Common Ringed Plover and Red-necked Stints

I've only been out a handful of times during the last two or three months, mostly in Kyoto and Shiga forests but with a couple of trips to Mie recently now that the potential for good shorebirds is on the rise.


Yesterday's undoubted highlight was a Common Ringed Plover before the rising tide finally covered the last feeding areas for most wader species and they flew off to roost somewhere. I suppose Ringed Plover isn't rare enough to make a fuss of but I'm still way down in single digit sightings in Japan after all these years. So it's not to be sneezed at either. It was well worth getting sandblasted on the beach to get the shots as a new-sprung wind was being pulled ever more urgently to the south by yet another approaching typhoon.


I'd been at the same spot for the falling tide in the morning as the sun edged above the horizon, hoping to catch some waders in the softer morning light. It's surprising how infrequently optimal tides coincide with both my free time and, crucially of course, any birds actually being present at any suitable location; too many of the good wader spots will have you looking directly into a rising sun. Unfortunately this Terek Sand was the only bird that came close enough to allow any decent shots.

It was already quite hot so sitting on the wet sand didn't bother me in the least, the only problem was a small flock of Red-necked Stints were the only other birds using this area. There was a flock of Oystercatchers just behind me but they were barely recognisable even as birds against the glare of the horizon.

All the Stints were adults, juveniles haven't arrived yet, and getting reasonable shots of them was quite difficult for me (you'd think I'd be used to the camera by now) with half the bird in bright light, the other in deep shade.

This was by far the most advanced bird in terms of moult.

That's quite a stout bill on this one. A few feathers dropped but nothing new as yet, the only visible grey is from exposed feather bases rather than seasonal replacements. 

It should be obligatory for all stints/peeps to turn and show their feet like this...

...this one is a fail.

Same Stints, different beach. Not being a mad dog I could sit in the car here rather than go out in the midday sun. Quite prominent but not exceptional braces on this bird.

When Sanderling is mistaken for Red-necked it must always be when there are zero other waders around for comparison. The three Sanderling on the beach looked absolutely huge compared to the Stints.

After spending my time birding a few kilometres to the south I returned to the original estuary before the next high tide and immediately picked out my star-of-the-day Ringed Plover about 150m off the seawall. As I mentioned earlier the wind was really blowing now and many waders were sheltering below a steep sand ridge. while I, in search of cover, had to make do with the windward side of the ridge.

There were only about 20 Red-necked Stints here but no matter what I tried to photograph the Stints always contrived to get in the picture. I have Sand Plovers with Stints, Tattlers with Stints, Grey Plovers... Ruddy Turnstones... and here, bird-of-the-day, Common Ringed Plover.

The wing-bar just about shows through here.

The Ruddy Turnstones really loved this wash-up tree stump and were still probing into all those small bore holes when I left.

Just to tag on a few extra shots from a week earlier. These are of Grey Plovers on a beach about 20km to the south and again taken as the sun was just coming up.

Grey Plovers are quite common at the moment but they tend to stay way out on sand bars. I was able to catch these birds at high tide when most off-shore areas are under water.

And the sun is up!

This looks a very standard sort of GP to my eyes; hefty, deep-bodied, big-billed... dumpy but huge with it. It may not be as ungainly as a Greater Sand Plover but there's something a tad off about it. Were it a horse I dare say it would be more at home between the shafts of an old cart (rag'n'bone) than on the track. That said, take a look at the next bird on a different beach...

I think this bird has species issues; it probably feels it should have been hatched a Pacific Goldie (or American).

Common Ringed Plover and other waders on the beach

Waders have been on the move for a while but by mid-August things should be hotting up a little so I made my first autumn passage trip to Mie earlier this week and though I managed to see about 24 species numbers were low. In fact it took 12 hours before I found my first Dunlin.


The biggest surprise was finding a Common Ringed Plover. Or should it be that the biggest surprise is that it's taken so many years to find my first Mie Ringed Plover.

The Common Ringed Plover with Ruddy Turnstone, Terek Sandpiper and Lesser Sand Plover.

The Plover was very loyal to the same tiny spot on this short rocky stretch of beach (actually lumps of old concrete I think) but for some reason it was highly unpopular with the Lesser Sand Plovers which would often make a run at it as they passed by. There didn't seem to be any other interspecific harassment so I've no idea why it attracted so much hostility other than being the stranger in town.



Ruddy Turnstones are probably my favourite shoreline wader, still even more striking and attractively marked birds at this time of year.

This was the only Lesser Sand Plover more or less in full breeding plumage. Many still have varying amounts of reddish across the breast but the forehead markings are early lost to moult. So there's never much chance of finding an easy to identify atrifrons.

There were plenty of Grey Plover in the area but they tend to stay further out on sandbars as the tide drops. This was the only bird I saw that offered any kind of photographic opportunity.

Other tidal species I saw included Kentish Plover, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Sanderling and Red-necked Stint but none were close to get any decent shots. It's always something of a lottery birding along this coast as some spots tend to be better at different stages of the changing tides, unfortunately it isn't a linear progression along the coast as might be expected and inevitably means many areas are covered under less than optimal conditions. Personally I'm not the sit-and-wait type which, depending on the day, could be more productive. Of course at high tide there are also other habitats to check.

charadrius

Common Ringed Plover is scarce to rare in the region, they do occasionally turn up at Nanko Bird Sanctuary in Osaka and probably elsewhere. There's always the possibility that they aren't quite unusual enough to make the local news but I've only found one personally and that was just to the west of Kansai, in Shimane.

January 2009, Lake Shinji (Shimane). My one and only NRP.

Little Ringed Plover is a common summer visitor to Kansai and very common spring and autumn migrant. Wet fields, damp fields or even city centre car parks and building sites, it's the one of the most reliably found waders in the region.

A mid-April arrival at Ogura (Kyoto).

Post-breeding adult August 2013, Ogura (Kyoto).

Juvenile Mie, August 2011.

Semipalmated Plover is a major rarity in Japan, the bird below spent a winter near Nagoya.

The slight webbing isn't visible but the narrow white spur between lores and base of the upper mandible is the clearest indicator of its identity here. Other supportive features are the almost broken, narrow-centred breast band which is blacker than NRP (tundrae), and possibly the blacker forehead and paler coverts panel. 

A good view of the short, somewhat retrousse bill.

Semipalmated Plover early March 2007.

Long-billed Plover is another species common in Kansai but which can be less easy to find in other parts of the country. They breed and can be found year round on the Katsura River running through the western suburbs of Kyoto.

Long-billed Plover near the Uji River (Kyoto) 9 December 2012.

Long-billed Plovers on the Katsura River (Kyoto), note the unusually prominent white band behind the black forehead on the rear bird, 16 January 2011.

Adult with chick on the Katsura River (Kyoto), 24 April 2011.

Kentish Plovers become a common feature when I'm gulling on the lower Yamato River in Osaka during March. They remain common throughout summer in suitable breeding habitat.

This seems a late date for such a young bird, this was brought into focus with as there were as many newly arrived Sanderling as KPs on the beach, Mie 17 August 2011.

Three rather different-looking birds in a car park on Yonaguni 8 April 2013. The bird in the middle image in particular is very pale with a limited black forehead patch.

Lesser Sand Plover is common and easily found on passage at suitable coastal sites such as Nanko in Osaka and in Mie.

Adult Lesser Sand Plovers, Osaka 22 September 2007.

Juvenile Lesser Sand Plover, Osaka 22 September 2007.

Breeding plumage Lesser Sand Plovers, Yonaguni 8 April 2013.

Greater Sand Plovers are by no means rare but I normally only see one or two per migration season in Kansai.

Two Greater Sand Plovers together with the Lessers above. Unlike the Lessers these two show no sign of acquiring breeding plumage.

The final species in this posting, Oriental, won't be seen in Kansai and the following shots (8 April 2013) are of birds on Yonaguni, a famous location in Japan for the species.

Apparently this wasn't the best looking bird while I was on the island but it was certainly the best I saw. It's habit of walking under birders' cars could be frustrating if it were your own it sat under!

No apologies for more Oriental shots...