Ruddy-breasted Crakes and waders

Continuing from the previous post, I'd managed 44 species in the hills yesterday I was hopeful of seeing over 100 species for the weekend. A modest total for many places perhaps, even in a day, but I've never even hit 90 over two days in Kansai.

I'd driven out of the hills to the nearest convenience store on the approach to Lake Biwa and at 22:30, after an hour sleep and more importantly a long anticipated coffee, I set off for Mie prefecture and the second largely sleepless night. Being a Saturday the roads were still quite busy until cutting across the Kii Peninsular towards Mie. At about 02:00 I began to meet groups of cyclists heading in the opposite direction, presumably a long distance event as they were strung out over many kilometres, the first and last on either side of the central mountains. It's reassuring to know there are others of questionable sanity out there and when friends double check and exchange those knowing glances "You spent... two nights... in the mountains or driving... with no sleep... just to look for birds?" it's a relief to at least imagine diluting the doubt behind the smiles by redirecting their misgivings towards the obvious 'real' nutters. My favourite was two or three years ago birding during a typhoon in northern Okinawa. Every few metres I'd have to stop to drag a fallen tree limb from the road, the only other vehicles I saw all day were two police cars and a highway maintenance truck, but when I came down to the coast road at one point a fisherman was braced against the parapet casting out into the boiling East China Sea. I felt so incredibly normal!

These trips are usually punctuated by convenience store stops and I grabbed another hour of sleep and a coffee fix before driving the final kilometre to my planned starting point. It still wasn't light when I pulled up onto the Kumozu River levee to finish my coffee and switching off the engine I heard a singing Ruddy Crake close to the van. Then another... and another. Brilliant, this is something I never hear around Kyoto, what a great start to the day. Surely I could make 100 today.

Just as I'd been surprised by the number of summer visitors already singing in the mountains yesterday, several Oriental Reed Warblers were in full song where there had been none last weekend. But it wasn't just the birds that were changing, large expanses of fields had been flooded through the week and farmers were already planting rice at sun-up. This could potentially attract more waders or just make finding them more difficult.

Persistent drizzle and occasional heavier showers fulfilled the promise of the slow leaden dawn and while one benefit was low-flying Pacific Swifts, the great views of Dusky Thrushes and Chestnut-cheeked Starlings didn't result in the kind of photographs I'd have liked.

Another advantage with wet weather is that Green Pheasants, suddenly common, come into the open more and for longer, but not so the Chinese Bamboo Partridges that remain heard but not seen. For some reason they are far more cooperative in some other parts of Japan.

Just as there had been last week, there were eight Spotted Redshanks on a nearby coastal pool. But unlike last week most were now coming into breeding plumage, unfortunately good shots were impossible through the morning murk. Waders generally were more abundant than last week with large numbers of Lesser Sandplover, Grey Plover, Dunlin and Bar-tailed Godwits. There were also big numbers of Whimbrel all along the coast, this a species which hadn't present at all last week but a single Great Knot was the only other new species.

The very dull conditions meant afternoon birding was curtailed not allowing time to visit some areas which would have guaranteed a few additional species such as Sanderling. Frustratingly Common Reed Buntings which had been common last week were nowhere to be found. Perhaps they've all left but were the Blue Rock Thrushes, they aren't winter visitors. Why are there always some certainties that can't be found? Common Goldeneye seem to vanish long before the other ducks. Nevertheless, my weekend tally came to a record-breaking and extremely satisfying 110 species.

Bar-tailed Godwits.

List of species
Chinese Bamboo Partridge   several heard
Green Pheasant  
Gadwall
Falcated Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Teal
Common Pochard
Tufted Duck
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Streaked Shearwater
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Little Egret
Great Cormorant
Osprey   1
Black kite
accipiter sp   1
Ruddy-breasted Crake   3 heard
Common Moorhen   2
Common Coot
Eurasian Oystercatcher   c30
Grey-headed Lapwing   5-6
Grey plover   c25
Little Ringed Plover   2
Kentish Plover
Lesser Sandplover
Common Snipe
Long-billed Dowitcher   1
Bar-tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Eurasian Curlew   5
Far Eastern Curlew   2
Spotted Redshank   8
Common Greenshank   3
Wood Sandpiper   1
Common Sandpiper   5
Great Knot   1
Dunlin   c1000
Black-tailed Gull
Common Gull   sev
Vega Gull
Mongolian Gull   1-2
Slaty-backed Gull   2-3
Vega x taimyrensis intergrades   more common than Vega
Black-headed Gull
Saunder's Gull   2
Feral Rock Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Pacific Swift   30-40
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker   1 heard
Bull-headed Shrike
Jay   1 A big surprise in some coastal pines.
Carrion Crow
Large-billed Crow
Great Tit   2
Barn Swallow
Skylark
Zitting Cisticola   several
Brown-eared Bulul
Japanese Bush Warbler   several
Oriental Reed Warbler   fairly common
Japanese White-eye   several
Chestnut-cheeked Starling   c40
White-cheeked Starling
Dusky Thrush
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
White Wagtail
Japanese Wagtail   1
Buff-bellied Pipit   several
Oriental Greenfinch
Meadow Bunting
Chestnut-eared Bunting   1
Black-faced Bunting

Tsu/Matsusaka, Mie

I spent all day on the 9th and the morning of the 10th in the Tsu/Matsusaka area of Mie this week hoping to see migrant waders. My enthusiasm was probably getting the better of me, numbers are still fairly low and some common species weren't in yet, no Red-necked Stint or Grey-tailed Tattler for example, but I still managed 20 species.  Eight Spotted Redshank, single Long-billed Dowitcher and Ruff were the pick of the bunch. None are rare but I don't see Spotted Redshank every time I go, Dowitchers are unpredictable and Ruff really is a scarce passage bird.

Because spring passage wasn't in full swing and many wintering species had departed there was something of a 'between seasons' feel to the trip. There weren't any Common Shelduck or even the normally so common Goldeneye but others were still hanging on with a single Black Brant and a couple of Saunder's Gulls. Two Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, which is a reliable early passerine, were the only non-wader migrants I came across.

I'd planned to make it a one-day trip but decided to hang on and spend the night in the van as the tide tables showed a much bigger drop the following day. Counter intuitively waders are often much closer at low tide as birds can gather on distant sandbars and follow the receding waterline towards the coast. As things turned out the views were better on tidal areas but wader numbers were identical except for four new Bar-tailed Godwits.

I left just before midday as I wanted to check out an area in the mountains on the return journey. It always looks promising driving through but in the event the accessible areas, and much of the rest, were monotonous ranks of cedar. Even Large-billed Crows and Brown-eared Bulbuls were thin on the ground.

There were huge rafts of Greater Scaup well off-shore, 200-300 on a large pond and a few, like these in some of the harbours.

The Ruff was a nice surprise.

Long-billed Dowitcher

Spotted Redshanks

This is usually one of the commoner species so in that respect just a single was disappointing but as the moult of most I see isn't as advanced I was happy enough. 

On the 9th there was just a slight dip between high tides and the Oystercatchers were only seen at one location but on the 10th there was a much bigger fall in the water level and birds were dispersed over a wide area and were much easier to find.

Some of the Bar-tailed Godwits were very red and views were quite close on the 10th.

These three Barwits were more distant on the 9th, so was their breeding plumage. One of them was a monster with an amazingly long, thick and straight bill, I was expecting it to be Black-tailed until I got the scope on it.

The Grey Plover must be either late breeders or fast moulters, there wasn't a single black 'n' white amongst them. 

I don't think it's possible to get a shot of Sanderling with two feet on the ground, with two birds there's at least a chance.

First summer Saunder's Gull, one of only two I managed to see. 

 

I was going to say a slightly odd looking Slaty-backed but then what's really odd is to see two that look the same.

The Buff-bellied Pipits are starting to come into breeding plumage but this bird caught my eye more because of its long, hook-tipped upper mandible. 

List of birds seen
Chinese Bamboo Partridge   1 heard
Green Pheasant   3 plus many heard each morning
Gadwall
Falcated Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Teal
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Intermediate Egret   1
Little Egret
Great Cormorant
Osprey   1
Black kite
Moorhen   1
Coot
Eurasian Oystercatcher   29
Black-winged Stilt   3
Grey-headed Lapwing   10-15
Grey Plover   16
Little Ringed Plover   fairly common 9th, only 1 10th
Kentish Plover   common
Lesser Sandplover   2
Common Snipe
Long-billed Dowitcher   1
Bar-tailed Godwit   7
Eurasian Curlew   1
Far Eastern Curlew   2
Spotted Redshank   8
Redshank   2
Greenshank   2
Wood Sandpiper   1
Common Sandpiper   4
Sanderling   common on some beaches
Dunlin   c300
Ruff   1
Black-tailed Gull   several
Common Gull   fairly common
Vega Gull   fairly common
Slaty-backed Gull   3
Taimyr Gull   fairly common
Black-headed Gull  
Saunder's Gull   2
Feral Rock Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker   1
Bull-headed Shrike   several
Carrion Crow
Large-billed Crow
Great Tit   1
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola   3
Brown-eared Bulbul
Japanese Bush Warbler   many heard
Chestnut-cheeked Starling   2
White-cheeked Starling
Dusky Thrush
Blue Rock Thrush   2
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
White Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit   1
Buff-bellied Pipit   10+
Oriental Greenfinch
Meadow Bunting
Black-faced Bunting   4-8
Reed bunting   several

Additional species driving back
Varied Tit   1
Coal Tit   fairly common
Long-tailed tit   1 party
Japanese White-eye   several
Eurasian Wren   3 heard
Grey Wagtail   1

Mammals on the drive out
Sika Deer   c30
Japanese Marten   1
mouse sp   1

rostratula to numenius

Greater Painted Snipe can be found throughout the year in the south of Kansai, there can be post-breeding groups of 20-30 at Ogura. Though they may take some finding. During the breeding season they can be even trickier, very easily overlooked when scanning down the rows in the paddyfields.

A very typical view of a pair in the paddyfields at Ogura, 8 August 2013.

The gallinago snipe can all be found in the Kyoto area. Common can be found year round but is a common migrant and wintering species in the region, occurs in all wet areas from concrete lined drainage ditches to wet paddies and muddy river banks. As for the strictly migrant species, I usually look for them from the beginning of April to the first week of May so I'll limit my comments to that period. Pin-tailed is the least common and number seem very variable, there have been a couple of years when I saw good numbers but normally I'd be happy to see just one and I've had many blank years. Even though migrants can turn up anywhere, they seem to prefer flat riverside areas with varied, mainly low but patchy vegetation and wet spots, this is actually a very scarce and temporary habitat, dependant on how the riverside has been "managed". It's hard to generalise when there are so few moving through but they seem the fussiest when it comes to habitat. Swinhoe's and Latham's are both more common and they can be found on flooded fields but they are often in drier areas, grassy levee banks are good, any riparian habitat which isn't too overgrown. Whether the local authorities cut back any areas of riparian vegetation and the timing of the cutting plays a crucial role in how many snipe can be found along the rivers. Presumably they just pass straight over if they don't see suitable habitat.
These species pass through in autumn too but I'm usually focused on other areas at that time so don't know the best time to look, I did have a Swinhoe's in October (2013) this year which is probably later than most pass through.
Solitary Snipe is the other species which could possibly be seen in Kansai, there have been some well known returning birds each winter in the past. But there are also blank years, though it's quite possible birds go unnoticed on out of the way small rivers in the hills or even that information is suppressed. This definitely isn't the best part of the country to look for this one and more are seen further north.

I'm almost loathe to put photos up as I'm well aware of how much more difficult they are to identify from images than in the field where views from various angles, underwing pattern (from Common) and calls all help. But here are a few shots anyway.

Solitary Snipe.

An awful shot of a Pintail, Yonaguni April 2013. The wind was buffeting the car to such an extent it wasn't possible to improve on it even though the bird had been sitting in the middle of the road as I came along and was reluctant to move off onto the verge.

Pintail in a flooded Mie field, September 2014. This bird was longer-billed than many but the short tail, extensive flank barring and rusty fringe to the inner web of the lower scapulars are all pointers. It also had dark-barred underwing and very slight trailing edge to the secondaries.

Common in the same field, note the much longer tail and less extensive flank barring. This bird has more Pintail-like narrow and even width white edge to the outer webs of the lower scapulars as many far from all do. 

Common Snipe with broad and tapering fringe on the outer web of the lower scapulars with pale distally on the inner. Many Common don't show this pattern but I've never noticed any of the other species with this bold pattern.

Latham's April 2007 Yodo River Kyoto. Typical recently cut riparian habitat.

Swinhoe's (much small Common on right) 3 October 2013, Uji River, Kyoto. Like Latham's, it has a pale coverts panel but this doesn't contrast markedly with the scapulars, whereas Latham's is much blacker above producing a more obvious contrast.

Swinhoe's tend to be large-headed and are rather uniform brownish without strongly contrasting features. The orange tail patch is usually the only colourful plumage mark.

Latham's (right) and Swinhoe's April 2007 Yodo River, Kyoto.

Long-billed Dowitcher is a scarce migrant through Osaka but I've seen wintering parties not far away at the north end of Ise Bay. There are many rivers running into the Ise Bay so it's hardly surprising not all are built up, there's extensive agriculture abutting some creating a greater diversity of habitat  which can attract and support far more birds than the urbanised Yodo River, the only large waterway running through my area. Asian Dowitcher has occurred in Osaka a couple of times while I've lived here but it's a major rarity.

An awful videograb of Asiatic Dowitcher at Nanko, Osaka. As it's the only one I've ever seen I can resist posting it.

A wintering Long-billed Dowitcher near Nagoya. 

Long-billed Dowitcher coming into breeding plumage, Mie April 2014.

The two godwits, Eastern Black-tailed and Bar-tailed, are both reasonably common migrants and Bar-tailed can be present in large numbers in April along the banks of the lower Yodo River in Osaka. It's quite common in spring and autumn on the tidal flats in Mie. Black-tailed is far less numerous and seems very much a bird of pools near the coast - and there aren't many of them in the Osaka area. However I see Black-tailed quite often, in low numbers, in Mie.

Juvenile Eastern Black-tailed 1 September 2007, Matsusaka, Mie.

Winter plumage adults Yonaguni, 9 April 2013. Presumably females judging by those massive bills, even without direct comparison they have the feel of very large waders.

A 2CY male coming into breeding plumage, far more delicate than the birds above. 30 April 2009 Mishima, Nagasaki.

Juvenile Barwit at Pheonix, Hyogo, saddly this formerly great area has been fully reclaimed and lost as a top local site. 16 September 2007.

 

 Ok, cheating here, this shot is in Australia, but it's interesting to see the moulting adults and sharper juvenile, November 2012.

An small Bar-tailed Godwit with a down-kinked bill.

Breeding Bar-tailed Godwits in Mie, April.

Ogura isn't great for curlews. Whimbrel is the only one regularly passing through, flocks of 20 or so can stop off briefly, usually on levee banks if the grass is short enough. Otherwise their calls might draw attention to birds flying straight over. I once saw a group of three Far Eastern Curlew on flooded fields at Ogura but they didn't linger and also once a Little Whimbrel on dry fields.
Nanko in Osaka gets Eurasian Curlew and Far Eastern Curlew on a more regular basis but they aren't predictable. Mie, with much more suitable habitat, is better but even here there's no guarantee of seeing even one let alone both on any given day. Nevertheless there's a reasonable chance of seeing one or both in low numbers on the estuaries or mudflats.

Little Whimbrel is fairly rare in Japan. This one was on Tsushima, Nagasaki 29 April 2012.

A second bird joined it a day later and there was another on 1 May.

Whimbrel on Mishima, 2 May 2011.

Whimbrels with Eurasian Curlew, Mie 8 September 2008.

Eurasian Curlew, Mie 8 September 2009.

 

A good flight comparison of Eurasian and Far Eastern Curlew. Mie, 31 August 2014.

Far Eastern Curlew on Mishima, Nagasaki 3 May 2009. They are often distant on mudflats so it was great to see one so close.

As above.

Two shots showing upper- and underwing patterns, the bill of this bird is distinctly short. Mie 8 September 2013.

One of several birds with their famously enormous bills, 1 September 2013.

An immature Far Eastern on the same date to illustrate how vastly different bill size can be.