mountain at an altitude of 1,500 meters, the owner of the house soon put a lot of sunflower seeds on the feeders on the veranda. Immediately, a number of birds arrived one after the other, such as Asian Rosy-Finches, Eurasian Bullfinches, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Willow Tits, Japanese Tits, Wood Nuthatches and Japanese Grosbeaks. We enjoyed watching these birds closely while sitting in the dining room tasting coffee and wine.
The next morning, in addition to those birds, Bramblings and Hawfinches also appeared at the feeders during breakfast.
After checking out of the inn, we observed ducks at Lake Tateshina, and then visited Togariishi Historic Site again, where we saw almost the same birds as the day before.
The birds we observed are;
at Togariishi Historic Site:
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park:
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica)
at Tateshina Highland:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
at Tateshina Lake:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus)
カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, ノスリ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ガビチョウ, ゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ハギマシコ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, カシラダカ
Around Nobeyama Highland (Yamanashi,Nagano)
野辺山高原周辺(山梨,長野)
At first, we visited Daimon Dam.
On the last visit (22 November 2020), we saw more than 100 Mandarin Ducks and a great number of Rustic Buntings but their numbers were decreased a lot this time and over 10 Japanese Accentors were seen instead.
We also saw a variety of species of birds although they were few in number.
The farmlands of Nobeyama Highland were exposed to cold and strong winds, and there were few birds besides Grey-capped Greenfinches, which was seen in abundance last time (10 January 2021).
The field was almost bare of snow, with only compacted snow remaining on some of the roads. A Japanese Waxwing was found on the road with snow.
Around Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike), perhaps it was the bad time of day since it was around noon, but there were few birds to observe this time.
The birds we observed are;
at Daimon Dam:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
at Nobeyama Highland:
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
at Tobisawa Reservoir:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ヒレンジャク,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
カヤクグリ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Benten-ike Park (Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture)
弁天池公園(大阪府門真市)
A rare Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) was recorded in an urban park in Osaka in the last year.
The bird was seen only for one day there, and birders searched where it flew. Sometime after that, the bird was recovered in a small pond of Benten-ike Park in Osaka and it stayed there since then.
The main duck species in this pond was the Common Pochard (Aythya ferina) and they were fed by the locals.
The Red-crested Pochard usually stayed a bit afar from these Common Pochards, but was sometimes attracted by breads given by the locals.
The Red-crested Pochard is larger and looked slower in action than Common Pochards, but at least once during my observation, the bird caught a bread. It was chased by a Common Pochard, but didn't release the bread.
There were also many feral pigeons and swarmed around people who were going to feed the ducks.
Other birds, such as Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), a Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) also gathered for food.
I saw probably for the first time a Little Grebe eating a bread given by a human.
List of species:;
Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
アカハシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, オオバン, バン,
ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary (Osaka City)
大阪南港野鳥園港(大阪)
I visited this region following information of a Northern Shrike Shrike (Lanius schach).
This individual was first seen on 2020 September 10 from the observing tower of Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary, and was intermittently seen for several weeks.
I could not visit here since it was the season of peak migration of raptors and since the tower was reported to be very crowded with observers even under COVID-19 pandemic.
The individual was later re-discovered in a nearby region and it lurked around, but was hard to access due to the peak of COVID-19. Knowing that observers have become less numerous and the situation of COVID-19 is becoming better, I finally visited this site.
The location was somewhere between the nearest railway station and the Bird Sanctuary.
Only about ten minutes after my arrival, the Northern Shrike Shrike appeared on a branch.
Its ventral part looked almost white.
The bird once flew away, but again perched on a taller branch and it was an excellent object for photography. The bird then moved in front of us, playing on the ground for a short time (Dusky Thrushes issued alarm calls) and perched to a different site. The bird was well seen and it was a show of about ten minutes.
Having witnessed the target bird, I made a short visit to the Bird Sanctuary and looked around from the observing tower.
The main species was tens of Common Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna).
A smaller number of other ducks were present, but were distant.
In one moment, Common Shelducks suddenly flew as a flock, and then returned to the water. We suspected that there may have been a raptor attack, but no one saw it.
According to the record of the Sanctuary, an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) and Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) had been seen on the same day. I couldn't see them during my short visit.
It was becoming windy and there were not much activities of forest birds.
I returned the location of the Northern Shrike Shrike and learned that the bird hadn't appeared for an hour. I waited for the bird for an additional hour without success. The prompt sighting of the bird in the morning must have been a lucky incident.
List of species:;
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Mmallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Northern Shrike Shrike (Lanius schach). Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
ツクシガモ, マガモ, ヒドリガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン,
セグロカモメ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, タカサゴモズ, モズ, ツグミ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ,
メジロ, ウグイス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Kahokugata Lagoon (Ishikawa Prefecture)
河北潟(石川)
I visited Kahokugata Lagoon in search of the Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius). According to local birders, the bird was seen earlier in the morning of this day.
This is probably the year of irruption of the Upland Buzzard, and there have been several records in Japan, also in Taiwan. A Chinese news media reported that a bird of this species was recorded on January 10, 78 years after the previous record. These reports suggest that the very cold air in early January brought this species to Japan to China in a considerable number. The same cold air produced heavy snowfall in some parts of Japan.
It was a windy day. Upon arrival a large number of ducks flew. They were probably disturbed by a flying Eastern Marsh harrier (Circus spilonotus).
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) carried fish and later on appeared again. This bird called loudly, probably already in the breeding season.
While taking a lunch, I heard a voice "keee", which very much resembled the call of the Upland Buzzard (I have been accustomed to thus typical voice through Russian recordings and videos). I looked ahead, but couldn't find the bird. I was also recording during observation, but this voice was not recorded. Due to the strong wind, I had to point to the downwind direction, and later I realized that the voice would have came behind me, from the upwind direction. I should have searched this direction (it was the direction of the sun and my search was incomplete).
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the richness of raptors in this famous lagoon. I only saw and heard ducks in flight, and the species list was incomplete.
It was also a bit of surprise to hear and see an Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) in the residential area around the lagoon.
List of species:;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius)? Eastern Marsh harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
マガモ, コガモ, オナガガモ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, オオノスリ? チュウヒ, チョウゲンボウ, キジバト, ヒヨドリ,
ハシボソガラス, オナガ, モズ, ヒバリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ムクドリ, オオジュリン
Island Miyakejima & Cruise (Tokyo)
三宅島&航路(東京)
This island is located a half-day distance by ship from Tokyo. Ship "Tachibana-maru" departed Takeshiba-port in the Tokyo-bay at 22:30, and it arrived at Miyake-jima at 5:00 in the next morning.
After half-day birding inside the Miyake Island, we can return back to Tokyo in the same day by the ship which switched back at Hachijo island.
Miyakejima is called as "Bird Island"and we can see birds peculiar to Izu Islands. From end of February to beginning of May, we can observe many sea birds from the ship.
It was around 5:30 a.m. when I arrived at the bus stop near Tairo-ike Pond by the first bus that runs in conjunction with the arrival time of the ship, and it was still dark without the moon-light that day.
I hoped to hear a Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica), but I didn't.
I waited for the light to brighten up enough to recognize the road and started walking towards Tairo-ike Pond. When I got to a viewpoint of the pond, the light was getting brighter. From the trees on the slope besides the road, calls of Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Bush-Warblers, a Japanese Robin, a Eurasian Wren and Japanese Wood-Pigeons started.
Suddenly, an Izu Thrush landed on the road in front of me and walked in front of me. It might have taken an interest in the dawn intruder.
In Tairo-ike Pond, there was a flock of Common Coots in the distance, as well as a few Tufted Ducks and Little Grebes. No egrets were present.
As the sun came up and became brighter, the birds' calls became quieter. It was still early in the season for the birds to be singing in full spring.
It was not easy to spot the birds, but fortunately, a Japanese Robin appeared very close to me.
A Eurasian Sparrowhawk and several Eastern Buzzards appeared above the pond.
Then I visited Akakokko-kan. Akakokko Station, Akakokko-kan, is a nature center run by Miyakemura village. There are rangers of Wild Bird Society of Japan, provides information on nature, organizes nature tours, conducts surveys and research, and performs other activities.
The Akakokko-kan had been closed for a while due to COVID-19, but it was open, so I watched the birds coming to the water in front of the house from the room.
One after another, various birds appeared such as Izu Thrush, Eurasian Siskins, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Owston's Tits, Eurasian Wren, Warbling White-eyes, White's Thrush, Brambling, and Japanese Bush-Warbler.
The conditions for birding on the return ship were favorable for seabird watching due to the strong westerly wind. In addition, the temperature was warm and it was easy to watch the seabirds on the right side deck with no wind and good lighting.
On the shore of Miyake Island, I saw many Black-tailed gulls.
As soon as the ship departed from the island, Short-Tailed Albatrosses flew in flocks. They continued to appear in large numbers until near the waters off Oshima Island.
The further we went, the more Black-footed Albatrosses appeared, and near Oshima, the more Laysan Albatrosses were seen.
I also saw many Streaked Shearwaters.
I saw two Japanese Murrelet flew straight aside the ship, too.
The birds observed are;
- in Miyake Island *species peculiar to Izu Islands
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
*Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), *Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
*Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), *Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
*Japanese Robin (tanensis) (Luscinia akahige tanensis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
- on the return boat to Tokyo
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
コジュケイ, キンクロハジロ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, ウミウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カンムリウミスズメ, カラスバト, キジバト,
ミアケコゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, シチトウメジロ,
モスケミソサザイ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
As the season became more and more like spring, the birds in the field became more and more active.
Eurasian Skylarks were singing in the sky, a Common Kingfisher were hunting in puddles, and Meadow Buntings were singing and flying around in the grassland.
The number and species of waterfowls at the weir did not change much from a month ago, and there were still big flocks of over 60 Gadwalls and many Common Coots.
The construction work on the sandbar that started from the end of last year had finished, and sandbar where I saw Long-billed Plovers (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus) and a number of wagtails was disappeared.
The Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits/American Pipits (Siberian) (Anthus rubescens japonicus) that were many in the playgrounds the last time were probably moved away and none were seen.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Oneyama Forest Park (Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture)
小根山森林公園(群馬)
Many Bramblings, Grey-capped Greenfinches and tits (Varied, Japanese, and Willow), a Wood Nuthatch, and a Daurian Redstart were gathered in the feeders and water bowl placed in front of the management office.
But there was no Yellow-throated Bunting here, too. According the the staff of the office, only a few Yellow-throated Buntings stayed for a short time but had disappeared.
We walked the trails in the vast grounds of the park, but there were few birds, and we only heard tits in a few spots and saw one Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The birds found were;
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, ジョウビタキ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ
Mine Park (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
嶺公園(群馬)
There are ponds and forest, and nature is rich. We can meet various wild birds.
Until a few years ago, we could see many Yellow-throated Buntings (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula) in this park, but last winter we could not. This year, we came here hoping to see them. Unfortunately, we could not meet them this time either.
There were only a few other buntings, such as a few Masked Buntings and Rustic Buntings were seen this time.
On the other hand, the White-browed Laughingthrush, which is an introduced species but rare in Japan, has been seen here for some time, and we were able to see them easily again. The number of White-browed Laughingthrushes seems to be increasing, and they were moving around in the bushes actively together with their fellow Chinese Hwameis.
In the ponds, there were many Eurasian Teals and Mallards, a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, and one Little Grebe, a Common Coot and a Smew.
We did not see any Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) this time.
A various kinds of birds were lurking in a small reed bed by the pond.
While watching quietly, Pale Thrush, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Eurasian Siskins, Japanese Bush Warbler, Hawfinch, and Brown-eared Bulbul appeared. A Red-flanked Bluetail was also seen nearby.
In the sky, we saw Black Kites and a Eastern Buzzard flying.
The birds found were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio sannio),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, キジバト,
コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ガビチョウ, カオジロガビチョウ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, シメ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Higashi-Takane Forest Park (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園(川崎)
There are mistletoes (Viscum album subsp. coloratum), and Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) visits this park aiming the seeds of these trees at the end of winter.
The maintenance work that had been done for years seemed to be almost finished, and only the cutting down of some of the taller trees was ongoing, so the peace and quiet seemed to have returned to the park. However, the number of birds seemed to be fewer.
At the park entrance, I searched for Masked Bunting in the bush along the small stream where we usually watch the bird very well. However there was not this time.
In the ponds, there were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks as usual.
I looked for White's Thrush. This time, the bird was in a grassland near the boardwalk, without any obstructions to hide, and we were able to observe it foraging with a swinging rump.
While observing this bird, a birder told that there was a Eurasian Woodcock nearby. When we got there, several photographers were taking pictures of the bird foraging on the slope. This is the first time I have seen a Eurasian Woodcock in this field. We saw one more Eurasian Woodcock on the slope near this location.
Some photographers gathered around the tree with the mistletoe attached, but there was no waxwing. However, a short distance away from this spot, we saw three waxwings that had flown in and perched on a treetop nearby.
The thrushes were few, and other than the White's Thrush, we saw onc Pale Thrush and one Dusky Thrush.
As for the woodpeckers, we saw one Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker and three Japanese Woodpeckers.
Japanese Bush-Warblers became active, and we saw them moving busily at several places.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
カルガモ, ヤマシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, トラツグミ, シロハラ,
ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, シメ
East Region of Kanagawa Prefecture (Samukawa, Yokohama)
神奈川県東部(寒川,横浜)
At first, we visited a small park near Samukawa Shrine. Every winter, Long-eared Owl winters in this park.
At first we couldn't find the owl and were about to give up, but then a local resident told us that she saw one the day before, so we looked carefully again and found it resting hidden in a tree.
The next site was Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park (Sakaigawa Yusuichi Koen).
In the reedbeds around the ponds, usually, we can see many Common Reed Buntings, Brown-cheeked Rails, Common Moorhens and Common Coots in winter. However, this time the reedbeds were so much maintained and the number of these waterfowl was low, with only a few Common Reed Buntings, one Brown-cheeked Rail, a Common Moorhen and a few Common Coots.
In the Sakaigawa River, which runs beside the park, we saw three species of wagtail (White, Grey, Japanese), and a Common Kingfisher.
In the afternoon we visited Maioka Park (Maioka-Koen).
We searched for Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera) in the forest, and Woodcock, Ruddy-breasted Crake and Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) at the wetlands, which were the recorde in this season.
We could see a Eurasian Woodcock and a Ruddy-breasted Crake, however we did not see or hear any Japanese Woodpecker. According to a photographer, he saw a Eurasian Wryneck just before our arrival, but it did not appear during our observation.
The Masked Bunting, Japanese Tit and Varied Tit were very friendly and we were able to observe them closely.
Finally, we stopped by Kodomo Nature Park (Kodomo Shizen Koen) to look for a Ring-necked Duck, a rarity in Japan, which was seen here this winter.
At the pond in the park, a man was feeding the ducks and we were able to get a closer look at the duck among the Tufted Ducks and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks that were attracted by the food.
The birds we observed are;
- near Samukawa Shrine;
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus)
- at Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park (Sakaigawa Yusuichi Koen);
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Maioka Park;
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Kodomo Natural Park (Kodomo Shizen Koen);
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, クビワキンクロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
チョウゲンボウ, クイナ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, ヤマシギ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, トラフズク,
カワセミ, コゲラ,モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
West Region of Kanagawa Prefecture (Isehara, Hadano, Yamakita, Odawara)
神奈川県西部(伊勢原,秦野,山北,小田原)
As soon as we started to walk on the forest road, we were greeted by a Red-flanked Bluetail on the side of the road.
We also encountered a flock of Eurasian Bullfinchs and a large flock of over 100 Eurasian Siskins.
There were more flocks of Eurasian Siskins and Eurasian Bullfinchs, some tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow, Long-tailed), a few Daurian Redstarts and two Japanese Accentors.
At the end of the forest road, around 3km, there was a point where Mask Buntings and Grey Buntings were gathering.
We were fortunate to see two Mountain Hawk-Eagles near the Mountain Hawk-Eagle observation point at 3.6km.
Near noon we visited the Kuzuha House (Kuzuha-no-ie) in Hadano.
This is a protected area around the gorge of the Kuzuha River, which is used as a place for relaxation and interaction with nature. Many kinds of plants and animals can be seen there all year round.
Many Japanese Grosbeaks had been seen there recently, but due to bad time for birding, we could only see one this time.
However, there were many Japanese Tits and Masked Buntings actively flying around the management office, probably because of the bird feeders.
At the end of the first day we visited a small shrine in the suburbs of Hadano.
Many mistletoe parasite the large trees on the shrine premises, and every winter Japanese Waxwings come here for the berries. This year, too, they had been observed recently, including one Bohemian Waxwing.
We might arrive at the bad time, and unfortunately the waxwing was not there.
We tried again the next day at dawn.
Then the mistletoes were visited by waxwings one after the other.
There was also a flock of Japanese Grosbeaks and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
At first the light was not enough to identify the Bohemian Waxwing among the Japanese Waxwings, but after a while, when the light increased, we managed to find it.
From the area around the shrine we heard the calls of a Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, a Japanese Green Woodpecker and Ryukyu Minivets.
Then we visited, Lake Tanzawa in the morning.
Lake Tanzawa is an artificial lake that was created on completion of the Miho dam in 1978.
In the past, we have been able to observe Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris), flocks of Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) and Mountain Hawk-Eagles, but this time we only saw a distant Mountain Hawk-Eagle and did not have much result.
It seems that the construction works being carried out around the lake are affecting the birds.
In the afternoon we visited Sakawa River (Sakawa-Gawa), which flows out from Lake Tanzawa.
We saw a few House Swifts in the sky.
There was a large flock of Eurasian Teals and a Green-winged Teal among them.
We didn't see any Common Mergansers/Goosanders (Mergus merganser merganser) this time.
Near the mouth of the river, on the riverbed sports grounds, there were Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, White Wagtails, Eurasian Skylarks and White-cheeked Starlings foraging.
Grey Herons, Great White Egret/Western Great Egrets and Little Egrets were present in the river.
At the Iizumi Intake Weir there were not many ducks and they flocked under the weir probably due to construction work being carried out.
Above the weir, a flock of Vega Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls were resting, with one Mew Gull in the flock.
The birds we observed are;
- at Hinata Forest Road;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- at Kuzuha House (Kuzuha-no-ie);
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at a shrine in Hadano;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- at Lake Tanzawa;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
- at Sakawa River;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Eurasian Teal/Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca/Anas carolinensis),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
コジュケイ, コブハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アメリカコガモ, ホシハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, クマタカ, オオバン, イカルチドリ,
カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, キレンジャク, ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カワガラス, スズメ, カヤクグリ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, アカウソ, イカル,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, クロジ
Midorogaike Pond (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
深泥池(京都)
I visited this pond last November, but I couldn't find any wintering ducks. I visited here again to see if there appeared these ducks.
At a first glance, there were not so many ducks, but most of them turned out to be hidden or distant. The total number didn't look much smaller than in the last season (on 2019 March 2).
The majority of ducks were Falcated Ducks (Anas falcata), Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) and Gadwalls (Mareca strepera).
While observing these birds, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) suddenly flew over the pond and there was a reaction by the the ducks. The ducks stirred up, but didn't fly.
Instead, Wagtails were in panic and one of them sang on the pole (paradoxical behavior?).
After then, the Falcated Ducks became active and showed display movements. Both males and females called together and there was a lively moment for a while.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
マガモ, カルガモ, ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオバン, カワウ,
アオサギ, キジバト, コゲラ, ヒヨドリ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
ツグミ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, ベニマシコ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Watarase Retarding Basin & Paddy fields in Itakura (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉たんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
At first, I drove around the paddy fields in Itakura and looked for flock of Eastern Rook and Daurian Jackdaw. In ordinary years, there are always huge flocks of them, but this year, but strangely we couldn't find any in this field.
I searched for a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus harterti), which is the rare subspecies in this field, reported by a local birder. However, I could not find it. Only a few Eastern Buzzards were seen.
Without much results, we moved on to the Watarase Retarding Basin.
At the site of the old Yanaka village, we saw a flock of about 40 Bramblings and a few Long-tailed Rosefinches. The reddish color of the male was beautiful.
The largest artificial lake in the field, Yanaka Lake, is dried up every year during this season to maintain water quality, and there was almost no water left. There were herons, Great Cormorants, and ducks in the remaining puddles, but they were too far away to identify the species.
At the small ponds in the reed field, we saw Smews and a large flock of Falcated Ducks.
As sunset was drawing near, the number of Eastern Marsh-Harriers roosting in this reed fields was increasing.
A Hen Harrier also appeared after sunset.
The birds found were;
At Itakura paddy field:
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), ,br. White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヨシガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, キジバト, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
多々良沼(群馬)
It was Risshun (First Day of Spring) on the Japanese calendar, but the strong wind from the west was very cold.
There were more swans than in usual years this year, with Bewick's Swans and Whooper Swans everywhere in the marsh. I looked for Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus), but couldn't find them because most of swans were resting with their faces tucked into their bodies.
A Eurasian Spoonbill, which had been staying here since the end of last year, was foraging in a flock of resting swans, shaking its head busily alone.
The ducks were flocking near the eastern shore of the marsh, as if blown away by a strong westerly wind.
We looked for wintering shorebirds but there was not.
The birds observed were;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ノスリ, キジバト,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ
Lake Inba-numa Area (Chiba)
印旛沼付近(千葉)
On the way to Motono Hakucho-no-sato, we heard a Eurasian Skylark singing. This is the first confirmation of this year.
When we reached the site early in the morning, we found many swans still staying in the water-filled rice-field where they were roosting.
According to the display board, the maximum number of swans recorded this season was 1029. The majority of the swans were Bewick's Swans (C.c.bewickii), but there were also many Whooper Swans, and one Tundra Swan (C.c.columbianus) was also found. There were also a large number of Northern Pintails in the same place.
In the nearby rice fields, we saw friendly Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits and White Wagtails, and a young Northern Goshawk in the sky.
At the next site we visited, Lake Kita-Inba-numa, we saw Kanta-kun, Great White Pelican, on the shore as usual.
By the shore, we saw one Smew and many beautiful Falcated Ducks.
In the center of the large lake, we saw huge flocks of ducks. We couldn't identify them well because they were too far away, but using a spotting scope we managed to see several species such as Northern Pintails, Common Pochards, and Baikal Teals.
It was strange that we couldn't find any Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) and few egrets this time.
There were many buntings (Meadow, Common Reed, Rustic, Masked) in the reeds, grasses and small trees along the shore.
We looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), but could not find this time. Instead, we found a Eurasian Wryneck and a Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus).
Next we visited the Sakata Pond located nearby. There were many families around the pond.
In the pond, there were ducks such as Northern Shovelers, Mallards and Eurasian Teals getting food from visitors.
We walked through Boso-no-Mura Park, next to the pond.
This park is where Red Crossbills (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica) and Two-barred Crossbill/White-winged Crossbill (Eurasian) (Loxia leucoptera bifasciata) was observed in November 2019 and has many pine trees.
We looked for crossbill, but it was not there.
We did find a flock of Eurasian Siskin and a few Olive-backed Pipit, which is typical species in pine forests.
We also saw a few Red-flanked Bluetails moving among the shrubberies.
In the afternoon, we drove through the paddy fields that spread around the North Lake North-Inba-numa.
In a paddy field with puddles of water, there was a big flock of Northern Lapwings.
We also saw a few Eastern Buzzards, two Western Ospreys, and a Eastern Marsh-Harrier.
A group of swans were also foraging.
The birds observed are;
- at Motono Hakucho-no-sato:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- at Lake Inba-Numa:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Sakata Pond & Boso-no-Mura Park:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, モモイロペリカン, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, クイナ, オオバン, タゲリ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, アリスイ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Sakuraso Park & Akigase Park(Saitama)
桜草公園＆秋ヶ瀬公園(埼玉)
Akigase Park is located at a section of flood plain of the Arakawa River flowing the western edge of Saitama City.
In 1971, former Urawa City established the park as a measure to manage the rising issue of insufficient park availability stemmed from rapid urban expansion.
There is the forest of the wild bird leaving nature and the exercise facilities such as a baseball field, the tennis ground in this park.
Due to its variety in environment, this field is providing good habitats for various kinds of birds which prefer forest, grass field, and marsh.
However, last season, the park was closed to visitors due to flooding caused by a super typhoon, but after the long-term restoration, the park was reopened in its original state.
At first, I visited Sakuraso Park.
A Meadow Bunting was already singing, perhaps already feeling the oncoming of spring.
In the grassy area of the open space, I saw a number of Dusky Thrushes, Pale Thrushes and White Wagtails.
Tits (Japanese, long-tailed), Daurian Redstarts, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Hawfinches, and Warbling White-eyes were seen in the small trees by the creek.
Meadow Buntings and Masked Buntings were found hiding in a tall grassy area.
There were many ducks in the canal (Porchard, Tuffted, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed).
I did not see any Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus) or Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) this time.
In the forest near Kibo-no-kuni Ground, there was a White's Thrush.
Many Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits and Eurasian Tree Sparrow were found in paddy fields and many buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Common Reed) were found in fallow fields.
In the forest of Kodomo-no-Mori, many photographers were waiting for Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) which was seen the day before.
In the forest of Picnic-no-Mori, there was a flock of Eurasian Siskin.
Most of the ponds were dried up, and there were a few Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, a Grey Heron, and a Great White Egret in a pond with water.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, オオバン, イソシギ,
ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Inashiki area (Ibaraki Prefecture)
稲敷エリア(茨城)
In the lotus fields, the lotus had dropped its leaves, making it easier to spot the waterfowl inside.
Several species of wintering shorebirds were observed.
Especially Common Snipes were easy to spot.
In a lotus field, there was a flock of 27 Long-billed Dowitchers. This was the first time we had seen such a large flock.
There were also a large number ofNorthern Lapwings in the lotus fields and farm fields.
In the grasslands of the reclaimed land, we saw a number of Eastern Marsh-Harriers, a few Merlins, Eastern Buzzards, and one Hen Harrier.
Many photographers were waiting to photograph Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus).
The birds we observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, セイタカシギ, タゲリ,
ムナグロ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, エリマキシギ, セグロカモメ,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Fishing ports at Choshi (Chiba Prefecture)
銚子漁港(千葉)
The weather was very calm with no strong west-north wind and was very warm. That is a very rare condition at this field in the winter time.
Furthermore, there were many boats coming back from fishing. These boats should been accompanied with many gulls from the sea, but there were very few gulls and seabirds in the port.
Usually at this time of the year, there are countless seagulls around the boat, on the wharf, and on the breakwaters, but we only saw seagulls resting on some of the breakwaters.
There were also very few species of gulls, mostly Vega Gulls and Black-tailed Gulls, with only a small number of Slaty-backed Gulls and Mew Gulls, one Glaucous-winged Gull, one Lesser Black-backed Gull, and no Glaucous Gulls (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus) or Iceland Gulls/Thayer's Gulls (Larus glaucoides thayeri).
There were also very few Black-headed Gulls.
In addition to the gulls, there were three species of cormorants (Great, Japanese, Pelagicon) the bank. I wondered why Pelagicon Cormorants were only found on a narrow shelf in the middle of the embankment.
In the port, we saw fewer than usual numbers of Greater Scaups and grebes (Red-necked, Great Crested, Black-necked).
From the hill of "Senninzuka Kainangyomin Memorial Tower", we found a few Pacific Harlequin Ducks resting on a rock.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, セグロカモメ,
モンゴルセグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
カワセミ, ウグイス, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ
Kimigahama Shiosai Park (Choshi, Chiba)
君ヶ浜しおさい公園(銚子,千葉)
This park is located in Cape Inubo facing Pacific Osean and there are many pine trees planted to prevent sand from shifting.
This coastal forest may be an oasis for migrating and wintering birds, and many birds are observed here from autumn to winter. Especially in recent years, flocks of Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica), which are rare in the plains, have been observed here in autumn.
Also, since last autumn, a very rare Yellow-bellied Tits have been staying here. This bird is endemic to China, but was first seen in Japan in April 2010 on Tobishima Island, and has since been recorded in Osaka, Fukuoka, Miyazaki, and Okinawa. This is the second record of this bird in this site since 2015.
When we arrived at the time of sunrise, we were greeted by many birds.
We saw Masked Buntings and Pale Thrushes on the trails and in the side bushes in the forest, and flocks of Eurasian Siskin, Grey-capped Greenfinch and Brambling in the tree canopy.
We looked for tits, but although we could easily find Warbling White-eyes, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, and Japanese Tits, it was difficult to find the target bird. When we reached an open area at the far end of the forest, we found a flock of Eurasian Siskin perched on a remote pine tree and a Peregrine Falcon.
While we were watching the falcon, we were very lucky to encounter a male and female Yellow-bellied Tit in a nearby small tree.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, ハヤブサ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, キバラガラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ,
オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Tega River (Chiba)
手賀川(千葉)
When we arrived at around 2:30 p.m., there were already nearly 10 cars of photographers.
While waiting for the Short-eared Owl to fly, we checked around.
There was a big flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches foraging at a paddy field.
In some of the paddy fields, a few tractors were plowing the fields, followed by White Wagtails, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, Dusky Thrushes, Carrion Crows, and lapwings (Northern, Grey-headed),
We saw another flock of twelve Northern Lapwings at distance.
Three Mute Swans were foraging near the canal away from us.
I saw a flock of swans flying above Lake Teganuma in the distance, but they were too far away for me to identify the species.
We saw the birds that were foraging took off in a panic suddenly. Then a falcon appeared and attack them.
As people started to gather nearby, we checked and found a Short-eared Owl lurking in the corner of a paddy field.
I had expected to see it in flight, and I was somewhat unexpected, but this time I managed to see it.
The birds observed are;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Swan (sp),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コブハクチョウ, ハクチョウsp, アオサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, タゲリ, ケリ, ドバト,
コミミズク, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
It was a warm and calm day like spring, which was a drastic change from the mid-winter cold day before.
The birds in the field were very active, perhaps attracted by this weather.
I saw Rustic Buntings in several places, which I had not seen a month ago.
Meadow Buntings and Masked Buntings also appeared very often.
Just downstream of the weir, there were many Eurasian Teals in the distance.
At the weir, there was one canoeist, but there were many waterfowl floating on the water.
More than half of them were Common Coots, and there were many Gadwalls, Great Crested Grebes, Eurasian Wigeons, Common Pochards, Tufted Ducks, and Northern Shovelers.
Gadwalls were very numerous with a count of over 120 of them.
The construction work on the sandbar that had been started last time was still in progress this time, and the area of the sandbar had shrunk considerably.
On the remaining gravel, there were four Long-billed Plovers and a number of wagtails (White, Japanese, Grey and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit).
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Sakata Yama in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市坂田山共生の森(長野)
I visited Sakata Yama, in northern Nagano prefecture because a flock of Asian Rosy Finches (Leucosticte arctoa) was observed a few days before.
As this mountain is a typical Sato-yama mountain close to the city center, I did not expect rare winter birds here. However, after a series of cold waves hit this region, several rare winter bird species, we did not find in regular winters, have been observed.
Beside Asian Rose Finches, Pallas’s Rosefinches (Carpodacus roseus) were also found recently here.
Unfortunately, this day, I could not find any of these finches. I only found Long-tailed Rosefinches (Uragus sibiricus), a common species.
However, as rare winter visitors, I could see Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) and Japanese Accentors (Prunella rubida). These species are normally found only in high-mountains.
I also watched regular winter birds such as, Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica), Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans), Red-flanked Bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus), Durian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus), Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla), Scaly Thrushes (Zoothera dauma), Pale Thurushes (Turdus obcurus) and Naumann’s Thrushes (Turdus naumanni).
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius), Willow Tit (Parus montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Scaly Thrush (Zoothera dauma), Pale Thurush (Turdus obcurus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes Coccothraustes), Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
キジ，トビ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，モズ，カケス，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，コガラ，
ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ガビチョウ，ゴジュウカラ，ジョウビタキ，ルリビタキ，トラツグミ，シロハラ，ツグミ，
セグロセキレイ，スズメ，カヤクグリ，アトリ，シメ，イカル，ウソ，ベニマシコ，ホオジロ，カシラダカ，ミヤマホオジロ，アオジ
Around Lake Suwa & Nobeyama Highland (Nagano)
諏訪湖周辺&野辺山高原(長野)
The site where we first visited was Togariishi historic site in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture.
A Solitary Snipe had been observed here a few days ago, and I expected to observe this bird, and it was surprisingly easy to find soon after we arrived.
We were lucky enough to see two more Solitary Snipes in the narrow stream running at the bottom of the dried-up Ryujin Pond.
The board walk in the forest near Ryujin Pond was closed to visitors because of deteriorating conditions, so it was not possible to observe the forest well.
The absence of people may have helped the Solitary Snipes to forage in peace. We also saw two Shika Deers and a Japanese Squirril in the forest.
The next destination was the north side of Lake Suwa.
Our targets were waxwings that had recently appeared on the mistletoes at the lakeside and waterfowls in the lake.
Here again, as soon as we arrived, we saw two flocks of about ten Japanese Waxwings pecking at the berries on some mistletoes. Among them, we did not find any Bohemian Waxwings (centralasiae) (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus/Bombycilla garrula centralasiae).
Some part of the lake had a thin layer of ice on its surface. In the past, the entire surface of the lake used to be frozen, but recently, the mild winter had resulted in no ice on the surface. This winter was the first time in a long time that the lake was iced on.
At the weir of the Tenryu River flowing out of the lake, there were many Smews.
On the shore of the lake, a few Tundra Swans, many ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Tufted, Eastern Spot-billed), and Common Coots were resting leisurely.
In the distance, we saw flocks of Common Mergansers/Goosanders and Great Crested Grebes on the surface of the lake.
We did not see any Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula) or the Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus) that had been observed a few days earlier, which is rare to this site.
The next site was Enrei in Okaya City, which is located at in the corner of the Yatsugatake center Plateau National Park.
This field is located on a plateau 1,000m above sea level and is also known as the home of over 100 varieties of wild birds.
There was not much snow on the site as I was concerned, and there was no snow on the road to the site. The sunshine near noon made the temperature a little warmer, about 0 degrees Celsius.
The view from the field was wonderful to see Mt. Yatsugatake and Lake Suwa.
We could observe lovely reddish birds visiting there in the winter season; Pallas' Rosefinches, Long-tailed Rosefinches and Red Crossbills.
Several flocks of a few Pallas' Rosefinches were seen in several places.
The Red Crossbills formed a flock of about ten birds.
We didn't see the Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula) that was recorded a few days ago.
It might be the time of day when the birds were not so active, the number of tits and buntings we saw was small.
The last site was Nobeyama.
Our arrival time was in the evening, so we expected to see Ural Owl. More than expected, we saw Ural Owls in three places in the field.
It was too late to see any other birds, and we didn't see any waxwingss, siskins, tits, or buntings.
The birds we observed are;
at Togariishi
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Suwa Lake
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
at Enrei
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
at Nobeyama
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ, フクロウ,
アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, ベニマシコ, オオマシコ, イスカ, ウソ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
This winter, the Tokyo area had no rain at all, the ground in on the forest road was dry, and the water level of the lake had dropped significantly.
Perhaps because of that, there were fewer birds than last time.
I saw several flocks of tits (Japanese, Varied, Coal), a flock of Eurasian Siskin, a flock of Brambling, flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch, flocks of Eurasian Jay, flocks of Long-tailed Tit, and many Red-flanked Bluetails and Daurian Redstarts, but no Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) and only one Japanese Accentor.
On the other hand, in the lake where there were no birds last time, flocks of Grey Herons, a few Great Cormorants, and one Western Osprey had returned.
Because of the decrease of water in the lake and anglers here and there, there seemed to be no place to stay, the Crested Kingfisher was not seen.
Instead, I saw a Common Kingfisher.
Besides, I encountered a flock of Japanese Macaques.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, アオバト, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, アカウソ, アオジ
Kamo River (near Demachiyanagi Station) (Kyoto Prefecture)
鴨川 出町柳駅付近(京都)
I made a short visit to the river to see Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser).
They were present relatively close to the Station and I didn't have to walk much to see them. This time, male birds were also present. I expected to see courtship behavior as in last January, but they only moved on the water or rested.
Other ducks were also present as before.
I noticed the much smaller number of individuals of Black Kites (Milvus migrans). This was probably due to COVID-19. There were only few tourists (particularly from abroad). These kites probably couldn't find suitable persons to rob them of lunch and changing the foraging strategy.
I also didn't see Jungle Crows (Corvus macrorhynchos). This may have been by chance or may have been for the same reason for kites.
List of species:
Eurasian Widgeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Gadwall (Mareca strepera),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, オカヨシガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, イカルチドリ,
トビ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
River Nogawa (Tokyo)
野川(東京)
There is a 10-20 m cliff line, known as Kokubunji-gaisen, in Musashino, Tokyo. River Nogawa flows along this cliff line. The slopes and the top of the cliff are dotted with copse and there is a spring at the base of the cliff. The spring water makes a small stream and flows in the urban area. Though the river is surrounded by the housing area, this provides a rich nature environment such as Musashino Park (Musashino-Koen) and Nogawa Park (Nogawa-Koen).
We walked from Musashino Park to Nogawa Park and further downstream to meet the Garganey, which might have come again this winter.
In Musashino Park, Brown-eared Bulbuls were abundant, but other birds were few.
A small number of Hawfinchs, Japanese Tits, Pale Thrushes, White Wagtails, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Masked Buntings, etc. were observed.
In Nogawa Park, a large flock of over a hundred Dusky Thrushes were in the area. We saw many Dusky Thrushes in the trees, grasslands, and water.
As in Musashino Park, we saw a few Hawfinchs, Japanese Tits, Pale Thrushes, and White Wagtails.
In the stream of Nogawa River, there were some egrets (Grey, Little, Great). The Little Egret was starting to become the breeding form.
There were some Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Mallards, Eurasian Teals, and a Garganey.
The Garganey was found at the different spot as the last winter. It seemed like that a construction of a new reservoir at the upper-stream undergoing might affect the environment. The duck was moving inside the reeds, and it was difficult to watch well.
At the same point, we were fortunate to find a Brown-cheeked Rail hiding in the reeds.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, カルガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ハイタカ, クイナ, オオバン, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Ichikawa River (near Tsurui Station) (Hyogo Prefecture)
市川 鶴居駅付近(兵庫県)
After my "Seishun 18 Kippu" trip in northern Kyoto and Hyogo to watch snowy landscape, I made a short visit to Ichikawa River near Tsurui Station. Tsurui means "crane place" and cranes must have been usual birds here in the past.
In the river, the only ducks I saw were Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope).
There were a number of Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) in the grassy region of the river.
Near the weir, several Common Sandpipers (Actitis hypoleucos) were foraging.
I heard and saw a Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii) in the same place.
On my return path, I heard song of a Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus), but I couldn't find the bird.
After this short birding, I visited Himeji City Zoo and said New Year's greetings to the Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) "Hacchan".
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヒドリガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, イソシギ, イカルチドリ, トビ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ,
カワガラス, ツグミ, ウグイス, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カシラダカ
Shin-urayasu Coast (Chiba)
新浦安海岸(千葉)
In addition to Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter, which have been visiting this area every winter recently, a Long-tailed Duck, a Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) and an American Wigeon (Mareca americana), which are rare in Tokyo Bay, were recorded last month, so we expected to see these birds.
We found the Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter and the Long-tailed Duck but not the Lesser Scaup and the American Wigeon.
The Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter was found among a flock of Greater Scaups nearby, but the Long-tailed Duck was so far away that it was hardly visible without the spotting scope.
We could see some Common Goldeneyes and Red-breasted Mergansers at distance through the spotting scope, too.
Near the breakwater, Eurasian Wigeons and Northern Pintails were resting and bathing on the shore.
Dunlins were also busily foraging.
There were White Wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits together.
Oriental Turtle-Doves and Warbling White-eyes were seen in the trees surrounding the adjacent cemetery park.
One Pale Thrush and one Brown-headed Thrush were in the bushes, making loud calls and checks each other.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ, ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ,
コサギ, カワウ, オオバン, イソシギ, キタアラスカハマシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, ハシブトガラス, メジロ,
シロハラ, アカハラ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture) (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
The Kohoku Wild birds Center is usually open at the end and the beginning of the year. In this year, however, it is temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
This time, I couldn't observe from the Center and the nearer water birds were blocked by grasses. The list of duck species is only approximate since I didn't have an access to the scope in the Center.
It was rather misty in the morning and I expected that Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) would stay longer in the lake. As expected, they were still present when I arrived, but photography of the flock was hindered by the grasses. Some of them started flying for foraging during my observation.
There were not not many number of Taiga Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) when I arrived. Small flocks were returning with calls.
There was a region where there many Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) and Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) gathered.
It was rather warm by the lake and the activity of passerine birds was rather high.
I could hear the voice of a Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), too.
I then moved to Mt. Yamamoto to see the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus).
On the way, I saw a flying Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus).
When I arrived near the foot of the mountain, there were not many photographers. According to them, the eagle was not in its ordinary place and was sitting on a northern direction. The eagle was seen from this location, but it was rather distant. Soon after I arrived, the eagle flew a short distance and flew back.
There were many Black Kites (Milvus migrans) in the sky and the eagle called against their intrusion.
Since the eagle called toward the distant direction from us, I moved to a better location for observation. The eagle called several times, but not so loudly. It didn't move for more than an hour and when I was leaving from there, the bird suddenly flew toward the lake, but returned back (probably disturbed by a fishing boat).
On my way back to the Center, I saw a Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) foraging on the ground.
When I came close to the Center, I heard the voice of Taiga Bean Geese. I approached the lake and found that there were many geese on the water, in contrast to morning, and were responding to flying flocks.
List of species:
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Taiga Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala).
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, クイナ, ヒクイナ, ケリ, イカルチドリ, ユリカモメ, カモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, カワセミ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, カケス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, メジロ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ルリビタキ, ウグイス, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, シメ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン, ソウシチョウ
Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村(横浜)
There are several long narrow paddy fields, called as "Yatoda", which were made on small valleys sandwiched by hills of miscellaneous trees.
At the end of these small valleys, there are small tranquil reservoirs.
This area maintains the rural scenery of traditional Yokohama.
The weather was fine but the field was quiet with fewer people.
In the reservoirs, there was one Common Pochard only.
There were a few Masked Buntings and Japanese Bush-Warblers at the edge of the hills.
We heard call of a Red-flanked Bluetail, but it did not appear in our sight.
At a paddy field "Yatoda", there was a big flock around 100 Rustic Buntings. As we approached, most of them jumped up on the tree all together.
In the forest, we heard a Chinese Bamboo-Partridge, a Pale Thrush and a Japanese Green Woodpecker calling and a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker drumming.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, ホシハジロ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Hozu River Reserve (Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture)
保津川保護区(亀岡市、京都府)
This reserve is located near the Kameoka torokko station of the Sagano Romantic train (Sagano Scenic Railway). It is also close to JR Umahori station.
As I walked from JR Umahori station, I noticed a high concentration of birds on a field.
There were many Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus), wagtails, a Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus).
A male Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius) was outstanding on the monotoous background.
The road passes the Kameoka torokko station and then one can reach a tributary of Hozu River.
At the junction of these rivers, there were many buntings (Meadow and Rustic) foraging by the river.
I heard the voice of a Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus) and found it perched, but it was hidden by grasses.
Thenk I walked along Hozu River. When I walked here some years ago, the river was mostly hidden by high grasses, but they were apparently cut.
In one of small tributaries, I saw a Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos).
A Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and a Great Egret (Ardea alba) were also foraging there.
Near a sandbank of the river, there were Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra).
The other species in the river was the Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), I couldn't find any ducks.
On a different sandbank, there were plovers foraging. They looked like Long-billed Plovers (Charadrius placidus), but it was not certain due to the distance.
On my return path, I found many birds again on the same field and a Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) quickly flew up from it. It carried food and ate it on the air.
The observation was made in the early afternoon when forest birds were not expected. I heard Red-billed Leiothrixes (Leiothrix lutea) and a Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) from the direction of the mountain.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea)
カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, ケリ, イソシギ, イカルチドリ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, ジョウビタキ, ルリビタキ, ウグイス, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, ベニマシコ, ソウシチョウ
Nishi-takasegawa River (Kyoto Prefecture)
西高瀬川(京都)
This was my first visit to this river in this season.
In a park close to the river, Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata) was singing.
There were many Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata) as expected and some of them were foraging. However, they didn't show courtship behavior as expected and I couldn't hear their characteristic voice.
Gadwalls (Mareca strepera) were relatively abundant and their voice was often heard.
The hybrid duck seen in the last season was not present at the place where I observed. I don't know whether it returned to this river again.
List of species:
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イソシギ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, イカル
Hamadera Park (Sakai, Osaka Prefecture)
浜寺公園(堺市,大阪府)
I visited Hamadera Park again to see the Yellow-bellied Tit (Pardaliparus venustulus).
At first, I waited at the same place when I saw the bird last week. The bird, however, had no sign to appear.
I moved to a different location and found a crowd of photographers looking at the ground. The bird was fed there and it was the reason why it didn't appear in the initial place (the bird didn't appear to move outside the feeding area).
Other tits and sparrows were also there and it explained why I didn't see other birds in the initial place.
The Yellow-bellied Tit, quickly touched down on the ground, but many runners passed between the feeding location and us, and there was only rare chances to capture photos. Later on, the number of runners decreased and we could take photos and videos.
Near the water canal by the sea, Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) were also fed by people.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Yellow-bellied Tit (Pardaliparus venustulus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
カワウ, ユリカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, キバラガラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
In the forest, the leaves of trees fell and the trails were covered with the fallen leaves.
A large number of Brown-eared Bulbuls were screaming and flying around in the forest of the hill, and many Warbling White-eyes were chatting in the trees.
There were also a small flock of Azure-winged Magpies, Japanese Bush Warblers moving in the bushes, and Pale Thrushs that didn't show themselves but occasionally issued calls.
I didn't see White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) and Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) I had expected.
Around the square in the park, there was a friendly Japanese Green Woodpecker, Japanese Tits, Varied Tits, and a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. One of the Varied Tits was a reddish morph, a type called as "Benkei Yamagara", which was the target of many photographers this fall. It was now foraging leisurely without being chased by anyone any more.
The birds observed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Varied Tit in reddish morph (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヤマガラ赤色型(ベンケイヤマガラ),
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, アオジ
Nara Palace Site (Heijokyu-Ato) and Minakami Pond (Nara Prefecture)
平城宮跡&水上池(奈良)
I visited Nara Palace Site in the morning to search for birds in the grassy area.
There were many people running around and the condition for birding was not so good.
There were fewer species than I expected, and there was no hint of an Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) this time.
Although there were not so much voice, I heard Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) and eventually found two individuals.
I also heard one Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) and found it perched, but the number was much fewer than expected.
I, however, the voice of a Chinese Bamboo Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus).
I then walked to Minakami Pond. South to the pond, grasses were just cut and it became a suitable area for foraging for many birds.
Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus) were particularly abundant.
Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) and a Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) were also foraging here.
I first visited the northern part of Minakami Pond, where the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) was present.
There were scattered Smews (Mergellus albellus) but I couldn't find a male one.
In the southern part, I expected to see Baikal Teals (Sibirionetta formosa) again, but either the number had decreased or they were hidden and I could see only one male and two females. Since many Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) were not present on the water, all these birds might have been resting behind the grasses.
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor), Chinese Bamboo Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hwfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
キジ, コジュケイ, コブハクチョウ, オシドリ, コガモ, トモエガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, カワウ,
オオバン, ケリ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, コゲラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒバリ, エナガ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
National Miike Wild Bird Forest (Miike Yacho-no-Mori) (Miyazaki)
御池野鳥の森(宮崎)
This park is located in Kirishima mountain range on the border of Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture. The biggest eruption in the history of Mts. Kirishima occurred about 4,200 years ago. The intense eruption and explosion created a large crater, which was filled with water and became a lake, current Lake Miike. The area of about 115 ha including a part of Lake Miike, its surrounding forest and Lake Koike is "the National Miike Wild Bird Forest", which was designated as the Japan's first national wild bird forest in 1973. A large part of the trees in the Wild Bird Forest are forested ones, and a sizable forested land from around the end of Edo Era still remains. The forest is almost natural one with little artificial work carried out. So far, at least 18 fish species, at least 18 species of mammals and 147 species of wild birds have been observed there.
In the forest behind the campsite, we can see Fairy pitta (Pitta nympha), Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major), and Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana) in summer, but in winter, when we visited, the broad-leaved trees had fallen and the ground and streams were dry, so there were no birds to be seen besides Brown-eared Bulbuls.
The birds were concentrated near the campsite, and we were able to observe many species in the small area.
The scene which two male White-backed Woodpeckers containing each other was interesting.
The birds obserbed are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki), White-backed Woodpecker (namiyei) (Dendrocopos leucotos namiyei),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis) (Garrulus glandarius hiugaensis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジバト, アオバト, キュウシュウコゲラ, ナミエオオアカゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ヒュウガカケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ソウシチョウ, キュウシュウゴジュウカラ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, イカル
Hamadera Park (Sakai, Osaka Prefecture)
浜寺公園(堺市,大阪府)
Upon information of a Yellow-bellied Tit (Pardaliparus venustulus) I visited this park.
The park is situated near the seashore and many pine trees are present.
Upon entry I heard an Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus).
The place of the Yellow-bellied Tit was a corner of a garden and there was a tree often visited by this bird.
Being close to the sea, we could see Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) many times.
According to the information by other photographers, this Yellow-bellied Tit often appeared when a Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius) appeared.
We watched the tree and a Varied Tit indeed appeared. The target bird appeared once in 30 minutes and it was easier to see than expected. The bird visited this tree for foraging.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Yellow-bellied Tit (Pardaliparus venustulus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
カワウ, ユリカモメ, カモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, キバラガラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, マヒワ
Kogawa Dam (Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture)
高川ダム(出水市,鹿児島県)
A number of Paled Thrushes appeared on the road to the dam in the dark of dawn.
White-bellied Green-Pigeon called, and we also saw tits, but they were few in number.
On the surface of the lake, we saw many ducks, such as Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Common Pochard, and Tufted Duck.
At the upperstream of Komenotsu River near Kogawa Dam, we saw a Crested Kingfisher.
The birds obserbed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis) (Garrulus glandarius hiugaensis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, アオサギ, カワウ,
ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, キジバト, アオバト, ヤマセミ, キュウシュウコゲラ, ヒュウガカケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Izumi (Kagoashima Prefecture)
出水(鹿児島)
Here is designated as a special monument, since more than 10,000 cranes from Siberia and China winter in Izumi. This site is the Japan's largest migratory ground for cranes.
As of the record on 19 December, 2020, the number of cranes are;
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha): 11,117
White-naped Crane (Grus vipio): 2,621
Common Crane (Grus grus): 7
Hooded Crane x White-naped Crane: 5
Arctic Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis): 9
Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo): 1
_____________________________________________
Total: 13,760
As soon as we arrived, we saw large flocks of Hooded Cranes and White-naped Cranes were foraging in the dried paddy fields after harvesting in the reclaimed land.
Among the flocks, we found a few Sandhill Cranes and Common Cranes. The Sandhill Cranes grouped together in groups of five. The Common Cranes were alone, without forming a group.
On the first day, we heard from a birder that he had seen the Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo), which had been confirmed this year, and we looked for it, but could not find it.
In a same paddy field and canal nearby the main road of the reclaimed land, we always saw spoonbills (Eurasian, Black-faced) and egrets (Great White, Little). The place seemed to be a favorite for them.
There were various kinds of ducks in the paddy fields filled with water where the cranes roost at night.
There were also large flocks of Brambling and Grey-capped Greenfinch flying around like clouds in the dry rice fields.
There were also large flocks of Rook, Eurasian Tree Sparrow and White-cheeked Starling.
At sunrise, we visited the Arasaki area, the feeding site.
The cranes were gathering one after another in the morning sun, and ducks were also flying around in large flocks.
It was an stunning sight.
The birds observed are;
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Sandhill Crane (Lesser) (Antigone canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Antigone vipio), Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus grus lilfordi),
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha), Hybrid; Hooded Crane & Common Crane (Eastern) (Grus monacha x Grus grus lilfordi),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ツクシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ,
バン, オオバン, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, ナベクロヅル, タゲリ, タシギ, イソシギ, ハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツリスガラ, ヒバリ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Sendai River (Satsuma Town, Kagoshima Prefecture)
川内川(さつま町,鹿児島県)
A few years ago, there was a record of Scaly-sided Mergansers (Mergus squamatus) overwintering in this river.
On the surface of the river, there were many swallows swiftly flying around, as if to remind us of summer in the Tokyo area.
There were also many Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Mallard and Common Coots in the river with the rich water flow, and we saw some Mandarin Ducks.
We didn't see any Scaly-sided Mergansers (Mergus squamatus) or Common Mergansers/Goosanders (Mergus merganser merganser), but we did see one and two Crested Kingfishers at two different points.
The birds obserbed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis), Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, キジバト, カワセミ, ヤマセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ
Ikuta Park (Kanagawa)
生田緑地(神奈川)
At the trails in the hills, there were not many birds besides Brown-eared Bulbuls.
On the slopes of the dell, we eventually encountered a mixed flock of Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Warbling White-eyes, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
In the bushes, there were Japanese Bush-Warbler and Pale Thrushes moving around.
On a tall tree, we saw a small flock of Dusky Thrushes pecking at its fruits.
Near a water spring, we heard the loud call of a Eurasian Wren, but could not see it.
Photographers were gathering to take pictures of something. There were two Goldcrests, but they were moving among the bushes, so it was difficult to get a good look at them.
In the plum garden, we looked for Red-flanked Bluetail, but instead saw a few Masked Buntings.
As for the Red-flanked Bluetail we were looking for, we were finally confirmed at the water place under the open field.
List of birds;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, イカル, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
It was calm day, sunny and not windy.
In the grasslands of the riverbed, Meadow Buntings, Daurian Redstarts, and Dusky Thrush were out of the bushes and perched on the small trees.
Raptors such as Eastern Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Northern Goshawk, Western Osprey and Bull-headed Shrike also appeared in the grasslands.
At the weir, river construction work was carried out to dredge the gravel that had accumulated on the river bottom, and there were canoeists, but still many waterfowl were floating on the water.
More than half of them were Common Coots, and there were many Great Crested Grebes, Gadwalls, Eurasian Wigeons, and Northern Shovelers.
One Falcated Duck and a hybrid of American wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon were found among them.
Perhaps due to the construction work, there were no Eurasian Teals, Common Pochards (Aythya ferina) or Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula), which are usually seen in this area every year.
There were also construction vehicles on the sandbar of the river doing works. In the corner of the sandbar, six Long-billed Plovers were grouped together and resting.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca americana x Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Minakami Pond (Nara Prefecture)
水上池(奈良)
This is my first visit here since February 24, when there was not very much activity of ducks.
I wondered if Smews (Mergellus albellus) were already present, and my expectation was not betrayed.
This time, Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) were on the water and I could see them relatively closely.
While looking at these Mandarin Ducks, I noticed the presence of Baikal Teals (Sibirionetta formosa) distantly in the background of these birds. I didn't have information of these birds and was excited to see them. They were also on the water and sometimes came closer (still a bit distant, though) enough to see their unique face marks. Females were also present and I could see white spots near the bill.
Some of the flock of Baikal Teals once flew to the northern part of the lake, which was not seen from my position. But they returned and touched down on the water.
In addition to this relatively rare visitor, there was a Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), which was (probably) a rare visitor here.
The wind around noon has calmed down a bit and I could hear and see a mixed flock of tits and other birds passing near the pond.
List of species:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
オシドリ, コガモ, トモエガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, ハシビロガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, カワウ,
アオサギ, オオバン, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, コゲラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, シジュウカラ,
ヒバリ, エナガ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Kusauchi (Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto Prefecture)
草内(京田辺,京都)
I visited here for the first time in this season to see whether Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) were already present.
It was rather warm and relatively windless in the morning and I expected to see or hear wintering birds. There were, however, not so many birds.
There are three ponds (already mostly dried) and there was almost nothing in the first pond. In the second pond, there remained some water and only Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) were foraging on mud.
There were egrets and cormorants, but there were no other ducks in the pond.
As time passed, the cold air arrived and it became windier. It became rather difficult to find buntings under such a condition. I saw only several Meadow Buntings (Emberiza cioides) where I saw other species of buntings.
In the third pond, there was again almost nothing. I heard the voice of a Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens), but couldn't find the bird.
I moved to the locations where I saw Northern Lapwings in the last season, but there was no sign of them. It may have been that they hadn't arrived yet.
I saw a flying Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) and moved to the place where the bird landed.
There was a field next to grasses and I finally saw a flock of buntings foraging on it. There were Meadow Buntings and Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) together with a Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus).
In my return path, I found two Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits foraging in the second pond.
Eurasian Teals were still busily foraging.
In the first pond, I finally found a Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius).
It looked like wintering birds had not yet arrived in a large number.
List of species:
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
コガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, ケリ, コチドリ, トビ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Himeji-City Nature Sanctuary (Hyogo Prefecture)
姫路市自然観察の森(兵庫県)
This forest is located next to a water reservoir (dam lake) and is composed of secondary forest representing "satoyama" in this region. Until recently, there were rangers from the Wild Bird Society of Japan and guided visitors and recorded seasonal observations. Now there are no such rangers and we cannot expect to hear detailed information from them.
The forest itself is large and it is impossible to visit all area in short time. I walked along a trail next to the water reservoir. There are many trails up the hill, but not so many birds are expected according to the information at the visitor center.
Although I expected to see and hear winter forest birds, there were not so many birds.
Last year, there was a report of Ryukyu Minivets (Pericrocotus tegimae) (probably when rangers were still present), and there may be a chance to meet rare birds, though.
The birds in the water reservoir appeared to be more interesting, but ducks were rather distant and mostly back-lit and it was difficult to obtain clear images.
There was a flock of Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata) together with other ducks.
I found a few Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata) and indeed heard their voice.
There was a small "wetland" region in the forest, and birds were a bit more numerous, but I didn't see any special bird.
I walked along another trail higher on the hill, but found almost no birds.
I returned to the initial trail and found a flock of Black-necked Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). They foraged in a synchronized way: suddenly disappeared into water and after some time they appeared again.
List of species:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
カワウ, オオバン, トビ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ジョウビタキ, ルリビタキ, カワラヒワ, アオジ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
When we arrived, it was low tide, so we headed for the beach (Nishi-nagisa) first.
A peregrine falcon was on the mast of the bridge to Nishi-nagisa, and while we were observing it, it flew out to hunt in the tidal flat of Higashi-nagisa. This caused the birds on the tidal flat to fly away.
We spotted Black-backed Wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits on the shore of the canal under the bridge.
There were flocks of Greater Scaups and Great Crested Grebes floating offshore of Higashi-nagisa, but their numbers were not very large.
The gulls were also small in number.
In the distance, there were a few birds resting that looked like Eurasian Curlews.
In the channel between Nishi-nagisa and Higasi-nagisa, several Black-necked Grebes were diving to forage repeatedly.
We looked for birds on the Higashi-nagisa tidal flats, but only saw a Little Egret and a small flock of Sanderlings, probably due to the impact of the falcon attack.
A Western Osprey flew above the sea and perched on a pile in the distance.
In Kamino-ike in the Bird Sanctuary, fresh-water pond, there were some ducks such as; Northern Shovelers, Eurasian Teals and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
There were many Common Coots.
From the Watching Center, we saw a Eurasian Wryneck and a Bull-headed Shrike. Recently the Eurasian Wryneck can be seen here every winter.
At the Shimo-no-ike (brackish water pond), there were no shorebirds as I had expected, but we saw a Common Kingfisher perched on a pile.
Many gulls, such as Black-headed Gulls and Black-tailed Gulls, were gathering in the shallow sea to the east of Higashi-nagisa.
The birds reported are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, ダイシャクシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, キタアラスカハマシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, アリスイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオジュリン
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
Though their numbers were not many, we observed the arrival of Long-tailed Rosefinchs and Japanese Accentors, which we could not observe last time.
Red-flanked Bluetail. Eurasian Bullfinch, and Eurasian Siskin had increased in number than last time. It appeared that the regular winter members here were almost all present.
Instead, I don't know why but Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) and Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi) in the lake, which I saw in abundance last time, had disappeared.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
マガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, アオバト, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, モズ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
トラツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, アカウソ, アオジ, クロジ
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture) (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
The Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) arrived here on November 23, 23 years in a row.
I visited the Center to have a look at this bird first time in this season.
My departure was somewhat delayed, but there still remained some Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) in the lake.
In contrast to past years, there were not many number of Taiga Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii), which usually rested in front of the Center.
There were many Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) and Common Pochards (Aythya ferina).
It was possible that ducks dispersed due to the calm weather.
While waiting in front of Mt. Yamamoto, I could hear passerine birds, in particular a Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus).
I also heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major).
During my path to the eagle, I saw several Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) foraging on fields.
An Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) perched on a pole.
The eagle was almost still, as expected from the weak wind, and was somewhat hidden behind twigs.
Before I reached the place, I heard a voice from this bird, but it didn't call while I attempted to capture a video when the bird called. Crows were also calm and didn't mob the eagle.
According to the later information, it became windier late in the afternoon and the eagle caught a prey.
While waiting the eagle to move, I saw an Eastern Buzzard circling above.
On a different occasion I saw a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) soaring high. It looked like a white spot against the blue sky.
During the return path to the Center, I heard distant call of a Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). The bird was found on a distant plot and was eating.
I initially considered to observe ducks after looking at the eagle, but it turned out that they were mostly back-illuminated due to the sunny weather and that they were difficult to identify.
My list of ducks was therefore rather incomplete.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), *Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), *Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
*Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
*Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
*Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), *Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
*Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
*Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
*Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
*Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, オカヨシガモ, *ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, *コガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ,
*カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, *カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, *カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, *オオバン,
ケリ, *ハマシギ, *ユリカモメ, カモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, カワセミ, アカゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, カケス,
シジュウカラ, メジロ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ルリビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, アトリ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ
Yatoyama Park (Zama, Kanagawa)
谷戸山公園 (座間, 神奈川)
Various environments, such as coppices, conifers, a rice field and a wetland, are conserved in the park.
This winter, birds from the continent seem to be visiting in greater numbers than usual for wintering.
A number of Baikal Teals have been observed at many places in Kanto. In the pond of this park, there were more than ten of them.
In the forest, a mixed flock of tits (Japanese, Varied), Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers was actively flying around.
Some Ryukyu Minivets were among them. This bird has recently expanded its habitat in the Kanto region.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)?
マガモ, カルガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, コゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, アオジ?
Shimogamo Shrine & Kamo River (Kyoto)
下鴨神社＆賀茂川(京都)
Tadasu-no-Mori in the shrine is a sacred grove, situated near the banks of the Kamo River just north of where the Takano River joins the Kamo River in northeast Kyoto City. The ambit of today's forest encompasses approximately 12.4 square meters. In 1983, the forest was designated as a National Historical Site and in 1993 it was proclaimed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
There were many birds in the forest, such as Brown-eared Bulbuls, Dusky Thrushes, tits, crows, and Japanese Bush-Warblers.
In addition to some species of ducks and egrets, there was a flock of Common Mergansers/Goosanders in the stagnant waters of the Kamo River. They seemed to be used to humans and were leisurely chasing small fish near us.
The birds we observed are;
At Shimogamo Shrine;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
In Kamo River;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
トビ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ツグミ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ
Karasuma Peninsula, Lake Biwa (Oroshimo-cho, Shiga)
琵琶湖烏丸半島(下物町, 滋賀)
This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse ecosystem to evolve in the lake.
This lake is an important place for water birds.
There are many rich birding spots.
The Karasuma Peninsula is one of them and located on Lake Biwa's southeastern shore in Oroshimo-cho, Kusatsu, Shiga.
When we visited, there were a huge number of ducks and Common Coots on the lake.
Black-headed Gulls were flying in the sky above.
In the surrounding agricultural fields, there was a large flock of White-cheeked Starlings, and flocks of Grey-headed Lapwings and wagtails.
A Eastern Buzzard was perched on a telephone pole.
The birds we observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus) Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, ケリ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Kitasaga and Hirosawa Pond (Kyoto Prefecture) (Kyoto Prefecture)
北嵯峨&広沢池(京都)
Early in the morning, the area had a scenery of mist streaming in from the mountains like a waterfall.
By the time I visited the field at noon, the fog disappeared all over and the sun was warm.
In the field, there were Bull-headed Shrikes, wagtails, and Grey-headed Lapwings.
At Hirosawa Pond, there were many ducks and grebes in the water, and herons at the shore.
There were many photographers waiting to take pictures of hunting by Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), but it did not appear during our observation.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン,
ケリ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I walked the route as on Nov. 22.
It was a somewhat windy day.
As I walked along paddy fields, buntings and other birds popped up. It looked like more birds were in the field than the last weak.
This time the Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens) was a new species to me in this season.
In Nishinoko-enchi, there were not many ducks compared to the last visit.
Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) and Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) were the main species.
Probably due to the presence of weak winds, raptors appears relatively early.
I saw an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) already in the morning.
While walking near Nishinoko-enchi, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) quickly flapped and flew away. Due to the foreground tree, I couldn't obtain images.
In the reed area, I heard Chinese Penduline Tits (Remiz consobrinus) several times. This species appeared to be more abundant than in preceding years.
I also saw and hear Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus). Some of them appeared while foraging.
In the main lake, ducks were distant again and I couldn't recognize many species.
I also saw a flying flock of Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus).
I returned to the watching point for Eastern Marsh Harriers and waited their appearance.
They appeared relatively frequently already around noon. One of them with damaged primary feathers appeared closely.
While waiting for them, a tractor started working in paddy fields and there appeared fresh meals for Black Kites (Milvus migrans). They waited in the sky or on poles and when meals appear, they flew to the ground and picked up these meals.
I saw a flock of Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) on distant electric lines.
After 2 p.m. wind became a bit stronger and Eastern Marsh Harriers appeared more frequently. Some of them flew above us probably thanks to the southernly wind. We saw at least four different individuals.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Rook (Corvus frugilegus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, オオバン, バン,
タゲリ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, ハイタカ, チュウヒ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ. タヒバリ,
ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ミヤマガラス, スズメ, ムクドリ, ヒヨドリ,
シジュウカラ, ツリスガラ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ, シメ
Mount Inari (Kyoto)
稲荷山(京都)
Relative to the beginning of November, the number of thrushes increased, and new members such as Brambling and Red-flanked Bluetai joined in.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハイタカ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, アトリ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
It was cloudy with weak but cold northwest wind.
The numbers and kinds of ducks increased further.
New members, Hawfinch and Vega Gull, joined the members this time.
In the trees, a flock of Dusky Thrush was flying around busily.
There were more species of raptors as well.
Surprisingly, one Barn Swallow was flying, a rarity at this time of year.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, ドバト, コゲラ,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Nobeyama (Nagano), Kai-Oizumi & Daimon Dum (Yamanashi)
野辺山(長野)&甲斐大泉＆大門ダム(山梨)
On the way to Nobeyama, we drove the old road.
We expected an encounter with Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans) which we saw in January.
Unfortunately, this encounter was not.
There was no snow in the field and on the mountain, and the weather was fine but slightly windy and cold.
There were many Grey-capped Greenfinches, and some Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Meadow Buntings and Rustic Buntings at the edge of the forest.
We saw and heard a few Long-tailed Rosefinches.
Then we visited Tobisawa Reservoir (Tobisawa-Ike) in the area of villas at Kai-Oizumi Highland in Hokuto City. There is a small birding spot, with a short trail along with a small stream through a Japanese larch forest and a trail around a reservoir.
There were only a few in numbers, but we saw woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), thrushes (Brown-headed and Dusky), tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow), Long-tailed Tits, Eurasian Siskins, Wood Nuthatch, and Green Pheasants.
At Daimon Dam in Kiyosato, there were Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Mallards and Mandarin Ducks in the dam lake. Many more than 100 Mandarin Ducks were resting by the edge of the lake.
On the forest road around the dam site, there were many Rustic Buntings.
The birds observed were;
at Nobeyama;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Kai-Oizumi:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
at Daimon Dam;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
キジ, オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ゴジュウカラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
This time, I walked in a different route and initially visited Nishinoko-enchi, where there were several ducks, egrets and coots relatively nearby.
There were also passerine birds, most of which were seen relatively closely.
It was a sunny and and there was almost no wind at the beginning.
I then walked to my ordinary birding route.
I again saw a flock of Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) distantly.
In reeds Japanese Bush Warblers (Horornis diphone) were relatively abundant.
There were, of course, many Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), but they didn't appear in an adequate place for photography.
Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) were also present in a fair number and I managed to obtain photos and videos during foraging.
As I walked, I heard again the voice of Chinese Penduline Tits (Remiz consobrinus).
According to birders in the same place, they didn't see any raptor flying above the reeds. It was probably too sunny and windless for raptors to work.
As I walked further, I spotted a perched juvenile Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), which took off as I prepared for better imaging.
In the lake, ducks were distant and I couldn't recognize many species.
It became more or less windy and I returned to the place where we can expect to see flying Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus).
Time passed, but harriers didn't fly at all.
I usually finish my birding here at 1 p.m., but I stayed more to wait to see at least one harrier.
It was only some time after 1 p.m. when the first harrier appeared. It was when the weather became cloudy and the wind became more apparent.
The best time was between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., when we could see two harriers appearing one by one. They were probably hungry after waiting in the morning, and we could enjoy the show.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ,
オオバン, バン, クイナ, ヒクイナ, タゲリ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, チュウヒ, キジバト, カワセミ, アカゲラ, モズ,
セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ. ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ツリスガラ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ, シメ
Kibogaoka Cultural Park (Yasu, Shiga Prefecture)
希望が丘文化公園(滋賀県蒲生郡竜王町)
Kibogaoka Cultural Park is a regular site of birding walking events by the Shiga Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan.
I visited here to see or hear wintering forest birds.
There is a pond with colorful mountain in the background near the entrance, and the scene reminds me of Kyoto International Conference Center in Takaragaike.
The majority of ducks in the pond were Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) with some Eastern Spot-billed Ducks (Anas zonorhyncha).
After looking the pond for a while, I walked a trail following the route of birding walking.
At first, I heard Red-flanked Bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus) and found two birds competing on branches, but the camera didn't focus on these birds...
There were tits and other forest birds.
The voice soon became calm and there were a limit sign of birds. It soon became windy and the condition became inadequate for searching for forest birds.
Nevertheless, I saw Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) foraging on trees and saw Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus) several times.
List of species:
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
コガモ, カルガモ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, トビ, キジバト, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ルリビタキ, ツグミ, シロハラ,
ウグイス, ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, カワラヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
We walked the same route as the day before.
The weather was as fine as the day before, and the temperature rose higher.
Thanks to it, a variety of raptors appeared.
We saw around ten Common Mergansers/Goosanders in the river.
Besides a large flock of Great Cormorants as the last visit, a large flock of Dusky Thrushs was observed this time.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca americana x Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ, マガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, イソシギ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, ワカケホンセイインコ, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I visited Lake Nishinoko again with some expectation of the increased number of Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) as well as other migratory birds.
On the first day, it was windy and the activity of passerine birds was relatively low. The weather was, however, very fine and the landscape was clearly seen.
At first, I saw a raptor mobbed by a crow. It looked like to be a Merlin (falco columbarius).
Probably due to the wind, ducks were seen relatively nearby.
I found an American Wigeon (Mareca americana) (hybrid) among them.
Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata) were seen relatively abundantly.
After some time, an Eastern Marsh Harrier started to fly as expected.
Probably due to the wind, raptors appeared relatively frequently.
The second day was calm, but cold in the morning.
As I arrived, Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) and Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) popped up from the ground, but the number of Rustic Buntings appeared to have decreased compared to one week ago.
November 8 was apparently a peak of migration of these birds.
I again saw a swarm of Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus).
I counted 45 birds and they were probably the same flock which I saw on November 8.
Due to the calm weather, the activity of raptors was started rather slow and ducks were relatively distant.
I enjoyed observing Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus), which apparently gathered to eat berries.
At around 10 a.m., an Eastern Marsh Harrier started to fly accompanied by crows (crows were also very abundant on this day).
Later on, different individuals of Eastern Marsh Harriers appeared at the same time and we enjoyed watching them.
Around this time, one of photographers found a Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata) perched on a grass. It was very difficult to locate, but we could see it through the camera monitor of this photographer. I could locate the bird in my binoculars, but the bird was quicker than I imaged while perched. I could only take one shot in flight.
Near noon, activities of many birds decreased.
It was warm in contrast to the previous day.
Some time before noon, an Eastern Marsh Harrier flew and entered a bush. We could see the bird perched, but it then entered deeper in the bush and apparently took a rest. After more than an hour, this bird didn't move.
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) (hybrid), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Gadwall (Mareca strepera),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Merlin (falco columbarius),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
キジ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ雑種,
ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホシハジロ, オオバン, バン, クイナ, ヒクイナ, ケリ, タゲリ,
ユリカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, チュウヒ, コチョウゲンボウ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ.
ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ,
エナガ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ, シメ
Kamo River (between Demachiyanagi and Kyoto Botanical Garden) (Kyoto Prefecture)
鴨川(出町柳〜京都植物園)(京都)
After reading the report of the same place on November 3, I didn't expect much.
After I started from Demachiyanagi, I soon found a flock of Northern Pintails (Anas acuta).
There was also a Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) a bit afar.
I was surprised to find many observers of this grebe as I approached. I wasn't aware that this species has been rare in Kamo River and in many regions in Kyoto. According to them, this bird was discovered about a week ago.
I also heard that a flock of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser), which we enjoyed in the last winter, had also returned.
As I walked, I soon found these mergansers. They were still mostly in eclipse molt and had not yet been dispersed as I saw near the end of the last season.
There was also Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) and herons, and I could enjoy birding much better than I had expected.
It was around the beginning of sightseeing season in fall in Kyoto and there were many people walking and taking pictures of "koyo" (red and yellow leaves) against Mt. Hiei.
These ducks and grebe, of course, also caught their eyes.
List of species:
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Eurasian Widgeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
カンムリカイツブリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, イソシギ,
トビ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ウグイス, メジロ, スズメ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
I started the birding from Sakai Sport Playground.
I found a mix flock of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipitand Black-backed Wagtail on the play ground without baseball players.
At the weir (Sagami Ozeki), there were some ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, American WigeonxEurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed).
Many Great Egret and Little Egrets were resting in the river.
Three Common Mergansers were seen flying over the river, too.
I searched for buntings in the grass field on the riverbed, however they were very shy and and I heard some of them but saw only one Masked Bunting.
A few House Swifts, the resident in this field, were flying in the sky.
Some raptors (Black Kites, Common Kestrel, Northern Goshawk) also appeared.
A small flock of Dusky Thrushes, which might have just arrived at the field, flew around nervously..
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca americana x Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ,
カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ,
カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
The northwest wind blew a little harder, letting me know that winter was coming.
The numbers of ducks and Common Coots increased from the last visit, as did the number of buntings in the grasslands.
New members, Great Crested Grebe and Buff-belied Pipit, joined the members this time.
I also found a Chestnut-eared Bunting that might stop by while on migration.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, ドバト, コゲラ,
モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
It was rainy at night and it was calm, warm and somewhat misty in the morning. I thought it would be a suitable day to search passerine birds.
As I arrived, many Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) and Meadow Buntings (Emberiza cioides) were foraging on the ground and Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) sang everywhere.
I heard the voice of Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) and saw its flight.
When I was watching as usual near reeds, various passerine birds appeared for foraging. It was still somewhat cloudy and dark and was not very suitable for photographs, Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) and Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) appeared many times.
I could capture several videos of a Common Reed Bunting feeding on the reed.
I also captured the voice of a Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus), but it was heard only for a short while.
A Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus) and a Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca) were recorded by their calls.
On this day, a birding walking event was held by the Shiga Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan.
I didn't join the event for most of the time and walked ahead of them. I was lucky enough to see a flock of Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus). This species also appeared in a greater number later (46 birds were present on my photos).
There were not many ducks in the lake and few were imaged closely.
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on a pole distantly as usual.
Despite our wish to see flying raptors, there were virtually none (except black kites) in the morning.
I returned to the place where I could see the vast reed bed and waited an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) to fly. But despite my wish, the bird didn't fly at all. There was already some wind and sunlight and the condition looked good...
It was only after 12:30 when my first raptor Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) appeared by flapping the wings. It was a rather distant and difficult target.
Some tome later, an Eastern Marsh Harrier finally flew over the reed bed. It was also distant and a difficult target.
When I was leaving the lake, I met a soaring Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus).
According to information of other photographers, there was an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), which I missed while walking.
There was information of a Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), but I was not sure whether that bird was photographed on the same day.
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
キジ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ,
オオバン, クイナ, ヒクイナ, ケリ, タゲリ, ユリカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ,
セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ. ビンズイ, ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ,
ツリスガラ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, マヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Asahi-ike Pond and Ogata Mizutomori Park in Joetsu (Niigata Prefecture)
上越市朝日池と大潟水と森公園(新潟)
I visited Asahi-ike Pond, where we can observe White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons), Bean Geese (Anser fabalis), and Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) in winter.
It is known that occasional visitors, Snow Geese, may be found during mid winter in this pond, but I could not find any in this time.
When I arrived on the pond at 10 a.m., I found about 150 swans and about 200 geese (mostly Bean Geese) in the paddy field near the pond.
On the pond, I saw other waterfowls, mostly Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Common Coots (Fulica atra), and Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca).
A flock of Great Egrets (Ardea alba) was also observed on the pond.
There were too many birds on the pond to observe each of them precisely, so that I am afraid that I missed rare birds among them.
After observing waterfowls of the pond, I moved to Ogata Mizutomori Park, a forest area near the pond. I spotted a winter bird female Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) for the first time in this season, but I found no other winter visitors there.
List of species:
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus), White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), Bean Goose (Anser fabalis),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Common Teal (Anas crecca), Baikal Teal (Anas formosa),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Common Kingfisher(Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul(Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza fucata)
コハクチョウ，マガン，ヒシクイ，マガモ，カルガモ，コガモ，トモエガモ，オオバン，
アオサギ，ダイサギ，オオバン，トビ，カワセミ，モズ，カケス，ハシボソガラス，ヒヨドリ，
ウグイス，シジュウカラ，ルリビタキ，スズメ，メジロ，セグロセキレイ，ホオジロ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
I visited the site to see how many winter birds had arrived.
The mountains were beginning to turn autumnal colors with the colored leaves.
Yet the member and the number was not many, and some of them were hiding inside bushes and trees or flying the high canopy.
However I could find Mandarin Ducks, Coal Tits, Daurian Redstarts, Meadow Buntings ,Masked Buntings, Eurasian Siskins, Eurasian Bullfinch, and Dusky Thrushes. Most of them will stay this field during coming winter.
We need to wait other winter birds such like Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) for one or two weeks more.
I saw three Crested Kingfishers and an Osprey, which inhabit in this field.
This was the first time I've seen three Crested Kingfishers at this site. I wondered if they were a family. They were chasing each other, calling loudly.
There were a few photographers waiting for Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis). I waited for a while, but it did not appear during my observation.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata), Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, アオサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, キジバト, ヤマセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I visited Lake Nishinoko again after passing a cold front. It was generally fine but a bit windier than in the last visit.
To my surprise, passerine birds had become much less.
It was likely that many passerine birds I met on Nov. 1 were passing here during migration, in particular Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) and Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus).
There were, however, buntings and Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) were present as on Nov. 1.
Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) had not increased yet. These birds were heard, but were difficult to see except in flight.
Although Daurian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) were present and prominent, they were not as vocal as in the last visit. It appeared that territories had been almost estabilished.
I also didn't see any wagtails. This was probably partly because crop had not yet been harvested and there was not sufficient area of bare fields.
One Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) flew earlier this time, but I saw it only once.
An Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) quickly passed in front of me. An Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) soared twice.
In the lake, ducks were seen closer than in the last visit.
It was my surprise that I didn't see Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) at all.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ,
バン, クイナ, ユリカモメ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Kamo River (Kamo-gawa) & Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
鴨川&京都御苑(京都)
On the way to the Imperial Palace, I saw many herons and a few ducks resting in the Kamo River.
At the trail in the woods from Sakaimachi-gomon Gate to Kujo Pond, I found a Daurian Redstart, a Red-flanked Bluetail and a Narcissus Flycatcher.
At Munakata Shrine, there was a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler moving among the trees actively.
In the dark woods around Shrakumo Shrine at the west side, there were a flock of Brambling, and tits (Japanese, Varied) and a Japanese Wagtail.
In the bright woods to the east of it, I saw a few Olive-backed Pipits.
In the bushes of Grashopper field in the east, there was a Japanese Bush Warbler, and in the high canopy, thrushes and some Japanese Grosbeaks were seen. Japanese Grosbeaks and Dusky Thrushes are very popular in winter at this sites.
Around the bird bath in the northeast, friendly Varied Tits and Japanese Tits were flying actively.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト,
コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオムシクイ, メジロ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キビタキ,
スズメ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, イカル
Mount Inari (Kyoto)
稲荷山(京都)
This mountain is the sacred area covered with primeval forest protected since the ancient time and beautiful bamboo forest.
Early in the morning, I walked around the Fukakusa Cemetery and the farm to the south of Fushimi Inari.
A Bull-headed Shrike and a Meadow Bunting were singing at the treetops, and a few friendly Daurian Redstartgs were perched well on the treetops and fences.
A Japanese Bush Warbler and a Masked Bunting were seen in the bushes.
In addition, I heard a Pale Thrush and saw several Dusky Thrushes flying in the sky, which seemed to have just arrived.
The birds observed were;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
This was my first visit to this location in this season with some expectation to see Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) as well as other passerine birds.
It was windless in the morning and Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone) were singing.
Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) were also singing on the sky.
As in Nakaikemi Wetland, there were many buntings:
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala) and Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica) were seen and heard everywhere.
Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) were also present, but had not yet arrived fully.
It was a day of Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus) and many were flying and calling. They were probably passing here on migration.
Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) were also abundant and flying flocks were often seen.
Daurian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) probably arrived recently and there were territorial conflicts between them. These birds were seen everywhere.
Despite my wishes, Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) did not appear for a long time. The season was probably a bit too early.
Instead, I saw an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) and Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus). Ospreys were vocally active and I heard the voice several times, but could not locate the bird easily (they may have been flying high).
Compared to previous seasons, Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) became rarer and I could seen only a few individuals in canals.
In the lake, there were not (yet) many ducks. They were rather distant and I could recognize only several species through the binoculars and camera.
It was already noon when the first Eastern Marsh Harrier flew. According to photographers, there was only one individual. Let's hope to see more birds on the next visit.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホシハジロ,
オオバン, バン, クイナ, ヒクイナ, ユリカモメ, トビ, ノスリ, チュウヒ, ミサゴ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ヒバリ,
セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
スズメ, ヒヨドリ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
This would be the final chance for me to meet Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata), and I also hoped to meet more wintering birds.
As I entered the Wetland, there were full of Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica). I met them everywhere.
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides) had arrived in a large number.
Although them were seen and heard here and there, I could not find Japanese Yellow Buntings (there may have been their voice, but it was hard to tell them from Black-faced Buntings only from the voice).
As I walked on the boardwalk, a snipe suddenly flew away with voice only several meters where I walked. I hadn't noticed the bird since I was looking at reed area where buntings were abundant.
It was a sunny day and an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) flew high already in the morning.
Later on, an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) appeared and while I was capturing this bird, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk again crossed the image frames.
Although I had expected that more species of wintering birds had arrived, the only new species was Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus) and was not yet abundant.
Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) had increased and I heard the voice frequently.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus), Coal Tit (Periparus ater), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea)
カルガモ, タシギ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオゲラ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ノビタキ, キビタキ, ツグミ, シロハラ, マミチャジナイ, ウグイス, シジュウカラ, コガラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ,
ホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン, ソウシチョウ
5-Day Trip in Diamond Route (Ibaraki, Tochigi & Fukushima Prefectures)
ダイアモンド・ルート5日間ツアー(茨城,栃木,福島)
The "Diamond Route" starts from Tokyo and forms a diamond shape that connects Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture, Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture, and Aizu, Fukushima, and Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture.
This route is close to Tokyo and is relatively easy to visit, and you can observe many wild birds unique to Japan due to the variety of environments such as cultivated land, lakes, sub-alpine mountains and beaches.
On the first day, we visited several sites in Ibaraki Prefecture.
The first site was Hazaki Port (HazakiKo), which is the hot spot of gulls in winter as well as Choshi Port.
We were hoping to see early visitors of some gulls, sea ducks, Japanese Cormorants and Pelagic Cormorants though it was still too early for the peak of the season of observation, but we could only see Black-tailed Gulls and Japanese Cormorants. We saw one Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans) also.
The second site was Go-no-ike Pond.
A lot of freshwater ducks, winter here.
This time there were already several species of ducks visiting.
Among them, we found two Ferruginous Pochards, a rarity in Japan.
On our way up the Tone River, we stopped in its middle reaches.
This is where we can observe rare species that can only be seen locally in the summer season, such as Marsh Grassbird (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri) and Japanese Reed Bunting (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis).
Eastern Marsh-Harrier can also be observed here year-round. During our visit, we observed an Eastern Marsh-Harrier and a Merlin.
The next sites were the lotsu fields around Ukishima and Nishi-no-su Reclaimed Land (Nishi-no-su Kantaku).
The day of our visit was almost at the end of the shorebirds migrating, but we saw some of these birds in several lotus fields.
There were photographers waiting to capture the roosting harriers in the large reclaimed land.
On the second and third days, we visited several sites in Tochigi Prefecture.
The first site was Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
This is the largest flood control area in Japan, with a total water storage capacity of 200 million m3 and an area of 33 km2 spanning the four prefectures of Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama and Ibaraki.
The Watarase Retarding Basin has one of the largest reed fields in Japan, and is home to a large number of plants and animals, including about 1,000 species of plants, 260 species of birds, 1,700 species of insects (on land and in the water), and 50 species of fish. The vast reed beds, trees and ponds are home to many wildlife species, including foxes and raccoons, as well as hawks such as harriers, buzzards and kestrels.
There are only a limited number of areas in the Tokyo region that maintain such a rich biota, making it a very precious place.
At the time of our visit, only a few hawks and passerines had arrived, but there were many Falcated Ducks in the ponds in the reed fields.
We were able to see one of the two Oriental Storks born here this year.
We drove through the paddy fields in Omoigawa Town in Oyama City.
There are paddy fields which are flooded with water as artificial fresh-water tidal flats to gather waterfowl.
During the shorebirds migration season in spring and fall, we can observe many freshwater shorebirds.
When we visited, the fields had been dried and no shorebird was observed.
The last site in the second day was Handa-numa.
This is a small pond, however, many ducks and swans can be seen here in the winter.
We saw many ducks in the pond and swans that had just arrived in the rice fields nearby.
We stayed in Kinugawa-onsen which is a popular hot spring resort town along the Kinugawa River.
The forests along the gorge were in full bloom with autumn colors. In Kawaji Onsen nearby, there is a walking trail along the river, and birds in the stream and forest, and sometimes Crested Hawk Eagle in the sky are observed.
This time, when we walked along the trail, we saw Daurian Redstart, tits and a White-backed woodpecker.
Then we visited Tochigi Prefectural Forest.
This is a vast park with a varied topography of forests, valleys, and rocky areas at the foot of the Mt. Takahara at 600 to 1,000 meters altitude.
We saw some tits along the stream and a Red-flanked Bluetail near the park.
In the afternoon, we arrived at Hinoemata Village, the gateway to Oze in Fukushima Prefecture.
We walked around in the village and observed a flock of Eurasian Siskin flying in the surrounding mountains and a large flock of Brambling foraging near residences.
Early on the morning of the fourth day, we headed to Oze.
This region is characterized by its beautiful scenery, ranging from Ozegahara Plateau, the largest high moor on Honshu, and Lake Ozenuma, which was formed by the damming of the headwaters of the Tadami River due to volcanic eruptions, to the surrounding mountains, including Mt. Shibutsu, Mt. Hiuchigatake, Mt. Aizu-Komagatake, Mt. Tashiro, and Mt. Taishaku. Although Oze has faced the threat of development numerous times, its precious nature has been preserved through the cooperation of many people, and the park is also referred to as the "Starting Point for Nature Conservation in Japan."
It was drizzling until we arrived at Numayama Pass by the shuttle bus, but after a while the blue skies opened up and the rain stopped.
On the mountain trail to Lake Oze-numa, we saw Goldcrests moving busily in the trees, a small flock of Red-flanked Bluetails crossing the trail, and a flock of thrushes passing overhead.
Many ducks were resting in Lake Oze-numa in tranquility.
Early in the morning on the last day of the trip, we went for a walk on the trail of Goshiki-numa in Ura-bandai, surrounded by the autumnal leaves.
Goshiki-numa Ponds has a 1-Star rating in the Michelin Green Guide of 2016. The Goshiki-numa Pond group is a generic term for lakes and ponds which include Bishamon-numa, Aka-numa, Midoro-numa, Tatsu-numa, Benten-numa, Ruri-numa, Ao-numa and Yanagi-numa. It is said that the “mysterious lake” where the colours of emerald green, cobalt blue, turquoise blue, emerald blue, and pastel blue differ depending on the swamp.
We saw mixed flocks of tits, Pygmy Woodpecker and Eurasian Nuthatch, and a flock of Red Crossbills and flocks of thrushes calling loudly and flying in the sky.
The last site we visited in this trip was Lake Inawashiro.
This lake is Japan's fourth-largest freshwater lake situated in Bandai Asahi National Park.
In the lake, there were many Northern Pintails near the shore.
A flock of Bewick's Swan was found a rice field near the lake.
The birds observed were;
- Hazaki Port:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- Go-no-ike Pond:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great White Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta)
- Midd-reaches Tone river:
Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus)
- Ukishima area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great White Egret (Ardea alba modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus ),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Little Stint (Calidris minuta),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- Nishi-no-su reclaimed land:
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- Watarase Retarding Basin:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Great White Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Rice field in Omoigawa:
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- Handa-numa Pond:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret (Ardea alba modesta),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- KinugawaOnsen:
Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- Kawaji Onsen:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Tochigi Prefectural Forest:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
- Hinoemata Village:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
- Oze:
Gadwall (Mareca strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri ), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone cantans),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- Goshiki-numa trail:
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra japonica)
- Tsurga Castel:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- Lake Inawashiro:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
キジ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ,
カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ , チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, ウミウ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ツミ, オオタカ,
クイナ, バン, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ツルシギ, コアオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, ヨーロッパトウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, アリスイ, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ,
カケス, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ,
ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ, トラツグミ, マミチャジナイ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
カワガラス, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, イスカ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
Unlike last year, fortunately no typhoons hit the Tokyo area, and the grasslands on the riverbed were flourishing.
Flocks of Greenfinches and Tree Sparrows were flying over the grasslands and Meadow Buntings were singing in the bushes.
In the sky above, an Ospray grabbing a fish that had hunted in the river, a flock of Black-headed Gulls, a flock of Great Egrets , and a flock of Brown-eared Bulbul flew.
In one of the trees scattered across the riverbed, a Goshawk was still lurking there, looking for prey.
There were not many ducks at the weir than I expected, probably due to the many anglers and canoeists who came out at the weekend.
The Common Coot increased in number a lot.
There were many White Wagtais on the riverbank and in the playground. I saw a few Grey Wagtails and a Japanese Wagtail too.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, ユリカモメ,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
This time, I expected to see or hear more wintering birds.
On the first day, it was rainy for 1.5 hours in the morning and I couldn't hear many birds.
Amid the rain, I heard an Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla).
When rain was mostly over, buntings suddenly flew down and started foraging. There were flowers of Polygonum thunbergii and they were favorites of these buntings, including the Japanese Yellow.
Many Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) had arrived but Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata) were also present in sufficient number. They were not much afraid of humans under rainy condition (apparently appetite overcame the fear) and I could take videos these buntings plucking the flowers. I noticed the difference of the preference between these two species (Black-faced favored a more open area) and could expect the location of the Japanese Yellow rather easily, but the photographic condition was poor.
When the rain was completely over, their breakfast almost ended.
After the breakfast, buntings and other birds perched on the trees, but unfortunately I saw no Japanese Yellow.
When it became sunny, many Black Kites (Milvus migrans) suddenly appeared in the sky.
I had overlooked the presence of a hawk among them, but crows keenly noticed it and suddenly mobbed it (possibly an Eurasian Sparrowhawk).
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri) were still present, but the number slightly decreased.
Among the expected wintering birds, I heard Eurasian Siskins (Spinus spinus) first time in this season.
An unfortunate Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus) collided with the window of the visitor center and I saw it's dead body with the center staff.
On the second day, the weather was better in the morning.
It was mostly cloudy without strong wind, and it looked ideal for searching for buntings.
We indeed could see Japanese Yellow Buntings perched on the trees on a few occasions. A rather unexpected visitor was a Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans).
An Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) flew high in the sky.
When these morning shows were over, I sat and waited for birds to come, then I heard the voice of Red Crossbill(s) (Loxia curvirostra) falling from the sky. I looked up but could not locate the bird(s).
I met this species here in 2017 and this encouncter might suggest that this year may be that of irruption of this species.
The weather remained cloudy, but became windy (it was the usual case in Hokuriku area).
We waited birds to perch on the trees, but most of them were ordinary Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus) or Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) ,
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans),
Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ, ハイタカ, キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, アリスイ, カワセミ, モズ,
セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, ツグミ, シロハラ, ウグイス, コヨシキリ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ,
スズメ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, イカル, マヒワ, イスカ, ノジコ, ホオジロ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン,
Island Tobi-shima (Yamagata)
飛島(酒田, 山形)
This spot is one of the birder's paradises in Japan with rich migrating birds traveling from/to south to/from north along with the islands in the Japan Sea.
Some of them are the Siberian continental species which are very rare in Japan.
In the spring and autumn, the island is crowded with a lot of birders.
In October, the weather is not stable due to typhoons or low-pressures, and sometimes sailing of the boat to Tobi-shima is cancelled.
However, the storms bring birds to this small remote island.
This is a report by M.Ohashi.
Because of COVID-19, the overnight bus is out of service, so I got the bullet train and stayed one night in Sakata before going to the island.
On the morning of the first day, I boarded the boat which leaves at 9:30 a.m. and arrives at Tobi Island at 11:15 a.m.
From the boat, there was no seabird seen in the calm sea.
As the boat moved out of Sakata Port, I saw a flock of nearly 100 swans flying towards Mt. Chokai.
* The swans were seen in several large flocks in the rice fields near Tsuruoka and Atsumi Onsen on my way home.
After arriving at Tobisima, I went out birding.
The area between Katsuura village and the school was full of Daurian Redstarts and Warbling White-eyes. Unfortunately, I couldn't find Chestnut-flanked White-eye (Zosterops erythropleurus) this time.
As a Peregrine Falcon flew low, these small birds dived into the bushes all at once.
When I reached the school with nobody else, flocks of Meadow Buntings, Yellow-throated Buntings, Rustic Buntings, and Bramblings were foraging on the schoolyard grassy area.
Meanwhile, one bird came to the side of the school building. It was a Tree Pipit.
The grass was mowed by the home care facility side and one Little Bunting was there.
Then I went to the helipad and there were a few photographers gazing in one direction. It was a Lesser Whitethroat that came to feed on the red berries of a Japanese pepper tree. This bird seemed to be very nervous and didn't appear again until 16:20 when it was in the shade after 14:30. During this period, I saw it flew several times in the cherry tree nearby.
We also saw a female Narcissus Flycatcher and a female Mugimaki Flycatcher there.
After sunset, Daurian Redstarts appeared on the farm road in the center of the island, one after another.
On the second day, on my rounds of the field before breakfast, I saw a battle of a Eastern Buzzard and a Peregrine Falcon, a battle of a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a crow, and a Grey Bunting female foraging on the roadway. This individual seemed to be so hungry that it didn't run away even when I walked by it.
On this day, we saw about 10 Grey Buntings, males and females, mainly on the walkway between Yotsutani dam and Hachimanzaki.
The third day is not much replacement of the members seen, due to the sunny weather and migratory birds passing over the island, or the warmth of this fall and the delayed arrival of the winter birds.
Only around the persimmon tree at the center of the field "San-no-hatake" was active. There was a flock of Eurasian Siskins, about 50. I searched hard for Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea), but I didn't see it.
Most of the large thrushes were Pale Thrushes, with a few Eyebrowed Thrush and Japanese Thrushes, but no Brown-headed Thrushes (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus) were seen.
In the wood "Kyoboku-no-mori" and on path "Komadori-zaka", I heard the drumming of a woodpeckers. They were Great Spotted Woodpeckers making a new nest or searching for worms.
On the fourth day, I got a notice that the ferry was expected to be cancelled from October 22 to 25. I would like to stay on if the weather were good, but heavy rain was forecast for October 23 and 24, so I had no choice but to leave the island on this day.
Moreover, the boat left earlier than usual at 10:45 am. The boat was a small boat called "Haboro".
The only new member was Rook at the field "Godoimo-batake".
I saw a battle between two Eastern Buzzards in the sky.
The birds reported are;
Swan sp,
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps)?
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides)?
Lesser Whitethroat (Siberian) (Curruca curruca blythi),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ハクチョウsp, マガモ, カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, オオミズナギドリ, アオサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, カラスバト, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ? ウグイス, エゾムシクイ? コノドジロムシクイ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
イソヒヨドリ, キビタキ, ムギマキ, オオルリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ヨーロッパビンズイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, マヒワ,
ホオジロ, ホオアカ, コホオアカ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ, オオジュリン
Ogasawar Cruise & Ogawasawara Islands (Tokyo)
小笠原航路,父島,母島(東京)
On the way to Chichi-jima (the main island) by the ship from Tokyo Bay, around 24 hours, the shorebirds both of the Palearctic and the Oceania ecozones can be observed on the ship.
We can recognize the drastic change of birds between the first day and the second day crossing the border of these two ecozones.
The cruise to the Ogasawara Islandswas influenced by the remaining waves and swells of Typhoon No. 14, which passed near the Kanto region the week before and then became a tropical cyclone heading toward the Ogasawara Islands.
On the first half of the ocean to the Ogasawara Islands, the ship rolled a lot, but many shearwaters were soaring vigorously. The majority of the seabirds we confirmed were Streaked Shearwater, including several Providence Petrels.
The next day, in the latter part of the ocean, the waves were calmer. Streaked Shearwater, which had dominated the previous day, disappeared and was replaced by Wedge-tailed Shearwater.
Bulwer's Petrels and Leach's Storm-Petrels were also seen.
We also saw one shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri bannermani) recently identified as a different species from Audubon's Shearwater.
We searched for Bryan's Shearwater (Puffinus bryani) but could not find it.
Our traveling companion joined us on the way. One Red-footed Booby and several Indo-Pacific Brown Boobies were flying together with the ship, hunting flying fishes that jumped out of the water in surprise at the boat.
We arrived at Chichijima 24 hours after leaving the port of Tokyo. As soon as we arrived, we transferred to the boat for Hahajima in less than an hour.
The time for observation was short, but Whiskered Terns flying near the port, Pacific Golden-Plovers and an Eastern Redshank were seen on the rocky shore and grassy areas.
Several Indo-Pacific Brown Boobies accompanied us on the cruise to Hahajima.
In addition to Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Bulwer's Petrels and Noddy Tern were also seen.
After a two-hour voyage, we arrived at Haha-jima. The Ogasawara Archipelago have never been connected to a continent, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes.
This has led to the islands' nickname of the "The Galapagos of the Orient", and their nomination as a natural World Heritage Site on June 24, 2011.
Also, these islands involved in the Oceania terrestrial ecoregions, as the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests.
In the Ogasawara islands, there are endemic species (subspecies) including two restricted-range species of birds; the Japanese Woodpigeon (Columba janthina) and the Vulnerable Bonin Island Honeyeater (Apalopteron familiare hahasimae).
Furthermore, it is recommended in this year that the subspecies kittlitzi of Oriental Greenfinch Chloris sinica, that is distributed in Ogasawara Islands, be regarded as a distinct species. The population of the Greenfinch is extremely small and I had never seen this bird on my previous visits to Haha-jima.
It was midsummer weather there, with temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius.
In the afternoon, we searched for these endemic species.
We checked a spot near the port where one of our group members had seen Greenfinch, but this time the bird was not there.
Instead, a C.d.diphone, which has a longer bill and a slightly different melody than the Bush Warbler near Tokyo, was found moving among a tree.
Also, Japanese White-eye, said to be a hybrid of Z.j.stejnegeri and Z.j.alani, was forming a large flock of more than fifty.
We went to the end of the port and found about 40 Ruddy Turnstones resting.
Here we were so fortunate to meet a local birder who has been observing the birds in Haha-jima for a long period of time.
He explained to us that Ruddy Turnstones overwinter here. He also showed us a Sanderling, which is rare in this region, on the beach, and a Common Tern (S.h.minussensis) with red legs and in the winter form and many wintering Pacific Golden-Plovers.
In addition, he told that he had found Lapland Bunting, which is supposed to be in the northern part of Japan, but was thought to have strayed into the area due to the last typhoon, and we went with him to see it the next morning.
After we would part with him, we birded in the village and near the old helipad. We found many Bonin Island Honeyeaters (A.f.hahasimae) but not Japanese Woodpigeon or Greenfinch.
On the third day at Haha-jima, we explored the area near the inn in the morning. We saw a large eagle flying over the sea near the port. Later, while watching another Lapland Bunting and a Long-billed Dowitcher on the school ground with the local birder, we heard a White-tailed Sea Eagle from the area of the mountain. This eagle is also thought to have been strayed by the typhoon.
Then, we were guided by the local birder to visit sites where we should have chances to see Greenfinch and Wood Pigeon.
And finally we found a flock of Greenfinch. It was thanks to the local birder.
We couldn't see a single Wood Pigeon. They used to be common there until the year before last, but they hadn't been seen since that year's typhoon hit the island. He explained that they might have migrated to the genus islands.
We left Haha-jima at noon the next day and boarded the ship for Chichi-jima. Seabirds observed from the boat were the same as on the out-bound, which were Indo-Pacific Brown Boobies, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Bulwer's Petrels and Noddy Terns.
When we arrived at Chichi-jima port, we transferred to the Tokyo-bound ship.
On the ship, we searched for Bryan's Shearwater (Puffinus bryani) but could not find it.
We saw a Red-footed Booby, Indo-Pacific Brown Boobies, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, and Bulwer's Petrels.
The next morning, dawn broke at a point near Hachijyo-jima. The waves were high and the wind was strong and the boat was rocking so much that it was prohibited to go on deck for safety reasons.
This seriously constrained seabird watching.
A Laysan Albatross and a large flock of over 1000 Streaked Shearwaters could be seen barely off Hachijo-jima.
As we passed off Miyake-jima Island, the waves were a bit weaker and the narrow rear deck was opened up. From there, we saw a Providence Petrel fly in close to the ship, among the Streaked Shearwaters.
As the ship entered Tokyo Bay, the waves and wind calmed down.
Streaked Shearwaters and Black-tailed Gulls were flying lazily around the ship.
A flock which appeared to be Red-necked Phalarope was seen in the distance.
The birds observed (* observed by another person) are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri), Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus cuneatus),
Bannerman's Shearwater (Puffinus bannermani),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii), Band-rumped Storm-Petrel / Madeiran Storm-petrel , Leach's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa leucorhoa),
Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata amurensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula rubripes), Indo-pacific Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
White-tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo toyoshimai),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Eastern Redshank (Tringa totanus eurhina),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Sanderling (Calidris alba alba),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)?
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana sumatrana)? Common Tern (Sterna hirundo minussensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Noddy Tern (Anous stolidus pileatus),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus)?
*Japanese Wood Pigeon (Columba janthina nitens),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Amur Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Cettia diphone diphone),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler(Phylloscopus examinandus)?
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri x Zosterops japonicus alani),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Bonin Island Honeyeater (Apalopteron familiare hahasimae),
Red-bellied Rockthrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Bonin Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica kittlitzi),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)?
Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus coloratus)
マガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, ハジロミズナギドリ, シロハラミズナギドリ,
オオミズナギドリ, オナガミズナギドリ, オガサワラミズナギドリ, アナドリ, クロコシジロウミツバメ, コシジロウミツバメ,
ササゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, アカアシカツオドリ, カツオドリ, カワウ,
オジロワシ, オガサワラノスリ, バン, オオバン, ムナグロ, オオハシシギ, アカアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, アカエリヒレアシシギ?
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, エリグロアジサシ? アカアシアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ, クロアジサシ, ウミスズメ?
*アカガシラカラスバト, シマアカモズ, ツバメ, オガサワラヒヨドリ, オガサワラハシナガウグイス, オオムシクイ?
シチトウメジロ x イオウジマメジロ, トラツグミ, ハハジマメグロ, イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, ハクセキレイ,
オガサワラカワラヒワ, イカル? ツメナガホオジロ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
In pursuit of Japanese yellow buntings (Emberiza sulphurata), I visited this site again.
Oct. 16 marked the end of a sequence of sunny days and migratory passerines were relatively few as expected.
According to banders, the number of Japanese Yellow Buntings was still low, but had been increasing slightly. I could see flying Japanese Yellow Buntings, but couldn't see them perched.
Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) had increased in number.
Since there were apparently no Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), the existence of only two species of confusion, it was relatively easy to spot the voice and subsequently flight of Japanese Yellow Buntings.
Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) often passed the sky.
As in the last visit, Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius) again flew frequently.
I heard two species of wintering thrushes: Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) and Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus).
Thanks to the sunny weather, it became a raptor day around noon. Two Common Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) were mobbed by crows.
Two Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) flew relatively closely.
Later on, we saw a Kettle of seven Eastern Buzzards againt the blue sly, but they were too distant to locate in the camera monitor.
On Oct. 18, I visited after rain on the previous day.
I expected that rain should have brought more birds.
There were indeed relatively abundant Japanese Yellow Buntings captured by the banders, but they didn't appear easily where we mainly observed (there were visitors walking around, expecting these birds, and the birds may have avoided people).
On both days, Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) was the major species we spotted here and there.
The weather was finer than I expected and it was also a raptor day.
I saw an Eastern Buzzard flying low already in the morning (it probably roosted here).
There was a kettle of Black Kites (Milvus migrans) but there was also one Eastern Buzzard.
Later on, a Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) flew and was also mobbed by a crow.
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) also passed.
In the afternoon when almost all visitors had given up seeing Japanese Yellow Buntings, a bird suddenly flew to the tree in front of me. It was a Japanese Yellow Bunting and I could eventually catch its image.
Not so many wintering birds had arrived, and migration in total might have been later than in the previous year.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
カルガモ, トビ, ノスリ, ツミ, ミサゴ, チョウゲンボウ, キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ノビタキ, キビタキ, ツグミ, シロハラ, ウグイス, コヨシキリ, シジュウカラ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, メジロ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, ノジコ, カシラダカ, アトリ, イカル, カワラヒワ, オオジュリン, スズメ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
I made a short visit to Kyoto Imperial Garden (but not visiting the bird bath).
As soon as I entered the Garden, I found a Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta) perched low and sometime flew down to the ground. It would be rare to see this species sitting on the ground.
Although I heard several individuals of Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina), none appeared close enough to take a picture.
Phylloscopus sp. (likely Phylloscopus examinandus) foraged with a mixed group of tits, but the species was unidentified since there was no voice.
I later found a location where flycatchers gathered (it was a sunny day and it was already hot in the morning due to the hot air by the typhoon).
Asian Brown Flycatcher(s) (Muscicapa dauurica) often visited the same tree and pecked flowers.
The same tree was visited by a young male Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana), but his target was probably not the flowers. He flew down on the ground and stayed for a while, but unfortunately the location was hidden from my view.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus) or Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Turdus sp.,
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
,
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, メジロ,
オオルリ, キビタキ, , コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ, オオムシクイ または メボソムシクイ, ツグミsp, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, イカル
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
Although it appeared a bit too early to meet migrating Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata), I visited this site with some expectation to see or hear something unexpected.
It was still rainy when I arrived (after-effect of the typhoon), but it was warm already in the morning.
When the rain was over, there were numerous Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri). They were present here and there and I could see them all the day.
In one corner of the wetland, I caught the voice of foraging Japanese Yellow Buntings and they had indeed arrived. This time they were seen only in flight and I didn't see any bird perched. They were present in a small flock and moving between the wetland for foraging and surrounding forest for rest.
In the morning, thanks to the warm weather I could hear likely song or subsong of Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps). Although I didn't see this species, they were trapped and banded by the banders who had been working since Oct. 10.
According to them, only one Japanese Yellow Bunting was caught on Oct. 10, but several had caught on this day. When I visited the banding site, the activity of the birds decreased and I saw only one bird.
According to the banders, several Siberian Rubythroats (Calliope calliope) were captured. Although they were very difficult to see directly, it was clear their fall migration had started.
Other migrant species were not very prominent.
I usually heard the call of several Ficedula birds when visiting here, but this time I heard none.
I only heard one Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus) and forest birds looked rather calm despite the warm weather.
I saw many Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius) crossing over the sky.
In the afternoon, it became windy as weather forecast told, and I felt little activity of the Japanese Yellow Bunting.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, トビ, キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, オオムシクイ, シジュウカラ, コガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, ノジコ, オオジュリン, アトリ, イカル, カワラヒワ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden, Daiza-hoshi Pond & Oyachi Marsh (Oyachi-Numa) (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市戸隠森林植物園、大座法師池&大谷地沼(長野)
Since Typhoon Chan-hom did not hit the Tokyo area and passed off the Pacific side, we hoped that the north wind would bring the migratory birds, such as Mugimaki Flycatcher and Eye-browed Thrush, to stop by.
There were very few cars parked in the parking lot early in the morning, which is unlikely for this time of year, perhaps because of the typhoon.
There were many Willow Tits and Nuthatches flying around the entrance of the deserted Botanical garden.
We saw a Eurasian Tree-Creeper and heard a Japanese Grosbeak, too.
As we proceeded along the trail through the wooded hillside, a few Eyebrowed Thrushes were seen in the canopy of the tall trees.
There was also a flock of about 100 Bramblings flying around. A Grey Bunting suddenly jumped out of the bamboo grasses thicket beside us and hid again.
We saw sighting of aother small bird in the bushes, but we couldn't identify it. There seemed to be various small birds hiding in the bushes without making a sound.
Then we went around the park to check for creeper plants (Euonymus fortune), a favorite of the Mugimaki Flycatcher, but we could not find this bird. That might be because the berries were still immature.
The number of Eyebrowed Thrush and other birds besides Willow Tit and Nuthatch were not many.
It seems that the visit was a bit too early.
Kagami-ike Pond was beautiful reflecting in the autumn leaves of the surrounding forest and the peculiarly shaped Mt. Togakushi.
There were Mandarin Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons and Eurasian Common Coots on the lake.
Also, a few migratory Grey-faced Buzzards were passing overhead towards west.
As the skies opened up, we also visited the campsite and waited for the hawks to appear, but they did not appear during our observation.
In the afternoon, we visited Daiza-hoshi Pond.
There were many ducks in that pond. The species were Eurasian Wigeons and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks only, but the Eurasian Wigeons were a large flock of about 200 or so.
In Oyachi Marsh (Oyachi-Numa) nearby, a flock of Bramblings were bathing in a stream in the woods.
We also saw a few Japanese Thrushes still remaining there.
The birds observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, サシバ, オオバン, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ,
エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, イカル, クロジ
Kitasaga and Hirosawa Pond (Kyoto Prefecture) (Kyoto Prefecture)
北嵯峨&広沢池(京都)
I visited here again to see if there remained Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri) I saw on Oct. 4 and if there were newcomers.
After the effect of the typhoon, it was still rainy in the morning.
There were Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats more than I expected (but not more than on Oct. 4). I saw nearly ten individuals and they appeared here and there.
The big difference from Oct. 4 was the appearance of wintering birds.
There were many Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) and I heard their voice frequently. Some of them even perched on wires and were not afraid of humans. They probably just arrived and exhausted.
Around noon, the weather temporarily became fine and a Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) soared.
I noticed the sudden movement of feral pigeons and there was a Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) around them. The kestrel hunted on the ground and rested on a pole.
In Hirosawa Pond, I found a Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) distantly on the other side of the pond.
Western Ospreys circled above again.
There was no remarkable species in the pond yet.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
カイツブリ, カルガモ, オシドリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, キジバト, ケリ, トビ, ミサゴ, チョウゲンボウ,
カワセミ, アオゲラ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, モズ, ヒバリ, コシアカツバメ, ノビタキ, シジュウカラ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ムクドリ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, アトリ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The water level of the marsh was further down from when I visited half a month ago, and the muddy shore was extended.
Accordingly, the species of shorebirds increased, and there were new members such as Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher.
Two Greater White-fronted Geese, a rarity in this area, circled over the marsh three times as if they were looking for a place to rest and then flew away.
The birds observed are;
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
マガン, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオタカ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, オオハシシギ, イソシギ, アメリカウズラシギ, ウズラシギ, キジバト, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Kitamoto Nature Observation Park (Saitama)
北本自然観察公園(埼玉)
Kitamoto Nature Observation Park, which extends over 30ha, is designed as the Urban Ecology Park in Saitama Prefecture.
It is also the studying field for the Saitama Nature Study Center.
It is playing an important role as the vital base of the ecological network to protect endangered species and effectively conserve nature in Saitama prefecture, as well as creating a place for the residents of the prefecture to relax.
The park covers various scenery like woodlands, wetlands and grasslands, where there are habitats for many wild animals, birds, frogs, insects etc.
Approximately 1,700 species of insects and 160 species of wild birds can be found in this park. For birding the winter is the best season.
A Grey Nightjar had been observed for about a week, and when I arrived, several photographers were already taking pictures of the bird resting on a thick branch of a tree a slight distance away.
It was observed last year as well, and probably the same individual was stopping by on migration.
A flock of Eurasian Jays, which also seemed to be on their way of migration, was screeching above the forest.
There were many ducks in the swamp.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)?
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
カルガモ, コガモ, チュウダイサギ, トビ, ツミ? クイナ? キジバト, ヨタカ, コゲラ, モズ, カケス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Zama, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(座間,神奈川)
I visited this site in expectation to see Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) and Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) stopping by on their migration way, but I didn't encounter them as the timing didn't match.
In the rice fields after harvesting, White Wagtails were foraging in flocks.
Since there were several anglers fishing for sweetfish in the river, there were few birds in the river or riverbank.
One osprey was occasionally hovering and searching for fish above the river.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
snipe sp.
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ジシギsp, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Kitasaga and Hirosawa Pond (Kyoto Prefecture) (Kyoto Prefecture)
北嵯峨&広沢池(京都)
It is the season of migration of Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri).
I visited this place with some expection to see them.
To my surprise, nearly ten birds gathered in a small corner of the field and catching flying small insects.
It was a cloudy day with weak sunlight but windless. The weather provided favorable condition for insects to swarm.
After watching these bird for an hour, I walked on paths around the fields.
On these paths, I also found Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats popping out onto poles or lines.
This day was probably one of peaks of migration of this species.
Probably due to the low cloud and windless condition, I didn't see any flying raptor.
There was no remarkable species in the pond yet.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
カイツブリ, カルガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ケリ, カワセミ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, モズ, ヒバリ,
コシアカツバメ, ノビタキ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ムクドリ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
Until that day, the number of hawks observed at this site was very small compared to past years.
The sky above us was clear, but clouds were covering the Tanzawa Mountains on the north side, and a haze was covering the Tokyo area on the east and the sea on the south side. Mt. Fuji on the west side was hidden by clouds.
This circumstances seemed to make hawks choose a route to pass over this site.
Almost 100 hawks were observed to migrate. We also observed the big hawk kettles twice.
The result was;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 88
- Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 1
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 2
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 4
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis): 1
- Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 1
- Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 2
There were many swallows and swifts, and some of them formed in large flocks like a hawk's kettle. Two White-throated Needletails were also observed.
Many other birds were also active.
The birds obserbed (*by other birders) are;
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus), Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, アオバト,
ハリオアマツバメ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
Fine weather was expected and there was a video report from Shirakaba pass on Sep.28, I expected to see many hawks on these days.
On Sep. 29, the weather was cloudy (rather contrary to expectation) and without winds. However, hawks soon started to arrive one aftert another after 8:30 a.m.
It was a pity that the background was white cloud and the color of Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) was not clearly seen. It was also a pity that most of them passed through without soaring.
After 9:00 a.m., the main group of Grey-faced Buzzards started to arrive with many kettles. The density was high enough to enjoy them readily with the naked eyes or binoculars, but they were not close enough to the shapes of the birds with the naked eyes.
This condition lasted for nearly an hour and we spent busy time.
After then, the course of passage moved just above us, but again most of them passed quickly after forming kettles to the east (the direction hindered by trees).
In the afternoon, there was almost a continuous flow of passing hawks, but they were rather high (but most of them were visible by the naked eyes).
The majority of the birds were Grey-faced Buzzards as expected.
Some Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) were present. The individuals of Crested Honey Buzzards I photographed on Sep. 26-27 were all adults, but this time the fraction of juvenile birds remarkably increased, suggesting that juvenile birds migrate slower.
As time passed in the afternoon, the fraction of Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) increased and they arrived one by one.
On Sep. 30, the weather was fine particularly in the morning and I expected to see the reminder of the flocks which passed on Sep. 29.
As I expected, some kettles were seen, but the density of the birds was much lower than on Sep. 29 and were mostly distant. I could see an only handful of Crested Honey Buzzards.
In the afternoon, it became cloudy and the condition became worse. No such a stream of migratory hawks was seen as on Sep. 29. Only Eastern Buzzards passed sporadically.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis), Eyebrowed thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, ツミ, トビ, カワウ, コサギ, ダイサギ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, ツツドリ,
チョウゲンボウ, モズ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, エゾビタキ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ,
クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, スズメ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Inagi)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
The weather was sunny and the cool breeze blew slightly stronger from the north.
Contrary to the last year, no typhoon had yet come to the Tokyo area this year, so the riverbed grasslands that was severely damaged by last year's super typhoon had been recovered and grasses were flourishing.
There were Bull-headed Shrikes calling loudly in the grassland and the woods here and there.
I saw many Eurasian Tree Sparrows but no other passerines in the grasslands.
There were a few Barn Swallows which might be under migration.
I saw Brown-eared Bulbuls forming flocks and flew towards, west.
Around the weir, a big flocks of around 50 Little Egrets and 50 Great Cormorants were gathering.
There were several species of ducks (Eurasian Wigeons, Gadwalls, Northern Shoveler) wading in the water.
They were few in number, but three species of wagtails (Black-backed, Grey, Japanese) were seen.
In the forest of Japanese elm, I found two Blue-and-white Flycatchers and a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler under migration among the bush trees.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, バン, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
オオムシクイ, メジロ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was the peak of the Grey-faced Buzzard and Crested Honey Buzzard migrations, but a series of cloudy and rainy days seemed to keep many hawks stuck in the area. It was the first sunny day in a long time, and from the top of the mountain, we could see clearly through the clear air to Mt. Fuji with its first snow cover to the west, the Izu Islands beyond Sagami Bay and the distant horizon to the south, and even the building blocks of Tokyo to the east.
Under such good conditions, a great migration was expected. In the morning, some Grey-faced Buzzards and Crested Honey Buzzards flew over, and we thought things were going well, but then it stopped afterwards.
We heard that more than 100 Grey-faced Buzzards were recorded at several observation spots nearby. It seemed that the hawks had bypassed this Gongenyama and the number was not increase so much.
The result was;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 10
- Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 4
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 4
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 2
- Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 1
- Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 1
The birds obserbed (*by other birders) are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis)? Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), *Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
*Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
コジュケイ, ハヤブサ? ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, カワラバト, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, *アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, *メボソムシクイ,
ガビチョウ, メジロ, *クロツグミ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
I visited this mountain again to see hawk migration.
In this season, the count of the Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) has been unusually low and we had expected that the peak of their arrival would appear around this time.
On Sep. 27, however, the weather was mostly cloudy and almost without winds. Due to the lack of thermals, hawks didn't fly as expected.
We could only see two Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) flying low.
Some Grey-faced Buzzards were seen distantly only through high-power binoculars.
Migratory songbirds were relatively abundant and we saw up to five Grey-streaked Flycatchers (Muscicapa griseisticta).
On Sep. 28, several Crested Honey Buzzards suddenly flew close in the morning. They must have roosted on this mountain.
It was clear in the morning and other hawks were sporadically seen, but without kettles.
Later on, cold air approached and it became strongly windy. Observations were sometimes interrupted by rain.
Due to the adverse condition, only a limited number of Grey-faced Buzzards were seen. However, probably thanks to the weather, we could see swifts several times.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus),
Cuculus sp.,
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Turdus sp.,
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, ツミ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハリオアマツバメ, カッコウsp, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, エゾビタキ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ,
ツグミsp, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ムクドリ, スズメ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
I visited one of the "hawk mountains" to see migratory raptors on four days in a row.
In this year, migration of raptors appears to have started rather slow and we did not yet see the peak of migration.
Nevertheless, we saw many migratory raptors. In particular, there were relatively large number of Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis) compared to Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus).
There were several times when kettles only composed of Crested Honey Buzzards were seen.
On most of days, the major groups passed in the afternoon and they were usually rather high. They were difficult to see with the naked eyes, but the flow of raptors were apparent through the binoculars.
An Oriental Stork was seen distantly, but it was impossible to take a photo.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Great spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, オオタカ, ツミ, トビ, ダイサギ, コウノトリ, キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, ハヤブサ, チョウゲンボウ,
モズ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス
Shirakaba Pass (Nagano)
白樺峠(松本,長野)
This pass is famous as the best point to observe hawk migration in autumn.
A local group had been observing this site since September 1, but due to a series of rainy and cloudy days, no major hawk migrations had been observed to date.
On the day of our visit, sunny weather was forecasted from the day before, and good weather was also predicted for the Niigata area where the hawks departure from, so a great migration was expected.
However, the clouds that covered the valley line toward Matsumoto City in the morning disappeared after a while, but the thin clouds over the sky did not clear.
Under such circumstances, Crested Honey Buzzards were passing overhead one by one.
However, we didn't see the great wave of Grey-faced Buzzards that we were expecting.
In the afternoon, the thin clouds above the pass lessened and the sun began to shine strongly on it. However, large flocks of Grey-faced Buzzards did not appear.
Nearly three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was getting weaker and we almost gave up on the arrival of the huge flock and then, suddenly, a lot of Grey-faced Buzzards appeared and made huge hawk kettles in the sky.
Somehow, at the last moment, we were able to get a satisfactory result.
The records reported by "Sinshu Raptors igration Research Group" are as follows;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 1,056
- Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 647
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 37
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 44
- Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus): 3
- Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 1
- Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 2
The birds we observed were;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus), Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, クマタカ, ドバト, アオバト,
ハリオアマツバメ, アマツバメ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ウグイス, ゴジュウカラ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
When I reached the site, there were already many photographers and birders there, and they were looking at a Pectoral Sandpiper that had been recently observed.
The water level of the swamp, which was full a month ago, has lowered and the mudflats have spread out, and there were also a Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper and Black-winged Stilt.
A Whiskered Tern could be seen in the distance.
A number of Little Ringed Plovers were resting on the grasses of the sandbar, among which was a Long-billed Plover.
In addition to the resident Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, we also saw a flock of Eurasian Teals and two Northern Pintails that seemed to have just arrived.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, トビ, バン,
セイタカシギ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, アメリカウズラシギ,
クロハラアジサシ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ. スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Isahaya Reclaimed Land (Nagasaki)
諫早干拓地 (長崎)
The Sea Wall cut off the water of Isahaya Inner Bay from the Ariake Sea.
Although Isahaya Bay deserves the status of a wetland of international importance, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries claimed that the project was inevitable for flood control and more agricultural lands.
Although the mudflat areas were lost, many birds are still inhabiting at the grassy plain and the fields.
When we visited there, it was earlier than the birding season from October.
The number and species of birds were fewer, but in the reedbeds outside of the reclaimed land, we saw an Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Ospreys, a Northern Goshawk, and a Peregrine Falcon; in the water, ducks such as Eurasian Teals, Mallards and Northern Shovelers, which seemed to have just arrived; and in the reclaimed rice fields, we saw Wood Sandpipers, a Common Redshank, a Ruff, a Dunlin, a Pacific Golden-Plover, Common Snipes and a snipe, which seemed like Pin-tailed Snipe.
We also saw a Grey-streaked Flycatcher and an Eastern Yellow Wagtail which were on the way of their migration.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)? Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana), Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, バン, ムナグロ, コチドリ, ハリオシギ? タシギ,
アカアシシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, ウミネコ, キジバト, カワセミ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, エゾビタキ, スズメ,
ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Saga Area (Saga)
佐賀周辺(佐賀県)
In the mornings of the first and second days, we visited Higashiyoka Tidal Flats (Higashiyoka-higata).
Higashiyoka-higata is a tidal mudflat at the mouths of Honshoe River and Hattae River on the north shore of the innermost section of Ariake Bay.
The Site is internationally important in the life cycle of migratory waterbirds, acting as a stopover and a wintering site.
About 7,000 migratory shorebirds are recorded from autumn to spring, including over 1% of the flyway populations of the Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola).
The Site also support globally threatened waterbirds, such as the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), and the vulnerable Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) and Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi).
More than 1% of the flyway population of Saunders's Gull occur at the Site.
A rich biodiversity can be found on the mudflat, including fish, benthos, and halophytes, due to the warm climate, large tidal variation, and shoals which facilitate sediment deposition.
Over the years, the extensive mudflats around the Ariake Bay have been subjected to land reclamation and the construction of dykes.
As a result, Higashiyoka-higata, together with the two other coastal Ramsar Sites in Ariake Bay, Arao-higata and Hizen Kashima-higata, has an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation in the Bay.
The Higashiyoka-higata mudflats are also locally important as a fishing site and for supporting local cultural practices.
The day when we visited was at the peak season of autumn migration of shorebirds.
Since this tideland becomes vast at low tide, the best time to observe the shorebirds is at the highest tide of the flood tide, as was the case on our visit. At the time of our visit, the tidal flats had reduced significantly and were quickly covered with water. A huge number of shorebirds were gathering on the shore in front of us.
Sometimes two Peregrine Falcons attacked these flocks of shorebirds one after the other, and each time the shorebirds flew around forming little clouds.
Since two weeks ago, a Western Sandpiper, a rarity in Japan, had been observed.
Local birders were looking for this one bird diligently. Luckily, we found this bird together with Dunlins and Red-necked Stints on the most right-hand side of one of the several observation points.
There were numerous Grey Plovers and Dunlings too many to count.
There were seven Black-faced Spoonbills and many Far Eastern Curlews.
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper was not yet seen this season.
There were also many Broad-billed Sandpipers and Great Knots, which are fewer in number near Tokyo.
We also visited Fukudomi Land Reclamation in Shiroishi Town on the west side of Higashi-yoka.
The area is littered with lotus fields. We looked for shorebirds there, but found only a few Little Ringed Plovers and one Red-necked Stint.
We visited one more place, Saga Airport area.
I had heard that not long ago a stray bird, Northern Shrike Shrike (Lanius schach), had been observed here, but there were many Bull-headed Shrikes, but not that bird.
Instead, a few Oriental Pratincoles were seen flying around.
The birds observed were;
- at Higashiyoka Tidal Flats (Higashiyoka-higata);
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus/Limicola falcinellus sibirica),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Fukudomi Reclaimedd Land (Fukudome-kantaku);
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Oriental) (Pica serica serica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- around Saga Airport;
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ,
オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アオアシシギ,
キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, ヒメハマシギ, トウネン,
サルハマシギ, ハマシギ, キリアイ, ツバメチドリ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, カササギ, ハシボソガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, エゾビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Mt. Eboshi-dake (Sasebo, Nagasaki)
烏帽子岳(佐世保,長崎)
This mountain is located at the most northern point in Kyushu Island on the autumn migration route of Chinese Goshawk (Accipiter soloensis) from Siberia and Korea to Philippines and Indonesia.
When we visited there, the weather was so bad with an autumn rain front located on this area. The weather forecast was cloudy, but there were clouds over the top of the mountain and it rained occasionally.
In the afternoon there were briefly a few blue skies in the distance to the north and two hawks could be seen soaring in the sky, but they soon disappeared and were difficult to identify.
On the day before (September 15), a huge number of Chinese Goshawks was recorded.
The records on September 15 reported by Nagasaki Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan are as follows;
- Chinese Goshawk (Accipiter soloensis): 11,252
- Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 23
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 1
- Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis): 4
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 4
The birds we observed were;
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キュウシュウコゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, ホオジロ
Kujukuri Coast (Chiba) & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
九十九里浜(千葉)&稲敷方面(茨城)
In the morning, we visited Katakai Fishing Port, Yasashigaura Beach and Iioka Fishing Port in Ciba Prefecture and Hazaki Port in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Wherever we went, there were a surprisingly large number of surfers on the beaches, perhaps seeking the high waves that resulted from the previous day's passage of a tropical depression.
However, we were able to observe shorebirds and black-tailed gulls that are not too afraid of people.
At Katakai Fishing Port, there was a puddle filled with the recent rains, there were some shorebirds (Sanderling, Lesser Sand-Plover, Red-necked Stint, Dunlin).
An Oriental Pratincole flew above us for a while.
At Yasashigaura Beach, a flock of black-tailed gulls and shorebirds was seen on the shore where relatively few surfers were present.
Here was one Red Knot together with about ten Great Knots.
Some Ruddy Turnstones were also seen.
A flock of about fifty Sanderings was moving in response to the passing people nearby.
There were no shorebirds on the beach next to Iioka Port though there were many Streaked Shearwaters soaring on the water.
Blue Rock Thrushs and Zitting Cisticolas were seen on the beach weir and grassy areas.
On the breakwater, only Great Cormorants and Black-tailed Gulls resting were seen.
In Hasaki port, we looked for the Oriental Pratincole recorded a few days ago but could not find it.
There were shorebirds and gulls, but they were so far away that we could not identify them well.
Then, we moved to Inashiki area.
Many of the lotus fields had been mowed since my visit three weeks ago, and the fields with open water surfaces increased.
There were many Wood Sandpipers this time again, and also many Common Snipes, with other species such as Ruff and Temminck's Stint were also found.
There were also flocks of Intermediate Egret here and there.
There were more Sand Martins in the sky than last visit.
The birds observed are;
- at Katakai Port:
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Yasashigaura Beach:
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Iioka Port:
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Hazaki Port:
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- at Inashiki area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), reater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)? Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, オオミズナギドリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオタカ,
オオバン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, タマシギ, タシギ, クサシギ? タカブシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, ミユビシギ,
トウネン, オジロトウネン, ハマシギ, エリマキシギ, ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, キセキレイ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was still earlier for the peak of the migration of hawks. The day before we visited, Kyushu was hit by one of the largest typhoons ever to hit Japan, and it was raining heavily in the Tokyo area, and the weather was unstable on the day of our visit, with occasional showers and sunshine.
There were only a few hawks that migrated across (Common Kestrel, Japanese Sparrowhawk), but we were able to observe many kinds of hawks.
There were also many swifts and swallows flying over the sky.
Perhaps it was the effect of this summer's intense heat, but there were no woodpeckers, flycatchers or tits in the forest, except for a few Varied Tits.
The birds obserbed are;
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, キセキレイ
Isshiki Coast (Nishio, Aichi Prefecture)
一色海岸(愛知)
We visited this site to search for one Laughing Gull staying at this site again this year following last year's first finding of this bird.
This species is quite rare in Japan.
Since I learned that when the tidal tide is low and there are tidal flats on the shore, the bird is feeding there and at other times it is resting on the tetrapod on the fishing port banks, we headed to the shore where the tidal flats appeared.
When we arrived at the shore there were tidal flats and we saw several Black-tailed Gulls but not the Laughing Gull.
On the tidal flat, there were several shorebirds such as; Grey Plover, Pacific Golden-Plover,Greater Sand Plover, Lesser Sand-Plover, Great Knot, Sanderling, Grey-tailed Tattler, Eurasian Curlew, and Common Sandpiper,
We headed to the fishing port to look for only one target bird among a big number of Black-tailed Gulls.
On the way to the port, we found a big flock of Black-winged Stilts.
We searched through the flocks of gulls on the tetrapods, but we couldn't find it, perhaps because it was somewhere we couldn't see.
However, after waiting for some time, we were lucky to find the bird appeared in our sight somehow.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Laughing Gull (North American) (Leucophaeus atricilla megalopterus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, ダイシャクシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ,
ウミネコ, ワライカモメ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Birding Trip to find shorebirds in the suburbs of Tokyo (Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma)
東京近郊でシギチドリ探鳥旅行(千葉,栃木.群馬)
The first site was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
That day, the tide was at its lowest level at midnight, with high tide around 9:30 a.m., so when we arrived at 7:00 a.m., the tide was coming up and the flats were getting smaller and smaller.
Thus, the shorebirds, those who had stopped at this tidal flat on their way of migration, had gathered on the remaining flats.
The timing should be the peak of shorebirds's migration, but the number of birds was not as many as I expected.
Among the birds observed, Grey-tailed Tattler, Sandering, Grey Plover and Great Knot were abundant.
Many Eurasian Oystercatchers were seen resting on the distant sea bank, perhaps having finished foraging.
Many black-tailed Gulls were also resting on the offshore fences.
Around the fences, a large flock of Little Terns, which are temporarily gathering on this flats to begin their upcoming migration, were repeatedly flying around and perched on the fences.
The second site was the lotus fields in Inashiki City in Ibaraki Prefecture.
The lotus was at the peak of its growth, and large flowers were in bloom. Then we looked for fresh-water shorebirds in the few fallow fields and went around the vast area.
We found Wood Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plovers in the some fallow fields.
In one fallow field, Common Snipes were getting mixed with the background were resting still.
In the Nishi-no-Su reclamation area, there was a place where several photographers and birder gathered and three different types of stints (Red-necked, Temminck's and Long-toed) were seen together.
We expected to see flocks of Sand Martins on the migration, but we only found a single bird.
The third site was the paddy fields in Omoigawa Town in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
We arrive at noon, the temperature rose over 30 degrees Celsius and became very hot.
We searched for fresh-water shorebirds in the few fallow fields.
In a fallow field, we found a flock of Pacific Golden-Plovers.
In some fallow fields with water, some Little Ringed Plovers and Wood Sandpipers were foraging,
We found some snipes as well.
Then we drove through Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi) and the paddy field in Itakura Town in Gunma Prefecture.
We searched for Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus), Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala) or Grey-headed Lapwing.
We found a big flock of 35 Grey-headed Lapwings resting fallow fields.
At Tatara Marsh, we saw communal roosting of swallows (Amur Barn, Kamchatka Sand Martin).
Tens of thousands of Barn Swallow came back to the reed fields in the twilight.
The birds observed there are;
- At Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At lotus fields in Inashiki:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- At paddy fields in Omoigawa:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)? Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)? Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
- At At paddy fields in Itakura Town:
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi) Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- At Tatara Marsh:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, サシバ, バン, オオバン,
ケリ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, コチドリ, オオジシギ? チュウジシギ? タシギ, オオソリハシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ,
キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, オジロトウネン, ヒバリシギ, ウミネコ, ユリカモメ, コアジサシ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオヨシキリ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Paddy fields in Kawagoe & Isa Marsh (Saitama)
川越のたんぼ&伊佐沼(埼玉)
After an abnormally long rainy season, another abnormally hot summer day for about three weeks finally came to an end due to cool air from the north. Instead, there were severe thunderstorms in many areas. Fortunately, we didn't have any heavy rain during our observation, but we did encounter a downpour on our way home.
We were able to enjoy birding under cool conditions even in the rice fields where there was no shade from the sun.
But the number of shorebirds was less than expected.
There was no flock of Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), which had been observed a few days ago.
Instead, a flock of Little Ringed Plover and a Long-billed Dowitcher were seen.
At Isa Marsh, the number of shorebirds were small, too.
There were a flock of Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper and a Long-billed Plover.
According a birder there, he saw a Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) and a Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) in the morning.
The birds observed are;
at the paddy field in Kawagoe area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
at Isanuma Marsh;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, オオハシシギ, イソシギ,
モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park (Tokyo)
東京港野鳥公園(東京)
This park is a bird sanctuary located beside Haneda international airport.
As an oasis in the metropolitan Tokyo, variety of migrating birds take rest here.
It was also a very hot day, but we enjoyed birding in the air-conditioned watching center.
We saw a Black-tailed Godwit which had been observed since two days ago.
There were a few Little Ringed Plovers and Grey-tailed Tattlers, too.
A Striated Heron was moving around the edge of the tidal flats.
Several herons (Grey, Great, Little) were foraging or resting in the shore.
There are a colony of Great Cormorant. There were many cormorants on the tidal flats and trees beside the pond at the front of the watching center.
In the freshwater pond next to the observation center, we saw a Little Grebe and flying Barn Swallows and House Swifts over the sky.
The birds observed there are (*recorded by staff of center);
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), *Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), *Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Striated Heron (amurensis) (Butorides striata amurensis), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), *Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
*Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), *Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), *Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
*Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
*Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
*Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
*Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
*Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
*Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, *ホシハジロ, *スズガモ, カイツブリ, ササゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, *サシバ,
コチドリ, オグロシギ, キアシシギ, *イソシギ, *キョウジョシギ, ウミネコ, ドバト, *キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, *カワセミ,
*オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, *シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, *メジロ, *コムクドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, *カワラヒワ
Norikura Highland (Nagano Prefecture)& Mt. Norikura (Gifu Prefecture)
乗鞍高原(長野県) & 乗鞍岳(岐阜県)
When we visited on July 27, the weather at the mountain was stormy and it was difficult to bird.
This time it was a one-day birding trip, waiting for the weather to be better in the mountain.
When we arrived at the Norikura Kogen bus stop at 5:30am, 30 minutes before the first bus of the day departed for Tatamidaira, there were already many cars in the parking lot and many people heading up the mountain. Two weeks ago, there were very few visitors, but I was surprised at the crowding of the place seemed no impact of COVID-19.
While we waited for the bus, we observed a flock of Japanese Grosbeak singing cheerfully and two White-bellied Green-Pigeons in the sky.
We heard many Japanese Leaf Warblers and Red-flanked Bluetails in the bus going up the forest belt while gaining altitude.
Tatamidaira, the highest bus stop in Japan at 2,700 meters, was in a thick fog, and the wind was strong and cold.
It wasn't raining as predicted, so we walked towards Mt. Daikoku, which has a high population of Rock Ptarmigan.
We walked along the trail in the fog, and found three Rock Ptarmigans, which looked like a family, were relaxing on the col beyond the peak.
As we were switching back the trail we had come from, the fog began to clear and the surrounding landscape suddenly opened up.
Asian House Martins swallowed overhead and a Spotted Nutcracker flew low in front of us.
As we walked along the roadway on the west side of Mt. Daikoku, Japanese Accentors came out one after another from the nearby dwarf pine bushes.
We also saw a Blue-and-white Flycatcher with a shining blue back.
A few Alpine Accentors were perching on the tip of small trees, calling.
The birds observed are;
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia), Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ライチョウ, キジバト, アオバト, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, イワツバメ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ,
ルリビタキ, オオルリ, イワヒバリ, カヤクグリ, イカル
Itakura Town (Gunma Prefecture) & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉町(群馬), 渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
When we arrived the site, we heard from the photographers there that they saw the bird in the morning.
We searched for the bird for a while looking at the banks of the rice fields. We found some Grey-headed Lapwings but not the Pied Harrier.
At some fallow fields with water, there were some shorebirds such as Little Ringed Plovers, Common Greenshank and Green Sandpipe.
There were many herons as well as the last visit.
As the sunlight became more intense and the temperature gradually rose, we decided to interrupt the search for the bird and resume it after 3 p.m., when the chances of its appearance would be higher.
We moved to Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi).
As soon as we arrived at the embankment where we can see the artificial nesting tower, in which two chicks of Oriental Stork left about one week ago, a stork flew in front of us.
The Oriental Reed Warblers, which had been screaming so loudly until a month ago, had completely stopped singing and had not appeared.
We returned to the Itakura before 3 o'clock and waited for the Pied Harrier to appear.
After a while we saw the bird in flight in the distance. We tried to follow its flight, but it soon landed in the rice field.
After that, we saw the bird fly out for a short time, but could not observe it up close.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, コウノトリ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, マダラチュウヒ, オオタカ, バン, ケリ, コチドリ, オオジシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Itakura Town (Gunma Prefecture)
板倉町 (群馬)
The weather was sunny with blue skies for the first time since the end of the record-breaking seven-week long rainy season the day before. The temperature was a little over 30 degrees Celsius, but the intense sunshine for the first time in a long time seemed to burn us.
We visited this site hoping to see the Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos), a rare bird in Japan that had been observed on this site the day before.
Unfortunately, the targeted bird seemed to be gone already and did not appear.
In the rice fields that had grown up to about 50cm tall, there were many herons that seemed to have finished breeding and left the colony.
Also, reater Painted-snipes, which were raising their chicks were visible in the rice fields and grassland.
A few Latham's Snipes (Gallinago hardwickii) were resting on the banks of the rice paddies, having stopped on their migration.
A flock of over 10 Little Ringed Plovers was visiting the fallow field. We expect to see lots of shorebirds passing through the area.
In the irrigation reservoir, the lotus flowers were in full bloom, and among them were Common Moorhens which were raising their chicks, the adults and juveniles of Yellow Bittern, an Oriental Reed Warbler that was quietly hiding in the reeds and many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks in the water.
We visited a shrine in the suburbs of Sano City.
We saw the family of Northern Boobook.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
reater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis), Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, バン, ケリ, コチドリ, タマシギ, オオジシギ, アオバズク, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Norikura Highland (Nagano Prefecture)& Mt. Norikura (Gifu Prefecture)
乗鞍高原(長野県) & 乗鞍岳(岐阜県)
Mt. Norikura-dake is a 3026 meter high, volcanic mountain along the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. Mt. Norikura-dake is the southernmost and third tallest peak of the Northern Japan Alps.
In summer, it is easy to climb thanks to buses running almost as far as the summit. One of Japan's highest roads leads to the Norikura Bus Terminal at 2700 meters above sea level, not too far from the peak.
Early in the morning, the rain stopped for a while and some blue skies were visible in Norikura Highlands.
We saw some birds such as Japanese Grosbeaks, Asian House Martins, Bull-headed Shrikes, Grey Wagtail.
Three Crested Honey Buzzards also appeared in the sky and circled gracefully.
We moved to Mt. Norikura-dake by bus from Nagano side.
Normally this time of year is the end of the rainy season and sunny days continue, but this year the end of the rainy season was delayed and it was too windy and rainy in the mountains, making birding difficult.
Probably because the birds were sheltering from the wind and rain in the dwarf pine bushes, no Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris erythropygia), or Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) appeared.
For once, a Rock Ptarmigan was seen flying over a distant bush.
The birds observed are;
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis)?
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ライチョウ, ハチクマ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ? ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, アカハラ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, イカル, ホオジロ
Oarai-Tomakomai Ferry (Hokkaido<->Ibaraki)
大洗-苫小牧航路(北海道>茨城)
We rode on Oarai-Tomakomai Ferry between Oarai (Ibaraki) and Tomakomai (Hokkaido).
This ferry route links Tomakomai Port and Oarai Port in about 18 hours. Two sailings every day; evening ferry and mid-night ferry from each port. The evening ferry departs from Oarai Port at 19:45 and arrives at Tomakomai Port at 13:30 next day. The night ferry departs from Tomakomai Port at 01:30 and arrives at Tomakomai Port at 19:30 same day.
We got on the mid-night ferry both on going and returning to/from Tomakomai.
In most years, the spring rainy season ends and we are blessed with fine weather at the end of July, when this tour was conducted, but unfortunately this year the rainy season still had not ended and most of the voyage was foggy and rainy.
In the waters off Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate, we occasionally saw flocks of Streaked Shearwaters, small flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes and Japanese Murrelets.
The water at the northeastern part of Aomori at the Tsugaru Channel, was the most fascinating part of the trip, where storm-petrels (Leach's, Fork-tailed) and Black-footed Albatrosses frequently appeared.
Unfortunately, South Polar Skua never showed up this time.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes),
Leach's Storm-Petrel/Leach's Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous),
Fork-tailed Petrel/Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates furcatus furcatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), Red Phalarope/Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
カルガモ, クロアシアホウドリ, フルマカモメ, オオミズナギドリ, アカアシミズナギドリ, コシジロウミツバメ, ハイイロウミツバメ, アオサギ,
アカエリヒレアシシギ, ハイイロヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, アジサシ, トウゾクカモメ, カンムリウミスズメ, ウトウ
Kujukuri Coast (Chiba) & Middle-reaches of Tone River
九十九里海岸(千葉) & 利根川中流(茨城)
At first, we visited the coast near the mouth of Magame River where I saw Littel Terns one month ago.
There was neither of tern nor shorebird on the beach. A few Streaked Shearwaters and Black-tailed Gulls were flying in the distance at sea.
In the park adjacent to the beach, a migrating Chestnut-cheeked Starling was seen.
Then we moved to Katakai Port.
Here, no tern was observed as well but there were a flock of about 10 Black Scoters and four Stejneger's Scoters/White-winged Scoters on the coast and at sea as observed one month ago.
The puddle, which had dried up last time, had been restored by the recent rains, and there were shorebirds (Kentish Plovers, Red-necked Stint).
We went further north and visited the Iioka Port.
There used to be a large colony of Little Terns and various terns could be observed here, but there was no tern this time.
A flock of Black Scoter was observed as well.
Then we moved to Hasaki Port at the mouth of Tone River.
This site is the hot spot of gulls in winter. There were many Black-tailed Gulls and Slaty-backed Gulls resting on the beach.
There were also various kind of shorebirds; Kentish Plovers, Lesser Sand-Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Terek Sandpiper, and Common Sandpipers.
A family of Little Tern still remained on the beach.
Finally, we moved to the middle reaches of the Tone River.
When we visited this site in May, we saw many Oriental Reed Warblers singing very well. But they became quiet and hid inside the reeds.
We heard many Marsh Grassbirds but it was not easy to see them.
There were some Japanese Reed Buntings/Ochre-rumped Buntings which sometimes came up to the tip of reed.
The birds observed are;
- at Kujukuri Coast
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Middle-reaches of Tone River
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, オオミズナギドリ, ゴイサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, ホトトギス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオセッカ, ウグイス,
コムクドリ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
O-toge Pass (Yamanashi)
大峠(山梨)
O-toge Pass is located near Mt. Gangaharasuriyama, and its altitude is 1,560 meter. The forest path through this pass is well maintained and is surrounded by deciduous broad-leaved forest, so we can enjoy a birding at the highland easily.
This year, unlike the usual rainy season with mild rainfall, heavy stormy days continue every day. In Western Japan, there has been an unprecedented amount of rainfall, causing extensive flooding and damage to the region.
The weather was clear after a ten-day break and the weather forecast predicted a hot day over 30 degrees Celsius in the Tokyo area, so we headed for the cool highlands.
The forest road towards the pass was surrounded by deep greenery, and the mountain stream flowing beside was rich in water and sounding refreshing.
The Gray Wagtails were flying in front of our car as they guided the way. A family of them was seen as well.
Occasionally we heard the songs of Narcissus Flycatchers, Blue-and-white Flycatchers and Eurasian Wrens.
At the pass, we were birding along the forest road, but the birds were not very active after they had finished raising their chicks, and we only saw a mixed flock of juvenile of tits.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)?
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
トビ, ツミ, アオバト, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ? カケス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ウグイス, メジロ, ミソサザイ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ
Prefectural Ikaho Forest Park (Gunma)
伊香保森林公園(群馬)
In this park, there is a small pond near the parking lot at the park management house. This pond is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters on the southwest foot of Mt. Futatsudake (1345 m), and there are many wind caves spouting very cold air nearby, so it is a very cool place in summer. This pond is a valuable water place for wild birds, and many birds visit there.
In summer, we can leave a hot town and meet many birds in a cool circumstance like a paradise.
The day we visited the site was a valuable sunny day during the rainy season when it was raining every day. In Tokyo, it was a summer day with temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius, but at this place it was about 20 degrees Celsius, which was too cool wearing a short-sleeved shirt.
In the pond, birds visited there occasionally.
Japanese Thrushes came frequently.
Siberian Blue Robins, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Spotted), flycatchers (Narcissus, Japanese Blue-and-white), and tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow) also appeared well.
The coming end of the rainy season and hot, sunny days will attract many birds to this area for the precious water.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, クロツグミ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, ホオジロ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
The marsh was full of water due to the rains that had been falling since early June and the lotus flowers bloomed in beautifully.
On the piles nearby, herons were resting on the piles.
Near the center of the marsh, a few Littel Terns and a slightly larger terns were flying around, occasionally jumping into the water and foraging for bait. The unidentified terns were not black on the belly and not looked like Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida) but Common Tern. I moved to get a closer look at them, but they had left and I eventually could not identify them.
A Little Grebe, which seemed to have finished raising its chicks, was swimming leisurely on the water.
In the reeds along the shore, a Yellow Bittern was hiding and was not easily seen.
Also, an Oriental Reed Warblers were singing loudly, but they were not to be seen either.
A Common Moorhen was making alarming calls, so I looked around and saw a little black chick nearby.
There was an odd duck that was probably a hybrid too.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), duck (sp),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis)? Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, 不明カモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, バン, アジサシ? コアジサシ,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Kujukuri Coast (Chiba)
九十九里海岸(千葉)
At first, we visited the coast near the mouth of Magame River where some Roseate Terns (Indo-pacific) (Sterna dougallii bangsi) were recorded one week before.
Unfortunately, they had already left and only a flock of Little Tern was seen.
Then we moved to Katakai Port where a Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica affinis) was observed in the beginning of this June.
Here, a flock of Little Tern was also observed. We also saw a few Common Terns passing overhead.
In the puddle on this beach, a Black Tern (North American) (Chlidonias niger surinamensis) had been observed the day before, but the water had already dried up and there were only a few Kentish Plovers.
There were a flock of about 20 Black Scoters and one Greater Scaup at sea, which is unusual in this season.
We also saw a great number of Streaked Shearwaters crowding around fishing boats returning from fishing.
We went further north and visited the Kidohama Beach.
There used to be a large colony of Little Terns and various terns could be observed here, but the colony has disappeared after the 2011 earthquake.
No colony was confirmed in this season, too.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Common Tern (Siberian) (Sterna hirundo longipennis), Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, スズガモ, クロガモ, オオミズナギドリ, ウミウ, ハヤブサ, シロチドリ, キアシシギ,
ウミネコ, アジサシ, コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ウグイス,
オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Island Ishigaki (Okinawa)
石垣島(八重山,沖縄)
Due to COVID-19, not only international flights but also domestic flights were greatly reduced, and the direct flight between Haneda and Ishigaki Island that we had booked was cancelled, so we had to visit via Okinawa.
We arrived at the airport a little after noon. Since the rainy season had just ended on Ishigaki Island, the sunlight was so intense and it was very hot.
We first visited the meadows and coastal forest at the eastern side of the airport.
The birds in the meadows and forests were not so active, seeing few except for Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni), Zitting Cisticola, Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) and Large-billed Crow (osai).
However, the ponds, which had been dry at the time of our previous visits, had an abundance of water, probably pooled up during the rainy season, and there were many waterfowl gathered there.
More than 20 Whiskered Terns, many herons/egrets (Intermediate Egrets、Great White Egrets, Cinnamon Bittern, Chinese Pond -Heron) and a few Black-winged Stilts could be observed in the ponds.
We also saw one of the Black-winged Kites that had been here for years.
At a cattle farm at the center of the island, we saw a Scaly-breasted Munia in residence there.
There was also an Oriental Dollarbird nearby, perched on a power line.
Then we visited a coast.
A flock of Great Crested-Terns was seen on that coast.
In the evening we moved to a wetland in the central part of the island and waited for an encounter with the Watercocks that inhabit here.
While observing for a while, Oriental Turtle-Doves (stimpsoni), Zitting Cisticolas, Purple Heron, White-breasted Waterhens, and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks appeared frequently, but no Watercock appeared, so we were about to leave the site.
On the exit road from the site, a Malayan Night Heron was on the road.
There was a Watercock family walking near by. The family immediately hid in the bushes so we couldn't get a good look at them.
At dawn the next morning we waited for a while at the spot where we had seen the Watercock family and hoped to see them again.
The Malayan Night Heron, which we met yesterday, appeared close by and a Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) also appeared close by, but the Watercock family did not make an appearance.
We then waited for it in the marsh along the river for it to appear.
Cinnamon Bittern, Indean Peafowls and Purple Heron appeared.
We then drove through the forest roads of Mt. Omoto, where we saw and heard Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi), Warbling White-eye (loochooensis) and Ryukyu Flycatcher.
Then in the sugar cane fields and paddy fields in the foothills, Purple Heron (Eastern), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) and others were observed. There was no encounter with Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle that we expected.
In the paddy fields in the northern part of the town, White-breasted Waterhens, a family of Common Moorhen, a flock of Black-winged Stilt, and a flock of Oriental Pratincole were seen.
On the nearby shore, we observed a flock of bright white Black-naped Terns flying in the background of the beautiful ocean.
We looked for shorebirds on the tidal flats and rocky areas, but found only two Kentish Plovers (nihonensis) and one Greater Sand Plover, probably because the migration migration flocks had gone out.
On the way back to the marshes where Watercock inhabit, we found one Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) in a freshly mowed pasture.
In the evening, we arrived at the marsh and waited for Watercock to appear again. Gradually the sun went down and the sun dropped behind a hill, and the Black-crowned Night Herons were coming back to roost, suddenly, a watercock was seen in my sight jumping out and hiding.
After a while, we saw another one jump out of the grassy area and dive in again.
After sunset, we visited Banna Park and enjoyed the calls of the Ryukyu Scops Owls, which were actively singing.
On the next day, we went around some paddy fields to look for Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle which we hadn't encountered yet in the last two days, and Red Turtle Dove/Red Collared-Dove (humilis) (Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis) which was reported by a local birding guide.
Somehow, we managed to find a Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle perched in a tree beside a canal in the field at the foot of Mt. Omoto
Around noon, we went to the northernmost tip of Ishigaki Island, where we observed the Black-naped Tern flying in flocks in the distance.
In the evening, we visited a park where Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria) inhabit, but unfortunately we didn't encounter it.
On the morning of the last day, we tried again to look for Red Turtle Dove/Red Collared-Dove (humilis), but unfortunately we couldn't find it.
We then headed to the forest road on Mt. Omoto.
The birds in the forest were very active, perhaps because of the cloudy weather. We heard and saw Ryukyu Flycatchers, Ruddy Kingfishers (bangsi) and Ryukyu Minivets nearby.
Also, a Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle was perching at arm's length without seeming concerned about us.
The birds observed were;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi), Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Great Crested-Tern (cristatus) (Thalasseus bergii cristatus), Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana sumatrana),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi), Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Brown Shrike (Philippine) (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Japanese Tit (nigriloris) (Parus minor nigriloris),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, カルガモ, カイツブリ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, ズグロミゾゴイ, ゴイサギ, アカガシラサギ,
アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, シロハラクイナ, ツルクイナ, バン,
ミフウズラ, セイタカシギ, シロチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, アオアシシギ, ツバメチドリ, オオアジサシ, エリグロアジサシ, コアジサシ,
クロハラアジサシ, リュウキュウキジバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク,
ブッポウソウ, リュウキュウアカショウビン, カワセミ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, シマアカモズ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ,
オサハシブトガラス, イシガキシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ,
カバイロハッカ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, シマキンパラ
Hachioji Castle Ruins (Hachioji, Tokyo)
八王子城跡(東京)
Until the previous week, access to this place had been restricted for COVID-19 measures.
Even in the afternoon, there were many photographers and hikers.
The target of those photographers is the Black Paradise-Flycatchers that breed here every year.
Some photographers were staying so close to the nest that it was a concern that the birds would abort their nesting. As concerned, the birds that made several appearances at the nest in the morning didn't seem to appear in the afternoon at all.
As we were about to leave the field, a Black Paradise-Flycatcher was glanced.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
トビ, コゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, クロツグミ, キビタキ, イカル
Matsunoyama area (Niigata)
松之山近郊(新潟)
On the first day, we visited some spots in Matunoyama.
We searched for Ruddy Kingfisher and Tiger Shrike.
Ruddy Kingfisher and Tiger Shrike are rare and categorized as "Vulnerable" and "Critically endangered" species in Japan respectively.
Thanks to the rich environment of Matsunoyama, this field is one the important sites in Japan to see these birds.
And at the spot we visited at first, we noticed the loud calls and found a couple of Tiger Shrike.
As for the Ruddy Kingfisher, I only heard a call in the distance.
Then we moved to "Bijinbayashi" a famous beech forest in Matsunoyama.
There were some summer birds such as Narcissus Flycatcher, Ashy Minivet and Japanese Thrush, which were singing well.
In the afternoon, we visited the foreast near Hirataki Station of JR Iiyama Line in Sakae Village.
Oriental Dollarbirds breed on this site every year. Initially, we could only hear the calls and almost gave up on seeing them, but then we spotted two birds perched on a power line. Eventually, three of them showed up while we were observing them.
Then we moved to the west south forest area of Matsunoyama and drove the forest road.
We heard many birds such like cuckoos (Common, Oriental, Lesser), Ashy Minivet, tits (Japanese, Varied), Japanese Bush-warbler, Japanese Thrush, flycatchers (Narcissus, Blue-and-white Flycatcher), etc.
However, the call of Ruddy Kingfisher was not heard.
In the midnight, at Matunoyama Onsen, where we stayed, we heard the calls of a Lesser Cuckoo and a Northern Boobook.
On the second day, we visited the west south forest area again at dawn to search for Ruddy Kingfisher.
When we arrived there, we heard a Grey Nightjar calling in the dim light.
As it got brighter, the Grey Nightjar stopped calling, and instead the calls of various birds gradually began to increase.
From a far distance, we also heard the distinctive voice of a Ruddy Kingfisher. But the owner of that voice unfortunately did not appear nearby.
We were able to observe a Yellow Bunting perching and singing on the electric wire on the side of the road nearby.
Also, in every field, we could observe Grey-faced Buzzard breeding in this area. Once again, we recognized its high population in this field.
The birds observed are;
- At Matsunoyama area;
duck (sp),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Grey Nightjar (Grey) (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Ruddy Kingfisher (major) (Halcyon coromanda major),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Tiger Shrike (Lanius tigrinus), Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
- Near Hirataki Station;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カモsp, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, トビ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス,
アオバズク, ヨタカ, ヒメアマツバメ, ブッポウソウ, アカショウビン, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
サンショウクイ, チゴモズ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ノジコ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Possibly because the peak of migration was over and the residents were busy raising their chicks, the number of the birds observed was few.
The Little Tern had increased their numbers and were jumping into the water to hunt for small fish.
A family of Eastern Spot-billed Ducks swam in an orderly row.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, コアジサシ, ドバト,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Nanohana-dai (Hadano, Kanagawa)
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
In the morning it was cloudy and misty, with only the Hadano Basin in sight. It gradually cleared up, and Enoshima Island and Manazuru Peninsula were visible in the afternoon. Hakone in the west was hazy and the mountains of Tanzawa were almost covered with clouds whole day.
No hawks migrated. Two Crested Honey Buzzards flew to the southwest, and one Grey-faced Buzzard flew to the east then turned back to the west.
One of the Crested Honey Buzzards was far away, but I could recognize it as a Crested Honey Buzzard because it showed me a pose of raising its wings and putting them together. It was the first time this season that I observed this pose.
An Ural Owl called in the southwest woods in the morning, and then a person who went to check it saw its flight.
This spring's observation ended on this day.
The total number of observation days was 53. The total number of confirmed migratory Grey-faced Buzzards is 461, surpassing last year's number.
It was unfortunate that the number of observers was limited due to the voluntary refraining from going outside and closing of the parking lot by COVID-19 since the beginning of May. I hope the Autumn Observation under the normal conditions.
The birds observed were;
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Ural Owl (momiyamae) (Strix uralensis momiyamae),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ハチクマ, トビ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, ホトトギス, モミヤマフクロウ, アマツバメ, コゲラ, サンショウクイ, シジュウカラ,
ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山周辺(山梨)
We were blessed with sunny skies for the first time in a week that had been rainy and cloudy.
At first, we drove up the forest road at the north side of Mt. Fuji.
I worried about cold but the temperature was around 12 degrees Celsius and when the sun shone, it was warm.
Near the entrance of the forest road, Narcissus Flycatchers, Siberian Blue Robins, Eurasian Wrens and Eastern Crowned Warblers were singing well.
In the subalpine region near the highest point of the forest road, Japanese Leaf Warblers and Red-flanked Bluetails were singing well.
We heard and saw four species of cuckoos (Common, Lesser, Oriental, Northern Hawk). The Northern Hawk-cuckoo is very difficult to see, but fortunately it flew right in front of us near the highest point of the forest road.
In Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo), we expected to see Common Cuckoo, Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps), Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat, Chestnut-eared Bunting, and Bull-headed Shrike which breed in this field.
However, we missed Latham's Snipe and Black-browed Reed Warbler. Our arrival time, 10:30, at the site might be a little late.
The birds observed are;
- on Forest roads in the North face of Mt. Fuji:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
ソウシチョウ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, コムクドリ, マミジロ, アカハラ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ,
スズメ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
There were some flocks of Grey-tailed Tattler.
There were three Little Terns, too. Hopefully, they will breed here.
There was a family of crows with a juvenile. The juvenile was actively appealing to its parents by showing them the red inside of its mouth.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン,
イカルチドリ, コチドリ, キアシシギ, コアジサシ, ドバト, オナガ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Around Watarase Retarding Basin
渡良瀬遊水地近郊
At first, On the way, we stopped at a cattle barn in Kazo City. This was the place where I had observed Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto decaocto) very well in the past, but we couldn't see it this time.
Next, we visited Nogi Shrine, which is located next to Watarase Retarding Basin.
Every year here, Ural Owl is breeding, and this time the chick was not yet seen, but the parent was seen.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, there were many Oriental Reed Warblers singing loudly everywhere in the reed field.
Also, for the first time here, a couple of Oriental Stork was nesting.
There were also a few Marsh Grassbirds and Black-browed Reed Warblers.
The fields in Itakura were still covered with wheat and there were few rice paddies, so there were not many herons as I had expected.
A few Grey-headed Lapwing were seen in the field.
Next we visited a shrine in the suburbs of Sano City.
This is the site where Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica) have been breeding every year, but we couldn't find it this time probably because it was still a little early to visit.
In the rice paddies of Omoigawa, the planting of rice was finished, and we could see a small number of Great White Egrets and Intermediate Egrets.
Finally, once again, we drove around in the Watarase Retarding Basin.
A Long-eared Owl was seen again this year at the south edge.
I hope it will breed here again successfully this year.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Ural Owl (momiyamae) (Strix uralensis momiyamae), Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, バン, オオバン,
ケリ, コアジサシ, ドバト, キジバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, モミヤマフクロウ, トラフズク, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, コヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi)
柳沢峠(山梨)
This time the change of plan was a good decision.
On the site, we saw and heard various kinds of summer birds and resident birds.
In particular, we observed a Grey Bunting which had not been seen this winter, Japanese Robins singing cheerfully in the small streams, a Siberian Blue Robin singing on a tree, and Wood Nuthatchs and Narcissus Flycatchers which were busy making nests.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige), Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, ツツドリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ソウシチョウ,
ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, クロジ
Downstream of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流(神奈川)
It was the time of migration and there was a report that an Oriental Pratincole had been seen at this field.
I started to walk from Kaisei area.
I was a bit surprised to find a male Common Merganser/Goosander still staying in the river.
There were a number of Great White Egrets in breeding forms in the river.
Around the bridges, many Asian House Martins were busily carrying food for the chicks in the nests under the bridges.
Some Red-rumped Swallows landed on a muddy area in the riverbank and collected mud for their nests.
Grey-tailed Tattlers formed several flocks and were seen throughout the river.
There were some pairs or single Long-billed Plovers and Little Ringed Plovers throughout the river, too.
On a muddy area near the mouth of the river, there were Pacific Golden-Plovers and Red-necked Stints.
Near the lower reaches of the river, I looked for an Oriental Pratincole and Striated Heron, which were reported yesterday.
I heard from birders that they had seen both in the morning, but I managed to find the Oriental Pratincole, but not a Striated Heron.
At the mouth of the river, there were many Black-tailed Gulls resting on the beach.
The birds obserbed (* reported by other birders)are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
*Striated Heron (amurensis) (Butorides striata amurensis), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, *ササゴイ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ムナグロ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ, コアジサシ,
キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス. ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ,
ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Yatsu Tidal Flat (Chiba)
谷津干潟(千葉)
When we arrived at Yatsu Tidal Flat, the tide had just started to lower and the flats hadn't appeared yet.
The shorebird was the only one Grey-tailed Tattler resting on a stone on the shore.
A few Greater Scaups, still remaining, were swimming in the water.
The Great White Egrets in the breeding form were also seen.
After a while, as the tide lowered and the flats began to appear, a flock of twelve Whimbrels appeared.
They were busy catching little crabs and eating them.
We also saw two Little Ringed Plovers on a flat front of the visitor center.
A few hours later, six Little Terns flew in, although the tide lowered further and the tidal flats were spread throughout, but no new shorebirds appeared.
After we had left the site, some more species were recorded by the staff of the vistor center.
Those shorebirds must have stayed in Sanbanze, which was deserted by the entrance restriction, until the high tide.
The birds observed (*recorede by the staff of the visitor center) are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
*Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
*Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), *Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), *Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
*Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), *Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), *Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
*Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, オオバン,
*ダイゼン, コチドリ, *メダイチドリ, *オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, キアシシギ, *イソシギ,
*キョウジョシギ, *オバシギ, *トウネン, *ハマシギ, コアジサシ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, メジロ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Inashiki, Kamisu & Katori areas (Ibaraki)
稲敷&神栖＆香取エリア(茨城)
We expected to see fresh-water shorebirds on migration.
In a lotus field after harvest, we found a flock of four Black-winged Stilts.
A few Common Moorhens were seen, but there was no other shorebirds.
We drove along and had a look at the lotus fields in the Ukishima area, but there were only a few herons in the midst of the busy farming season.
Meanwhile, many Oriental Reed Warblers were singing loudly in the reed fields.
In Ukishima Marsh, we saw some Japanese Reed Buntings and heard some Marsh Grassbirds. They were still not so active and were not easy to find.
An Eastern Marsh-Harrier was flying over the Reed fields of Marsh grandly.
Then we moved to the Tonegawa down stream in the area of Takahama, Kamisu-shi.
Many Oriental Reed Warblers were singing, as well.
Also, we heard more Marsh Grassbirds than Ukishima Marsh, but it was not easy to see them. However we could watch some of them flying in arc at the distance.
There were two Eastern Marsh-Harriers flying in the reed fields in the riverbeds of Tone River. They might breed in this field.
We drove through the rice fields in Yotaura area in Katori City to look for shorebirds.
We found some small flocks of Whimbrel, which are often seen in this field at this time of year.
On the way back, we stopped again at the lotus field of Nishi-no-su Reclaimed Land.
In addition to the morning members, there was a Marsh Sandpiper.
The birds observed are;
- at Inashiki area (Nishi-no-su Reclaimed Land & Ukishima);
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Tonegawa down stream in Kamisu area (Takahama);
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Katori area (Yotaura);
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
キジ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, バン, オオバン, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, チュウシャクシギ, コアオアシシギ,
キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオセッカ, ウグイス,
オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, キビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
Hayatogawa & Kanazawa Forest roads, Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬 早戸川林道＆金沢林道(神奈川)
This time, we were welcomed by a vibrant chorus of summer birds.
We heard and saw Eastern Crowned Warblers, Blue-and-white Flycatchers, and Narcissus Flycatchers.
There were also some Asian Stubtails that called like bugs on the road side.
We saw two Ashy Minivets and two birds looked like Oriental Dollarbird, which might be stopping over this site on the way towards their breeding sites.
We also saw two Mountain Hawk-Eagles that we hadn't seen for a while on this site.
The birds observed are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (cyanicollis) (Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis)?
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
アオサギ, トビ, クマタカ, キジバト, ブッポウソウ? アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, クロツグミ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
The members of the site seemed to be replaced one after another as same as the last visit.
Several types of fresh-water shorebirds, such as Long-billed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Temminck's Stint and Common Snipe, were seen on the muddy streamside.
There were a flock of Little Egret and a few Eastern Great Egrets (Eurasian) in the breeding form.
In the river forest, I saw a few Eastern Crowned Warblers and heard a Narcissus Flycatcher.
In the grasslands of the riverbed, I heard a few Oriental Reed Warblers.
The numbers of Meadow Bunting and Zitting Cisticolas increased.
Gladly, there seemed to be an increase in the numbers of birds in grassland as the grasses began to grow.
The ducks almost had gone and only a small number of ducks (Eurasian Teal, Tufted) remained.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ,
オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, タシギ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, センダイムシクイ, カオグロガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, キビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
It's been two weeks since my last visit, and the forest had become much greener.
I was expecting to see summer birds such as Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), but the forest was filled with a large flock of Brown-eared Bulbuls and everywhere I looked there was a lot of noisy bulbuls.
The birds found are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
コジュケイ, トビ, アマツバメ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シメ
Summer birds in mountain and rural (river) areas in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市の里山と農耕地；臥竜山・坂田山・八木沢川(長野)
I visited Garyu-Zan Mountain Park and Sakata-Yama Mountain Natural Trail to look for summer birds, on 23rd and 24th of April, respectively.
In Garyu-zan area I found Ashy Minivets (Pericrocotus divaricatus) and Russet Sparrows (Passer rutilans) for the first time in this year.
An invading species Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea), which had stayed in the mountain during the winter, was still there.
In Sakata-Yama, I found, again for the first time in this year, two male Blue-and-white Flycatchers (Cynoptila cyanomelana), a male Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), and Eastern Crowned Warblers (Phylloscopus coronatus).
I also heard songs of Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis), Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) and a notorious invader, Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus).
Other birders observed Asian Brown Flycatchers (Muscicapa dauurica).
We expected that the first observations of these summer birds were earlier because of the very warm winter. However, the visits of these birds were the same as normal years.
On 25th of April, I walked along Yagisawa-River (Yagisawa-Gawa) to look for migrating birds.
As temporal spring visitors I found two Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulous), a Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata) and males and females of Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus).
As summer breeders I found males and females of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings (Agropsar philippensis).
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Great Comorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Ashy Minivets (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone), Eastern Crowned Warblers (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey Starling (Sturnus cineraceus), Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulous),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis), Dusky Thrush (Turdus naumanii),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cynoptila cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus), Russet Sparrow (Passer rutilans),
Oriental Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica), Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), WhiteWagtail (Motacilla alba), Gray Wagtail (Mitacilla cinerea),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
カルガモ，コガモ，オシドリ，カワウ，アオサギ，オオバン，キジバト，トビ，ノスリ，ツツドリ，コゲラ，
サンショウクイ，モズ，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，カケス，シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒガラ，
ツバメ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，センダイムシクイ，エナガ，メジロ，ムクドリ，コムクドリ，ガビチョウ，ソウシチョウ，
キレンジャク，クロツグミ，ツグミ，オオルリ，キビタキ，ノビタキ，コサメビタキ，スズメ，ニュウナイスズメ，
カワラヒワ，アトリ，セグロセキレイ，ハクセキレイ，キセキレイ,アオジ，ホオジロ，ホオアカ，カシラダカ
Prefectural Citizen's Forest (Kenmin-no-Mori) (Tochigi)
栃木県民の森(栃木)
Prefectural Citizen's Forest is located in Yaita City's northwest and is a spacious site of 973ha on the Takahara hillside. The broadleaf forest along a stream is aa good habitat for birds in summer.
Though we arrived late at the site at the noon time, the summer birds welcame us.
We saw a couple of Asian Brown Flycatcher, a few Eastern Crowned Warblers and a Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana).
In the rice field near the park, therre was a Grey-faced Buzzard on the electrical pole.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
センダイムシクイ, メジロ, コサメビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, シメ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
In Nikko, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom one month later than Tokyo, but the trees had just begun to sprout near Lake Chuzenji, and it was still scene of winter at Senjo-ga-hara where higher in altitude.
On 2018 April 23, we visited there and saw both winter and summer birds in Senjo-ga-hara Plain.
We expected to see the same kinds of birds, but this time most of the winter birds, such as Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica), Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) and Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra japonica), had already left the site.
However fortunately, thanks to the absence of visitors, we saw a Solitaly Snipe, which I could not see at the last visit in 2019 November, in the stream just under the Yu-taki fall. We saw tits (Japanese, Coal, Willow), Russet Sparrows, Masked Buntings, Japanese Bush Warblers as same as the visit in 2018 April.
A couple of Willow Tit was making nests.
In the grass-field, we found several Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats were perching at the tips of the small trees as well.
In the forest at Kotoku-numa, there were many summer birds (Red-flanked Bluetail, Brown-headed Thrush, Eurasian Bullfinch) which breed in this mountainous area.
The birds observed are (*observed by other birder);
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Solitary Snipe (japonica) (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
*Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrula centralasiae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, アオシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, イワツバメ, エナガ, *キレンジャク, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, カワガラス, ニュウナイスズメ, キセキレイ, ウソ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
The members of the site seemed to be replaced one after another, so there were no Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Red-necked Stint, or Red-throated Pipit that were seen last time, but this time there were a Chestnut-eared Bunting and a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch.
The number of ducks has decreased remarkably.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
ヒメアマツバメ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai (Hadano, Kanagawa)
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
On the day, the air was clear and warm, a perfect day for observation. The sight was very visible during observation by the afternoon.
We observed 19 Gray-faced Buzzards, which is a large number for this time of year at this site.
There were quite a big number of Pacific Swifts flying in the morning.
Surprisingly, a Lessor Frigatebird appeared though it was at the far east.
We were also able to observe the flying of an Oriental Cuckoo and the call of a White-bellied Green Pigeon for the first time.
It was a day of fun.
The birds reported are;
Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel ariel),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コグンカンドリ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, クマタカ, アオバト, ツツドリ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, サンショウクイ,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ
Tokyo Bay, Sanbanze Seaside Park & Yatsu Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬&谷津干潟(千葉)
We arrived at Sanbanze before 10:00 a.m. when the tide was the lowest in the day.
Perhaps it was the effect of the refraining from going out to the downtown areas as a COVID-19 measure, there were many families scattered all over the tidal flats.
There were a modest number of Eurasian Oystercatchers on the flats some distance away from the people, but the expected shorebirds were only found in shallow water far offshore where there were no people and at both ends of the flats where there were few people, since there were no safe places for birds.
We saw a Lesser Sand-Plover, a Far Eastern Curlew, a few Grey Plovers and a few Bar-tailed Godwits.
There were some Black-headed Gulls whose head changed into dark brown in color together with the Eurasian Oystercatchers.
In the sea, many Greater Scaups and a Black Scoter were still remaining.
A small flock of Black-necked Grebes in the breeding form was seen, too.
We visited Yatsu tidal flat as well, since there were few birds in Sanbanze.
There were more shorebirds in the Yatsu Tidal Flat than expected.
Recently shorebirds had not stopped over this site, but we saw hundreds of Dunlins and dozens of Lesser Sand-Plovers this time probably as the result of the attempt to improve the environmental conditions for long years.
The birds observed are;
- at Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Yatsu Tidal Flat:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
ヒドリガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, クロガモ, ウミアイサ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ホウロクシギ, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
It was a comfortable day with a warm breeze from the south as well.
The birds' migration seemed to be into the peak time, and I observed a number of species in addition to those I had seen 10 days ago.
I saw some migrating shorebirds (Little Ringed Plover, Red-necked Stint), Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, swifts (Pacific, House) and gulls (Vega, Black-headed).
The number of ducks that had remained a lot the last time hadn't changed in number of species but decreased their number except for the Eurasian Teal and Tuffted Duck.
As for the winter birds, I did not see Hawfinch this time, but I still saw a Dusky Thrush, a Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit and a Masked Bunting.
The White-cheeked Starlings were carrying food busily for their chicks in nests.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン,
セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ガビチョウ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ムネアカタヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Hayatogawa & Kanazawa Forest roads, Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬 早戸川林道＆金沢林道(神奈川)
Unlike the day before, when it rained with a cold northerly wind, the weather was fine, and although it was cold in the morning, it felt hot by noon.
There was snow that fell the day before on the top of the Tanzawa mountain range, but there was no snow at all on the forest road, and the trees in the woods along the road were beginning to bud.
On the forest roads, all the winter birds had already left, and most of the birds we observed were the residents of this field such as tits (Janapnese, Varied, Coal), Great Cormorant, Japanese Bush Warbler, Grey Heron, and many flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul on their way to the summer habitats.
While there were reports of Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana) in Kanagawa Prefecture, I expected to see this species in this field as well. However I did not see it probably it was still a little early.
We only heard a Eastern Crowned Warbler, summer visitor in this field.
There were a lot of anglers here and there around the lake, so we didn't see the Crested Kingfisher that might not have safety place to stay.
Instead, we saw a Common Kingfisher and Brown Dipper in the stream along Kanasawa Forest Road.
A Grey Wagtail and a Eurasian Wren were singing loudly by the stream.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, カワガラス, キセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
The forest was fresh green and had changed from winter to spring attire.
Furthermore, the forest, which was quiet in winter, was filled with a chorus of birds, such as Japanese Tits, Warbling White-eyes and Japanese Bush-Warblers.
Flocks on its way north seemed to have entered, and many Brown-eared Bulbuls were noisily feeding on the flowers on the trees.
Others seemed to have entered, as well as a small flock of Hawfinch, Japanese Grosbeak and Eurasian Siskin.
In the sky above, Barn Swallows flew over the forest, a hawk like Eastern Buzzard, which might be on the way to migrate, flew straight to the east at high altitude, and two Japanese Sparrowhawks were circling around.
There were also a couple of Japanese Woodpeckers. They may be making a nest in this site soon.
I heard an Asian Stubtail in the bush aside the walking path.
The birds found are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus)?
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian) (Psittacula krameri manillensis)
コジュケイ, ツミ, ノスリ? キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, マヒワ, シメ, イカル, ワカケホンセイインコ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Zama, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(座間,神奈川)
There are rich habitats for birds at the middle reaches of the Sagami river; such as paddy fields, farms, river-beds with bushes.
I expected to see the birds which were observed by a local birder two days ago such as;
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) and Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata).
Unfortunately, I could not see them during my observation.
But unexpectedly, I saw many Dusky Thrushes and Masked Buntings, and one Hawfinch which still stayed there.
Maybe it was a battle over territory, two Long-billed Plovers were chasing each other in the riverbank.
The birds observed are (*obseved by other birder);
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
*Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ダイサギ, カワウ, *ミサゴ, トビ, イカルチドリ, キジバト,
コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kanagawa, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
It was a comfortable day with a warm breeze from the south.
Winter birds had almost left the site and decreased their numbers, and only one Hawfinch, a few Dusky Thrushes, a Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit and several Masked Buntings were observed. However the number of ducks increased. Probably, they might be stopping over on the way back towards north.
The residents had not been come back yet after the disaster in last autumn and the number of them were still small. I saw one Green Pheasant, a few Meadow Buntings, a few Japanese Skylarks and many wagtails as same as the last visit. However, I was happy to see and hear a Zitting Cisticola that I had been missed for a long time at this site.
Barn Swallows were collecting mud as the material of the nest on the wet ground.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ,
チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
On March 22, migration of two Grey-faced Buzzards were observed as the first record at this site in this spring.
Until beginning of May, we can enjoy watching the migration of various kinds of hawks.
The cherry trees were blooming fully.
On the day before, 127 Grey-faced Buzzards were recorded even in sunny, clear but windy weather, and we expecteed more hawks on the day However the result was less than expected. 59 Grey-faced Buzzards (until 15:16) were recorded. Unfortunately, we missed a kettle of 13 Grey-faced Buzzards which appeared after we left the site.
The number of hawks recorded were;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 59 migrants
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis): 1 migrant and 1 non-migrant
- Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 9 migrants and a few non-migrants
- Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis): 1 non-migrant
- Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): a few non-migrant
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 1 non-migrant
In the morning other birds, such as Japanese Bush-Warblers, Coal Tits and Warbling White-eyes were very active and singing very well.
A flock of Eurasian Bullfinches were eating buds and flowers of cherry trees.
The number was a few but we saw three kinds of swallows; Barn, Asian House Martin, and Red-rumped.
In addition, two flocks of Great Cormorants crossed the sky towards the east in Triangular formation.
The birds recorded are (* recorede by other birders);
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis)
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
*Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, カワウ, トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, クマタカ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, *リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, *ガビチョウ, メジロ, アカウソ, イカル, アオジ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
京都御苑(京都)
On the way to the garden from the railway station (Demachi-yanagi), I checked the Kamo River from Kamo-O-Hashi bridge. I found a Little Egret in the prety breeding form.
In the garden, there were not many birds.
At the water place where birds gather, there were Japanese Tits and Warbling White-eyes.
DuskyThrushes, Pale Thrushes and Olive-backed Pipits were foraging on the ground of the pine tree forest as in the usual winter.
No White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) or Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni) were found.
There were still some other winter birds such as Daurian Redstart, Hawfinches, Bramblings.
On the treetop near the pond, a Grey Heron was nesting.
The number of Japanese Grosbeaks that gather in this park in the middle of winter had been reduced significantly.
The birds observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Kyoto Botanical Gardens, Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都植物園 (京都)
I was worried that the waxwings and Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni) observed at the beginning of the month had been left this field, but Japanese Waxwings were still there forming a large flock of over 40. The birds were pecking the fruits of Japanese ivy.
In this park, the birds were familiar, and we could observe Pale Thrush, Masked Bunting and Mallad closely.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos)
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, カイツブリ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Mount Inari (Kyoto)
稲荷山(京都)
This mountain is the sacred area covered with primeval forest protected since the ancient time and beautiful bamboo forest.
Under the influence of COVID-19, Fushimi Inari Shrine was quiet with few visitors.
In the afternoon of the first day, we saw Barn Swallows flying above the forest of Mt. Inari.
In the every early morning, I heard the song of a Pale Thrush.
On the tall bare trees, many Hawfinches and Japanese Grosbeaks were perching, chirping and singing.
Among that flock, there was a Bohemian Waxwing.
Thrushes (Dusky, Pale), and Hawfinches were foraging on the ground, tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed), Warbling White-eyes and Masked Buntings were moving inside the trees busily, and Japanese Bush-Warblers and Red-billed Leiothrixes were moving inside the bushes.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
カルガモ, コサギ, カワウ, ハイタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
キレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ソウシチョウ, メジロ,
ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, アトリ, シメ, イカル, アオジ
Watarase Retarding Basin, Mikamoyama Park, Tatara Marsh & Itakura paddy field (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地,三毳公園,多々良沼&板倉たんぼ(群馬,栃木,茨城)
The day was Equinox Day and the temperature was high from the morning, but the west wind was strong and unsuitable for birding.
We drove through the dry rice fields of Itakura, but found no birds other than Oriental Turtle-Doves, White-cheeked Starlings and Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, a few buntings (Meadow, Rustic), Dusky Thrushes and Grey-capped Greenfinches on the street were foraging while avoiding the wind.
In the pond and river, there were some ducks (Falcated, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Teal) and a Great Crested Grebe still remained.
At Mikamoyama Park, the flowers of Katakuri (Erythronium japonicum) representing this park were in bloom. Many hikers were also visiting.
The number of birds increased than the last visit in the end of January.
We saw tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Long-tailed), Goldcrests, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted), Hawfinches, and thrushes (Dusky, Pale).
We heard songs of Japanese Bush Warbler, Eurasian Wren, and Red-flanked Bluetail, too.
In the afternoon, we moved to Tatara Marsh (Tatara-Numa).
Since the wind became stronger, we walked in the pine tree forest adjacent to the marsh.
Due to the strong wind, activity of the birds was low even in the forest. We only saw and heard a small number of birds.
We saw a woodpecker looked like White-backed, but we lost it and could not confirm well.
We returned back to Itakura and checked an irrigation pond.
Inside the pond, there were still many ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Eurasian Wigeon).
The birds observed are;
- at Paddy fields in Itakura
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- at Watarase Returding Basin
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
- at Mikamoyama Park
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- at Tatara Marsh
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, クサシギ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ? アカゲラ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
River Nogawa (Tokyo)
野川(東京)
There is a 10-20 m cliff line, known as Kokubunji-gaisen, in Musashino, Tokyo. River Nogawa flows along this cliff line. The slopes and the top of the cliff are dotted with copse and there is a spring at the base of the cliff. The spring water makes a small stream and flows in the urban area. Though the river is surrounded by the housing area, this provides a rich nature environment such as Musashino Park (Musashino-Koen) and Nogawa Park (Nogawa-Koen).
It was warm like a day of April. The cherry trees (Someiyoshino) in the park started to bloom.
There are many Duskt Thrushes, Oriental Turtle Doves, and White-cheeked Starlings in open grounds and grasslands In Musashino Park.
Pale Thrushes and Hawfinches were also in the shaded ground or grassland.
I heard Japanese Woodpecker and Azure-winged Magpie at the distance.
In the stream of Nogawa River, there were some Little Egrets and Eastern Great Egrets in the breeding forms.
There were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and some other ducks (Mallards, Eurasian Teals, Garganey), too. The Garganey was found the same spot as the last November. It changed into the breeding form.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Garganey (Spatula querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
マガモ, カルガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, オオタカ, バン,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, シメ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Inagi, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(稲城)
Construction of the riverbed, which seemed to be a countermeasure for the future typhoons rather than to restore damages from the super typhoon last year, was undergo, and most of the trees in the riverbed had been cut down. Almost half of the pseudoacacia forest was cut as well.
Several bird species were seen in the remaining forest. Some Japanese Bush Warblers sang in the bush, several Masked Bunting, winter bird, and Japanese Tits moved in the bush, and a Japanese Woodpecker was looking for bugs on the tree trunk.
Also, several Chinese Hwameis and one Masked Laughingthrush were also singing.
On the baseball playground, some Dusky Thrushes and a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch, which are the winter birds, were foraging on the ground.
Some Japanese Skylarks were singing in the sky.
Several Asian House Martins, summer bird, were flying above the river. Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis) will be seen soon.
Only a few Little Grebes and Eastern Spot-billed Duck and a Tufted Duck were seen in the river.
The forest, where a Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) observed last winter, was completely cut down, and it was hopeless to see the wryneck any more.
A Green Pheasant was leisurely searching for food in the the wasted grassland of the riverbank.
A few Meadow Buntings were observed in the grassland, but no Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps) was observed.
White Wagtails were very active and one of them was singing well. There were one Grey Wagtail and one Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit, too.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicillatus), Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
(ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, カルガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン,
キジバト, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, カオグロガビチョウ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Oarai-Tomakomai Ferry (Hokkaido<->Ibaraki)
大洗-苫小牧航路(北海道>茨城)
We rode on Oarai-Tomakomai Ferry between Oarai (Ibaraki) and Tomakomai (Hokkaido).
This ferry route links Tomakomai Port and Oarai Port in about 18 hours. Two sailings every day; evening ferry and mid-night ferry from each port. The evening ferry departs from Oarai Port at 19:45 and arrives at Tomakomai Port at 13:30 next day. The night ferry departs from Tomakomai Port at 01:30 and arrives at Tomakomai Port at 19:30 same day.
We got on the mid-night ferry both on going and returning to/from Tomakomai.
On the going way, we started birding from 6 am on March 14.
The weather was cold but fine and the sea was very calm with no waves or swells contrast to the stormy weather in the ordinary year. At the end of March, there are many Auks on this route, and this condition was very good for Auks watching.
The ferry was sailing off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture.
There were more than 50 Laysan Albatrosses, a small number of Streaked Shearwaters, a few loons/divers (Black-throated, Pacific), and many gulls (Black-tailed, Vega, Slaty-backed) in this area.
It seems rare to see so many Laysan Albatrosses on this ferry route in middle of March.
After that, the number of Laysan Albatross decreased and the number of Black-legged Kittiwake increased around the area off Kinkazan.
Around the areas off Todogasaki and Samakado, the number of Ancient Murrelet increased and we saw many flocks of this species. We expected to see the big flocks of Least Auklet and Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella), but they did not appear.
After arriving at Tomakomai Port, we got off the ship and got on the same ship again to return back Oarai Port.
The next morning, we started birding at dawn.
The weather was very cold but fine and the sea was very calm with no waves or swells as well.
When started, the ship was traveling between Shiriyazaki and Samekado.
In this area, the number of Ancient Murrelet was fewer than the last evening, but we saw many flocks as well. We saw a small flock of Least Auklet, but we did not see Crested Auklet.
Later, the ship passed through a area where hail fell slightly, and moved near Todogasaki. and the weather recovered again. In the water area from there to Kinkazan, many Rhinoceros Auklets and many Thick-billed Murres/Brunnich's Guillemots were observed. Many gulls (Black-tailed, Slaty-backed, Vega, Black-legged Kittiwake, Mew), were also seen. A large number of gulls gathered around a fishing boat, with a Laysan Albatross and a Black-footed Albatross in the flock.
A few Northern Fulmars and a Pomarine Jaeger/skua were also observed in this area.
The birds observed are;
- on the going way (Oarai to Tomakomai)
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-throated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis), Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Thick-billed Murre/Brunnich's Guillemot/Thick-billed Murre (arra) (Uria lomvia arra),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Least Auklet (Aethia pusilla), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
- on the return way (Tomakomai to Oarai)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula)?
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Thick-billed Murre/Brunnich's Guillemot/Thick-billed Murre (arra) (Uria lomvia arra),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata)
クロガモ, ホオジロガモ? ウミアイサ, オオハム, シロエリオオハム, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, フルマカモメ, オオミズナギドリ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, ハシブトウミガラス, ウミスズメ, コウミスズメ, ウトウ
Zama area (Kanagawa)
座間エリア(神奈川)
The fist site was "Zama Yatoyama Park", where a natural environment called "Yato" still remains, which is a valley with foothills and topography peculiar to the Kanto region.
Various environments, such as coppices, conifers, a rice field and a wetland, are conserved in the park.
The day was very warm and the temperature exceeded 20 degree Celucius.
In the park, tits (Japanese, Varied) and Japanese Bush-Warbler were singing actively.
It seemed that buntings and thrushes had already left this field, we did not see any of them.
There were a few Hawfinches which were still staying.
We saw a Japanese Green Woodpecker and a few Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers. One Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker was digging a hole (for nest?).
A couple of goshawks, which would breed on this site, flew over the sky.
In the pond, some ducks still remained.
In the afternoon, we visited Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa).
There are rich habitats for birds; such as small forests, paddy fields, farms, river beds with bushes.
Now, the end of the winter, birds are moving and migrating.
The species and numbers of birds were much fewer than in the middle of winter.
In the farm field, there were residents such as Eurasian Skylarks, Green Pheasant, White-cheeked Starlings and Bull-headed Shrikes, as well as a small number of wintering Dusky Thrushes.
There were several wintering Common Mergansers/Goosanders in the river.
The birds observed are;
- at Zama Yatoyama Park:
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- at Middle-reaches of Sagami River:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
コジュケイ, キジ, オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ,
オオタカ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ
Kyoto Botanical Gardens, Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都植物園 (京都)
I visited here again to meet Naumann's Thrushes (Turdus naumanni) and waxwings.
I found the two individuals of the Naumann's Thrush as I saw on March 1 at the same locations. The very friendly one flew down from the perch and foraged on the ground.
There were not yet many people around this corner of the Gardens and I could enjoy this bird for a long time.
After eating, it flew up to a low branch and started taking a rest. After some time, the bird to issue subsong. The bird was very tame and I could move to in front of the bird and succeeded in recording videos of the bird in vocalization.
After this bird again started foraging, I visited the second location and soon found the second Naumann's thrush. In contrast to the first individual, it turned fallen leaves to find food.
I then moved to the location where I met waxwings. They were not present in the same location, but I heard the voice as walked around. I saw a small flock, which was only composed of Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) as far as I saw.
There were also other wintering birds and they were seen sufficiently closely.
List of species:
Eurasian Widgeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ハチジョウツグミ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ウグイス,
スズメ, ヒレンジャク, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, アトリ, マヒワ, イカル, シメ
Birding Tour at Mizumoto Park (Tokyo)
水元公園(東京)
The weather forecasts up to the previous week on the day was rainy and we assumed cancellation, but we were lucky and blessed with good weather and conducted a half-day birding tour as scheduled.
Near the parking lot, some White-cheeked Starlings were foraging on the ground.
A Hawfinch was staying still in a tree.
In the pond (Koaidame flood control basin), there were still many wintered ducks (Common Pochard, Tufted, Eurasian Wigeon). They will leave this site soon.
In the forest around the Bird Sanctuary, a mixed flock (Japanese Tits, Varied Tit, Long-tailed Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers) was moving busily among trees.
Among the flock, there was a Goldcrest moving together.
A Ryukyu Minivet was perching on a tree.
In the pond of the Bird Sanctuary, many Great Cormorants were nesting, and many Grey Herons were resting on the poles.
A flock of Azure-winged Magpie were flying and calling noisy in the trees on the other side of the pond.
On the grassland of the Central field, some Dusky Thrushes were foraging.
There was one Naumann's Thrush together.
A flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches, a few Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits, and a Eurasian Skylark were also foraging on the grassland.
At the Aquatic Plant Information, we could observe a couple of Bull-headed Shrike and two Japanese Wagtails closely.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオバン, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ,
モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Southern area of Okayama Prefecture
岡山県南部
Following a report of a Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis), I visited this region.
The target bird was seen within one minute of my arrival with sharp call and flew in front of me and rested for a shore while on a furrow. The bird then flew away to some distance again with sharp call.
We waited the bird to return, but we could enjoy watching Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) visiting the same location and an even Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) was where the Meadow Pipit was seen.
The target Meadow Pipit returned after a while and busily foraged on disposed vegetables. The bird foraged here twice during my stay and we could enjoy observing it. The bird was calm this time and didn't issue call when flying to different locations.
There were Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) and they frequently soared above us.
Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) were singing on the sky, and there were also Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) flying and singing.
This was my first recognition of this species in this season.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)?
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ケリ, イソシギ, コチドリ, セグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, ハヤブサ? ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒバリ, ツバメ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ウグイス, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, マキバタヒバリ,
カワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Higashi-omi city (Shiga Prefecture)
東近江市(滋賀)
Following information of a Chinese Grey Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus) and a Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) at the same place, I visited here.
It had been reported that the Fieldfare had been among a flock of Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus), but this flock had been absent for these days. I gave up the Fieldfare after some search and mainly observed the Chinese Grey Shrike.
The bird was present in a region slightly less than 1 kilometer in diameter, but the bird moved for a relatively long distance when it changed the foraging place. As a consequence, we needed to walk for minutes to follow the bird's movement.
When the bird rested on electric wires, poles or on low branches, it sat there for sufficiently long period and we could enjoy it. After resting, the bird flew to forage on the ground, and we had to walk for minutes again.
I expected that it may issue subsong when perched, but I didn't hear any voice from this bird.
The field was mostly of paddy fields, and tractors were working around for plowing.
The Chinese Grey Shrike and other birds (Dusky Thrushes, Japanese Pied Wagtails, Black Kites and crows) often followed the tractors for easy meal.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Chinese Grey Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus), Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
トビ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, ハヤブサ, オオカラモズ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
The eastern area of Saitama Prefecture
埼玉県東部
Chinese Grey Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus)
; photos by R.Kinomura
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
; photo by R.Kinomura
At first, we visited the farm field in Minuma Ward of Saitama City.
When we arrived at the site the early morning, there were a lot of birders and photographers already. The aim was a rarity in Japan; Chinese Grey Shrike.
They were scattered over the wide farm field and were searching for the target birds.
We also looked for the bird at the places where the people was not. We found many Dusky Thrushes, Oriental Turtle-Doves and a Green Pheasant there. Then we found the bird, Chinese Grey Shrike, stopping in a small tree.
The shrike sometimes got down the ground and got earthworms.
Nearby the shrike, a Brown-cheeked Rail appeared for a moment.
After a while, the scattered people gathered. The shrike repeated flying, stopping on poles, and foraging on the vegitable field relatively close.
The second site was Minuma Nature Park (Minuma Shizen Koen) in Saitama City.
The park contains an extensive grassland, small sanctuary and a pond. The ducks in the pond were very friendly and fed food by visitors. There was a Baikal Teal among the ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail). They sometimes came up on the grassland and foraged the grass.
There were Common Moorhens and Common Coots. It seemed like a breeding behavior, they sometimes chased each other.
On the trees and bushes around the pond, there were Hawfinches, Masked Buntings, and a Red-flanked Bluetail.
On the grassland, there were many Dusky Thrushes and a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch.
The third site was Yoshikawa Park in Yoshikawa City. This park is located at the riverbed of Edogawa River.
We waited for the appearance of Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus) in the reed field of the park. However we saw Common Kestrels, Black Kites, and a Eastern Buzzard only. It was noon and the time was too early to observe the owl.
We gave up to observe the owl and move to the next site.
The fourth site was Kurohama Marsh (Kurohama-numa) at Hasuta City.
This swamp and the surrounding reed fields are protected by local volunteers, preserve the Saitama nature, preserve valuable plants, and record 130 species of birds.
We saw buntings (Meadow, Masked, Common Reed) and Japanese Tits in the reeds.
I did not see but it seemed that Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla torquilla) and Brown-cheeked Rail were also inhabited.
I saw a male Bull-headed Shrike present a female some food. The breeding season of them seems started as well.
We could observe two Little Grebes in a irrigation drain very closely.
In the evening, we returned back the farm field in Minuma Ward to see the Chinese Grey Shrike.
The number of people decreased but the shrike was still surrounded by many observers. However, the shrike did not care such people, and was repeating the flight, rest and foraging at the front of them.
The birds observed are;
- at farm field in Minuma Ward
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus), Chinese Grey Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Minuma Nature Park
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Yoshikawa Park
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Kurohama Marsh (Kurohama-numa)
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, キジ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, クイナ, バン, オオバン, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, オオカラモズ,
カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Island Miyakejima & Cruise (Tokyo)
三宅島&航路(東京)
This island is located a half-day distance by ship from Tokyo. Ship "Tachibana-maru" departed Takeshiba-port in the Tokyo-bay at 22:30, and it arrived at Miyake-jima at 5:00 in the next morning.
After half-day birding inside the Miyake Island, we can return back to Tokyo in the same day by the ship which switched back at Hachijo island.
Miyakejima is called as "Bird Island"and we can see birds peculiar to Izu Islands. From end of February to beginning of May, we can observe many sea birds from the ship.
When we visited, the weather was fine and calm but cold.
At the dawn, we arrived at Akakokko Station near the pond by the public bus.
* Akakokko Station (Akakokko-kan) is a nature center run by Miyakemura village, which was founded in 1993 for the purpose of getting many people to know about the nature of Miyakejima island.
The brighter it became, the more birds' calls were heard. We heard a Northern Boobook calling in the forest at the distance. An Izu Thrush started to sing at the tip of a dead tree. We heard some Japanese Wood-Pigeons, Japanese Bush-Warblers and many Warbling White-eyes as well.
By the end of March, IIima's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae) will join this and we can enjoy a great chorus.
We walked a trail in the forest near Akakokko Station and around Tairo Pond, saw and heard the regular members such as tits (Japanese, Owston's), pigeonss (Japanese Wood, Oriental Turtle-Dove, White-bellied Green), Japanese Bush-Warblers, Warbling White-eyes, Eurasian Wrens, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Japanese Robins.
It was difficult to see these birds in the dense forest or bushes, but somehow we saw the Eurasian Wrens and the Japanese Robins.
The Tairo Pond was reflecting the surrounding scenery like a mirror.
In the pond, there were no other ducks than several coots, grebes, and one Eurasian Teal. There were no heron as well, and was one Japanese Cormorant only.
The birding on the return ship was not so hard due to no strong wind and splash from high waves.
On the shore of Miyake Island, we saw a flock of Japanese Cormorants including a Pelagic Cormorant resting on a rock.
Among the gulls (Black-tailed, Vega) flying near the shore, we saw a Brown Booby.
The number of Streaked Shearwater was increasing as we were more apart from Miyake Island. As Oshima Island approached, more than 100 Laysan Albatrosses flew gracefully around the ship. We also saw a few Black-footed Albatrosses and a Short-Tailed Albatross.
There were many Northern Fulmars.
When the Boso Peninsula became visible, Black-legged Kittiwakes and Pomarine Jaegers appeared well.
The expected Tristram's Petrel (Oceanodroma tristrami) and Japanese Murrelet did not appear this time.
The birds observed are;
- in Miyake Island *species peculiar to Izu Islands
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
*Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (matsudairai) (Yungipicus kizuki matsudairai),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), *Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (stejnegeri) (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
*Eurasian Wren (mosukei) (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
*Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
*Japanese Robin (tanensis) (Luscinia akahige tanensis),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- on the return boat to Tokyo
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus)
コジュケイ, コガモ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, フルマカモメ, オオミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, カツオドリ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, ドバト, カラスバト, キジバト,
アオバト, アオバズク, ミアケコゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, シチトウメジロ,
モスケミソサザイ, アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, イソヒヨドリ, オオカワラヒワ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
It was sunny and warm but windy.
I looked for early summer visitor, however I did not see.
Instead, though the number was small but there were some winter birds still remaining.
A Hawfinch with silver colored beak in the breeding form was found in a tree.
At the weider, there were various kinds of ducks.
There was a Peregrine Falcon staying still on the rocky riverbed. I wondered whether there was any prey for it.
Reconstruction work has been underway on the riverbed playgrounds which were severely damaged by last year's super typhoon, and people were about to gathering there. However, the birds seemed still not come back to the grassland that had been almost lost.
I only saw a couple of Meadow Bunting and a few Japanese Skylarks.
The most active birds observed during this visit was wagtails. They were repeating fly catching near the river.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, シメ, ホオジロ
Kyoto Botanical Gardens, Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都植物園 (京都)
Knowing that multiple Naumann's Thrushes (Turdus naumanni) are present in Kyoto Botanical Gardens, I visited here.
As I walked, I noticed the voice of waxwings.
It was seven years ago when I met a flock of waxwings in the Gardens. The voice was from exactly the same location (Native Plants Garden and Japanse Garden). I was surprised to see that these birds visit the exactly same location. I was still alone when I arrived this location and enjoyed observing waxwings. There were not mistletoes and these birds hawked against flying insects. Some birds seemed to eat something from branches. Although the majority was Japanese Waxwings (Bombycilla japonica), some Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) were present among them. After some time, watchers and photographers gathered.
I asked them the locations of Naumann's Thrushes, and one of the guided me. There were four (!) individuals in the Gardens and we visited three places, which were located within 10-minutes' walk. The initial Naumann's Thrush was foraging on the ground and ate a berry. This place was often visited by visitors and the bird was hidden as people passed.
The second individual was present near the famous cherry flowers and we initially thought that people were taking pictures of flowers, but the actuatlity was that they were taking pictures of the thrush, which was friendly enough to see for a long time.
We visited the third place, but this thrush was said to be difficult to see.
Instead, we watched forest birds. I heard the song of the Coal Tit (Periparus ater) here.
The person guiding me that there may be a Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) here, and indeed we heard the voice. The bird was found to forage among the leaves of coniferous trees. While we were inspecting them, we found another individual.
I left the place and returned to observe Naumann's Thrushes in more detail. The first individual was present at the same place, but the number of visitors had increased and I lost its sight.
During this time, I saw photographers moving toward a certain direction and I followed them.
There were again waxwings in the different corner of the Gardens. We enjoyed watching them against the blue sky.
After they had flown, I again moved to the position of Naumann's Thrushes. The second individual was quite easily seen and we could watch them foraging on the ground, resting on a branch.
After watching this Naumann's Thrush fully, I moved the the northern corner of the Gardens and again heard the voice of waxwings. They were on the top of high Metasequoia glyptostroboides trees.
In addition to this visit to the Gardens, I saw several species in Kamo River next to the Gardens, and included them in the list.
List of species:
Eurasian Widgeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) x ?,
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese Waxwings (Bombycilla japonica), Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, マガモx?雑種, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ,
トビ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, ミソサザイ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
エナガ, キクイタダキ, ヒレンジャク, キレンジャク, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ハチジョウツグミ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ウグイス,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, アトリ, イカル, シメ
Shin-Yokohama Park (Kohoku, Yokohama)
新横浜公園(横浜市)
This park is the largest urban playfield park in Yokohama City. There are International Stadium Yokohama, pool, baseball ground, tennis court and an artificial pond. This place also acts as a retarding basin when Tsurumi River floods.
Though many events of gathering people were canceled one after another due to COVID-19, there were many families in the park.
I was worried about absence of the Long-eared Owls, that had been observed in this park during this winter, but they were still there.
Two birds were quietly resting in a small evergreen tree near the pond.
A few Long-tailed Rosefinches still remained.
In the pond, some wintering ducks (Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal), Smews, and Great Crested Grebes remained as well.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
オカヨシガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, カワウ, オオバン, キジバト, トラフズク, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ, ベニマシコ
Sakuragaoka Park (Tama, Tokyo)
桜ヶ丘公園(東京多摩市)
It was windy and the birds were not active.
I did not hear or hear thrushes other than Pale, woodpeckers other than Japanese Pygmy and buntings other than Masked.
However, fortunately, a Goldcrest, heard from one of the photographers I met at the site, was found among a flock of Japanese Tits and Varied Tit.
Only Chinese Bamboo-Partridges were very active and calling loudly here and there.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, キジバト, コゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, シロハラ, シメ, アオジ
Minakami Pond (Nara Prefecture)
水上池(奈良)
Nearly a month had passed since I visited here last time.
I expected to see Smews (Mergellus albellus) closely as before, but there were no such birds where I saw them last time. I saw only one female distantly.
The majority of ducks were Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) and Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata). Eurasian teals were less active than my last visit and they might have already finished pair formation.
This time, I could see the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) very closely. The bird apparently begged to local passangers.
Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) were seen on the distant side as usual.
While I was on the southern side of the pond where trees are present, I rather surprisingly heard high-pitch phrases. Although I couldn't see the bird, they were most likely song of a Goldcrest (Regulus regulus).
List of species:
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
コブハクチョウ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, オシドリ, ハシビロガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, シロハラ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, シジュウカラ, キクイタダキ, ハクセキレイ, メジロ, カワラヒワ
Kusauchi, Kyotanabe-shi (Kyoto Prefecture)
京田辺市草内(京都)
It was nearly one month ago when I visited here last time.
I was wondering whether Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) were still there.
On my way from the train, I couldn't find the Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) in Joyo city. It might already have flown away.
In Kusauchi, there were no plovers in the first pond.
In the second pond, some ducks and Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) were still present and there was no apparent change.
In the third pond, there were only a small number of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens) and wagtails and I thought that I wouldn't expect to see many birds.
A Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus) was singing on the background of the song of Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis).
I initially couldn't find lapwings where I saw them last time, and I almost abandoned to go further. However, I found an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) sitting on a pole.
While watching this buzzard from a distance, I found a Northern Lapwing flying distantly in the background. I decided to move to the direction of this buzzard.
On the way, a bird flew from a field with some grasses to the nearby grassy patch. I turned out to be a Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata) and I stayed here for a while to see whether this bunting might appear again. While waiting, the buzzard flew away and I couldn't find further sign of the lapwing.
On my return path, I was looking at White-cheeked Starlings (Spodiopsar cineraceus) foraging on a paddy field.
A Northern Lapwing was among them and it suddenly flew away with call as I looked at the direction. Another individual responded by call.
The lapwing looked like to flew away distantly and I didn't expect to see it again, but when I was on my return path, I again heard the call. Looking at the direction, I saw two lapwings foraging in a wet paddy field. I also found a Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) foraging in the same field. The bird was much closer than I saw it in the pond in January, and it flew away with weak voice unfamiliar to me.
The lapwings remained and continued to forage.
List of species:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata), Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
ヨシガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, クサシギ, ケリ, タゲリ, トビ, ノスリ, モズ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, シジュウカラ、
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオアカ, オオジュリン
Fishing ports at Choshi and Hasaki areas (Chiba, Ibaraki)
波崎,銚子エリアの漁港(千葉,茨城)
On contrast to the last visit, the sight was clear without any fog, but the number of gulls was very fewer and they were resting at far distance. Since the day I visited was the last day of the three continuous holidays and there was no fishing boat in operation.
Thanks to the small number of gulls, I found a first-winter American Herring Gull resting on a small boat.
Since the sight was well, I found a Red-throated Loon floating at the far disitance.
The birds observed were;
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri),
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
オナガガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, ウミアイサ, アビ,
アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, クロサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, アメリカセグロカモメ,
オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ
Birding Trip around Inbanuma Marsh & Inashiki area (Chiba, Ibaraki)
印旛沼＆稲敷エリア探鳥(千葉,茨城)
On the first day, I toured alone for the previewing. On the second day, I joined the tour members and went around the sites together.
When I visited on the first day at Lake Inba-Numa, it was fine without wind.
I heard songs of Japanese Bush-Warblers, Japanese Tits, and Meadow Buntings. The song of a Japanese Woodpecker was heard from the forest near the lake, too.
In the lake, there were many Falcated Ducks. Most of them were acting in male and female pairs.
I saw a big flock of ducks on the other side of the lake. Later, I checked nearby and confirmed that they were Mallards and Baikal Teals.
There were buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Common Reed) in the bushes and reed fields along the lake shore, and there were Long-tailed Rosefinchs and Japanese Bush-Warblers in a small forest.
On the next day, the flock of the Baikal Teal disappeared. They might have left the site flying with the strong south wind which blew in the afternoon of the previous day. We saw only one Baikal Teal only.
During the observation, the north wind became stronger. The birds became not very active and were hiding inside the bushes. The Long-tailed Rosefinches did not appear clearly, but we could observe the pair that stopped on the tree after a while.
On the first day, I visited Motono Hakucho-no-sato near Inba-numa.
This is a paddy field where many swans gather in winter. Unfortunately most of the swans had left by the middle of February, and there were one family of Whooper Swan and one Tundra Swan were left and observed.
We skipped this site on the second day.
The next site was Edosaki's goose protection area.
It is the only regular wintering site of Taiga Bean Goose near Tokyo and is protected by local volunteers.
At this site, most of the geese had left, and only 32 individuals were observed.
Usually we can observe ducks in the water channel beside the site, however, due to the strong wind, there was no duck.
Many herons were staying still beside the banks of the rice field avoiding strong winds.
We found many ducks at the shore of Lake Kasumigaura that were avoiding strong winds as well.
At the lotus field in Nishi-no-su reclaimed land and Ukishima, we looked for wintering shorebirds.
On the first day, I found two flocks of Long-billed Dowitcher and a flock of Dunlin.
On the second day, we found many kinds of species such as; Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwings, Common Snipes, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshanks, Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper, Temminck's Stints.
On the evening of the second day, we observed harriers (Eastern Marsh, Hen) roosting into the reed field of Ukishima.
The birds we observed are;
- at Inbanuma Marsh
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Motono Hakucho-no-sato
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
- at Edosaki's goose protection area
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
- at Nishi-no-su reclaimed land
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
- at Ukishima
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オオヒシクイ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, モモイロペリカン, カワウ,
コチョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, タゲリ, ムナグロ, タシギ, オオハシシギ, ツルシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン, キタアラスカハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ,
シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Kamo River (between Demachiyanagi and Kyoto Botanical Garden) (Kyoto Prefecture)
鴨川(京都市出町柳〜京都植物園)
I walked along Kamo River with some hope to meet waxwings before it started to rain.
There were ducks as usual and Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) still stayed. The number of Common Mergansers had not apparently decreased, but they had dispersed. I could see them in all regions of this river.
Near the Kyoto Botanical Garden, I met a flock of Japanese Grosbeaks (Eophona personata), but I couldn't find a sign for waxwings.
List of species:
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Widgeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, イソシギ,
トビ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, イカル
Izumi Nature Park (Chiba)
泉自然公園(千葉)
This park is 43 hectares in size and is located in Wakaba Ward, Chiba City, and makes full use of its abundant nature and multifaceted landscapes like hill, forest and ponds.
The park was seriously damaged by the Super Typhoon in October 2019. There were many land slips and broken trees, and the restoration works was undergoing. Thus some trails were off limited.
In spite of such the circumstance, there were many birds such as woodpeckers (Great Spotted, Japanese Pygmy), thrushes (Dusky, Pale), Masked Buntings, etc.
Especially there were many Mandarin Ducks in the ponds. I saw the flock over 50,
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, キジ, オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン,
キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, シメ, アオジ
Kohoku Wild birds Center and nearby region (Shiga Prefecture) (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター&近郊(滋賀)
We initially visited the shore in front of Kohoku Wild birds Center.
The day of return of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) was imminent and these birds stayed in the lake longer than before. Some wished to move to the foraging location, but others refused, and the departure to the foraging ground became sufficiently late for us to observe them.
Some of Taiga Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) had already returned to the north.
Small flocks appeared from the sky and the birds in the lake responded.
We then moved to Mt. Yamamoto.
We had confirmed that there were cars and photographers when we passed there, but there were almost no one there when we arrived! According to the story from who were looking at the different direction, the Steller's sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) had flown to the direction of the lake and they were waiting for the return of the eagle. Only one minute after our arrival, the eagle returned, but without food. The eagle was mobbed by Black Kites (Milvus migrans) in flight and sometimes attacked them and called.
The eagle rested on a tree. According to the story from photographers returning here, the eagle had eaten fish near the shore.
Since there was no immediate indication of the eagle's movement, we returned to the Center.
When we tried to confirm that the eagle was still there, it was not found on the tree.
In the Center, we mainly watched swans, geese and various ducks.
After some time, the staff of the Center scanned the mountain and found the eagle just returning to the tree close to its roosting location. We moved to that location and had a final look at the eagle.
We then moved to rice paddies where swans were foraging. There were no observers other than us and we could enjoy watching these swans.
They were not afraid of people and foraged and flew close enough to us to hear their wing beats.
We then moved to the region of Nishi-ike Pond, where Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana) had been spotted.
We could find two storks immediately on poles.
The eagle departed to the north on the next day.
List of species (based only on my observation):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, コウノトリ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ケリ, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, トビ, ノスリ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Higashi-Takane Forest Park (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園(川崎)
There are mistletoes (Viscum album subsp. coloratum), and Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) visits this park aiming the seeds of these trees at the end of winter.
At the park entrance, there was a flock of Long-tailed Tit.
I searched for Masked Bunting in the bush along the small stream where we usually watch the bird very well. However I found only one this time.
In the ponds, there were a Little Egret in the breeding form and many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks including one Mallard and one hybrid of Eastern Spot-billed and Mallard.
I looked for White's Thrush.
Instead, I found a Goldcrest which I did not expect to see in this site.
According to a birder I met, a White's Thrush was observed in the early morning. I could not see it during my observation.
The birder told me that he saw a Eurasian Wren as well. I could see this bird fortunately.
A lot of photographers gathered around the tree with the mistletoe attached, taking photos of two Japanese Waxwings pecking the mistletoe fruit. On the way back to the exit of the park, I saw Japanese Waxwings again.
At that point, a beutiful Red-flanked Bluetail appeared and attracted very much.
The birds observed (* recorded by other birders) are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
*Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
*White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
マガモ, カルガモ, マルガモ, コサギ, カワウ, *オオタカ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ,
*トラツグミ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ハクセキレイ, シメ, アオジ
Kakegawa Bird Park and Nihondaira Zoo (Shizuoka Prefecture)
掛川花鳥園＆日本平動物園(静岡)
We visited these bird park and zoo to see exotic birds.
In Kakegawa Bird Park, I expected to see the demonstration including a Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) again, but the outdoor event was canceled due to the wind.
The demonstration was held indoors. Some species, such as the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and the Mountain Caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus), were common to the outdoor demonstration, but large raptors such as the Secretarybird didn't appear.
After this indoor demonstration, we walked in aviaries, where we could feed or touch various birds.
At noon, there was a demonstration of a Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). This bird is famous for its lack of movement and we saw it always in resting position.
When the trainer came, the bird slowly stood up. The trainer tried to feed the bird, but the bird was very sluggish and sometimes dropped the feed.
After we left this bird, I saw it flying! I could take only snapshots of its flight, but it indeed flew.
There were also holdings of rare birds, such as Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor).
All the birds were friendly and one can freely feed or pet them (photo of a Western Plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator), which didn't wish to leave us even after feeding).
We then moved to Nihondaira Zoo.
This zoo holds the only individual of the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in Japan and this was our primary aim. There was originally a pair of this species, but one of them died.
Next to this bird, there were a cage of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Andean Condors (Vultur gryphus).
Both species are kept in pairs. Probably thanks to the start of breeding season, Bald Eagles frequently called.
The male Andean Condor also issued unusual low voice, opening its wing and trembling. The female bird on the supposed artificial nest responded.
In the corner of tropical birds, there was an Critically Endangered Bali Myna (Leucopsar rothschildi).
According to wikipedia, as of 2015, less than 100 adults are assumed to exist in the wild, with about 1,000 believed to survive in captivity.
There were not many feeding places in this zoo like Kakegawa Bird Park. There was only one location where we could feed carps.
However, when we started feeding, Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) and other ducks were much quicker than carps and mostly ate the feed for carps. These ducks were probably waiting for people to use the vending machine for buying feed for carps, and as soon as a person approached the machine, they started approaching. I'm not sure whether these Mandarin ducks are kept in this zoo or they were wild individuals.
アメリカワシミミズク, アンデスカラカラ, ハシビロコウ, クロツラヘラサギ, ハイイロエボシドリ,
ヒゲワシ, ハクトウワシ, コンドル, カンムリシロムク, オシドリ
One-day Trip around Yokohama area
横浜エリア1日探鳥(神奈川)
At first, we visited Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park (Sakaigawa Yusuichi Koen).
There were some photographers aiming Common Kingfisher or Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae).
In the paddy field near the park, we found a Common Kestrel perching at a telephone pole.
I looked for American Pipit (Siberian) (Anthus rubescens japonicus). However probably due to many photographers in the field, I did not see.
Then, we moved to the park.
In Sakawa River near the parking lot, there was heavy equipment in the river and the restoration work was taking place, and there was no Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus) regularly seen in this point.
In the ponds, there were not many ducks. We saw some Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Teals, and a female Smew.
In the reed field around the pond, some Brown-cheeked Rails were calling actively. We heard a Ruddy-breasted Crake as well. While searching for them, the tour leader with sharp eyes spotted a Brown-cheeked Rail and a Common Snipe.
Near the path along Sakai River, a Japanese Bush-Warbler was singing well.
There were many buntings in the farm field adjacent to the river. Most of them were Rustic Bunting. There were some Meadow Buntings. The tour leader found a Little Bunting among the flock of Rustic Buntings.
In the river, there were some Black-backed Wagtails and Common Sandpipers.
Green Pheasant, the common resident in this field, did not appear during our observation.
The next site was Maioka Park (Maioka-Koen).
We searched for Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera) in the forest, and Woodcock and Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) at the wetlands, which are the regular wintering visitors in this field.
I got information from a photographer I met that a woodcock was seen closely during the afternoon of that day, and I found the bird foraging in a relatively close open space as he said.
This woodcock was there all the time while our stay at this site.
We waited the appearance of a Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica) which had been recorded at this point, but it did not appear during our observation.
Instead, We saw a Brown-headed Thrush, that is also one of the winter visitors in this field.
We also watched some Masked Buntings closely.
The birds we observed (* by other birders) are;
- Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), *Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Maioka Park
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush (orii) (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, クイナ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン, ヤマシギ, タシギ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ハッカチョウ, ムクドリ, オオアカハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
ホオジロ, *コホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Onoji (Machida, Tokyo)
小野路(東京町田市)
I visited this site for the first time in about a quarter of a century, but it seemed that the landscape at that time seemed be maintained, except for a little part of the site.
Upon the information about the visit of Japanese Waxwings on this site, I checked a point with many mistletoe.
I checked the mistletoes one by one, but there was no Japanese Waxwing.
Near there, Masked Buntings and Warbling White-eyes were busy moving in a small tree beside the road.
From there, another mistletoe parasited trees were seen beyond a vallay, and two Japanese Waxwings were found at the tip of the tree.
Then, I walked on the narrow paths in the hilly area, and heard the call of Japanese Green Woodpecker and saw a Eurasian Jay.
At the wide paddy field in a valley, a Great White Egret flew, and a Bull-headed Shrike called loudly. At a grassland, aflock of Japanese Tits were foraging in the reeds.
There were small number but many species of birds were observed at this site.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, ダイサギ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, シメ, アオジ
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
Since the weather forecast was fine, I visited the Center and Mt. Yamamoto to meet the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus). Although the air was warm, the weather was cloudy and rather dark in contrast to expectation.
When I arrived, there were Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) still in the lake and Taiga Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) nearby, and I initially spent time observing them.
A flock of Taiga Bean Geese suddenly flew with loud voice and I managed to flock it. As the flock flew around, the individuals on the water or island responded by voice.
I could fortunately find two Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) among them. It was two years ago when I saw these birds here last time.
The Steller's Sea Eagle had already took breakfast at 7:00 am and the bird already perched on the branch near the roosting position. Considering the lack of the wind, I thought that the chance of observing the flight of the eagle should be low and only waited 1.5 hours in front of the eagle. It was fortunate (at least for me) that crows spent some time around the eagle, and eagle finally reacted them by calling against the sky. The scene attracted photographers and cameras fired. I could nevertheless obtain a voice record of this event.
It was warm enough and Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) were singing everywhere.
When I returned to the Center, I could see Black-necked Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) foraging in a group.
I also saw a flying flock of Dunlins (Calidris alpina) but didn't see them on tetrapods nor gulls usually resting on them.
Although I spent sufficient time near the shore, I didn't see so much variety of ducks. They might have dispersed due to the lack of wind.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus), Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
*Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), *Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), *Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), *Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
*Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
*Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
*Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), *Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
*Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), *Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), *Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), *Mew Gull (Larus canus),
*Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
*Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
*Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオハクチョウ, *オオヒシクイ, マガン, オカヨシガモ, *ヨシガモ, *ヒドリガモ, マガモ,
カルガモ, オナガガモ, *コガモ, ホシハジロ, *キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ, *カワアイサ, ウミアイサ,
*カイツブリ, *カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, *オオバン,
タシギ, イソシギ, *ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, カモメ, *トビ, ノスリ, アオゲラ, カワセミ, モズ, *ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, カケス,
シジュウカラ, メジロ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, *スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
カワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Fishing ports at Choshi and Hasaki areas (Chiba, Ibaraki)
波崎,銚子エリアの漁港(千葉,茨城)
The weather was warm with no wind. I don't have much experience watching gulls without enduring the cold and strong winds.
At first, I visited IIoka fishing port which is located south west of Choshi.
There were not many seabirds.
This year, on the shores of the Tokyo area, as many Black Scoters were observed as in Hokkaido, it was easy to see Black Scoter here as well, which is usually only a few. Others were the flocks of Greater Scaups and Common Pochards, and grebes (Red-necked, Great Crested, Black-necked).
Then, I moved to Togawa area.
The fishing ports was shrouded in deep fog. I could see only the flocks of Greater Scaups and Black Scoters swiming nearby and a few Vega Gulls flying in the deep fog.
In the fog, the sad calls of the invisible Black Scoters were heard.
At the grassland between Kurohae Fishing Port and No.3 Port of Choshi, there were many Dusky Thrushes gathering.
I glanted a big bird looked like Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) running into and hid in the bush but it did not appear again.
At the next point, Choshi Fishing Port No.3, it was also shrouded in deep fog, too.
However, on a small tidal flat where wastewater mixed with fish chips from a nearby marine processing company is flowing, I could see closely many gulls (Black-headed, Black-tailed, Vega, Slatty-backed, Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Mew) which were gathering and searching the food.
While watching at the tidal flat, the fog became cleared, and I moved to the center of the port. Though I was worried that the fishing today was cancelled due to the deep fog, there were several fishing boats carrying a huge number of fishes just returned back.
Arround those fishing boats, a huge number of gulls were gathering and flying.
I looked for Black-legged Kittiwake and Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri). However, I only found one Black-legged Kittiwake resting on the breakwater there.
There were some Stejneger's Scoters, which is uncommon species in Tokyo area but many has been observed in this winter.
At Hazaki Fishing Port, there were almost same species as Choshi Port. I found a Black-legged Kittiwake closely.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Stejneger's Scoter / Siberian Scoter (Melanitta stejnegeri), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-legged Kittiwake (Pacific) (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
マガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
タイミールセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ホオジロ
Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村(横浜)
There are several long narrow paddy fields, called as "Yatoda", which were made on small valleys sandwiched by hills of miscellaneous trees.
At the end of these small valleys, there are small tranquil reservoirs.
This area maintains the rural scenery of traditional Yokohama.
The weather was fine but the field was quiet.
Several Masked Buntings came and went between the edge of the rice fields and the slopes of the forest next to them, and a Japanese Bush-Warbler was also seen in the same place.
In the paddy fields, I found some Rustic Buntings and White-cheeked Starlings.
As I approached a grassy rice field, I saw a Brown-cheeked Rail rushing into the grasses.
In the reservoirs, there were one Tufted Duck and two Little Grebes only.
In the forest, I heard a Japanese Green Woodpecker calling and a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker drumming, and saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
I visited Myofukuji Temple where there were many mistle trees and waxwings visiting the trees previously.
Most of the mistle trees were cut but some still remained. However, there was no sign of waxwings.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, クイナ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Garyu-zan Park in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市臥竜公園(長野)
I visited Garyu-zan Mountain Park to look for an invading species, Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea), which had been recorded about a month before in this area for the first time.
Fortunately I could found a small flock of the birds on the ground under evergreen trees Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum).
It is interesting to note that another notorious invader, Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus), had been spotted last year for the first time in a mountain very close to this mountain. These species seem to be expanding their breeding areas year by year.
The Garyu-zan Mountain, covered with red pine trees, is a popular birding spot for Goldcrests (Regulus regulus), and I watched the birds among mixed flocks of Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus), Coal Tit (Periparus ater), Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki).
A female Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) stayed in a mountainside pond for this winter among flocks of Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha).
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone, Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea),
Scaly Thrush (Zoothera dauma),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusty Thrush (Turdus naumanii),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Oriental Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
マガモ，カルガモ，オシドリ，アオサギ，ダイサギ，トビ，コゲラ，ハシボソガラス，カケス，
シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒガラ，コガラ，キクイタダキ，ヒヨドリ，エナガ，メジロ，
ソウシチョウ，トラツグミ，シロハラ，ツグミ，ジョウビタキ，カワラヒワ，アトリ，セグロセキレイ
Cemetery Tama (Tokyo)
多磨霊園(東京)
It was cold but Japanese Tits and Grey-capped Greenfinch were singing well. They looked be noiticing the coming spring.
Soon we will be able to listen to the song of Japanese Bush-Warblers.
I searched for a White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) which regularily winters in this site, but I did not see it. Maybe because of the warm winter, It might not come down from the mountains to the lowlands.
In contrast, Red-flanked Bluetails were found at several places.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ハイタカ? ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ,
Nishi-takasegawa (Kyoto Prefecture)
西高瀬川(京都)
I visited here again to search for the reported hybrid duck (supposed Eurasian wigeon x northern pintail).
I initially searched the course as on January 30.
There were Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) and some more other ducks as usual, but couldn't find the target bird.
When I was returning to the starting point, I met a birder who knew the location of the hybrid duck -- it was rather distant from what I had heard.
I moved to the location and immediately found the bird.
It was initially found foraging on the ground with Eurasian Wigeons. It then moved to the river and swam, and again foraged in the water.
There were many Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus) foraging on the glasses along the river.
List of species:
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Wigeon x Northern Pintail (suspected), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, ヒドリガモxオナガガモ雑種(推定), カルガモ,
カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, コサギ, オオバン, イシシギ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Kawagoe Aquatic Park(Saitama)
川越水上公園(埼玉)
The Iruma River flows beside this park, and the river forest is a good habitat for winter birds.
We looked for a Chinese Grosbeak/Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria migratoria) with information that was observed a few days ago.
There was a flock of Hawfinch on the ground, and were some tits (Japanese, Long-tailed) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers eating fruits of ivy.
A large flock of Japanese Grosbeak was foraging on the ground a short distance away. We searched for a Chinese Grosbeak in the flock, but couldn't find it.
The birds we observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ミコアイサ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, シメ, イカル, カシラダカ
Akigase Park(Saitama)
秋ヶ瀬公園(埼玉)
When we arrived at the park entrance, we could not enter the park since the gate was closed. When the Super Typhoon hit last autumn, the park played another role as the returding basin to prevent flooding of Arakawa River aside, and was seriously damaged by complete submersion, and the damages had not yet been recovered.
We looked for the access road to the birding site, and we drove a narrow road in the paddy field of Okubo and parked at the place where we could not go further due to the obstructions shutting the road.
We walked inside the park. It was my first experience such a day without any persons in the park.
Probably due to the strong cold wind, there were only a few birds, too.
Wetlands in the park had more water left than the ordinaly winter. In the pond, several Northern Shovelers were turning in circle and foraging something with their broad bills on the surface of the water.
The birds we observed are;
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Shichirigahama Beach (Kanagawa Prefecture)
七里ガ浜(神奈川)
I saw many Black Scoters. This winter, many Black Scoters, rare in ordinal winter, have been observed.
Among the Black Scoters, there was a Surf Scoter, a rarity in Tokyo area.
I moved to Enoshima Island.
At the fishing port, there were some Great Crested Grebes and Greater Scaups.
There was no seabird at the south coast of the island.
At the yoht harber, there were a flock of gulls resting avoiding strong wind.
The birds observed are;
- at Shichirigahama Beach:
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae)
- around Enoshima Island:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
スズガモ, アラナミキンクロ, クロガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ハシブトガラス, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ
Wild Nature Plaza (Aichi Prefecture)
ワイルドネイチャープラザ(愛知県)
We visited again to see the Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca), which has been staying here for months.
The leaves had fallen and the bird had become much easier to locate.
The appearance of the bird looked somewhat different from that we saw in last November: the puffy appearance below the chin became less apparent. It might have been due to molt.
The bird busily moved from branch to branch and it was again a difficult target to image.
We then visited a pond in the Plaza, where a Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni) and a Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca) could be expected. While we were waiting, these birds didn't appear.
We could see a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), which was fishing from its favorite branch.
It was a warm day and Japanese Bush Warblers (Horornis diphone) were singing here and there.
Instead of the expected species, we saw an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) soaring on warm sky three times.
We then moved again to the location of the Lesser Whitethroat and observed it until the Sun became lower.
List of species:
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
ハイタカ, トビ, カワウ, カワセミ, モズ, キジバト, コゲラ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
ツグミ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ウグイス,
コノドジロムシクイ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ
Yoro Park (Gifu Prefecture)
養老公園(岐阜)
Following information of a Solitary Snipe (Gallinago solitaria), we visited Yoro Park.
The snipe was not seen on the previous day and it didn't appear during our visit.
In the stream, there was a Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii), which must have already started incubating eggs.
There were also wagtails, both Grey and Japanese.
Under pine trees we saw Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni) flying as people approached.
Thrushes were relatively abundant and we saw several Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus).
We moved to a place near Makita River, where Japanese Waxwings (Bombycilla japonica) had been reported.
There was a row of trees hosting mistletoes and we indeed found about 20 Japanese waxwings.
List of species:
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ヒレンジャク, カワガラス, ツグミ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ウグイス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ, イカル
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
There was an event celebrating the World Wetlands Day, which was held in Biwako Waterfowl & Wetland Center and Kohoku Wild birds Center.
In contrast to my previous visit, there were full of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) in front of the Center (they had not returned yet) and I initially observed these swans and bean geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii).
After a lecture of 40 min, members attending the meeting went to the shore of the lake and observed water birds.
After this, there was a lecture by Sugawa-san, who talked on satellite tracking and ringing studies of ducks.
After that, Sugawa-san talked on the World Wetlands Day, and introduced a naturalist-artist who lived near Kabukuri-Numa Marsh in Miyagi Prefecuture. We enjoyed beautiful illustrations of this deceased artist.
At the end, he introduced the success of the recovery project of the Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia).
He is now finalizing a book dedicated to the story of this recovery project and introduced the cover design of the book (the illustration were also drawn by the same artist).
Tundra Swans still stayed even after the lecture (it was probably due to the very calm weather).
The Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) was on the perch and I visited this eagle for an hour.
Due to the windless condition, the eagle didn't move much, but I could hear the call twice.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus), Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
*Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), *Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
*Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
*Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
*Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi), *Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
*Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
*Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ,
*カワアイサ, カイツブリ, *カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, *キジバト, *カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, *オオバン, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, カモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, コゲラ, カワセミ, モズ, *ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, *スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Niigata area (Niigata Prefecture)
新潟エリア(新潟)
On the first day, we headed towards Asahi-ike Pond (Asahi-Ike) in Joetsu City.
Near the pond, we searched for geese and swans.
This winter was extremely unusual, and there was no snow on the ground.
We saw a flock of Tundra Swan which were foraging in the paddy field but there was no geese.
During birding at the pond, the weather changed like a weathercock, cold rain fell and stopped, and finally hail started to fall with strong wind, which made our birding difficult to continue before watching the roost of geese.
At sunrise of the next morning, we visited the pond in order to see the flights of Greater White-fronted Geese roosting in the pond. However, in the pond, we could not find any geese in the visible area.
When we almost gave up to watch, the geese suddenly appeared and began to fly from somewhere. Some of them flew nearby and we could observe closely.
After observing the geese flight, we check the ducks and grebes in the pond.
Mallad is the dominant as same as the last visit in December, but the numbers of the other species decreased.
We walked in the forest of Ogata Mizu-to-Mori Park adjacent the south of Asahi Pond.
As soon as we started birding, we saw a big flock ob Brambling was moving inside the forest.
When walking inside the park, there were some tits (Japanese, Varied), a flock of Goldcrest, and a flock of Eurasian Siskin. Since we have no chance to see such a flock of Goldcrest, we enjoyed their cute behavior very much.
In the afternoon, we moved to Fukushimagata Lagoon in Niigata City.
On the way, we saw many flocks of swans and some flocks of Rook.
At Fukushimagata Lagoon, we walked the road at the southt side of the lake.
In the reed fields, there were many Common Reed Bunting and Eurasian Tree Sparrows, and a few Long-tailed Rosefinches and Meadow Buntings.
Some Rustic Buntings jumped up from the ground to the trees, when we approached them.
In the lake, there were a big flock of Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha).
At the west side of the lake, we waited for geese coming back for roosting in the lake. At the sunset, we saw several groups returning to the lake.
In the early next morning, we waited the sunrise at the west south corner of the lake.
From the lake, the calls of ducks gradually became loudly, and when it became brighter, Great White Egrets flew off one after another.
Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Black Kitesi, and Eastern Buzzards also begun to fly obove the lake.
After a while, Taiga Bean Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese and swans flew away against the background of snowy mountains in the morning sunlight.
In the water channel, there were many kinds of ducks such as Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Falcated and Smews.
Then we moved to the observation tower located at the east of the lake.
From the tower, we saw many ducks and some swans in the water and some geese (Taiga Bean, Greater White-fronted) on a island.
Among the huge number of Eurasian Teals, we found a Green-winged Teal and some Baikal Teals.
A White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) did not appear during our observation.
After Fukushimagata Lagoon, we drove to Pond Hyo-ko (Hyo-Ko) in Agano City.
We were able to get close to the birds and observe in detail.
We could find a Lesser Scaup, which is the regular winter visitor, easily.
We found several hybrids of American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon.
The birds observed are;
- around Asahiike Pond:
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- at Fukushimagata Lagoon:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eurasian Teal/Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca/Anas carolinensis), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina)?
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Pond Hyo-ko:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca americana x Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
オオヒシクイ, マガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリxヒドリガモ,
マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, アメリカコガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン, タゲリ, キタアラスカハマシギ? セグロカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Himeji City Zoo (Hyogo Prefecture)
姫路市立動物園(兵庫)
I visited again this zoo to meet the Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus).
This time I asked when the bird would be fed and tried to capture the behavior at the time of feeding. I also learned that the bird was a rescued one and and was brought to this zoo in 2006.
In the morning, the Crested Honey Buzzard moved from the perch to the corner of the cage where sand is laid. This time I saw the bird digging the ground (as if it were digging for a wasp nest). After digging a bit, it returned to the perch. The bird repeated this several times.
I again ate in front of the bird to see whether the voice on my previous visit was related to my eating behavior. The bird again issued the voice, and my expectation was confirmed.
After some time, the bird walked to the water basin. The bird tried the water several times (it was probably a bit cold for this bird), and finally decided to take a bath. After bathing, the bird returned to the perch and shook. But the day was probably too cold for a summer migrant hawk, and the bird held one of the feet inside and shivered. At this time, the bird became inactive and didn't issue voice when I ate again.
I then moved to see a flight display of a Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus).
This time, the hawk didn't well follow the instruction of the trainer (the bird probably liked her too much to fly) and fell on the ground. The display was recovered by another trainer and the bird succeeded the display by finishing the flight through a hoop.
When I returned to the location of the Crested Honey Buzzard, it was already dried and perched in a normal position (it didn't shiver anymore).
The bird was fed at 4:00 pm. The trainer put minced chicken meet, but the bird looked indifferent initially.
Some time after, the bird started eating. The behavior of eating meet was not very different from other hawks. But it didn't eat much, and flew to the perch in front of me and started calling in low volume.
The bird was probably satisfied by eating, got warmer and became more active. After listening to the bird's "conversation" for about ten minutes, it became calm again. When I was to leave the position, a surprise occurred. The bird flew from the perch and held onto the wires of the cage.
It looked to me that the bird would miss someone to leave. The voice was tender and I felt that the bird was affectionate.
Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
多々良沼(群馬)
Swans were still abundant and dispersed throughout the Lake.
The number of ducks seemed fewer than tha last time.
The water level had risen since the last visit and the tidal flat had disappeared, and there was no wader that we expected.
There was a gull with yellow leg (L.h.taimyrensis) that is the regular wintering visiter at this site.
The birds observed were;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Taimyr gull (Larus fuscus taimyrensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオバン, ホイグリンカモメ (タイミールセグロカモメ), キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Watarase Retarding Basin, Mikamoyama Park & Itakura paddy field (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地,三毳公園&板倉たんぼ(群馬,栃木,茨城)
The day we visited was quite different from the cold weather with snow and cold rain two days ago, and it was a warm day, with the temperature rising to nearly 20 degrees Celsius, which was unusual for this coldest time. When we arrived at the site, the temperature was close to 5 degrees Celsius and the ground was not covered with frost, in contrast to the usual winter with the temperature below zero and frost.
Recently, a Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus) was observed early in the morning and evening, so we first looked for this bird. The scene of the site was fantastic, covered in dense morning fog. Larks and buntings were singing like early spring, probably thanks to the warmth.
Unfortunately, no owl appeared, so we moved to the lake and searched for waterfowls.
The lake was drained as same as the usual winter time to improve its water quality, with little water remaining, and the waterfowls concentrated in the distant puddle. Since it was too far away, it was difficult to identify ducks other than Great Egrets.
Then, we birded while driving in the basin.
Though most roads were closed due to the damage of the typhoon the last visit, we could drive the most of the roads.
The number of Green Pheasants and hawks seemed be less than usual probably due to the harmful effects of the typhoon flooding the entire basin remained.
Buntings (Meadow, Rustic) were found abundantly along the road.
Long-tailed Rosefinches were also observed in two places.
After Watarase Retarding Basin, we visited Mikamoyama Park.
It was quiet and we saw only a few birds.
At the paddy fields in Itakura, we saw a flock of Rook.
At sunset, we returned to Watarase Returding Basin again and watched hawks roosting. A Hen Harrier flew close for a while, so we enjoyed its beautiful appearance.
After seeing several Eastern Marsh-Harriers and one Hen Harrier roosting, we left the site.
The birds observed are;
- at Watarase Returding Basin Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Mikamoyama Park Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- at Paddy fields in Itakura Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
キジ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, キジバト,
アカゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Nishi-takasegawa (Kyoto Prefecture)
西高瀬川(京都)
This small river is known for the high number of ducks in Kyoto urban area.
The number of Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata) is known to be high compared to other locations in Kyoto.
I indeed saw many Falcated Ducks as well as other ducks, such as Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) etc.
I saw a copulating pair of Eurasian Teals.
Although the number of ducks is high, the river is surrounded by human residence and noisy traffic, including a highway. Such a condition, however, is more or less inevitable for birding in urban region of Kyoto.
I suddenly saw a bird flying away from the bank of the river as I approached, and it turned out to be an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). The bird perched on a tree on the other side of the river, and crows mobbed.
Rather surprisingly, ducks and wagtails didn't appear to be scared and behaved as usual.
List of species:
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica), Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, キジバト, カワウ,
アオサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ハイタカ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, シメ
Kushiro Zoo (Hokkaido)
釧路動物園(北海道)
Surprisingly many wild birds were observed here.
For wild birds lacking food during winter season, feeding for birds in the cages may be very much attractive.
The birds observed are (*by other birder);
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
*Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, ドバト, エゾアカゲラ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ハシブトガラ, シマエナガ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, ツグミ, イスカ, ウソ
Minakami Pond (Nara Prefecture)
水上池(奈良)
This site is relatively silent and I considered it a suitable location to listen to or record the voice of water birds.
Upon arrival, I soon found a white bird -- a Smew (Mergellus albellus) within a somewhat enclosed corner and was surprised at the proximity of the bird.
In the same place I saw also female birds.
These birds were seen through the fence and I moved to the open location when I watched water birds in my last visit.
I saw distantly a male Smew and I initially thought that the bird was identical to the Smew I initially saw, and observed it distantly. There were female Smews and the number of Smews apparently increased since my last visit.
While I took a lunch on the shore, Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) and Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata) gathered and apparently expected something. They moved away when I finished eating.
This time, I saw Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) on the distant side of the pond.
I finished observing (I thought so) and moved to check whether a mute swan (Cygnus olor) was present, but I soon realized that the many ducks were in the closure and the smews in the were different from the one I observed distantly. I again started observing near the enclosed corner. There were gaps of the fence and I could observe smews very closely. Eurasian teals (Anas crecca) were calling loudly. Females also called and they were apparently forming pairs now. I moved to the northern part of the pond, but didn't find the mute swan. I again returned to the corner and observed smews and Eurasian teals.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, オシドリ, ハシビロガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ,
アオサギ, オオバン, カワセミ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, シロハラ,
ウグイス, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, メジロ, カワラヒワ
Joyo-shi and Kusauchi, Kyotanabe-shi (Kyoto Prefecture)
城陽市,京田辺市草内(京都)
It was rainy in the morning.
On the way to the location, I could see the Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) from the train.
When I arrived, it was still dark after rain, but Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) were calling from a paddy field near the human residence.
In the first pond, I saw three Long-billed Plovers (Charadrius placidus) as usual.
In the second pond, there were not many ducks. Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) were foraging on the dried part of the pond and Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) were in the water.
In the third pond, I found a Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) relatively closely and mainly took videos of this bird with a hope to record the voice (but it didn't call during a short flight). The bird was busy foraging.
There were also Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits (Anthus rubescens) as usual, and probably thanks to the warm weather passerine birds were rather active.
Japanese Wagtails (Motacilla grandis) and Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) were singing.
I regularly checked the field during observation of the Green Sandpiper but couldn't find Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) at the expected location. After an hour, a flock came down on the same paddy field where I saw these birds on the last visit. A total of 9 birds were foraging and took rest.
Probably due to the unfavorable weather for walking, there were no passengers and the birds were probably not annoyed by human activity. I observed these lapwings fully and left this place.
List of species:
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
コウノトリ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ケリ, タゲリ, イカルチドリ, クサシギ, トビ, モズ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, エナガ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
On-nemoto & Cape Nosappu (Hokkaido)
湯根元&納沙布岬(北海道)
There are some rocks at the shore of On-nemoto where Rock Sandpipers (Pacific Coast) (Calidris ptilocnemis couesi) often appear in winter.
When we reached, there was one Steller's Sea-Eagle on the rock but no sandpiper.
Then, we moved towards Cape Nosappu. On the way, we looked for Gyrfalcon/Gyr Falcon (Falco rusticolus) and Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri), which had been recorded on this route.
At Cape Nosappu, there is a habitat for Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus) and Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile) on the criff. However, Peregrine Falcon might have appeared, there was no cormorant there.
On the rock where Rock Sandpipers appeared last winter, there was no sandpiper.
The birds observed are;
- at On-nemoto
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
- at Cape Nosappu
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
シノリガモ, クロガモ, ヒメウ, オオワシ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ
Ochiishi Nature Cruise (Hokkaido)
落石ネーチャークルーズ(北海道)
There was concern that the ship was canceled due to the snow and strong winds the previous night, but in the morning the wind stopped and the cruise was carried out as scheduled.
The day was the coldest in this winter, and the two-hour cruise was very cold, but many seabirds appeared. In particular, there were a lot of Black Scoters, Spectacled Guillemots. Pigeon Guillemots (C.c.columba), and Common Murres.
We also hoped to see Ancient Murrelet, Least Auklet, and Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella), but only a few Ancient Murrelets and two Least Auklets appeared.
Instead of Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile) on the rock where the cormorants are often seen, a flock of Asian Rosy-Finch foraging on the grass on the rock surface was observed.
The birds observed are (* by other birder);
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter (Siberian) (Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri/Melanitta stejnegeri), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Common Murre (North Pacific)/Common Guillemot (Uria aalge inornata),
Pigeon Guillemot (Kuril Is.) (Cepphus columba snowi), Pigeon Guillemot (Commander Islands) (Cepphus columba kaiurka),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), *Least Auklet (Aethia pusilla),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha)
オオハクチョウ, キンクロハジロ, シノリガモ, ビロードキンクロ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ, ウミアイサ,
アビ, ヒメウ, オオワシ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ウミガラス, ウミバト, アリュウシャンウミバト,
ケイマフリ, ウミスズメ, コウミスズメ, ハシブトガラス, ハギマシコ
Hon-bekkai, Odaito & Notsuke Peninsula(Hokkaido)
本別海,尾岱沼,野付半島(北海道)
We stopped over several river mouths or fishing ports on the way towards the peninsula.
At the mouth of Shunbetsu River, there were many Whooper Swans. Among them, there was a swan with an identification ring on her right foot that is said to be 26 years old.
There were several species of ducks (Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye) and mergansers (Common, Red-breasted) on the water and on the shore.
There was also a flock of Dunling, too.
Snow Buntings (Siberian) (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae) and other passerines sometimes gather on the shoreside meadows to eat the seeds of the grasses, and a flock of Grey-capped Greenfinches and Common Redpolls (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea) was observed that morning, but only one Grey-capped Greenfinch was seen during our observation.
On the far distant on the sea, several Brant Gooses were observed with the spotting scope.
Among the planting of Mugo pines in Bekkai Minato Park, several Red Crossbills were picking pine cones.
At Odaito Fishing Port, there were many ducks (Tufted, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye), and Red-breasted Mergansers.
Then we drove Notsuke Peninsula.
We looked for Snow Buntings, Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha) Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus) in the bushes beside the road, Rough-legged Buzzard/Rough-legged Hawk (Siberian) (Buteo lagopus menzbieri) on the poles, and Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) in the sea.
Unfortunately, we could not see them.
This winter, there was little snow anywhere in Japan, and there was little snow in Doto area of Hokkaido as well. At the same time, a strong seasonal wind blew on the day. Probably due to these bad conditions, they were not active.
The birds observed are (* by other birder);
- at Honbekai Fishing Port
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser)
- at Mouth of Nishibetsu River
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
- at Mouth of Shunbetsu River
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla nigricans),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Bekkai Minato Park
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica)
- at Odaito Fishing Port
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- in Notsuke Peninsula
Harlequin Duck (Pacific) (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
*Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
- in Nemuro Downtown
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
コクガン, オオハクチョウ, マガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, ヒメウ, トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, ノスリ, ハマシギ,
*カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ドバト, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツグミ, スズメ, オオカワラヒワ, *ベニヒワ, イスカ
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
I visited Kohoku Wild birds Center again.
It was a windy day (more than I had expected).
As soon as I arrived the Center, I looked through the telescope and found that the eagle was not there. I got out of the Center and saw a number of people running toward the lake.
I followed them and saw the eagle soaring above the lake and then returning to Mt. Yamamoto. The eagle carried a large water bird, which turned out to be a Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula).
The eagle passed just above us and soared on the background of Mt. Ibuki (this winter has been unprecedentedly warm and there was almost no snow on this mountain). The eagle then perched on a tree and started eating.
One of the staffs of the Center found through the telescope that the Tufted Duck carried a fishing string. People were anxious if the string had a hook and the eagle might eat it. I moved toward the eagle and was in time for its feast.
The eagle moved to a tree rather difficult to see through and the bird was seen only limited locations.
I stayed there and continued taking videos. As the bird continued eating, a meat bolus fell and it remained connected to the main part of the meat by the fishing string. We observed the bird anxiously.
A Black Kite (Milvus migrans) approached the eagle and the bird flapped the wings to expel the kite. And luckily enough, the meat bolus (probably together with a hook) fell down thanks to the movement of the eagle.
We were relieved to see the scene. It took nearly one hour starting when it caught the duck for the eagle to completely eat it. The bird then flew to its usual position and stood against the wind.
I then returned to the Center and watched water birds.
There were relatively small number of water birds in front of the Center and many gathered near a breakwater to avoid the wind.
Following information that a Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra) was there, I moved to the breakwater and watched the high density of water birds. Among them, Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) were relatively abundant. I also saw a Smew (Mergellus albellus) and Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula).
The wind became mild in the afternoon and these water birds gradually moved to the front of the Center.
The Pacific Reef Heron flew in front of the Center and stayed a short while, and returned to the breakwater. This bird has been observed since last summer, but it appeared only occasionally and I hadn't seen it despite my multiple visits.
I (and probably many observers) didn't expect the eagle to move, since it had fully eating a duck -- it seemed to us enough.
However, the bird took off! It flew to the north and swooped down above a house. It looked like to find something. The eagle then appeared on the sky and flew to a low tree.
Although the aim of the behavior was not apparent initially, the eagle started eating again. It must have caught something near the ground, not in the lake.
Due to the warm weather, Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) had already mostly returned and only 100 birds remained (I didn't see them).
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
*Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), *Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
*Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
*Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
*Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
*Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), *Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
*Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, *オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, *カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
*キジバト, *カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, オオバン, ハマシギ, *ユリカモメ, カモメ, *ミサゴ, *トビ,
コゲラ, モズ, *ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
カワラヒワ, アオジ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Kushiroshitugen National Park (Hokkaido)
釧路湿原国立公園(北海道)
On the first day, we visited Kushiroshitugen National Park in Hokkaido. the largest wetland in Japan.
I walked around Kushiro Airport.
The area was quiet and I saw only a few birds.
The first site was Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary (Tsurui Tancho Sanctuaryn).
This is the famous for its large number of Red-crowned Cranes gathering in winter.
The cranes were gathering as the 2:00 pm feeding, which was held twice daily, approached. Courtship dances that flourished in February were not seen, but occasionally some individuals sang facing up. The immature birds were calling well in a small voice.
Then we moved into a forest covered with snow.
The Ural Owl (japonica) (S.u.japonica) visiting here at this time of winter were staying this winter again.
A Steller's Sea Eagle calmly flew in the sky. Suddenly, one Northern Goshawk appeared and harassed the eagle. After a while, the number of eagle was increasing to four.
Heading toward Nemuro City, we drove through Kottaro Wetland and along Kushiro River.
I looked for Crested Kingfisher (pallida) (Megaceryle lugubris pallida), but did not see.
The birds observed are;
- near Kushiro Airport
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- in Tsurui Village
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Ural Owl (japonica) (Strix uralensis japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni)
- in Kottaro Wetland
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
オオハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
シノリガモ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, ヒメウ, トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ, オオタカ,
タンチョウ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ケイマフリ, ウミスズメ? コウミスズメ? シマフクロウ, エゾフクロウ, エゾアカゲラ,
ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ,
シマエナガ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, ツグミ, カワガラス, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ウソ? シメ, ホオジロ
Kamo River between Demachiyanagi and Kaguracho (Kyoto)
鴨川(京都市出町柳〜神楽町)
We walked in this region to confirm how the flock of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) became after my visit on January 2.
The birds were dispersed and some individuals were also seen in Takano River.
The males were fewer than females and these males apparently had finished pair formation and these pairs were seen in separate locations.
The remaining females were seen more scattered than on January 2 and there was no apparent competition among them.
I must have been lucky to see and hear the birds just forming pairs on my previous visit.
Some Common Mergansers were asleep and one of them waked up during our observation and yawned.
Species content of other ducks was more abundant compared to my previous visit.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, イソシギ,
トビ, カワセミ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, モズ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Tega River & Lake Teganuma (Chiba)
手賀川&手賀沼(千葉)
This river origins from Teganuma Lake. Its headwaters were originally part of Teganuma Lake, but were reclaimed to become this river. Reclaimed land is a paddy field now.
In this paddy field, some number of Short-eared Owls (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus) have been observed this winter for the first time in several years. It is said that this field became their feeding ground because rats had escaped into the paddy fields after the super typhoon last year.
When we arrived at the site, the strong north wind was blowing and it seemed there is no hope to see the owl this evening.
Before evening, we moved to Teganuma Lake and walked along the lake.
Probably due to the strong wind, there were few birds. In the water, some ducks (Mallad, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Pintail) hid inside the reeds avoiding the strong wind.
Buntings (Masked, Meadow) were also hid inside the bushs.
Two Green Pheasants suddenly flew nearby us and surprised us.
Only many Black-headed Gulls were flying actively above the lake.
On the way back to Tega River, one Peregrine Falcon was staying on the ground avoiding the wind (?).
We waited the appearance of Short-eared Owl, but it did not apear that evening.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, ノスリ, オオバン, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat & Shin-urayasu Coast (Chiba)
三番瀬&新浦安海岸(千葉)
We arrived at Sanbanze Seaside Park at the time of sunrise.
Dunlins and Sanderlings were were still resting and sitting in the slight depressions on the beach.
As time passed from sunrise, the birds began to fly actively on the shore.
There was a flock of five Eurasian Curlews on a shallow.
While we did not notice when it appeared, one Caspian Tern was sitting in a flock of shorebirds.
This bird had once moved to Mie Prefecture and returned back to this site again.
A Saunder's Gull was in the same flock, too. We found a few Saunder's Gulls on the shore.
We saw many Greater Scaups and Vega Gulls, too.
There was a small flock of Red-breasted Merganser, and the males were acting like courtship.
There were many Vega Gulls, many Black-headed Gulls and some Mew Gulls as well.
Then we moved to Shin-Urayasu Coast.
From the coastal quay, seabirds could be observed. Most of them were Greater Scaups, but there were also one Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter, some Common Goldeneyes and Eurasian Wigeons.
The birds observed are;
- at Sanbanze Tidal Flat
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Saunder's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi/Saundersilarus saundersia),
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Shin-Urayasu Coast
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter (Siberian) (Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri/Melanitta stejnegeri), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, ホオジロガモ, ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, オオバン, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, ダイシャクシギ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, キタアラスカハマシギ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, オニアジサシ, ドバト, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Kumeda Pond (Kishiwada-shi, Osaka Prefecture)
久米田池(大阪)
Knowing that an Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) had been staying here, I visited this pond.
The pond was almost dried and there was a small corner with water and birds gathered there.
This was the third time for me to see an Eurasian Spoonbill in this pond, but this sighting was the closest.
Upon arrival, the bird was already foraging in shallow water. I stayed here nearly one hour, but the bird almost constantly moved (foraged, preened, short flight etc.).
There were two places in the pond where herons and egrets gathered, and there were often quarrels among Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) and sometimes among Great Egrets (Ardea alba) and Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea).
Although these egrets and herons flew close to the spoonbill after quarrels, the bird looked indifferent to other birds and continued foraging and preening.
I went around a bit and Grey-capped Greenfinches (Chloris sinica) and feral pigeons were eating something on the dried bottom of the pond.
I used to see Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits (Anthus rubescens), but this time I only heard one voice.
On the other side of the pond, there were four Little Ringed Plovers (Charadrius dubius), but they were difficult to find due to distance.
I expected to meet wintering shorebirds, but couldn't find one.
List of species::
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
ヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ユリカモメ, オオバン, コチドリ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, メジロ, カワラヒワ
Nara Palace Site (Heijokyu-Ato) and Minakami Pond (Nara Prefecture)
平城京跡＆水上池(奈良)
I first visited Heijokyu-Ato where I saw an Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) some years ago.
The site was now filled with grown grasses and it seemed to be difficult to see a wryneck if it had been present. Brown-eared Bulbuls (Hypsipetes amaurotis), White-cheeked Starlings (Spodiopsar cineraceus) and Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus) in turn visited trees to eat berries there, but I couldn't find evidence for a wryneck.
I then walked around the grassy region (this region is preserved and one could not enter) and heard calls of Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) and Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus).
The repeat notes were likely from a Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca).
There was a pond north to this grassy region and I saw a Great Egret (Ardea alba), a Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and an Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha).
A path, however, next to this pond was interesting and many Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) were foraging on the path (there were few people walking in this path).
I heard the voice of an Eurasian Wryneck near here, and this species would have been better sought around this pond.
I then moved to Minakami Pond.
This was the first time for me to visit this pond, and was rather surprised to find a Mute Swan (Cygnus olor). According to the web information, this bird has been here for years (of unknown origin) and is called "Kouchan".
There were a number of Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca), many Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and a few Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) resting here.
I then found three Smews (Mergellus albellus) near the center of the pond. These birds approached to my direction later and then flew a short distance to the original position and started preening.
A flock of Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), which had been hidden somewhere on the edge of the pond, moved to the center of the pond and started foraging. Although the density of water birds was not as high as expected, this pond looked a good location if one had sufficient time to walk around the pond.
List of species:
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
コブハクチョウ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ,
ダイサギ, アオサギ, ヒクイナ, クイナ, オオバン, シジュウカラ, アリスイ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, シロハラ, ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, シメ,
アオジ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Izumi River, Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park & Imada Retarding Basin
和泉川＆境川/今田遊水地公園(神奈川)
We started from Yumegaoka Station of Sotetsu Izumi Line and walked along Izumi River.
Izumi River is a small river flowing in the western part of Yokohama City and is a tributary of Sakai River. The total length is about 10km. The basin in the upper part of this river is urban area, but others are paddy fields and agricultural land. Izumi River is a small river flowing in the western part of Yokohama City and is a tributary of Sakai River. The total length is about 10km. Thanks to this environment, it is a good habitat for the birds.
As soon as, we started to walk, we saw a Blue Rock Thrush and a Common Kestrel near the railway station. It was a good start.
When we reached the river side, a Dusky Thrush and a Bull-headed Shrike welcome us.
We saw a few Common Kingfishers and Common Sandpipers flew on the river.
A few Masked Buntings were foraging on the ground beside the river.
There were some Daurian Redstarts, a Blue Rock Thrush, and a mixed flock of some Japanese Tits and a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker on the fence or tree beside the river.
There were wagtails (White, Grey, Japanese) and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits in the farm fields along the river.
Additionally, a Common Kestrel was perching at a telephone pole in the farm field aiming for prey.
Just before the Izumi River merged with the Sakai River, we walked away from the river and walked in the hill forest of Tenno Moriizumi Park.
In this different environment, different species, such as Pale Thrush, tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed), Hawfinches and Grey-capped Greenfinches, were seen.
Then we moved to Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park.
We checked the birds hiding in the big reed field around the pond.
A Common Snipe was staying still, and Common Coots and Eurasian Moorhenson were walking actively on the ground.
There were many Common Reed Buntings foraging actively in the reeds.
A memebr with good eyes found a Yellow Bittern walking inside the reeds. Since Yellow Bittern is categolized as a summer bird in the Tokyo area, I surprised to see this species in the middle of winter.
Another member found a Brown-cheeked Rail moving in the grasses, too.
In the water, there were a small number but many kinds of ducks.
The last site was a retarding basin named Imada.
There were some ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Eastern Spot-billed, Northern Shoveler, Falcated), Littel Greves and Common Coots in the water.
A Black-crowned Night Heron was hiding still inside the reeds.
We searched for a Ruddy-breasted Crake that photographers were waiting for. After a while, the bird appeared from the reeds fortunately.
The birds we observed are;
- Izumi River
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- Tenno-mori Izumi Park
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Imada Retarding Basin
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ,
ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, クイナ, ヒクイナ, バン, オオバン,
イカルチドリ, タシギ, イソシギ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Seta River around Nango Araizeki (Shiga Prefecture)
南郷洗堰周辺の瀬田川(滋賀)
This place is one of the most promising to meet Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) in Shiga Prefecture.
The ducks looked as usual near the water dam, most of the ducks floating around were Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) with some Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra).
Down the river, there were shallow regions and the species were somewhat different.
I saw a flock of Gadwalls (Mareca strepera) and Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata).
Further down, I met a flock of Common Goldeneyes.
They were initially resting on the shallow region with Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). They then moved and started foraging.
It looked like that the birds foraged and they were forced to move downstream by the flow of the river, and then flew back to the upstream and started to forage again. I noticed that the wing noise of flying birds of this species was rather high.
I later saw courtship behavior of some males, but I couldn't hear the voice due to the strong sound from the water dam.
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, トビ,
カワセミ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Joyo-shi and Kusauchi, Kyotanabe-shi (Kyoto Prefecture)
城陽市,京田辺市草内(京都)
Since the end of the last year, an Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) has been reported to stay for the first time in Joyo-shi.
The bird could be seen from the Kintetsu railway (during my visits to this area on Jan. 1 and 4, I realized that I had sat on the other side of the train and missed the bird).
When I reached the location, the bird stood up and didn't move much. The bird had likely already foraged here.
After seeing this Oriental Stork, I visited Kusauchi to meet Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus).
There was only one Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus) in the first pond, but a Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) perched on a nearby pole.
There were more ducks in the second pond than on my previous visits.
Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata) and Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) were the main species. In the third pond, there were Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits (Anthus rubescens) as usual.
This time I didn't hear much Emberiza and didn't search them specially.
While looking at the third pond, I saw a Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) calling and flying.
I went to the landing location and found 10 individuals and one Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) foraging together.
There was also a Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) running and then foraging.
These lapwings suddenly flew to the skies, and landed on a somewhat distant place. While I was moving to this direction, I saw a Common Kestrel catching some food and ate it on a nearby house.
I soon found Grey-headed Lapwings close to this location, but their color was very similar to the background. I might have missed them if I had no knowledge of this flock and if there had not been movement.
They flew away, however, when walking people who were unaware of these birds passed nearby.
List of species:
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) x ?,
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
コウノトリ, コガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ雑種, カイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, ケリ, タゲリ, イカルチドリ,
トビ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
When I visited in the end of October, 2019, the site was damaged by the typhoon hit at the middle of October.
The obstractions on the walking trail and the driftwoods on the surface of the lake had been almost cleared.
However the number of wintering birds was fewer than the ordinary winter. This is my first experience that I did not see any Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) in January.
I am not sure whether this is due to the deteriorating environment by the typhoon or to an unusually warm winter.
After all, we saw many Daurian Redstarts and Red-flanked Bluetails, a flock of Eurasian Siskin, flocks of tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Long-tailed), and a small number of Japanese Accentor, Eurasian Bullfinch, Masked Bunting).
We saw two Western Ospreys calling gently.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)? Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オシドリ, マガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, キジバト,
コゲラ, アカゲラ? アオゲラ? カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ,
オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, アカウソ, アオジ
Southwestern and southern foots of Mt. Yatsugatake (Nagano, Yamanashi)
八ヶ岳南西＆南麓(長野,山梨)
The first stop, Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park, was covered with snow fell in the night.
We checked the mistletoes everywhere in the Garden, we found several Japanese Waxwings were perching on a conifer. They were flying to and fro between the conifer and a mistletoe parasitizing the adjacent tree.
A flock of Eurasian Siskin was flying in the sky.
Nobeyama was also covered with the fresh snow.
The site condition was changed very much from the last visit on January 05. The bare ground and grasslands were covered with brand new snow.
We looked for Northern Shrike Shrike, Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus), Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica), Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea flammea), Ural Owl (hondoensis) (Strix uralensis hondoensis), Asian Rosy-Finch (brunneonucha) (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha), and Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris).
It became difficult to find them in such the different condition. Fortunately, we saw a Northern Shrike Shrike perching on the top of a conifer.
Instead of the Fieldfare, we found a Naumann's Thrush.
At the last site, Daimon Dam, There were Mallards and Mandarin Ducks in the dam lake.
On the forest road around the dam site, there were some passerines such as Rustic Bunting, Long-tailed Rosefinch and Dusky Thrush.
The birds observed were;
at Yatsugatake Nature & Culture Park
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
at Nobeyama
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Northern Shrike Shrike (Lanius borealis bianchii),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
at Daimon Dam
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
オシドリ, マガモ, トビ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, オオモズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ,
ハチジョウツグミ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, カシラダカ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
Construction of the riverbed damaged by the typhoon had begun.
Probably due to this construction, there were very few herons and Great Cormorants that I saw a lot last time.
However, there were many wagtails (White, Jampanese, Grey) and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits.
The number of ducks increased, too. There were many Eurasian Teals and Gadwalls including some other species such as Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Shovelers, Falcated, Common Pochard, and Tufted.
The number of gulls (Black-headed, vega) also increased.
I saw a flock of House Swifts in the sky.
A imature Northern Goshawk and a Common Kestrel were chasing preys.
It was unusual that I did not see any bunting this time.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, イソシギ,
セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, シメ
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
When I arrived the Center, it was rainy (in contrast to the weather forecast).
We could still see the perched Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) through rain.
Despite this weather, the eagle flew to the lake and caught small fish and ate it.
We also watched three Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus), which were still present in the lake in front of the Center.
After an hour, the rain became apparently over and many birders headed toward the eagle. I stayed near the eagle for an hour. It didn't move much since the bird already ate something in the morning, but called twice.
Since there was no immediate sign of flight of the eagle, I returned to the Center again.
During my stay in the Center, there was voice "the eagle flew" and we followed the movement. I was lucky enough to catch the eagle in return flight to the mountain. It carried small fish again (a high magnification camera caught the scene 1 km distant) and ate it.
The most obvious change in the birds in this region is the decrease of Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra).
Previously, this species was one of the most abundant and often confused with ducks. This time, they were rather rare and the entire species of water birds even looked less populated compared to previous seasons.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
*Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), * Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi), *Mew Gull (Larus canus),
*Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), *Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
*Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, *オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, *コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ケリ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, *カモメ, *セグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, *トビ, ノスリ, *コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ, ホオジロ
Himeji City Zoo (Hyogo Prefecture)
姫路市立動物園(兵庫)
Himeji City Zoo is located in Himeji Castle Park and is convenient from railway stations.
I visited this Zoo to see the Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus).
As far as I know, there are only two zoos in Japan having this species as collections. This species is secretive and difficult to see closely enough in the wild. This zoo may be the best place to see the subspecies orientalis.
The Crested Honey Buzzard was calm and perched close to us, and we could see the bird in detail.
A close-up view showed the densely packed feathers in the head region.
Nearly after an hour when I took a lunch in front of the bird, the bird suddenly started to call in very low volume. It was first time for me to hear such voice from this species.
The bird probably understood my behavior and said "I wish to eat, too". What a cute bird!
When I stood up, the bird also started moving and changed the pose.
It was noteworthy that no feathers floated when the bird preened and fluffed up. Its feather must be very tightly packed to protect the body against attacks of bees or wasps.
The zoo also held Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea).
I could hear the voice of the male following after the female.
There were also White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), presumably a pair, and they often called with loud voice.
In the afternoon, there was a short flight show of a Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus).
The bird succeeded in flying through a hoop and had cheering and clapping by the audience.
Takao area (Hachioji, Tokyo)
高尾エリア(八王子,東京)
There was a Lesser Whitethroat, a rare stray bird in Japan, in the housing area along a small stream.
The bird was in a small tree at the garden of a house and was moving without a break.
Then we moved to Tama Forest Science Garden (Tama Shinrin Kagaku-En).
This garden was started in 1921 as a Foresty Experiment Station by the Imperial Forestry Bureau of the Imperial Household Ministry. Today, as a branch of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, it carries out development of management and utilization techniques of suburban forests, as well as research on preservation of biodiversity and cherry tree lineages. Also, Cherry Tree Preservation Forests, Arboretums, and the Forest Science Museum are open to the general public to deepen their understanding of forests.
Thanks to many trees such as cherry blossoms and some swamps, this garden is a good habitat for wild birds. This site is popular for birders as the wintering place of Yellow-throated Bunting.
From the entrance, we walked along a small swamp searching for birds. At the place where we usually watch buntings well, we found an adult male of Red-flanked Bluetail with deep blue back and orange side.
In coniferous forests, there were more than 15 Eurasian Jays forming a large flock.
It was hard to see buntings, but there were a flock of Rustic Buntings at the most upstream of the small swamp. One Yellow-throated Bunting was also found in the flock.
While observing them, they had suddenly flew, then a Eurasian Sparrowhawk appeared and chased one of them. But the hunt failed and the prey escaped.
We saw some Pale Thrushes, but none of Dusky Thrush that should be common in the field.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lesser Whitethroat (Siberian) (Curruca curruca blythi),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
カルガモ, ハイタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, コノドジロムシクイ, ガビチョウ,
ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, シメ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ
Pond in Kakegawa city and Kakegawa Bird Park (Shizuoka Prefecture)
掛川市の池と掛川花鳥園(静岡)
Following information of a Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), which had been reported in local newspapers, I visited a pond where the shelduck rested.
I visited the pond in the afternoon since it had been reported that the shelduck was absent around noon for foraging.
On the day of my visit, the shelduck was observed to repeatedly fly between this pond and the foraging place in a paddy field. Later on, I knew that the foraging place was disturbed by photographers and the shelduck couldn't forage safely and repeatedly flew between them.
Nevertheless, I could see resting shelduck, which flew to the pond soon after my arrival. The bird took a rest among other ducks, and it appeared to sleep. But it suddenly flew to the foraging place. This time, the bird could safely forage for nearly two hours and I had to wait for a long time to see the second return.
While we were waiting, Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) started calling and there was a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) in the sky.
An Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) also appeared and was mobbed by a crow.
Before going to this pond, I visited Kakegawa Bird Park (Kakegawa Kachouen) to see display of raptors in the morning.
The demonstration included a Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) -- this Park is the only location in Japan to see a demonstration of this species.
There was also demonstration of a Mountain Caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus), which called loudly and is a rare holding amond Japanese zoos.
There was also flight display of a giant Eurasian Eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) and a Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), whose flight can be seen only in the low-temperature winter season.
There are other domestic and exotic species, some of which freely fly where people can walk.
This Bird Park is close to a Shinkansen station and would be worth visiting when you have spare time while birding in Japan.
List of species (pond only):
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
アカツクシガモ, マガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, カワウ, キジバト, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ウグイス, ジョウビタキ, メジロ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Upper-reaches of Tama River (Hamura, Tokyo)
多摩川上流 (羽村, 東京)
We surprised the status of Hamura Intake Weir, Tamagawa River (Hamura Seki).
It was a very good habitats for wintering ducks in the river and passerines in the grass field on the riverbed. In every winter, Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula clangula) had been wintering in this field.
The field was seriously damaged being changed the flow of the river and loosing the grassland on the riverbed by the Super Typhoon in October 2019.
There was no ducks and no passerine. Only wagtails (Japanese, Black-backed Wagtail) were flying here and tehre actively on the riverbed.
We walked the trail towards Mt. Sengendake.
It seemed that the trail was not effected by the typhoon, we could observe tits (Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed), thrushes (Dusky, Pale), Brown-eared Bulbuls, Japanese Bush-Warblers, and a Northern Goshawk.
The birds observed were;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ
Okutama area (Tokyo)
奥多摩エリア(東京)
The weather was calm and warm.
At first, we visited Hibara Forest of Tokyo Citizen (Hibara Tomin-no-Mori).
In this forest, 94 species of birds mainly the birds in the forest have been recorded since 1990.
There were fewer birds than expected probably due to its height (1,000 - 1,500m altitude).
Only Eurasian Jays and Willow Tits appeared well and welcome us.
Then we moved to "Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura)", a park located on the shore of Lake Okutama.
On the way, we saw a serow beside Okutama round tour road (Okutama Shuyu Road).
At the park, we visited the visitor's center and got the information. According to the staff, she saw a flock of Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) near the center in the morning.
And she also told that Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis) was appearing well at noon, and Copper Pheasant, Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Red-flanked Bluetail, and Japanese Accentor were apearing well on the trail inside and near the park.
We checked the point where she saw the Siskins, but they did not appeared.
Instead, there was a flock of Snow monkey.
We did not see the Mountain Hawk-Eagle as well.
However, we saw two females (?) of Copper Pheasant, two Red-flanked Bluetails and a few Japanese Accentors.
The birds we observed are;
- at Hibara Forest of Tokyo Citizen (Hibara Tomin-no-Mori)
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- at Hometown Village of Mountain (Yama no Furusato Mura)
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
ヤマドリ, ホシハジロ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
メジロ, ミソサザイ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, カヤクグリ, キセキレイ, シメ
Nobeyama (Nagano)
野辺山(長野)
On the way to Nobeyama, we drove the old road. We encountered a couple of Copper Pheasant unexpectedly.
There was only a littel snow in the field, , and the weather was very calm without strong wind which usually blows in this area in winter.
Thank to this calm, at the edge of the forest, flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch, Meadow Bunting and Rustic Bunting flocks, and flocks of Long-tailed Rosefinch appeared well.
We drove around the field and searched for the Northern Shrike Shrike, waxwings and Common Redpolls, but unfortunately we did not encounter them. At the time of sunset, we waited for Ural Owl, but it did not appear as well.
The birds observed were;
Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
ヤマドリ, キジ, ノスリ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, ツグミ, スズメ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Enrei (Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture)
諏訪湖近辺(岡谷,長野)
The trees in the forest were shining white with snow which fell at the night before.
In such a white scenary, a flock of over 50 Red Crossbills flew, and some bright red Pallas's Rosefinches were seen, which was very stunning.
The birds we observed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Pallas's Rosefinch (portenkoi) (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula)
トビ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ,
オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, オオマシコ, イスカ, ウソ, シメ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ
Katano Waterfowl Sanctuary (Katano KamoIke) (Ishikawa Prefecture)
片野鴨池(石川)
The New Year's Holidays in this season were affected by a cold wave which caused rain in Hokuriku region.
I didn't have enough chance to visit this region for birding. But the temperature was high and there was no snow at all.
The weather on this day was "better-than-none". It was cloudy most of the time and there was occasional rain. The condition was adverse for taking pictures.
As usual, I could see a large number of Baikal Teals (Sibirionetta formosa) distantly on the other side of the water reservoir. Some of them were close enough to see the characteristic face marks.
During my visit, Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) were absent. They were probably foraging on rice paddies somewhat distant from the Sanctuary (it is often the case these geese are disturbed while foraging and return back to the Sanctuary, but the birds were probably safe from human activities under such weather).
In the afternoon, several raptors appeared on by one and we appreciated them.
Initially an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) soared above and we saw it sufficiently closely.
Soon after that, Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) flew and perched on the distant side of the water reservoir.
Some time after that, a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) flew around above the water reservoir sufficiently long, and we were amazed by the speed and agility of this bird.
Ducks and geese on the water didn't seem to be scared by a Peregrine Falcon - they probably know that a falcon doesn't attack a bird on water.
List of species:
Taiga Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
オオヒシクイ, マガモ, オカヨシガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, トモエガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カワウ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, バン, トビ, ノスリ, クマタカ, ハヤブサ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, カワラヒワ
Kamo River between Demachiyanagi and Kaguracho (Kyoto)
鴨川(京都市出町柳〜神楽町)
I went to see a flock of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser), which had been reported recently in this river.
The birds were soon found and they formed a compact group.
They swam to and fro and when the group was most compact, I heard unfamiliar voice from them. It was not clear whether the male or female issued this voice.
The group then became loose and some of them flew upstream. Females mainly remained and foraged.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, カワアイサ, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, トビ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ
Koushien Shore (Hyogo Prefecture)
甲子園浜(兵庫)
I visited again Koushien Shore to meet ducks.
It was in New Year's Holidays and there were few people on the shore. Most of the time there were no people feeding ducks and gulls and these birds dispersed.
This time, the tidal level was low when I arrived and Dunlins (Calidris alpina) were still foraging.
As on December 29, I could see female Black Scoters (Melanitta americana) distantly, but couldn't see Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) or Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator).
Greater Scaups (Aythya marila) were floating rather distantly from the shore, but there were Northern Shovelers (Spatula clypeata) and Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) instead of many Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope) near the shore.
I looked at the distant location where we saw a male Black Scoter on December 29, and found an American Wigeon (Mareca americana) there.
I then approached this direction again. On the way there were again Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) flying and catching fish.
The male Black Scoter was present approximately at the same location as on December 29.
There were a few birders and watched the bird foraging and preening.
When I returned to the initial place, two photographers fed the gulls and took pictures each other.
There were not many visitors and the concentration of ducks and gulls was much lower than on December 29.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
マガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, オカヨシガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ, クロガモ,
カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, ミサゴ, トビ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Kusauchi (Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto Prefecture)
草内(京田辺,京都)
I visited this place to meet Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus).
On January 01, I managed to see six birds, which flew down to a paddy field and stayed there long.
In contrast to the visit in the last year, there were not many plovers in the reservoir ponds.
Duck were only seen in a small number.
Since it was rather windy on January 01, I visited again on January 04 expecting better observing condition.
I met a group of a birding walk by the Kyoto Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan, which I had forgotten.
When I saw them, they were looking at something by telescopes. I joined the party and knew that they were looking at a Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata).
Other species of buntings were also present.
In a dried pond, there were many Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits (Anthus rubescens) and a Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus).
We then moved to the place where I met Northern Lapwings three days before, but alas, they were not present (the theme of this birding walk was to meet Northern Lapwings).
We were somewhat disappointed, but there was an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) on a pole and after that a Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) similarly on a pole.
This Eastern Buzzard later flew and was mobbed by a crow.
High above the sky, there was an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).
These sightings of raptors were greatly helped by many keen-eyed leaders.
On the return way, we saw a juvenile Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) flying high and low, and perched on a pole for a short time near one of the ponds.
The Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus) issued alarm calls at this sudden appearance of a raptor. None became of a victim of this predator.
List of species (* recorded by other members):
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
* Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
* Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
コガモ, ヨシガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, *カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, ケリ, タゲリ, イカルチドリ, クサシギ,
トビ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, *スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Koushien Shore (Hyogo Prefecture)
甲子園浜(兵庫)
Following information of a Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), I visited this shore.
More than 20 years ago, a male Black Scoter spent summer in this place, and it was the first time for me since then to see this species in this place. This place was one of the most damaged during the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 and I remember a row of temporary compounds built near the shore.
Upon arrival, I stayed the wildlife protection region where I used to see shorebirds in migration.
Although we could spot female Black Scoters distantly, there was no sign of a male, which had been photographed recently.
In this location, however, we could see Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and ducks (many Greater Scaups, Northern Pintails and Eurasian Wigeons) fed by local residents or visitors.
The gulls suddenly started to fly with noisy voice, and it was due to attack by a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus). This falcon failed to catch a gull and returned to the direction of background mountains.
From this direction, a Western Osprey appeared and it successfully caught fish and ate it.
Hearing conversations among birders, it became evident that the place of the Black Scoter was not here, but about 1 km west. Having been informed that the scoter was heading toward here, I stayed here a bit.
I noticed that distant photographers started taking pictures and found the Black Scoter 1 km distant.
I gradually approached the location and the scoter was initially asleep when I arrived, but stared foraging close to the shore (we could see it very closely), preened, bathed and got asleep again.
When I finished observing the scoter and returned to the initial location, the tide had receded and Dunlins (Calidris alpina) were foraging.
Some of the flock started flying and landed on a different place.
Near this shore, a male American Wigeon (Mareca americana) was among Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope) and they were also fed by visitors. I could capture a video of the American Wigeon calling, probably in excitement surrounded by many Eurasian Wigeons.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
マガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, オカヨシガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, オオバン, ハマシギ,
ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ウミネコ, ミサゴ, ハヤブサ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Lake Izu-Numa and Kabukuri-Numa Marsh (Miyagi Prefecture)
伊豆沼&蕪栗沼(宮城)
We visited to challenge finding a rare goose; Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis). Unfortunately, the bird could not be found. According to local birders, no one had watched since December 15th.
At the dawn of the first day, we visited the Observation center near JR Nitta station.
There were a huge number of waterfowls in the lake.
The most abundant species was the Greater White-fronted Geese. There were many Taiga Bean Geese, too. The number of geese around Izu-numa and Uchi-numa as of December 20th was 97,126.
There were a lot of swans and ducks as well. However, their numbers were two orders of magnitude smaller than the geese, as 2,110 and 1,316.
We found two Snow Geese among the flock of the geese. There was also a individual that seemed to be oddly colored (white head) Greater White-fronted Goose.
When it got bright, the geese flew off the lake one after another.
The most of the geese were gone from Izu-numa Lake, so we moved to Minamikata Town in between Izu-numa Lake and Kabukuri-numa Marsh on the south side to looked for Lesser White-fronted Goose in the rice fields.
We checked several flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose, and from two flocks found one each of Lesser White-fronted Goose with the yellow eye-ring. Furthermore, six family-like Lesser White-fronted Geese were also found.
Near these flocks of geese, a Northern Goshawk was surrounded by crows and Black Kites, and was eating a goose just caught.
At this field, we found a strange goose which seemed like a hybrid of Cackling Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose, which had blackish head and white bill.
In the afternoon, we moved to the rice field at the north-east corner of Izu-numa Lake to wait for the Red-breasted Goose which had been frequently confirmed there in the evenings by the beginning of December.
We persisted to stay there for more than four hours, but eventually only Greater White-fronted Geese, swans and Eurasian Skylarks appeared.
After the sunset, we saw huge number of geese returning for roosting in the lake in the forms of the triangulars or direct-lines.
In the next morning, we tried to search for the target bird in the lake at the dawn but failed.
Then we drove the south shore of Izu-numa Lake.
There were some passerines, such as Long-tailed Rosefinch, Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Japanese Bush Warbler and Hawfinch, and Dusky Thrushes in the bush or in the trees. A Green Pheasant and a Northern Goshawk also appeared.
Then, we moved to Kabukuri-Numa Marsh.
When we visited the swamp, almost all the Greater White-fronted Geese and Cackling Geese had flied away to the feeding places and there were only a few Greater White-fronted Geese and a Cackling Goose remaining. There were still many bean geese (Taiga, Tundra) remained in the swamp.
We found one Eurasian Spoonbill, which is the regular winter visitor at this site, in the flock of the bean geese.
A few Eastern Marsh-Harriers flew low above the marsh. One of them had the white-head and was very standing out.
After then, we drove in the rice fields spreading at the south west area to search for the flock of Cackling Goose. It was not easy to find the flock, and a flock about 300 Crackling Geese was found in the rice field south of Kejo-numa.
The Crackling Geese seemed not to care about us and were busy in foraging on the ground.
The birds observed are;
- around Izu-numa Lake
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus), Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens),
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Japan) (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus/Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- around Kabukuri-Numa Marsh
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia leucorodia),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba), Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, マガン, カリガネ, ハクガン, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ,
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ヘラサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
オオバン, タケリ, ドバト, キジバト, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
ベニマシコ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Kari-gawa River (Kari-gawa) (Kanagawa)
狩川(神奈川)
Kari-gawa River is a tributary of Sakawa River, flows along the western part of the Ashigara plain in Kanagawa Prefecture and merges the Sakawa River near Sagami Bay.
Although it is not a big river, it is a good habitat for birds such as Common Merganser in winter.
It was a very warm and calm day without cold wind.
When I reached the river side, some members had already seen a Brown-cheeked Rail.
I found a few Common Mergansers and Great White Egrets in the river.
We walked along the river towards the downstreams. We saw birds one to another such as Dusky Thrushs, Bull-headed Shrikes, Green Pheasants, Masked Buntings, Rustic Buntings, Long-billed Plovers and Common Kingfishers,
The raptors (Northern Goshawk, Eastern Buzzard, Western Osprey) appeared, too.
In the blue sky, a few Asian House Martins and House Swifts were flying.
At the weider where the river merges with Sakawa River, we saw many kinds of ducks (Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Eurasian Wigeon, Falcated, Northern Shoveler, Greater Scaup) and gulls (Vega, Slaty-backed, Black-headed).
We could not walk the mouth of Sakawa River due to the recovery construction of the damaged river bed by the super typhoon hit in this autumn.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
クイナ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
ドバト, キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Birding locations on coast of Mie (Shiratsuka coast, mouth of Anou River, mouth of Kumozu River, Mie Prefecture)
三重海岸の探鳥地(白塚海岸,安濃川河口,雲出川河口)
We went to see White-winged Scoters (Melanitta deglandi), which had arrived to Shiratsuka coast recently.
These scoters (about 20 individuals) were immediately found, but with some distance. They were active and foraging at least in the morning and we could see characteristic marks on the face and characteristic shape of the male birds.
There was also a large flock of Greater Scaups (Aythya marila).
Among the flock of White-winged Scoters, we could see a Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena).
There were also Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) flying over the sea.
There was also Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) both foraging and in flight.
The cormorants associated with them were likely Japanese Cormorants (Phalacrocorax capillatus), but it was difficult to confirm the ID due to the distance.
We then moved to the mouth of Anou River to see Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus).
The birds were initially present on the distant side of the river, but they started to fly with sharp voice when the tidal flat started to appear.
There were also Dunlins (Calidris alpina) busily foraging on the shore.
Both male and female Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) were seen to dive for foraging.
We then moved to mouth of Kumozu River to see Brant Geese (Branta bernicla).
The birds were immediately found on a distant tidal flat and they foraged with other dabbling ducks.
There were many Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) here and one carried big fish. Other two birds circled together and they may have already started pair formation.
List of species
- at Shiratsuka coast:
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus)? Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
- at mouth of Anou River:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
- at mouth of Kumozu River:
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Gadwall (Mareca strepera),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
コクガン, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, ビロードキンクロ, ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, アカエリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
カワウ, ウミウ? ヒメウ, オオバン, アオサギ, ミヤコドリ, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ウミネコ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ハクセキレイ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, 他
Maioka Park (Totsuka, Kanagawa)
舞岡公園(戸塚,神奈川)
The Maioka Park is located in the suberbs of Yokohama city.
There are ponds, rice fields and forests, providing the good habitats for the wintering birds such as snipes, finches, etc.
I wanted to see Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola rusticola), but it did not appear during my observation.
Not only this, there were no Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago) that were always seen in winter.
In addition, the number of Hawfinches, Dusky Thrushes and Pale Thrushes was also fewer.
It seems we have to wait some more time for more winter birds coming back to this site.
The birds observed (* by other birders) are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)?
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
*Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, コガモ, トビ, ハイタカ? ドバト, キジバト, *アリスイ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, シメ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Yodo River (Hirakata region) (Osaka Prefecture)
淀川,枚方地区(大阪)
I observed the mouth of Amanogawa River.
There was a Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna).
Initially foraging, then sleeping and foraging again on a flat.
A flock of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) suddenly touched down on the water and started foraging.
In riparian woodland, passerines were active. The voice of Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and Japanese Bush Warblers (Horornis diphone) was particularly prominent.
List of species
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
ツクシガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, オオバン, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, カンムリカイツブリ,
ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, カワセミ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ウグイス,
ツグミ, シジュウカラ, エナガ, メジロ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ムクドリ, アオジ, カワラヒワ
Ikuta Park (Kanagawa)
生田緑地(神奈川)
When we started walking, it was cold, but the temperature gradually increased to about 15 degree Celsius.
This temperature in mid-December is unusual.
Perhaps because of this warmth, Red-flanked Bluetails were singing at the several points in the field.
The other birds were a few Masked Buntings, Japanese Bush Warblers and Chinese Hwameis moving in the small reed field and bushes in the swamp, and some mix flocks composed of Long-tailed Tits, Japanese Tits and Japanese Pigmy Woodpecker flying among the trees.
I don't know why, but we did not see Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), that are the regular winter members in this field, and we saw only one Japanese Green Woodpecker and one Hawfinch this time.
List of birds;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, アオサギ, コサギ, トビ, ドバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, シメ, アオジ
Ooura, Lake Biwa (Shiga Prefecture)
琵琶湖大浦(滋賀)
It was a relatively strongly windy day and there was not so much activity of passerine birds.
On the lake, there were ducks and gulls, but the number was not as high as expected.
Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) were the only gull species I saw this time.
On the shore of the lake, Eurasian Wigeons (Mareca penelope) gathered and foraged. Among them were hybrid American Wigeons (Mareca americana) x Eurasian wigeons.
On this lakeside, I usually saw Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) in the preceding seasons, but found none this time.
Many trees near the lakeside have fallen (or cut after damage) due to the typhoon in the last year, and this place may have become a less favorable place for ducks to hide themselves.
There has not yet been snowfall in this season and passerine birds may have not gathered here to forage escaping from snow.
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana) (hybrid), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ユリカモメ, トビ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ジョウビタキ, ミソサザイ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, ベニマシコ
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Tokyo)
新宿御苑(東京)
Shinjuku Gyoen was constructed on the site of a private mansion belonging to Lord Naito, a "daimyo"(feudal lord) of the Edo era.
Completed in 1906 as an imperial garden, it was re-designated as a national garden after the Second World War and opened to the public.
With 58.3 ha (144 acres) in size and a circumference of 3.5 km, it blends three distinct styles, French Formal Garden, English Landscape Garden and Japanese Traditional Garden, and is considered to be one of the most important gardens from the Meiji era.
Among the 20,000 trees which grow in Shinjuku Gyoen, there are the first examples planted in Japan such plants as tulip trees, planes, Himalayan cedars and bald cypresses, whose distinctive crown shapes give the garden a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
Sinjuku Gyoen is an ideal place to get close to nature and enjoy the changing seasons, the oasis for not only metropolitan and short-term visitors but also birds.
At the pond in Japanese Traditional Garden, there were more than ten Mandarin Ducks, the regular winter visitor in this site.
In the other pond, there were a few Northern Shoveler, Mallads and Littel Grebes.
The thrushes (Dusky, Pale) and Brown-eared Bulbuls gathered on the tree beside the pond to eat its fruits.
At the marsh, it seemed that a Japanese Bush Warble and a Masked Bunting were fighting each other and appeared well outside the bush.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アオジ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
Even on Sunday, there were not many people in the park in the early morning, and Dusky Thrush and Pale Thrush walked on the ground looking for food.
In the planting along the road, a Masked Bunting and a Japanese Bush Warbler were moving as hiding.
I tried to find Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis) or Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), but could not.
In the sea at Arakawa River side, ther were some Gadwalls and Eurasian Wigeons nearby and many Greater Scaups at the distance.
The target bird; Red-breasted Flycatcher, was at the fence of the aquarium on the Observation Rest House side. It was calling and moving busily, flying among the trees, getting down to the ground.
From the Bird Sanctuary, I saw many Great Cormorants resting on the breakwater of East Beach.
In Kamino-ike, fresh-water pond, there were not many ducks. There were Northern Shovelers, Eurasian Teals, Common Pochards, Little Grebes and Little Egrets.
I waited Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus) or Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni) for a while, but they did not appear while watching.
On a tree near the pond, there were an imature Northern Goshawk hiding inside.
Two Eastern Buzzards flew in the sky, too.
On the return way towards the exit of the park, I saw only one Azure-winged Magpie.
The birds reported are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, ユリカモメ, ドバト, キジバト, カワセミ, アカゲラ,
モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ニシオジロビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
Niigata area (Niigata Prefecture)
新潟エリア(新潟)
On the first day, we headed towards Asahi-ike Pond (Asahi-Ike) in Joetsu City.
This lake is the largest lagoon among six lagoons scattered at northern Kubiki Plain, and the total area is about 79 ha. Since the lake has reed beds, and Nuphar japonicum, Trapa japonica and Brasenia schreberi grow in the lagoon, this is a hot spots of wintering waterfowls.
When we arrived at the lake in the afternoon, we visited the park office and got the latest information. According to the park rangers, Taiga Bean Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese, the regular winter visitors, were foraging in the paddy fields spreading north to south on the east side of the pond during the daytime.
They also told that there were a Snow Goose, a White-tailed Eagle and a number of Baikal Teal.
Then we moved to the pond and saw many kinds of ducks. We found many Baikal Teels floating in flocks of ducks.
The Taiga Bean Geese were also resting on the shore and shallows on the west side of the pond.
Tundra Swans and a few Whooper Swan were resting in the rice field with water around the pond.
We drove in the nearby rice field at the east of the pond, but there was a flock of Northern Lapwing but no geese.
We walked in the forest of Ogata Mizu-to-Mori Park adjacent the south of Asahi Pond.
There were some tits (Japanese, Varied) and a flock of Brambling. We saw a Dusky Thrush and a Hawfinch, and heard a Masked Bunting and a Pale Thrush.
We returned to the pond and saw the Greater White-fronted Geese and Taiga Bean Geese which return back to the pond for roosting after sunset.
At the dawn of the next day, we visited the pond again to observe the geese which flew from the pond after sun rise. Flocks of geese flew away from the pond here and there.
The remaining ducks floated as a long line for some reason (?). After a while, the line collapsed and the ducks spread over the pond.
We drove to the south east area of the pond where the geese flew for.
At the east side of Unoike Pond, neighboring the western side of Asahiike, we found a flock of Greater White-fronted Goose in a paddy field and a flock of Taiga Bean Goose in Unoike Pond.
Among the flock of Taiga Bean Goose, we found a Snow Goose.
We did not see the White-tailed Eagle this time.
The next birding spot visited in the second day was Sakata Lake in Niigata City.
Sakata, the Ramsar site, is a freshwater lake with marshes along its shores. It is located in a basin among sand dunes surrounded by farmland and pine forests. The lake has no river inflow, but is fed by groundwater running under the dunes. It has only one outlet and the water drains into a river from a gate on the east end of the lake and irrigates lotus ponds and rice paddies in the lower reaches of the river. Because it does not freeze over in winter, Sakata is a wintering site for waterfowl such as swans, geese and ducks. More than 3000 Tundra Swans winter here every year.
We entered into the Observation Center and observed a huge number of ducks (8,000 to 10,000) in the warm room. The majority of ducks were Mallards, and there were many other kinds of ducks.
We saw a Marsh Harrier flying over the distant reed field.
Then we walked to the Observation Lodge at the southern center of the lake outside in the cold windy rain.
On the way, we saw some herons resting nehind the reeds avoiding the wind.
A Goshawk was stopping in a tree on the opposite shore which seemed like it was aiming for prey.
We stopped over Toyanogata Park in Niigata City. Near the building of library, there was a Long-eared Owl resting in a tree.
In the evening, we visited Fukushimagata Lagoon in Niigata City.
Fukushimagata Lagoon is one of the habitats registered by East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) where many migratory waterbirds winter, including about 5,000 Taiga Bean Geese, 5,000 Tundra Swans, and 20,000 ducks. We can see over 220 kinds of birds in this site in year.
We visited the observation tower located at the east of the lake. From the tower, we saw many ducks and swans in the water, Eastern Marsh-Harriers flying low above the lake, and a White-tailed Eagle perching on a small tree in the reed field.
At the time of sunset, we enjoyed watching of many flocks of geese and swans coming back the lake for roosting.
In the next morning of the third day, we saw geese and swans flew from the lake after sunrise. Their flights with background of the snowy mountains was very stunning.
We drove around the lake and watch the birds in the reed fields. Because of the calm weather with no wind, we saw buntings (Rustic, Meadow, Common Reed) and Long-tailed Rosefinches.
After Fukushimagata Lagoon, we drove to Pond Hyo-ko (Hyo-Ko)in Agano City.
The pond was made in 1639 in Edo period as an irrigation reservoir. And this is the first place in Japan where the people succeeded in feeding swans in 1954. This came to be known nationwide as the “Swan Lake,” and it greatly influenced the movement for the wild bird protection. The local people, from children to the elderly, participate actively in the community-based protection activities. Because of these historic backgrounds and local people’s efforts for conservation, people can watch swans and other water birds right in front of them.
We were able to get close to the birds and observe in detail.
We heard that a Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) had been observed, but we did no see during our observation.
Instead we found an American Wigeon.
The birds observed are;
- around Asahiike Pond:
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Lake Sakata:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Toyanogata Park:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
- at Fukushimagata Lagoon:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Pond Hyo-ko:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
キジ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, ハクガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ,
カルガモ, マルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ,
オジロワシ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, セグロカモメ, ドバト, キジバト,
トラフズク, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Momoyama Park (Suita city, Osaka Prefecture)
桃山公園(大阪府吹田市)
Upon information of a female Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), I visited Momoyama Park (Senri).
This park has been visited by an American Wigeon (Mareca americana) for several years in a row, and I could also see this bird.
The Ring-necked Duck was almost asleep for a long time and the bird was recognized by the white eye ring.
After an hour, the bird finally started preening, and then dived a few times for foraging.
I had an experience with a male Ring-necked Duck, which was a famous regular visitor in Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo more than 20 years ago. At that time, the bird was fed and came very close to us.
I hope that the Ring-necked Duck in Osaka favors this place and regularly visits here just like the same species in Shinobazu Pond and the American Wigeon in this Momoyama Park.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ,
キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホシハジロ, クビワキンクロ, オオバン, カワウ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
The famous Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) has regularly returned to Mt. Yamamoto for 22 years in a row.
I visited here to see the eagle and water birds.
When I arrived, there were phorographers by the lake in front of the Center, and watched the eagle perched on a tree in Mt. Yamamoto. According to recent records of behavior, the bird often catched fish in front of the Center and they were waiting for the eagle to come.
After confirming the eagle, I watched water birds first, since Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) were still present before leaving for foraging.
Calls from Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) fell down from a flock flying over and touched down on the lake.
Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) were abundant and I could see them in various locations.
A Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) was seen among them.
After an hour, I moved to Mt. Yamamoto. According to the information, the eagle flew around 20 mininutes before and I missed this flight.
When I reached near Mt. Yamamoto, the eagle was moving on the branch more frequently than I used to see.
After some tens of minutes, it started to fly to the direction of the Center. After some minutes, the bird returned with a big fish (black bass, introduced invasive species). There were many Black Kites (Milvus migrans) in the sky and the eagle was surrounded by these kites and also by crows.
The bird perched near its roost and it became invisible from the observing location.
An Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) flew over while waiting the eagle to appear again.
During return to the Center, I saw many Black Kites foraging on paddy fields. I was not sure what they were eating, but they picked up something just like crows do.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), * Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), * Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
* Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
* Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
* Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, *ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ,
コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, *ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
*キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ハマシギ, ユリカモメ, カモメ, *ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, カワセミ, *モズ, ハシボソガラス, ミヤマガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン, シメ
Showa Commemorative National Government Park (Tachikawa & Akishima, Tokyo)
昭和記念公園(東京都 立川市・昭島市)
The original schedule was one day before but it was postponed to the next day because the weather was bad and it was raining cold.
Despite of the bad weather in the day before, it became sunny and warm, and we had a pleasant birding day in December.
The ducks in the pond increased in kinds and numbers. We saw Eurasian Wigeons, Eurasian Teals, a Northern Shoveler and a Great White Egret resting on a littel island, and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Little Grebes, and a Great Crested Grebe swiming in the pond.
I heard a Long-tailed Tit near the pond.
In the forest, we saw a Masked Bunting foraging on the ground, Japanese Tits and a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker forming a flock, and a Daurian Redstart.
Two Japanese Wagtails were flying here and there in the wetland near the pond.
On the trail along the small drying stream, there were many Carrion Crows perching on the pine trees. There was a Grey Wagtail in a small puddle in the dried river. At the end of the trail along the river, three Masked Buntings were busily foraging ignoring us.
We saw neither of Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) nor Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba) that were observed last visit.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, オオタカ, オオバン, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, シメ, アオジ
3-Day Trip in Sado Island (Niigata Prefectures)
佐渡島3日間ツアー(新潟)
Sado is the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Okinawa Island.
This island preserves an important ecological habitat for the Toki (or Japanese Crested Ibis), which nearly became extinct once. Until the mid-19th century, the Toki inhabited several regions in Japan. However, they became extinct in Japan around 1980, over-hunted for their feathers and meat. Attempts at reintroduction through artificial breeding have taken several years, but this effort is finally coming to fruition.
Since 2008, the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Preservation Center started to release the birds as part of its Crested Ibis restoration program In 2014, A crested ibis chick was found in a nest built in the wild, it was the first "third-generation" chick among the endangered birds since Japan began releasing them into the wild in 2008. Now, the estimated population of Toki is 430 as of November 9th, 2019.
This Toki's reproduction program includes the cooperation of local farmers in halving the amount of pesticides used and irrigating water in paddy fields in winter. These efforts provide a good environment for other wild birds.
On the first day, we visited "Toki's terrace" at Kuninaka area just opened after the observation of Tokinomori Park (protection facility for Toki).
On the way to the terrace, we saw several Tokis foraging in the rice fields and an Eastern Buzzard.
At the terrace, we heard calls of a White-backed Woodpecker, which is more common than Great Spotted Woodpecker in this island.
In the evening, we saw a few Tokis coming back to their roosts.
On the second day, we visited Kujikawa Dam in the morning.
Unfortunately, it was raining, however, as soon as we started walking on the forest road, we saw a flock of Eurasian Siskin.
We heard a call of a Japanese Grosbeak at disitance.
At the point where we can look at the dam lake, we saw and heard more than twenty Mandarin Ducks in the lake.
The Mandarin Duck here can be seen until end of December when the nuts for ducks are available in this dam lake.
Then we drove ahead towards Hazikizaki located at the north end of the island via the east coast; Uchikaifu Coast.
Black-tailed Gulls, Slaty-backed Gulls, Vega Gulls, and Japanese Cormorants were observed in some fishing ports and shores along the way.
Hajikizaki has rice fields, grasslands, and shrub forests, and many migratory birds stop by during the spring and autumn migration seasons. Some of them include unexpected rare birds.
At the view point of Futatsugame Rocks, we checked the seabirds from a confortable lobby in the hotel avoiding strong wind and rain outside.
There was a big flock of Mallard nearby the rocks.
On the way back to the city, we saw a big flock of ducks near the coast. Most of them were Northern Pintails, and there were also Eurasian Wigeons, Eurasian Teals, Gadwall, and Baikal Teal.
At Lake Kamo, we observed many waterfowls. There were ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted, Greater Scaup), Great Cormorants, and gulls (Black-tailed, Slaty-backed, Vega).
Originally this was a fresh water lake, but was opened to the sea during the Meiji period to avoid floods, and the water became brackish.
On the third day, we visited "Toki's terrace" again at the dawn to observe Tokis fly from the roosts. It was snowing and sight was not clear, but we saw some Tokis flying in the snow showing their beautiful wings in Toki colour.
We heard the calls of a Green Pheasant, and saw a flock of Eurasian Siskin flying busily around the terrace, too.
Then we visited Niibo Dam to search for the birds in the forest. Unfortunately, the weather was snowy and not good for birding. However, we saw Eurasian Wigeons in the dam lake, a flock of Eurasian Siskin, and a Brown Dipper in the stream.
We tried to find a Solitaly Snipe but did not see.
From the Sado Ryotsu Port to Niigata Port, we took the ferry. We watched the seabird about 2.5 hours on the ferry. We saw Black-tailed Gulls, Slaty-backed Gulls, Vega Gulls, and Black-headed Gull.
Some Black-tailed Gulls flew and received food by hand from a passenger of the ferry.
The birds observed were;
- Kuninaka area (Tokinomori Park, Rice fields, Toki's Terrace):
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal 8Anas crecca),
Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius tokugawae), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- Kujikawa Dam:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
White-bellied Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)?
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- Hazikizaki area (Uchikaifu Coast, Hazikizaki, Futatsugame Rocks):
Gadwall (Mareca strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus),
Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Peregrine (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Dove (Columba livia),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius tokugawae), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- Lake Kamo:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- Niibo Dam:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
- Sado Ferry (from Sado Ryotsu Port to Niigata Port):
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
キジ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ,
トキ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, アオバト?
オオアカゲラ, サドカケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ,
シロハラ, イソヒヨドリ, カワガラス, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
マヒワ, シメ, イカル
Mouth of Yamato River (Osaka Prefecture)
大和川河口(大阪)
In this place, a Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) has been recorded three seasons in a row.
Although I visited here again, the Caspian Tern had not been recorded on five consecutive days.
It was that the tern apparently appears more frequently when the tidal level is low in morning or around noon, when the bird takes a rest in the river.
This tern arrive late in this season and we wondered whether we could see it during its stay.
While waiting for a possible visit of the tern, we watched various gulls.
Although there were not rare gulls, a supposed Mongolian gull (Larus vegae mongolicus), which appeared whitish compared to other vega gulls.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Gadwall (Mareca strepera),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Mongolian Gull (Larus vegae mongolicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
カワウ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
オオバン, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, モンゴルセグロカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ,
ハクセキレイ, ウグイス, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ
Udo River (Aisai, Aichi) Region & Kiso-Nagara Sewari Bank (Aichi/Gifu Prefectures)
鵜戸川(愛知県愛西市)&木曽長良背割堤(愛知県,岐阜県)
We visited the same region as on November 23 following the information of a White-shouldered Starling (Sturnia sinensis).
On the way, we found Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and a Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus).
At the location of the reported starling, there were trees of Japanese persimmon (kaki) and starlings visited and ate them. It was, however, extremely difficult to find a different bird among many White-cheeked Starlings (Spodiopsar cineraceus). We initially gave up and moved around.
We then returned to the original place.
Photographers were still waiting for the White-shouldered Starling, but they saw only a Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris).
We watched for some time and indeed found a Common Starling, but it was distant.
In a paddy field filled with water, a Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) actively foraged.
A Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) flew with its characteristic voice.
We Spent some more time around, but were not be able to find the White-shouldered Starling.
We then moved to Kiso-Nagara Sewari Bank as on November 23.
The species were similar, but this time we saw a flock of Dunlins (Calidris alpina).
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was eating fish just as in one week before.
An Eastern Marsh harrier (Circus spilonotus) also soared.
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
キジ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, カワアイサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ,
カワウ, オオバン, ケリ, タゲリ, ハマシギ, イソシギ, タカブシギ, キジバト, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ,
ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, ヒバリ, ツグミ, シロハラ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, メジロ, ウグイス, ホオジロ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, オオジュリン
Mouth of Kongo River (Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture)
金剛川河口(三重)
We visited here upon information of a Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta).
The bird was foraging in a pond next to the river.
After some tens of minutes, the bird started sleeping. It appeared to be resting, but suddenly started calling and took a short flight over the pond. After then, the bird continuously foraged until we finished observation.
The water in the pond was moderately deep and only long-legged birds could forage in it.
When the tide becomes lower, the bird is said to move to a different location of the river.
Other than this bird, we saw flying Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), but the avocet continued foraging even when these hawks appeared.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
マガモ, ヒドリガモ, オオバン, カワウ, カイツブリ, ダイサギ, ユリカモメ, ソリハシセイタカシギ,
トビ, ミサゴ, オオタカ, ヒバリ, ハクセキレイ, ハシブトガラス, オオジュリン
6-Day Trip in Diamond Route (Ibaraki, Tochigi & Fukushima Prefectures)
ダイアモンド・ルート6日間ツアー(茨城,栃木,福島)
Rocky coast at Hiraiso
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus)
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon) in Oku-Nikko
Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) in Lake Chuzenji
Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii)< nearby Lake Inawashirobr>
Ducks in Lake Inawashiro
Urabandai covered with snow
The "Diamond Route" starts from Tokyo and forms a diamond shape that connects Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture, Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture, and Aizu, Fukushima, and Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture.
This route is close to Tokyo and is relatively easy to visit, and you can observe many wild birds unique to Japan due to the variety of environments such as cultivated land, lakes, sub-alpine mountains and beaches.
On the first day, we visited Inashiki Area in Ibaraki Prefecture together with a member of Ibaraki Chapter of Wild Bird Society Japan (WBSJ).
In this area, there are lotus and rice fields. Many shorebirds stopped by in spring and autumn migratory seasons. Many raptors are observed at the reed fields and the grass fields of reclaimed land in winter.
Furthermore, here is the only one regular wintering site of Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) in Kanto plain.
We visited Ukishima, Nishi-no-su reclaimed land, Amada reclaimed land and Edosaki's goose protection area.
We observed birds such as; Japanese Wagtails, a Japanese Reed Bunting, Meadow Buntings, Eastern Marsh-Harriers, a Hen Harrier, Eastern Buzzards, Northern Lapwings, White-cheeked Starlings, Taiga Bean Geese, etc.
The second site was Lake Hinuma.
This lake is a brackish lake and many waterfowls come in winter. In February, a Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) wintering this field, too.
We saw many ducks (Eastern Spot-billed, Tufted, Greater Scaup), Masked Bunting and a Western Osprey, and heard Japanese Bush Warbler.
On the second day, we visited a rocky coast at Hiraiso near Mito where a member of Ibaraki Chapter of WBSJ adviced to visit.
In this area, we can see sea ducks (Greater Scaup, Harlequin, Black Scoter), Red-breasted Merganser, Slavonian Grebe, and Japanese and Pelagic Cormorants.
We may also be able to see divers floating on the sea far away.
This time, we saw these birds except for divers.
Then, we visited Kairaku-en in Mito City.
Kairakuen Garden is known as one of the three famous gardens in Japan. Kairakuen Garden is famous for its 3,000 plum trees. The Lake Senba, which can be seen in Kairakuen, is also one of the tourist attractions in Mito City.
When we visited, we saw tits (Japanese, Varied), Goldcrest and Daurian redstart, etc.
The next site was Ichikai Town in Tochigi Prefecture where is known as the "Home of Grey-faced Buzzard (Sashiba-no-sato)".
We walked Kannon-yama Ume-no-sato together with a staff of Ichikai Town.
Since the Grey-faced Buzzard had already migrated to the wintering site, there was no Grey-faced Buzzard when we visited. Instead, we observed Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Skylark, Brown-eared Bulbuls, Japanese Wagtail and Grey-capped Greenfinches this time.
Then we drove to Oku-Nikko.
After the sight-seeing in Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, we visited Nikko Botanic Garden.
Nikko Botanical Garden is an institute for research and education of Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo. The main activities of the Botanical Garden have centered on enriching the collections of temperate and alpine plants of Japan and adjacent regions for the purpose of botanical research and education. A total of 2,200 species (130 species of pteridophytes, 70 species of gymnosperms, and 2,000 species of angiosperms) are planted in the garden.
Thanks to many plants and its rich nature such as the forest in highland and small stream, there are many birds as well.
Unfortunately, we arrived just before the closing time of the garden in the late evening, and we could bird only a short time.
On the third day, we walked around Kotoku area near the hotel we stayed.
We saw a mixed flocks of tits (Coal, Willow, Long-tailed) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker at Kotoku Farm.
On the way to Kotoku Marsh, we saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker, an Eurasian Nuthatch, an Eurasian Treecreeper and a few Dusky Thrushes.
At Kotoku Marsh, we searched for Solitary Snipe (Gallinago solitaria japonica), but we did not find it.
Next we visited Lake Yu-no-ko together with a member of Tochigi Chapter of WBSJ, and watched waterfowls for a short time, we moved to Lake Chuzenji to look for the Steller's Sea-Eagle observed in the morning by the WBSJ member.
Unfortunately, the eagle already moved somewhere and we couldn't find it.
Instead, we saw a few Brown Dippers moving around very actively in the stream flowing by the campsite.
Then we visited Yutaki Fall and walked towards Kotaki Fall on the walking trail covered by snow fell the day before. The trail was closed at Kotaki Fall since the trail ahead was damaged by the Super Typhoon in October.
On the way, we searched for Solitaly Snipe, but we could not find it again. We thought this snipe was like a ninja because of the difficulty of finding it.
In the evening and the next morning, we tried to find the Steller's Sea-Eagle at Lake Chuzenji.
Finally, early in the morning of the fourth day, we were able to watch the eagle that flew over the lake and perched on a tree after catching a fish on the opposite bank.
After Nikko, we drove to Lake Inawashiro together with a staff of Fukushima Prefecture.
In the lake, there were many ducks (Mallard, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Tufted) and Smews.
At the dock, there were many Northern Pintails near the shore.
A flock of Bewick's Swan was found a rice field near the lake.
In the morning of the fifth day, we walked the walking trail through Goshiki-numa Lakes.
Sleet mixed snow was falling. When it stopped temporarily, the birds appeared.
We saw woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted, Japanese Green), tits (Japanese, Coal, Varied, Willow), Eurasian Nuthatch, Dusky Thrushs, and a flock of Red Crossbill.
We heard calls of a Japanese Bush-Warbler, too.
In Lake Bishamon, there were many ducks such as Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted, Common Goldeneye, and Smew.
Then we moved to the forest near Kyukamura Urabandai to search for Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) and Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus garrulus), which had been recorded in this area.
Unfortunately we did not encounter these birds. Instead we saw a flock of Eurasian Bullfinch.
*In the next morning, we tried to search for the birds but gave up due to the heavy snow fell during the night.
In the afternoon of the fifth day, we drove to Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle (Tsuruga-jyo).
There were many ducks (Gadwall, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Tufted) in the castle moat.
Two Japanese Green Woodpeckers appeared in the tree at the front of us and showed them very well.
In the evening, we walked in the area of Fukushima Kotori-no-mori.
This forest is a large satoyama located on the hill facing the Abukuma River. The forest consisting of mixed forests and pine forests was once used as a charcoal forest. In the low mountains at an altitude of 80-230m, we can see wild birds such as Narcissus Flycatcher and Japanese Paradise Flycatcher in summer, Dusky Thrush, Daurian Redstart and Eurasian Siskin in winter, and Japanese Woodpecker, Japanese Tit and Varied Tit throughout the year.
Japanese Tits and Varied Tits were frequently visited in the feeder set up at the front of the visitor cevter.
We searched for Long-tailed Rosefinch, which was observed everyday in this field, together with a staff of the center. However it was late evening and not good time to watch this bird.
The birds observed were;
- Ukishima reed field:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Rock Dove (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Black-faced Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Japanese Reed Bunting (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- Nishi-no-su reclaimed land:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- Amada reclaimed land:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- Edosaki's goose protection area:
Taiga Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
- Lake Hinuma:
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-faced Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- rocky coast at Hiraiso:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila nearctica),
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
- Kairaku-en:
Black Swan (Cygnus atratus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- Ichikai Town:
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- Tosho-gu Shrine:
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- Nikko Botanic Garden:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
- Kotoku area:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- Lake Yu-no-ko:
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis)
- Senjo-ga-hara (Yutaki Fall - Kotaki Fall, Akanuma area:
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Lake Chuzenji:
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Buzzard Buteo japonicus japonicus Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Lake Inawashiro:
Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra), ,br> Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis)
- Goshiki-numa trail:
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra japonica)
- Kyukamura Urabandai area & Lake Sobara:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Bullfinch 8Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- Tsurga Castel:
Gadwall (Mareca strepera strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great White Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Peregrine (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awoker),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Fukushima Kotori-no-mori Park & Agano River:
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Black-faced Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オオヒシクイ, コブハクチョウ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, コクチョウ,
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオワシ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, タゲリ, クサシギ, イソシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ,
カケス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, イスカ, ウソ, シメ,
イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, コジュリン
Ukishimagahara Park, Maruhi Nature Park & Suyama ascending road of Mt. Fuji (Shizuoka)
浮島が原公園&丸火自然園&富士山須山登山道(静岡)
In Ukishima Marsh, I saw a Long-billed Dowitcher among ducks.
The ducks were Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail and Northern Shoveler.
I drove around the rice fields in the area, but I found neither of Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) nor Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus).
In Ukishimagahara Park, there were few birds in the field just after the reeds had been mowed. We will be able to expect Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla torquilla) after the mowing.
In Haruhi Nature Park, I waited for birds while having lunch, however only Varied Tits, Japanese Tits and Willow Tits appeared. The Varied Tit stopped on and ate my bread. The bird might think I was a person who feed the birds.
On the Suyama ascending road of Mt. Fuji, I saw a few Yellow-throated Buntings and Rustic Buntings, and many Dusky Thrushes.
On the way back home, I saw a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis) soaring in the sky at Yamakita area.
The birds reported are;
- Ukishimagahara Park:
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Maruhi Nature Park:
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus)
- Suyama ascending route of Mt. Fuji:
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ノスリ, オオバン, オオハシシギ,
カワセミ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イカル,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Udo River (Aisai, Aichi) & Kiso-Nagara Sewari Bank (Aichi/Gifu Prefectures)
鵜戸川(愛知県愛西市)&木曽長良背割堤(岐阜県海津市)
On the way to Sewari Bank, we stopped over at Udo River.
Baikal Teals (Sibirionetta formosa) were observed some days ago, but we did not see the duck. However there were many ducks in the river.
Sewari Bank is located in between Kiso River and Nagara River. This is a very good birding spot with a variety of habits such as river, pine trees, forests of broad-leaf trees, and grass lands, to watch waterfowls, raptors and passerines.
Recently, a Northern Shrike Shrike (Lanius borealis) and a Peregrine Falcon (Peale's) (Falco peregrinus pealei) have been observed in winter.
We did not see these birds this time, but we saw many ducks in the river and some raptors (Osprey, Eastern Buzzards, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Northern Goshawk). We saw a harrier looked like Hen Harrier, too.
The birds observed were;
- Udo River:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Kiso-Nagara Sewari Bank:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ,
カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ,
オオタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, ケリ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Wild Nature Plaza, Kiso Sansen Park (Inazawa, Aichi)
ワイルドネイチャープラザ(愛知県稲沢市)
Lessor Whitethroat, the accidental species in Japan, had been recorded in this site.
When we arrived at the park in the early morning, there were already many birders and photographers.
At a small bush with trees where people were surrounding, we heard and saw a very active Japanese Bush-Warbler but the target bird did not appear for a while.
However, it suddenly come up on the top of the tree. It seemed to eat some small insects on the seeds of the tree. The bird moved inside the tree very quickly and acrobatically like Warbling White-eye, and disappeared into the bush.
After this, a Japanese Bush-Warbler and a Daurian Redstart appeared but the bird did not appear for a while.
When it appeared again, it moved among the trees again and moved to the next bush. Such behavior was repeated several times.
At river side, there were a few buntings such as Meadow, Masked, and a few Long-tailed Rosefinches.
In Kiso River there were many ducks, and a Western Osprey was flying above the river.
On the playground, therre were many Black-backed Wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), White Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lesser Whitethroat (Siberian) (Curruca curruca blythi),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ,
カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ,
オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
コノドジロムシクイ, メジロ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ビンズイ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Yawata-wetlands region and Mt. Garyu, Kitahiroshima (Hiroshima Prefecture)
八幡湿原&臥竜山(広島)
Yawata-wetlands region (elevation about 800m) in Hiroshima Prefecture is a rare place where Pine Buntings (Emberiza leucocephalos) regularly winter.
We visited the most promising site, where these birds are said to forage on paddy fields and rest on trees or electric wires.
Initially there was little sign of birds, but we saw Pine Buntings sometimes perched on electric wires after foraging. They then flew and landed, but it was extremely difficult to find them on the ground.
Later on, more birds appeared and we could see them foraging on paddy fields. We also saw a maximum of nine birds flying in a group, but they flew away to forest.
Thanks to the warm and windless weather, male birds issued various calls when perched, but it was apparently not enough to sing.
We then moved to wetland region with full of grasses and searched a Solitary Snipe (Gallinago solitaria), which was seen on the previous day, but couldn't find it.
Mt. Garyu is located close to this wetland and we could reach close to the summit by car (elevation about 1100m). This forest is primarily of beech trees.
Voice of birds was not abundant due to the late season and high elevation, but we could hear an Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea). Fortunately, the bird came closer to us and we could glimpsed the bird moving between branches.
We then moved to Ozaki-dani wetland, where a small dam lake surrounded by forests is present.
Plants characteristic to high altitude moorlands are present.
Ducks were not abundant, but we could hear and see various forest birds.
There was a mixed flock of tits, mainly consisting of Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus) and some Goldcrests (Regulus regulus).
We could also record the voice of a Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) distantly.
Although Pine Buntings winter here, it is said to be almost impossible to find them when the land is covered with snow (this region has heavy snowfall, hosting a number of ski resorts).
The best observing season is late November.
When the snow thaws in March, Pine Buntings in summer plumages are said to be seen, but they disappear rather quickly.
List of species:
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Pine Bunting (Emberiza leucocephalos),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
コガモ, ヒドリガモ, オオバン, キジバト, トビ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, コゲラ,
モズ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, エナガ,
ゴジュウカラ, キクイタダキ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, シラガホオジロ,
マヒワ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, ベニマシコ, シメ, イスカ
Showa Commemorative National Government Park (Tachikawa & Akishima, Tokyo)
昭和記念公園(東京都 立川市・昭島市)
Formerly this place was a Japanese military airbase and in the postwar era operated by the US military. Then, it turned into a park as part of a project to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Showa emperor.
This park is very huge and there are ponds, forests, wide lawn, flower gardens, marshs, museums and sports facilities.
In the pond, ducks were resting on the grassland of the small island, and a Little Grebe and a Great Crested Grebe were swimming leisurely.
In the forest, Japanese Tits and Honshu White-eyes were moving inside trees, and a Masked Bunting was moving with whisper calls inside bush.
On the open grassland, many Grey-capped Greenfinches were foraging.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ,
キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I visited here again expecting that wintering birds had increased in number.
It was a calm day in contrast to the previous visits in this season, and I could see and hear many passerine birds, especially Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) and Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus).
They were actively foraging just in front of me and I could hear their calls loudly.
The Long-tailed Rosefinch is famous for its strong wing beats and I could hear this sound, too.
Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus) were seen either calling or issuing subsong.
Relatively early in the morning, two Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) appeared as they were mobbed by crows. Probably due to the calm weather, these harriers were not seen as frequently as in previous visits.
Other raptors were absent in the sky probably due to the windless condition.
The ducks in the lake had not increased much, and they were more distant than in my previous visits in this season.
Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) were seen relatively abundantly.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
カワウ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, オナガガモ, オカヨシガモ, ホシハジロ,
オオバン, タゲリ, トビ, チュウヒ, カワセミ, モズ, ヒバリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
多々良沼(群馬)
Tatara Marsh
Smew (Mergellus albellus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides) & Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) & Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii)
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
; photo by R.Kinomura
There were many ducks and Great Crested Grebes in the water.
Two Smews were also seen.
At the shore, there were a flock of shorebirds (Dunlins, Common Greenshanks, Spotted Redshank, Long-billed Dowitcher), a Red-necked Stint, and a Little Ringed Plover.
At Gaba-numa Pond nearby, swans, the winter messenger, had come back this field. There were Whooper Swans and Tundra Swans.
Three Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana) had been observed one week ago were not seen this time.
The birds observed were;
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii/Cygnus bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (arcticola) (Calidris alpina arcticola,
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus), ,br> White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ,
カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン,
コチドリ, オオハシシギ, ツルシギ, アオアシシギ, トウネン, キタアラスカハマシギ, キジバト, コゲラ,
カケス, ミヤマガラス, メジロ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Itakura paddy field & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉たんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus) & Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Reed field of Watarase Retarding Basin after submerged
As soon as we arrived at the paddy field in Itakura Town, we saw a Merlin perching on an electrical wire. The bird stayed there for a while, then flew low over the harvested rice field. Birds in the rice field were surprised by the sudden appearance of the raptor and were flying around.
There was a Chestnut-eared Bunting in a bush of reed, and a Brown-cheeked Rail in a small water channel.
We searched for Eastern Marsh-Harrier and Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), but we found some Eastern Buzzards only.
There was a big flock of crow. They were Rooks and Daurian Jackdaws.
In the Watarase Retarding Basin, most of the area was prohibited to enter due to the construction to recover the damages by Super Typhoon "Hagibis". Thus, we could hardly visit the birding spots in the field.
Probably because the typhoon submerged the entire recreation area, there were few birds in the field, and we saw only one Eastern Marsh-Harrier whose number shoud be increased more in the ordinary year.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca creccaresti),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (East Siberian) (Falco columbarius insignis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
クイナ, オオバン, タシギ, キジバト, アカゲラ, モズ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
エナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ,
シメ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ
Mt. Mizugaki (Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture) & Near Lake Suwa (Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture)
瑞牆山(北杜市,山梨)&諏訪湖近辺(岡谷,長野)
In Hokkaido, it was covered with the strongest cold air and it was snowstorm, but the weather at the sites we visited was sunny and calm.
At Mt. Mizugaki, the forest was full of autumn leaves, and the contrast between the white rocks of the mountain, the blue sky and the autumn leaves was very beautiful.
When we started walking on the forest road at the foothill of Mt. Mizugaki, we met a flock of tits. The dominant of the flock was Willow Tit, and some other tits (Coal, Varied) and Eurasian Tree-Creepers were moving together.
Dusky Thrushes and crows gathered at the wild grapes.
In Lake Mizugaki, there were some ducks (Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Mandarin). The Mandarin Ducks were staying in the shadow under the tree at the lake side, and it was difficult to see them.
In the afternoon we walked Enrei, which is located at in the corner of the Yatsugatake center Plateau National Park.
This field is located on a plateau 1,000m above sea level and is also known as the home of over 100 varieties of wild birds.
As soon as we started walking, we found a Pallas' Rosefinch perching on the top of a tree. Also there were tits (Varied, Coal, Japanese) moving very actively.
The flocks of Eurasian Siskin and Brambling were also seen.
We heard loud calls of Red Crossbills. We searched for the birds but they flew away without appearance front of us.
The birds we observed are;
at the foothill's forest of Mt. Mizugaki
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)?
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
at Lake Mizugaki
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus)Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus)
at Enrei
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Pallas' Rosefinch (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi),
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オシドリ, マガモ, , カルガモ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ハイタカ, オオバン, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
アトリ, マヒワ, オオマシコ, イスカ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Lake Izu-Numa and Kabukuri-Numa Marsh (Miyagi Prefecture)
伊豆沼&蕪栗沼(宮城)
We visited this location upon information of a rare goose.
Although we couldn't see that goose, we could enjoy this "sacred ground" of geese.
We first visited paddy fields near Lake Izu-Numa and saw a huge flock of geese, mainly Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) and some Taiga Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) and Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris).
They were foraging in a large group and suddenly flew as a vehicle passed nearby.
The voice of a large flying flock was loud enough to overwhelm the noise of the vehicle.
We then visited paddy fields near Kabukuri-Numa Marsh.
There were also the same types of geese as in Lake Izu-Numa locations, but could not find the rare species.
We then returned to a different part of paddy fields near Lake Izu-Numa, where geese are expected.
Among these geese, we fortunately met a small flock of Aleutian Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia).
We found a total of seven birds foraging on paddy fields.
We then moved to a different location where a Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens) was spotted earlier on this day.
At somewhat different location (different individual?) we found a Snow Goose. It was initially sleeping and was difficult to find. While we were observing this bird, it started foraging and then slept again.
We returned to the location where we spotted Aleutian Cackling Geese.
The birds were not where we spotted them, but there were a number of geese around. Some of them already started moving as the Sun declined.
We found Aleutian Cackling Geese standing on a ridge between paddy fields. They were ready to move and started to the sky.
List of species (very incomplete since we mainly watched geese):
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
Taiga Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris), Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus), Aleutian Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
マガン, ヒシクイ, オオヒシクイ, ハクガン, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アオサギ, オオバン,
トビ, アカゲラ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ウグイス, ヒヨドリ, 他
Downstream & Mouth of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流&河口(神奈川)
The Sakawa River runs through the Sakawa Lowland in the western region of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Hakone Volcano to the west and the Oiso Hills to the east and flows into Sagami Bay.
Sakawa River mainstream and tributary Karikawa were heavily damaged by Super Typhoon "Hagibis". The grasslands that spread along the river were swept away by the torrent and turned into a gravel fields.
There were fewer passerine birds in the small grassland left.
Instead there were many waterfowls.
Especially there were big flocks of Black-headed Gulls, Great White Egrets (A.a.alba) and Great Cormorants. Black-headed Gulls and Great White Egrets may stay and winter at this field.
There were a few Common Mergansers, one of the regular wintering species there.
The number of ducks at the weir was yet small but there were the most of regular wintering species (Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Teal, Falcated Duck). There was one hybrid of Eurasian Wigeon and American Wigeon among the flock of Eurasian Wigeon.
The birds obserbed (* recorded by another birder) are;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eurasian Wigeon x American Wigeon (Mareca penelope x Mareca americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Western Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba alba),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), *Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コブハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヒドリガモxアメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン,
イソシギ, *ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ,
シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Lake Inba-numa Area (Chiba)
印旛沼付近(千葉)
Red Crossbills (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica) and Two-barred Crossbill/White-winged Crossbill (Eurasian) (Loxia leucoptera bifasciata) were observed the day before and we visited the park to look for these birds.
When we arrived the park, there were already many birders and photographers, but nobody had found the birds.
There were many pine trees in the vast area of the park. We walked around the park and searched for the birds in those pine trees carefully, however we could not find them.
Instead, there were some Eurasian Siskins, Goldcrests and Coal Tits which are not common in the lowland in Kanto Plain.
This seemed a good sign that many winter birds will come in this winter.
Since the target birds were not found, we moved to Lake Inba-Numa.
In the lake, there were ducks but the number of them was not many and were at the far distance. We saw Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Black-necked Grebes, and Great Crested Grebes nearby, but It was difficult to identify the species of ducks far away.
There was "Kanta-kun", the Great White Pelican, as usual.
The birds observed are;
- at Boso-no-Mura Park:
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius)<
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
- at Lake Inba-Numa:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
マガモ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, モモイロペリカン, カワウ, ミサゴ, ハイタカ, オオバン,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, キクイタダキ, ビンズイ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
The lowest temperature of the day was below 10 degrees Celsius in Tokyo area, the coldest in this autumn.
The field was deserted after the typhoons and floods, the birds in the river bed was still small in number. However, I saw a few Meadow Buntings and a Eurasian Skylark, the residents in this field, which might survived in the disasters.
Although the number is still small, various kinds of winter birds have arrived in this field, too.
I saw a Hawfinch in the trees, a few Masked Buntings, Rustic Buntings, and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipits in the grasslands, and ducks (Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeons, Common Pochards, Tufted, Eurasian Teals) and a Great Crested Grebe in the river.
The number of raptors increased, too. There were a Northern Goshawk hiding in a tree, two Common Kestrels in the sky, and several Bull-headed Shrikes in the riverbed.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
I visited here again to see what kind of winter and passing birds were there. It was cloudy in the morning but quickly became fine. The weather became cloudy as time passed. As expected, I could not see a Japanese yellow bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) this time. When it is fine in Nakaikemi Wetland, passerine birds often flew high above the Wetland and don't perch on trees frequently. The day was a typical for such fine weather. I could hear and see flying long-tailed rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus), common reed buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), rustic buntings (Emberiza rustica), but they were difficult to image. Only around noon, when the weather became cloudy, I saw perched birds more frequently. The voice was, however, abundant and there were many long-tailed rosefinches all the way around, and some of them were apparently in conflict with others. Buntings of various kinds were also present in a large number. I could see only one Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri). During my visits in the past week, I could hear narcissus flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina) in various locations, but I couldn't hear one this time. The only late passing bird was a Kamchatka leaf warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus). Raptos became more prominent. I saw an Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), harassing ducks in the pond, and crows and jays became noisy. I saw an eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus) perched on the same electric tower as in my the last visit. This individual may have already been wintering here. A western osprey (Pandion haliaetus) also flew above the Wetland.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カルガモ, クイナ, トビ, ミサゴ, ノスリ, アオゲラ, コゲラ, キジバト, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, ツグミ, シロハラ, イソヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, エナガ,
メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, カワラヒワ, シメ, アトリ, イカル, マヒワ, ベニマシコ,
カシラダカ, アオジ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Lake Teganuma (Chiba)
手賀沼(千葉)
Lake Teganuma is a fresh water lake located at the west of Tokyo.
This lake is surrounded by new houses most of which were built in the 60's to 80's under the rapid development as a bedroom for workers commuting to the Tokyo metropolitan area. After development of this area, this lake was ranked as the worst populated lake in Japan by household wastwater.
Since 2001 the local government has made Lake Teganuma the focus of a municipal promotion campaign on the theme of "Birds and people living in harmony in Abiko, on beautiful Lake Teganuma." Lake Teganuma was designated as a targeted lake under on the Law Concerning Special Measures for Conservation of Lake Water Quality, and both the national and prefectural governments set out to implement comprehensive lake purification measures, including improvements to the local sewage system.
Accordingly, the lake was liberated from its long-time burden of having the country's worst water quality.
At nearby the lake, there is a bird museum named Abiko City Museum of Birds. This is the only museum related to bird studies and exhibition in Japan under the theme "Harmony among Birds and People!". Visitors can see specimens the extinct species in Japan such as Crested Shelduck (Tadorna cristata), RyuKyu Kingfisher (Todiramphus miyakoensis).
I started walking from Kita-Kashiwa Station. I walked along Ohori River. There were Mute Swans foraging on the walking path, a Daurian Redstart and a Bull-headed Shrike singing on trees, a flock of White-cheeked Starling in the sky, and many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Little Grebes and some Common Coots in the river.
I saw small number but many kinds of waterfowls (Eurasian Teal, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe) in the lake.
There were some Black-headed Gulls and a Vega Gull, too.
In the reed field, there were some Meadow Buntings singing. Masked Bunting was also there hidden in the reeds.
There were many Great Cormorants and Eurasian Teals resting in the biotope.
There were also Common Moorhens and Little Grebes.
After birding, I visited the venue of Japan Bird Festival that was held on that day
The birds observed are;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コブハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン, オオバン, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I visited Lake Nishinoko on two days. Both days were initially windy and I couldn't find many passerine birds.
The weather became fine on the first day as time passed, but passerine birds were already inactive.
On the second day, the wind increased as time passed, and it was the day of the "first Kogarashi" -- the first winter wind of the year.
Even raptors stopped acting and I quit birding earlier than scheduled.
Probably due to the high temperature in this fall, the ducks were not yet abundant and were only seen relatively distantly.
Wintering passerine birds had arrived, such as Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) and Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus). Although their voice was heard, they were difficult to image. I imaged a Common Reed Bunting in flight. It probably take some time before these birds appear more abundantly and are seen during foraging.
There were, however, many Daurian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) and some of them were competing each other.
At least two Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) had already arrived and I could see them well particularly on the first day. As an Eastern Marsh Harrier flew over ducks, these ducks were flushed and often flew around for a certain time. This situation was repeated during hunting of the harrier.
One the second day, I managed to image a closely flying Eastern Marsh Harrier. The bird had a filled crop and probably enjoyed flying in the strong wind. After this bird disappeared, I saw no sign of raptors.
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was also frequently seen on the first day. It was then seen perched on a pole in the lake.
I also saw a quickly flying Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) toward the trees.
I saw a white-looking Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus). I wondered a bit whether it might have been a rare Buteo species, but turned out to be a whitish individual of Buteo japonicus.
List of species:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit(Anthus rubescens),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
アオサギ, カワウ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ,
オオバン, クイナ, タゲリ, ユリカモメ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, ハイタカ, チョウゲンボウ, カワセミ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ヒバリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, オオムシクイ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ツリスガラ,
アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
River Nogawa (Tokyo)
野川(東京)
There is a 10-20 m cliff line, known as Kokubunji-gaisen, in Musashino, Tokyo. River Nogawa flows along this cliff line. The slopes and the top of the cliff are dotted with copse and there is a spring at the base of the cliff. The spring water makes a small stream and flows in the urban area. Though the river is surrounded by the housing area, this provides a rich nature environment such as Musashino Park (Musashino-Koen) and Nogawa Park (Nogawa-Koen).
In the park, Warbling White-eye and tits (Japanese, Varied) were forming flocks and moving busily in the trees.
In the river in the parks, there were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
In the Osawa area, the flow was a slightly bigger, and the aquatic plants prpspered well. There were a Garganey and two Common Moorhens. This Garganey is visiting here every year.
The day I visited was the first day of the three consecutive holidays, and the river and park became crowded with many vacationers near the noon.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]), Garganey (Spatula querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
マガモ, カルガモ, マルガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, コサギ, カワウ, バン, オオバン,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
We wanted to see how many winter birds have arrived.
This site was also damaged by Super Typhoon "Hagibis". The forest road to Hayatogawa Bridge was closed due to the landslip, and we should start to walk from Miyagase Lake-side Park. The walking path, Hayatogawa Rindo, was also damaged with some earth and sand or broken tree trunks and branches that flowed from the mountain streams.
The lake water was muddy and the water surface was covered with driftwoods.
We saw a couple of Crested Kingfisher. It seemed that they lost their usual safe place and were not able to find a place to relax.
Jays flew over the sky many times. Some had nuts. Is it ready for winter?
As the winter birds, we saw a lot of Daurian Redstarts and a few Masked Buntings.
It might be necessary to wait another few weeks for the other winter birds, such as Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) or Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus).
We saw a Narcissus Flycatcher, summer bird, still remained.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
マガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, アオバト, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ,
メジロ, ミソサザ, ジョウビタキ, キビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
The condition of the river bed was worse than the last visit just after Super Typhoon "Hagibis". The grasslands and trees which had been barely left after the typhoon were further damaged or lost by the heavy rain one week ago.
As I was worry last visit, I saw neither of Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis), Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica), Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps) (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps), nor Tree Sparrow in the grassland.
Thanks to elimination of obstracles or bushes, it was easy to find Common Kingfishers. They gathered around a large new puddle.
In the puddle, a few Little Greves also gathered.
There were a few Bull-headed Shrikes and wagtailes (White, Japanese) around the puddle, too.
Suddenly, one Northern Goshawk jumped out of a tree and attacked a White Wagtail. But the hunt failed, the prey fled, and the goshawk was again hidden in the original tree.
In the nettle tree (Celtis sinensis) on the bank, Azure-winged Magpies, Brown-eared Bulbuls, and Japanese Tits gathered to eat its berries.
There were many egrets (Grey Heron, Great White, Little), and Great Cormorants as usual.
I saw some ducks newly such as Eurasian Wigeons, Mallards, Northern Pintails, and Eurasian Teal.
There was a small flock of Greater Scaup. They flew away soon. They might had stopped over on the way to the wintering place.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
Since this bird has already been staying for about a week since October 22, I went to the site with anxiety that it might have moved away.
Upon arrival, it was high tide and the shorebirds perched on the offshore piles and nets.
Most of them are Dunlin, and there were Sanderlings, Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwit among them.
There were a lot of Greater Scaups floating offshore. A local birder found a Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter (Siberian) (Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri/Melanitta stejnegeri), which is a regular winter visitor in this field the day before, however I did not see it.
A huge flock of Great Cormorant flew the offshore, too.
When the tide gradually lowered and the tidal flat appeared and spread, the rested shorebirds came down to the tidal flat.
Then gulls and oystercatchers came to the tidal flat, too. However, the Caspian Tern did not appear.
After some time, the photographers started to move busily. The Caspian Tern appeared at last.
I could see the bird very closely and recognized its size very well.
The birds observed are;
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
スズガモ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, オニアジサシ, カワラバト, キジバト, モズ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden & Daiza-hoshi Pond (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市戸隠森林植物園&大座法師池(長野)
The weather forecast until the previous day was cloudy, but it gradually changed to worse, and it was possible to be rainy before the noon.
So, we arrived at the site early in the morning before it got brighter.
The main road in the garden was closed due to aging of the wood paths, and we should make a long detour to reach the garden's central part.
On the way, we found several creeper plants (Euonymus fortune) with red berries, that is one of favorite foods for Mugimaki Flycatchers, and there were a few Mugimaki Flycatchers and Willow Tits. However, it was dark or misty, we could not see them well.
After it turned bright, we looked for the flycatchers again, but this time they did not come.
We saw many thrushes (Dusky, Eyebrowed) formed flocks, and were eating berries at the canopy of the forest ,or were flying sky.
A flock of Japanese Grosbeak was very active in the early morning.
We saw many Wood Nuthatches actively moving in the forest.
Woodpeckers (White-backed, Great Spotted, Japanese Pygmy) were also very active.
At noon, it started rain. We left the garden and moved to the camping site. We saw a Mugimaki Flycatcher and a White-backed Woodpecker eating berries of Euonymus fortune there.
At Daiza-hoshi Pond in Iizuna Town, there were many ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard). This is the first time I saw such a big number of ducks in this pond. They might have lost the habitats and gathered at this pond due to the flood of Chikuma River by the typhoon.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
White-backed Woodpecker (stejnegeri) (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (japonica) (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, クマタカ, オオバン,
コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, マミチャジナイ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ムギマキ, アトリ, マヒワ, イカル
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
I visited here on two days in a row. On the first day, the weather was mostly cloudy (under a weak front) but it was warm. On the second day, it was also cloudy in the morning but soon became fine. It became somewhat windy later in the observation.
There were full of Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and Meadow Buntings (Emberiza cioides) on the first day, but Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata) still remained. There appears to have been a wave of migration on the first day and I saw a male Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus) first time in this season.
This bird sang a bit thanks to the warm weather.
Another noteworthy sighting was an Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla). I also heard the voice of this species at times from the vast wetland.
Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) also increased in number.
On the second day, Black-faced Buntings became less apparent and Meadow Buntings greatly decreased in number.
Probably thanks to this decrease, I could see Japanese Yellow Buntings more frequently than on the first day. They, however, were only active before 9:30 a.m. and there were only limited activity of buntings after then (as the Sun rose and it became somewhat windy).
Later it became a watching day of migratory raptors. (This location is next to the well-known hawk watching point Mt. Tezutsu in Fukui Prefecture).
Probably due to the poor weather on the previous days, there were a number of Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) appearing above the wetland. One of them perched on the electric tower and even searched prey around it. This bird appeared to spend some time around this wetland during migration.
Later on, a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) appeared and also flew to the west. This bird was mobbed by a Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis).
Even later, I saw a flock of White-bellied Green Pigeons (Treron sieboldii), which might also be migratory.
I could hear Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina) in various places, but didn't hear Kamchatka Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus examinandus) as was usually present in this season.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis), White-bellied Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki)?
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カイツブリ, マガモ, カルガモ, クイナ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, ノスリ, オオタカ, ツミ, アオゲラ, コゲラ,
モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ, キビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, ツグミ,
ウグイス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, エナガ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス,
ヒヨドリ, ムギマキ? カワラヒワ, シメ, アトリ, イカル, ベニマシコ, ノジコ, カシラダカ, アオジ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
It was almost the end of the migration of the seabirds. Most of the shorebirds observed were the wintering species.
A rarity bird appeared since the day before. It is very big tern like Black-tailed Gull; Caspian Tern.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Kamtchatka) (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)
ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オニアジサシ
Mouth & Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Hiratsuka & Zama, Kanagawa)
相模川河口＆中流域(平塚&座間,神奈川)
After Super Typhoon "Hagibis" struck one week ago, terns had been recorded at the mouth of the river.
When I reached there, there were gulls on the breakwater and beach.
I looked for the terns among them.
Then I found a Whiskered Tern flying.
Also I found a Gull-billed Tern resting on the breakwater. The Gull-billed Tern repeated flying on the water and stopping on the waterbreak.
Since the target birds were seen in the rmouth, I moved to the middle-reaches of the river.
I expected to see the birds which had been observed by the local birder such as;
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata) and Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri).
Unfortunately, I could not find them.
The river bed was seriously damaged by the typhoon.
I am afraid that this affects the habitats of birds and other animals.
In the river and river bed, I only saw several Grey Herons and Great Cormorants.
On the river bank, there were many Bull-headed Shrikes calling loudly on the top of trees.
Two Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers were chasing each other.
In the vegetable fields near the river, there were some flocks of Eurasian Skylark flying busily.
Surprisingly, a Barn Swallow was still flying.
Two Golden Plovers flew and landed on a nearby harvested rice field, but immediately flew away.
Two male Common Kestrels were flying and keeping each other in check.
The birds observed are;
- at mouth of Sagami River
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica affinis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida)
- at middle-reaches of Sagami River
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica)?
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ムナグロ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ハシブトアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ,
カワラバト, キジバト, アリスイ? コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
There are two (known to us) trees of Ternstroemia gymnanthera in the Kyoto Imperial Garden and they are known to attract flycatchers and other birds when they bear berries.
One of them was severely damaged by the typhoon in the last year and is no longer a suitable place for watching birds. The other was also damaged and didn't bear berries in the last season.
After a year, we expected whether the berries survive and again attract birds.
When I arrived, I was rather surprised to hear the high density of voice of Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina). They soon appeared and plucked berries by hawking.
Two years ago I saw a Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki) here. I expected it might have been again, but I could only saw Narcissus Flycatchers.
The other birds visiting here include Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), which have markedly increased in number on these days.
I couldn't hear Kamchatka Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus examinandus) which were frequently met in the previous year.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ,
スズメ, エナガ, メジロ, キビタキ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, シメ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市戸隠森林植物園(長野)
A birder from Osaka and I visited Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden, expecting migrant birds, Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki) and Eye-browed Thrush (Turdus obscurus).
Fortunately, even after the severe typhoon attacked at Nagano city, Togakushi seemed to be no damaged.
At this season, in Togakushi, we could watch migrants and winter visitors as well as residents in highland. The red and yellow foliage in autumn also was enjoyable.
Red berries of a creeper plant, Euonymus fortune is one of favorite foods for Mugimaki Flycatchers, and we could observe males and females of them around the trees.
It should be noticed that the birds were always accompanied by mixed flocks of Tits and Nuthatches.
Some Eye-browed Thrushes fed on black berries of an amur cork tree (probably Phellodendron amurense, but not clearly identified).
On the same tree we also spotted a flock of Dusty Thrushes (Turdus naumanni). It was likely that Thrushes were attracted by the black berries.
List of species:
Northern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Willow Tit (Parus montanus), Varied Tit (Parus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zesterops japonicas),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris),
Eye-browed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus naumanni),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
カルガモ, カイツブリ，アオゲラ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，ハシブトガラス，コガラ，ヤマガラ，
シジュウカラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ゴジュウカラ，キバシリ，キビタキ，
マミチャジナイ，アカハラ，ツグミ，ムギマキ，キビタキ，ホオジロ，カシラダカ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
We had another typhoon passing south to us and it was rainy and windy at night.
I visited here again without much expectation.
Upon arrival, it was fine.
I initially saw a number of Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and I felt that the season was already too late to expect Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata).
Contrary to this poor expectation, there were many Japanese Yellow Buntings and some of them perched on the most visible tree in the wetland and took a long rest after they foraged on the ground.
I estimated that the numbers of Japanese Yellow Buntings and Black-faced Buntings were nearly equal.
There were also Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) and when this bird and a Japanese Yellow Bunting perched together, the lanky build of the Japanese Yellow Bunting was apparent.
There was again an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) circling high in the blue sky.
There were also many Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri) and I could fully enjoy these birds for the initial two hours.
The rain probably brought these birds in a large number.
After then the weather became windy and cloudy, and the activity of buntings remarkably reduced.
I moved to the banding location and found many birds trapped in the mist nest.
The banders collected them and nearly half of birds were Japanese Yellow Buntings. According to them, such a peak of migration of this species was rather late.
In any case, we were eased by the number of this species after a remarkably small one in the last year.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カルガモ, ダイサギ, カワウ, クイナ, トビ, ノスリ, アオゲラ, アカゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
キビタキ, コサメビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, シメ, アトリ, ノジコ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Ikenokouchi Moor (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
池河内湿原(福井県敦賀市)
Since the condition for passerines became less favorable in Nakaikemi Wetland, we moved to Ikenokouchi Moor.
Soon after our arrival, we saw a soaring Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis). The bird was sometimes mobbed by a Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) but soared high and flew away.
We enjoyed this show for some minutes.
The weather condition (fine and some wind) was apparently favorable for raptors and we saw many Black Kites (Milvus migrans) in the sky.
There suddenly appeared a Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) over the mountain ridge and approached us alternately flapping wings and then soaring. This was also likely a migratory individual.
Japanese Green Woodpeckers (Picus awokera) were calling from several locations.
We also saw a Coal Tit (Periparus ater) on the top of the tree.
Several Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius japonicus) flew across the sky.
The season was probably a bit early for main visitors (winter birds) of the Moor.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
トビ, クマタカ, ツミ, アオゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, ウグイス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, エナガ,
メジロ, ハシブトガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, イカル, ホオジロ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿原(福井県敦賀市)
This season is the peak migration of Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata) and Nakaikemi Wetland is a famous stopover location of this species.
In this season, however, the previous weekend was ruined by a strong typhoon and this was my first visit in this season.
The day was following a passing cold front on the previous day. It was warm in the morning with some sunlight, but became windy later.
Although the observing condition was not very favorable, we could see a number of migratory birds.
The number of the Japanese Yellow Bunting was higher than in the last season and we could see them falling from the sky to the ground for foraging.
They were very difficult to image. On a single occasion, a bird perched on the tree and we have managed to obtain photos.
According to the banders, the peak migration of the Japanese Yellow Bunting was a one or two days before. The weather on the previous day was forecasted to be rainy and I could not visit here around the peak.
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) were quite numerous and we could see them everywhere. Some of them were issuing calls, probably against different individuals of this species.
Near the banding location, the banders saw an Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) perched on a tree for a long time in early morning, probably when we were watching Japanese Yellow Buntings. We could hear suspected voice of this wryneck during our later observation of buntings.
Wintering birds, such as Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) or thrushes had not arrived in a large number and we could hardly hear them.
There were, however, a number of Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni) flying and calling.
During the observation, I saw a soaring Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), probably in migration.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カルガモ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオゲラ, アカゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
アリスイ, キビタキ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, ウグイス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, ノジコ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, シメ, オオジュリン
Hegura Island (Ishikawa)
舳倉島(石川)
One concern is the access to the island. Only ship is the means of transportation to the island.
The public ship named "Megumi" is regularly in operation, but because of its size as 98 tons, it does not operate in the conditions either of more than 2m wave or more than 10 m/s wing. Therefore, the possibility of cancellation is very high.
On the other hand, if the weather is good and the ship operates, migratory birds pass through without stopping over the island.
The birding trip in Hegura Island is a big challenge especially in autumn when typhoons hit Japan.
Fortunately, the departure date was calm this time and the ship sailed without problems.
We stayed for 3 nights in one of two Japanese guest haouses which are the only lodgings in the island.
When arriving, there were many buntings (Yellow-throated, Rustic, Pine), Dusky Thrushes, Japanese Skylarks (pekinensis), siskins (Eurasian, Common Redpoll) on the lawn square near the port, and Daurian Redstarts, Warbling White-eyes, Grey-capped Greenfinches (kawarahiba) in the surrounding grasslands.
According to birders who have been staying a few days ago, the number of birds has decreased, but we felt it was still very large.
We put our luggage at the guest house and walked around the coast of the island.
On the coast and breakwaters, there were many Black-tailed Gulls and immature Slaty-backed Gulls, but there were only a few other birds; such as Blue Rock Thrushes, Grey herons, White Wagtails, Rooks, Dusky Thrushes, Olive-backed Pipit, Northern Pintail, Grey Plover.
On the coastal rocky area, a strayed Desert Wheatear which had been observed since a few days ago, was attracting many photographers and birders.
Then, we walked inside the forest that spreads out in the center of the island. There were huge numbers of Daurian Redstarts, White-eyes and Goldcrests everywhere.
Eyebrowed Thrushes, Dusky Thrushes, Red-flanked Bluetail, Japanese Bush Warbblers were lurking on the narrow passages.
We expected to see leaf warblers, however we did not see.
Instead we saw a Japanese Waxwing.
In the next morning, the member seemed almost same as the day before. A birder saw two Long-tailed Rosefinches and a Siberian Accentor, but we did not see them.
At the front of another guest house, we saw two Naumann's Thrushes.
In the evening, the weather became worse and finally it began to rain. That time, on the roadside, a large number of Coal Tits which just arrived gathered at the seeds of the grasses. Some birders saw the fallout of birds.
In the morning of the third day, the rain stopped.
The number of Coal Tit and Japanese Tit increased a lot. We saw them everywhere in the island.
The numbers of Brown-eared Bulbul, Pale Thrush, Masked Bunting, and Grey Bunting also increased.
A small number of leaf warblers such as Kamchatka and Yellow-browed) were found.
However, in the afternoon, the number of birds, such as Daurian Redstart and Goldcrest that were seen everywhere on the first day, was steadily decreasing.
In the evening, we saw a Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea), Asian Stubtails, and Red Crossbill (Japanese) in the forest.
On the last day, the weather was calm and the operation of the ship was guaranteed. We started birding until the departure time of the ship.
The number of birds decreased day by day, but there were still many Coal Tits. Japanese Wood-Pigeons and Great Spotted Woodpecker were very active and we saw them several times in the forest.
We saw a Short-eared Owl flying above the forest, too.
There was information that a Siberian Accentor was found on the shore, and we went to the site. Fortunately, we found the bird on the rock but it flew soon.
On the ship heading to Wajima, we saw some Streaked Shearwaters near the uninhabited island.
The birds observed are;
- in Hegura Island (* recorded by other birders)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), *Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
*Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), *Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Siberian) (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), *Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nominate) (Columba janthina janthina),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus)?
Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Rook (pastinator) (Corvus frugilegus pastinator), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (pekinensis) (Alauda arvensis pekinensis/Alauda japonica pekinensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
*Dusky Warbler (Common) (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-ey (Zosterops japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus), *Common Starling (Siberian) (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
*Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
*Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti oreophila),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Siberian Accentor (Western) (Prunella montanella loskoti),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (kawarahiba) (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus), Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea),
*Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Red Crossbill (Japanese) (Loxia curvirostra japonica),
Eurasian Bullfinch (rosacea) (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Pine Bunting (Western) (Emberiza leucocephalos leucocephalos), Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), *Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina),
*Lapland Longspur (coloratus)/Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus coloratus)
- on the boat between Wajima Port and Hegura Is.
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, *コガモ, *ホシハジロ, *キンクロハジロ,
オオミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, クロサギ, ウミウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, ノスリ,
ムナグロ, ダイゼン, ヤマシギ, タシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, カラスバト, キジバト, アオバト,
ホトトギス? コミミズク, アカゲラ, ハシブトアカゲラ, モズ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, オオヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, *ムジセッカ, キマユムシクイ, オオムシクイ,
キクイタダキ, メジロ, ムクドリ, *ホシムクドリ, *クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, ハチジョウツグミ, ツグミ,
*コマドリ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, サバクヒタキ, イソヒヨドリ, ヤマヒバリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニヒワ, *ベニマシコ, イスカ, アカウソ, シメ, イカル, シラガホオジロ, ホオジロ,
ホオアカ, *コホオアカ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ, オオジュリン, *ツメナガホオジロ
Awashima Island, Niigata
粟島(新潟)
Awashima is an island located at the north of the Japan Sea. This island is one of the birder's hot spots in Japan with rich migrating birds traveling from south to north or vise versa along with the islands in the Japan Sea.
Some of them are the Siberian continental species which are very rare in Japan.
In the spring and fall, many birders visit this island.
I walked two rounds on the east coast of the island from Makidaira at the north-end to Amashima Cattle Farm at the south carrying a camera and a spotting scope. I was tired.
There were abundant number of Eurasian Siskin and Rustic Bunting everywhere in the island, and the next most were Yellow-throated Bunting and Daurian Redstart.
While looking at the Eurasian Siskin foraging seeds of a pinecone, I occasionally saw Common Redpoll and Goldcrest.
I met about 45 species totally.
The species met at each location were;
- at vegitable fields and village:
Pale Thrush, Eyebrowed Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Bunting, Eurasian Siskin, Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat, etc.
*Before dawn, there were only a Bull-headed Shrike and crows, but after the sunrise at 6 o'clock , small birds came to the distant persimmon trees one after another.
* On October 15, the other birders saw a Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo) on the pole at the school play ground and a Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) at the vegetable field were confirmed by the other birders.
- on East Coast (Higashi Kiagan):
* This coast is around 6km long between the famous birding spot, Makidaira at the north-end, and the south of Amashima Cattle Farm.
* From the village of Awashima Port to Makinodaira, we can take a guest house's car without stop, but there are Hatazaki Coast, where I met a Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) at the last visit, and two water places where small birds gathered on this course.
This time, I met Bramblings and Rudy-throat on Hatazaki coast. At the water places, I met tits, Bramblings, and a Japanese Bush Warbler. At the beach where a small stream flows in, a Grey-tailed Tattler stood alone. On the steep slope to Makinohara, Coal Tits were foraging being smeared with spider's web.
* From the port to the south, there are Noma Park, the campsite, Awashima Cattle Farm, the pine forest and row of cherry trees in series. There were two tents. There were persons, but some Goldcrests were moving around in the pine just above the tents, so I took pictures. The red feathers at the top of the male head are difficult to see unless the scene of the courtship or fighting during the breeding season. I saw two Common Redpolls in the pine forest of Noma Park. On the road, I walked being guided by a Rustic Bunting and Yellow-throated Bunting all the way. A juvenile Peregrine Falcon flew eating a prey.
- Makinodaira:
* The vegetable fields located at the most north end of island.
* On the 16th, we saw Hawfinches and Dusky Thrushes perching on a zelkova, a female Pine Bunting and a Common Reed Bunting on dead branches, a Eurasian Skylark landing on the grassland. However on 17th, a Northern Goshawk flew for hunting from the bush of the tree, and a Peregrine Falcon chased the escaped birds from the sky, and most of the birds disappeared. After noon it started to rain and I returned to the inn.
The birds reported are;
Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus), Common Redpoll (flammea) (Acanthis flammea flammea),
Hawfinch (japonicus) (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Pine Bunting (Western) (Emberiza leucocephalos leucocephalos), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Yellow-headed) (Emberiza elegans elegantula),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ハヤブサ, オオタカ, キアシシギ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ヒバリ, ウグイス, キクイタダキ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ノゴマ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, アトリ, マヒワ, ベニヒワ, シメ,
シラガホオジロ, カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, オオジュリン
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis)
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax)
; all photos by S.Niwa
I visited the park together with R.Kinomura.
We saw many birds (37 species) as shown in the list below.
The birds reported are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Eurasian Curlew (Eastern) (Numenius arquata orientalis), Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
オシドリ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ヒクイナ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン,
ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
オオムシクイ, メジロ, キビタキ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
This typhoon caused a lot of rain in a short time exceeding the original design limit of river embankments in the vicinity of Tokyo, and the flooded water overflowed or destroyed the embankments, causing flooding and causing great damage to residents in the basin. One person was killed by the overflowing water in the Tama River.
When I visited, the water level was already dropping and it was not a dangerous situation.
However, the situation was quite different from when I visited two weeks ago. The grassland on the riverbed was washed away, and facilities such as a baseball field were severely damaged.
I was worry about the passerines that had been in the grassland. I only saw some flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, a few Bull-headed Shrikes, wagtailes (White, Japanese), and some flocks of White-cheeked Starlings. I hope that they have survived.
There were many egrets (Grey Heron, Great White, Little), Great Cormorants, and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks as same as two weeks ago. However I could not find Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca) this time. They might have evacuated somewhere else.
This time, I saw a flock of Black-headed Gull which is the winter bird at this site.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Duck sp.
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus)?
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, ガモsp, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ,
オオバン, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, キジバト, ツツドリ? カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Koshigaya Lake Town (Saitama)
越谷レイクタウン (埼玉)
Super Typhonn "Hagibis" (equivalent to category 5) hit and passed through the Tokyo area from the midnight of 12 to 13 October.
This typhoon not only had caused the serious disasters but also brought an unexpected gift to birders.
Band-rumped Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma castro/Hydrobates castro) were observed at this site and Yatsu Tidal Flat.
クロコシジロウミツバメ, 他
Mouth of Hitotsuse River (Hitotsuse-Gawa) (Miyazaki)
一つ瀬川河口(宮崎)
In the morning, we visited Mouth of Hitotsuse River (Hitotsuse-Gawa) in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture.
We drove sadohara area and Tomita area along the river.
Near the poultry farm, many Barn Swallows were flying or resting on the electrical wires.
In the river, there were a big number of ducks. Many Eurasian Wigeons had already arrived. There were some Northern Pintails and Eurasian Teals, too.
There was a lot of Common Snipes hiding in one rice field with water. As we approached by car, they rushed and jumped out.
We expected some shorebirds under migration, but only a few birds (Little Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint) were observed.
The birds obserbed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), ,br> Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, コチドリ, タシギ, タカブシギ, トウネン,
キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Aya Town (Miyazaki)
綾町(宮崎)
Aya Town is located at almost in the centre of Miyazaki Prefecture, about 20km west of Miyazaki City. There are two rivers; Ayaminami River and the Ayakita River, which sandwiches this town. Aya Town has the largest laurel forest in Japan that stretches as far as the Ayakawa Valley. It was registered as a UNESCO Eco-Park in 2012. The "Aya Teruha Suspension Bridge", which is 142m high and 250m long, is situated in the laurel forest zone.
We drove on the forest road along these two rivers.
At Ayaminami River, we heard a Crested Kingfisher and saw a Brown Dipper.
At Ayakita River, there were some Barn Swallows flying above the river.
In the upper stream, we saw two Crested Kingfishers.
The birds obserbed are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, イソシギ, キジバト,
ヤマセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ,
メジロ, カワガラス, スズメ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
National Miike Wild Bird Forest (Miike Yacho-no-Mori) (Miyazaki)
御池野鳥の森(宮崎)
This park is located in Kirishima mountain range on the border of Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture. The biggest eruption in the history of Mts. Kirishima occurred about 4,200 years ago. The intense eruption and explosion created a large crater, which was filled with water and became a lake, current Lake Miike. The area of about 115 ha including a part of Lake Miike, its surrounding forest and Lake Koike is "the National Miike Wild Bird Forest", which was designated as the Japan's first national wild bird forest in 1973. A large part of the trees in the Wild Bird Forest are forested ones, and a sizable forested land from around the end of Edo Era still remains. The forest is almost natural one with little artificial work carried out. So far, at least 18 fish species, at least 18 species of mammals and 147 species of wild birds have been observed there.
The time when we visited is not the best birding season, and we only walk in the camping site at the lake side and Kirishima-Higashi Shrine avoiding leech which was still active.
However, we saw the residents such as; tits (Coal, Varied, Long-tailed), Ryukyu Minivets, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Japanese Green), Long-tailed Tits, Wood Nuthatch, and Grey Wagtails.
Some of them (Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker Y.k.kizuki, Japanese Green Woodpecker P.a.horii, Long-tailed Tit A.c.kiusiuensis, and Wood Nuthatch S.e.roseilia are different subspecies from the ones in Tokyo area.
In the lake only Eastern Spot-billed Ducks were observed.
A Grey-streaked Flycatcher, migratory, was observed, too.
The birds obserbed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Wood Nuthatch (roseilia) (Sitta europaea roseilia),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
カルガモ, トビ, キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, キュウシュウエナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, キュウシュウゴジュウカラ, エゾビタキ, キセキレイ
Mt. Kanemi-dake (Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki)
金御岳(都城市,宮崎)
Grey-faced Buzzards, that come to Japan as the summer bird in March, make large flocks of hundreds or thousands and migrate heading the souch towards South-east Asia, Taiwa, Okinawa Is, Yakushima Is., Amami-oshima Is., from the middle of September to the end of October. Mt. Kanemi-dake in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture is a famous observation spot for the hawks, and eager hawk watchers gather from all over Japan to see the magnificent migratory sights. In 1986, around 30,000 birds was observed, and around 20,000 have been since then.
On the first day, we used the first flight from Tokyo and arrived before noon in the site, but most of the hawks on the day have already migrated and only a flock of about 20 hawks was observed. Then we left the site with an hope of big flocks in the next morning.
In the next morning, we arrived at the site before 6 o'clock when was just beginning to brighten, because a huge flock of hundreds of hawks flew together around 06:20 the day before.
This early morning, unlike the previous day, hawks did not form big flocks but flew in scattered.
Around 10 o'clock, kettles were seen one after another, and the largest flock was over 100 hawks.
The hawks recorded on this day are:
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 1,319
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 4
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 2
- Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 1
- Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo): 1
In addition, we heard the song of Japanese Bush-Warblers at the observation point, which is rarely heard at this time near Tokyo.
Grey-streaked Flycatchers and Eurasian Siskins under migration were also observed.
The birds obserbed are;
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki kizuki),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (hiugaensis) (Garrulus glandarius hiugaensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (kiusiuensis) (Aegithalos caudatus kiusiuensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
チゴハヤブサ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト, キュウシュウコゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ,
モズ, ヒュウガカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, キュウシュウエナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, エゾビタキ, カワラヒワ, マヒワ, ホオジロ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
The day before, more than 100 Grey-faced Buzzards were observed, so I expected many hawks to migrate following to the previous groups, but the results were not good.
Probably due to the bad weather in the east area where the hawks start, the hawks might not feel to fly.
The birds obserbed are;
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus)?
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, カワラバト, キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, オオムシクイ? メジロ, クロツグミ, エゾビタキ
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
I visited Kyoto Imperial Garden again.
I mostly stayed at the bird bath, but also partly surveyed other areas.
On October 03 and 05, there were not so many migrant birds, but we saw an adult male narcissus flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) on October 03.
Sakhalin Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus borealoides) were present on all days.
On October 05, there was apparently a small wave of migratory birds following a weak front and we saw a juvenile male Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana).
Narcissus Flycatcher were abundant but all were of female type.
An Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps) was active in morning and we saw and hear this species multiple times.
Kamchatka Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus examinandus) were not so abundant as I expected, but I could sporadically hear the call.
I could record the first Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (single bird) in this season by voice.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas) or Kamchatka Leaf warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
,
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
トビ, カワウ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, エナガ, メジロ, オオルリ, キビタキ,
エゾムシクイ, メボソムシクイ または オオムシクイ, ハクセキレイ, ヤブサメ, イカル, アトリ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
Contrast to the last visit, half a month ago, the number of birders and birds increased.
I saw many photographers taking photos of Narcissus Flycatchers. There were two beautiful males.
Flocks of white-eye and tits gathered in trees with ripe nuts in the cemetry.
I hoped Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka) which was observed the last week to come again, but unfortunately it didn't come true.
The birds found are;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, キビタキ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
Even it became October, it was very hot under sunshine.
When I visited about three weeks ago, I saw a lot of swallows, but this time, there was only one Red-rumped Swallow.
There were still many egrets (Little, Great White, Grey) around the weir.
Here and there, Bull-headed Shrikes were calling loudly.
Flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul were moving towards west.
A flock of Eurasian Teals arrived in this site.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, ツミ, オオバン,
イカルチドリ, イソシギ, カワラバト, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, コシアカツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Rural region of Sakurai City (Nara Prefecture)
桜井市郊外(奈良)
We visited a rural region of Sakurai city.
Although there were not many birds, we could see Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri) foraging at several locations. They flew down from poles or wires to find food on the ground or sometimes hawked at flying insects.
Several flocks of Brown-eared Bulbuls (Hypsipetes amaurotis) flew over, some of which were likely migratory ones.
Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus) were actively calling in every corners.
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
キジ, ダイサギ, トビ, キジバト, ツバメ, ヒバリ, モズ, キビタキ, ノビタキ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
Today, I stayed mostly at the bird bath in Kyoto Imperial Garden.
This region was relatively intact after the typhoon (some trees were lost, though), and this place is still the best location in the Garden to search for migratory birds.
This time, I could see more birds than expected.
I didn't, however, hear any voice of Kamchatka Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus examinandus), which were abundant in the preceding year.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas) or Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)
トビ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス, コシアカツバメ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, エナガ,
メジロ, オオルリ, キビタキ, エゾムシクイ, メボソムシクイ または オオムシクイ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was sunny, but the wind was weak, slightly foggy and we couldn't see the distance clearly, and little hot.
We expected a big migration after passing of a Grey-faced Buzzard's flock at the previous day, but it was not satisfactory.
Most of the observed 23 Grey-faced Buzzards flew high at distance, and intermittently.
Other hawks observed were; Crested Honey Buzzard, Eastern Buzzard, Common Kestrel, and Japanese Sparrowhawk.
We saw some White-bellied Green-Pigeons on the way back to their home in Tanzawa Mountain from Terugasaki Beach at the coast of Sagami Bay in Oiso City after drinking sea water. One of them perched on the tree nearby us.
There were around ten Eurasian Jays.
At the water place, we saw Narcissus Flycatchers, Grey-streaked Flycatchers and Warbling White-eyes.
A Bull-headed Shrike was screaming at the tip of a tree.
The birds obserbed are;
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus)? Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
チョウゲンボウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト,
ハリオアマツバメ? アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
Following a report of a large number of migrating hawks at Shirakaba-toge Pass on the day before, I visited Mt. Inoko again.
It was a rather hot and humid day like summer.
The first raptor we saw was a Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) flying low around 7:15 a.m.
The bird unexpectedly perched on a tree and we enjoyed this rare instance. The bird perched on the tree for about 15 min and then started migrating again.
In the meantime, there were already other migratory hawks.
In the morning, there were several Grey-streaked Flycatchers (Muscicapa griseisticta) and we also enjoyed watching them.
The main stream of migratory hawks started at around 9 a.m. and continued for two hours.
There were kettles here and there. There occasional nearby passing birds and we spent very busy time with them. The hourly number of raptors hit the highest recorded in this place.
The flow calmed down in the afternoon, but we saw Pacific Swifts (Apus pacificus) circling high in the sky.
List of species:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, オオタカ, ツミ, トビ, アオサギ, カワウ, キジバト, アマツバメ, アオゲラ, コゲラ,
ハヤブサ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, ハクセキレイ, コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ, ウグイス, モズ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都御苑(京都)
I made a short visit to Kyoto Imperial Garden with some expectation to see migratory birds.
The Garden was severely affected by the typhoon in the last year, and most of paths favorable for birding were closed due to fallen trees. Only areas for ordinary visitors were cleaned.
The situation became even worse in this year -- the regions of fallen trees are either completely cleared (no suitable trees or bush for birds) or completely neglected and filled with overgrown grasses (no entry).
I was, however, excited by the appearance of two Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) flying over in succession.
I have never seen this species so close in this Garden. They probably spent night in nearby mountain and started flying as soon as the condition became favorable. They used powered flight since thermals were not yet sufficient.
I waited for a half hour with expectation, but I saw no further migratory hawks.
There were not many passerine migrants. This was probably due to the fine weather and many birds had already had flown away.
I saw only one Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta). This species appears to be abundant in this season and I saw them various places.
As for ordinary birds in the Garden, Japanese Grosbeaks (Eophona personata) started to gather, but still on trees.
A Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) stayed still even though people (often with a dog) passed closely. This was probably due to the completely drained Konoe Pond (also caused by the typhoon).
A Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) flew, which is not usually here, probably in search of water.
List of species:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
アオサギ, トビ, ハチクマ, コゲラ, キセキレイ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ,
エゾビタキ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, イカル
Shirakaba Pass (Nagano)
白樺峠(松本,長野)
This pass is famous as the best point to observe hawk migration in autumn.
After strong Typhoon 17 passed on Sept. 23, the fine weather at the site and Niigata Prefecture where the hawks depart made us expect a big hawk migration. Especially this year, it was raining and there were no days that met migratory conditions in the middle of September; the peak of migratory Gray-faced Buzzards at this point in the ordinary years, so I assumed that there was a lot of Gray-faced Buzzards remaining at the breeding sites.
When we arrived at the site in the morning, it drizzled, and the valley where the hawks came up was not visible in the deep fog, and we were worried that our prediction was off.
However, the fog was suddenly cleared and then Crested Honey Buzzards started to fly one to another.
Fortunately, a Golden Eagle and a Mountain Hawk-Eagle also flew closely.
Near noon, Grey-faced Buzzard gradually increased in number and eventually passed over our heads like a river without break. We found two dark-morph of Grey-faced Buzzards, which are very rare.
The records reported by "Sinshu Raptors igration Research Group" are as follows;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 3,010
- Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis): 275
- Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 83
- Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis): 60
- Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus): 3
- Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus): 2
- Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 4
- Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis): 3
- Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo): 2
The birds we observed were;
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Golden Eagle (Japanese) (Aquila chrysaetos japonica), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii)?
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus) Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
thrush sp
チゴハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, ニホンイヌワシ, クマタカ,
アオバト? コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ホシガラス, コガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ゴジュウカラ, ツグミsp
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
The condition became better for hawk migration after rainy days with high clouds and partially blue sky in the morning.
When arrived, many flycathers (Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher) welcame us. They were eating black ripe fruites of cornels that became ripe and ready to eat.
The number of the migrating hawks were not many, but we enjoyed watching hawks and flycatchers.
The Varid Tits were still very busy carrying nuts for winter storage to somewhere.
Two Japanese Green Woodpeckers were screaming vigorously as if they were trying to control each other.
Some Warbling White-eyes and Narcissus Flycatchers were bathing in the water place.
Some Brown-eared Bulbuls, which were hiding somewhere during the hot summer, appeared and moved towards the west.
The birds obserbed are;
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
チョウゲンボウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
I visited again to see migratory raptors.
Although the weather looked favorable (the wind was rather too strong), there were only few migratory raptors on Sep. 19.
On this day, many Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) were recorded at Shirakaba-toge Pass in Nagano Prefectur and we expected them to pass on the following day. Although the number of migratory was almost the lowest on this day, we could still see a few Crested Honey Buzzards passing sufficiently closely.
There were indeed relatively abundant Crested Honey Buzzards on Sep. 20. Some of them passed pretty close under favorable sky condition. They almost continuously passed after 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and we spent busy time.
Although the number of Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) was low on the day before at Shirakaba-toge Pass, the majority of raptors was this species. They passed, however, very distantly and they were difficult to see through small binoculars. Kettles were distant and it was difficult to take their pictures.
In addition to these two species, we could enjoy a Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) including one which has been here for several days, a local Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) flying over us.
Mutiple Grey-streaked Flycatchers (Muscicapa griseisticta) were present and they sometimes appear on trees or on twigs.
List of species, including species observed on route to Mt. Inoko (* seen by other observers):
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, オオタカ, ツミ, トビ, アオサギ, キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, ハヤブサ, チョウゲンボウ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼 (埼玉)
In summer, the surface of the marsh is covered with lotus. And, in autumn, after harvesting rice in the paddy field around the marsh, water that is no longer needed for irrigation in the marsh is drained. The tidal flats appear in the marsh and become a good place for migratory shorebirds to stop by and rest.
This year, the drainage time was late, so the tidal flats did not appear and we could not observe shorebirds.
However, on the day I visited, the water level was very low, and observed two Common Greenshanks, one Spotted Redshank, four Black-winged Stilt, five Long-billed Plovers, many Little Ringed Plovers, many Eurasian Teals and many herons.
The birds reported are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Long-billed Plover (japonicus) (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), etc.
カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ,
セイタカシギ, イカルチドリ, コチドリ, ツルシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ,
ツバメ, ハクセキレイ, 他
Inashiki (Ibaraki)
稲敷(茨城)
In this area, there were a lot of fallow fields in the past, and since August, there had been many shorebirds stopped by in the autumn migratory season, but by the change in the country's agricultural policy, there has been almost no fallow field now. But sometimes rare species had been found, so we are still curious about this site.
We drove in the vast field searching for birds resting or foraging in the lotus fields after harvesting lotus roots.
At a lotus field near Ukishima, there were a few Spotted Redshanks and Wood Sandpipers.
At a fallow field in Nishinosu Retarding Basin, we found some birders observing something. There were four Ruffs, a Black-winged Stilt, and a Red-necked Phalarope.
A Bull-headed Shrike was calling shrilly declaring his territory.
We visited another site where one birder who was there taught me.
There were a few Black-tailed Godwits, Marsh Sandpipers, and a Common Redshank.
The birds found are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Snipe sp.,
Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, セイタカシギ, コチドリ,
オオジシギ, オグロシギ, ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ, エリマキシギ, アカエリヒレアシシギ,
ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
This site is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
Now is the later half of the season of the migration birds to the South/West.
The day of the visit was a flood tide, and when it arrived, it was in the high tide and no tidal flats had appeared.
Shorebirds and gulls were resting on the stakes on the coast, and the breakwater.
After a while, large birds, such as Whimbrels and Bar-tailed Godwits, gathered in the shallows.
When the tide level fell more and tidal flats appeared, gulls and smaller shorebirds gathered one after another.
Thre was one Slaty-backed Gull among a flock of Black-tailed Gulls,
The birds observed were;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Bar-tailed Godwit (menzbieri) (Limosa lapponica menzbieri),
Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, コシジロオオソリハシシギ,
チュウシャクシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi city, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
I visited here to see migratory raptors on three days in a row.
This epoch was approximately one week before the expected peak of the migration.
On Sep. 14, the weather was very fine and the sky was transparent. It soon became hot as the Sun rose.
As expected from the weather, hawks migrate distantly and high. They were a tough target for binocular observers. There were, however, a few individuals which flew relatively close and we enjoyed them.
Sep. 15 was the hottest day of the three. The weather was also fine and raptors generally flew distantly and high.
Following a report of Shirakaba Pass in Nagano Prefecture, we expected that a major group should pass in the afternoon, but they apparently didn't arrive.
There was, however, a surprise of an Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana), which caught thermals just like a hawk and flew away just like a migratory hawk.
On Sep. 16, it was windy from the beginning.
Probably thanks to this wind, we could enjoy local raptors flying close.
We could enjoy the flight of a pale juvenile Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus), which probably stayed overnight around here.
We could also see a relatively close Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) in the morning.
The weather became rather misty and distant raptors were difficult to recognize.
Although we expected that the missing group on the previous day would pass on this day, there was no sign of a large group.
In the meantime, we could enjoy an Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica).
The number of raptors was rather disappointing, but we could enjoy raptors (mostly Crested Honey Buzzards) flying relatively nearby on this day.
List of species, including species observed on route to Mt. Inoko (* seen by other observers):
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), * Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus), House Swift (Apus nipalensis kuntzi), * White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus),
* Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
サシバ, ハチクマ, ノスリ, ミサゴ, オオタカ, ハイタカ, *ツミ, トビ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コウノトリ,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, *ハリオアマツバメ, *キジバト, コゲラ, ハヤブサ, チョウゲンボウ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, コサメビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
オオムシクイ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス
Cemetery Tama, Fuchu, Tokyo
多磨霊園 (府中, 東京)
Migrating birds visit in this season every year.
My visit seemed to be too early for migrating birds in this site. There were neither of birds nor birders,
At the park of the cemetry, there was a flock of tits and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers. And I found a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher among them. It was sometimes calling and moving togerther with tits.
No other flycatchers, warblers was observed.
The birds found are;
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)
キジバト, コゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, メジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
The air in sultry heat until the previous day turned into the air dried with a cool east wind. When the sun shined through clouds, it got still hot, but the birding became easier.
In the sky, many Red-rumped Swallows flew with Barn Swallows. This species can be seen this time every year.
It was reported that many Tree Sparrows and White-cheeked Starlings died due to the strong typhoon that directly hit Tokyo area a few days ago, but there were many Tree Sparrows survived forming flocks in this river grass fields.
Many egrets (Little, Great White, Grey) were gathering at the weir.
One Common Kestrel was flying around the sky and hovering sometime aiming for prey.
In the forest of Japanese elm, there were trees broken by thr strong typhoon. There was a flock of tits (Japanese, Long-tailed) and Brown-eared Bulbuls that survived the disaster.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
( Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ,
カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
エナガ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was still earlier for the peak of the migration of hawks, but the day we visited was a sunny day two days after a strong typhoon hit directly to Tokyo area, we visited the site with a little expectation.
The number of migrating hawks (Common Kestrel, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard, Japanese Buzzard) was small as foreseen, and they appeared intermittently. They flew very high, and we could not see any kettle of hawks.
But an air battle between two Japanese Sparrowhawks and one Common Kestrel continued for a very long time, and we enjoyed watching it very much.
We saw some flocks of swifts (Pacific, House) and a few swallows (Barn, Asian House Martin, Red-rumped), too.
I tried to search for any flycatcher among the flock of tits, however no migrating flycatcher could not be observed. Only one Oriental/Horsfield's Cuchoo was observed.
The birds obserbed are;
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Peregrine Falcon (Eastern) (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus), ,br> Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アオバト,
ツツドリ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス,
ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, イソヒヨドリ, イカル
Omoigawa (Tochigi)
思川(栃木)
Fortunately, as soon as I arrived the site I could see the bird among a flock of Pacific Golden-Plover.
At another fallow, where I saw many Little Ring Plovers, a few Common Snipes, a male and three females of Ruffs, and Wood Sandpipers on the last visit, there were still many Little Ring Plovers and a few Common Snipes.
At another fallow with deep water, I saw a flock of Eurasian Teal, too.
The birds observed are:
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, トビ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, コモンシギ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Osaka Castle Park (Osaka Prefecture)
大阪城公園(大阪)
Osaka Castle Park is one of the most renowned birding locations around here during migration seasons.
When I visited the site, I saw summer birds that stopped over, such as Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Eastern Crowned Warblers. Neither of Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi) nor Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), that were seen a few days ago, seemed have gone away and was not found.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, カワラバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Mount Inari (Kyoto)
稲荷山(京都)
This mountain is the sacred area covered with primeval forest protected since the ancient time and beautiful bamboo forest.
The main approach of the shrine are crowded with tourists, but we can find many birds just aside from the approach paths.
I found a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher among a mixed flock of tits beside "Senbon Torii".
In the late evening, we heard calls of two Northern Boobooks in the forest.
The birds observed were;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Green Woodpecker/Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (Black) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
カワラバト, キジバト, アオバズク, コゲラ, アオゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, スズメ, イカル
Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary (Osaka City)
大阪南港野鳥園港(大阪)
When I arrived, the observation center was already full of many birders to aim for Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer) that was observed the day before.
Eastern Great Egrets, Gray Herons and two Ospreys were taking rest in the brackish pond in front of the observation center.
Though the Nordmann's Greenshank did not appear, many shorebirds came one after another as the tides drove and the tidal flats began to appear.
There were many Red-necked Stints and Terek Sandpipers. There was one uncommon Broad-billed Sandpiper among them.
One Common Redshank and several Common Greenshanks, one Red Knot and several Great Knots, one Greater Sand Plover and several Lesser Sand-Plovers, a few Black-tailed Godwits and several Bar-tailed Godwits were foraging busily together.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii), Black-tailed Godwit (Siberian) (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
Bar-tailed Godwit (Eastern) (Limosa lapponica baueri), Whimbrel (Siberian) (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (rogersi) (Calidris canutus rogersi), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Dunlin (Siberian) (Calidris alpina sakhalina), Broad-billed Sandpiper (Eastern) (Calidris falcinellus/Limicola falcinellus sibirica),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, マルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ,
ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオメダイチドリ, オグロシギ, オオソリハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, アカアシシギ,
アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, キリアイ,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Tatara Marsh (Gunma)
多々良沼(群馬)
Before sunset, many Eurasian Tree Sparrows and then many flocks of egrets came back to the reed field.
In the twilight, tens of thousands of Barn Swallow came back to the reed fields. The swallows flew round like a small tornado cloud in the sky before entering the roosting reed field.
The birds observed at Tatara Marsh were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Hybrid,
Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha] (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, マルガモ, カイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Omoigawa (Tochigi)
思川(栃木)
We found three Eurasian Teals and a Black-winged Stilt at a fallow.
The point we saw many Little Ringed Plovers last time, there was one Ruff.
The Sand Martin decreased its number than the last visit.
A birder who was observing gave the information about another good point nearby, and we headed for there soon. At the point, in addition to many Little Ring Plovers, there were a few Common Snipes, a male and three females of Ruffs, and Wood Sandpipers.
The birds observed are:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Ruff (Calidris pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, コガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, ノスリ, セイタカシギ, コチドリ, タシギ,
タカブシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, エリマキシギ, カワラバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands (Chichi-jima, Haha-jima, Tokyo)
小笠原諸島(父島,母島)(東京)
The Ogasawara Islands have never been connected to a continent, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes.
This has led to the islands' nickname of the "The Galapagos of the Orient", and their nomination as a natural World Heritage Site on June 24, 2011.
Also, these islands involved in the Oceania terrestrial ecoregions, as the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests.
In these unique conditions, the birding there is quite interesting.
On the way to Chichijima (the main island) by the ship from Tokyo Bay, around 24 hours, the shorebirds both of the Palearctic and the Oceania ecozones can be observed on the ship.
You can recognize the drastic change of birds between the first day and the second day.
In the islands, there are endemic species (subspecies) including two restricted-range species of birds; the Japanese Woodpigeon (Columba janthina) and the Vulnerable Bonin White-eye(Apalopteron familiare), formerly known as "Bonin Honeyeater". The Japanese Woodpigeon was extirpated in the Iwo Island groups in the 1980s.
This is a report by T. Kawase about birding in Chichi-jima and Haha-jimaof Ogasawara Islands.
There were not many kinds of birds, but we watched them very closely.
Many marine life such as dolphins and whales are also seen on the ship to/from Ogasawara.
It was an exciting birding trip.
The birds reported are;
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica pacifica),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Red-footed Booby (Indopacific) (Sula sula rubripes), Brown Booby (Forster's) (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Eastern Buzzard (toyoshimai) (Buteo japonicus toyoshimai),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus),
Long-tailed Jaeger (Eastern) (Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (nitens) (Columba janthina nitens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (squamiceps) (Hypsipetes amaurotis squamiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Horornis diphone diphone),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri),
Bonin White-eye (hahasima) (Apalopteron familiare hahasima),
White's Thrush (toratugumi) (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Blue Rock Thrush/Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
オオミズナギドリ, オナガミズナギドリ, アナドリ, アオサギ, アカアシカツオドリ, カツオドリ,
オガサワラノスリ, セイタカシギ, ムナグロ, タカブシギ, キョウジョシギ, クロアジサシ,
シロハラトウゾクカモメ, アカガシラカラスバト, オガサワラヒヨドリ, ハシナガウグイス,
イオウジマメジロxシチトウメジロ(交雑)), ハハジマメグロ, トラツグミ, イソヒヨドリ
Forest road on the north face of Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi)
富士山北面の林道(山梨)
It started rain heavily again when we drove up the forest road of Mt. Fuji. We parked the car in a space on a forest road, where privatey cars were not allowed to go ahead further, and walked up for birding from there.
The temperature was very cool at 18 ℃.
After a while, the rain stopped and Japanese Leaf Warblers started singing nearby.
Many hikers wearing colorful rain gears were seen on the slope of Mt. Fuji in the distance.
The birds observed are;
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
ヒガラ, コガラ, メボソムシクイ, ウソ
O-toge Pass (Yamanashi)
大峠(山梨)
O-toge Pass is located near Mt. Gangaharasuriyama, and its altitude is 1,560 meter. The forest path through this pass is well maintained and is surrounded by deciduous broad-leaved forest, so we can enjoy a birding at the highland easily.
When we arrived, it was raining due to a still-fall autumn front, but after a while it stopped fortunately.
As soon as we started to walk on the forest road, we saw a mixed flock of tits actively moving in the trees aside the road. This s mixed flock was composed of a flock of Willow Tits and several Varied Tits, Wood Nuthatchs, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, and Long-tailed Tits.
We heard some calls of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Eurasian Jays from the forest nearby.
One Eastern Buzzard was stopping at the tip of a tree on the ridge. Thus buzzard was just molting and its feathers were shabby.
We saw some other Eastern Buzzards flying in the sky, too.
We looked for flycatchers, but we couldn't find out as they were hidden quietly without any singing.
Pacific Swifts and Asian House Martins were flying swifty over the sea of clouds.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ノスリ, アマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ヤマガラ, コガラ,
イワツバメ, エナガ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キセキレイ, ホオジロ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
The hot and sunny days continued until the previous week, but it changed to occasionally drizzling with cool north wind. I expected some early migrating birds.
A Meadow Bunting welcame me with a pretty song.
There were many Tree Sparrows gathering and making flocks in the grass field on the river bed.
Some Grey Herons were resting on the small trees or river side.
Many Little Egrets gathered and made flocks. Great Cormorant and White-cheeked Starling formed flocks, too.
I heard an Oriental Reed Warbler singing in the bush.
Two Zitting Cisticolas actively soared while singing in the sky as if they were fighting each other.
However, I did not see any migratory this time.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus), ,br> White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
トビ, イソシギ, カワラバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Isa Marsh & Paddy fields in Kawagoe (Saitama)
伊佐沼&川越のたんぼ(埼玉)
Although it was somewhat cooler than the midsummer, it was still uncomfortable with high humidity.
We stopped over at Isa Marsh.
The water level of the pond was too high and we could not see any shorebirds there.
At the paddy field, two Ruffs (Calidris pugnax) were observed until two days ago, but we couldn't find. They might have already gone away.
We saw two Green Sandpipers and a flock of over twenty Pacific Golden-Plovers.
The birds observed are;
at Isanuma Marsh;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis)
at the paddy field in Kawagoe area;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis)
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, ムナグロ, クサシギ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ
Isshiki Coast (Nishio, Aichi Prefecture)
一色海岸(愛知)
Following a report of a Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla), I visited Isshiki Coast.
This species has only been rarely recorded in Japan. According to a story in an old birding magazine, this species was recorded in some port or something some decades ago, but it appeared very irregularly.
Some birders didn't see the gull despite repeated visits, and called the bird "naki-kamome" (kamome = gull in Japanese; the Japanese name "warai-kamome" is a literal translation of the laughing gull; "naki-" means "to cry" (to tears, for example). Some birders saw the bird on the second visit and the bird was called "naki-warai-kamome", but some unfortunate birders repeated "naki-naki-...".
Knowing this anecdote, I was rather unsure to see the bird in time. The location is distant for me and it was almost impossible to make a second visit.
Upon arrival, the water level was still high and there was no tidal flats.
On tetrapods, grey-tailed tattlers (Tringa brevipes) and grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) were resting.
A flock of Kentish plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) were moving from shore to shore for foraging.
It was a sunny, hot -- but not as much as I feared -- day.
After waiting for an hour, the water level started decreasing and some tidal flats started to appear.
There was some movement among birders, and it looked like that the bird was seen in a port next to the shore. I learned this after these birders came back again and they said that the gull flew to the direction toward where we were waiting.
While scanning the shore with the binoculars, I found a small gull, which appeared much smaller than nearby a Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris). After magnification with the camera, it turned out to be the gull we had been seeking. Many birders noticed the same gull and we all moved toward the bird.
The bird was initially still, but soon started foraging by walking. The black bill and foraging on tidal flats somewhat reminded me of a Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi), but this gull always foraged by walking. The bill was thicker than in the Saunders's Gull and had a distinct red spot at the end.
After some tens of minutes, the bird flew to a different tidal flat some hundreds meters distant from the initial flat. I succeeded in obtaining a video of the flying gull since the start of the flight. We again moved to see the bird better.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola),
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カイツブリ, キアシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ,
ウミネコ, ワライカモメ, トビ, キジバト, ハクセキレイ, ツバメ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, モズ, スズメ, ホオジロ
Isshiki Coast (Nishio, Aichi)
一色海岸(愛知)
I went to see a Laughing Gull (North American) (Leucophaeus atricilla megalopterus) which is the strayer in Japan.
Though it was not easy to observe it because the distance to the gull was very long and it was against the sun light, somehow I confirmed its characteristics.
It seemed like a immature. I would like to see a Laughing Gull with black head next time.
ワライカモメ, ウミネコ, 他
Kazo (Saitama) & Omoigawa (Tochigi)
加須(埼玉)&思川(栃木)
At first, we stopped over at Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture and observed Eurasian Collared-Doves which locally inhabit only in this area in Japan.
The site I visited after a long time was building a new road right next to, and I became worried whether the Eurasian Collared-Dove was still inhabited. But soon, we heard the call of the dove and found a small flock around a cow shed.
The next site was Omoigawa Town in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
There are paddy fields which are flooded with water as artificial fresh-water tidal flats to gather waterfowl.
In the southern area, there was no bird because a Northern Goshawk was near the paddy field where waterfowl would gather.
We drove to the north in the area and saw some flocks of egrets, flying Zitting Cisticolas, Japanese Skylarks, and White-cheeked Starlings.
In the northern area, there was a big flock of Sand Martin. The swallows were getting down the road and doing the gesture of pressing their bodies against the asphalt.
In a fallow field with water, there were a lot of Little Ringed Plovers and some Wood Sandpipers.
We found three Common Greenshanks in another fallow field, too.
We search for flock of Pacific Golden-Plover, but found only one Pacific Golden-Plover staying in a dried field.
The birds observed are:
at Kazo City:
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto decaocto),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
in Omoigawa area;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Eurasian Goshawk/Northern Goshawk (fujiyamae) (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, オオタカ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ,
キジバト, シラコバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Ichinomiya Coast (Chiba)
一宮海岸(千葉)
The rainy season was over at the end of July, and hot days have continued since then.
Thus, I was not birding for a while, but I heard that a White-rumped Sandpiper was recorded.
This bird has appeared at the mouth of Tama River in August 2006. However, when I went, the bird had just gone and I failed to meet it. It is the bird with such a memory.
Since the typhoon was approaching, I thought that 14th might be the last chance to see.
When I arrived at the site, some number of birders were gathering.
Fortunately, the bird was still there. However, the bird was in the widely spread tidal flat at the far distance on the time of low tide. Furthermore, at first the bird was in a flock of Sanderling, so I was able to quickly identify it by size, but it became not easy to find it among the other shorebirds. Once I took my eyes off, it took time to find it again.
Near the noon, the sky turned into black and big drops of rain started to fall. The rain stopped once, but it started again. I decided to return home since I was able to take some photos.
In this season, rarities, such as Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica affinis), Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), and Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), had been recorded at Kujukuri Beach.
The birds reported are;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Sanderling (rubida) (Calidris alba rubida), White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ,
キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, コシジロウズラシギ,
ウミネコ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat & Yatsu Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬&谷津干潟(千葉)
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis)
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta)
; all photos by S.Niwa.
I thought it would be hot ... and went out. But, at Sanbanze, wind was comfortable and I did not feel so hot. I thought there might be some different feeling of heat compared to the city area.
At Yatsu Tidal Flat, I went to the opposite side of the center for the first time.
I used train to visit these two sites this time. It was rather easier than expected. However, it was a pity that I could not afford to visit Kasai Rinkai Park.
The birds observed are:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Siberian Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Kamchatka)/Common Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis/Larus kamtschatschensis),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, コガモ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, コアジサシ, キジバト, コゲラ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Hiratsuka & Terugasaki Beach, Oiso (Kanagawa)
平塚&照ヶ崎海岸(神奈川)
In every summer, a Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica) couple visits this shrine.
There is an old tree (Machilus thunbergii) aged approx. 300 years in the precinct of the shrine,
The chicks slept during observation all the time, but they sometimes opened eyes and showed impish gestures.
At Terugasaki Beach, a lot of White-bellied Green Pigeons (Treron sieboldii sieboldii) gather in summer (May to October). They inhabit in the Tanzawa Mountains, north of this beach.
They come to this beach to drink sea water.
アオバズク, アオバト, 他
Island Miyako (Okinawa)
宮古島(沖縄)
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica)
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex)
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi)
Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo)
Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana sumatrana)
Roseate Tern (Indo-pacific) (Sterna dougallii bangsi)
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
After moving from Ishigaki Island, we visited Sarahama Port in Irabu Island.
We saw Black-naped Terns closely. Roseate Terns and Great Crested-Terns were at the far distance.
Then we moved to Sawada Beach and searched for Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) but we could not see it.
On the second day, we looked for Barred Buttonquail in the sugarcane fields. Buttonquails were easier to see than expected.
There was only one Oriental Pratincole that probably might have migrated.
After that, we saw Roseate Terns at Higashi-henna Cape. There were Brown Noddies and Bridled Terns on the Panari Reef, but they were very far.
On the third day, we spent time at Ono Forest.
In the morning, we found and observed a calling Common Emerald Dove well.
After that, I went to the pond, but it was not good because it rained at the night.
We saw an Ryukyu Flycatcher, a Ruddy Kingfisher, and a Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher near the pond.
When we walked around, a Japanese Wood-Pigeon flew but I could not take the photo.
We walked further to search for the Japanese Wood-Pigeon, a Ruddy Kingfisher flew crossing the front of us and perched on a branch beside us.
There was a family of Ryu Kyu Northern Boobook, too.
The birds reported are;
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Slaty-legged Crake (sepiaria) (Rallina eurizonoides sepiaria), White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Barred Buttonquail (okinavensis) (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Great Crested-Tern (cristatus) (Thalasseus bergii cristatus), Roseate Tern (Indo-pacific) (Sterna dougallii bangsi),
Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana sumatrana), Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus anaethetus),
Brown Noddy (pileatus) (Anous stolidus pileatus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (stejnegeri) (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher (illex) (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Large-billed Crow (connectens) (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens),
Pacific Swallow (namiyei) (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (pryeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis pryeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Scaly-breasted Munia (topela) (Lonchura punctulata topela)
インドクジャク, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, ムラサキサギ, クロサギ, オオクイナ, シロハラクイナ,
オオバン, ミフウズラ, シロチドリ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, ツバメチドリ,
オオアジサシ, ベニアジサシ, エリグロアジサシ, マミジロアジサシ, クロアジサシ,
ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク,
リュウキュウアカショウビン, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, リュウキュウハシブトガラス,
リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, リュウキュウキビタキ, シマキンパラ
Island Ishigaki (Okinawa)
石垣島(八重山,沖縄)
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus)
Great Crested-Tern (cristatus) (Thalasseus bergii cristatus)
Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis)
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus)
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi)
Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica)
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans)
Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), chicks
; all photos by R.Kinomura
On the first day, we went only to the spot of Black-winged Kite.
The Black-winged Kite was a bit far, but it was seen for a while.
After watching the Black-winged Kite, we went to the beach.
There were a flock of terns at the far distance near the horizon, but we could not identify its species.
While watching it, a Great Crested-Tern flew near. I was surprised since I didi not expect to see it there.
We went to the hotel after watching a Purple Heron perching on a tree.
On the second day, we asked for a guided day-tour and a night-tour.
First, we went to see Great Crested-Tern. Nine terns were flying around.
Next, we searched for reater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) and shorebirds.
There were summer shorebirds such as Long-toed Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Common Redshank, and mostly Wood Sandpiper.
It was said that reater Painted-snipe is breeding but could not be found.
On the way, we found a Cinnamon Bittern in a water channel, but it flew away.
Then, we moved to the campsite. I was surprised with a Ruddy Kingfisher appeared at the road side.
There was a parent of Ryukyu Scops Owl which was raising the chicks, but we did not see the chicks.
At the end of the day-tour, we drove on a forest road.
A female Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle, that had failed to raise her chick in this season, perched on a tree.
There was a female Common Emerald Dove on the road but it flew away. However, we found a male calling in a tree.
There was a Malayan Night Heron that jumped out from the ground and stopped on a tree, too.
In the night tour, we drove around Banna Park and the nearby forest road. We saw a large number of Ryukyu Scops Owls and Ryukyu Northern Boobooks. We also saw three Ruddy Kingfishers.
On the third day, we went to the place where a Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel ariel) was observed, but we couldn't see it.
Then, we moved to the spot of Great Crested-Tern, however an angler was on the beach and there were no tern.
We moved to the campsite and watched the Ryukyu Scops Owl. We searched for the chicks but could not find them again.
While searching, a Ryukyu Northern Boobook flew and perched nearby.
After that, we moved to see Common Mynas. They were still in the barn.
We went to see Black-winged Kite, but there was no kite that time. Instead we saw chicks of White-breasted Waterhen.
The birds reported are;
Common Pheasant (Korean) (Phasianus colchicus karpowi),
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus),
Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Purple Heron (Eastern) (Ardea purpurea manilensis),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus vociferus),
Crested Serpent Eagle/Ryu Kyu Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus/Spilornis perplexus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (iwasakii) (Accipiter gularis iwasakii),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Great Crested-Tern (cristatus) (Thalasseus bergii cristatus), Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana sumatrana),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (stimpsoni) (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica),
Whistling Green-Pigeon (medioximus) (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Northern Boobook (Ryu Kyu) (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (bangsi) (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Large-billed Crow (osai) (Corvus macrorhynchos osai),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/Taiwan Bulbul (orii) (Pycnonotus sinensis orii/Pycnonotus formosae orii),
Brown-eared Bulbul (stejnegeri) (Hypsipetes amaurotis stejnegeri),
Warbling White-eye/Japanese White-eye (loochooensis) (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis),
Blue Rock-Thrush (Red-bellied) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
コウライキジ, インドクジャク, カルガモ, リュウキュウヨシゴイ, ズグロミゾゴイ,
アマサギ, ムラサキサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ,
ミサゴ, カタグロトビ, カンムリワシ, リュウキュウツミ, シロハラクイナ, バン,
セイタカシギ, コチドリ, シロチドリ, アカアシシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ,
タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, ヒバリシギ, オオアジサシ, エリグロアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ,
リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト, リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク,
リュウキュウアカショウビン, オサハシブトガラス, セッカ, ヤエヤマシロガシラ, イシガキヒヨドリ,
リュウキュウメジロ, カバイロハッカ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
Around Beppu City (Oita)
別府市周辺(大分)
Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii)
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae)
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius)
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor)
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha)
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus)
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
; all photos by J.M.Garcia
This is my first birding in Japan. I wanted to observe the summer visitors and was especially keen to watch Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina) and Ryukyu Minivet.
On the first day, I visited Beppu Park.
Due to the high humidity and high temperature, the number of birds was not many. However, I saw one of my target birds; Ryukyu Minivet.
On the second day, I walked from Kitahama to Kochi River.
I found a female of Blue Rock-Thrus (M.s.philippensis) whose colours are quite different from the European subspecies.
I saw some eagles (Osprey, Black Kite, Eastern Buzzard) and wagtails (Japanese, White)m too.
On the last day, I climbed Mt. Tsurumi. Since the purpose of the visit was not just birding, the number of the species recognized was not so many.
I saw an Oriental Cuckoo and a Meadow Bunting.
The birds reported are;
- at Beppu Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Pacific Swift (kurodae) (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Japanese Woodpecker (horii) (Picus awokera horii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
- at the coast from Kiahama to Kochi River:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
House Swift (kuntzi) (Apus nipalensis kuntzi),
shorebird sp.
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Blue Rock-Thrush (philippensis) (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
- at Mt. Tsurumi:
Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
eagle sp.
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
カルガモ, カワラバト, キジバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, カワウ, シギチドリ類, ウミネコ, アオサギ, コサギ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, タカ類, カワセミ, カゴシマアオゲラ, リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ツツドリ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, イソヒヨドリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Mt. Fuji (Yamanashi Prefecture)
富士山周辺(山梨)
Because it was a sunny day and expected to become hot, I evacuated to the cool highland. But the temperature raised to 26 degrees Celsius at the field.
In Kita-Fuji Military Base (Kita-Fuji Enshujo), I observed Chestnut-eared Buntings, Crested/Oriental Honey-buzzard, Masked/Black-faced Buntings, etc.
The flower of Citron Day-lily had begun to bloom.
On the forest roads at the north side of Mt. Fuji, Japanese/Pacific Leaf Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Willow Tit were seen, but the distance to the birds was far to take their photos.
Peacock butterfly and Red admiral were seen, too.
The birds reported are;
- in Kita-Fuji Military Base:
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- on Forest roads in the North face of Mt. Fuji:
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni)
ハチクマ, カッコウ, ホトトギス, アカゲラ, モズ, コガラ, ヒバリ, ウグイス, コヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ. ミソサザイ,
コムクドリ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, ルリビタキ, ビンズイ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
The rainy season seems to be over soon. I saw a patch of blue sky in this morning.
A Little Grebe took the chicks at the south part of the fresh-water pond in front of Watching Center in the bird sanctuary. Five chicks seemed to be born. However, I confirmed only four of them. I heard later, another one of them was riding on the back of the parent.
I watched a juvenile of Ruddy-breasted Crake.
It was confirmed that a couple of Ruddy-breasted Crake copulated in this spring, and I heard their calls in this May and June, I has been expecting their breeding.
I took a glance of a bird seemed like the juvenile, but was not able to confirm it well last week. Although for a short time, I confirmed it well on the day.
It resembled a juvenile of Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), but the colors of the foot and the under tail-coverts were different and was a juvenile of Ruddy-breasted Crake.
This was my first observation in this field. As far as I know, this is the first time that Ruddy-breasted Crake breeds in this field.
I look forward to the growth of the juvenile.
In addition, I saw a Oriental Reed Warbler taking a grasshopper which might feed it for the chick.
Two Black-crowned Night Herons were foraging at the water gate located between the fresh-water pond and the brackish-water pond.
Furthermore, I watched a young Common Kingfisher after a long absence.
In the park, large drop of rain fell during the observation and it forced me to stay under the roof of the building. But I could not see any marks made by rain drops in the area of my home. I was surprised that there was such difference in between two areas nearby.
The birds reported are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ヒクイナ,
キジバト, カワセミ, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ,
コムクドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
I visited the park after an one week absence.
There is less chance to go for birding due to less break of raining in this rainy season. However, it did not seem to rain, and the temperature seemed to rise, too.
There was Barn Swallow when I went in front of Watching Center in the bird sanctuary.
Yellow Bittern sometimes flew, too.
There were two Eastern Cattle Egrets, but they were not going to the rice field nearby.
However, they flew back soon. and perched on the stakes in the pond.
One of them was a beautiful individual.
They went back and forth between the stakes of the park's pond and the rice field, but I missed the good chance to watch their flights well.
There was a juvenile of Black-crowned Night Heron, too.
I heard that there were the parent together in the morning.
There was a scene where Black-crowned Night Heron flew in the side of the Eastern Cattle Egret.
I saw Chestnut-cheeked Starlings for the first time in this season in this site.
They were forming a flock around thirty. They were foraging, bathing, and perching on a silk tree. There were some juveniles in the flock.
The birds reported are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (japonica) (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
キジバト, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ,
コムクドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
One-day Trip in Eastern area of Kanto Plain
関東東部1日探鳥
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri)
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis)
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus)
: all photos by H.Tsuruoka
From the reed fields in the riverbeds, lively songs of Oriental Reed Warbler were heard and sometimes the characteristic songs of Zitting Cisticola, Marsh Grassbird and Eurasian Bittern were also heard, but those birds did not appear in our sight.
Only Barn Swallows flew lower around us.
We continued observing under the river bank where the wind did not hit for a while, then the rain stopped and the sky became brighter.
By this improvement of the weather condition, Japanese Reed Buntings begun to perch on the shrubs in the reed field.
Marsh Grassbirds began its unique flight forming arc while singing.
Zitting Cisticolas also began to fly.
We moved to the second site; Ukishima.
We saw blue sky from the slit of the cloud, but the wind was still strong.
We heard songs of Oriental Reed Warblers and saw a few Zitting Cisticolas which were carrying food for chicks.
A Common Kestrel on the trail jumped up noticing us and flew away.
On the way to the last destination, Lake Inba-numa, we took a glance of a reddish cuckoo. Since it was too early to see Oriental Cuckoo in this area, it should be Lesser Cuckoo.
In the wide reed field of Inba-numa, many Oriental Reed Warblers and Yellow Bitterns were flying busily bringing foods for their chicks in the covert nests in the dense reeds.
We saw terns at the far distance flying above the lake.
A Eastern Marsh-Harrier appeared and flew gracefully front of us for a while.
The birds observed were;
- at Tonegawa down stream in the area of Takahama;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret/Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (bengalensis) (Alcedo atthis bengalensis),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Reed Bunting/Ochre-rumped Bunting (Japanese) (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis)
- at Ukishima;
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret/Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Inba-numa;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eurasian Bittern/Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris stellaris), Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Ruddy-breasted Crake (erythrothorax) (Zapornia fusca erythrothorax),
Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Little Tern (sinensis) (Sternula albifrons sinensis), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, コブハクチョウ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, サンカノゴイ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ヒクイナ, コチドリ, オオセグロカモメ, コアジサシ, クロハラアジサシ,
カワラバト, キジバト, ホトトギス, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, コジュリン
South foot and Northern Area of Mt. Yatsugatake (Nagano)
八ヶ岳南麓＆北部(長野)
There are variaty of nature such as; volcanoes, dense forests, wetlands of high moor and vast farm lands.
In Kyushu, record breaking heavy rain was falling, but, fortunately, it was cloudy in the Kanto-Koshinetsu area.
In Nobeyama Highland, there were Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats at the grass field.
Several Common Cuckoos were flying and calling at pastureland.
And a few Meadow Buntings were singing on the top of trees.
Near Inago-yu in the nortern area of Mt, Yatsugatake, we heard an Siberian Thrush.
We stopped over at Yadake Fall where we had observed Japanese Robins in the past years. However the path to the fall was not allowed to enter due to reconstruction of the path which was damaged by the super typhoon in last year. We did not hear any call of Japanese Robin there.
We visited "Yachiho Highland Nature Garden" which is located in the Yachiho Highlands situated on the northeast side of the mountain. In the highlands, there are an estimated 500,000 white birch trees, which create a beautiful and bright forest. Mongolian oaks and Japanese larches also grow around the white birch forest where we can enjoy the songs of birds.
The time when we visited was late for the best time to hear the lot of birds songs, but we still heard the songs of birds such as Japanese Robin, Siberian Blue Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher, and Blue-and-white Flycatcher.
We saw a family of Willow Tit, too.
We drove to the west side of the mountain via Mugikusa Pass covered with dense fog and visited the forest near Togariishi Pre-historic site.
The forest was filled with birds calls, especially many Japanese Thrushes were singing loudly. Over ten males of Japanese Thrush were observed.
The Japanese Tits and Masked Bunting were singing very well, too.
The birds observed there are;
- At Nobeyama Highland:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- Near Inago-yu:
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- At Yachiho Highland Nature Garden (Yachiho-kogen Shizen-en):
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eurasian Wren (dauricus) (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
- Around Togariishi Pre-historic site:
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, トビ, キジバト, カッコウ, アカゲラ, モズ, シジュウカラ, コガラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ,
ゴジュウカラ, マミジロ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Paddy field in Itakura (Gunma) & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉のたんぼ(群馬)&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
When we arrived at Itakura, the rain, that had begun to fall from the day before due to an active seasonal rain front, still continued to fall.
However, egrets were active in the rain. We saw many Intermediate Egrets in the paddy fields where rices were just planted.
There were a few flocks of Grey-headed Lapwings, too. The number of Grey-headed Lapwing is increasing year by year in this field.
We also saw some Pacific Golden-Plovers and Little Ringed Plovers.
In the pond, the lotus was blooming.
There were Common Moorhens.
In the reed fields of Watarase Retarding Basin, Zitting Cisticolas, Marsh Grassbirds and Oriental Reed Warblers were active even in the rain.
There was no person in the field, and the Green Pheasants were relaxing on the roads.
On the grassland, White-cheeked Starlings were gathering and making large flocks.
The birds observed were;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes/Phasianus versicolor kigis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Little Ringed Plover (Northern) (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (brunniceps)/Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis,
キジ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, バン,
ケリ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, オオセッカ, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Oze (Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma, Niigata)
尾瀬(福島,栃木,群馬,新潟)
Oze is an area consisting of open Greenland located at the border of Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata Prefectures.
This is the 29th national park in Japan, opened on 30 August 2007.
There are a Lake (Oze-numa), the high moors (Ozegahara) and the mountains.
This high moor is the largest in Japan, and is famous as an area rich in rare and precious plants and animals.
It is said to have been formed in the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago.
Because of the special geographical conditions of the highland basin, plants that evolved in the Ice Age are still growing naturally now.
The beautiful scenery is especially enjoyable when the moor is covered with blooming skunk cabbage in spring and day lilies in summer.
We can enjoy birding on highland from spring to autumn. Especially in summer, comfortable birding in the cool atmosphere is enjoyable.
When we arrived at Miike Parking lot at the noon, the rain which fell from the morning stopped intermittently fortunately.
The walking trail via Numayama Pass was filled with birds' songs. Probably thanks to the rain in the morning, the birds had been waited the rain to stop and they started singing immediately when the rain stopped.
We heard and saw many birds, such as; Lesser Cuckoo, tits (Coal, Willow), Red-flanked Bluetail, warblers (Japanese Bush, Japanese Leaf, Eastern Crowned), Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Japanese Robin, Eurasian Bullfinch, and Grey Bunting.
At the Numayama Pass, we saw a Crested Honey Buzzard and two Spotted Nutcrackers.
Along the wooden footpath in Oe Marsh, we walked looking at alpine plants. Due to the snow which fell in the late April, the blooming delayed around two weeks than the ordinary years. We could see the skunk cabbages in full blossom.
There were a Eastern Buzzard and heard Common Cuckoos.
When we arrived at Chozo-goya Lodge, the rain started very hard again with thunders.
In the early next morning, we saw clear sky and Lake Oze sitting still in silence.
In the sky, many Asian House Martins flew swift, and a Lesser Cuckoo flew singing.
We walked in the forest around the lodge, the birds were active, and we saw Grey Wagtails, Coal Tits, Eurasian Wren, Masked Buntings. Two Common Cuckoos flew at the lake side. And we heard the loud calls of Little Grebes in the lake.
We walked on the south couse of Lake Oze towards Numajiri. The trail is provided in a forest along the lake side.
We saw a few Great Cormorants on the rocks in the lake.
From Numajiri to Miharashi, we walked on the trail of Shirasuna Pass.
At Shrasuna Pass, there is a marsh. There were a few Blue-and-white Flycatchers singing at the top of trees.
From Shirasuna Pass to Miharashi, we went down about 250 meters along a stream. The forest changes from coniferous trees to broad‐leaved trees. Thanks to this variation of the natural environment, we saw many species of birds such as; Northern Hawk-Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, leaf warblers (Sakhalin, Japanese), Wood Nuthatch, Siberian Thrush, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, and Grey Bunting,
At Miharashi, there are many lodges for hikers. Asian House Martins were nesting under the roofs of these lodges. Russet Sparrows and Grety Wagtails were nesting in these lodges, too.
We looked for Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus) which is the winter bird but had been recorded in the previous summers at this site.
However, we could not find it this time.
In the afternoon we walked around Ozegahara from Miharashi via Yoppi Bridge and Ryugu.
In the grass field, many Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats and Chestnut-eared Buntings were singing on dwarf shrubs.
We heard a small calls of Latham's Snipes several times.
Cuckoos (Common, Lesser, Oriental) calls well in the forest and montains.
After sunset, the Latham's Snipes started to fly in the dark howling their unique flapping.
In the morning of the last day, the weather was very fine, too. Ozegahara was covered with thin white fog.
The birds around the lodge in Miharashi were very active. We heard songs of Siberian Thrush and Brown-headed Thrush.
We returned back the same trail up to Shirasuna Pass.
We saw almost same species as the day before. We heard and saw Siberian Blue Robins, Grey Buntings and Blue-and-white Flycatchers this time.
From Numajiri to Oe Mash, we went on the north couse of Lake Oze.
We saw Asian Brown Flycatchers and Grey Buntings very well.
Watching the same kinds of birds, we returned back to Numayamatoge Pass.
We saw a family of Willow Tit on this trail.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Little Grebe (poggei) (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Crested Honey Buzzard/Oriental Honey-buzzard (Northern) (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Oriental Cuckoo/Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler/Japanese Leaf Warbler (Seicercus xanthodryas), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Goldcrest (japonensis) (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Siberian Blue Robin (nechaevi) (Larvivora cyane nechaevi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch 8Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Schoeniclus variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, マガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ノスリ, オオジシギ, キジバト,
ジュウイチ, カッコウ, ツツドリ, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ,
カケス, ホシガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ,
ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
マミジロ, アカハラ, コマドリ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ウソ, ホオアカ, アオジ, クロジ
Hokkaido
北海道
The weather during trip was not good like cloudy, drizzly, foggy or windy, except the first two days.
It did not obstruct watching birds but was not good for taking photos.
At the observatory of Mt. Asahi (Asahi-Dake), Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis) appeared well and we saw two couples and one male.
As for the Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata) at Sarobetsu Plain (Sarobetsu Gen-ya), a few couples were confirmed this year, but we were able to watch only one of them which sang far in the distance. When they arrived at the field, they were observed nearby, but it was too far to take photos at this time.
In recent years, the breeding of the Red-necked Grebe (Holboll's) (Podiceps grisegena holbollii) in Shimo-Sarobetsu does not seem to be confirmed.
There were many regular members, such as Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis), Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri), Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps), Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis), Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina), Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus).
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii) were heard at Sarobetsu and Kiritappu Wetland and seen in Wakka Wild Flower Park (Wakka Gensei-Kaen).
The Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni) in Rausu appeared after 24:00 passed.
I expected Common Redshank (Central Asian) (Tringa totanus ussuriensis) at Notsuke Peninsula, but in late years the breeding was not confirmed.
The Pine Grosbeak at Shiretoko Pass was seen in a patch of blue sky in the dense fog.
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii) stopping on the telephone pole was not seen this time, and I wondered about the decrease of its number.
I was able to watch Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas) on the forest roads in Shunkunitai and Lake Hichirippu (thanks to the drizzly?).
When driving, I saw Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus) and Sand Martin (Kamchatka) (Riparia riparia ijimae), too.
The birds observed
- at Nopporo Forest Park
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Yungipicus kizuki seebohmi),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Japanese White-eye (Honshu) (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- around Mt. Asahi
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Western Osprey / Osprey (Eurasian) (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- at Sarobetsu Plain
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea alba modesta/Ardea modesta),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii), Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens/Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Yellow-breasted Bunting (ornatus) (Emberiza aureola ornata),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Beniya Wetland
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Omusaro Wild Flower Preserve
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis), Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Komuke Primeval Garden
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Monbetsu Cityn
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Shibunotsunai Lake
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula ), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Cormorant (hanedae) (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
White-throated Needletail (Northern) (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana/Motacilla flava taivana),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Wakka Wild Flower Park
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Abashiri City
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch/Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica), ,br> Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- Yobito Walking Path
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- Koshimizu Primeval Flower Garden
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)
- Shiretoko Pass & Rausu
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus), Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- Notsuke Peninsula
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary
Eurasian Wryneck (Japan) (Jynx torquilla japonica),
White-backed Woodpecker (subcirris) (Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda arvensis japonica/Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- Forest roads near Shunkunitai
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- Kiritappu Wetland
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii), Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis/Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- Kushiro City
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola/Locustella amnicola),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
エゾライチョウ, マガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, キジバト, アオバト, カワウ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, タンチョウ,
ジュウイチ, ツツドリ, カッコウ, ハリオアマツバメ, キタアマツバメ, オオジシギ, ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オジロワシ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, シマフクロウ, アリスイ, エゾコゲラ, エゾオオアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, チゴハヤブサ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ハシブトガラ, ヒガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ヤブサメ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, マキノセンニュウ, シマセンニュウ, エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ,
シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, コムクドリ, マミジロ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, ノゴマ, ルリビタキ,
ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カヤクグリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ギンザンマシコ, ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, シマアオジ, アオジ, クロジ, オオジュリン
Doto Area (Hokkaido)
道東(北海道)
Though the Tokyo area in June is the rain season, the weather in Hokkaido is fine and cool and good for birding. Also we can see different species from Tokyo area.
At first, we visited Otowa Bridge of Setsuri River in Tsurui Village.
This site is very famous for watching Red-crowned Cranes roosting in the river in the beautiful morning mist in winter.
In contrast to the winter time, the field was covered with fresh greens, and warblers (Sakhalin Leaf, Eastern Crowned) and Masked Buntings were singing well.
Two Red-crowned Cranes flew above us and welcomed us.
In a grass field along the road, we found a few Long-tailed Rosefinches with redish breeding form.
The second site we visited was Lake Shirarutoro in Kushiro Wetland.
When we visite last autumn, we saw big flocks of migrant geese (Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's), Bean Goose) and resident Common Mergansers.
This time, only a few Falcated Ducks were found in the lake. Instead, there were a Common Cuckoo, woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted), warblers (Japanese Bush, Sakhalin Grasshopper/Stepanyan's, Sakhalin Leaf, Eastern Crowned), and a family of Asian Wood Nuthatch.
There was a young Red-crowned Crane in the forest, too.
Before sunset, we arrived at Washi-no-Yado, today's inn in Rausu.
We waited for Blakiston's Fish-Owl which is breeding near the inn and visit to get fish in the river flowing at the front of the inn after sunset.
After waiting almost 5 hours and we almost gave up the observation, one owl finally appeared suddenly without noise at 23:55.
It appeared one hour later again.
In the early morning of the second day, we walked around the inn.
There were many Grey Wagtails singing actively.
A Masked Bunting was singing at a tip of a dead tree.
We saw two White-bellied Green-Pigeons perching at a tree.
Then we enjoyed the cruise by Shiretoko Nature Cruise in the morning.
The cruise was two and a half hours course.
At Rausu Port, we saw many gulls (Slaty-backed, Black-tailed) and two White-tailed Eagles on the breakwaters.
Near the port, we saw some Rhinoceros Auklets and Short-tailed Shearwaters. We expected to see huge flocks of Short-tailed Shearwater, which gathers at this water in this season, however we could not see such aa big flock this time. At the offshore, many Northern Fulmars were flying around the ship. A Laysan Albatross flew near the ship. We saw more than ten Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and a Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), too.
In the afternoon, we visited Shiretoko Pass. On the road up to the pass, we saw an Olive-backed Pipit singing at the top of a tree.
At the pass, we waited for Pine Grosbeak in the bush of Dwarf Stone Pine (Pinus pumila). On the road up to the pass, we saw an Olive-backed Pipit singing at the top of a tree.
At the pass, we waited for Pine Grosbeak in the bush of Dwarf Stone Pine (Pinus pumila).
It was cold with the wind passing from Sea of Okhotsk to Nemuro Channel. A few Pacific Swifts were flying in the wind.
After a while, a couple of Pine Grosbeak flew and jumped into the bush. We saw a male stopping on a Dwarf Stone Pine. Then, the male and female appeared together closely, and we watched the beautiful birds very well.
Then we drove down to the Utoro side. We heard a call of Japanese Robin.
We moved to the north towards Koshimizu Wild Flower Park (Koshimizu Gensei-Kaen). This field is a grassfield formed between Lake Tofutsu and Sea of Okhotsk.
We heard and saw many birds in the grassfield such as; Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats, Grey-capped Greenfinches, Common Reed Buntings, Japanese Bush-Warblers, Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warblers, and Common Cuckoos.
We saw a few White-tailed Eagles and a Eastern Marsh-Harrier flying near the lake.
We returned back to Washi-no-Yado before sunset. We saw a Brown Dipper in the river front of the inn.
We waited for Blakiston's Fish-Owl again.
The owl appeared earlier that night at around 22:00. The owl stayed at the riververy long for more than twenty minutes and ate four fishes.
In the early morning of the third day, we saw many birds around the inn such as; Asian Brown Flycatchers, Blue-and-white Flycatchers, and Grey Wagtails.
A Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler was singing loudly in the bush near the river. We tried to look for the bird, but it hide inside the bush and we could not see it.
We visited Notsuke Peninsula (Notsuke-Hanto). On the road to the visitor center, we saw birds, such as gulls (Slaty-backed, Black-tailed), a flock of Greater Scaup, White-tailed Eagles at the seaside, and Latham's Snipes, Black-browed Reed Warblers, Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats, Common Reed Buntings, Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warblers, Japanese Skylarks, and Common Cuckoos in the grassfield.
At the visitr center, we got an certificate to enter into the protection area at the tip of the peninsula and drove into the protection area.
We saw a few Kentish Plovers, a few White-tailed Eagles and a family of Red-crowned Crane. There was a red fox walking nearby the crane's family.
On the way to the next destination; Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary (Shunkunitai Gensei-Yacho-Koen), we saw a flock of waterfowls (Common Merganser/Goosanders, Tufted Ducks, Mallards, Greater Scaups).
In the forest of Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary, we saw and heard many birds such as; Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Carrion Crows, Large-billed Crows, tits (Coal, Marsh, Japanese), warblers (Sakhalin Grasshopper, Sakhalin Leaf, Eastern Crowned), Eurasian Wrens, Asian Wood Nuthatches, and an Eurasian Tree-Creeper.
We walked on the wooden footpath at the lake side of Lake Furen.
From the footpath, we heard songs of Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler and Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler.
We saw Common Reed Buntings, a family of Eurasian Wren, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a Coal Tit in the forest of coniferous trees; Sakhalin spruce (Picea glehnii) and Todo fir (Abies sachalinensis).
On the shore of the lake near the cottage where we stayed at, a family of Red-crowned Crane was eating the grasses.
In the morning of the last day, we moved to Ochiishi Port.
On the wat via Betoga Town through the deep forest, we enjoyed watching many birds such as; Latham's Snipe, Common Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Bullfinch, Siberian Rubythroat, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Brown-headed Thrush, Japanese Robin, and Red-flanked Bluetail.
When we arrived at Ochiishi Port for Ochiishi Nature Cruise, the port was covered with dense fog, According to the staff of the cruise, the ship would depart on schedule but she was not sure that the fog will be cleared during the cruise.
When we got on the fishing boat, the fog became thin.
In the port, we saw many Slaty-backed Gulls sitting on the nests made on the breakwater.
A few Pacific Swifts were flying around the breakwater.
Outside of the port, many Rhinoceros Auklets were floating on the sea.
Soon, we saw a juvenile Tufted Puffin near the boat.
On Yururi Island, there were many gulls nesting. There were a few White-tailed Eagles aiming at the gull in the island, too. We saw an eagle was chased by gulls.
Around the island, there were a big flock of Spectacled Guillemots.
On the rocks, there were many Japanese Cormorants and a few Red-faced Cormorants. Red-faced Cormorant inhabits at only this area in Japan.
We looked for adult of Tufted Puffin around Yururi and Moyururi Islands, but we did not see during the cruise.
In the afternoon, we visited Kiritappu Wetland, the last destination of this trip,
This wetland is very wide and was entirely covered by beautiful white Eriophorum vaginatums.
There were birds in the grassland such as; Latham's Snipe, Common Cuckoo, Japanese Skylark, Lanceolated Warbler, Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler, and Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat.
The birds observed
- at Otowa Bridge in Tsurui Village
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Lake Shirarutoro
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (seebohmi) (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Grey-faced Woodpecker (jessoensis) (Picus canus jessoensis)?
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Locustella amnicola),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Eurasian Nuthatch) (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Rausu
Black-throated Loon/Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon (Green-throated) (Gavia arctica viridigularis),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Locustella amnicola),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica dauurica), Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea), White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- Nature Cruise at Rausu
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis),
Northern Fulmar (Pacific) (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii),
Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus)
- Shiretoko Pass
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus)?
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Olive-backed Pipit (Indian) (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Pine Grosbeak (sakhalinensis) (Pinicola enucleator sakhalinensis),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- Koshimizu
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Schoeniclus schoeniclus pyrrhulinus)
- Notsuke Peninsula
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Kentish Plover (nihonensis) (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Schoeniclus schoeniclus pyrrhulinus)
- Shunbetsu River (Bekkai)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
- Shunkunitai Wild Bird Sanctuary
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (hensoni) (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii), Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler/Stepanyan's Warbler (Locustella amnicola),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps)
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Eurasian Wren (fumigatus) (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eurasian Tree-Creeper (daurica) (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Common Reed Bunting/Reed Bunting (pyrrhulinus) (Schoeniclus schoeniclus pyrrhulinus)
- Betoga (Nemuro)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (japonicus) (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Seicercus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Red-flanked Bluetail/Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (sanguinolentus) (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting/Black-faced Bunting (personatus) (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- Ochiishi Cruise
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous Gull (pallidissimus) (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Pacific Swift (Northern) (Apus pacificus pacificus),
Siberian Rubythroat (Kamchatka) (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis)
- Kiritappu Wetland
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus lineatus lineatus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Skylark/Japanese Skylark (japonica) (Alauda japonica japonica),
Lanceolated Warbler (hendersonii) (Locustella lanceolata hendersonii), Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis ochotensis),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Seicercus coronatus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, オオハム,
コアホウドリ, フルマカモメ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アオサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チシマウガラス,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オジロワシ, チュウヒ, タンチョウ, シロチドリ, オオジシギ, ウミネコ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ケイマフリ, ウトウ, エトピリカ, カワラバト, キジバト, アオバト, カッコウ, ツツドリ, シマフクロウ, キタアマツバメ,
エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, ヤマゲラ? ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, マキノセンニュウ, シマセンニュウ, エゾセンニュウ, コヨシキリ,
エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, アカハラ, コマドリ, ノゴマ, ルリビタキ,
ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, カワガラス, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ギンザンマシコ, ウソ, ホオアカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort, Takayama, Mt. Norikura & Hirayu (Gifu)
濁河温泉,高山,乗鞍岳,平湯(岐阜)
When we departed, it was raining due to a strong low pressure.
Nobody of the tour member expected good result of the birding due to the rain during whole days of the tour. However, when we entered in Gifu Prefecture, the rain stopped and we saw the blue sky through the break in the clouds.
At first, we visited Kaida Highland (1,150-1,200 m on the north foot of Mt. Ontake).
When we started birding, it started rain again. But it was not so strong and we could enjoy birding.
Near the horse farm, we heard and saw Common Cuckoos, a family of Bull-headed Shrikes and wagtails (Black-backed, Japanese).
In the forest, there were a few Meadow Buntings and Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
When we stopped over at the vegetable field, the rain stopped again and sun shined again. Thanks to this condition, the birds became active and we saw a Green Pheasant in the field, a Meadow Bunting singing at the top of a tree, and Asian House Martins and a Mountain Hawk-Eagle in the sky.
Near Ciao Ontake Snow Resort (2000 m on the north foot of Mt. Ontake), we looked for Spotted Nutcracker, and some members saw it from the bus.
We heard Japanese Leaf Warblers, Red-flanked Bluetails and a Japanese Robin, too.
In Kurumijima Campground (1850 m on the north foot of Mt. Ontake).
When we started to walk, it was not raining, and we heard some birds singing such as; leaf warblers (Pacific, Sakhalin), Red-flanked Bluetails and Coal Tits.
When we reached the center of the campground, suddenly strong wind blew and strong rain like shower started to fall. We gave up continuing the birding and returned back to the bus.
At the entrance of Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort, the birds were quiet due to the wind and rain. We moved to the inn and waited for the recovery of the weather condition.
In the evening, the rain stopped but still windy. We heard only one Japanese Robin near the inn in this evening.
We expected the recovery of the weather, but it started rain from the mid night again. In the morning of the second day, we started birding from 5 am when the rain and wind became calmed down slightly.
We walked down to the bridge at the entrance of Nigorigo Spa Resort.
We heard some Japanese Robins singing, and some members saw a Blue-and-white Flycatcher singing on the top of the tree.
Near the bridge, some lucky members saw a Japanese Robin singing on a small branch at the close distance.
According to the weather forecast, the weather condition at the Mt. Norikura would be very bad with very strong wind even after the low pressure gone away to the north east. However, we expected that this forecast would be off and decided to visit Mt. Norikura as planned.
Along the road in the Nyukawa area, Takayama City, there were egrets in the paddy fields.
We climbed up the road in strong wind and fog to the top of Mt. Norikura by bus. When we reached the forest line over 2, 200 meter high, the wind became very strong and dangerous to go ahead further. We decided to give up the birding and switched back the road.
Some member saw an Alpine Accentor stopping on a rock in the strong wind. We could not see Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica) this time.
As the final destination, we visited a forest near the Hirayu Bus Stop.
The forest was better than we expected, since the site was wide and was covered with broad‐leaved trees and a small stream flowed. We walked around about one hour and we saw a family of Wood Nuthatch, tits (Japanese, Coal, Long-tailed) and Asian Stubtails.
The birds observed are;
- at Kaida Highland:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (orientalis) (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus canorus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (N Honshu) (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (orientalis) (Corvus corone orientalis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/ Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (minor) (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Kurumijima Campground:
Spotted Nutcracker (Japanese) (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (restrictus) (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige), Red-flanked Bluetail/Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus)
- at Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort:
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Eastern) (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Lesser Cuckoo (Small) (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Eurasian Jay (japonicus) (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Large-billed Crow (Japanese) (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Japanese) (Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas/Seicercus xanthodryas), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (dauricus) (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige), Red-flanked Bluetail/Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Japanese) (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- at Nyukawa area, Takaoka City:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (jouyi) (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great White Egret/Eastern Great Egret (Eurasian) (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Common Kestrel (interstinctus) (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite/Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus/Milvus lineatus lineatus), Eastern Buzzard (japonicus) (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (saturatus) (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (ciopsis) (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Mt. Norikura:
Alpine Accentor (erythropygia) (Prunella collaris erythropygia),
Grey Wagtail (cinerea) (Motacilla cinerea cinerea)
- at forest near Hiyayu Bus terminal:
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (nippon) (Yungipicus kizuki nippon),
Japanese Tit (minor) (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (insularis) (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (gutturalis) (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (trivirgatus) (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (cantans) (Horornis diphone cantans),
Wood Nuthatch (amurensis) (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni),
White Wagtail/Pied Wagtail/ Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジ, カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, クマタカ,
キジバト, カッコウ, ホトトギス, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス, ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ,
ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, ムクドリ, マミジロ, アカハラ, コマドリ, ルリビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ,
イワヒバリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラ, イカル, ホオジロ
Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort (Gero, Gifu)
濁河温泉(下呂,岐阜)
On the drive way to Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort, we saw many Pacific Swifts in the sky and many Bull-headed Shrikes in the vegetable fields in Kaida Highland (1000-1500 m on the north-east foot of Mt. Ontake).
Near Ciao Ontake Snow Resort (2000 m on the north foot of Mt. Ontake), we looked for Japanese Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica) which was observed well during the last visit on 2018 June 23. However, there was no Japanese Spotted Nutcracker this time.
Instead we heard and saw Japanese Leaf Warbler and Sakhalin Leaf Warbler.
Around 1 pm in the afternoon, we arrived at the first site; Kurumijima Campground (1850 m on the north foot of Mt. Ontake).
It was the worst timing for birding, and the birds were quiet and resting out of our sight. We heard only some leaf warblers (Pacific, Sakhalin), Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins and a Grey-bellied Bullfinch.
At the entrance of Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort, we looked for birds.
Unfortunately a restoration construction of the guardrail damage caused by the heavy rain of the last year was on going, and the bird was not found except for Sakhalin and Japanese Leaf Warblers.
The mountain trail to Mount Ontake via "Sen-nin Waterfalls" was closed from the upper part of the waterfall because the restoration had not been yet completed for a disaster of the last year.
At the entrance of the trail, a Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher was singing well among a tree. A part of the walking trail to the resort provided in the hill site was also closed due to the collapse.
We heard some calls of Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins there.
In the evening, we eventually heard the song of a Japanese Robin in the room of the inn, which we were desiring very much.
In the next morning, we observed many birds in contrast to the afternoon of the day before.
Two Japanese Robins had begun to sing at the road side near the inn at the daybreak.
In front of the inn, two Japanese Jays appeared.
At the entrance of the mountain trail, a Eurasian Wren was singing well, and a Blue-and-white Flycatcher was singing on the the treetop.
Near Sen-nin Waterfall, a Japanese Robin was singing.
We heard a Northern Hawk-Cuckoo call. Then it suddenly began to fly with the other two Hodgson's Hawk-cuckoos which had been hiding quietly. But soon they hid quietly again.
At the entrance of the resort where the road construction was carried out in the day before, the construction was not started yet and we observed many birds there, too. We heard three Japanese Robins singing well. I took a glance of one of them. We heard many warblers (Sakhalin Leaf, Pacific Leaf, Japanese Bush), a Eurasian Wren, and a Japanese Grosbeak. A Blue-and-white Flycatcher was singing on the a treetop, too.
Then we moved to Kurumijima Campground.
Birds were also active there, too.
We heard many warblers (Pacific, Sakhalin) and watched Japanese Leaf Warblers very well,
We heard a Japanese Robin singing near a small stream.
We saw Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins and a Grey-bellied Bullfinchs, too.
We found a flycatcher looked very different from Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin with its back in the dark blacky blue and breast in orange colour. We could not take its photo unfortunately.
On the return way, we stopped over at Kaida Highland again.
Near the Tourist Guide office, I found two Daurian Redstarts. This bird was the winter bird in Japan, but recently, the breeding has been recorded in the central area of Honshu. These two individuals might be breeding at this field, too.
Near the horse farm, we heard and saw an Eastern Common Cuckoo, a Meadow Bunting and some Black-backed Wagtails.
The birds observed are;
- at Kaida Highland:
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Eastern Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus subtelephonus),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler(Phylloscopus coronatus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- at Kurumijima Campground:
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Lessor Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- at Nigorigo Hot-spring Resort:
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
キジ, ゴイサギ, トビ, キジバト, アオバト, キタジュウイチ, カッコウ, ホトトギス, アマツバメ,
コゲラ? サンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, コガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
ミソサザイ, コマドリ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ウソ, イカル, ホオジロ
Low mountain in Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都市低山(京都)
This time of the year is the season of arrivals of late migrants and breeding of resident and early migrant birds.
The late migrants were detected mostly by voice only.
I could see, however, a number of breeding birds carrying food or fledglings.
On May 10, there was a mixed flock Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) and Japanese Grosbeaks (Eophona personata) but number of these individuals decreased rapidly on subsequent days.
On May 11, I could see a Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata) first time in this season (voice was already heard earlier).
On May 13, there was a very friendly Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (male with a long tail), which sang and flew around and I enjoyed watching him for one and a half hour.
On May 14, I heard a Rufous Hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus) at night (first time in this season).
After this, I heard Japanese Paradise Flycatchers almost on every day, but they were difficult to see.
On May 18, I saw a Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) carrying food.
Asian Stubtails (Urosphena squameiceps) became active again and I saw a fledgling.
On May 19, I saw a very young fledgling of Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus), which could not fly but climbed a tree by feet.
On this day, I heard rather strange calls similar to Narcissus Flycatcher. These calls were heard only on one day and the bird was probably a passing one. It resembled the voice of a likely Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) recorded on May 2 and it may have been the same species.
On May 20, I saw a pair of Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana) carrying food to nestlings.
It was rainy on May 21, but I observed under rain.
I heard a Lesser Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) early in the morning in rain (first recognition in this season).
Under very dark condition, I saw a bird popped up on a grass. I initially imagined a sparrow based on the slow movement and the large size, but I was surprised to find it a warbler with binoculars. I didn't prepare a camera due to the rain, but I saw the bird through the binoculars for several seconds.
Although the species identity was not resolved readily, I later found an article describing the ID tips for Grasshopper Warblers. The underparts of the bird was seen mainly and my impression agrees with the grey breast and buff underparts of the Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler (Helopsaltes amnicola), unlike the pale color of the Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis).
The Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler usually passes here between May 20 and early June. I usually recognize migration of this species by voice, but this time the bird did not issue any voice.
On May 23, I saw a flying bird with calls.
The calls were lighter than the Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus) and lacked low-frequency component. By analysis of the sound, I concluded it to be an Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis).
On May 24, I recorded the first Kamchatka Leaf Warbler in this season. Like the bird on May 23, it issued calls during flight, but the voice was clearly different.
On this day, I saw an Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris). This species appears to be increasing in number and can be sometimes met in low mountains.
On May 26, I heard unfamiliar persistent voice. I couldn't find the bird, but the nature was revealed two days later. It was a female Blue-and-white Flycatcher carrying food probably to the nestlings. This family is different from the one observed on May 20.
On May 27, I heard a Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) rather unexpectedly. This bird approached a nest of the Black Kite (Milvus migrans) and was expelled by the pair of these kites. I could see the event through dense leaves and could only see the kites.
Since May 29, I could hear song of the Kamchatka Leaf Warbler relatively frequently, but most of them were distant and difficult to recognize.
A different family of the Asian Stubtail was seen and these birds were very actively moving around with various calls and songs.
On June 1, I heard the voice of a Japanese Scops Owl (Otus semitorques) in twilight. I heard it again on the next day and it was likely that there was an important event in this family (chicks fledged?).
On June 3, I saw a fledgling of Blue-and-white Flycatcher (of yet another family). I heard begging calls of fledglings of this family on the following two days.
On June 4, it was a day of Japanese Paradise Flycatchers. I saw two birds flying and calling together while it was still dark. I heard voice at other places.
There may have been a small wave of migration and I heard a suspected voice of a Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha). The identification was uncertain since I heard it only once and the frequency was slightly higher than usual.
On June 6, I unexpectedly heard a Japanese Scops Owl at night and recorded the low voice more than 10 times within two hours.
This was a day of Kamchatka Leaf Warblers and I could hear song clearly in different places.
In one place while I was recording a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler, I noticed strange voice. I initially thought it to be undeveloped song of Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone) or Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) and rather dismissed it since I was concentrated in locating the moving Kamchatka Leaf Warbler. After examination of the recording, I found a characteristic phrase of Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis). It was lucky that the event was fully recorded by voice and I didn't miss this rare encounter (but only with voice).
サシバ, トビ, オオコノハズク, ジュウイチ, ホトトギス, キビタキ, マミジロキビタキ? オオルリ, サンコウチョウ, ヤイロチョウ? メジロ,
ヤブサメ, コムシクイ, オオムシクイ, エゾセンニュウ, コウライウグイス, キバシリ, シメ, イカル,
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
葛西臨海公園(東京)
There are not so many birds in this field in this season.
When I was about to go out for birding, I got an information that a Black-faced Spoonbill was seen at the "Artificial rock".
The bird was resting at the "Artificial rock" when I arrived at. It sometimes raised the face. After a while, it flew towards the "East beach".
When I was checking the other places, I was informed that the bird returned again. This time, the bird was taking a rest at the almost same place. Then it started to forage.
It was a long time ago when I watched a Black-faced Spoonbill foraging at the "Artificial rock" last time. It was eating a crab spending some time. Later, I confirmed that the bird ate the crab after removing the legs of the crab.
I could take a photo of the bird spreading wings. At first, I supposed that the bird was immature because I could not confirm the black pattern at the tip of the primary wing. However, there was a small black pattern when watching well. This bird might be the same individual which had been staying in this field.
After that, I heard that a Chinese Pond-Heron appeared.
It did not readily turn up, but it finally turned up near noon.
It is after a long absence at this field. My last record was August, 2013.
The birds reported are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor)
カルガモ, スズガモ, カイツブリ, クロツラヘラサギ, アカガシラサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, バン, オオバン, コチドリ, キアシシギ, ウミネコ, ユリカモメ, キジバト, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Kita-Fuji Military Base (Yamanashi)
北富士演習場(山梨)
This military base is usually opened for public on Sunday.
On the day I visited, the field was allowed to enter, I looked for Lantham's Snipe and cuckoos.
The Lantham's Snipe started to fly from around 5:30, and still flew even at 8:00.
The Eastern Common Cuckoos were singing in many places.
I saw Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats, Chestnut-eared Buntings, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and Chestnut-cheeked Starlings.
I heard many Black-browed Reed Warblers, but they did not come out from the reeds.
The birds reported are;
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Eastern Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus subtelephonus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
etc.
オオジシギ, カッコウ, アカゲラ, コヨシキリ, コムクドリ, ノビタキ, ホオアカ, 他
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano)
戸隠森林植物園(長野)
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis)
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
We arrived at the garden at around 6:30 am. The forest of the garden was rather quiet compared with the visit on 2018 May 25.
At first, I thought that the time of singing was over and the birds were busy in raising chicks. However this assumption seemed to be beside the point.
We noticed that the number of species was less than the last visit in Spring. For example, we recorded 33 species this time and 40 on 2018 May 25. We could not see; Eastern Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus subtelephonus) and Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus), . Also numbers of the summer birds were also fewer.
According to a local staff of the visitor center, the snow in the field remained ten days late behind last year. These abnormal situation might have been provided by this effect.
Though, we thoroughly enjoyed the birding in the beautiful nature.
We got one surprise. An Asiatic black bear was hiding in the bush only around 10m from the place where we took a break. It appeared when we left the place and walked a little.
The birds we observed are;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus), Lessor Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit, (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, カルガモ, カイツブリ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, ツツドリ, ホトトギス,
コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, サンショウクイ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コルリ,
コサメビタキ, キビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, セグロセキレイ, ウグイス, メジロ,
ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ, キバシリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ノジコ, アオジ, クロジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
According to the weather forecast, it would become very hot like the summer in spite of May, so I visited the site early in the morning. The sky was very clear without a piece of cloud as the weather forecast told.
The grasses on the river bed grew tall and had covered the ground. I heard Oriental Reed Warbler, Green Pheasant (kigis), and Bull-headed Shrike which were whispering in the bush.
Zitting Cisticola and Japanese Skylark were singing in the sky.
Many White-cheeked Starlings and Eurasian Tree Sparrows were very busy flying between the river bed and the housing area beside the river, carrying food for the chicks waiting at their nests.
In the river, there was no ducks other than Eastern Spot-billed Ducks. I found a family of Eastern Spot-billed Duck.
There were a few Great Egrets, Little Egrets and Frey Herons were in the river or on the weir.
There was no Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis) this time. They might have found the other place for their nest because there was no proper sand bar after the big typhoons in the last autumn.
On the play ground where the grass was just mowed, White-cheeked Starlings and a Western Little Ringed Plover were foraging.
There were a few more Western Little Ringed Plovers on the river bed and the other play ground.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
キジ, カルガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ,
コチドリ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Hachioji Castle Ruins (Hachioji, Tokyo)
八王子城跡(東京)
The weather was sunny, but it was cool inside the forest.
In the forest, we heard and saw the summer birds such as Narcissus Flycatchers, Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatchers, and Black Paradise-Flycatchers.
The Black Paradise-Flycatchers nest in this field every summer.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis) Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana), Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, イカル
Three-day Trip for Hegura Island (Ishikawa)
舳倉島3日間旅行(石川)
One concern is the access to the island. Only ship is the means of transportation to the island.
The public ship named "Megumi" is regularly in operation, but because of its size as 98 tons, it does not operate in the conditions either of more than 2m wave or more than 10 m/s wing. Therefore, the possibility of cancellation is very high.
On the other hand, if the weather is good and the ship operates, migratory birds pass through without stopping over the island.
The birding trip in Hegura Island is a big challenge, because the good weather allows us to visit the island with less birds and the bad weather refuse us to visit the island with a huge number of migrating birds.
On the first day, we departed Osaka Station in the evening by super express train, drove a rent-a-car and arrived at a hotel near Wajima Port in the late night.
The weather on the second day was sunny without wind, and the sea was very calm. The ship departed on the schedule.
Before getting on the ship, we walked around Wajima Port and observed many Black Kites, Black-tailed Gulls and Barn Swallows and some Great Cormorants. We searched for other gulls, cormorants and swallows, but we did not see during our obseration.
We found a Pochard, winter bird, in the river mouth. It might have some problem making it stay.
There were Japanese Wagtails, too.
On the ship towards the island, we looked for seabirds, but we only observed a few number of Streaked Shearwaters and a flock of Red-necked Phalarope.
Seven Isles (Nanatsu-jima) on the way to Hegura is., there were big breeding colonies of Black-tailed Gulls.
At the Hegura Port, there were small number of Black-tailed Gulls.
We started about four-hour birding until the ship departure from the island. At first we walked the center road from the light house to "Okitsuhime Shrine" at the south of the island. There were many leaf warblers (Eastern Crowned, Kamchatka or Pacific, Sakhalin, Yellow-browed), flycatchers (Narcissus, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Dark-sided), Honshu White-eyes, Masked Buntings, and Japanese Bush Warblers here and there.
The dominant species of the leaf warblers were Eastern Crowned Warbler and Kamchatka or Japanese Leaf Warbler.
At the small water place, we saw a Grey Bunting and a Siberian Blue Robin.
We saw a Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat beside the road.
Around "Okitsuhime Shrine", there were some Eyebrowed Thrushes moving in the trees.
On the coast, we looked for shorebirds, egrets, but we saw only a few Black-backed Wagtails.
The other birds observed were; Japanese Cormorant, White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo, Oriental Reed Warbler, Red-bellied Rock Thrush, Eastern Peregrine Falcon, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Japanese Hawfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, etc..
On the ship returning to Wajima Port, the number of seabirds increased. We saw a few big flocks of Streaked Shearwaters.
We walked on the path to Ryugasaki Light House and Horai-yama Park located next to the port. There were Red-bellied Rock Thrushes, Narcissus Flycatcheres, Japanese Grosbeak, and many swallows. Among the swallows, there were some Red-rumped Swallows. Near the hotel, we saw Asian House Martins flying together and collecting mud as the nest material.
At the river mouth, We found a Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra). This bird might have some problem, too.
The weather of the third day was also nice and the ship operated on schedule. We decided to visit Hegura Island again.
Around the Wajima Port, we saw a Japanese Cormorant resting on the rock with Great Cormorants and Black-tailed Gulls.
At Hegura Island, it seemed that many new birds were visiting. We saw a Eurasian Hobby staying still on a pine tree, and a Siberian Thrush and a Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat foraging beside the central road.
There was a report of Black-naped Oriole, but it did not appear during our observation.
We glanced a few Japanese Wood-Pigeons in the forest, but it was very shy and it was difficult to watch well.
At the grass land at the front of "Tsukasa Inn", there were leaf warblrers and Common Dusky Warblers.
In "Ryujin Pond", there were some ducks (Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Garganey, Eurasian Wigeon), an Eurasian Moorhen, and a shorebird looked like a Wood Sandpiper at the far distance. On the coast, an Olive-backed Pipit and a Red-throated Pipit were confirmed by the other birders.
At the water place, it was reported that a Tristram's Bunting appeared. We waited the birds until the time of the ship departure, but it did not appeared. Instead, a Brambling appeared.
On the ship returning to Wajima Port, we saw the flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes, and a Japanese Murrelet flying at the distance.
We drove to Kanazawa by the car and returned by the Super Express train from Kanazawa.
The birds observed are;
- at Wajima Port
Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus sonorivox),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
- on the boat between Wajima Port and Hegura Is. & in Hegura Island (* recorded by other birders)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Garganey (Anas querquedula),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
*Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)? *Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
*Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus micropterus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
*Oriental Scope-Owl (Otus sunia japonicus),
*Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis diffusus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Sky-Lark (Alauda japonica pekinensis)?
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Common Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus), Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus) or Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)?
Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis), Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
*Green-headed Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), *Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
*Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
コジュケイ, マガン, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, シマアジ, ホシハジロ, オオミズナギドリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チゴハヤブサ, ハヤブサ, ハチクマ, トビ, *サシバ,
バン, タカブシギ? *イソシギ, アカエリヒレアシシギ, ウミネコ, カンムリウミスズメ,
カワラバト, カラスバト, キジバト, アオバト, *セグロカッコウ, ツツドリ, *コノハズク, *コウライウグイス,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, オオヒバリ?
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ムジセッカ, キマユムシクイ, メボソムシクイ上種, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, マミジロ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ? ノゴマ, コルリ, イソヒヨドリ, サメビタキ, コサメビタキ,
キビタキ, ムギマキ, スズメ , ツメナガセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, ムネアカタヒバリ,
アトリ, カワラヒワ, シメ, イカル, *シロハラホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
One-day Trip around Kansai area (Hyogo & Osaka Prefectures)
関西方面日帰り(神戸＆大阪)
In the morning, we visited Mt. Rokko.
We started to walk from Suzurandai Station of Kobe Electric railway, walked alogn Dou River (Dou-gawa) and reached Kobe Municipal Arboretum (or Kobe City Forest Botanical Garden).
On the way, we heard Narcissus Flycatchers, tits (Japanese, Varied), Japanese Bush Warblers, Eastern Crowned Warblers, an Asian Stubtail. and a Japanese Thrush.
Kobe Municipal Arboretum is very large Botanical Garden of total area 142.6ha, and located in Rokko Mountains. In garden, there are a product forest ward of North America, a product forest ward of Europe, a product forest ward of Asia, and a product forest ward (Northern Japan Zone, Evergreen Forest Zone, Japan Coniferous Forest Zone) of Japan.
We walked around the park looking for birds in the forests. We heard and saw such as; Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher, woodpecker (Japanese Pygmy, Japanese), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo, Meadow Bunting, Japanese Grosbeak, Grey Wagtail, Japanese Buzzard, etc..
In the afternoon, we moved to Osaka Castle Park.
We walked from Morinomiya Station.
In "Citizen's Forest", there were several photographers looking for Black Paradise-Flycatcher. Fortunately, we found a male soon.
In "East Outer Moat", no water bird was found.
At the slope nearby "Plum Grove", many photographers were taking photos of a female Black Paradise-Flycatcher. We saw a flock of Long-tailed Tit there.
We checked whether there were any flycatchers or leaf-warblers at the back area of "Hokoku Shrine", but we did not see. Instead, we saw a family of duck; considered as the hybrid of Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Mallard, at "South Outer Moat".
We walked around "Main Tower of Osaka Castle", but there were no birds special.
The list of the birds observed were;
- Mt. Rokko;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps), Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- Osaka Castle Park (* recorded by other birders);
Hybrid, Eastern Spot-billed Duck x Mallard (Anas [platyrhynchos x zonorhyncha]),
*Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
*White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
*Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas), *Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
*Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica sibirica), *Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
*Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
(*他のバーダーの観察種を示す)
カルガモxマガモ(雑種), *カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, カワラバト, キジバト, *アオバト, ツツドリ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
サンコウチョウ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ, ウグイス, *メボソムシクイ, *エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ,
*サメビタキ, *コサメビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, イカル, ホオジロ
Tobi-shima Island (Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture)
飛島(山形)
- First Day:
At first, the wind was not blowing so strong, but the weather forecast was telling that the wind would be getting stronger. I was worried about the cancellation of the ship, but the ship departed at 9 o'clock on time. But the ship was rolled by the wind.
I felt sick a little. However, I managed to overcome the trip over 1 hours, and arrived in Tobishima.
After getting the latest information from a birder staying from one week ago and the master of the inn, we started birding.
There were people gethering in the beach. They were looking for a Brown Shrike.
A Black-throated Thrush, a rare species, had been recorded from a few days ago. We went straight to the farm field at the central road. The Black-throated Thrush was moving back and forth between the road and the gutter of the road and foraging. It is exciting to see a lifer, and I enjoyed this excitement for a long time.
After observing the Black-throated Thrush for a while, we moved to the other farm fields on the central road one by one, but we couldn't find any special species except for an Ashy Minivet.
The heliport was just mowed.
I was able to observe Chestnut-eared Buntings and Yellow-browed Buntings in a short cut meadow well.
There was an Asian Brown Flycatcher, too.
Then we went to the school playground.
I heard there was a Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus tristis) until the day before, but we couldn't see it.
There were a Daurian Redstart, a Yellow-headed Bunting and a Meadow Bunting.
I felt there were fewer birds than usual.
It seemed that there was no Radde's Warbler (Phylloscopus schwarzi) which had been recorded until the day before.
- Second Day:
We started birding at 5 am.
There were almost no birds in the school ground.
In forest "Kyoboku-no-mori", there were an Olive-backed Pipit only.
Near the sightseeing tower, there were a Daurian Redstart and Pacific Swifts.
Then we moved to the heliport.
There were a beautiful Eyebrowed Thrush, Little Bunting, and Yellow-browed Buntings in the meadow.
After the breakfast, we started from the farm field where we saw Black-throated Thrush. There was not the bird. It seemed that the bird had gone.
Then we walked looking at the farm fields, but we did not see birds.
We moved to Yotsuya Dam.
There were Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Asian Brown Flycatcher.
The next destination was "Omonoimi Shrine".
This is my favorite point I visited frequently on the last year. We had ever heard the call of Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis diffusus) at this point.
We spent there taking lunch.
There were Narcissus Flycatcher and Ashy Minivet around the dam at the innermost part.
We saw a Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat in the front area of the dam.
There were Varied Tit and Chestnut-cheeked Starling, too.
At the entrance, there were Western Black-faced Bunting, Tristram's Bunting and Olive-backed Pipit.
We walked towards the farm fields in Hoki area.
We expected to see a female of Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) which was recorded by the other birder, but I heard that the bird had not been appeared in the day.
We waited for Ashy Minivet, but it did not appear. The time might not be good for birding. When we returned at the entrnce of the farm field of Hoki, the master of inn was observing a Siberian Blue Robin. It seems that Siberian Blue Robin appears at this point as well as Heike-mori and Genji-mori.
At the heliport, the Eyebrowed Thrush that we saw in the morning.
There were Meadow Bunting, Little Bunting, and Yellow-browed Bunting, too.
- Third Day:
In this morning, we alsp started from the forest via the school ground.
As soon as entering the forest, there was a female Siberian Blue Robin. The bird seemed that it had just arrived the island, and was very tired.
There were many leaf warblers in the morning. The dominant species was Eastern Crowned Warbler, and we heard Sakhalin Leaf Warblers as well.
After walking for a while, we heard Northern Hawk-Cuckoo nearby. We looked for it hard, but we couldn't find it.
We walked ahead from the sightseeing tower, a pretty adult male Mugimaki Flycatcher was perching on a tree.
In the afternoon, we visited the forest, and we saw many Eastern Crowned Warblers again.
We heard calls of Northern Hawk-Cuckoo, too.
We stayed there for a while. We saw a Northern Hawk-Cuckoo flying. Three Northern Hawk-Cuckoos might be there. One of the cuckoo called like Brown-eared Bulbul.
We headed to the entrance of the farm fields of Hoki. There was a male Siberian Blue Robin.
Then we moved to Yontani Dam.
On the way to the dam, many Eastern Crowned Warblers were flying.
At the opposite side of the dam, there was a beautiful male Black Paradise-Flycatcher flying.
There is a walking path from the dam to Arasaki Shore where looks good for birding. We can expect to see Siberian Thrush in morning or evening.
We went on the path, we saw a Siberian Blue Robin.
We walked the central road towards south and checked the farm fields.
Then we visited Omonoimi Shrine.
On the way return from the shrine, we saw a black bird jumped from the path into the bush. We waited for a while, and saw a female Siberian Thrush.
At the heliport, two Eyebrowed Thrushes were stopping next to each other on a tree.
Then we moved to the forest and saw Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Mugimaki Flycatcher.
We returned back to the heliport.
On the grass, Little Bunting, Meadow Bunting, and Western Black-faced Bunting were foraging.
On the slope towards the school ground, there was a juvenile male Narcissus Flycatcher.
- Forth Day:
In the morning, we visited the forest.
The number of birds became fewer.
The number of Eastern Crowned Warbler also decreased.
It seemed that the birds had gone from the island.
We went to Yotsuya Dam and visited the walking path from the dam, but there was no bird.
We walked the central road towards south.
We saw Ashy Minivet on a farm field only.
The result in the morning was poor.
After the breakfast, we visited the forest again.
There was an adult Mugimaki Flycatcher.
In the sky above the heliport, Pacific Swifts were flying.
At Omonoimi Shrine, there was a female Siberian Blue Robin.
We walked on the central road under strong sun shine like summer.
After taking lunch, I had taken a nap.
We returned back the forest.
There were the Mugimaki Flycatcher still. We saw Eyebrowed Thrush, Japanese Hawfinch, Narcissus Flycatcher, and Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher, too.
We got less result this day.
- Fifth Day:
The weather was fine, too.
We visited the forest, and saw an Eyebrowed Thrush at first.
We moved further and saw Siberian Thrushes.
There was no bird at the heliport.
At Yotsuya Dam, we saw Siberian Thrushes at the entrance and on the path.
This was the fourth encounter with this bird in the morning. We heard the calls here and there, too.
On the walking path from the dam, we met the Siberian Blue Robin at the same point as the previous day.
After the breakfast, we started from the forest.
The number of Eastern Crowned Warbler increased.
There were Asian Brown Flycatcher and Olive-backed Pipit.
Pacific Swifts were flying.
We moved to the heliport.
As soon as arrived, we heard a Northern Hawk-Cuckoo nearby but we could not see.
Then, we went around the central road, Omonoimi Shrine, and Yotsuya Dam.
We saw the Siberian Blue Robin again at the walking path from the dam.
In the meantime, the departure time came close and we headed to the port.
The main result of this trip is "Black-throated Thrush". It was a happy birding since we watched Siberian Thrush, Siberian Blue Robin and Mugimaki Flycatcher several times, too.
List of species, including the birds found from the ferryboat to Sakata port (* observed by the other birders);
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
*Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis calonyx),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus cristatus),
Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
*Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
*Common Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus fuscatus), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis),
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis), *Rufous-tailed Robin (Larvivora sibilans),
Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
*Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
*Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys), Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Western Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)
(＊他の観察者による報告)
マガモ, カルガモ, オオミズナギドリ, ウミウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, ハイタカ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, カラスバト, キジバト,
ジュウイチ, ツツドリ, アオバズク, アマツバメ, ＊ブッポウソウ, サンショウクイ, カラアカモズ, サンコウチョウ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ＊ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, ＊ムジセッカ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ,
マミジロ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, アカハラ, ノドグロツグミ, コルリ, ＊シマゴマ, ノゴマ, ジョウビタキ, ＊アカマシコ,
イソヒヨドリ, コサメビタキ, ＊マミジロキビタキ, キビタキ, ムギマキ, オオルリ, スズメ, ビンズイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ,
シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, シロハラホオジロ, ホオアカ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ
Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市戸隠森林植物園(長野)
I attended bird watching event held by Nagano branch of Wild Bird Society of Japan.
We started walking from a parking lot near Kagami-ike Pond, hearing songs of Siberian Blue Robin (Luscinia cyane) and Eastern Crowned Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus).
At this season, we could easily spot shy birds through trees that have not extended foliage yet. Most of birds were very shy but some were not.
We could observe two males of Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) fighting. They were too enthusiastic for fighting to notice observers even very close to them.
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) was another brave bird which song in front of us.
We enjoyed walking through woodland to Midoriga-Ike Pond, for about 3 hours.
Unfortunately, we could not find Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda) and White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), this day.
List of species:
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Northern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
White-rumped Swift (Apus pacificus),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Willow Tit (Parus montanus), Coal Tit (Parus ater), Varied Tit (Parus varius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
European Nuthatch (Sitta europaea),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris),
Japanese Grey Thrush (Turdus cardis), Brown Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (Luscinia cyane),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Russet Sparrow (rutilans) (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Japanese Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis)
オシドリ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト，アマツバメ，トビ，アオゲラ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，
サンショウクイ，ハシブトガラス，コガラ，ヒガラ，ヤマガラ，シジュウカラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，
エナガ，センダイムシクイ，ミソサザイ，ゴジュウカラ，キバシリ，クロツグミ，アカハラ，コルリ，
キビタキ，コサメビタキ，ニュウナイスズメ，ノジコ，アオジ，クロジ
One-day trip in Yokohama area (Zushi City, Kanagawa)
横浜近郊日帰り(神奈川)
This field is a forested valley along a small stream of Morito-gawa.
This forest is mixed with deciduous broad-leaved trees and conifers such as cedar trees.
We were able to hear the songs of various kinds of birds, but it was difficult to find them because they were obstructed by the widely spread new leaves of broad-leaved trees. Particularly, it was difficult to see the singing Blue-and-white Flycatcher at the top of tree and the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher flying among dense cedar trees.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, トビ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, サンコウチョウ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Sarobetsu Plain, Rishiri Island & Lake Shumarinai (Hokkaido)
サロベツ原野,利尻島,朱鞠内湖(北海道)
Sarobetsu Plain and Rishiri Island are located in the Rishri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park, the northernmost national park in Japan. This area is comprised of three areas; isolated peak Rishiri Island on the ocean, Rebun Island with endemic plants, and the magnificent Sarobetsu wetland extending at the mouth of Sarobetsu River.
We visited Sarobetsu Plain from May 9 to 10, Rishiri Island from 10 to 11, and Lake Shumarinai on June 12. It was hard to bird in the rainy and cold weather. Though the temperature did not rise, we saw many species, such as Common Black Woodpecker, Grey-faced Woodpecker and Green-headed Wagtail.
We were troubled by the rain in Sarobetsu Plain, and I could take the pictures of a Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat only.
I saw a White-tailed Eagle from the bus.
In Rishiri Island, I was shaken by rain and cold. We were led to a Common Black Woodpecker's nest by a local guide. It was required to wait totally more than five hours in two days until to see the birds, because the male and female did not take over for a long time.
On the other hand, we could see the migratory birds probably thanks to such the bad weather.
We stayed at Lake Shumarinai for around four hours only, I was surprised of the numbers of birds. We might visit at the best timing there.
The birds reported are;
- at Sarobetsu Plain;
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Green-headed Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Rishiri Island;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Pacific Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus),
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Pacific Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo), Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus),
Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Common Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius martius),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige), Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Green-headed Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- at Shumarinai Lake;
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Grey-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus jessoensis),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis), Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
マガン, オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, シノリガモ, シロエリオオハム,
ハシボソミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, オジロワシ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオジシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, シロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, ケイマフリ,
ウミスズメ, ウトウ, キジバト, ツツドリ, カワセミ, エゾコゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, クマゲラ, ヤマゲラ,
ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, シマエナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ヤブサメ, ウグイス, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, ミソサザイ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, アカハラ, ツグミ,
コマドリ, ノゴマ, コルリ, ルリビタキ, ノビタキ, マミジロキビタキ, キビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, イカル, コホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, クロジ
Tokyo Bay, Shin-Urayasu area & Sanbanze Seaside Park (Chiba)
東京湾・新浦安＆三番瀬(千葉)
Every year, Wandering Tattlers stops over at Shin-Urayasu area on its migration. This bird was confirmed a few days ago this year.
When we visited, the bird is at the Hinode Coast. It stayed on a tetrapod nearby. There was a Grey-tailed Tattler, too. We could compare two species closely very well.
There were flocks of Ruddy Turnstone as well. In a flock, there were two Siberian Dunlins.
In the afternoon, we moved to Sanbanze Seaside Park.
When we arrived, the vast tideland was spreading, and the shorebirds were at shorefronts, far away. We somehow observed Siberian Dunlins, Eastern Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey Plovers and Little Terns, using the spotting scope.
The birds observed are;
- at Shin-Urayasu area:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Wandering Tattler (Heteroscelus incanus),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Sandering (Calidris alba rubida), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
スズガモ, ダイサギ, カワウ, ダイゼン, オオソリハシシギ, キアシシギ, メリケンキアシシギ,
キョウジョシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, コアジサシ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Low mountain in Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都市低山(京都)
My birding in this season is mostly "voice only".
On Apr. 24, I saw a female Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) bringing nesting materials. The male bird accompanied the female, but as far as I know, the male does not take part in nest building and the behavior seemed to guard the female from other males.
In this year, Siberian Blue Robins (Larvivora cyane) were particularly rich and I could hear its clear voice almost every day between Apr. 25 and May 04. On Apr. 25 and 26, I heard multiple Siberian Blue Robins.
On Apr. 26, after hearing its characteristic voice, a White-bellied Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii) perched on the top of a tree. Another bird (these birds were probably a pair) came to the same tree and flew away together.
On Apr. 28, I saw a female Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana) collecting nesting materials. The bird collected moss while hovering (or behavior somewhat like hawking at berries). The male didn't sing during this period and it was probably busy guarding the female as in the Narcissus Flycatcher.
On Apr. 29, I saw another female Blue-and-white Flycatcher collecting nesting materials, but the bird ate them upon encounter with me. The bird was probably frightened and confused.
During the Japanese "Golden Week", there were two rainy days in the early half. After that, there was a major wave of migration.
On May 02, I met a bird with unfamiliar call (or call-song), and I glimpsed the bird when it came to a power line. The underparts were very yellow and the color extended lower than in ordinary Narcissus Flycatchers. Based on the call-song and visual impression, I consider it a Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia). The bird was present on the next day, but I recognized it only by voice.
At the same place, I also heard the song and call of a Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata). I glimpsed the bird, but a video was not focused.
On May 03, I heard and saw a Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus jotaka) flying in the twilight sky. It was first time for me to encounter this bird so closely here.
I heard the call of a Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata), but it didn't stay.
On May 04, I heard the characteristic song of a Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki). This bird is notoriously difficult to find while singing, and I saw the possibly same bird (first-year male?) on the next day.
On May 05, I heard the first Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas). This warbler is more frequently met in urban parks such as Osaka Castle Park, but is rather rare here. It may be difficult to notice since the song volume is rather small and they often sing on high trees.
On May 08, I distantly heard Japanese Night Heron (Gorsachius goisagi) in twilight.
On May 09, I heard the first voice of Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica).
A new Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis) arrived and sang actively.
オオルリ, キビタキ, マミジロキビタキ, ムギマキ, コルリ, アオバト, メボソムシクイ,
サンコウチョウ, ヨタカ, アオバズク, コシアカツバメ, ミゾゴイ, クロツグミ, ノジコ
Tobi-shima Island (Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture)
飛島(山形)
Our stay at the island was extended one day due to the cancellation of operation of the ship by the rough weather. However, thanks to the extension, we could see a lot of birds.
Particularly, many Yellow-browed Bunings were seen in many places in the island during this trip.
List of species, including the birds found from the ferryboat to Sakata port;
Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus tristis),
Grey-backed Thrush (Turdus hortulorum), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus),
Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis), Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
ハイイロヒレアシシギ, ヤツガシラ, サンショウクイ, ヒレンジャク, シベリアチフチャフ,
カラアカハラ, マミチャジナイ, ノゴマ, コルリ, ノビタキ, マミジロキビタキ, キビタキ, オオルリ,
ニュウナイスズメ, アカウソ, シロハラホオジロ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, ノジコ
Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat (Saga)
東与賀干潟(佐賀)
At the end of the Golden Week, Iut visited Higashiyoka-higata Tidal Mudflat (Daiju-garami) to see shorebirds in the summer plumage.
When I visited in winter, I was impressed by the number of overwhelming birds, additionally this time, I was able to thoroughly enjoy the beauty of their summer plumages which are difficult to watch in Japan.
- Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) & Red Knot (Calidris canutus rogersi):
Great Knot and Red Knot were facing each other.
In winter, it is difficult to identify the difference between these two species, but the colours in summe are quite different (Red Knot is much more redish).
- Ruff (Philomachus pugnax), male:
* There were two Ruffs in reddish and in blacky nearby.
It is said that the colour differs for each individual.
The summer form is totally different from the winter form. The scarf becomes much bigger in the complete summer form, but in Japan, it is even not easy to watch the scarf in the transforming which I saw this time.
- Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea):
* I watched a Spoon-billed Sandpiper at the far distance using a spotting scope.
When I watched the side of the bird and could not confirm the spoon bill, it was not possible to identify it. However, when I watched from the back of the bird, I could watch its spoon in between the legs.
In the tidal flat, I watched some more species such as;
- Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
- Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola),
- Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri),
- Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis),
- Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
* A huge number of Siberian Dunlins and the other shorebirds formed a big flock and flew together.
- Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
- Eastern Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata orientalis),
- Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus variegatus),
-Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
- Saunder's Gull (Saundersilarus saundersi),
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
- Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna),
* A flock over ten Common Shelducks were floating in the sea at the far distance and sometimes flew.
- Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor).
* There was an adult Black-faced Spoonbill in the summer form with yellow feathers at the breast and the crest.
At the rice field around the tidal flat, there were;
- Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
- Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
and - Little Stint (Calidris minuta).
* The throat of the Little Stint in the summer form is white and it is different from the Red-necked Stint.
オバシギ, コオバシギ, エリマキシギ, ヘラシギ, トウネン, ダイゼン,
オオソリハシシギ, ホウロクシギ, ハマシギ, ダイシャクシギ, チュウシャクシギ,
メダイチドリ, シロチドリ, ズグロカモメ, ミサゴ, その他
Mishima Island (Yamaguchi Prefecture)
見島(山口)
This is a basalt plateau volcano island with a variety of habitats for birds such as a 180m high mountain, eroded coasts, and plains with paddy fields.
Especially in spring (end of April to May), this island is full of many migratory birds traveling in Japan Sea.
We visited this island for 4 days.
On the first day, the weather was quite fine. It was not good condition for the migratory birds watching, because the best condition is the rough weather which forces birds to stopped over at this island.
According to the resident, there were a lot of birds until May 03; but had decreased drastically.
However in such bad condition, we saw egrets (Eurasian Great, Grey, Eastern Cattle, Eastern Purple), shorebirds (Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper), buntings (Masked, Western Black-faced), Dusky Thrushes, Chinese Grosbeak/Yellow-billed Grosbeaks, Middendorff's Warbler and Japanese White-eyes.
We saw many Ospreys carrying fishes and Japanese Wood-Pigeons flying in the mountain. They are residents in the island. It was difficult to see Japanese Wood-Pigeons before, but it became easier thanks to the increment of the population.
On the second day morning, we saw remaining buntings (Little, Yellow-browed, Yellow, Masked, Western Black-faced) and Chestnut-cheeked Starlingin a resting rice field.
In the afternoon, the numbers of leaf warblers (Eastern Crowned, Pacific, Sakhalin, Yellow-browed) and flycatchers (Asian Brown, Narcissus, Mugimaki) were increased. They were busily catching flies in the forests and by the farm ponds.
At the beach, a flock of East Siberian Wagtail arrived newly. An Amur Wagtail was seen at the river, too.
In the evening, we saw a Siberian Thrush walking on a dark road at Otoge Pass.
In the third day morning, we saw an Upland Buzzard flying above the mountain. Then suddenly, a few hundreds of Siberian Honey-buzzards appeared and were passing above us. They made kettles here and there and flew away. It was only about one hour but was very moving.
There were many leaf warblers as same as the day before.
On the fourth day, we hoped that newly many migratory birds had stopped over at the island after a cold front passed on the previous night, but unfortunately the expectation was disappointed. The members were almost same as the day before, but the numbers decreased. The new birds were a Brown Shrike (L.c.lucionensis) and a Grey-tailed Tattler.
On the boat to Hagi Port, there were only a few Streaked Shearwaters and Black-tailed Gulls.
The birds observed are;
(*observed by other birders)
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Eastern Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea manilensis), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
*Oriental Dollarbird/Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis calonyx),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
*Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
*Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
*Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica saturata), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Middendorff's Warbler (Locustella ochotensi)?
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus), Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus orii), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
*Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)?
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Manchurian Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis macronyx), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Amur Wagtail (Motacilla leucopsis), East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla ocularis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), *Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Chinese Grosbeak/Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria migratoria),
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla), Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys), *Chestnut Bunting (Emberiza rutila),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Western Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)
カルガモ, オオミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ムラサキサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ,
ウミウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, オオノスリ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, キアシシギ, イソシギ,
ウミネコ, カワラバト, カラスバト, キジバト, ツツドリ, アオバズク, ＊ブッポウソウ, サンショウクイ,
シマアカモズ, ＊サンコウチョウ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒガラ, ＊ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ＊アカハラツバメ,
イワツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, シマセンニュウ, オオヨシキリ,
キマユムシクイ, メボソムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, マミジロ, シロハラ, オオアカハラ, ツグミ,
＊ノゴマ, コルリ, ジョウビタキ, イナバヒタキ? イソヒヨドリ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, ムギマキ,
キタツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, ホオジロハクセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ, ビンズイ, ＊ムネアカタヒバリ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, コイカル, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ, ＊シマノジコ, ノジコ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ
Around Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma,Tochigi,Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地周辺(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Nogi Shrine is located just south of Watarase Retarding Basin. In this shrine, Ural Owls nest every year.
We saw the Ural Owl sitting on a branch near the nest. The chits will go out from the nest very soon.
In the forest of Watarase Retarding Basin, we looked for some summer birds on the way of migration. We heard a Narcissus Flycatcher.
There was one Oriental Stork on the artificial nest tower setting in the reed field. It seemed that it was waiting for a partner.
In the pond, there were some Northern Shovelers and Eurasian Teal/Common Teals which might be still remaining or under migration.
In the reed field of Watarase Retarding Basin, many Meadow Buntings and Oriental Reed Warblers were singing loudly here and there.
We saw some Marsh Grassbirds.
This bird is locally distributed in very limited sites in Japan only. It is designated as an endangered species and one of the National Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in Japan, and as a Near Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It was described as a new species based on the individual collected in Tokyo in 1884, but was called a "ghost' bird" because its breeding area was not discovered.
There were some raptors such as Osprey, Japanese Buzzard, and Eastern Peregrine Falcon.
At the historic landmark of "former Yanaka Village", we saw a few birds flew away. According to the local staff of the visitor centor, a flock of Japanese Waxwing was observed in the morning.
Also, the staff observed Chestnut-cheeked Starlings near Yanaka lake.
The birds observed are;
(*observed by other birders)
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus), Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Ural Owl (Strix uralensis momiyamae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Marsh Grassbird (Japanese) (Helopsaltes pryeri pryeri/Locustella pryeri pryeri),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
*Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, キジ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, コウノトリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, モミヤマフクロウ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒレンジャク, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, オオセッカ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ,
ガビチョウ, メジロ, *コムクドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, キビタキ, スズメ, ホオジロ
Yanagisawa-Pass (Yamanashi)
柳沢峠(山梨)
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige)
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea)
Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus)
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis)
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige)
Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
At the lower birding spot, I saw Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis) only.
At the upper spot, I saw Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige), Grey Bunting, Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus), Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis), and Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea).
I heard Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis) but it did not appear.
At the further upper point, I saw Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni), Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus), and Japanese Robin.
コマドリ, クロジ, コガラ, ゴジュウカラ, ソウシチョウ, コルリ, マミジロ, ミソサザイ, 他
Nobeyama Highland (Nagano) & Mt. Mizugaki (Yamanashi)
野辺山高原(長野)&瑞牆山(山梨)
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes japonica)
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica)
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis)
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes)
Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
I saw Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri), and Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis) at Nobeyama Highland.
I didn't go to the mountain area because the forest road seemed bad due to the rain in the previous day.
Then, I returned back on the forest road "Crystal Line" via the foot of Mt. Mizugaki.
At the Crystal Line, there were Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), and Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps), etc.
There were no cuckoo in Yatsugatake or Zuizuyama.
オオジシギ, ホオアカ, ノビタキ, コムクドリ, オオルリ, キビタキ, ヤブサメ, 他
Around Shosenkyo Gorge
昇仙峡付近(山梨)
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
Though it was raining, I saw such as; Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), and Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica).
during a short-term observation.
ヤブサメ, オオルリ, キビタキ, クロツグミ, コサメビタキ? 他
3-day Tour to Miyake Island
三宅島3日間ツアー
The weather was cool, windy and unstable with strong showers several times.
At the evening of the first day, we departed from Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo for Miyake Island by Miyake Ferry.
The sun rised at the time of the arrival at the island. About thirty minutes before the arrival, I tried to see the seabirds in the dawn, however no birds was confirmed.
We started birding using a rent-a-car as soon as we arrived.
The first site, we visited Bird Sanctuary Miyake Nature Center"Akakokko Station". When, we arrived the site, there were many cars already. So we walked the different field nearby where nobody was.
As soon as we started birding, we saw and heard the endemic birds in this island such as; Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (D.k.matudairai), Varied Tit (S.owstoni), Ijima's Warbler (P.ijimae), Japanese White-eye (Z.j.stejnegeri), Eurasian Wren (T.t.mosukei).
Then we returned back to Bird Sanctuary Miyake Nature Center, there was no birders and we saw a couple of Izu Thrush (T.celaenops) foraging at the road side.
The next destination was Izu Cape where we can see Pleske's Warbler (L.pleskei) in the grass field. We waited the bird coming up to the tip of the grass, however we only heard the songs this time.
Instead, we saw Japanese Wood-Pigeons which perched on a small trees in the grass field several times. Usually, it is difficult to see this pigeon because it lives in the deep forest like hiding, but it was surprising that we could see it in this open grass field several times.
After a while, it started rain and we gave up and moved to the next site.
The road nearby the airport along the coast, we looked for some birds under migration in the rain. There were cormorants (Japanese, Pelagic) but no egret or wagtail which we expected to see. However we saw a Oriental Pratincole flew nearby us.
In the afternoon, we drove and visited several sites (Toga Shrine, High school area, Tsubota Forest road, Imasaki area, Izu Cape, Yakushido Shrine, Tairoike area) but we had no particular sights.
In the early morning of the third day, we had very early breakfast and were ready for birding. But it was very bad weather with stormy wind and rain. We must wait for a while.
After the rain stopped, we started birding from the site near Akakokko Station. The members were almost same as the day before.
Then we visited Tairoike Pond. In the pond, there were egrets (Great, Intermediate) and a Mandarin Duck.
In the forest near the pond, we heard a lot of calls such as; Ijima's Warbler, Japanese White-eye, Izu Thrush and Ashy Minivet. We saw a Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina) which stopped over on the way of the migration.
We went around the several sites in the island again and went to Igaya Port to get on the ferry at noon.
On the return ferry from Miyake Island to Takeshiba Pier, we saw a huge number of Streaked Shearwateralbatrosses (Black-footed, Short-Tailed), some Short-tailed Shearwater, three kinds of albatrosses (Black-footed, Laysan, Short-Tailed), and Japanese Murrelet. We saw Japanese Murrelets several times during this cruise. According to the person in Miyake Island, it becomes easier to see Japanese Murrelet when whales are absent.
The birds observed
- at Miyake Island
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (Pacific) (Phasianus versicolor tanensis),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki matudairai),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Pleske's Warbler (Locustella pleskei),
Ijima's Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige tanensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata)?
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
- on Ferry from Miyake Is. to Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
コジュケイ, シマキジ, オシドリ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ,
オオミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ,
ウミウ, ヒメウ, ミサゴ, トビ, サシバ, イソシギ, ツバメチドリ, ウミネコ, カンムリウミスズメ,
カラスバト, キジバト, アオバズク, アマツバメ, ミヤケコゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ウチヤマセンニュウ, イイジマムシクイ,
シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ, シロハラ, アカコッコ, タネコマドリ, イソヒヨドリ, キビタキ, スズメ,
カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, アオジ, クロジ
Low mountain in Kyoto City (Kyoto Prefecture)
京都市低山(京都)
I observed regularly in my local patch to monitor spring migration.
This year was exceptionally warm in February and March and we expected that spring migration should be early. Indeed, I recognized an Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus) on March 27, already on the first day of my regular observation. A similar case was in 2013, when I recorded this species on March 23.
On the next day (March 28), I recognized an Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps). This species usually arrives first among summer migrants in early April, but in years when the winter was warm, there were records in March.
After then, there was a cold spell and I didn't record more species. The Eastern Crowned Warbler was present all the time and increased in number on March 30.
I also recorded the voice of a Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) on March 29 and April 1, which probably stopped over during migration.
The main wave of migration arrived on April 5, when a number of Asian Stubtails arrived.
On April 6, I recognized a Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana).
As judged from the song and behavior, this individual appears to be coming here for three years in a row.
On April 7, I recorded two more new species in this season: Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus) and Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis).
Although cold air also arrived, I recorded the first Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) on April 8.
There still remained a number of Red-flanked Bluetails (Tarsiger cyanurus).
On April 9, I recorded Red-rumped Swallows (Cecropis daurica), which were already circling in the blue sky in a small flock.
On April 11, I recorded a Japanese Robin (Larvivora akahige). I fortunately see the bird and it sang very well.
The arrival of Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina) was somewhat late, probably due to the cold spell in April, and I recognized only one on this day.
On April 12, there arrived more Blue-and-white Flycatchers and there were territorial conflicts between the first individual. The number of Narcissus Flycatchers increased to three.
On April 13, the number of Narcissus Flycatchers greatly increased and I could hear them everywhere.
New Asian Stubtails also arrived and there were frequent territorial conflicts. I also saw a Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus), which is mainly a passing species here.
On April 15, another Blue-and-white Flycatcher arrived and there were territorial conflicts between the first individual. The conflict, also with song competition, lasted for more than an hour and it probably lasted all the day. It was a day of the Blue-and-white Flycatcher. On the next day, I recognized four Blue-and-white Flycatchers singing, suggesting that they had already established territories.
There was a cold wave again, and the next wave of migration arrived on April 19. There were many Asian Brown Flycatchers and there were frequent conflicts between them.
Eastern Crowned Warblers were also everywhere and there were also frequent conflicts between them.
On April 20, I recorded an Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) and a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides) first time in this season.
On the next day, there was apparently a wave of migration of the Blue-and-white Flycatcher, and there were small conflicts here and there between passing individuals. Passing Asian Brown Flycatchers were also numerous and there was full of voice everywhere singing or in conflict.
Grey Buntings (Emberiza variabilis) were also apparently passing and there was a flock.
This wave of migration calmed down on April. 22 and I'm waiting for late-arriving species.
サシバ, カッコウ, クロツグミ, アカハラ, コマドリ, オオルリ, コサメビタキ, ルリビタキ, キビタキ,
サンショウクイ, コシアカツバメ, センダイムシクイ, エゾムシクイ, ヤブサメ, クロジ
Kamo River between Demachiyanagi and Kaguracho (Kyoto)
鴨川(京都市出町柳〜神楽町)
I went to see breeding Long-billed Plovers (Charadrius placidus) here.
I found two incubating birds on one sandbank. They sometimes walked around and foraged, and returned back for incubation.
During incubation, these birds often looked above, since there were many Black Kites (Milvus migrans) circling and they must not miss a predator.
The birds were aggressive and even expelled wagtails.
There was one bird per nest, and I wondered where was the mate.
There remained only a small number of wintering ducks.
The result of the birding was;
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
カワウ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ヒドリガモ, アオサギ, コサギ, トビ, イソシギ, イカルチドリ, コゲラ,
ツバメ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ. ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Futagoyama (Zushi City, Kanagawa)
二子山(神奈川)
This field is a forested valley along a small stream. We can see many common resident birds and summer birds especially Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata) in summer time.
The day I visited was too early for Black Paradise-Flycatcher, but the other summer members, such as Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Asian Stubtail and Eastern Crowned Warbler had already arrived and singing actively.
The resident birds were singing cheerly as well.
The arrival of the Black Paradise-Flycatcher is being looking forward to.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, カワウ, トビ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, クロジ
Downstream of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流(神奈川)
It was the time of migration and there was a report that an Oriental Pratincole had been seen at this field.
When we arrived at the field, the Oriental Pratincole was resting on the gravelly sandbank of the river at the far distance.
There were many Barn Swallows flying swiftly above the river and Little Terns hunting fishes. A Barn Swallow (H.r.saturata) with the reddish belly was found.
On the shallow, there were some shorebirds, such as Western Little Ringed Plovers and Siberian Dunlins.
Some wintered birds such as Common Merganser/Goosander, Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit/American Pipit (Siberian)s and Masked Buntings were also seen. The Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipithad changed its attire into the summer form.
After waiting for a few hours, the Oriental Pratincole flew around for a while being scared by a crow approaching.
The birds obserbed (* reported by a member of WBSJ Kanagawa)are;
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
*Garganey (Anas querquedula), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), *Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus japonicus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), *Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
*Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
*Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica saturata),
*Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
*Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ヨシガモ, カルガモ, ＊シマアジ, コガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, ムナグロ, ＊イカルチドリ, コチドリ, ＊シロチドリ, ＊メダイチドリ, イソシギ, ハマシギ, ツバメチドリ,
＊ユリカモメ, コアジサシ, カワラバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, アカハラツバメ, ＊イワツバメ,
＊ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
It was almost the end of the spring migration of the Grey-faced Buzzard at this site. The total number of migratory Grey-faced Buzzard recorded at this site by the previous day was 396. It would achieve 400 with 4 more hawks.
When we arrived at site, we were reported that 2 hawks were already confirmed before we arrived, from our observation member who was already arrived at.
After about 1 hours and 30 minutes, 3 Grey-faced Buzzards were confirmed, and the total number of this spring exceeded 400.
After then, no more migratory Grey-faced Buzzard were confirmed, but we heard the voices of various summer birds.
The number of hawks recorded were;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 5 migrants
- Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 1 non-migrant
- Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 1 non-migrant
The birds recorded are;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
トビ オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アマツバメ, サンショウクイ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ヤブサメ, ウグイス, メジロ,
クロツグミ, オオルリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Taira Island (Kagoshima)
平島(トカラ列島,鹿児島)
This is a report by T.Kawase.
At Taira Island in this year, we did not see particular rarity species, however we saw the variety of regular members well.
Many pretty birds appeared and we enjoyed the birding very much.
The birds reported are;
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Japanese Night-Heron (Gorsachius goisagi), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops saturata),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis),
Grey-backed Thrush (Turdus hortulorum), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Ryukyu Robin (Larvivora komadori komadori),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus),
Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami), Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys),
Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans), etc.
オオミズナギドリ, ミゾゴイ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, サシバ, ハリオシギ, ヤツガシラ,
サンショウクイ, コシアカツバメ, コムクドリ, カラムクドリ, カラアカハラ, シロハラ, アカハラ,
アカヒゲ, ノビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, ニシオジロビタキ, オオルリ, ムネアカタヒバリ,
シロハラホオジロ, キマユホオジロ, ミヤマホオジロ, 他
Miyako Islands (Okinawa)
宮古島(沖縄)
We searched for the endemic species unique to this island and spring migratory birds.
We visited most of the birding spots in Miyako, Ikema, Irabu, Shimoji, Kurima and Minna.
On the first day, we drove ahead towards Miyakojima Botanic Garden in the Ono Forest. However, that day was just "the day of the triathlon competition" where the whole of Miyako Island was set as a course, and the road to the destination was not allowed to use. We somehow reached to the parking lot of Miyako Youth Nature Center in the Ono Forest.
When arrived the park, it was raining intermittently. We were concerned about less appearances of the birds due to the rain, but that was failed to come fortunately. It rather turned into lucky, we saw Emerald Doves several times on that day. Usually this dove is very shy and is very difficult to see.
We heard and saw a Ryukyu Green-Pigeon singing with the voice like a Japanese Flute "Shakuhachi" on the tree.
We saw some Grey-faced Buzzards, which wintered in this island, flying above the sky.
The little pond, where many birds were said to be gathering, was full of water and there were many puddles in the forest due to rain, so there were no birds that ventured to visit the pond.
In the early mornings before sun rise from the second day to the final day, we visited this forest. In the forest before dawn, there was no light except some glows, and it was very dark, but it was not quiet since the owls were singing loudly everywhere. When it becomes gradually brighter, Japanese White-eye, Ruddy Kingfisher and followed by other awake birds, such as Black Paradise Flycatcher and Ryukyu Flycatcher, started singing loudly.
We visited to the farm fields to look for some migratory birds and resident Barred Buttonquail. It was hard to find them, but we saw some big flocks of Pacific Golden-Plover staying still on the sugarcane fields after harvest, and flocks of Oriental Pratincole flying above the fields at Shimoji Island and Kurishima Island. We met only one Barred Buttonquail accidentally which was crossing the road front of our car.
We also visited fishing ports and coasts. At Sawada Fishing Port in Irabu Island, we saw a Kentish Plover family and a Great Knot.
At Yonaha Bay of Miyako Island, we saw Pacific Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret/Pacific Reef-Egrets in dark and white morphs, a Chinese Egret, two Whimbrels, a Grey-tailed Tattler, and a Common Greenshank.
At Higashihennazaki Park located the south east end of Miyako Island, we found some migratory birds, such as; a Pin-tailed Snipe (?), a Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat, two Olive-backed Pipits, a Yellow-headed Bunting and two Western Black-faced Bunting on the grass field.
It was too early for the summer birds such as terns, we enjoyed a lot with encounter of many endemic birds.
The birds observed are;
- at Ono Forest (Onosanrin)
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax), Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Black Wood Pigeon (Columba janthina stejnegeri), Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica), Ryukyu Green-Pigeon (Treron permagna medioximus),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans), Ryukyu Boobook (Ninox japonica totogo),
Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Black Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Ryukyu Flycatcher (Ficedula owstoni),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta)
- at Shimajiri Mangrove Forest (Baratazu Mangrove)
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni), Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica indica),
Black Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata illex),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Asahi Fishery
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Ikema Island (Ikema-Jima)
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Shimoji Island (Shimoji-jima)
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Irie
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda bangsi),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Sawada Coast (Sawada-hama)
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Sawada Fishing Port
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- near Shiratori Cape (Shiratori-misaki)
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at To River Seaside Park (To River Kaihin-koen)
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Yonaha Bay (Yonaha-Wan)
Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes),
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda bangsi), Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Kurima Island (Kurima-jima)
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Green-headed Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis taivana), East Siberian Wagtail (Motacilla ocularis)
- near Ueno German Culture Village (Ueno Doitu-mura)
Indean Peafowl (Pavo cristatus),
Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator okinavensis),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Agarihenna Cape (Agariihenna-Zaki)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus),
Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)?
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans), Western Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)
インドクジャク, コウノトリ, ゴイサギ, アカガシラサギ, アマサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, クロサギ,
ミサゴ, サシバ, シロハラクイナ, ミフウズラ, ムナグロ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, ハリオシギ?
キアシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, ツバメチドリ, ヨナクニカラスバト, リュウキュウキジバト, キンバト, チュウダイズアカアオバト,
リュウキュウコノハズク, リュウキュウアオバズク, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, リュウキュウアカショウビン, カワセミ,
シマアカモズ, リュウキュウサンコウチョウ, ツバメ, セッカ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ, リュウキュウメジロ, コムクドリ,
トラツグミ, シロハラ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, リュウキュウキビタキ, スズメ, ツメナガセキレイ, キセキレイ, タイワンハクセキレイ,
ビンズイ, ミヤマホオジロ, シベリアアオジ
6-day Tour around Tokyo area and Miyake Island
6日間東京近郊＆三宅島ツアー
It was just the time when cherry trees were in full blossom in Tokyo. The weather was almost fine but windy sometime.
On the first day, we visited the sites at Tokyo Bay; Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen), Yatsu Tidal Flat (Yatsu Higata), and Kasai-Rinkai Park (Kasai-Rinkai Koen).
At Sanbanze and Yatsu, we saw some early migrating shorebirds such as Great Knot and Common Terns as well as the wintered birds still remaining such as; Greater Scaup (American), Red-breasted Merganser, Kamtchatka Oystercatcher, Siberian Dunlin, Grey Plover, Sandering, etc..
At Kasai in the afternoon, we saw some wintered birds such as; Dusky Thrush, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Northern Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup (American), Black-necked Grebe, and Siberian Dunlin. We saw a small flock of Azure-winged Magpie moving in the forest.
On the second day, we visited Miyagase Lake (Miyagase-Ko), and Sagami River (Sagami-Gawa).
I expected to see some summer bird but we did not see other than Asian House Martin. Some winter birds, such as Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Daurian Redstart, Grey-capped Greenfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch, and Grey-bellied Bullfinch, still were remaining.
The water level of the lake was extremely low, which I have never seen before. Probably thanks to that, we could see a Crested Kingfisher rather easier which came into our sight.
In the afternoon, we visited the farm field along Sagami River and saw Green Pheasant (kigis) and Bull-headed Shrike.
At the evening, we departed from Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo for Miyake Island (Miake-Jima) by a ferry.
At the time of sun rise of the third day, we arrived at Miyake Island (Miake-Jima) and stayed one night until the departure of the ferry for Tokyo at noon in the next day.
In Miyakeo Island, at first we visited Bird Sanctuary Miyake Nature Center"Akakokko Station" and walked on the forest road around Tairo-ike Lake.
On the road we heard many birds, such as; Ijima's Warbler, Japanese White-eye (Z.j.stejnegeri), Eurasian Wren (T.t.mosukei), Japanese Robin (L.a.tanensis), Eurasian Wren (T.t.mosukei), but it was not easy to see them since they were actively moving in the forest.
We looked for Japanese Wood-Pigeon, Japanese Robin (L.a.tanensis), and Izu Thrush visiting several sites in the island. We could see them somehow during our stay in the island.
In Tairo-ike Lake, there were some egrets (Grey Heron, Eastern Great, Black-crowned Night Heron), a Mandarin Duck, a Little Grebe and Common Coots.
On the coast, there were Eastern Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Black-tailed Gull, and Vega Gull.
In the mid-night, a Northern Boobook was calling near the inn we stayed.
On the return ferry from Miyake Island to Takeshiba Pier, we saw albatrosses (Black-footed, Short-Tailed) and Streaked Shearwater.
On the fifith day, we visited Mt. Takao (Takao-San).
Recently, this mountain becomes very popular for tourists and is always crowded. When we visited, it was also very crowded even though it was the week day.
Near the Takaosan-guchi station, many Asian House Martins were busily repeating flying and stopping on the nests under building.
In the small stream near the station, we saw Grey Wagtails and Black-backed Wagtails, too.
We climbed up the mountain by the cable car with the full of persons. Then we walked trail No.4 where not so crowded, and made birding. There was a big flock of more than twenty Japanese Grosbeaks moving in the forest.
We saw Varied Tits very closely, too.
On the last day, we visited Sakuraso Park and Akigase Park (Akigase-Koen).
Unfortunately, it continued to rain without stop. So we gave up walking inside the park and drove the car on the roads around the park. Even such a bad condition, we saw many birds. Probably thanks to the strong rain, the birds might be relax from the threat by hawk or human.
The birds observed
- at Sanbanze Seaside Park
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Sandering (Calidris alba rubida), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Kamchatka Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Yatsu Tidal Flat
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Kasai-rinkai Park
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba)
- at Hayatogawa Forest road in Miyagae
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- at middle-reach of Sagami River
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- at Miyake Island
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (Pacific) (Phasianus versicolor tanensis),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica japonica),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki matudairai),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Ijima's Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige tanensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- on Ferry from Miyake Is. to Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
- in Mt. Takao
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- in Sakuraso Park & Akigase Park
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, キジ, シマキジ, オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
ウミアイサ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ, オオミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ミヤコドリ, セイタカシギ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, タシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, カラスバト, キジバト, アオバト, アオバズク,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, ミヤケコゲラ, モズ, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, イイジマムシクイ,
ガビチョウ, メジロ, シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, アカハラ, アカコッコ, ツグミ,
タネコマドリ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Mt. Takao (Tokyo)
高尾山(東京)
Mt. Takao is located about 50 minutes away from Shinjuku by train, close enough for a day trip of leisurely hiking on the mountain. The Japanese have regarded it as a holy mountain since the Edo period. The summit of Mt. Takao is 599 meters above sea level. This mountain has the rich habitats for birds because it sits inside the natural boundary between Japan's subtropical and temperate forests. Trees and plants of both woodland types grow in abundance on the mountain slopes.
I expected to see some early summer visitors. Though the resident birds such as Japanese Bush Warbler, tits (Varied, Coal), Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Woodpecker, Chinese Hwamei, Honshu White-eye, and Japanese Grosbeak are very active and singing very well, I did not see any summer birds this time. We should wait for a while.
Instead I saw some winter birds yet remaining; Brambling, Grey-bellied Bullfinch.
The birds observed are;
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, アトリ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
The member of the field were changing from the winter birds to the migrating or summer birds.
As soon as I arrived, many swallows (Barn Swallow, Asian House Martin) flying on the river surface caught my eyes at first.
I found a Western Little Ringed Plover at the river side.
There were many ducks still remained.
Green Pheasant (kigis)s were very active and calling loudly.
A crow sat on eggs in a nest made of branches and wire hangers.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Mareca strepera), Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオバン, コチドリ, イソシギ, カワラバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
The weather was cloudy and was the cold day like as winter returned.
The number of Grey-faced Buzzards was nit many, but some of them flew close to us and were observed well.
Furthermore, two Mountain Hawk-Eagles flew near our overhead and showed a courtship flight(?). The number of hawks recorded were;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 15 migrants
- Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 1 migrant
- Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis): 2 non-migrants
- Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 1 non-migrant
The birds recorded are;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
トビ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, クマタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, アカウソ, イカル, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nanohana-dai, Hadano, Kanagawa
菜の花台(秦野,神奈川)
Nanohana-dai is a panoramic viewing platform located at south face of the mountainous region of Tanzawa in Kanagawa.
On March 24, migration of a Grey-faced Buzzard was observed as the first record at this site in this spring.
Until beginning of May, we can enjoy watching the migration of various kinds of hawks.
It was sunny and warm but slightly hazy. We could see Mt. Fuji, Tanzawa and Sagami Bay.
The cherry trees had begun to bloom.
We saw a kettle of nine Grey-faced Buzzards.
24 Grey-faced Buzzards (until 3 pm) were recorded.
The number of hawks recorded were;
- Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus): 24 migrants
- Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus): 3 migrants and a few non-migrants
- Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae): 1 non-migrant
The birds recorded are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, キジバト, アマツバメ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park
境川遊水地公園(神奈川)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica)
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis)
Pallas's Reed Bunting (Emberiza pallasi polaris)
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
Common Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
Before the opening of the park, I observed Common Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis japonica), which seemed to breed in the nearby river. Courtship feeding and rivalry over territory were observed.
In the sky, a Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis) was flying, and Asian House Martins (Delichon dasypus dasypus) and Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica gutturali) flew around.
I have seen an Barn Swallow on March 16, but it was a long time since I saw Asian House Martin.
Soon after the opening of the park, the Pallas's Reed Bunting (Emberiza pallasi polaris) was found.
The Pallas's Reed Bunting seemed to look white overall, and the behavior seemed to be different from the Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina). There were some Reed Buntings nearby, but they didn't act together.
At the point of the nearby observing Common Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), I saw the copulating.
チョウゲンボウ, ハイタカ, カワセミ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, シベリアジュリン, オオジュリン, 他
Oose Port (Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
会瀬港(茨城)
Following a report that a Yellow-billed Loon/White-billed Diver (Gavia adamsii) is in a port, I visited here.
The bird was soon found, and we observers were surprised at its large size. The bird looked three times bigger than ducks. The bird appeared to be injured, and often preened the damaged wing. It frequently threw away one of its leg, and we had a concern about the health of this bird.
It, however, later moved out of the port (for foraging), and the appearance looked normal in contrast to what we saw in the port.
There was also a Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) and periodically swam close to the beach and ate aquatic plants.
There was also a Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) and it frequently dived for prey.
While observing this bird, I found an Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus).
These birds came sufficiently close and we enjoyed observing them.
List of species:
Yellow-billed Loon/White-billed Diver (Gavia adamsii),
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena),
Brant Goose (Branta bernicla),
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus)
ハシジロアビ, アカエリカイツブリ, コクガン, スズガモ, ウミウ, ヒメウ, ウミスズメ,
トビ, ハクセキレイ, イソヒヨドリ, ツグミ, ウグイス, ヒヨドリ, カワラヒワ, メジロ
Kusauchi (Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto Prefecture)
草内(京都)
In Kusauchi region, there are three reservoir ponds surrounded by paddy fields.
Most of the ponds were dried at the time of my visit, and there were a number of Little Ringed Plovers (Charadrius dubius) and some Long-billed Plovers (Charadrius placidus).
One of the pond had a small amount of water and there were flocks of Falcated Ducks (Mareca falcata) and Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca).
During this observation, however, it became rainy and I had to skip potentially interesting locations.
Later on, when the rain was over, I initially found Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) in one paddy field.
I was surprised to find Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) in the same field (this species is relatively difficult to meet in Kyoto).
As I approached closer to look them, a Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) suddenly showed a zig-zag flight and landed on a nearby paddy field.
I could observe these species pretty closely, and there were also a flock of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit/American Pipit (Siberian)s (Anthus rubescens). I could observe one individual preening on grasses.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius), Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit(Anthus rubescens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
カワウ, ヨシガモ, コガモ, トビ, キジバト, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コチドリ, イカルチドリ, ケリ, タゲリ, タシギ,
チョウゲンボウ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ヒバリ, タヒバリ, ツグミ, モズ, ムクドリ, ツバメ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, ホオジロ, アオジ, カワラヒワ
Sakaigawa Retarding Basin Park
境川遊水地公園(神奈川)
On the way from Shonandai Odakyu Railway Station to the park, I walked along Sakai River (Sakai-gawa). There is a retarding basin named Imada. There were some ducks (Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal/Common Teal, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck), Littel Greves and Common Coots in the water. I found a Barn Swallow, the summer visitor, flying above the water.
Probably thanks to the warm weather, a Green Pheasant was staying on a riverside fence without any sign of hiding.
There were still some Masked Buntings (winter visitor) moving in the bush.
At the park, I looked for a Western Pallas's Bunting (Emberiza pallasi polaris) which was recorded on March 08. However, it did not appear during my observation.
In the water, there were some ducks (Eurasian Teal/Common Teal, Falcated Duck, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Mallard), and Little Grebes.
In the reed field, I found a Zitting Cisticola, some Dusky Thrushes, a Bull-headed Shrike, some Reed Buntings, Common Coots, Eurasian Moorhens, a Common Snipe, and a Brown-cheeked Rail.
Common Kingfishers were very active flying on Izumi River.
The birds we observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
コジュケイ, キジ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, クイナ, バン, オオバン, タシギ, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Siga Prefecture
滋賀
We went to see the spring activity of the Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis).
In this region, there was successful breeding in the past season and we could see both a juvenile bird and a breeding pair.
We initial found a perched juvenile bird in the morning. It started to calling for food, and one of the parents brought prey, probably to the nest. The juvenile bird followed the parent and disappeared from the scene, although the voice was continuously heard.
Some time later, another bird appeared and perched. The parents copulated, and disappeared into forests some time later. Later on, the female was seen to fly, and the male followed later. Only the juvenile bird probably remained in the nest or close to it.
List of species:
Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis),
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
クマタカ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, キジバト, ヤマセミ, アオゲラ, コゲラ, ミソサザイ,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ルリビタキ, ウグイス, カワラヒワ, ウソ, アオジ
Miyagase Lake (Kanagawa)
宮ケ瀬湖(神奈川)
The rainy or cloudy days continued in the beginning of March, but the day we visited was sunny. But the temperature was low, and it seemed to have turned back in winter. The mountains were covered with snow fallen last night.
On the other hand, the water level was extremely low which I had never seen before. It might be due to the little rain in this winter.
On Hayatogawa Bridge at the starting point, there were many photographers waiting for Mountain Hawk-Eagle.
As soon as we started walking on the forest road, we heard Eurasian Wren.
We heard several calls but it was difficult to see the birds. Somehow, we saw small flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch and of Brambling.
We looked for the Crested Kingfisher that might be resting at somewhere on the side of the lake with very little water.
On the way, we saw many birders gazing the opposite side of the lake. There was a Crested Kingfisher perching on a small branch at the far distance.
In the small trees on the slope nearby, there were an Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, a few Long-tailed Rosefinches, and a Masked Bunting.
We walked further to search for the other winter birds such as Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) and Eurasian Bullfinch. We found some more Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins and a small flock of Eurasian Bullfinch, but Japanese Accentor did not appear. It might have left the field already.
On the return way, we heard the Crested Kingfisher closely. It was perching on a dead tree in the lake and we could watch it very well.
On Hayatogawa Bridge, most of the photographers had left there after taking photos of Mountain Hawk-Eagle.
The birds we observed are;
(* shows the bird observed by other birders)
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), *Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)?
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreu),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, マガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ,
トビ, *クマタカ, キジバト, ヤマセミ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, アトリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, アカウソ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
It was cloudy but not windy after the 2 consecutive rainy days.
The birds were very active.
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus) increased its number, and I saw everywhere on the trees, on the grasslands and on the sandbanks. Some of them formed flocks.
There were many Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit/American Pipit (Siberian)s and wagtails (Grey, Black-backed, Japanese) on the grasslands and on the sandbanks, too.
There were still some buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Masked, Reed) in the grass fields.
In the river, many ducks (Eurasian Teal/Common Teal, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Eastern Spot-billed, Mallard, Northern Shoveler) still remained, too.
Among the flock of ducks, there was a teal looked like Green-winged Teal.
I saw some singing birds such as; Green Pheasant (kigis), Japanese Tit, Meadow Bunting, Japanese Skylark, Japanese Bush Warbler and Long-billed Plover.
I searched for summer or spring migrating birds. The day before I saw an Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus) in this field, however, I could not find them this time.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)?
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, アメリカコガモ,
カイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, トビ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ,
セグロカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Higashi-Takane Forest Park (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園(川崎)
There are mistletoes (Viscum album subsp. coloratum), and Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) visits this park aiming the seeds of these trees at the end of winter.
The park was very quiet with only few birds except for Spot-billed Ducks and crows.
Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) had not yet visited this park.
And it seemed that most of the winter birds left had left this site already. The winter birds I saw were a Japanese Hawfinch and a Pale Thrush.
There were some resident birds such as Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Honshu White-eye, Brown-eared Bulbul and woodpeckers (Japanese Pygmy, Japanese).
The birds observed are;
Hybrid Mallard x Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos x Anas zonorhyncha), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Hawk SP,
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
マガモxカルガモ, カルガモ, カワウ, ハイタカ類, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, シメ
Kizu River near Nagarebashi (Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture)
木津川 流れ橋付近(京都)
I attended a birding walking event held by the Kyoto Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan. It was somewhat rainy day, but not windy.
We started from the Yawata Sports Park and walked to the bank of the Kizu River.
During this course, there were numerous Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) singing.
Within the bands of the river, there were tea plantations and we searched birds along roads around these plantations. A Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides) was singing.
We then moved to the location where we can reach the river. There were many Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica) and Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
We could also see Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) and hear Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus).
To our surprise, almost no water birds were in the river (no egrets or herons at all). There was only one Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), but there was also a Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus) on the shore.
We then walked down the river and reached the famous Nagarebashi (Kozuya Bridge), which is one of the longest wooden bridge in Japan. The bridge slads can be floated if the river is flooded.
Around here, we saw an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) perched distantly, and flew a bit for foraging.
We could also see a flying Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).
We walked on the bridge to the distant side, and saw a Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) on the shore of the river.
After taking a rest on the band, we moved to a shrine where we met many Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes). This species is abundant in many places in this season.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カワウ, カワアイサ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ,
ヒバリ, モズ, ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, シロハラ, ヒヨドリ, シメ, ムクドリ, キジバト, メジロ,
シジュウカラ, ノスリ, トビ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ウグイス, ヤマガラ, ハヤブサ,
カシラダカ, ベニマシコ, キジ, イカルチドリ, クサシギ, エナガ, オオジュリン
Midorogaike Pond (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
深泥池(京都)
This pond was a famous birding location in the past, where many ducks wintered. People used to fed them and one could see many ducks very closely. The pond has a unique community of flora and fauna characterized by poor inorganic salts, and it has been chosen as a national designated natural monument. Feeding ducks was considered to pollute the water and was banned.
There are not been so many ducks as before.
When arrived, I was somewhat surprised to see more ducks than I thought. In particular, Falcated Ducks (Anas falcata) were seen closely. This place was famous for a route for beginners, and the "iconic" species was the Falcated Duck. I was somewhat surprised to see this species as closely as before.
My potential target was a Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis), which has been recorded here recently.
I could not find the bird, but there were several Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca). The target bird might have been hidden in the floating island.
Later during the observation, I saw a flock of small flying birds, and they turned synchronously and disappeared. As judged from the movement, they must have been Dunlins (Calidris alpina). Although this species was abundant in rivers in Kyoto before, it has become rare to see this synchronized flight. I have been relieved to know that Midorogaike Pond still has capacity to hold various kinds of wildlife.
List of species:
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
オオバン, カワウ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヨシガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ,
トビ, ハマシギ, メジロ, カワラヒワ, ハシボソガラス
Akabane Port (Tahara-shi, Aichi Prefecture)
赤羽根漁港(愛知)
We visited this port to see loons and potentially Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla).
We could readily see a Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica) foraging together with Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) in the port. There were at least three Pacific Loon/Pacific Divers and they could be seen pretty nearby. They sometimes bathed and then dived for foraging. They were not afraid of humans and they foraged pretty close to fishermen.
There were also Japanese Cormorants (Phalacrocorax capillatus) and Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), either resting on blocks or foraging on the water.
Despite our expectation, most of the gulls were Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and Black-tailed Gulls (Larus crassirostris), and there was no hint of a Black-legged Kittiwake.
We found a large number of Great Crested Grebes near the beach.
We also visited the Long Beach near the port, and found a flock of Pelagic Cormorants on the water.
List of species:
Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone)
シロエリオオハム, カンムリカイツブリ, ウミウ, カワウ, ヒメウ, ウミアイサ,
ウミネコ, ユリカモメ, カモメ, トビ, ハシブトガラス, ハクセキレイ, イソヒヨドリ, ウグイス
Fishing ports at Choshi and Hasaki areas (Chiba, Ibaraki)
波崎,銚子エリアの漁港(千葉,茨城)
The weather was cloudy with the cold north wind.
At first, we visited IIoka fishing port which is located south west of Choshi. We found an Ancient Murrelet, a Holboll's Grebe and a Great Crested Grebe at very close distance. There were some Greater Scaup (American)s, too.
Then we drove to Choshi Marina.
There were fewer number of gulls than we expected, but we saw some species as; Black-tailed, Kamchatka, Vega, and Slaty-backed.
We saw a Horned Grebe closely, too.
At the next point, Choshi Fishing Port No.3, the number of gulls and seabirds were not many. We saw a big flock of Black-necked Grebe moving, sinking and floating all together.
From the hill of "Senninzuka Kainangyomin Memorial Tower", we found a couple of Pacific Harlequin Duck resting on a rock and a couple of Red-breasted Merganser at the distance.
At Choshi Fishing Port No.2, there were some fishing boats which just returned with a lot of fish. Huge number of gulls gathered around these boats.
On the breakwater in front of Ikuri Restaurant, we found an immature Glaucous-winged, a Glaucous, and a Thayer's among many Black-tailed, Vega, Slaty-backed, and Siberian Black-headed Gulls.
Then we drove around Hazaki Port, on the breakwater, there were many Japanese Cormorants and Kamchatka Gulls.
We returned back to Choshi Fishing Port No.3 and found a Pacific Black-legged Kittiwake and a big flock of Great Crested Grebes.
The birds observed were;
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Pacific Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Holboll's Grebe (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Kamchatka Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Pacific Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla pollicaris),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacila grandis)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, シノリガモ, クロガモ,
ウミアイサ, アカエリカイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ミミカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ,
ウミウ, ヒメウ, トビ, オオバン, ウミネコ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, カナダカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ユリカモメ, ミツユビカモメ, ウミスズメ, カワラバト, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Paddy field in Itakura & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉の田んぼ＆渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
As soon as we arrived in Itakura, we found a small flock of Rustic Bunting in a bush, a Merlin on a electric wire, and a Hen Harrier flying above the rice field. There were a few Japanese Buzzards on poles as well.
Big flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinch, Russet Sparrow, and mixed flock of Eastern Rook and Daurian Jackdaw were on the electric wires.
There were many small flocks of Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove in the rice fields.
In Watarase Retarding Basin, there were many Japanese Buzzards, buntings (Meadow, Rustic), too.
It was hard to see Long-tailed Rosefinches, but eventually we saw a few together with Rustic Bunting, Reed Buntings and Japanese Hawfinches.
In the pond, there was a flock of Falcated Duck.
The birds observed are;
Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Eastern Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ,
コチョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオバン, ケリ, イソシギ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, コクマルガラス,
ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Tsuruga Peninsula (Shiraki Port, Inogaike Pond etc.) (Fukui Prefecture)
敦賀半島(白木漁港,猪ヶ池,他)(和歌山)
We visited Shiraki Port, which is located close to the Monju fast breeder reactor, to search for wintering sea birds.
Although several loons were seen, they were very distant. There was a small flock of Ancient Murrelets (Synthliboramphus antiquus) distantly, and while taking a video of this flock, another flock of tens of Ancient Murrelets passed within video frames.
There were many gulls (mostly black-tailed gulls) on the shore of the port close to the nuclear reactor. This location is "authorized personnel only" is these birds probably enjoyed this location without human disturbance.
We then moved to the shore close to Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant, where many gulls were also seen on tetrapods.
We then moved to the eastern side of the peninsula and saw a flock of Black-necked Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), which synchronously dived for foraging.
There was also Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus).
We then visited Tateishi Port, and then to Inogaike Pond, where there is a small bird observing facility equipped with binoculars.
We could see ducks in the lake distantly, and hear Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) calling, but we could not see the birds directly.
List of species:
Black-throated Loon (Gavia arctica), Pacific Loon/Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
オオハム, シロエリオオハム, ハジロカイツブリ, カワウ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, キンクロハジロ, オシドリ, オオバン,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, トビ, ウミスズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
メジロ, イソヒヨドリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo) & Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
葛西臨海公園(東京)&三番瀬(千葉)
It was very calm and warm Sunday like spring.
There was a lot of person in Kasai-Rinkai Park. Also a lot of construction work for the Olympics was on-going around the park.
It was not hard for body but slightly hard for birding.
We looked for White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), but it did not appear during our observation.
In the fresh-water pond "Kami-no-ike", there were many ducks such as Pochard, Tufted Duck, Northern Shoveler, etc..
Reed Buntings were moving busily in the reeds.
We heard the loud calls of Japanese Wryneck twice, but it did not appear in front of us.
We looked for Azure-winged Magpie, but we could not hear it's unique call. Fortunately, we found a small flock moving in the deep trees eventually.
We moved to Sanbanze Seaside Park to see shorebirds.
I don't know why but there were very few birds in the tidal flat. We found a few Eastern Eurasian Curlews at distance.
We walked to the breakwater, and somehow we saw ducks (Greater Scaup (American), Common Goldeneye), grebes (Black-necked, Great Crested Grebe), Red-breasted Mergansers and a big flock of Kamtchatka Oystercatcher at far distance.
A flock of gull flew nearby, and one of them was Saunder's Gull.
On the way back, we found a small flock of Siberian Dunlins and a Red-necked Stint on the shore.
The birds observed are:
- at Kasai-Rinkai Park:
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)?
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Kamchatka Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Wryneck (Jynx torquilla japonica), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Eastern Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata orientalis), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunder's Gull (Saundersilarus saundersi),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ,
ウミアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, クイナ, ミヤコドリ, タシギ, ダイシャクシギ, アオアシシギ, イソシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, カモメ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, ズグロカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, アリスイ, コゲラ, モズ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, オオジュリン
Wada-buke, Mihama-cho (Wakayama Prefecture)
和田不毛(和歌山)
Wada-buke is a region of former wetland in Wakayama, and has been famous for rare bird records in the past such as a Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo).
The environment was not as good as before, but in this season there has been a record of wintering Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha) up to 40 in number. According to a report on the web, this may have been a result of disposed fallen rice stalks after a strong typhoon in the last year.
It was a very windy day when I visited.
The cranes were seen in a group of about 30 birds and an isolated family of three birds. They were mostly busy foraging on rice paddies. Sometimes a few birds among them flew above the flock and the flock responded by calling.
The family of three birds was rather actively moving independent of the flock, and walked across paddy fields.
Due to the strong wind, the activity of other birds were not so remarkable.
List of species:
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
ナベヅル, アオサギ, ダイサギ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒバリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, スズメ
Akigase Park(Saitama)
秋ヶ瀬公園(埼玉)
We saw many Japanese Hawfinches and Masked Buntings. There was an individual very looked like Western Black-faced Bunting.
A Long-taled Tit was collecting spider silk for nesting.
Waxwing had not yet visited this field in this season.
Due to less rain in this winter, all the ponds in the field were dried up and there was neither of duck nor kingfisher.
At Sakuraso Park, we saw Long-tailed Rosefinches.
We did not see, but White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) and Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis) were recorded by other birders.
The birds we observed are;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Western Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala)?
マガモ, カルガモ, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ. アカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, シベリアアオジ?
Cemetery Tama, Musashino Park & Nogawa Park (Tokyo)
多磨霊園,武蔵野公園&野川公園(東京)
These three sites are located adjacent each other.
It was warm like spring and tits were singing well. But the number of birds was less than the ordinary years. Furthermore in the forest of Cemetery Tama, some workers were mowing undergrowth, and it made the birds go away.
In Musashino Park and Nogawa Park, I saw many White-cheeked Starlings, Dusky Thrushes, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Japanese Hawfinches foraging on the lawn. I looked for White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) but could not see this time.
Because it had not rain in this winter, the water in the Nogawa river was almost drying. A Little Egret, a Great Egret and a Common Kigfisher were hunting small fishes in the small stream.
The birds observed are;
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, トビ, オオタカ, バン, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ
Lake Nishinoko and Dainaka Reclamation (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖&大中湖干拓地(滋賀)
The target species here was the Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus). There was no sign of them for half an hour after our arrival, and we enjoyed watching soaring Black Kites (Milvus migrans) and passerine birds.
The Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone) was already singing.
After a while, two Eastern Marsh Harriers appeared suddenly, and the two birds chased one after another with squeaking voice. One of them soared high and we could enjoy watching it among a "kettle" of Black Kites until it disappeared from our scene.
We then moved to the place where we could watch the lake from the north.
Although birds were rather distant, we could enjoy Smews (Mergellus albellus) and other ducks.
While watching them a Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) appeared above us.
We then moved to Dainaka Reclamation to search for Rooks (Corvus frugilegus).
Instead of finding Rooks, we fortunately met a flock of Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus). The birds were foraging on rice paddies for a long time, and they suddenly flew away as a flock.
We searched for other birds, but again met this flock foraging in a different place.
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
etc.
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ,
チュウヒ, トビ, ノスリ, タゲリ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
エナガ, ツグミ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, アオジ, オオジュリン, 他
Kohoku Wild birds Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
We initially watched the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) before it returns to the north. The eagle was sitting on a bare dead tree and we could see it in detail.
There was no wind and the eagle did not move for a long time.
There were Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) foraging on rice paddies close to the Center and they also attracted attention from many visitors.
While we were watching these swans, we saw a Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) foraging on the same rice paddies.
In front of the Center, Tundra Swans gathered prior to the return to the north.
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, ケリ, 他
Mikata-goko Lakes (Mikata Lake) (Fukui Prefecture) (Fukui Prefecture)
三方五湖(三方湖)(福井)
We visited here again with some expectation to meet the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).
The eagle was not present on its favorite dead tree and we enjoyed watching ducks, Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) and Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus).
I then noticed a silhoutte of a large bird on a distant tree. When I tried to spot the bird, two Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) flew just above us. One of them had fish and the other apparently to obtain that fish.
After this aerial battle, I turned the scope to the bird on the tree. It was strongly against the light and the color was not clearly recognized. Shortly after we started observing the bird, it flew away to the distant side. It may have been the White-tailed Eagle as judged from the glimpse of the white color in the tail.
We moved to the observing Center considering that the eagle might have moved to this direction.
The eagle did not appear during our stay, but a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) perched on the fence and we enjoyed watching it through the window.
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern spot-billed duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)? Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), etc.
ヒドリガモ,マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, カワセミ, オオバン,
セグロカモメ, ミサゴ, オジロワシ? トビ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, アオジ, 他
7-day Tour in Kyushu, Tohoku & Izu Islands
7日間九州,東北＆伊豆諸島ツアー
Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha) in Izumi
; photo by M.Hubmann
White-naped Cranes (Grus vipio) in Izumi
; photo by M.Hubmann
Arctic Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis) in Izumi
; photo by M.Hubmann
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus) in Izumi
; photo by M.Hubmann
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia major) in Izumi
; photo by M.Hubmann
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus)
; photo by M.Hubmann
Tundra White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons albifrons) & Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) at left behind in Kabukuri Marsh
; photo by M.Hubmann
Tundra White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons albifrons) near Kabukuri Marsh
; photo by M.Hubmann
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia)
; photo by M.Hubmann
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
; photos by M.Hubmann
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes); photo by M.Hubmann
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)
; photo by M.Hubmann
Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops) in Hachijo Island
; photo by M.Hubmann
From 13th to 16th, we drove around Izumi area of Kagoshima Prefecture, Yatsushiro area of Kumamoto Prefecture and Ariake area in Saga Prefecture.
On 17th in Tome area of Miyagi Prefecture, and from 18th to 19th in Izu Island area.
In Izumi, we stayed two nights at Guset House "Shin-Tsurumi-tei". This guest house is located near the feeding point in the west reclaimed land.
From the window of the room of the guest house, we saw a huge number of cranes gathered in the dawn very closely. In addition, huge flock of ducks and flocks of crows joined, and the scene in which numerous number of birds flew here and there spreaded in front of us and made us exciting.
The number of cranes as of December 2018 was 14,286 composed of 13,696 Hooded Cranes, 574 White-naped Cranes, 10 Eastern Common Cranes, 4 Arctic Sandhill Crane and 2 hybrid of Hooded and White-naped Cranes.
We found one Eastern Common Crane and one hybrid among the huge number of flock front of us.
We drove around the east reclaimed land, and looked for Arctic Sandhill Crane. It was hard to find it among the flock of Hooded Cranes, but somehow we found an Arctic Sandhill Crane.
In a pond and at an irrigation canal, we found spoonbills and egrets.
In the reeds along the river, Chinese Penduline Tits were moving busily.
At the upperstream of Komenotsu River near Kogawa Dam, we saw a Crested Kingfisher and a Brown Dipper.
At Kogawa Dam, we saw ducks such as Northern Pintail and Mandarin Duck in the lake, and tits, greenfinches, buntings, woodpeckers, pigeons, jays and thrushes in the surｒounding forest.
We heard songs and calls of Japanese Bush Warblers, Japanese Woodpeckers, Ryukyu Minivets, and Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, too.
In Yatsushiro area, we visited two river mouths.
At the mouth of Kuma River (Kuma-Gawa), there were some tidal flats.
On these tidal flats, there were many shorebirds; such as Kentish Plovers, Grey Plovers, Red-necked Stint, Siverian Dunlin, and Eastern Eurasian Curlew, and gulls.
Among the flock of Vega Gulls, we found a Taymyr Gull with yellow legs.
In the sea, there were lot of ducks (Common Shelduck, Mallad, Northern Pintail, Tuffted) and Red-breasted Mergansers.
On the piles in the sea, many Ospreys were taking rest.
At the mouth of Ono River, there were huge number of Baikal Teals and many Saunder's Gulls. In the river, there were many Falcated Ducks, too.
In Ariake area, we visited, a reservoir at Fukutomi, Higashi-Yoka Tidal Flat (Higashi-Yoka Higata) and the area around Saga Airport.
At the reservoir at Fukutomi, there were many ducks such as Gadwals, Eurasian Wigeons, Eurasian Teal/Common Teals, etc..
In the reeds, there were Black-crowned Night Herons and Chinese Penduline Tits.
There were buntings, greenfinches, abd Dusky Thrushes on the surrounding grass field.
At Higashiyoka Tidal Flat, which is the largest tidal flat left in Japan, a wide muddy tideland spread.
A few Saunder's Gulls flew in front of us but the shorebirds were foraging in the wide area at the far distance.
Near Saga Airport, we drove the field around the airport. There were many Bull-headed Shrikes but could not find the Northern Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus sphenocercus) which had been recorded.
We saw a Kyushu Green Pheasant in a farm field.
There was a mixed flock of White-cheeked and Siberian Common Starling in the park.
After the trip in Kyushu, we flied back to Haneda and went to Furukawa by bull train of Tohoku Shinkansen.
We visited three sites; Kabukuri-Numa Marsh (Kabukuri-Numa), Lake Izu-Numa (Izu-Numa) and Lake Kejyo-Numa.
In the paddy fields around these these sites with a little snow fell the last night, there were many flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra). We found a Leser White-fronted Goose among a flock of White-fronted Geese near Kabukuri Marsh.
At Kabukuri Marsh, it was sunny but windy, and the birds were not so much active. But some Eastern Marsh-Harriers flew above the marsh, and ducks, swans and geese were resting in the water.
We looked for Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) but it did not appear during our observation.
We drove the road along the south of Lake Izu. A White-tailed Eagle was flying in elegant.
At Lake Kejo-numa, we waited for Aleutian Geese which roosts in this lake until the sunset.
Before the sunset, we walked around the lake, and saw some Rustic Buntings and heard some calls of woodpeckers. At the time of sunset, many flocks of Aleutian Geese and Tundra White-fronted Geese came back to this lake in falling snow. It was very fantastic.
After the trip in Tome, we return back to Tokyo and rode on the ferry toward Hachijo Island (Hachijo-Jima) which departed late at the night from Takeshiba Pier.
At the time of sunrise, the ferry stopped at Mikura Island.
On the way between Mikura Island and Hachijo Island, Black-footed Albatrosss and Short-Tailed Albatrosses appeared several times. In the flock there was a Short-tailed Shearwater which might be the early migrator.
In Hachijo Island, we drove on the several roads in the semi-toropical ever-green forests following to the suggestion by the staff of Visitor Center of the Botanical Garden.
It was warm and we saw Varied Tits with darker colour and Japanese White-eyes with longer bill nad heard songs of Japanese Bush Warbler, Eurasian Wren and Japanese Robin.
We did not hear Ijima's Warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae) this time. They had not arrived at the island or did not start singing.
It was difficult to see either of Japanese Wood-Pigeon and Izu Thrush, but we saw them eventually.
In the dawn, we heard songs of Izu Thrushes and Green Pheasant (Pacific) near the lodge.
On the return ferry from Hachijo Island to Takeshiba Pier, we saw many albatrosses (Black-footed, Short-Tailed, Laysan) and Streaked Shearwater.
The Laysan albatross and Streaked Shearwater appeared in the water between Miyake and Oshima Islands.
They sometimes flew closely and attracted us very much.
Three Japanese Murrelets flew near the ship but only once.
At the Miyake Port, therre was a lot of gulls. We saw many Black-tailed Gulls, some Vega Gulls, some Slaty-backed Gulls and a Glaucous Gull.
During this trip, we visited the different types of habitats and saw many kinds of birds wintering in Japan.
The birds observed
- at Izumi
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Arctic Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis), White-naped Crane (Grus vipio), Eastern Common Crane (Grus grus lilfordi),
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha), Hybrid; Hooded Crane & Eastern Common Crane (Grus monacha x Grus grus lilfordi),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Eastern Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Komenotsu River near Kogawa Dam
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki kizuki), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera horii),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jay 'Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at mouth of Kuma River
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eastern Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Taymyr Gull (Larus heuglini taimyrensis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at mouth of Ono River
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Baikal Teal (Anas formosa). Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Saunder's Gull (Saundersilarus saundersi),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at reservoir at Fukutomi, Higashi-yoka Tidal Flat & around Saga Airport
Kyushu Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor versicolor),
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus variegatus), Eastern Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata orientalis),
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Saunder's Gull (Saundersilarus saundersi),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Oriental Magpie (Pica sericea), South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus), Siberian Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Tome area
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Tundra Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius)
- on Ferry (from Mikura Island to Hachijo Island)
Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
- in Hachijo Island
Green Pheasant (Pacific) (Phasianus versicolor tanensis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Owston's Tit (Sittiparus owstoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus stejnegeri),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes mosukei),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Izu Thrush (Turdus celaenops),
Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige tanensis)
- on Ferry (from Hachijo Island to Takeshiba Pier)
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes),
Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Pomarine Jaeger/Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus),
Japanese Murrelet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume)
コジュケイ, キュウシュウキジ, シマキジ, オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, マガン, カリガネ, シジュウカラガン,
オオハクチョウ, ツクシガモ, オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ,
ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, コアホウドリ, クロアシアホウドリ, アホウドリ,
オオミズナギドリ, ハシボソミズナギドリ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ウミウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, オジロワシ, チュウヒ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ,
バン, オオバン, カナダヅル, マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, ナベクロヅル, タゲリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ,
タシギ, オオハシシギ, チュウシャクシギ, ダイシャクシギ, ホウロクシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ,
イソシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
タイミールセグロカモメ, ズグロカモメ, トウゾクカモメ, カンムリウミスズメ, カワラバト, カラスバト,
キジバト, アオバト, カワセミ, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, キュウシュウコゲラ, アカゲラ, カゴシマアオゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, モズ, カケス, カササギ, コクマルガラス, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, オーストンヤマガラ, ツリスガラ, ツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ,
セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シチトウメジロ, モスケミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ,
トラツグミ, シロハラ, アカコッコ, ツグミ, タネコマドリ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
カワガラス, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, タヒバリ,
オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I attended a birding walking event held by the Shiga Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan.
The weather was not windy as in the previous day, but it was always cloudy and there was no apparent movement of raptors.
At the staring point, we could already see Smews (Mergellus albellus). This species is abundant in this season in many regions.
In the reeds along the canal, we could see foraging Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) very clearly.
We then walked to the location to see water birds in the lake.
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was eating fish on a pole.
There were various kinds of buntings along the course.
We then moved to Nishinoko Enchi, and we saw a perched Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) on the way.
Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) were foraging by a road.
There were also relatively abundant Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
It started to rain after the lunch and I left the group and walked alone along the canal.
Immediately after noon, the activity of the Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) and the Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) increased and I could see them flying several times (but in rain).
List of species:
Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, クイナ, オオバン, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, カワセミ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, カワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Ooura, Lake Biwa (Shiga)
琵琶湖大浦(滋賀)
I attended a birding walking event held by the Shiga Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan.
Due to the cold wave, there was sometimes snow and wind, but it improved in the afternoon. It was, however, very cold.
Due to this coldness, forest birds were not vocal and it was initially difficult to see small birds through snow.
When we arrived the shore of the lake, we could see various kinds of ducks. Only a few years ago, we could regularly see a flock of resting gulls, most of which were Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). This time, we could see no Black-headed Gulls, even in the fishing port. This may be related to the decrease of this species in many regions of Japan. We could see, however, a Mew Gull (Larus canus) flying over a few times.
We then arrived at the location where we watched a Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus). But this individual did not appear since the preceding year. There were trees which this eagle often used, but there were no raptor on them.
We could see, however, an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) quickly flying against the wind.
On the return path, the weather improved a bit and we could see several forest birds.
We then moved to the different side of the lake and watched mostly ducks. Two hybrid ducks attracted our attention:
hybrid Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) and hybrid American Wigeon (Anas americana).
During the return path to the train station, we could see a flying Eastern Buzzard again.
List of species:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
American Wigeon (Anas americana) (hybrid), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago),
Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki), Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Common reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, タシギ,
カモメ, ユリカモメ, トビ, ノスリ, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ,
カワラヒワ, ウソ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Mt. Kongo (Osaka Prefectures)
金剛山(大阪)
We went to Mt. Kongo (elevation about 1000m) to see forest birds.
When we walked toward the ropeway station (elevation about 700m), we heard the song of the Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes).
On the mountain, there were not so much indication of birds. We, however, saw foraging Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) by a trail.
We took lunch in Chihaya Enchi, where we met friendly Varied Tits (Sittiparus varius) begging for food.
On our return way where we met bullfinches, we heard a Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida).
We then moved to the trail north of the ropeway station on the mountain. We heard the call of the Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), song and call of the Coal Tit (Periparus ater).
We then suddenly found a flock of birds foraging on a nearby tree. We initially thought them to be Coal Tits as judged from the call just before coming here, but the birds turned out to be Willow Tits (Poecile montanus). They were eating seeds and sometimes issued the characteristic call and chased one after another. We fully enjoyed this close encounter. After that, a Coal Tit indeed appeared and then a Varied Tit.
We also heard the call of a Japanese Accentor here.
According to the information from a birder, there are a number of White-backed Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos leucotos) and they already started to forming territories.
According to him, Eurasian Nuthatches (Sitta europaea) could be seen near the shrine (somewhat higher in elevation and distant from this station). He hasn't seen any waxwings in this season.
The list of the birds observed were;
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus),
Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
キジバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, ミソサザイ, ハシブトガラス, カケス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, ヒガラ, カヤクグリ, アオジ, ウソ, アトリ
Sakai city (Osaka Prefecture)
堺市(大阪)
We went birding following a report of a Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys).
The location was grassy field close to a small pond. Soon after our arrival, buntings appeared on the grass. There was initially Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala), and soon after that the target bird appeared.
They then foraged on the agricultural field.
The Yellow-browed Bunting, Black-faced Buntings and Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans) foraged one after another. After foraging, they rested behind the grasses.
After an hour, the Yellow-browed Bunting appeared again on the different side of the field. We enjoyed observing it foraging on the ground.
List of species:
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis), White-bellied Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans), Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys)
キジバト, アオバト, アオゲラ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ルリビタキ, シロハラ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, アトリ, シメ,
ホオジロ, アオジ, ミヤマホオジロ, キマユホオジロ
Garyu-zan Park in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市臥竜公園(長野)
Garyu-zan Mountain Park is one of the most popular birding spots in Suzaka City.
I visited this place to look for an Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris erythropygia), which had been found a few days before. This species regularly stay in high mountains and are found in Satoyama area like here only on very cold days during winter.
Unfortunately, I could not find the bird.
I also failed to observe Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans), which were regular winter visitor here.
The mountain ridge is covered with red pine trees, which attracts flocks of Goldcrests (Regulus regulus), a favorite target for many birders in this season.
While waiting for Goldcrests, I could spot a beautiful male Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus). Taking a good photo of Goldcrests seems to be too difficult for me.
List of species:
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Poecile varius),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
マガモ，カルガモ，ダイサギ，トビ，コゲラ，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，カケス，
シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，エナガ，ルリビタキ，セグロセキレイ，ハクセキレイ
Kohoku Wild birds Center / Biwako Waterfowl & Wetland Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター/琵琶湖水鳥・湿地センター(滋賀)
We attended an event celebrating the World Wetlands Day, which was held in Biwako Waterfowl & Wetland Center and Kohoku Wild birds Center.
When we arrived, Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) were still on Lake Biwa. After a short introduction, we went out from the Center and saw the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) which stayed on a low tree near Mt. Yamamoto. According to observers, the eagle was initially on a pole in Lake Biwa, but caught fish and returned to Mt. Yamamoto.
After watching the eagle, we moved to the shore and enjoyed watching water birds.
While we were observing, Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) flew above the lake.
Some of Tundra Swans took flight and landed on a rice paddy close to the Center.
We watched these swans very closely. These swans were not afraid of us.
After watching the birds, we had an indoor event with lectures and we summarized today's observation.
After the event, we moved close to the eagle.
The bird perched on the same tree for hours and photographers around it already started giving up taking its photos in flight.
I didn't make a memo of the species recorded by the Center Staff, and the list is only from my observation.
List of species:
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
ミコアイサ, カワアイサ, カンムリカイツブリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, オオバン, ケリ, ハマシギ,
トビ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Nishi-ike Pond and nearby region (Shiga)
西池とその近郊(滋賀)
We made a short visit to Nishi-ike Pond and nearby region to search for forest birds.
In Nishi-ike, there were many ducks relatively nearby and Smews (Mergellus albellus) were seen pretty closely.
We couldn't find expected Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata).
Our visit was probably too early for Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii) to return.
We searched for forest birds around a shrine located south to Nishi-ike Pond.
Although there were mixed flocks of tits, there was little hint of wintering birds (the lack of wintering birds in this season appears to be common in many parts of Japan).
The list of the birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヨシガモ, ミコアイサ, カワアイサ,
キジバト, カワウ, オオバン, トビ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, カケス,
コゲラ. ヒヨドリ. ツグミ. セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, シジュウカラ, エナガ, オオジロ, シメ
Fushimi-Momoyama Castle (Kyoto Prefecture)
伏見桃山城(京都)
I attended a birding walking event held by the Kyoto Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan. The course was from Tanbabashi Station to trails south to Fushimi-Momoyama Castle and around the Castle, and then to Fushimi-Kitahori Park.
During the birding walking in the last year, a flock of Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) was seen in Fushimi-Kitahori Park. In this year, there has been no reports of waxwings in Kyoto and we didn't expect much to see them.
In trails south to Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, there is a pond where a Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) is expected.
The pond was partly frozen and we couldn't find the bird.
We then moved to the location where Grey Buntings (Emberiza variabilis) were expected.
On the way, we saw a hawk circling above. It was an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus).
At the expected location, we couldn't find Grey Buntings.
The voice was recorded (probably rather distant and hidden in bush) and I include this species in the list.
Around this region, many trees fell due to the typhoon in the last year, and some places could not be entered.
In the park around Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, we saw a White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea), one of the target species of this event, and a Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) foraging on the ground.
In Fushimi-Kitahori Park, we saw at least three Daurian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) and several Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala).
To our regret, we couldn't see a Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), which was very well seen during the last season.
List of species:
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, トビ, ノスリ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エナガ, メジロ,
トラツグミ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
6-day Tour in Doto Area (Hokkaido)
6日間道東ツアー(北海道)
During this tour, we traveled in the depths of the Japanese winter, aiming to see Japan's most incredible wildlife spectacles, such as wintering flocks of magnificent Steller's Sea Eagles, and elegant dancing Japanese Red-crowned Cranes.
At first, we visited Tsurumidai and Tsurui-ITO Red Crowned Crane Sanctuary in Tsurui Village to see Japanese Red-crowned Cranes gathering at the feeding time.
They were so elegant in the snow and sometimes they called each other and danced. Furthermore, their flight was very attractive.
In the early morning, we visited Otowa Bridge of Setsuri River.
We saw many Red-crowned Cranes roosting in the river in the beautiful morning mist. Though the temperature was very low and it was very cold, but the scenery was wonderful.
Fortunately, we were able to watch two Hokkaido Ural Owls in a hollow of big tree in the forest nearby.
At Lake Mashu, we saw some Whooper Swans wintering at the open water near the hot spring.
At the fishing ports between Shibetsu and Rausu, there were many ducks and gulls. The dominant species were Pacific Harlequin Duck, Black Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser/Goosander and Slaty-backed Gull.
There were a White-tailed Eagle and a Steller's Sea-Eagle on the breakwater of the port.
We enjoyed the winter cruise by Shiretoko Nature Cruise twice. The first cruise was one-hour short course near Rause Port. A lot of number of gulls and eagles gathered to get the fishes fed by the cruise ship. Many White-tailed Eagles, Steller's Sea-Eagles and Slaty-backed Gulls flew around our heads and captured fishes on the sea.
When the second cruise, we went near the drift ices. We saw gulls on the ices closely.
We visited Notsuke Penisula twice, On the road to the visitor center, we saw birds, such as gulls and Meadow Buntings, and Shika deers. On thr observatory building at the visitor center, we found many ducks on the water and many seabirds flying at the far distance. It was difficult to identify all the seabirds.
During our observation, I looked for but we could not see Brant Goose (Pacific) (Branta nigricans orientalis), Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus flammeus), Common Raven (Corvus corax kamtschaticus), Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus coloratus), or Siberian Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae).
At the Fish Owl Observartory of Washi-no-Yado in Rausu and Daiichi Hotel in Yoroushi, we saw Blakiston's Fish-Owl after sunset and early morning.
They were males and visiting there to get fishes to present to the partner females.
They are very big but appeared suddenly without noise and flew away in the dark.
Many birds (tits, Brandt's Jay, Asian Wood Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker) came to the bird feeder of Daiichi Hotel, and a Brown Dipper and a Japanese Wagtail appeared in the river at the front of the hotel.
I searched for Solitary Snipe (Gallinago solitaria japonica) in the river but could not find. Coal Tits were singing on the top of tree like spring. It was very very cold, but the bird might feel the coming spring.
The birds observed
- at Tsurumidai
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Tsurui-ITO Red Crowned Crane Sanctuary
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis)
- In Tsurui Village
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis)
- at Otowa Bridge in Tsurui Village
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Hokkaido Ural Owl (Strix uralensis japonica),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- at Kussharo Lake and Kawayu Onsen
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus)
- at Shibetsu Port
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Pacific Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Kamchatka Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- at Rausu
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Pacific Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Black Scoter (Melanitta americana),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Kamchatka Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- Nature Cruise at Rausu
Pacific Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Common Merganser/Goosander (Mergus merganser merganser),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Kamchatka Gull (Larus canus kamtschatschensis), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens),
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
- Notsuke Peninsula
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus pallidissimus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Spectacled Guillemot (Cepphus carbo), Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus)? Least Auklet (Aethia pusilla)?
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
- Yoroushi Onsen
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni/Bubo blakistoni blakistoni),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)?
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
オオハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, オナガガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ,
シノリガモ, クロガモ, コオリガモ, ホオジロガモ,
カワアイサ, ウミアイサ, ヒメウ, トビ, オジロワシ, オオワシ,
タンチョウ, カモメ, ワシカモメ, シロカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ケイマフリ, ウミスズメ? コウミスズメ? シマフクロウ, エゾフクロウ, エゾアカゲラ,
ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ハシブトガラ,
シマエナガ, ヒヨドリ, シロハラゴジュウカラ, シロハラ, ツグミ, カワガラス, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ウソ? シメ, ホオジロ
Kohoku Wild Bird-Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
I visited here again since the behavior of the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) had been unusual in these days.
On January 24, two White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) appeared above Mt. Yamamoto and the Steller's Sea Eagle was attacked by these eagles.
After then, the Steller's Sea Eagle has spent much of the time on poles in the lake, probably considering that Mt. Yamamoto is a dangerous place.
When I arrived, there were many photographers on the road along the lake and it was apparent that the eagle was on a pole in the lake. The eagle was at a distance of 500 meters from the Center, and it was relatively well seen thorough the windows.
According to the Center staff, a White-tailed Eagle was seen in the direction of Mt. Yamamoto in the morning, but I was not in time for its appearance.
The eagle stayed still for a long time, and then moved to a different pole, and waited for a long time.
The previous day was cold and windy, and most of ducks were on or behind a rather distant breakwater. There were only a limited number of ducks just in front of the Center.
Rather curiously, there were a number of ducks close to the pole where the eagle stayed. These ducks were probably confident that they would not be a prey of this eagle. Nevertheless, the ducks were frightened when the eagle moved from a pole to a different pole.
When I almost gave up, the eagle suddenly flew from the pole, and moved to the north and then returned to Mt. Yamamoto. My observation ended with this sighting, but the eagle again moved to poles in the lake after that according to the report.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
*Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), *Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), *Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
*Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), *Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
*Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), *Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
*Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), *Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
*Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), *White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
*Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), *Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
*White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
*Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
*Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
*Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
＊コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ＊コガモ,
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ＊ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, ＊カイツブリ, ＊カンムリカイツブリ,
＊キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, ＊コサギ, オオバン, ＊ケリ, ＊タゲリ, ＊ハマシギ,
カモメ, オオワシ, ＊オジロワシ, トビ, ＊チュウヒ, ＊オオタカ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ＊ムクドリ, ＊ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ＊カワラヒワ, ＊アオジ
Nishio city (Aichi Prefecture)
西尾市(愛知)
We visited this place to see a male Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus).
We arrived here in the morning, although the bird is more frequently seen in the afternoon to evening.
Upon arrival, we were surprised to see many Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) eating fish on dry rice paddies.
We then went around the entire region to see if the Hen Harrier might be resting on the ground.
When we returned to the initial place, I noticed that a Merlin (falco columbarius) resting on a rice paddy. The bird was half asleep and we could approach the bird quite closely.
When we were leaving from this location, the Hen Harrier flew in front of us and we got excited at the unexpected appearance.
We followed the movement of the bird, and it hovered for a short while and touched down on the ground. We approached the bird, but it was only seen from the behind. The bird then flew again and disappeared from the scene.
We then surveyed potential areas where this bird had moved, but we couldn't find it again.
While searching this bird, we met a very friendly Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), which appeared many times in front of us.
As a tractor moved on a rice paddy, many birds such as Pied Wagtails (Motacilla alba), White-cheeked Starlings (Spodiopsar cineraceus) and Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus) gathered and foraged.
We then noticed that a number of cars gathering around a grassy part of the field, and we later knew that the Hen Harrier frequently took a rest in the grass and that it might appear in the afternoon. We waited here for more than one hour without a sign of appearance.
We then moved to the direction of the roosting area of this bird. Instead of spotting this bird, we could see raptors such as an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) and an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus).
Ospreys and kestrels were still very abundant.
We returned to the place where cars gathered, but nothing had apparently changed. We were not sure whether the bird was resting in this grass and we left the place.
List of species;
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Merlin (falco columbarius),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit(Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, タゲリ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ヒバリ, スズメ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
,ハクセキレイ タヒバリ, カワラヒワ
Obata River (Mukou City, Kyoto Prefecture)
小畑川(向日市,京都)
We went here to see the Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis), which has been visiting here three years in a row.
The bird was not initially apparent, but while we were walking along the river, a flock of Eurasian Teals (Anas crecca) was hidden below a weir, and we incidentally and suddenly saw them from above. The birds were surprised by our appearance and flew away. The Green-winged Teal was among them.
There were also other species of ducks.
In the sky, Asian House Martins (Delichon dasypus dasypus) were flying.
List of species;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
マガモ, オナガガモ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, コガモ, アメリカコガモ, カワセミ,
セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ
Heisouko Pond (Kakogawa city, Hyogo Prefecture)
平荘湖(加古川市,兵庫)
We visited this pond after information of a Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus). This pond was rich in various kinds of grebes, but apparently without ducks.
Although we searched a Horned Grebe, we couldn't find one.
A trail encircling the pond has various environments and we could hear the voice of forest birds.
List of species;
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, セグロカモメ, カワウ, アオサギ,
ハクセキレイ, シロハラ, ジョウビタキ, ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, アオジ
Mouth of Kakogawa River (Hyogo Prefecture)
加古川河口(兵庫)
We visited here to meet Chinese Penduline tits (Remiz consobrinus).
It was a rainy day and the overall condition was rather poor.
We initially visited a pond at the end of the river park, where there were many Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope) and some Gadwalls (Anas strepera).
We then moved to see a sandbank in the river.
Possibly due to the elevated water level, there were not so many birds as expected. Although there were many Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo), but the number of Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) was much smaller than expected.
We didn't check these gulls well, and retrospectively found a Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi) among photos.
There were also several Vega Gulls (Larus vegae), one of which had yellow legs.
We then moved to the reed area, and immediately found Chinese Penduline Tits foraging together with Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus). We were lucky that these birds were foraging very actively, and the voice was also well heard.
While we were observing these birds, a Saunders's Gull soared above the reeds, but it didn't get any prey.
A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) also flew, probably searching for fish.
List of species;
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Gadwall (Anas strepera),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Saunders's Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Taymyr Gull (Larus heuglini taimyrensis)?
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, ヒドリガモ, オカヨシガモ, ウミネコ, ズグロカモメ, セグロカモメ, ホイグリンカモメ?
ダイサギ, コサギ, ミサゴ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
ツグミ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ムクドリ, ツリスガラ, ホオジロ, カワラヒワ, オオジュリン
Mikata-goko Lakes (Mikata Lake) (Fukui Prefecture)
三方五湖(三方湖)(福井)
I visited Mikata-goko Lakes (between Mikata Lake and Suigetsu Lake) to see the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) again.
When I arrived, I saw the eagle on the same tree as in January 5. It was preening for some time.
The bird stayed still after that. It again started preening an defecated, but there was no immediate sign of departure.
There was a vehicle (for agriculture) moving toward the direction of the eagle, and it took off at around 10 a.m. At the time of taking flight, the eagle was in the shaded area and it was difficult to obtain images at this distance. It flew over the ridge to the other part of lakes, but the bird was only seen from the behind. The white tail was remarkable even in this adverse condition.
After the eagle had flown, I observed ducks, grebes and others on the lake.
A Black Kite (Milvus migrans) caught fish (as if it were a fish eagle), but the fish might have been dead.
List of species:
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, カワアイサ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, オオバン, セグロカモメ, オジロワシ, トビ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ジョウビタキ, ルリビタキ, シロハラ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, スズメ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, イカル
Okinawa Main Island (Okinawa)
沖縄本島(沖縄)
It rained from the afternoon of the first day to the evening of the second day due to the influence of cold mass.
At first, we visited Komesu area.
There is a fresh-water spring at the coast, and we saw many ducks and shorebirds winter here. In the farm field (sugar cane, vegetable, flower), there were raptors such as Grey-faced Buzzards, Japanese Lessor Sparrowhawks, an Osprey and an Eastern Peregrine Falcon.
We moved to a pond in Yone district, commonly referred to as "Sankaku-ike.", which is a small pond but a good winter birding spot where we can watch Black-faced Spoonbills and shorebirds,
When we arrived, it started raining, but we saw a flock of Black-faced Spoonbill and an Eurasian Spoonbill.
Then we visited Nago Castel Park which is located at the central of Okinawa Island.
The birds were not active, but we observed Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Great Tit, and Japanese White-eye which are different subspecies from ones of Tokyo area.
The final destination was Kaganji area. The rare species had been recorded in this field in the past, but there was nothing special when we visited.
In the morning of the second day, we visited the forest of Yanbaru area before sunrise. It was still raining.
The dark forest was mystic and very exciting.
We were surprised by the sudden calls of Ryukyu Scops Owls in the dark.
We looked for Okinawa Rail, but we could not.
When the forest became a little brighter at dawn, Okinawa Robins and Pale Thrushes came out on the forest road one after another for their breakfast.
On the forest road to Oku Village and in Oku Village, we heard the drumming and call of Okinawa Woodpeckers in the morning.
In the afternoon, we eventually watched the Okinawa Woodpecker on the forest road but could not see Okinawa Rail.
We tried to look for Okinawa rail on the last morning, and we heard the calls in the grass field nearby Oku River in Oku Village.
We visited Kijoka area in the afternoons of the second and third days.
In the canal, there were a few Green Sandpipers. In the farm fields, there were some egrets and a few Grey-faced Buzzard.
On the 3rd day's afternoon, we visited Kin area.
There were some shorebirds in the fieds of water arum. There were many Black-backed Wagtails, in the vegetable fields.
The birds observed are;
- at Komesu area:
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides),
Sandering (Calidris alba rubida), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/aiwan Bulbul (Pycnonotus formosae formosae),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone riukiuensis),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- at Yone area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Nago Castel Park:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nigrescens),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Great Tit (Parus minor okinawae),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
- at Yanbaru area:
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Ryukyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans elegans),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nigrescens), Okinawa Woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii),
Great Tit (Parus minor okinawae),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone riukiuensis),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Okinawa Robin (Larvivora namiyei),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta)
- at Kaganji area:
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- at Kijoka area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/aiwan Bulbul (Pycnonotus formosae formosae), Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- at Kin area:
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis stimpsoni),
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus lucionensis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica namiyei/Hirundo javanica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Light-vented Bulbul/aiwan Bulbul (Pycnonotus formosae formosae), Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis pryeri),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata swinhoei),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, リュウキュウツミ, サシバ, ヤンバルクイナ, バン, オオバン,
セイタカシギ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, シロチドリ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, キアシシギ, ミユビシギ, オジロトウネン,
ヒバリシギ, ウズラシギ, カワラバト (ドバト), リュウキュウキジバト, リュウキュウコノハズク,
カワセミ, リュウキュウコゲラ, ノグチゲラ, シマアカモズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
オキナワシジュウカラ, リュウキュウツバメ, セッカ, タイワンシロガシラ, リュウキュウヒヨドリ,
リュウキュウウグイス, リュウキュウメジロ, シロハラ, ホントウアカヒゲ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ,
コシジロキンパラ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ
Tatsumi-ike Pond in Nagano City (Nagano Prefecture)
長野市辰巳池(長野)
Tatsumi-ike Pond is a small water reservoir near JR Kita-nagano station in eastern bed town of Nagano City.
I observed 4 male and 2 female Baikal Teals (Anas Formosa) among other common waterfowls. Dominant species were; Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) and Northern Pintail (Anas acuta).
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Bikal Teal (Anas formosa),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax),
Rock Dove (Columba livia),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
カルガモ，コガモ，トモエガモ，オカヨシガモ，ヒドリガモ，オナガガモ，カワウ，ゴイサギ，
ドバト，ハシボソガラス，ヒヨドリ，スズメ,セグロセキレイ，ハクセキレイ
Ogura reclaimed land (Uji city, Kyoto Prefecture)
巨椋干拓(京都)
I visited a fallow field in Ogura reclaimed land (there were only a small number of fallow fields in this area and I visited only one of them where there were migratory shorebirds).
I visited this place to search for wintering crows and raptors.
The weather was perfect and I could easily spot a perched Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). This species (probably different individuals) soared later in the sky, and was mobbed by crows.
Above the river, I could also find a soaring Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).
I found a suspicious flock of crows, and approached step by step. The flock was indeed a mixed one with Rooks (Corvus frugilegus).
As I approached the flock, I heard the voice of the Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus). While trying to locate the sound source, two birds was easily found on a wire. I could obtain a video of calling Daurian Jackdaw pretty closely. The bird then took off for foraging on the ground.
Contrary to my expectation, these crows were not afraid of humans at all, and I could see them just below wires or in front of trees where they were resting. I spent most of time observing these crows, and other frequent species (such as Eurasian Skylarks) were not recorded.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit(Anthus rubescens),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Rook (Corvus frugilegus), Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
トビ, ハイタカ, キジバト, チョウゲンボウ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ,
スズメ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ミヤマガラス, コクマルガラス, カワラヒワ
Kahokugata Lagoon (Ishikawa Prefecture)
河北潟(石川)
In this season, there has not been a report of the Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus).
We visited the place whether I frequently observed Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus), and a bird was indeed perched. Before we could see its face, it started flying and soared above a water canal.
I frequently met a flock of the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), but this times it was absent.
On trees close to the place where I saw a Rough-legged Buzzard last year, there were many Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus).
Knowing that Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have been increasing in number, we searched a flock of White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus) without much success. We finally met a small flock, but there were no Common Starlings in it.
While we were driving through the lagoon, we met many Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus).
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
ヒドリガモ, トビ, ノスリ, チュウヒ, キジバト, ハクセキレイ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ツグミ
Togi Region (Ishikawa Prefecture)
富来周辺(石川県)
We visited Togi region (from Togi River to Togi Port) to search water birds.
Near the mouth of the Togi River, we could fortunately meet a bathing Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens). We could see the bird closely, and the it flew away to the sea.
In Togi Port, the majority of gulls was the Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), but other gulls including Slaty-backed Gulls (Larus schistisagus) were also present.
List of species:
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
ワシカモメ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ, セグロカモメ, マガモ, ヒドリガモ, トビ
Tatsuruhama Bird Park (Ishikawa Prefecture)
田鶴浜野鳥公園(石川県)
Tatsuruhama Bird Park is located on the southern beach of Nanao-nishi Bay. This region is rich in wintering birds and was famous for regularly recorded Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor) in the past.
It was to our surprise to see many Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) and Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) on breakwaters.
The Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) was the predominant species, but other ducks were also present.
A juvenile Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) was present. We didn't know where it was from.
On rice paddies around the Park, there were Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus).
List of species:
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
コブハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, マガモ, オナガガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ケリ, タゲリ, セグロカモメ, チュウヒ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ツグミ
Ishikawa Prefecture
石川県
We visited here to see the juvenile Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), which has been reported since the end of the last year.
This species is only sporadically recorded in Honshu, and it is a likely vagrant from the continent.
When we arrived, the crane was preening on a rice paddy.
The bird then started foraging.
After foraging, the bird started calling, initially with very tender voice, then more loudly. It looked to me that the bird was confirming whether there were other cranes around.
The bird then took flight, probably to have a rest after foraging.
List of species:
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
タンチョウ, ハシボソガラス, ハクセキレイ, オオジュリン, ヒヨドリ
Kurondo Pond (Ikoma city, Nara Prefecture)
くろんど池(生駒市,奈良)
We visited this pond to see the Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva), which has been wintering by the pond.
The bird was again soon found, and it has also been fed by local birders. The bird appeared frequently and issued its characteristic calls.
There was a mixed flock of tits, and also some wintering birds in low mountains.
List of species:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
ヒドリガモ, コガモ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ツグミ, シロハラ,
ニシオジロビタキ, ジョウビタキ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, アオジ, ウソ, アトリ
Ooizumi Ryokuchi Park (Sakai-shi, Osaka Prefecture)
大泉緑地公園(堺市,大阪)
We visited here to see and hear the Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla) again.
Contrary to my expectation, the bird had been well fed by local birders and it appeared very frequently.
I initially thought to have a lunch while waiting for the appearance, but I didn't have sufficient time since the bird appeared almost constantly.
A mixed flock of Japanese Tits (Parus minor), Varied Tits (Sittiparus varius), Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (Yungipicus kizuki) was also present.
List of species:
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
ユリカモメ, オオバン, カイツブリ, カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, ツグミ, シロハラ, オジロビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, スズメ, アオジ, シメ
Near Kita-ike Pond (Matsubara-shi, Osaka Prefecture)
北池近隣(松原市,大阪)
We visited the location where a Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri) is wintering as in the last season.
The bird was easily found among the flock of Common Pochards (Aythya ferina). The bird was relatively active and later started foraging by diving.
List of species:
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
ホシハジロ, アカハジロ, ハシビロガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, オオバン, ユリカモメ,
キジバト, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, モズ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ツグミ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Kumeda Pond and nearby pond (Kishiwada-shi, Osaka Prefecture)
久米田池&近隣の池(大阪)
Following a report of a Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca), we visited Kumeda Pond.
At the time of our arrival, there were photographers and we had full expectation.
The only annoying finding was the presence of trucks and people near the water.
When we reached the location, we were disappointed to know that a flock of ducks, including ferruginous, had flown away as people spread fishing nets.
Photoghaphers arriving earlier had already obtained hundreds of shots. Although we waited for the end of fishing, there was no hint of the return of the ferruginous duck.
We moved to a different place, while local birders moved to search for nearby locations where the ferruginous duck might be present.
After we visited different locations, we obtained information of the Ferruginous Duck and moved to the location. The duck was fortunately found.
The bird flew for a short distance, and started foraging together with Common Pochards (Aythya ferina) and Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula). The small size of the Ferruginous Duck was remarkable.
These birds then approached us by swimming, and returned to the resting location where we initially found them.
List of species::
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, メジロガモ, カイツブリ, カワウ, オオバン,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ユリカモメ, トビ, ハヤブサ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, モズ, ムクドリ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Mikata-goko Lakes (Mikata Lake) (Fukui Prefecture)
三方五湖(三方湖)(福井)
We came here to see the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) more closely than from the Center.
This time, the arrival was early and we didn't expect to see the eagle so early.
However, the bird was found to perch on a dead tree. The view from this observing spot was closer than from the Center, but the bird was still distant. There was drizzling rain and the view was not clear.
We waited for an hour with expectation to catch the eagle to fly for foraging, but it disappeared to the other side while we lost the sight for a few second. We moved along the shore and searched the bird in vain.
When we moved to the Center, the eagle was seen on its favorite pine tree, but was distant.
We moved again to see whether this tree could be seen closer, but we couldn't find the bird (no other nearby observers saw the bird).
We again returned to the Center and confirmed that the eagle disappeared only 10 min. after our departure. The eagle had flown away before we reached the observing location.
We didn't have a chance to see the eagle again, and enjoyed water birds in the lake.
List of species (seen only through the windows of the center):
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, オオバン, セグロカモメ, オジロワシ, トビ, モズ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, ミソサザイ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ
Fuefuki River (Fuefuki-gawa) (Yamanashi)
笛吹川(山梨)
Falcated Duck (Anas falcata)
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus)
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis)
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus bewickii bewickii)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
There were quite many Falcated Ducks (Anas falcata).
There were also raptors such as Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), and Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis).
There seemed to be many populations, too.
There were seven Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swans (Cygnus bewickii bewickii) as same as last winter.
Though the ducks were at the different location from last season but many in the number.
Contrast to the Tokyo area, there were many Eurasian Teal/Common Teals (Anas crecca crecca).
I found an American Wigeon (Anas americana), too.
コハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, アメリカヒドリ, コガモ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ハイタカ, オオタカ, ノスリ, 他
Imazu Port (Shiga Prefecture)
今津港(滋賀)
I made a short visit to this port, but it started to rain just before my arrival. Despite adverse conditions, I could see many birds closely than I thought and than from the Kohoku Wild Bird Center. It may have been that human activities (such as fishing) was less due to the weather. Common mergansers (Mergus merganser) were relatively abundant and they actively foraged. There were also little grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) and great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus) seen closely.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, カワアイサ, ハシビロガモ, キンクロハジロ, オオバン, カワウ,
ユリカモメ, ウミネコ, トビ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ
Kohoku Wild Bird-Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
This time, my arrival at the Kohoku Wild birds Center was a little bit late and there were no Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) on the lake. During the last visit, these swans foraged on rice paddies close to the Center, but this time they foraged far from the Center.
Since there were not so many water birds in front of the Center, I went to see the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) closely. There were, however, Dunlins (Calidris alpina), which I hadn't seen well here. They were usually distant and I had seen them foraging through a telescope. This time, they were rather close and I could see them well through the binoculars.
The Steller's Sea Eagle stayed as usual, and sometimes scratched the head. After an observation of an hour, I left the place since there was no sign of major movement.
My decision was a bit too early. Only 30 min. after my departure, the eagle flew and caught fish.
When I returned to the Center, the eagle was eating the fish in a very hidden place.
Even the experienced Center staffs found it difficult to locate the eagle. It was finally spotted as a white patch among branches. Later on after eating, the eagle was better seen and I present a photo taken from the Center.
List of species (* by the Center staff):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
*Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons),
*Gadwall (Anas strepera), *Falcated Duck (Anas falcata) * Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), *Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), *Baikal Teal (Anas formosa), *Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), *Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) *Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
*Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Mew Gull (Larus canus),
*Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), *Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
*Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) *Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
オオワシ, ＊コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, マガン, ＊オカヨシガモ, ＊ヨシガモ, ＊ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ＊オナガガモ,
＊トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, ＊キンクロハジロ, ＊スズガモ, ＊カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
＊キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, オオバン, ケリ, ハマシギ, カモメ, ＊ミサゴ, ＊トビ, アオゲラ,
モズ, ＊ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, ホオジロ
Katano Waterfowl Sanctuary (Katano KamoIke) (Ishikawa Prefecture)
片野鴨池(石川)
Katano Waterfowl Sanctuary is open all year round, and I took an opportunity of the New Year holiday to visit this Sanctuary.
When I arrived, the final flock of Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) was just leaving the Sanctuary for foraging, and I managed to take photos of the final individual (some individuals, however, remained in the Sanctuary).
As in the previous visit, Baikal Teals (Anas formosa) were seen relatively closely.
While observing ducks and Bean Geese (Anser fabalis), an Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana) suddenly appeared in the sky and landed. According to the staff, several Oriental Storks are present on rice paddies in this region, but it is rare to have this visitor in this Sanctuary. We celebrated the happiness with this bird at the beginning of the New Year.
The bird was identified to be an individual born in the wild based on the leg rings. The stork foraged with a great egret (Ardea alba) for a while.
List of species (seen only through the windows of the center):
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Anas formosa), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
マガン, オオヒシクイ, コウノトリ, マガモ, コガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ,
ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, オカヨシガモ, ホシハジロ, ミコアイサ, ダイサギ, オオバン,
トビ, ノスリ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ, シメ
Yodo River (Akagawa-Kema region) (Osaka Prefecture)
淀川、赤川毛馬地区(大阪)
Following a report of a Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) in this region several days before, I visited here to potentially record this species.
The information of the location was vague, and I asked several birders in this region. Some of them were aware of the report of the common chiffchaff, but none knew the location. I therefore walked through potential areas.
Initially, I went to Kema region where I saw Whiskered Terns (Chlidonias hybrida) a few years ago. Although there were many Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus), this was apparently the area to search for a Common Chiffchaff.
I then went to Akagawa region where small lagoons are present. On the way, Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) were abundant. Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus) and Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) were also frequently met. While observing Long-tailed Rosefinches, I heard a note of Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus).
Although the microphone was not pointed to the source, I managed to obtain a recording.
In nearby lagoons and a canal, there were Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula), Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) and a Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus).
On my return route, a birder, whom I had asked about the chiffchaff, notified that he saw a warbler-like bird (resembling a Japanese Bush Warbler) among reeds. This bird might have been the chiffchaff and I waited at the same place for some time. The bird did not appear again. However, I noticed that this region was close to (the opposite side of a small pond) where I recorded a dusky warbler, and the bird he saw might have been this species.
List of species (seen only through the windows of the center):
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
カンムリカイツブリ, カワウ, ヒドリガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホシハジロ,
オオバン, バン, ダイサギ, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, ハクセキレイ,
ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ムクドリ, ウグイス, ツグミ, シロハラ,
ジョウビタキ, アオジ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Mine Park (Mine-Koen) (Gunma)
嶺公園(群馬)
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans)
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon)
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi)
White-browed Laughingthrush (Garrulax sannio sannio)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
There were two male and two female of Yellow-headed Buntings (Emberiza elegans elegans).
Three types of wood peckers; Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis) and Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera) were observed.
I glanced a Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis) but could not observe it well.
Around twenty White-browed Laughingthrushes (Garrulax sannio sannio) were forming a flock.
At the end of the birding, a White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi) flew and perched nearby. I was a little pity that I could not take a good photo by a branch obstructing at the front of the bird.
コゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, カオジロガビチョウ, キクイタダキ, トラツグミ, ジョウビタキ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, 他
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)&稲敷方面(茨城)
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
Siberian Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi)
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii)
; all photos and drawing by S.Niwa
I visited again the same sites as December 25.
I retried to see the Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's), and I made it.
The swans were absent at "Hakucho-no-Sato (Hometown of Swan)" this time, and I looked for them in the vegetable fields and found them.
I could glance a Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Whistling Swan among the flock of 2 - 300 swans.
I visited the wintering site of Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) at around 3:30 pm. The geese had already landed on the farm field and I saw them very closely. I successed to watch this species this time.
The place where I saw Baikal Teal (Anas formosa) last time, there were Northern Pintails only this time.
"Kanta-kun", the Great White Pelican, was on the boat as usual.
The birds reported are;
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus bewickii bewickii),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica), Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus), Siberian Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オオヒシクイ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ, ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, モモイロペリカン, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ, バン, オオバン,
タゲリ, ケリ, タシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, セグロカモメ, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ, ツグミ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, アオジ
Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
I arrived at the field at dawn.
I saw a few Eastern Marsh-Harriers and a Merlin flying in the reed field, which might be going to move towards the paddy fields for hunting soon.
There were buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Masked) and Eurasian Tree Sparrows on the road side, Reed Buntings and Japanese Tits in the reed field, and Long-tailed Rosefinches in the bush, respectively.
In the Yanaka Lake, which was still filled with water until the end of January, there were many ducks, Smews, and grebes.
The birds observed are;
Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
コチョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ,
ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ,
ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Miura Peninshula (Arasaki, Jogashima Is., Yokosuka Shobuen(iris garden)) (Kanagawa)
三浦半島(神奈川)
Jyogashima is an island located at the entrance of the Tokyo Bay where seabird watching is possible from the land near Tokyo.
In Arasaki area, we went around the fishing ports and looked for seabirds such as; Pacific Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus antiquus), Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret, or Ruddy Turnstone, which were recorded by a local birder recently.
Eventually, we saw Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret and gulls (Siberian Black-headed, Slaty-backed, Vega).
In Jogashima is., we visited the nesting area of Japanese Cormorant on the cliff.
Most of the Japanese cormorants went out to feed on the sea, but we saw some birds remaining in their nests. We also found one Pelagic Cormorant among them.
We visited the observation point of seabirds at the west edge of the island. There were few birds only. We shall wait a lot of seabirds there until February.
After lunch, we returned back to the Arasaki area, and we tried to search for the seabirds and found a few Ruddy Turnstones on the rock in thwe sea.
The final site was Yokosuka Shobuen to see the forest birds.
We watched a Japanese Buzzard, a Daurian Redstart, some Japanese Hawfinches and Bull-headed Shrikes well.
The birds we observed are;
- In Arasaki area:
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta), Pacific Reef Heron/Pacific Reef-Egret (Egretta sacra sacra),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- In Jogashima Is.:
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- At Yokosuka Shobuen:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, ウミアイサ, アオサギ, コサギ, クロサギ, ウミウ, ヒメウ,
トビ, ノスリ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ,
キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, シメ
Lake Inba-numa (Chiba) & Inashiki Area (Ibaraki)
印旛沼(千葉)&稲敷方面(茨城)
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) "Kanta-kun"
; photo by S.Niwa
Smew (Mergellus albellus); photo by T.Kawase
Baikal Teal (Anas formosa) & Northern Pintail (Anas acuta); photo by R.Kinomura
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)
; photo by S.Niwa
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus bewickii bewickii) & Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus); photo by R.Kinomura
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus); photo by T.Kawase
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago)
; photo by T.Kawase
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Siberian Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus)
; photo by T.Kawase
Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis)
; photo by R.Kinomura
In the morning, we drove to the north-west area of Lake North Inba-numa (Kita-Inba-numa) where a lovely old Great White Pelican named "Kanta-kun" is living more than twenty years.
When we arrived, Kanta-kun was still sleeping on a boat.
We saw many ducks in the lake. There were Falcated Ducks, Mallards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Northern Pintail, Smews, Little Grebes, Eurasian Moorhens and Common Coot rather closely. I tried to find Baikal Teals among the flocks floating at the center of the Lake at far distance, but it was difficult to identify even by using the spotting scopes.
We could identify Eurasian Wigeon and Pochard among them.
Some Eastern Marsh-Harriers were flying elegantly above the lake or resting on a stake in the lake.
In the bush along the stream beside the lake, there were some buntings (Meadow, Rustic, Reed).
We moved to the north and looked for the Baikal Teal.
Though It was difficult to see the lake side at the location since we should look against the sun, somehow we found some Baikal Teals which were swimming with a flock of Northern Pintail.
Then we moved to the paddy fields spread at the north of the lake to search for a Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons) which had been recorded recently.
Unfortunately, we could not find it.
We gave up the Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra), and drove to Hakucho-no-Sato (Hometown of Swan) located at the north of the lake.
Hakucho-no-Sato is said that the most southern wintering site of the swan from Siberia. It started almost 20 years ago with only six swan. Mr. Deyama, the wildlife management officer, tried to feed them at first. Then local support group was established and contributed to pour water into the one of the rice field during winter time for migratory birds. Thanks to their efforts, the number of swan has increased year by year and now around 1,000 swans come and stay from October till March.
There were many swans and Northern Pintails when we reached there. Most of them were Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan, including a small number of Whooper Swan and Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Whistling Swan.
The scene that swans flew up nearby us was stunning.
We moved to the paddy fields at the east of the lake and searched for Northern Lapwing. We could not find it there this time.
In the afternoon, we drove to Inashiki Area in Ibaraki Prefecture.
We were looking for the wintering shorebirds which were recorded recently such as Central Asian Common Redshank (Tringa totanus ussuriensis) or Ruff (Philomachus pugnax).
We went around and looked at the rotus fields, we could not find them but saw many Common Snipes, a small flock of Temminck's Stint, a Common Greenshank and two Green Sandpipers.
There were many starings nearby a cattle farm. A Siberian Common Starling was found among the flocks of White-cheeked Starling.
More than 100 Northern Lapwings were foraging in the paddy field.
Then we visited the only one wintering site of Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii) in Kanto plain.
According to the local resident who manages and maintains this important site, 117 geese stayed until the morning of that day, but one Cessna flew six times above the reclaimed land before the noon, so all the geese flew away after the second flight.
We waited for them until the sunset, but they did not come back to the site.
During waiting for the geese, a Merlin appeared nearby us.
At the end of the trip, we rushed to Ukishima, and observed Eastern Marsh Harrier roosting in the reed field.
The birds observed are;
- at Lake Inba-numa:
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus bewickii bewickii),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan/Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus),
Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Baikal Teal (Anas formosa), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Inashiki area:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica), Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus), Siberian Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica)
コブハクチョウ, オオハクチョウ, コハクチョウ, アメリカコハクチョウ,
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, トモエガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, モモイロペリカン,
カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ,
クイナ, バン, オオバン, タゲリ, タシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, タカブシギ? オジロトウネン, セグロカモメ,
カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, ムクドリ, ホシムクドリ, シロハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Mikata-goko Lakes (Mikata Lake) (Fukui Prefecture)
三方五湖(三方湖)(福井)
I made a phone call to the observing center of Mikata-goko Lakes and learned that the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) had already arrived.
When I arrived the center, the staff told that the eagle was present on its favorite pine tree.
The bird, however, was missing when we saw through the telescopes. As is often with the case, I thought that my arrival was a bit too late.
Fortunately, the eagle appeared again and I could see it on the pine tree, but with a great distance.
It was a rather windy day and it looked like that the eagle flew several times from this perch. I, however, missed the flight while chatting with the staff. After an hour, the eagle disappeared and did not return.
List of species (seen only through the windows of the center):
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
カワウ, マガモ, カルガモ, トビ, オジロワシ, アオサギ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I made a short visit to this lake early in the morning.
It was still drizzlingly rainy, and I couldn't hear much voice from passerines.
Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus), however, were seen frequently. One individual was seen perched on a tree when I arrived, and the flew. Two individuals flew somewhat later and interacted on the air. It was probably the moment when these raptors were eager for food in the morning.
I didn't observe ducks in the main lake.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, オオバン,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, キジバト, モズ, ヒバリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
ツグミ, ウグイス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, ベニマシコ,
アオジ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
It was sunny, but the cold northerly wind blew strongly, so it was not good for observing the birds in the grass fields.
In such circumstances, I saw a few buntings (Meadow, Rustic Bunting) only.
But two Japanese Buzzards and a Common Kestrel appeared very closely.
On the weir, many Little Egrets gathered and were resting.
The ducks gathered avoiding the wind on the opposite shore at distant, and it was difficult to identify their species by binoculars.
There was a Vega Gull together with Black-headed Gulls.
Still, there were a lot of wagtail (Black-backed, Japanese) and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit/American Pipit (Siberian)s on the sandbanks of the river.
I found a Long-billed Plover that did not move like a stone.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Ooizumi Ryokuchi Park (Sakai-shi, Osaka Prefecture)
大泉緑地公園(堺市,大阪)
My main aim was to observe the Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla) in this park.
When I arrived at the location of information, photographers were taking photos in the water basin. However, the birds were only Japanese Tits (Parus minor) and Varied Tits (Sittiparus varius). I was somewhat worried that I might not see the Taiga Flycatcher. While I was taking a rest on a nearby stone, I noticed the Taiga Flycatcher quickly perched a branch close to the ground in the somewhat different place. The information of the location was correct, but it looked that the bird was moving in a broader region than expected. Contraty to my expectation, the bird did not call so frequently and I spotted the bird by sight rather than voice.
Later on, photographers gathered around this branch and the bird appeared (sometimes with calls) about twice an hour. During the observation, there was information of a perched Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) in the different location in the park. However, the rare Taiga Flycatcher was of higher priority for me.
After watching the Taiga Flycatcher, I made a short visit to the location of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk. The hawk, however, had already flown. Instead, there were Common Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) and Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) foraging in and around the water.
I again returned to the location of the Taiga Flycatcher. Only few photographers remained, but the bird appeared again twice during one hour observation.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope). Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
カイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, バン, オオバン, カワウ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, ホシハジロ,
ユリカモメ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハクセキレイ, ハシブトガラス, ジョウビタキ, ルリビタキ, オジロビタキ,
シロハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, ムクドリ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ, アオジ, イカル, シメ
Katano Waterfowl Sanctuary (Katano KamoIke) (Ishikawa Prefecture)
片野鴨池(石川)
When I arrived the Sanctuary, there remained Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) and Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii).
According to the staff, Greater white-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) left this place early in the morning.
Greater White-fronted Geese primarily use this pond for roosting and they usually forage in rather distant rice paddies in the daytime. Only a limited number of individuals were present on the pond at that time.
In this year, Baikal Teals (Anas formosa) are seen relatively nearby and we could distinguish their characteristic face marks.
While observing these teals, flocks of Tundra Swans started leaving the pond one by one.
Later on, flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese started returning with their characteristic voice. They were probably disturbed by farmers or tourists while foraging in rice paddies. They flew irregularly and suddenly descended when passing forests ("Descending Geese" or "Rakugan" in Japanese. This name is famous for Japanese art "Descending Geese at Katata" in late 1720s or early 1730s). After landing on the water, they called each other and drank water frequently.
According to the staff, a Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) was seen early in the morning and flew away. It didn't appear during my stay.
List of species (seen only through the windows of the observing station):
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Baikal Teal (Anas formosa),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
マガン, オオヒシクイ, コハクチョウ, マガモ, オナガ, コガモ, ハシビロガモ, オカヨシガモ, トモエガモ, ホシハジロ,
ミコアイサ, オオバン, ダイサギ, カワウ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ヒヨドリ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
In the forest, the leaves of trees fell and the trails were covered with the fallen leaves.
The number of birds had increased than the last visit in November, but was still fewer than the ordinary winters.
The Goshawk was flying above the forest as same as the last time.
Some photographers were waiting for the apearance of White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi).
There were some mixed flocks of birds composed of Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Honshu White-eye and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
I saw some Japanese Hawfinches and Pale Thrushes in the forest.
At the water place, there was no photographer. Chinese Bamboo-Partridges, Masked Bunting, and an Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin came to the stage with no audience.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, オオタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Zama, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(座間,神奈川)
There are rich habitats for birds at the middle reaches of the Sagami river; such as paddy fields, farms, river-beds with bushes.
I expected to see the birds which had been observed by the local birder in the first half of this December such as;
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata) and Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica).
Unfortunately, I could not find them.
In the field, there seemed to be that most of the regular winter member had gathered, but there seemed to be few numbers. The possibility of the encounter looked very low.
However, Eurasian Great Egrets, Bull-headed Shrike, Japanese Hawfinch, Dusky Thrush, wagtails (Black-backed, Japanese) appeared well.
And fortunately, a Brown-cheeked Rail appeared in front of me.
The birds observed are;
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, ハイタカ, クイナ, オオバン, カワラバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ
Kohoku Region (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北地域(滋賀)
After a visit to Inami-cho (Hyogo Prefecture), we moved to Kasei city, where a Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus) was reported.
Although we reached there, there were no apparent flock of crows and we decided to move to Kohoku Region, where Daurian Jackdaws would be expected.
We searched crows in several regions, but the number of crows was not so large. We could see, however, Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus) on many poles.
We finally met a flock of Rooks (Corvus frugilegus), initially on electricity lines then on the ground.
There were only several tens of them, and large flocks might have not yet been arrived.
During the observation, I could hear one call of the Daurian Jackdaw, but we couldn't find the bird.
(After examination of photos, I found a Daurian Jackdaw among the flock).
The bird probably flew away with this voice while I was taking photos of other rooks.
The flock then flew to a different place and we couldn't find it again.
We then moved to Mt. Yamamoto to see the famous Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), but photographers turned their cameras to different directions. According to them, the eagle had flown to the direction of the lake, and they were waiting for the return.
We moved to the shore (on the way, we saw foraging Tundra Swans), and met only a few photographers.
According to one of them, the eagle was flying over the lake, and we could spot it distantly.
According to him, the eagle tried to catch a prey, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The eagle then returned to a pole in the lake, and spent some time, then flew again to catch a prey.
This attempt was repeated a few times, and the sunset was approaching.
We waited the eagle return to its roosting place, but it didn't move (probably it must have been hungry and couldn't give up hunting).
We left the place around the sunset.
List of species (major species only):
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Rook (Corvus frugilegus), Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus)
オオワシ, コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, トビ, ノスリ, ハシボソガラス, ミヤマガラス, コクマルガラス
Irigaike Pond and Tenma Ooike Pond (Inami-cho, Kako-gun, Hyogo Prefecture)
入ヶ池&天満大池(稲美町,兵庫)
I visited to this pond after reports of a Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus), which is a rare species in this region of Japan.
Following the report of a Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), we visited this pond.
Upon arrival, we saw a relatively large bird flying over the pond. At that time we couldn't identify the bird, but soon after, a goose was found to be flying over the pond.
It was then identified to be the Swan Goose.
The bird then landed on the water.
The bird appeared to be cautious and it kept distance from us observers.
We then moved to the other side of the pond, but we lost sight of it during our movement to search for a suitable place.
When we moved to the other side, all birds were back-illuminated and the target bird was not recognized.
When we returned to the initial place, the goose was no longer in the pond.
We gave up searching for the goose around the pond, and moved to Tenma Ooike Pond to see the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) again.
Grasses were cut around the pond after our last visit and the goose was found in the pond.
While we were waiting, the goose crossed the road (when passengers had gone), and foraged on a nearby grassy area. The bird was extremely close again, and we enjoyed watching it. The bird then took flight suddenly and returned to the pond.
In the pond, there were Smews (Mergellus albellus), which apparently entered after our last visit.
List of species:
Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
サカツラガン, カリガネ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ,
ヒドリガモ, ハシビロガモ, ミコアイサ, ユリカモメ, オオバン, カワウ, カワセミ, ヒバリ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, カワラヒワ
Imperial Palace (Tokyo)
皇居(東京)
I visited to see how many wintering birds had arrived.
I started from Kudan Subway Station and entered from Tayasu Gate.
The moat at the gate was covered with a lot of withered lotus and some ducks (Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon), Common Coots and Littel Grebes were swimming and diving.
In the forest of Kitanomaru Park, there were many Japanese Jungle Crows and Brown-eared Bulbuls which were calling very loudly and noisily.
I was looking for the other birds, but I found a few Japanese Tits only. It seems that the time of visit was bad, the afternoon, and the birds were inactive. Also a Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk was flying inside the park, and the birds might be hiding from it.
Then I walked to the East Gardens.
The moat at Kitahanebashi Gate, there were many kinds of waterfowls; Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal/Common Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Common Coot.
There were not many birds in side the park, but in Ninomal Grove, I saw some Japanese Tits, Long-tailed Tits, and Honshu White-eyes.
The moat near Ote Gate, a Mute Swan (introduced species) was swinming.
I walked to Hibiya Moat where a lot of gulls, such as Vega Gull (Larus vegae) and Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) gather in winter.
However, there was no gull this time. We may need to wait for a moment to observe them.
The birds observed are;
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor),
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
コブハクチョウ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カワウ, ハイタカ, オオバン, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Tokyo)
新宿御苑(東京)
Shinjuku Gyoen was constructed on the site of a private mansion belonging to Lord Naito, a "daimyo"(feudal lord) of the Edo era.
Completed in 1906 as an imperial garden, it was re-designated as a national garden after the Second World War and opened to the public.
With 58.3 ha (144 acres) in size and a circumference of 3.5 km, it blends three distinct styles, French Formal Garden, English Landscape Garden and Japanese Traditional Garden, and is considered to be one of the most important gardens from the Meiji era.
Among the 20,000 trees which grow in Shinjuku Gyoen, there are the first examples planted in Japan such plants as tulip trees, planes, Himalayan cedars and bald cypresses, whose distinctive crown shapes give the garden a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
Sinjuku Gyoen is an ideal place to get close to nature and enjoy the changing seasons, the oasis for not only metropolitan and short-term visitors but also birds.
At the pond in Japanese Traditional Garden, there were more than ten Mandarin Ducks.
In the other pond, a flock of Northern Shoveler were swimming turning round and round and eating something on the surface of the water.
Mallards gathered in the other pond, and many thrushes (Dusky, Pale) and Brown-eared Bulbuls gathered on the tree beside the pond to eat its fruits.
I watched many Japanese Hawfinches on the trees.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomu),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, カイツブリ, カワラバト, キジバト, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ツグミ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, シメ, アオジ
Minato-ku, Nagoya city (Aichi Prefecture) and 30th Anniversary of Kohoku Wild birds Center
名古屋市港区(愛知)&湖北野鳥センター開館３０周年記念講演会(滋賀)
Following a report of a Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), I visited this place.
The bird was among a flock of five birds (including Semipalmated) of Common Ringed Plovers (Charadrius hiaticula). They foraged on muddy rice paddies resembling tidal flats.
The target bird was very difficult to identify, since the virtually only difference was the presence of partial webs in the feet. I could confidently spot the bird with this feature on the second day.
In the same rice paddies, there were also sporadic Little Ringed Plovers (Charadrius dubius) and they made us more confusing to find the target bird.
There were only few birds other than them.
On the second day, I visited a ceremony of the 30th Anniversary of Kohoku Wild birds Center after a successful sighting of the Semipalmated Plover.
There was a special lecture from the Vet. Y. Watanabe on sea eagles in Hokkaido. It was shocking to know the number of death and injured birds from human factors is still increasing. Collision (with cars, trains and wind turbines) is the major cause of the death and the number of death due to wind turbines has increased (particularly White-tailed Eagle).
Collision with trains occur since remarkably increased deers are hit by trains and eagles come to eat their carcasses.
It was regrettable that lead poisoning still occurs after the ban of lead bullets in Hokkaido. It is likely that hunters outside Hokkaido still use lead bullets when hunting in Hokkaido, and eagles eat abandoned carcasses and get poisoned. The use of lead bullets has a long history and it is still difficult for hunters to use alternative bullets.
List of species:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius),
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
アオサギ, ケリ, ハジロコチドリ, コチドリ, ミズカキチドリ, ヒバリシギ,
チョウゲンボウ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, モズ, ジョウビタキ,
ハクセキレイ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ムクドリ, カワラヒワ
Mizumoto Park (Tokyo)
水元公園(東京)
This time, we started from the north entrance near "Kawasemi-no-sato Office" expecting to watch birds coming to eat the seeds of pyracantha nearby the office.
As expected, thrushes (Dusky, Brown-headed), Brown-eared Bulbuls, and a Daurian Redstart were visiting the tree.
At the pond in front of the office, a Common Kingfisher came which is the origin of the name of office "Kawasemi-no-sato" meaning "The Hometown of Kingfisher."
Then we walked along the reservor with spatterdocks. On the open water, there were several ducks (Mallad, Eastern Spot-billed), Little Grebes and Common Coots.
A flock of Brambling flew above us.
In the forest, we saw some Japanese Hawfinches. The number of the birds seemed increased in one week after the last visit.
The Goldcrests and a Eurasian Wren were still staying in the forest.
We found a Grey-bellied Bullfinch perching on the high branch.
On the grass land, there were a few Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit/American Pipit (Siberian)s at very far distance.
In the southern part of the reservor, there were many ducks, grebes and gulls.
The abandant species were Eurasian Wigeon, Pochard and Tufted Ducks, Great Crested Grebe and Siberian Black-headed Gull.
Therre were a American Wigeon and a Vega Gull among them.
At the moment when the water birds suddenly caught a panic, an Eastern Peregrine Falcon glided on the surface of the water.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), American Wigeon (A.americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Brown-headed Thrush 'Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, オオバン, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ,
コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
Jyuriki Highland (Shizuoka)
十里木高原 (静岡)
We expected some winter birds such as; Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris) or Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans) , but only a flock of Rustic Bunting was observed.
We heard a lot of calls in the grasses, and we saw some Meadow Buntings flew out from the bush.
The birds observed are;
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius)
ハシブトガラス, ヒヨドリ, ミソサザイ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ
Mountainous region of Yamanashi
山梨の山間域 (山梨)
The weather in this winter was warm, but the day we visited was sunny but the day we visited was sunny but cold, and at the highest point over 1,500 meters there was a little fresh snow on the forest road.
Neither Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) nor Pallas' Rosefinch (Carpodacus roseus portenkoi) did appeared this time, but we found a few Japanese Accentors moving inside a bush.
Around a small stream, we enjoyed watching many birds gathering. We found one very yellow Eurasian Siskin and an Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin in the flock.
At the vegetable field near Lake Kawaguchi, there were very few birds and we saw only a small flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch and a Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
The birds observed were;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)? Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)?
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
トビ, ハイタカ, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ゴジュウカラ,
シロハラ? ツグミ? ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, カヤクグリ, ハクセキレイ,
アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Higashi-Takane Forest Park (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
東高根森林公園(川崎)
This park is ones of few area which preserves the nature of ancient Musashino field.
In the bush beside the forest, several Masked Buntings were foraging on the ground.
In the small pond there were many Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
In the forest, a flock of Long-tailed Tit was moving busily among the trees. In the flock, there were a few Ryukyu Minivets.
In Japan, there are two species of minivet; Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus) and Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae).
Ashy Minivet is a summer visitor and Ryukyu Minivet is a resident.
Ashy Minivet has declined rapidly. but Ryukyu Minivet has expanded its distribution northward.
For these past several years, Ryukyu Minivet has been observed very often in the west part of Kanagawa Prefecture.
A flock of around ten Japanese Hawfinches is also observed.
An Rose-ringed Parakeet was flying with large calls. This species was introduced and has been increasing its number in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto, and Hiroshima Prefectures.
There were very few thrushes, and I could see only one Pale Thrush this time.
The birds reported are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Ryukyu Minivet (Pericrocotus tegimae),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri manillensis)
カルガモ, アオサギ, ハイタカ, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ,
リュウキュウサンショウクイ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ,
シロハラ, スズメ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ, ワカケホンセイインコ
Miyagase, Sagamihara-reservoir (Sagamihara Chindenti), Narayama Park (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬,相模原沈殿池,奈良山公園(神奈川)
We stopped over at the park near the bus stop for a short break and preparation for birding.
Contrast to the day of the abnormal warmth 3 days ago, it was very cold, probably the temperature in the morning was about 0 degrees Celsius.
We saw a small flock of Japanese Grosbeak flying in the sky.
On the way to the parking place near Hayatogawa Bridge, we parked on the road and check whether there was a Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris) perching by the lake side.
Unfortunately, there was not the Crested Kingfisher. Instead, there were many birds such as Varied Tit, Masked Bunting, Grey Bunting, Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Daurian Redstart, Japanese Jay, etc.. After we enjoyed observing these birds for a while and drived to the parking place and then started walking on Hayatogawa Forest Road.
We heard a call of White's Thrush which is rare to hear in the winter season.
A small flock of White-bellied Green-Pigeon flew above the mountain.
We checked the Hayatogawa River whether there was Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii), there was an angler by the river and it was hopeless.
We heard Eurasian Wrens calling at the several points on the road, but it was not easy to capture them in our sights.
A big flock of Grey-capped Greenfinch was busily moving among the trees or coming down to drink the water of the lake.
Some keen photographers were waiting for the Crested Kingfisher. According to them, the bird flew once in very early morning but had not been appeared since them.
We looked for the winter birds along the road. We heard the calls and songs and watched plural Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins and Daurian Redstarts well, but we could not find Long-tailed Rosefinch or Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida). Eventually, on the way back near Knanzawa Bridge, we could find a few Long-tailed Rosefinches, but we did not see any Japanese Accentor this time.
In the lake, we found some Pochards, Mallards and Mandarin Ducks. The Mandarin Ducks were resting at the distant opposite side of the lake. We needed the spotting scope to observe them. We saw two males were fighting.
At the Hayatogawa Bridge, we asked a photographer about the Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis). According to her, she heard a call once but the hawk did not appear yet. However, she said that a Crested Kingfisher perched on a tree nearby the bridge just 15 minutes ago. We missed the good chance to watch it this time.
We drove to the next destination, Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin.
On the way near Miyagase Dam, we saw a Ospray flying above the lake.
Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin is a facility of Yokohama Waterworks Bureau for purification of the drinking water drawn from Sagami River.
This reservoir is designated as one of "50 birding spots in Kanagawa" and we can observe many wintering ducks.
There were not many in the number but variety kinds of ducks and grebes were observed.
Three kinds of wagtail (Grey, Black-backed, Japanese) were observed, too.
Surprisingly, a Barn Swarrow, summer bird in the Tokyo area, was flying on the reservoir.
The final destination was a very small pond in Narayama Park near Kodomo-no-Kuni Station.
While it became dark after sunset, we watched some Mandarin Ducks that were roosting in the pond.
The birds observed are;
at Miyagase Lake;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush-Warbler (Cettia diphone sakhalinensis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
at Sagamihara Sedimentation Basin;
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
at Narayama Park;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica)
オシドリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, カワラバト, キジバト, アオバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, カケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, カラフトウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ミソサザイ, トラツグミ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, イカル, アオジ, クロジ
Mizumoto Park (Tokyo)
水元公園(東京)
In the reservor, many ducks, mainly Eurasian Wigeons, Pochards and Tufted Ducks including some other species had already returned for wintering. Among them, there were several hybrid species; Eurasian Wigeon x American Wigeon (Anas penelope x A.americana).
There were also some grebes (Great Crested, Little).
At the sanctuary, it was the colony of Great Cormorant. There were many Great Cormorants and some of them were in the beautiful breeding form.
There was an immature Goshawk on a tree.
In the forest, there were tits (Japanese, Long-tailed), Honshu White-eyes and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers were forming flocks and moving inside the trees.
Two Goldcrests were also moving busily inside the coniferous trees.
Winter birds, such like thrush, brambling, were not found. Their arrival seemed delaying. Only one Japanese Hawfinch was found this time.
We also saw Common Kingfishers, the mascot of this park, everywhere in the water channels.
The birds observed are;
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Eurasian Wigeon x American Wigeon (Anas penelope x A.americana),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus), Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes dauricus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, ヒドリガモxアメリカヒドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジ, キンクロハジロ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, オオタカ, バン, オオバン,
ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, キクイタダキ, ミソサザイ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, アオジ
Tokyo Bay, Shin-Urayasu area (Chiba)
東京湾・新浦安(千葉)
According to the sighting information, I looked for a Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata), but unfortunately I could not find it.
Instead, I saw a Long-tailed Duck which is uncommon in the Tokyo area. The bird stayed for only a short time on the water surface and immediately dived in, so it was hard to take pictures.
And at the almost end of the birding, I somehow could watch a Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter (Siberian) at the far distance.
The birds observed are;
Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica), Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter (Siberian) (Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri/Melanitta stejnegeri),
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus)
ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, スズガモ, ビロードキンクロ, コオリガモ, ウミアイサ,
カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, コサギ, カワウ, オオバン, イソシギ,
ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, イソヒヨドリ, タヒバリ
Jike Hometown-village (Yokohama)
寺家ふるさと村(横浜)
There are several long narrow paddy fields, called as "Yatoda", which were made on small valleys sandwiched by hills of mixed trees.
At the end of these small valleys, there are small tranquil reservoirs.
This area maintains the rural scenery of traditional Yokohama.
It was so warm that it was seemed like spring not as the winter day in December.
The birds; such as Japanese Bush Warbler, Japanese Woodpecker and Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, sang as if they were mistakenly recognizing the season as spring.
In the reservoir, there were some ducks and a Littel Grebe. The ducks were Pochards, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and a Ferruginous Pochard. Ferruginous Pochard is very rare in Tokyo area. This individual may be the same one which was recorded in this area in last season.
There were a few flocks of Rustic Bunting foraging on the rice field after harvest.
I did not see any thrushs and raptors this time. I wondered that their arrival was delaying in this season due to the warm weather.
The birds observed were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, メジロガモ, カイツブリ, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ,
メジロ, ムクドリ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カシラダカ
Akigase Park & Lake Sai (Saitama)
秋ヶ瀬公園&彩湖(埼玉)
At first, we visited Sakuraso Park.
As soon as we reached the park, we heard the calls and watched a few Japanese Hawfinches.
I tried to look for Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes) or Japanese Wryneck (Jynx torquilla japonica), but could not see them.
We walked towards Lake Sai. By the side of the water channel on the way to the lake, we saw a few Masked Buntings and Rustic Buntings in the bush.
There were a Long-taled Rosefinch and a Daurian Redstart, too.
Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus otus), the regular winter visiter at this water channel, was not seen. It might not have come yet.
In the water channel, there were some ducks such as, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Pochards, Mallards and Eurasian Teal/Common Teals and Common Coots.
In the reed field near the lake, we saw some Meadow Buntings, Rustic Buntings and Masked Buntings moving inside the reeds. However, we could not find any Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina).
On the trees in the reed field, some Dusky Thrushes and Eastern Oriental Turtle-Doves were resting.
There was neither hawk nor kite except for one Japanese Buzzard in the reed field this time.
In the lake, there were many ducks, but they were very far and we could recognize Pochard and Great Crested Grebe only.
There were some Siberian Black-headed Gulls, too.
Then we moved to Picnic-no-Mori.
It was quiet in the forest, and we saw a small number of birds such as; Japanese Hawfinch, Japanese Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Masked Bunting and Japanese Bush Warbler. We heard a Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin singing.
In a pond, many ducks were gathering. Most of them were Mallards and there were a Falcated Duck and a Tufted Duck (or Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica )?) among them.
The birds we observed are;
Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)?
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
ヨシガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, スズガモ? カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ノスリ, オオバン,
ユリカモメ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, アオジ
Mouth of Yamato River, Sakai Shore (Umitono Fureaihiroba), Kita-ike & Momoyama Park (Osaka Prefecture)
大和川河口,堺 海とのふれあい広場,堺北池&吹田 桃山公園(大阪)
I visited this place with some hope to meet the Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), which has been staying in this region since November but has appeared quite irregularly.
Upon arrival in the morning, there were only few or no gulls (the tern has been usually seen with these gulls). As time passed, gulls started gathering and all observers were keenly searching for the tern, but this bird did not appear on both days.
We instead enjoyed observing gulls.
The majority was initially Vega Gulls (Larus vegae), then Black-tailed Gulls (Larus crassirostris) and Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) later arrived.
There were a few number of Slaty-backed Gulls (Larus schistisagus) and Mew Gulls (Larus canus).
They were actively bathing or taking a rest here around noon. After that, the tide rose and these gulls flew in a large flock and returned to the sea.
During these observations, we could see several raptors.
An Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) was staying around and flew a few times. Also a Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) appeared several times and caught fish on one of the occasions.
After 2 p.m., the river was filled with water and there were no gulls.
On the first day, we went to the nearby seaside Sakai Shore (Umitono Fureaihiroba) with slight hope to meet the tern here.
There were many Western Ospreys (nearly ten), a Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), several flying gulls but we could not find the tern.
We then moved to Kita-ike Pond (Sakai-shi, Osaka Prefecture), where the Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri) (cf. the article for 2018 January 13) returned again in this season.
We could not, however, find this duck. The duck might have been staying in a nearby different pond.
On the second day, we moved to Momoyama Park (Suita city), where an American Wigeon (Anas americana) has repeatedly returned for many years.
There were other ducks, particularly Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope), Falcated Ducks (Anas falcata) and Northern Pintails (Anas acuta).
The American Wigeon was among them and it was seen very closely.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope), American Wigeon (Anas americana),
Falcated Ducks (Anas falcata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Mew Gull (Larus canus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
カワウ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, アメリカヒドリ, ヨシガモ, オナガガモ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チョウゲンボウ, ハイタカ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ウミアイサ,
オオバン, ユリカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ウミネコ, カモメ,
ハクセキレイ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ
Tenma Ooike (Inami-cho, Hyogo Prefecture)
天満大池(稲美町,兵庫)
When I reached the place reported, there was no photographer or birder.
I walked around the pond and farm fields. On the bank of the pond, I found the bird resting together with ducks.
This species is very nervous and It is difficult to observe closely in the wintering areas such as Miyagi Prefecture, but I could observe well this bird from the close distance.
In the pond, there were many Pochards, Great Crested Grebes, Great Cormorant and Little Egrets.
Many Siberian Black-headed Gulls flew on the pond, too.
The birds observed are::
Leser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カリガネ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ,
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオバン, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Minoo Park (Osaka Prefecture)
箕面公園(大阪)
In the autumn (late November), many tourists visit there to see a huge display of red and golden maple leaves.
In every month, Osaka Chapter of Japan Wild Bird Society helds the birding walking.
When I visited there, I met many persons taking walk and tourists, but I didn't encounter any birder or bird photographers.
The landscape with the trees in autumn colour and the limpid stream along the walking path was very beautiful. However, I sometimes heard tits' and bulbuls' callings only and there were not many birds.
At the upper stream side of Minoo Waterfall, I was able to observe Daurian Redstart, Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Grey Wagtail, and so on.
The way to the visitor center was a lot of trees destroyed by the super typhoon in August.
The birds observed are:
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki shikokuensis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジバト, シコクコゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
メジロ, ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, アオジ
Mouth of Anou River (Tsu city, Mie Prefecture)
安濃川河口(津市,三重)
After a report of Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), I visited this place.
The Canvasback was also recorded here in the previous season, but I was not lucky enough to meet the bird.
Upon arrival, most ducks were asleep and it was much harder than expected to distinguish the target species.
No one around was sure which was the true Canvasback, and I felt somewhat pressed since I didn't plan to spend much time here.
Some time later, a regular local birder appeared and ducks just started moving and the target bird was soon identified. Once identified, the bird was unmistakable and could be easily located even when it was asleep.
The bird was active only for 30 min (but did not forage) and became inactive again already after 9 a.m.
I was lucky to arrive here when the bird was active.
It was somewhat a pity that there were no Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus), which are usually present in winter.
List of species:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Canvasback (Aythya valisineria),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
カワウ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホシハジロ, オオホシハジロ, ウミアイサ, オオバン,
キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, ヒバリ, ハクセキレイ, ジョウビタキ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ,
メジロ, ヒヨドリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
In the area around Nishinoko today are the lakes Kitanoshousawa and Ibanaiko.
However, until about 70 years ago, there were also lakes such as Dainakanoko, Shyounakanoko, and Tsudanaiko, as well as a vast expanse of wetlands in the area. Rivers and underground water originating in the Suzuka Mountains flowed into these wetlands, preserving the environment.
Major land reclamation has reduced the total surface area of the inner lakes in Shiga Prefecture from 29.02 km2 in 1940 to 4.25 km2 today, which is only one-seventh of its area in 1940.
Today, nearby rivers are not reaching the wetlands, because the shape of the rivers have been artificially altered.
In the rich natural environment of Nishinoko, there are over 120 species of wild birds and it becomes a paradise, particularly for waterbirds that travel as winter birds, during autumn and winter. Waterbirds like water rails and dabbling ducks use the reed beds mostly as feeding grounds and to roost.
Over 100,000 waterbirds come to Lake Biwa to stay over the winter, while thousands come to Nishinoko for the same purpose.
Waterbirds use wide areas of the lake and reed beds as a feeding ground, resting area, and roost. Almost 50 species of waterbirds have been confirmed thus far, including species that are plankton-feeding, hydrophyte-feeding, and fish and aquatic insects-feeding.
Nishinoko appears to have the natural environment to accommodate this diverse variety of waterbirds.
From spring to summer, many birds including Little Grebes, Spot-bill Ducks, and Great Reed Warblers breed and young birds fledge from the nests.
There are also snipes, plovers, and hawks flying in the sky during the migration in spring and autumn.
In addition, groups of thousands of swallows, sparrows, and starlings form flocks from late summer to winter.
Meanwhile, species including endangered bitterns, Chinese Little Bitterns, and Eastern Marsh Harriers that require a wide area of reed beds are also present. Of them, the Eastern Marsh Harrier is a creature at the top of the ecosystem as Raptors, and their magnificent figure circling over the reed beds in Nishinoko symbolizes the richness of its natural environment.
Influences of human activities on the birds, however, are a growing concern, including change of timing of reed burning and excessive leisure use.
I visited Lake Nishinoko with the guide by A.T..
When the wind blows, it is very cold at the site, so we were worried about the weather, but it was calm and very warm on that day.
On the way to the lake from the bus stop, there were some birds in the paddy fields such as Dusky Thrush, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Black Kite and Japanese Skylark. But they were not so active probably because it was slightly earlier.
At first, we stayed at the river side and checked the birds in the reed field and the river.
There were some anglers and there were no waterfowls in the river. Only a Common Kingfisher flew fast on the river.
In the reed field, we saw Meadow Buntings, Reed Buntings and a Chestnut-eared Bunting.
After a while, the birds became more active, and Japanese Skylarks started sing loudly.
Some Long-tailed Rosefinches sang well in the reed field near the river but they did not appear.
An Eastern Marsh-Harrier flew low slowly over the reed field and then perched on a small tree.
On the path towards a vegetable field inside the reed field, some Meadow Buntings and Rustic Buntings were foraging.
Then we moved to an overlook of the lake and see the waterbirds.
There were many ducks and grebes in the lake. Most of the ducks were dabbling duck and diving ducks were very few. We could not find any Pochard. I think it happened incidentally, but there was no heron in the lake.
After watching waterfowls in the lake, we walked along the lake side. In the paddy field, there were many Reed Buntings calling and flew away when we approached.
Three Ospreys flew together and I felt the richness of this field.
There were some Japanese Hawfinches among the trees at the open space.
Among the trees along the river, one Great Spotted Woodpecker and some Dusky Thrushes were busy moving around, but suddenly they flew all together. It seems that a hawk, Goshawk(?), attacked them.
List of species:
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula clangula),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae)?
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata),
Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ホオジロガモ,
ミコアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ?
オオバン, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ,
ベニマシコ, シメ, ホオジロ, ホオアカ, カシラダカ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Izumi (Kagoshima)
出水(鹿児島)
I visited Izumi for crane watching.
At Izumi City Crane Center, the number of the cranes was indicated as;
- 12,000 Hooded Cranes
- 3,000 White-naped Cranes
- 10 Eastern Common Cranes
- 4 Arctic Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis)
During my observation, I found two Eastern Common Cranes.
When I was watching Northern Lapwings in the paddy fields, I found a few Siberian Common Starlings nearby, too.
The birds reported are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
White-naped Crane (Grus vipio), Eastern Common Crane (Grus grus lilfordi), Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Eastern Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
Siberian Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi),
etc.
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, クロツラヘラサギ, アマサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ,
マナヅル, クロヅル, ナベヅル, タゲリ, ハマシギ, ミヤマガラス, ホシムクドリ, 他
Tenma Ooike (Inami-cho, Hyogo Prefecture)
天満大池(稲美町,兵庫)
I visited to this pond after reports of a Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus), which is a rare species in this region of Japan.
As soon as I reached the pond, I found a group of photographers who were spotting something below them.
I wondered what they were spotting, but the objective turned out to be an extremely close Lesser White-fronted Goose. The goose was eating grasses on the bank of the pond, and people can observe the bird only from 10-20 meters away. The bird was not afraid of people, and even did not fly away when a jogger passed on a road just above the bird.
After eating, the bird flew to the pond and drank water for a while, and then returned to the bank for grazing. This behavior was repeated several times. Sometimes the bird swam for some distance and took a rest on construction in the pond, but soon returned to its favorite grazing place.
There were several ducks such as Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope) and Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata).
Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) were abundant on an island in the pond.
On my return way, a Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flew above. Although I didn't explore different parts of the pond (there are three districts in the pond and the goose was in the north region), there were relatively large number of Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus).
List of species:
Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis)
カリガネ, アオサギ, コサギ, カワウ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, オナガガモ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, オオバン,
ミサゴ, トビ, キジバト, コゲラ, カワセミ, ヒバリ, ハクセキレイ,
ムクドリ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ
Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
We could see Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins and Long-tailed Rosefinches well this time.
Furthermore, we confirmed a Japanese Accentor moving inside the bush.
We saw a flock of Brambling, too.
Most of the wintering members at this site had arrived at.
The birds observed (* recorded by other birders) were;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)?
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
コジュケイ, オシドリ, マガモ, ホシハジロ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
カヤクグリ, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
In the circumstance that the number of birds is fewer than the ordinary autumn, probably due to a Goshawk which was flying in the forest, the birds were quietly hiding except for raising the warning calls when the Goshawk approached.
Only some Japanese Bush Warblers were making calls well.
We searched for the Goldcrests, but it was not easy.
However there were some local photographers gathered and taking photos of the birds. Thanks for them, we could see the Goldcrests busily moving in the trees.
The birds observed are;
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus)?
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus)
オオタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオムシクイ? メジロ, キクイタダキ, シロハラ
Itakura paddy field & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉たんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus)
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans)
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
; all photos by S.Niwa
While I was looking for Merlin or Russet Sparrow in Itakura, a Hen Harrier appeared suddenly and I was so much surprised.
When observing roosting of harriers, it was fun to see Merlin flying straight and fast into the roost.
The birds reported are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Tundra Swan/Bewick's Swan (Cygnus bewickii bewickii),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Eastern Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, コハクチョウ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ハイイロチュウヒ, ノスリ,
オオバン, カワラバト, キジバト, オナガ, ミヤマガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ジョウビタキ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ,
オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Tokyo Bay, Urayasu area (Chiba)
東京湾・浦安(千葉)
Urayasu area of Tokyo Bay with big flock of seabirds
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica)
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata)
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis)
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis)
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
; all photos by R.Kinomura.
I visit Urayasu area to search for a Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver which had been recorded at this area.
The diver came closely swimming around five or six times.
It provided the big services such as catching two large fishes and one small fish, or flapping its wing seven or eight times.
I heard that Stejneger's Scoter/White-winged Scoter (Siberian) (Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri/Melanitta stejnegeri) and Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus auritus) had arrived, but I couldn't find them.
I also observed Eastern Peregrine Falcon, Common Kestrel, Osprey, and Red-breasted Merganser.
The birds observed are;
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator),
Red-throated Loon/Red-throated Diver (Gavia stellata),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
etc.
スズガモ, ウミアイサ, アビ, ハジロカイツブリ, チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, 他
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
It was a sunny day just as one the day one week before.
Although there was no surprise of an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) as on November 11, a Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) unexpectedly flew up with its characteristic voice from a paddy field as I walked.
As the season progressed, common species such as Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides) and Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) became less vocal.
Daurian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) were not as active as before.
I observed birds in reeds for about two hours.
Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) had become much more abundant and I could hear their calls everywhere.
The same was true for Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus).
I could not hear, however, rare birds such as the Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus).
I then moved to the place to see waterbirds.
The lake was not much disturbed by fishing boats and waterbirds were present, but were mostly distant.
It was, however, much more enjoyable when I sat and waited for an hour. Various kinds of waterbirds appeared one by one.
During this observation, an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) appeared, and while observing this, another individual appeared and flew together. They sometimes issued calls. I heard the call of this species only rarely here, and it was a valuable moment.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Smew (Mergellus albellus),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit(Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
キンクロハジロ, ミコアイサ, ホオジロガモ, オオバン, タゲリ, ケリ, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, タヒバリ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ,
アトリ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, シメ
Middle-reaches of Sagami River (Atsugi, Kanagawa)
相模川中流域(厚木,神奈川)
We started the birding from Sakai Sport Playground.
We found a mix flock of Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipitand Black-backed Wagtail on the play ground without baseball players.
At the weir (Sagami Ozeki), there were some ducks (Gadwall, Falcated, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eastern Spot-billed, Pochard) at the far distance.
A lot of Great Egret were lined up on top of the weir facility.
Three Common Mergansers were seen in the river, too.
I searched for buntings in the reed field on the riverbed, but I could not find. Only a Rustic Bunting was recorded by some participants.
Some House Swifts, the resident in this field, were flying in the sky.
Some raptors (Osprey, Black Kites, Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Japanese Buzzards) also appeared.
Two Dusky Thrushes, which might have just arrived at the field, were perching on a tree.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, コガモ, ホシハジロ,
カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, オオバン, イカルチドリ, イソシギ, ユリカモメ,
キジバト, ヒメアマツバメ, カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ツグミ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, シメ, カシラダカ
Kohoku Wild Bird-Center (Shiga Prefecture)
湖北野鳥センター(滋賀)
After a report of a Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), I visited Kohoku Wild birds Center.
I initially sought the bird in front of the Center, but I couldn't find it.
Since I wasn't aware of the behavior of this bird, I thought that the bird might be among distant flocks and I tried to search it in vain. I was then suddenly called by a staff of the Center, who arrived before opening the Center, and I was told that the bird was on the northern shore, not in front of the center.
When I arrived, the bird was immediately found, and it was active while I observed through the binoculars from some distance. The bird soon became inactive when I approached and started taking photos. The bird was floating long time, and rarely showed its red bill. It started to rain and I had to observe under an umbrella with slight hope to see the bird active again. The situation did not change even after the rain was over. It was, however, first time for me to see the male of this species at such a close distance (the bird was immediately recognizable by its great size even with the naked eyes).
During return to the Center, I saw a flock of Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) actively foraging near Noda-numa.
I saw only two Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) in front of the Center in the morning, but several birds flew above rice paddies on the way to the Center.
At the Center, there were less birds then in the morning in front of the Center, and we were scanning the lake to check the species.
I was considering when to leave here after the successful mission.
The mountains (including Mt. Yamamoto) was beautiful with yellow and orange leaves, and people said that it would be fantastic if the Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), which has been regularly wintering here for the last 20 years, flew among these leaves. We, however, knew that the season was still too early for the visit of this eagle and didn't have much expectation and again continued watching the lake.
Bean Geese (Anser fabalis middendorffii), which were present in early morning, but were absent when I returned to the Center, started to return and took a rest in front of the Center.
The behavior of these birds, however, was somewhat different from their ordinary one. The Center was under repair construction and the birds probably somewhat feared the large construction instruments.
While we were watching these birds, there was suddenly a voice of "Steller's sea eagle!".
One of the staffs, who was scanning Mt. Yamamoto, found this bird unexpectedly perched on a tree at 11:20. The Center became full excitement and staffs rushed to the place to confirm whether the same individual returned.
They also called the local photographers and newspaper companies. The arrival was the earliest recorded for this individual, and the Center was not yet fully prepared for such an early arrival. I also left the Center to see the bird closer.
The bird was sitting on a tree for a long time, and I saw once when the bird flapped the wings and moved to a nearby tree. After observations of an hour or so, I returned to the Center, confirming on the way that the bird was still on the same tree.
However, when I entered the Center and looked through the telescope, I found that the eagle was absent!
The staffs started to search the bird again, but was not found. Some time later, there was a phone call that the bird hunted several minutes before and now it was eating in a place hidden from us.
A keen-eyed staff eventually discovered the white spot moving behind the suspected tree, and the yellow beak was occasionally seen. It was a very difficult target and it was just a white spot to many visitors.
The Center staff even gave up pointing the live camera, which is usually used to show the bird on a display.
After a while, the bird became even difficult to observe and I left the Center. During my stay, the phone was ringing every minutes due to these two conspicuous species.
According to birders returned from the field, the Red-crested Pochard did not became active again and moved away and became lost in distance.
Birders who arrived in the afternoon could not see this pochard.
It was lucky for me that I arrived here in the morning, and met such an excited moment of the arrival of the eagle.
List of species (* recorded by Center staffs):
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus),
Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Falcated Duck (Anas falcata) * Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata),
* Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila),
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus)? Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra),
Dunlin (Calidris alpina),
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mew Gull (Larus canus), Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit(Anthus rubescens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
コハクチョウ, オオヒシクイ, オカヨシガモ, ヨシガモ, ＊ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ,
アカハシハジロ, ホシハジロ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, ホオジロガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, ユリカモメ, カモメ, ウミネコ, オオワシ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ,
カワセミ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ, カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Mouth of Hitotsuse River (Sadowara, Miyazaki City & Shintomi-cho, Miyazaki)
一つ瀬川河口(宮崎市佐土原&新富町,宮崎)
I visited the mouth of Hitotsuse River at the northern part of Miyazaki Prefecture.
Sadohara area is located at the left bank and Shintomi-cho is at the right bank of the river.
There was a Richard's Pipit which is the rare species in Japan.
A lot of Japanese Skylarks were on the grassland of the river bank.
A flock of Grey Plover were flying showing their characteristic half-moon black mottled on the flank.
I saw thirteen Black-faced Spoonbills.
Common Kestrel observed in thie field is whitish and the winter bird.
According to the local birder, the Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) stayed only one week in October and left the site.
The birds reported are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia major), Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Sandering (Calidris alba rubida), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Richard's Pipit (Anthus richardi sinensis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
etc.
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, ヘラサギ, クロツラヘラサギ, チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ,
ナベヅル, セイタカシギ, ダイゼン, オオソリハシシギ, アオアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ,
セグロカモメ, クロハラアジサシ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, ジョウビタキ, マミジロタヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, 他
Sakata Yama in Suzaka City (Nagano Prefecture)
須坂市坂田山共生の森(長野)
Sakata Yama Forest Park is typical Satoyama woodlands in northern Nagano Prefecture.
The secondary forest is composed of red pines, cedars, Japanese larch trees, and native broad leaved deciduous trees. Walking trails in the forest have been well maintained and considered as favorite hiking trails for neighbors.
I visited this place expecting some winter birds.
During the walk I was frozen to hear noises on the ground behind a bush very closed to me because Asiatic Black Bears were often found around the mountain. At the next moment, to my relief, a flock of pheasants flew away from the bush. I saw a banded long tail of a pheasant, characteristic to male Copper Pheasants (Syrmaticus soemmmerringii).
Some Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans) seen among a flock of Siberian Meadow Buntings (Emberiza cioides), probably, were temporal visitors found only in November here.
As winter birds, I only observed a young male Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) and a male Durian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus).
Rustic Buntings and Naumann’s Thrushes abundant here during winter have not yet arrived.
List of species:
Copper Phaesant (Syrmaticus soemmmerringii),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Black Kite (Milvus Migrans),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Grey Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Red-flanked bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Siberian Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides), Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans)
ヤマドリ，カルガモ，アオサギ，トビ，アカゲラ，コゲラ，モズ，ハシボソガラス，ハシブトガラス，
シジュウカラ，ヤマガラ，ヒヨドリ，ウグイス，メジロ，ムクドリ，ジョウビタキ，ルリビタキ，
セグロセキレイ，ハクセキレイ，キセキレイ，スズメ，カワラヒワ、ホオジロ，ミヤマホオジロ
Miyagase (Kanagawa)
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
I tried again to see the birds; such as Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin and Long-tailed Rosefinch, which I could not see on the last visit one week ago.
There were both birds in the field, but I could see several Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robins only. One Red-flanked Bluetail/Orange-flanked Bush-Robin was singing well.
The Long-tailed Rosefinches were recorded by other birders.
I saw a Pale Thrush which might have just arrived.
Also I saw some Grey Buntings as same as the last visit but the number became fewer.
The birds observed (* recorded by other birders) were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), * Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus)?
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
* Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
*他の観察者による
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ハイタカ, *クマタカ, アオバト, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, オオムシクイ? ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, シロハラ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, *ベニマシコ,
ホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎)
On this day I visited, the late first snow fell in Hokkaido and also the cold wind from the north blew in the suburbs of Tokyo.
There were some new winter visitors in the field such as; Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Great Egret, Siberian Black-headed Gull and Japanese Hawfinch.
Raptors; Eastern Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, werre also newly observed in this field.
On the upstream side of the weir, there were still few but I saw ducks and grebes.
Many Black-headed Gulls and herons gathered in the shallow water, and they were catching small fishes.
Near the weir, there was a big flock of Little Egrets.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta), Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ,
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, トビ, ノスリ,
オオバン, イソシギ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ,
キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, オオカワラヒワ, シメ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Cemetery Tama (Fuchu, Tokyo)
多磨霊園(府中,東京)
The very hot days had been continued until just before and there had been almost no bird or birder/photographer in the field. However the number was not many but they returned back.
Especially, birds gathered around the water place. Among them, there were some Masked Bunting and a Pale Thrush, the regular winter birds in this field.
We heard the call of Grey-bellied Bullfinch.
The Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus jotaka jotaka) that was recorded the day before was already left the site.
The birds observed are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
コジュケイ, ハイタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, メジロ, シロハラ, ウソ, アオジ
Itakura paddy field & Watarase Retarding Basin (Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki)
板倉たんぼ&渡良瀬遊水地(群馬,栃木,茨城)
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans)
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus)
Eastern Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator) & Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
In the paddy field of Itakura Town, there were some Russet Sparrows, an Eastern Marsh-Harrier, a Merlin and a big flock of Eastern Rooks including some Daurian Jackdaws.
Then, we moved to the reed field of Watarase Retarding Basin to see the roosting of the harriers and merlins.
At the time of sun set, we saw several Eastern Marsh-Harriers and Merlins coming back to the reed field. We saw some big flocks of White-cheeked Starling which looked like clouds.
We expected to see Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus), but it did not appear during our observation.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eurasian Great Egret (Ardea alba alba),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Merlin (Falco columbarius insignis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Daurian Jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), Eastern Rook (Corvus frugilegus pastinator),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Russet Sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus rutilans), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
キジ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ,
タシギ, カワラバト, キジバト, モズ, コクマルガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ムクドリ, ニュウナイスズメ, スズメ, キセキレイ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ
Oku-Nikko (Tochigi)
奥日光(栃木)
Senjyogahara Plateau
Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis)
; photo by R.Kinomura
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus)
; photo by R.Kinomura
Oku-Nikko is a highland adjacent to the historical town Nikko.
In Oku-Nikko, there are several very good birding spots such as Chuzenji Lake, Yunoko Lake, Senjyogahara Plateau, and Odashirogahara Plateau.
We can enjyoy birding here during whole year.
At first, we visited Kotoku Marsh to look for a Solitary Snipe which was recorded and reported by a local ranger.
We looked for the snipe carefully from the walking trail, but we couldn't find it. When we went near the narrow stream near the hill at the dead end of the trail, suddenly a snipe flew away.
Though we saw the bird, we could not observe it very well. We visited the place again after a while, but unfortunately we couldn't see it again.
At Senjyogahara Plateau near Akanuma, we saw flocks of Brambling and Eurasian Siskin.
In the forest, there were many Dusky Thrushes forming big flocks, too.
In the stream, there were many Mallards.
In Lake Yunoko, there were not many ducks.
At the last, we visited the farm field adjacent to Senjo-gahara, we saw some Long-tailed Rosefinches in the grassfield but there were not buntings.
The birds observed are;
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Solitary Snipe (Gallinago solitaria japonica),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes fumigatus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Brown Dipper (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, ハジロカイツブリ, ノスリ, オオバン, アオシギ,
カワラバト, コゲラ, オオアカゲラ, アカゲラ, アオゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ミソサザイ, ゴジュウカラ,
ツグミ, カワガラス, アトリ, オオカワラヒワ, マヒワ, ベニマシコ, ウソ, シメ, イカル
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I visited Nishinoko again two days in a row.
The first day was after rain, and it soon became windy.
Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) were active in the morning, and as the bird flew near the water, frightened ducks often flew up.
Due to the wind, passerine birds were not as active as in the last visit a week ago. I could, however, heard the call of a Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus) twice.
After then, it became too windy to continue observation.
During return from the lake, Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were fed by a vessel in a water canal, and they gathered tourists' attraction.
On the next day, there was a birding walking held by the Shiga Chapter of the Wild Bird Society of Japan, and I partly joined it.
It was fine all the day and the condition was much better than the previous day.
As soon as I reached the place, an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) was resting on a very close pole and I could observe it fully.
A Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus) even approached the buzzard, and later even Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus) perched close to the buzzard. It looked like that the buzzard seemed to be harmless for these small birds.
Near the lake, Eastern Marsh Harriers were less active than the preceding day, but two birds appeared high above and soared in the blue sky.
We spent some time where I heard the Dusky Warbler, but there was no voice on this day.
We then walked the ordinary route of birding walking and reached the place where we could see ducks in the lake. They were somewhat difficult to see due to the distance and intervening high grasses.
The most remarkable finding was the presence of a male common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) in full breeding plumage, rare in such a place in this season.
It was lucky that the lake had not been disturbed by fishing boats before our observation. There soon appeared boats and these ducks moved or flew away.
We again returned the canals with reeds, and mainly observed Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus).
Although Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) were present, they were mostly only found by voice. I was lucky enough to take a photo of flying this bird.
In the canal, a juvenile Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) quickly moved across it. While we were walking along the canal, this bird was fortunately again found while foraging.
We then moved to Nishinoko Enchi, where we observed a Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
Around the noon, a Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flew repeatedly to search for fish.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis),
Gadwall (Anas strepera), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Smew (Mergellus albellus), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Merlin (Falco columbarius),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone), Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ, オカヨシガモ, ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ,
ミコアイサ, ホシハジロ, ホオジロガモ, オオバン, バン, キジバト, カワウ, アオサギ, ダイサギ,
ミサゴ, トビ, チュウヒ, ノスリ, カワセミ, チョウゲンボウ, コチョウゲンボウ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ムジセッカ, ジョウビタキ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ,
カワラヒワ, ベニマシコ, アトリ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, シメ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
Despite the weather forecast of cloudy, it rained at the beginning and end of my birding.
I looked forward to seeing the birds; such as Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) or Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus), which I saw on the same day of the last year, but their arrival seemed late this year and I couldn't see this time.
However I saw a Yellow-headed Bunting which is rare to see in this field.
Also I saw some Grey Buntings as same as the last visit.
I saw many Mandarin Ducks in the lake and a flock of around ten White-bellied Green-Pigeons in the sky. They looked relaxing probably because they might not need to scare raptor which should not appear in the rain.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, アオサギ, カワウ, トビ,
アオバト, コゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, ガビチョウ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, オオカワラヒワ, イカル,
ホオジロ, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Inagi, Tokyo)
多摩川中流(稲城)
Some new winter visitors; Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipitand Goshawk, were observed.
However, in this basin, there were not any ducks except for one Spotted-billed Duck. It seems that the arrival of wintering ducks is late.
On the play ground on the river bed without player, there were many wagtails and Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit/American Pipit (Siberian)s instead.
Two Common Kingfishers were chasing each other very busily.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ, トビ, オオタカ, ノスリ, カワラバト, キジバト,
カワセミ, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Katakai Port (Chiba)
片貝港(千葉)
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica)
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis)
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor minor)
; all photos by R.Kinomura.
Great Frigatebird, a rare stray bird In Japan, has been observed in this area since August.
This time was the second try for him to search for the bird. He missed it on October 07.
When I arrived at the fishing port, the Great Frigatebird didn't fly around the port.
I wondered that it had already left the site and I missed again. But I found it flying at the direction of the beach, and when I went there, it flew so close at 2 or 3 meters distance.
It was happy to see it chasing a Black-tailed Gull and catching a fish.
It started raining, and the bird stopped in the antenna once. After that, the rain became weaker and it flew again.
Then a Great Cormorant stopped at the antenna, and the Great Frigatebird tried to stop on the antenna but it couldn't and went away finally.
I saw a Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk too.
The birds observed are;
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor minor),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
etc.
オオグンカンドリ, ハイタカ, ミヤコドリ, スズガモ, イソヒヨドリ, ウミネコ, 他
Lake Nishinoko (Shiga Prefecture)
西の湖(滋賀)
I visited this place to see Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus) and potentially find rare migratory birds as in the last year.
It was dark in the morning, but Eastern Marsh Harriers occasionally flew to search for food.
Ducks were sometimes frightened by the flight of this harrier.
There were already a number of winter passerine birds, such as Common Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) and Dusky Thrushes (Turdus eunomus).
Daurian Redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) were also present everywhere.
Both this species and Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus) were the most prominent ones.
It started, however, to rain, and I moved to a place and waited for the rain to stop.
I mainly observed reed and grassy lands to search for buntings.
Probably thanks to dark condition (and the lack of people often running here), buntings did not afraid of me much and I could see them well.
Long-tailed Rosefinches (Carpodacus sibiricus) were still few in number, and I couldn't hear the call of the Chinese Penduline Tit (Remiz consobrinus), which was present in the last year.
While observing along the reeds, I heard a voice similar to the Japanese Bush Warbler, but lower. This voice was later identified as a Radde's warbler (Phylloscopus schwarzi).
When the rain was over, an Eastern Marsh Harrier flew pretty close and flew far away from the lake.
I couldn't find this bird after this, when the weather improved.
Three Grey-headed Lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) were foraging on rice paddies.
List of species:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Radde's warbler (Phylloscopus schwarzi),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus),
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
アオサギ, カワウ, カイツブリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ヒドリガモ, コガモ, ケリ, オオバン, クイナ,
トビ, チュウヒ, モズ, キジバト, カワセミ, ヒバリ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ジョウビタキ, ツグミ, ウグイス, カラフトムジセッカ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, スズメ, ヒヨドリ,
イカル, アトリ, カワラヒワ, アオジ, カシラダカ, ホオジロ, オオジュリン, ベニマシコ
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
It became below ten degrees Centigrade, and the vapor was raising from the surface of the Miyagase Lake and the forest changed its colour into red and yellow.
I wanted to see how many winter birds have arrived.
Yet the member and the number was not many, and some of them were hiding inside bushes and trees.
However I could find Mandarin Ducks, Coal Tits, Daurian Redstarts, Meadow Buntings and Masked Buntings. Most of them will stay this field during coming winter.
We need to wait other winter birds such like Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus sanguinolentus) for one or two weeks more.
I found the Grey Buntings which were forming flocks. They might be passing through this field and be going to move to other wintering site.
I saw a Crested Kingfisher, an Osprey, Brown Dippers and Mountain Hawk-Eagle which inhabit in this field.
The birds observed were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus)?
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii pallasii),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis)
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, アオサギ, カワウ, ミサゴ, トビ, ツミ, クマタカ,
キジバト, ヤマセミ, コゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, オオムシクイ? ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, ジョウビタキ, キビタキ,
カワガラス, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ, アオジ, クロジ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎,稲城)
There was no summer birds but the number of birds increased including some winter birds such as Masked Bunting and Daurian Redstart.
There were flocks of Brown-eared Bulbul and egrets (Little, Eastern Great, Grey). There were many wagtails flying actively.
Raptors such as Black Kite and Japanese Buzzard came back to the field, too.
Ducks were very few probably due to the fireworks displayed two days ago and many anglers in the river. However during observation, a flock of Pochard came.
The birds observed are;
Green Pheasant (kigis) (Phasianus versicolor robustipes),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica kawarahiba),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
キジ, カルガモ, ホシハジロ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ,
カワウ, トビ, ノスリ, オオバン, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, オオカワラヒワ, ホオジロ, アオジ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿地(福井県敦賀市)
I visited here again to see arriving buntings.
It was rainy in the early morning on the first day and the weather condition was similar to what I experienced a week ago.
I saw, however, no Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri) as in the last week.
Probably since the number of the Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata) was expected to be small, there were no other birders nor banding operation.
In contrast to the last week, the field was full of calls of buntings. Most of them were Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and some Rustic Buntings (Emberiza rustica). It was likely that I met a large migratory wave of Black-faced Buntings.
It was impossible (at least for me) to distinguish the Black-faced Buntings and the Japanese Yellow Bunting by calls, and it was difficult to search the latter.
Only on one occasion, a Japanese Yellow Bunting was found to forage within a group of Black-faced Buntings and I managed to obtain a video.
When it became warmer, some of Black-faced Buntings started singing, sometimes here and there.
While observing these buntings, I suddenly noticed a whitish raptor flying low on the sky. It was a migratory Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), and it must have been an individual which spent a night around this wetlands. I saw one on the first day and three on the second.
Around the buntings, a Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus) was keenly watching the movement of these buntings, and when this shrike flew, buntings suddenly flew away.
Around the wetlands, I heard many Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina), at least six individuals on the second day.
There were also two Kamchatka Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopus examinandus) calling. It was probably the final season of migration of these species.
List of species:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala),
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)
カルガモ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト,
コゲラ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ, ビンズイ, ジョウビタキ,
オオムシクイ, ウグイス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス,
ヒヨドリ, スズメ, イカル, アトリ, カワラヒワ, ノジコ, アオジ, カシラダカ, オオジュリン
Kushiro & Tokachi areas (Hokkaido)
釧路&十勝エリア(北海道)
In this season, we can see the Red-crowned Cranes which are gathering at Tsurui Village in Kushiro Wetland and the various migrant geese which are stopping over around the lower reaches of Tokachi River.
The first site we visited was Lake Shirarutoro in Kushiro Wetland.
In the lake, there were big flocks of migrant geese (Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's), Bean Goose) and resident Common Mergansers.
There were Whooper Swans and ducks, too.
We saw a Crested Kingfisher (M.l.pallida), the summer visitor in Hokkaido and the different subspecies from the Tokyo area, closely.
Then we drove to Tsurui Village.
At Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary (Tsurui Tancho Sanctuary), there was no crane since the feeding had not been started. But there were more than hundred Red-crowned Cranes gathered in the corn field after the harvest.
In the early morning of the second and third days, we visited Tokachigaoka Hill (180 meters) located north side of the middle reaches of Tokachi River.
Here we saw some summer and winter birds as well as the resident forest birds. We were happy to see the birds which cannot be seen in the Tokyo area such as; Hazel Grouse, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and Marsh Tit, and the different subspecies such as; Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (D.k.seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (D.m.japonicus), Brandt's Jay (G.g.brandtii), Long-tailed Tit (A.c.japonicus), and Treecreeper (C.f.daurica).
On the second day, we visited the vegetable fields and marshes around the lower reachs of Tokachi River.
Many geese ware forming flocks and foraging in the field or resting in the marshes.
The dominant species was Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's). Bean Geese, Tundra White-fronted Geese, and Aleutian Geese were found in these flocks.
A flock of about thirty Snow Geese could also be seen.
At noon, we visited Otsu Fishing Port. There were sea ducks and gulls, but the number and types were not many.
Two White-tailed Eagles could be seen there.
In the evening, we visited Chiyoda New Channel in the middle reaches of Tokachi River.
There was a White-tailed Eagle which came to hunt salmons coming up the river for laying eggs, and were Common mergansers, Japanese Cormorants and ducks catching small fishes.
On the third day, after visiting Tokachigaoka Hill, we drove to Kiyomigaoka Park in Ikeda Town.
There were many woodpeckers such as; Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Grey-faced Woodpecker, which we cannnot see in the Tokyo area.
The final destination was Lake Akan.
We drove forest road no. 39 near Lake Akan.
Since it was noon time and the birds were not so active, but we could see many forest birds. Also, we glanced a Japanese Golden Eagle flying in the sky.
The birds observed are;
- at Lake Shirarutoro in Kushiro Wetland
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser merganser),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Common Coot (Fulica atra atra),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris pallida),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- at Tsurui Village in Kushiro Wetland
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- at Tokachigawa Spa Resort & Tokachigaoka Hill
Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia vicinitas),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor amurensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans)
- at area around the lower reachs of Tokachi River
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorff's) (Anser fabalis middendorffii), Bean Goose (Anser serrirostris serrirostris),
Greater White-fronted Goose (Tundra) (Anser albifrons albifrons), Snow Goose (Lesser) (Anser caerulescens caerulescens),
Cackling Goose (Aleutian) (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia),
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Siberian Pipit/Japanese Pipit (Anthus rubescens japonicus),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)
- at Otsu Fishing Port at the mouth of Tokachi River
Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Vega Gull (Larus vegae),
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
- at Chiyoda New Channel in the middle reaches of Tokachi River
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus),
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser merganser),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla),
Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
- at Kiyomigaoka Park in Ikeda Town
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor amurensis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major japonicus), Grey-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus jessoensis),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Japanese Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus)
- at forest road near Lake Akan
Japanese Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos japonica), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki seebohmi), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major japonicus),
Brandt's Jay (Garrulus glandarius brandtii),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis)
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis),
Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
Asian Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea asiatica),
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris daurica),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus), Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula rosacea)
エゾライチョウ, コウライキジ, オオヒシクイ, ヒシクイ, マガン, ハクガン, シジュウカラガン, オオハクチョウ,
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, コガモ, キンクロハジロ, スズガモ, カワアイサ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, ウミウ,
トビ, オジロワシ, ハイタカ, ノスリ, ニホンイヌワシ, オオバン, タンチョウ,
ウミネコ, ワシカモメ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト,
エゾヤマセミ, エゾコゲラ, コアカゲラ, エゾアカゲラ, ヤマゲラ, モズ, ミヤマカケス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, ハシブトガラ, コガラ, シマエナガ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, キクイタダキ,
シロハラゴジュウカラ, キタキバシリ, ムクドリ, アカハラ, ツグミ, スズメ, セグロセキレイ, タヒバリ,
アカウソ, シメ, イカル, ミヤマホオジロ, アオジ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba) & Kasai-Rinkai Park (Tokyo)
三番瀬(千葉)&葛西臨海公園(東京)
Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni)
Big flock of Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis)
Sandering (Calidris alba rubida)
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina)
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola)
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)
Red Knot (Calidris canutus rogersi)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus)
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica)
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus)
; all photos by R.Kinomura.
Today, we went for birding together at Sanbanze and Kasai-rinkai Park after long time.
We saw many kinds of shorebirds as listed below.
The Brown-eared Bulbuls formed big flocks around 200 and flew away.
At Kasai-rinkai Park, there were a Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis) and a Japanese Wryneck (Jynx torquilla japonica), but we could not see them during observation.
The Red Knot in Sanbanze came close to us about 2 to 4 meters from us. We were happy to see this bird which waited for us staying long period at this site.
The shorebirds were flying in the big flocks.
We are very happy to see many birds, and we felt that winter had come by the first observation of the Daurian Redstart in this season.
The birds observed are:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Greater Scaup (American) (Aythya marila nearctica),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knot (Calidris canutus rogersi),
Sandering (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis), Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, スズガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
オオソリハシシギ, イソシギ, オバシギ, コオバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ,
ウミネコ, ユリカモメ, カワラバト, キジバト, オナガ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, ムクドリ, ジョウビタキ, ハクセキレイ
Nakaikemi Wetland & Ikenokouchi Moor (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿地&池河内湿原(福井県敦賀市)
On the day, the cold front approached, and at around 7 a.m. on our arrival, it was raining lightly. After that, the rain stopped soon.
There were neither of other birders nor photographers at the site.
Two Japanese Wagtails on the roof of the visitor center, many Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats on the grassland, and flocks of Grey-capped Greenfinches on the surrounding woods were very active.
Many migrating Brown-eared Bulbuls were forming flocks and were passing above us.
We searched for the Yellow Buntings which should be stopping over at this site. We met Mr. Yoshida, the leader of the banding team of the site. According to him, it is so abnormal in this year that the extremely fewer number of Yellow Buntings had been recorded which he had never experienced. On the day the banding survey was not conducted due to rain.
While hearing to Mr. Yoshida, we heard a song of a Fairy Pitta from the mountain forest. We doubt our ears, but it was real.
I saw a flock of ducks looked like Mandarin Duck, and we walked to the ponds.
There were Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Mallards, Eurasian Wigeons and Eurasian Teal/Common Teals but not Mandarin Duck.
We saw a Goshawk and an Eastern Marsh-Harrier. The Eastern Marsh-Harrier flew low above the reed field at first and then flew up to the sky.
We walked around the wetland and tried to find Yellow Bunting.
Sometimes buntings flew and dashed into the reed field, but immediately they hid in the reeds, so we could not watch them well. By checking the color of the belly when flying, we identified it as as Rustic Bunting if it was white, and as Masked Bunting or Yellow Bunting if it was yellow.
It was near noon, and once we left the Nakaikemi Wetlands and drove to Ikenokochi Moor (Ikenokochi-Shitsugen).
Last time, when A.T. visited, he watched Mountain Hawk-Eagle there, but we did not expect so much due to the cloudy weather this time.
As predicted, the hawk did not appear during one hour of observation.
We returned back to Nakaikemi Wetland but the birds became less active. We closed birding and left the site.
The birds observed are:
- at Nakaikemi Wetlamnd
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis)?
Thrush sp,
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus),
Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina)
- at Ikenokouchi Moor
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
ヒドリガモ, マガモ, カルガモ, コガモ, チュウダイサギ,
トビ, チュウヒ, オオタカ, キジバト, コゲラ, アオゲラ,
ヤイロチョウ, モズ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, メジロ, ノゴマ? ツグミ類,
ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, キビタキ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ,
アトリ, カワラヒワ, イカル, ホオジロ, カシラダカ, ノジコ, アオジ, オオジュリン
Kyoto Imperial Garden (Kyoto)
京都御苑(京都)
This park was also affected by Typhoon Jebi seriously. A lot of fallen big trees were cut off from the root and cleared away for the purpose of park maintenance. In some areas, fallen trees still remained and were blocking the sidewalks.
Recently, Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroats, the migratory bird, had been seen at the field several times, and I could see a female on this day, too.
Some Japanese Grosbeaks, which is very popular in winter at this sites, were observed, too.
The birds observed were;
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Greater Kamchatkan Rubythroat (Calliope calliope camtschatkensis),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina), Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata)
マガモ, トビ, カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, メジロ,
ノゴマ, キビタキ, オオルリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, イカル
Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary (Osaka City)
大阪南港野鳥園港(大阪)
On the way to the sanctuary from the railway station, I found some Kamchatka Leaf Warblers in the street trees.
In the sanctuary, I walked to the northern observation hide at first. The path to the hide was very rough with many broken trees or fallen branches damaged by Typhoon Jebi. On the path, there were many Kamchatka Leaf Warblers and Honshu White-eyes.
At the hide, I saw two Eastern Eurasian Curlews foraging in the tidal flat.
On the way back to the entrance, two Ospreys were flying grandly in the sky.
Near the entrance, I found a Grey-streaked Flycatcher.
At the west side forest, there were Kamchatka Leaf Warblers, a Narcissus Flycatcher and an Asian Brown Flycatcher.
The day I visited was Wednesday and the main observation tower was closing. But the gate was not locked and the door of the observation tower was opening, I could enter the observation tower.
From the tower, I could see some shorebirds at far distance. They were five Common Greenshanks, two Common Sandpipers and probably two Common Redshanks.
It was almost the end of the migration of the shorebirds, the number of them was not many.
Instead, there were some ducks, winter visitors.
The birds observed were;
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Eastern Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata orientalis), Central Asian Common Redshank (Tringa totanus ussuriensis)?
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
ヒドリガモ, カルガモ, オナガガモ, コガモ, カイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, カワウ,
ミサゴ, トビ, オオタカ, ダイシャクシギ, アカアシシギ? アオアシシギ, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ, スズメ
Island Tobi-shima (Yamagata)
飛島(酒田, 山形)
This spot is one of the birder's paradises in Japan with rich migrating birds traveling from/to south to/from north along with the islands in the Japan Sea.
Some of them are the Siberian continental species which are very rare in Japan.
In the spring and autumn, the island is crowded with a lot of birders.
In October, the weather is not stable due to typhoons or low-pressures, and sometimes sailing of the boat to Tobi-shima is cancelled.
However, the storms bring birds to this small remote island.
This is a report by M. Fujita.
This year, the weather is calm and the temperature is high, so it was said that the full-scale migration had not been started yet when we visited.
We didn't see any rare birds but observed 55 species totally.
After a downpour of 1 hour rain at 8 o'clock in the morning on 16 October, there were a huge number of Daurian Redstarts filling the island (More than 100 birds).
However, in the next morning, most of them had flown away, and I realized the dynamism of the migration.
The birds observed in Hiyori-yama Park, Sakata Port, and Tobi-shima were;
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Japanese Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis), Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis),
Brown-cheeked Rail (Rallus indicus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida hybrida),
Japanese Wood-Pigeon (Columba janthina janthina), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Radde's Warbler (Phylloscopus schwarzi),
Phylloscopus [borealis] superspecies (Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus)?),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus japonensis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus), Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus),
Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus),
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus auroreus),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami),
Chestnut-eared Bunting (Emberiza fucata fucata), Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
Yellow-browed Bunting (Emberiza chrysophrys), Rustic Bunting (Schoeniclus rusticus latifascius),
Yellow-headed Bunting (Emberiza elegans elegans), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata),
Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus), Grey Bunting (Emberiza variabilis variabilis),
Western Pallas's Bunting (Palla's Reed Bunting) Emberiza pallasi polaris
オシドリ, マガモ, カルガモ, カラスバト, キジバト, ウミウ,
アオサギ, クイナ, ウミネコ, クロハラアジサシ,
ハチクマ, トビ, ハイタカ, アカゲラ, ハヤブサ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
キクイタダキ, ヤマガラ, シジュウカラ, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ,
ウグイス, カラフトムジセッカ, メボソムシクイ上種, メジロ,
コヨシキリ, ムクドリ, クロツグミ, マミチャジナイ, シロハラ, ツグミ,
ルリビタキ, ジョウビタキ, ノビタキ, イソヒヨドリ,
エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, ムギマキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, ビンズイ,
アトリ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ, シロハラホオジロ, ホオアカ, コホオアカ, キマユホオジロ,
カシラダカ, ミヤマホオジロ, ノジコ, アオジ, クロジ, シベリアジュリン
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿地(福井県敦賀市)
I visited Nakaikemi Wetland again since it was expected to be the peak of migration of Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata).
The number was, however, lower than expected and the banding team captured only a few individuals.
Sighting of the species was rather difficult due to the low number and since they disappeared in reeds very quickly. Only a few lucky photographers took decent photos.
There were, however, notable visitors in addition to the Japanese Yellow Buntings.
On Oct. 13, there were a large flock of Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) and they frequently flew above the pond in this wetland. They apparently had flew away on the next day.
On Oct. 14, we saw migratory Eastern Buzzards (Buteo japonicus), which were expected in this location and season. We saw a kettle of four birds, but they were high due to the sunny weather.
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri) were abundant and many people watched them instead of the main target Japanese Yellow Buntings.
An Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) was eating berries, and a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus) foraged among a flock of Japanese White-eyes (Zosterops japonicus).
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Great Egret (Ardea alba), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica)
カイツブリ, ダイサギ, アオサギ, カルガモ, オシドリ, ヒドリガモ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト,
アオゲラ, アカゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, コシアカツバメ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, ビンズイ,
ノビタキ, ジョウビタキ, キビタキ, コサメビタキ, オオムシクイ, ウグイス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ,
エナガ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, ムクドリ, イカル,
アトリ, カワラヒワ, ノジコ, カシラダカ
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba) & Inashiki area (Ibaraki)
三番瀬(千葉)&稲敷(茨城)
Sandering (Calidris alba rubida)
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis)
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Red Knot (Calidris canutus rogersi) & Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans)
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)
Red Knot (Calidris canutus rogersi) & Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
Eastern Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa melanuroides)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Spotted Redshanks (Tringa erythropus) at center and right, Eastern Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa melanuroides) and Marsh Sandpipers (Tringa stagnatilis) at left
Temminck's Stints (Calidris temminckii)
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
Central Asian Common Redshank (Tringa totanus ussuriensis)
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus)
Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) & Marsh Sandpipers (Tringa stagnatilis)
Eastern Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa melanuroides)
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus),
: all photos by R.Kinomura
Today, I visited Sanbanze and Inashiki area by car.
At the tidal flat in Sanbanze, I saw
2 Red Knots (Calidris canutus rogersi),
10 Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris),
4 Red-necked Stints (Calidris ruficollis),
50 Kamtchatka Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
15 Siberian Dunlins (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
10 Kentish Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
2 Lesser Sand-Plovers (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
, etc.
At the lotus fields after harvest, the reed field and the grass fields of reclaimed land in the Inashiki area, I saw
5 Long-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus scolopaceus),
16 Eastern Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa melanuroides),
12 Temminck's Stints (Calidris temminckii),
2 Spotted Redshanks (Tringa erythropus),
2 Central Asian Common Redshanks (Tringa totanus ussuriensis),
4 Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus),
10 Marsh Sandpipers (Tringa stagnatilis),
10 Eastern Marsh-Harriers (Circus spilonotus),
2 Japanese Reed Buntings (Emberiza yessoensis yessoensis),
, etc.
コオバシギ, オバシギ, トウネン, ミヤコドリ, ハマシギ, シロチドリ, メダイチドリ,
オオハシシギ, オグロシギ, オジロトウネン, ツルシギ, アカアシシギ, セイタカシギ, コアオアシシギ,
チュウヒ, 大陸型チュウヒ, コジュリン, 他
Ikenokouchi Moor (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
池河内湿原(福井県敦賀市)
After a rather unsuccessful visit to Nakaikemi Wetland, I joined a group of local birders to visit Ikenokouchi Moor.
We arrived the viewing location sometime after noon, and saw flying Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius) and Black Kites (Milvus migrans) and others.
In this spring, a large number of Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) were found to migrate in this place and everyone is curious whether this is a major migratory route. Observations in the coming years are awaited.
Within 30 min. after our arrival, we heard chirping voice apparently from the sky, and I realized that a Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis) was coming.
The bird was indeed found in the sky, and soared a bit and disappeared beyond the mountain ridge within a minute. We were excited and waited further.
It was a rare sunny day and soaring birds were particularly active at that time.
There were many Black Kites and some of them made an aerial battle.
Although forest birds became most silent around this time, we could frequently hear Japanese Green Woodpeckers (Picus awokera).
After observing the sky, we moved to the boardwalk in the moor.
Due to the maintenance, we could walk only half of the boardwalk.
Since winter birds had not arrived yet, we could only hear resident birds, such as woodpeckers, tits and the Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides).
We returned to the original place, and before we left this place, we could again hear the voice of the Mountain Hawk-eagle, but couldn't find the bird.
It appeared that the prospect is high to see this bird when the weather is favorable (and if we are patient enough).
According to local birders, there is voice of Ruddy Kingfishers (Halcyon coromanda) and Japanese Paradise Flycatchers (Terpsiphone atrocaudata) in the early summer season in the route to this place.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Mountain Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
トビ, クマタカ, キジバト, カワセミ, モズ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ヒガラ, エナガ,
メジロ, ハシブトガラス, カケス, ヒヨドリ, イカル, ホオジロ
Nakaikemi Wetland (Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture)
中池見湿地(福井県敦賀市)
I visited this site with expectation to meet arriving Japanese Yellow Buntings (Emberiza sulphurata).
These buntings arrive about a week earlier than Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala) and this week would provide a good opportunity to record the voice of only Japanese Yellow Buntings and examine the difference of their calls.
It was a rare sunny day, and there were not so many migratory birds. According to the bander, no Japanese Yellow Buntings had been captured and their arrival may have been later than usual.
I could, however, heard the calls of buntings, almost likely only Black-faced Buntings in a few corners of the wetland and forest around it.
The only visible migrants were distant Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri). All around the wetland, Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus) and they sometimes flew and competed for their territories.
There is Mt. Tenzutsu north to this wetland and it is one of well-known watching locations of hawk migration in Fukui Prefecture.
One can see the viewing platform on this mountain (see the photo). I looked at this direction several times, but couldn't find migrating hawks (according to a group watching hawks, there were only sporadic hawks on this day).
List of species:
Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Black-browed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Japanese Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)
ダイサギ, カルガモ, トビ, アオゲラ, コゲラ, モズ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ,
ノビタキ, コヨシキリ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス,
ヒヨドリ, イカル, ノジコ, ホオジロ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
I didn't expect so many migratory hawks, since 403 migratory Grey-faced Buzzards, this year's largest number at this site, were recorded on September 28.
However, it was the good day for the hawk migration after the long time of bad weather, and I saw a number of migratory Grey-faced Buzzards more than expected. I could see the kettles of more than 10 hawks for three times, and I enjoyed watching the hawk migration very much.
Two birders at the site saw a bird like Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus leucogenis). Unfortunately, I didn't see it.
If so, the bird might loose the way due to the typhoon.
The birds obserbed are;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Siberian Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus nisosimilis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera)?
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus)?
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica)
トビ, ツミ, ハイタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, カワラバト, キジバト, アオバト,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アオゲラ? モズ, ハシブトガラス<
シジュウカラ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオムシクイ? ガビチョウ,
メジロ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, カワラヒワ
Osaka Castle Park (Osaka Prefecture)
大阪城公園(大阪)
Another typhoon is again passing north to Japan in this weekend and it was rainy in Kyoto in the morning.
I visited Osaka Castle Park where better weather might be expected. There had also been a report of relatively high number of Narcissus Flycatchers (Ficedula narcissina) on the preceding day.
When I arrived Osaka, it was cloudy but I couldn't find migratory birds for a while.
When I reached Sakura Hiroba (=cherry square), I found a corner where many flycatchers and warblers flew around trees. I enjoyed observing them, but it became considerably rainy and I spent an hour under an umbrella. I wasn't tired at all since these birds frequently appeared one by one.
When it was rainy, flycatchers hawked at low flying insect from branches.
When the rain was over, I walked to other places in the Castle Park with an expectation of high density of migratory birds.
I saw, however, only few other birds. It was likely that the corner I visited was rather special.
This time, I visited Haisuichi (located east to the castle).
I was surprised to see that many trees were cut after the typhoon damage and it looked hopeless to see Mugimaki Flycatchers (Ficedula mugimaki) in this fall migration and Japanese Paradise Flycatchers (Terpsiphone atrocaudata) in spring migration (this district was famous for these species). No birders were around there.
It became sunny and hot after rain and a few Asian Brown Flycatchers (Muscicapa dauurica) were foraging in Hakubutsukan (now "Miraiza")-ura.
On my return, several birders were watching something in the Eastern end of Sakura Hiroba.
They were watching an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), which has been in the Park for a month, and it may winter here. It was the first time for me to see an Eastern Buzzard so closely.
List of species:
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus examinandus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
ノスリ, キジバト, コゲラ, モズ, コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ, ハクセキレイ, キセキレイ,
スズメ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カワラヒワ
Isa Marsh (Saitama)
伊佐沼(埼玉)
Isa Marsh is an attracting spot for photographers and bird watchers. Sometimes rare bird visits this pond.
When he checked the marsh after the typhoon passed, by chance, he was notified by a person who was there that a Leech's Storm-Petrel had just appeared.
The bird was swimming back and forth on the water surface of the marsh without flight.
Threre were also some shorebirds such as; Oriental Pratincole, Black-winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Red-necked Stint, and Western Little Ringed Plover,
Ducks were Eurasian Teal/Common Teal, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and Pochard.
There was a Black-necked Grebe together with Little Grebes.
On the next day I visited the site together with him.
The all the members he observed on the day before were found but not the Leech's Storm-Petrel and the Oriental Pratincole. Unfortunately, it seemed that they have left the site, after taking a rest and recovering the physical strength wasted in the heavy storm.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Garganey (Anas querquedula),
Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca), Pochard (Aythya ferina),
Leach's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa leucorhoa),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus),
Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus japonicus), Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, ハシビロガモ, シマアジ, コガモ, ホシハジロ, コシジロウミツバメ, カイツブリ, ハジロカイツブリ,
アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, チョウゲンボウ, オオタカ, セイタカシギ,
イカルチドリ, コチドリ, ツルシギ, アオアシシギ, クサシギ, トウネン, ツバメチドリ, カワラバト, ツツドリ, モズ,
ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Downstream of Sakawa River (Kanagawa)
酒匂川下流(神奈川)
The Sakawa River runs through the Sakawa Lowland in the western region of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Hakone Volcano to the west and the Oiso Hills to the east and flows into Sagami Bay.
Typhoon Trami (No.24), Japan's worst storm in 25 years, brought fierce rain and wind on the last week end. It ran through the Tokyo area at the midnight.
It also gave a little damage to the roof of my house.
I visited this field for the return, but unfortunately there was no gift from the typhoon. The expectation was betrayed, and there were nothing special.
However, there was one thing good that there were three Common Mergansers resting on a sand bank which I saw the first time in this season.
The birds obserbed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser merganser),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)
カルガモ, コガモ, カワアイサ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ムナグロ, キアシシギ, イソシギ, ウミネコ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ヒバリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ
Kitasaga and Hirosawa Pond (Kyoto Prefecture) (Kyoto Prefecture)
北嵯峨&広沢池(京都)
A strong typhoon No. 24 (Trami) was approaching again and I made a short visit to Kitasaga in the morning.
The only ducks I saw in Hirosawa Pond were resident Eastern Spot-billed Ducks (Anas zonorhyncha).
South to the pond, I saw a Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) repeatedly harassed by crows. The kestrel, however, eventually found its own place for a rest.
I expected to see migrating Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats (Saxicola stejnegeri), but found none.
Bull-headed Shrikes (Lanius bucephalus) were numerous and active all the time.
Due to the weather alert, only few people strolled and egrets and herons were hidden undisturbed in every corner of paddy fields. They were hidden in water canals between fields, and I was frequently surprise to find them suddenly flying when I approached them without noting their presence. They were, however, not afraid of people and soon started foraging again in nearby fields.
The activity of raptors (such as Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)) was low and I couldn't see them. It was probably due to the low cloudy condition.
The season was apparently too early for wintering birds such as buntings.
The consequence of the passage of the earlier typhoon was also remarkable around Hirosawa Pond, and many trees were missing.
List of species:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis), Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
カイツブリ, カルガモ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, コサギ, カワウ, ケリ, チョウゲンボウ,
コゲラ, セグロセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, モズ, コシアカツバメ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ムクドリ, ヒヨドリ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was the day of the explosion of Grey-faced Buzzard as expected.
Good conditions such as the fine day after a long period of rainy days, the breeze from east, lower temperature, and good visibility drew the big migratory.
403 Grey-faced Buzzards is the third record in this site.
There were many birders and photographers, too.
1 Siberian Honey-buzzard and 2 Japanese Sparrowhawks were also migrated.
Japanese Buzzards and Goshawks flew, but they were non-migratory.
The birds obserbed are;
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
ハチクマ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, アオバト,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, メジロ, エゾビタキ
Sanada Reservoir & Oone Park (Hiratsuka & Hadano, Kanagawa)
真田貯水池＆おおね公園(平塚&秦野,神奈川)
The paddy fields where we observed shorebirds by the week before became dry by draining off the water for the rice harvest. Thus shorebirds were gathering at this small artificial pond with shallow water and grasses.
At Oone Park nearby this reservoir, there had been Garganeys (Anas querquedula).
We tried to find among ducks, but we could not find them.
However we saw many Eurasian Teal/Common Teals which had just arrived for wintering.
Also we saw a Yellow Bittern, the summer bird, which was still remaining.
There were many Black-crowned Night Herons and Little Egrets, too.
The birds obserbed are;
At Sanada Reservoir;
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago gallinago),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
At Oone Park;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha), Eurasian Teal/Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus)
カルガモ, コガモ, ヨシゴイ, ゴイサギ, コサギ, アオサギ,
コチドリ, タシギ, クサシギ, イソシギ, オジロトウネン,
チョウゲンボウ, ヒメアマツバメ, ヒバリ, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
According to the morning weather forecast, it would be cloudy, but it became sunny. It was hot like summer but the cool breeze from the east felt comfortable.
The visibility was not so bad, but I couldn't see Mt. Fuji or the Buildings in Tokyo metropolitan.
There were many Grey-streaked Flycatchers.
An Ashy Minivet also appeared.
However the number of hawks was not big as;
4 Grey-faced Buzzard,
3 Siberian Honey-buzzard,
6 Japanese Buzzard,
3 Japanese Sparrowhawk,
1 Common Kestrel,
1 Eurasian Hobby,
1 Goshawk,
1 Osprey,
and Black Kites
The birds obserbed are;
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo subbuteo),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius), Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
チョウゲンボウ, チゴハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ, カワラバト, アオバト,
アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, サンショウクイ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エナガ, ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Shirakaba Pass (Nagano)
白樺峠(松本,長野)
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta)
Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus)
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis)
Northern White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus)
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis)
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus)
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis)
Kettle of hawks
: all photos by R.Kinomura
Shirakaba Pass is located at an altitude of 1,600m nearby Mt. Norikura-dake in Japan-Alps.
This pass is famous as the best point to observe hawk migration in autumn.
I visited the pass and observed between around 6:00 to 16:00.
The day before was fine and it seemed that most of the hawks flew away, so very few hawks flew at the pass in the morning.
But in the afternoon, the Grey-faced Buzzard began to fly on the pass.
Eventually, the following were observed :
- 1000 Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
- 100 Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
- 7 Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
- 10 Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus japonicus),
- 2 Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis),
- 10 Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
- 1 Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
- 1 Japanese Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
- Northern White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus caudacutus),
- Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
etc.
サシバ, ハチクマ, ツミ, ノスリ, クマタカ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, ホシガラス, ハリオアマツバメ, イワツバメ, 他
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi City, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
I visited this "hawk mountain" on three days in a row.
On Sep. 19, there were more than 4000 migratory hawks recorded in Shirakaba-toge Pass in Nagano Prefecture.
After then, we had a spell of rainy days and we had a high expectation that they should move when the weather improved.
Sep. 22 was expected to be such a day. It was still somewhat rainy early in the morning, but became clearer and windy in the afternoon.
Before the weather improved, mostly Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis) passed relatively low and we enjoyed seeing them close.
When the weather improved, Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) became the main species.
These hawks, however, migrated distantly in the east to southern direction (there was wind from the northwest) and they were difficult to see by small binoculars.
The total number was 1025 according to the official site, and we expected that the rest of hawks would migrate on the next day.
It was mostly fine on Sep. 23, and when I arrived the mountain, two Grey-faced Buzzards were taking rest before further migration on trees seen from the observing location.
The rate of migration was rather low in the morning and we feared that most of the hawk might have passed too distantly on the day before and we could have missed them.
However, a large groups of Grey-faced Buzzards (mostly) appeared after 10 a.m. and the number increased.
There were a sequence of kettles composed of about 100 hawks, and they passed one by one.
They flew rather high against the blue sky and white cloud and often looked like small dots moving in the sky with naked eyes.
This stream lasted for 1.5 hour and the observer responsible for counting the number was almost screaming.
We happily met the highest record of hourly density in this place.
After this major stream, the density of migration suddenly fell and most of hawks again passed distantly in the east to southern direction.
The total number reached 2683 (the second highest in this place).
Before this flurry, we saw an Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), which is a rare passenger here.
On Sep. 24, we had a rather high expectation since more than 1000 hawks was recorded in Shirakaba-toge Pass on the day before.
The weather was initially moist and hazy, and distant hawks were difficult to see.
Despite this condition, hawks started migrating after 9 a.m. and kettles appeared relatively low, and we could fully enjoy close hawks sufficiently well with naked eyes.
The initial wave stopped before noon, but after two hours many hawks started passing again.
It had became cloudy, but windless, and hawks passed low and evenly in various directions.
Among them, there was again a possible rare Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos) or Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) (judged from the white rump, size and the season of migration).
The total number reached 1138, and we sufficiently enjoyed close encounters.
List of species:
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos) or hen harrier (Circus cyaneus),
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus)
ミサゴ, トビ, ハチクマ, サシバ, ノスリ, マダラチュウヒまたはハイイロチュウヒ, オオタカ, ツミ, チョウゲンボウ, チゴハヤブサ,
キジバト, アカゲラ, コゲラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ, キセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, エゾビタキ, キビタキ,
キバシリ, ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, エゾムシクイ, エナガ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カケス,
スズメ, アオサギ, アマサギ
Mt. Inoko (Higashi-omi City, Shiga Prefecture)
猪子山(滋賀)
Mt. Inoko (Inoko Yama) is a famous hawk watching location in Kinki region, and is conveniently situated from a train station.
On the day before, there was a large stream of hawk migration in Nagano Prefecture and we expected that they would arrive here on this day.
On the mountain, there was a ceremony of Higan (equinoctial week) and "Heart Sutra" was played loudly from speakers.
It was cloudy most of the time, and there was even slight rain in the morning. Despite such weather, strong fliers Crested Honey Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis) started passing around 8:00 a.m. There were sufficiently large number of this species between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. and a significant fraction of them passed just above us due to the lack of the vertical draft.
We were so excited to see them and almost forgot about the loud "Heart Sutra" -- it was almost like a background music.
Following this, there were kettles of hawks, and the fraction of Grey-faced Buzzards (Butastur indicus) increased.
After passage of a weak front, it became windier and hawks flew close to the mountain.
Observers in the northern side could see hawks appearing from the beneath and drifting just in front of them (I was on the other side and missed the best moment).
The final best moment was just around 1:45 p.m., when a kettle suddenly appeared just above us and observers became frenzied busy taking memorable shots.
(I didn't use a wide-view camera at this moment and it is unfortunate that I cannot convey the impression of the scene).
Some of Crested Honey Buzzards have maximally filled crops and they must have foraged of their journey earlier today.
The total number of hawks according to the official site (http://hmrg.jp/) was 589 (301 grey-faced buzzards, 259 crested honey buzzards).
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
トビ, ハチクマ, サシバ, ノスリ, ツミ, チョウゲンボウ, カワウ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, イワツバメ,
ヒヨドリ, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, コゲラ, エゾムシクイ, ヤブサメ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
The weather became sunny after it rained two days ago, and I expected to see many migrating hawks.
The day before, the number of the hawks was few but the other migratory birds, such as Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus), Black Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata atrocaudata), and Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana), were observed.
I also expected to see these birds.
Contrarily to my expectations, the number of hawks and other birds were not many.
The birds observed newly at this site in this season were; Bull-headed Shrike, Red-bellied Rock Thrush, and Grey-streaked Flycatcher.
The birds obserbed are;
At Mt. Gongen;
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Asian House Martin (Delichon dasypus dasypus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
コゲラ, アオゲラ, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, イワツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ガビチョウ, メジロ, イソヒヨドリ, エゾビタキ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Osaka Castle Park (Osaka Prefecture)
大阪城公園(大阪)
Osaka Castle Park is one of the most renowned birding locations around here during migration seasons.
In this year, however, Typhoon Jebi, which resulted the worst typhoon damage in 25 years, passed close to Osaka and this park was heavy hit by strong wind.
It has been reported that the scene has changed dramatically and I hesitated visiting this park despite the migration season.
When I visited, the eastern region of the park (Shimin-no-mori etc.) was most severely hit and many trees had fallen and blocked ordinary birding routes.
I could see no particular bird nor a birder.
The famous paths near Yagai Ongakudo were mostly blocked by fallen trees.
I met birders in the north corner of this region.
They said that an Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) flew to here, but we couldn't see it again.
Another famous area, Sakura Hiroba (=cherry square) showed the power of the devastating typhoon.
Although we could walk in the square, many trees were fallen or cut, and there was open sky in many corners.
In such a place, I saw a Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta) perched on a dead branch and foraged. Such open places are favorite environment of this species.
The typhoon may have altered the distribution of migratory birds within the park.
Jinja-ura region was also affected and many trees were removed. There didn't seem to be many migratory birds, and several birders were waiting for a Narcissus flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina).
The path south to Shudokan was almost blocked by fallen trees. A toilet in this corner was hit by a fallen tree and was broken.
Near the Castle area, things looked better.
In this season, we can again enter Hakubutsukan-ura region after construction of "Miraiza".
This location was famous for flycatchers or warblers, and it was my favorite region.
The scene had changed a lot -- it became sunny without much leaves, and noise from newly built Miraiza was high. It has become less attractive and comfortable as before.
I could see, however, two flycatcher. One of them was a Grey-streaked Flycatcher and the other may have been the same.
The sunny, open environment may have attracted this species.
List of species:
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
キジバト, ツバメ, コサメビタキ, エゾビタキ, ハクセキレイ, スズメ, ヒヨドリ,
ムクドリ, シジュウカラ, メジロ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, カワラヒワ
Ogura reclaimed land (Uji city, Kyoto Prefecture)
巨椋干拓(京都)
I visited a fallow field in Ogura reclaimed land (there were only a small number of fallow fields in this area and I visited only one of them where there were migratory shorebirds).
When I arrived, a Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), a Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis) and a Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) were foraging.
When a photographer from a car approached, the Common Greenshank flew away and the Ruff stayed in alarmed pose for a while.
They soon returned to the resting pose.
The Ruff looked somewhat large with rather distinct color pattern. A birder suggested that it might be a male bird. This bird had a small patch of bare area in the neck, which might have been a remnant of the "ruff" after molt.
Around this fallow field, Zitting Cisticolas (Cisticola juncidis) were still singing and flying.
Eurasian Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) were abundant, but they issued only calls.
According to other birder's information, there were Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) in the river somewhat distant from here.
List of species:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba),
Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Ruff (Philomachus pugnax),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis),
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus),
Japanese (Kamchatka) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, アオアシシギ, コアオアシシギ, エリマキシギ,
モズ, セッカ, ヒバリ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス, ムクドリ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ,
イソヒヨドリ, スズメ, ヒヨドリ, カワラヒワ
Inashiki (Ibaraki)
稲敷(茨城)
In this area, there were a lot of fallow fields in the past, and since August, there had been many shorebirds stopped by in the autumn migratory season, but by the change in the country's agricultural policy, there has been almost no fallow field now. But sometimes rare species had been found, so we are still curious about this site.
We drove in the vast field searching for birds resting or foraging in the lotus fields after harvesting lotus roots, but unfortunately we found only a few good points with about ten Wood Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers and one Marsh Sandpiper.
It seemed that we should wait until October when harvest of the lotus root finishes for the observation of more birds there.
The birds found are;
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus thoracicus),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis),
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens), Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
コジュケイ, カルガモ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, コチドリ, コアオアシシギ, タカブシギ, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, モズ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ムクドリ,
スズメ, ハクセキレイ, セグロセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ホオジロ
Katakai Port (Chiba)
片貝港(千葉)
Great Frigatebird, a rare stray bird In Japan, has recently been observed in this area, so we looked for this bird first.
Soon, we found a huge bird flying over the port. We search for the bird by moving toward the direction it flew, then we found two Great Frigatebirds on the emergency radio antenna.
Since the day we visited there was 6 days after the bird was observed at the first, I had thought it might have already gone, so I was surprised to see two birds at a time.
Then we moved to the beach and found many sea birds there.
On the beach there were a number of Black-tailed Gull, a flock of around ten terns, a small flock of shorebird which flew away and I could not identify the species, and a small flock of Kamtchatka Oystercatcher.
On the sea, there were a number of Streaked Shearwater and Black-tailed Gull flying around fishing boats.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor minor),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo minussensis), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo longipennis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Red-bellied Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius philippensis),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, オオミズナギドリ, アオサギ, コサギ, オオグンカンドリ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, トビ, ミヤコドリ, シロチドリ, トウネン, ウミネコ,
アカアシアジサシ, アジサシ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, イソヒヨドリ, ハクセキレイ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa) & paddy field of Hiratsuka (Hiratsuka, Kanagawa)
権現山&平塚の田んぼ(秦野&平塚,神奈川)
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis)
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus)
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides)
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)
Central Asian Common Redshank (Tringa totanus ussuriensis)
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)
; all photos by R.Kinomura
At Mt. Gongen, the weather was fine with clear sight but the strong south wind blew.
Unfortunately, the number of hawks was not many but we saw several Grey-faced Buzzards, Japanese Buzzards and Siberian Honey-buzzards.
Migratory birds such as Oriental cuckoo, Sakhalin leaf-warbler, and Asian brown flycatcher were also observed.
There was information that a Common Redshank had been in the fallow field in Hiratsuka, so we visited there.
There was a Grey-faced Buzzard nearby, too.
The birds obserbed are;
At Mt. Gongen;
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)
At paddy field in Hiratsuka;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus),
Central Asian Common Redshank (Tringa totanus ussuriensis), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
チョウゲンボウ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, オオタカ, サシバ, ノスリ,
アカアシシギ, イソシギ, アオバト, ツツドリ, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ,
カワセミ, コゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ,
ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, ヒバリ, セッカ, エゾムシクイ, メジロ, ムクドリ,
コサメビタキ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
There were rather fewer species and numbers of birds observed than the last time on August 29.
Only the Barn Swallows and Red-rumped Swallows were flying lively on the meadow.
I hope birds to come back this field soon.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, コゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ,
セッカ, ムクドリ, スズメ
Mt. Gongen (Hadano, Kanagawa)
権現山(秦野,神奈川)
It was still earlier for the peak of the migration of hawks, but since the day we visited was sunny after a super typhoon that passed two days ago, we visited the site with a little expectation.
The number of migrating hawks (Common Kestrel, Osprey, Siberian Honey-buzzard, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard, Japanese Buzzard) was small as foreseen, and they appeared intermittently. We could not see any kettle of hawks.
However, we saw big flocks of swifts (Northern White-rumped, House) formaing kettles.
The number of migrating flycatchers (Asian Brown, Narcissus) and warblers (Eastern Crowned) were still very few.
The birds obserbed are;
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis),
Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae), House Swift (Apus nipalensis subfurcatus),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina)
チョウゲンボウ, ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, ハチクマ, トビ, ツミ, サシバ, ノスリ,
キジバト, アオバト, アマツバメ, ヒメアマツバメ, コゲラ, アオゲラ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, エナガ, センダイムシクイ, メジロ, コサメビタキ, キビタキ
Paddy field in Hiratuka (Hiratsuka, Kanagawa)
平塚のたんぼ(平塚,神奈川)
On September 02, H.Usui visited the field and found a Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpipers, a Long-toed Stint and a Ruff.
On September 03, I visited there and tried to find these birds but they dis not appear during my observation. I saw Pacific Golden-Plovers and Western Little Ringed Plovers instead.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo haneda),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)?
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta), Ruff (Philomachus pugnax),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, トビ, サシバ?
ムナグロ, コチドリ, クサシギ, タカブシギ, ヒバリシギ, エリマキシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒバリ,
セッカ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Paddy fields in Kawagoe & Isa Marsh (Saitama)
川越のたんぼ&伊佐沼(埼玉)
It became cooler but drizzled by an autumn rain front progressed south.
At the paddy field, there were some flocks of fresh-water shorebirds.
Then I stopped over at Isa Marsh.
The water level of the pond was too high and I could not see any shorebirds here.
The birds observed are;
at the paddy field in Kawagoe area;
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus)
at Isanuma Marsh;
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, チュウサギ, カワウ, ムナグロ, コチドリ, アカエリヒレアシシギ,
ハシブトガラス, ヒバリ, ムクドリ
Middle-reaches of Tama River (Kawasaki, Kanagawa)
多摩川中流(川崎, 神奈川)
It was better than Tama Cemetery (Tama Reien) (Tama Reien), where I visited the day before, but there were few species of birds here, too.
It seemed that birds might have gone somewhere else because of the unusually hot weather in this summer.
I expected some early migrating birds.
I found a Red-rumped Swallow among the flying swallows, but could not find any other migrating birds.
Herons and egrets, mainly Great Egret and Little Egret, began to flock. I found an Intermediate Egret in a flock.
Great Cormorant and White-cheeked Starling had also begun to form flocks, too.
The birds observed are;
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, ゴイサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, イソシギ,
カワラバト, キジバト, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, セッカ, ガビチョウ,
ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, ホオジロ
Birding Trip to find shorebirds in the suburbs of Tokyo (Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma)
東京近郊でシギチドリ探鳥旅行(千葉,栃木.群馬)
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis)
; photo by R. Kinomura
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
; photo by R. Kinomura
Chick of Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus)
; photo by R. Kinomura
Chick of Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
; photo by R. Kinomura
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
; drawn by S. Niwa
Kamchatka Sand Martins (Riparia riparia ijimae) swallowing water
; photo by R. Kinomura
Roosting of Swallows
; photo by R. Kinomura
The first site was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen) in Chiba Prefecture.
On this day, the low tide time was early in the morning, so the tideland had already spread when we arrived.
The timing should be the peak of shorebirds's migration, but the number of birds was not as many as I expected.
But this time, we saw Kentish Plovers that was previously common but became difficult to see recently.
The second site was the paddy fields in Omoigawa Town in Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture.
The temperature rose to around 38 degrees Celsius due to two typhoons approaching Japan. Hot air blew in when we opened windows of the car, and it became hard for birding.
In such the circumstance, we searched for a Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) that was recorded recently and Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) which was recorded last year.
We could not find them but we saw several types of fresh-water shorebirds which were observed at the last visit on August 16.
Then we drove through Watarase Retarding Basin (Watarase-Yusuichi) and the paddy field in Itakura Town in Gunma Prefecture.
We searched for Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus), Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala) or Grey-headed Lapwing. We found several Grey-headed Lapwings resting inside the paddy fields.
In the pond of Itakura, we saw families of Eurasian Moorhen and Yellow Bittern.
The chicks of them were very cute.
There were many Kamchatka Sand Martins on the way back to the wintering sites in south. They sometimes skimmed off the water on the surface of the pond and swallowed.
S.Niwa commented that "I was happy to see parents and chicks of Yellow Bittern and Eurasian Coot for the first time."
At Tatara Marsh, we saw communal roosting of swallows (Amur Barn, Kamchatka Sand Martin).
Tens of thousands of Barn Swallow came back to the reed fields in the twilight.
The birds observed there are;
- At Sanbanze Seaside Park:
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis),
Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni), Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres),
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sandering (Calidris alba rubida), Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Vega Gull (Larus vegae), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis)
- At paddy fields in Omoigawa:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- At Watarase Retarding Basin:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
- At Itakura Town:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei),
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor)
- At Tatara Marsh:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis benghalensis) South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, ゴイサギ, アマサギ, アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
チョウゲンボウ, ミサゴ, トビ, バン, ミヤコドリ, ケリ, ムナグロ, ダイゼン, コチドリ,
シロチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, アオアシシギ, キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ,
キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, セグロカモメ, オオセグロカモメ,
コアジサシ, キジバト, カワセミ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, ショウドウツバメ,
ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Northern Area and South foot of Mt. Yatsugatake (Nagano)
八ヶ岳北部＆南麓(長野)
There are variety of nature such as; volcanoes, dense forests, wetlands of high moor and vast farm lands.
On the way to Mugikusa Pass, we saw a Bull-headed Shrike that was calling shrilly near Togariishi Pre-historic site. This territorial call recalled me the closely coming autumn.
We also found a Siberian Honey-buzzard at the tip of toll tree at the road side. Though we observed very near, it stayed there calmly.
In the forest of Togariishi Pre-historic site, there was few songs of birds which fulfilled this forest a few months ago, and only a few birds hiding in the trees were observed.
In the forest at the Mugikusa Pass (2,127m), we can hear the beautiful songs of Japanese Robin (Luscinia akahige akahige) in the early summer, but only the Japanese Leaf Warblers were singing with ardor this time.
A few Eurasian Nuthatches perched on the trees nearby.
In Nobeyama Highland, there were many Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechats at the grass field and several Japanese Buzzards at pastureland.
The birds observed there are;
- Around Togariishi Pre-historic site:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Siberian Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus kurodae),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major hondoensis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)? Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis), Masked Bunting (Schoeniclus spodocephala personatus)?
- At Mugikusa Pass & Shirakoma Pond (Kita-Yatsugatake):
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
Japanese Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Japanese Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Grey-bellied Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris)
- At Nobeyama Highland:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus bucephalus),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Amur Stonechat/Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
カルガモ, ハチクマ, トビ, ノスリ, キジバト, アマツバメ, コゲラ, アカゲラ, モズ, カケス,
ホシガラス, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, コガラ, ツバメ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, オオヨシキリ, メボソムシクイ, メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, クロツグミ, コルリ,
ノビタキ, コサメビタキ? キビタキ, スズメ, キセキレイ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ, ウソ, イカル,
ホオジロ, アオジ?
Roosting swallows in Uji River (Kyoto Prefecture)
宇治川の塒入りツバメ(京都)
I went to see the famous roosting site of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) in the reed bed of Uji River near Chushojima station.
Although the location is closer to Chushojima station, there is no bridge and one has to walk from the next station, Kangetsukyo.
The peak season of swallow roosting is end of July to early August.
Japan was, however, hit by extreme heat around this and I avoided visiting here in fear of heat exhaustion. After a passing typhoon, we could finally enjoy cooler weather and I visited here to examine the roosting behavior.
I arrived here much earlier than the roosting time with slight hope to search for shorebirds.
It turned out, however, that there were almost no fallow rice fields and I couldn't find any shorebird.
In only one field (but not filled with water) I could see foraging various herons.
The roosting started very late (probably due to the fine and clear weather), and swallows only gathered after it became relatively dark. They circled above us observers only for a short time (much shorter than what I experienced around the peak season in the past) and disappeared rather quickly.
It looked like that season was already a bit too late to fully enjoy the roosting.
During the waiting time for swallows, I could hear a singing Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) and around sunset, an Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) from the reed bed.
They were rather difficult to hear due to the strong background of insects.
List of species:
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia),
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone),
Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
アオサギ, ダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ, トビ, キジバト, ツバメ, ハシブトガラス, ハシボソガラス,
セグロセキレイ, オオヨシキリ, セッカ, スズメ, カワラヒワ
The deepest part of Tokyo Bay (Chiba, Tokyo)
東京湾最深部(千葉,東京)
The first site was Sanbanze Seaside Park (Sanbanze Kaihin-Koen).
The tide on that day was the neap, and it was just a full tide when we arrived at.
There were few tidelands, and most of the shorebirds rested on top of the offshore piles or on the breakwaters. Terns were flying on distant sea.
While the tidal flats spread gradually, the shorebirds started to gather for foraging at the tide flats.
There are Lesser Sand-Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Grey Plovers, and Sanderlings. There were a Great Knot and a Siberian Dunlin among them.
Most herons were Eastern Great Egret. There were a few Intermediate Egret, too.
There were about thirty Kamtchatka Oystercatchers.
Most of the gulls were Black-tailed Gull. There were a few Slaty-backed Gull together.
The next destination was Gyotoku Wildlife Sancturay.
This sanctuary was built when this wetlands area was called Shinhama and was reclaimed by the development during the high-growth period of the 1970s.
This is the first reserve where positive environmental maintenance has been carried out in Japan, and it has been a model of "Sanctuary", the area for protecting wildlife.
In the sanctuary, there is a bird hospital as a related facility. This hospital is putting the greater efforts to protect the injured birds and its work is the highest level not only in the Kanto area but also throughout Japan.
There was a big roost of Great Cormorant.
We observed Chestnut-cheeked Starlings and White-cheeked Starlings.
At the bird hospital, we saw several patients such as; Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus interstinctus), Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis gularis), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis fujiyamae), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii), Japanese Scops-Owl (Otus semitorques), Ural Owl (Strix uralensis momiyamae), Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda major), Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides), Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, etc.
We saw releasing of a Chestnut-cheeked Starling and a Eurasian Tree Sparrow after their recovery.
The last destination was Kasai-Rinkai Park (Kasai-Rinkai Koen).
There were some shorebirds at the brackish water pond such as Western Little Ringed Plovers and Common Greenshanks.
I searched for Oriental Cuckoo/Horsfield's Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus optatus) which might stop over at the park on the way of migration, but I did not find it.
On the seaside, there was a Great Crested Grebe which stayed here in this summer.
The birds observed were;
- at Sanbanze:
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus haliaetus),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola squatarola), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres interpres), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sandering (Calidris alba rubida),
Siberian Dunlin (Calidris alpina sakhalina),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus),
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- at Gyotoku:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis), White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
- at Kasai Rinkai Park:
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus),
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Eastern Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis),
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus),
Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus), Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides),
Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus japonica), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, カイツブリ, カンムリカイツブリ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, コサギ, カワウ,
ハヤブサ, ミサゴ, バン, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, コチドリ, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, アオアシシギ,
キアシシギ, ソリハシシギ, イソシギ, キョウジョシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, ハマシギ, ウミネコ, オオセグロカモメ,
コアジサシ, カワラバト, キジバト, オナガ, ハシブトガラス, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, オオヨシキリ, コムクドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Omoigawa (Oyama, Tochigi)
思川(小山, 栃木)
The site is located north of the Watarase Retarding Basin.
There are paddy fields which are flooded with water as artificial fresh-water tidal flats to gather waterfowl.
This activity was started from three years ago. After cutting the crops in spring, the fields were filled with water.
This measure not only prevents the repeated cultivation disorder of the wheat and eliminates weeds,
but also increases creatures such as dragonfly and gengoro-crucians, and provides birds good feeding sites.
I saw several kinds of fresh water shorebirds. The number of the birds is not many yet, but it is expected to be incresing more.
There were aother waterfowls forming a big flock such as egrets/herons and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks.
Some Kamchatka Sand Martins, the migrant, were also observed.
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha),
Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi), Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia intermedia),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Western Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus),
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia glottoides), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola),
South Asian Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Kamchatka Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ijimae), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Japanese Skylark (Alauda japonica),
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens)
カルガモ, アマサギ, アオサギ, チュウダイサギ, チュウサギ, カワウ, トビ,
ムナグロ, コチドリ, アオアシシギ, タカブシギ, ハシボソガラス, ハシブトガラス,
ショウドウツバメ, ツバメ, ヒバリ, セッカ, ヒヨドリ, ムクドリ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ
Tsuchiura (Ibaraki)
土浦(茨城)
Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus)
feeding a chick
Chick (at front),
hybrid between Chinese Pond-Heron and Little Egret?
all photos by R.Kinomura
Today, I went to see Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus) again in Tsuchiura.
It fed a chick, but the chick's bill was black and was looked like a Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta). Its bill seemed thicker than Little Egret. Is this chick a hybrid between Chinese Pond-Heron and Little Egret?
* In 2010, the "Natural Hybridization between a Little Egret and a Chinese Pond Heron was recorded".
The confirmation of the natural hybridization among different genera of family ardeidae is very rare, and that was the third record in the world.
アカガシラサギ, アカガシラサギｘコサギ(雛)？, 他
Sanbanze Tidal Flat (Chiba)
三番瀬(千葉)
This site is very important stopover point for the migrating birds flying to/from the North (Siberia) from/to the South (Australia and Southeast Asia).
Now is the beginning of the season of the migration birds to the South/West.
We visited the place immediately after the typhoon passed the east side of Tokyo area. The weather was still cloudy with intermittent strong wind.
There were big flocks of Black-tailed Gull, Little Terns, and some kinds of sandpipers and plovers. There were some Common Tern (S.h.longipennis) and Common Tern with red legs (S.h.minussensis) in the flock of the Little Tern.
We found two Siberian Black-headed Gulls in the summer form in the flock of gulls.
The birds observed were;
Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Kamtchatka Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus osculans),
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola tomkovichi), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus stegmanni),
Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri), Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes),
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Sanderling (Calidris alba alba),
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis),
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris), Siberian Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo minussensis), Common Tern (Sterna hirundo longipennis), Little Tern (Sternula albifrons sinensis),
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus saturatus),
Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica minor)
チュウダイサギ, カワウ, ミヤコドリ, ダイゼン, メダイチドリ, オオソリハシシギ, キアシシギ,
ソリハシシギ, オバシギ, ミユビシギ, トウネン, ウミネコ, ユリカモメ,
アカアシアジサシ, アジサシ, コアジサシ, カワラバト, キジバト, ハシブトガラス,
ツバメ, スズメ, ハクセキレイ, カワラヒワ
Prefectural Ikaho Forest Park (Gunma)
伊香保森林公園(群馬)
In this park, there is a small pond near the parking lot at the park management house. This pond is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters on the southwest foot of Mt. Futatsudake (1345 m), and there are many wind caves spouting very cold air nearby, so it is a very cool place in summer. This pond is a valuable water place for wild birds, and many birds visit there.
In summer, we can leave a hot town and meet many birds in a cool circumstance like a paradise.
On the day we visited, it was deadly hot and the temperature in Tokyo area exceeded 35 degrees Celsius. However the site was 24 to 27 degrees as if we were in a air-conditioned room.
On the forest road towards the park, we expected to see Copper Pheasant (Scintillating) (Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans), but we met an Asian Black Bear (Selenarctos thibetanus) cub.
In the pond, birds visited there occasionally together. The majority was Japanese Thrush.
A female came frequently and collected the fallen leaves around the pond. It seemed like preparing the late breeding. A male, that seemed like the female's partner, visited together in the afternoon, but it did not particularly help the female's hard work.
A Japanese Woodpecker appeared several times and took bath in the pond.
Tits also appeared well. The juveniles of tits visited forming the mixed flock. Sometime families of tit visited, too. Especially, the Long-tailed Tits visited in a big flock.
We expected to see Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica davisoni) which usually appeares in the evening. but we could not see during our observation.
The birds observed are;
Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus), Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis)?
Japanese Woodpecker (Picus awokera awokera),
Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater insularis), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Willow Tit (Poecile montanus restrictus),
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides)?
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea amurensis),
White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea toratugumi), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis),
Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus chrysolaus),
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane bochaiensis), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Japanese Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea robusta),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata personata),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
トビ, クマタカ? アオゲラ, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ヤマガラ, コガラ, エナガ,
ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, エゾムシクイ? メジロ, ゴジュウカラ, トラツグミ, クロツグミ, アカハラ,
コルリ, キビタキ, オオルリ, キセキレイ, イカル, ホオジロ
Mt. Tateyama & Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden (Nagano)
立山&戸隠(長野)
Rock Ptarmigan (japonica) (Lagopus muta japonica)
Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida)
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus)
Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri)
Japanese Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos japonica)
all photos by R.Kinomura
On the first day, I visited Mt. Tateyama. I could see a Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta japonica). Unfortunately, I could not see Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris erythropygia) and Japanese Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes japonica).
On the next day, I visited Togakushi Forest Botanical Garden. I saw Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus), Yellow Bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri), Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris japonica), Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis cardis), Japanese Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos japonica), etc.
ライチョウ, カヤクグリ, サンショウクイ, ノジコ, オオアカゲラ, キバシリ, クロツグミ, ニホンイヌワシ, 他
Miyagase, Kanagawa
宮ヶ瀬(相模原,神奈川)
The city was very hot and the maximum temperature exceeded 35 degrees Celsius, but the field was 4 to 5 degrees cooler.
However, as predicted, birds were very quiet, and only Grey Herons and Great Cormorants were conspicuous.
I hoped to see the Crested Kingfishers because the water level of the lake lowered and their activity range narrowed. But I only heard the calls twice and saw a Common Kingfisher.
Even so, I saw somehow a few birds including juveniles.
At the end, I was happy to see a Crested Hawk flew around the sky several times.
The birds observed are (* reported by another birder);
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea jouyi),
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae),
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis), Black Kite (Milvus migrans lineatus),
Eastern Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis orientalis), White-bellied Green-Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sieboldii),
Lessor Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus),
Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris lugubris), * Ruddy Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda major),
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis japonica),
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki nippon),
Japanese Jay (Garrulus glandarius japonicus), Japanese Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor minor), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius varius),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica gutturalis),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis amaurotis),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone cantans),
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus),
Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea lutea),
Honshu White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus),
Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina narcissina),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides ciopsis)
アオサギ, カワウ, クマタカ, キジバト, アオバト, ホトトギス, *アカショウビン , カワセミ, ヤマセミ,
コゲラ, カケス, ハシブトガラス, シジュウカラ, ヤマガラ, ツバメ, ヒヨドリ, ウグイス, センダイムシクイ,
ガビチョウ, ソウシチョウ, メジロ, キビタキ, ホオジロ
Ogasawara Ferry & Chichi-jima (Ogasawara, Tokyo)
小笠原フェリ−&父島(小笠原,東京)
The Ogasawara Islands have never been connected to a continent, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes.
This has led to the islands' nickname of the "The Galapagos of the Orient", and their nomination as a natural World Heritage Site on June 24, 2011.
Also, these islands involved in the Oceania terrestrial ecoregions, as the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests.
In these unique conditions, the birding there is quite interesting.
On the way to Chichijima (the main island) by the ship from Tokyo Bay, around 24 hours, the shorebirds both of the Palearctic and the Oceania ecozones can be observed on the ship.
You can recognize the drastic change of birds between the first day and the second day.
In the islands, there are endemic species (subspecies) including two restricted-range species of birds; the Japanese Woodpigeon (Columba janthina) and the Vulnerable Bonin White-eye(Apalopteron familiare), formerly known as "Bonin Honeyeater". The Japanese Woodpigeon was extirpated in the Iwo Island groups in the 1980s.
Usually, the ferry stays at Chichijima two nights and it requires five days (2 nights on the ferry and 2 nights in Ogasawara Is.), but in the high season, the ferry only stays four and a half hours at Chichijima (2 nights on the ferry). So we can visit Chichijima taking 3 days instead of 5 days in the high season. For the keen seabird watchers can enjoy the 3-day Ogasawara ferry trip utilising this special operation.
This is a report by T. Kawase about birding on the Ogasawara Ferry and Chichi-jima of Ogasawara Islands.
The main purpose of the trip was observing seabirds. But almost all the birds except for Indo-pacific Brown Booby were so far and it was difficult to identify them.
The result of observation including birds in Tokyo Bay as 20 species was not so good.
During the very short stay (about four hours) In Chichijima, I could see Japanese Woodpigeon (C.j.nitens), the endemic species, very closely.
The birds reported are;
Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus),
Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Indo-pacific Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster plotus),
Noddy Tern (Anous stolidus pileatus),
Japanese Wood Pigeon (Columba janthina nitens),
Japanese White-eye (hybrid) (Zosterops japonicus alani x stejnegeri) , etc.
シロハラミズナギドリ, オナガミズナギドリ, アナドリ, カツオドリ,
クロアジサシ, アカガシラカラスバト, イオウジマメジロxシチトウメジロ(交雑)) , 他
Mt. Koyasan (Wakayama Prefecture)
高野山(和歌山)
It has been extremely hot, particularly in western Japan, and I visited Mt. Koyasan (about 900m).
This region is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage area, part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. The mountain is reachable by train and cable car, and there are frequent buses on the mountain for tourists.
Following the recommended birding route on a book, I first visited Okunoin region.
This region is full of gravestones of famous enterprises, and of course there were a lot of tourists.
It was hot even on the mountain and even an Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) opened the bills due to the hotness.
This region is surrounded by high coniferous trees and the main species was the Coal Tit (Periparus ater). If I could have walked deeper into the mountain, I could have a chance to see or hear more birds. However, it was already too hot and the season was apparently not suitable for searching for voice of birds (and it was noisy with many tourists), I returned by bus to Koyasan station.
According to the book, there is a road where one can look down Yoshino River and this place is suitable for watching hawk migration in fall.
I visited this place after a short tunnel from the station.
Surprisingly, I could hear more birds than in the recommended route. Although the view was not as good as expected, there is a valley with deciduous forest and bird species are richer here. I recorded most species here during this birding trip.
It was somewhat a surprise that the most prominent voice of bird was that of the Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea). This bird was also heard in Okunoin and it looked likely that this species is already the dominant one on this mountain.
The things might have been different a few months before when the Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis), flycatchers or cuckoos were singing.
Nevertheless, birds flew from the valley and foraged on trees near the road. I could see both male and female Blue-and-white Flycatchers (Cyanoptila cyanomelana).
This tree appears to be favorite for this species.
On the sky, both Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallows (Cecropis daurica) were flying.
The only raptor I saw was a Black Kite (Milvus migrans) in an advanced stage of molt. I expected a bit to see the Crested Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) according to the book, but I didn't have a chance to see it.
List of species:
Black Kite (Milvus migrans),
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis),
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica),
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius),
Japanese Tit (Parus minor), Coal Tit (Periparus ater),
Japanese Bush Warbler (Horornis diphone),
Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis),
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
Ashy Minivet (Pericrocotus divaricatus),
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus),
Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana), Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina),
Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides),
Grey-capped Greenfinch (Chloris sinica),
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata),
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea)
トビ, キジバト, ツバメ, コシアカツバメ, ハシブトガラス, カケス, シジュウカラ, ヒガラ, ウグイス, ヒヨドリ,
キセキレイ, サンショウクイ, メジロ, オオルリ, キビタキ, ホオジロ, カワラ