Two one-day trips to Hegura... part one

After bad weather has prevented me from getting out to the island on each recent occasion I've had the free time to go, the forecast finally looked promising for a sailing last Friday. After working till 8pm on Thursday I hurried home and prepared for the drive up to Wajima... by all accounts birding had been great on all the Japan Sea islands a few days earlier, but how much would still be there?


I arrived in Wajima later than usual so couldn't get in any local birding before heading for the ticket office, and once there it was pretty obvious the ferry was running. The car park was packed and nearby roads lined with birders' cars. This was the first time I've had to go to one of the big car parks across the river and walk back.


Once on the ferry I took the opportunity to grab some sleep rather than hang on the rail as there's often little more than Streaked Shearwaters to show for the effort. I find it difficult to get excited about this ferry route to be honest. The crossing was calm and the visibility encouragingly poor with the Japanese mainland quickly disappearing from sight, there might even be the odd new arrival.


I wasn't one of the first off the ferry for a change and was a little surprised to see a knot of people hurrying off towards the centre of the island and decided to follow just in case. It turned out they were headed for a Black-naped Oriole vigil so I dropped out of the race about half way but this quick march in that direction turned out for the best. Some way along the central track I heard a singing Rufous-tailed (Swinhoe's) Robin in the undergrowth to my left, a bird often heard but rarely seen on the islands in spring. Not 50 metres further I paused to check a Narcissus Flycatcher (there's always a chance of Yellow-rumped) lurking down a narrow cut into the sassa, where photographers will often display Olympian patience while tempting skulkers into the open with mealworms, and just below the Flycatcher another Rufous-tailed Robin hopped into my field of view! It posed on a stone for about three seconds then flitted into thick cover on the other side of the cutting. Three seconds... what a view! Though I've heard countless over the years this was only the second I've seen. What a great start to the day!


Yellow-browed Warblers were everywhere, fantastic little birds, but they can be tough to photograph. Sakhalin Leaf Warblers weren't far behind in number judging by all the calls but surprisingly I didn't hear a single Japanese Leaf Warbler. There weren't many Eastern Crowned Warblers around either but as they aren't as vocal as the other phylloscs present it's possible to underestimate their number. These are a few of the warbler shots I managed.

Radde's Warbler... one day there'll be a Yellow-streaked.

Radde's again, that bill looks brutal.

Radde's again.

Sakhalin Leaf.

Sakhalin Leaf.

Japanese Bush Warbler with three more shots below.

It might make a mystery photograph challenge but it's actually one of the few Eastern Crowned I saw that day.

Siberian Rubythroat can be hard to see let alone photograph, I had reasonable views of three birds while I was there.

Not everything was skulking in nature, quite a few things were happy to perch up. None more so than this rather out-of-place Cattle Egret...

This Brown Shrike stayed far enough away to prevent a medium-sized lens like mine making much of it, I should have brought my scope.

More heavily cropped and from a different position.

This bird is confusus I'd guess, but that looks like a black tail through the twigs. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken people's word for this being Brown.

A Bull-headed was more obliging, the Tiger Shrike present was far less so... I didn't even see it.

There are often Siskins on the island and they tend to be far more easily photographed than in the forests in Kyoto.

Female Siskin.

Before I knew it my time on the island was up and it was back to a crowded ferry. I was surprised how many of the same faces were heading back after day-tripping.


Originally my plan had been to head up the coast to the end of the peninsula the following day to see what might be about there. However the forecast insisted there would be heavy rain from midnight to well past dawn. I couldn't make up my mind what to do; if there was going to be filthy weather I'd rather be on flat Hegura than slithering on the steep slopes up the coast. The soles of my boots are worn smooth; I've been meaning to get new ones for ages but when there's a choice between birding and shopping there really isn't a choice at all. Because slithering means at least one eye on the terrain rather than looking for birds Hegura was clearly the better option but this only held true if the ferry sailed. Ultimately, after prolonged dithering, there wasn't enough time to get up the coast before first light so I had to hope the ferry was going. Which turned out very well indeed.

Brown Booby, Taimyr Gull, Daurian Jackdaw and a few other birds in Arasaki

After leaving Isahaya I drove round the bay overnight. My satnav insisted I take the Shimabara - Kumamoto ferry even though the last sailing was at 5:30pm; this is so irritating. It doesn't matter how often I explain to her something can't be done she just won't budge. Another example, my final evening I wanted to drive from Miyazaki to Kyoto she stubbornly held that the only way to go was ferry to Shikoku, drive across the island and use the Nishi Akashi bridge; again if I could have connected with a ferry this may have been the quickest way but there simply wasn't a ferry to catch.


I thought about dropping in to the reclaimed land at Tamana but checking the tide tables I decided to give it a miss and head straight to Yatsushiro. High tide was due at 10:30 so I thought this would provide an excellent opportunity to watch the birds getting pushed closer while the light wasn't too strong from directly across the estuary. As it things transpired there was an exceptionally high tide that morning and by just after 8am the mudflats were drowned and the birds gone. Before everything flew off there were good numbers of waders, plenty of Saunder's Gulls of course but the highlight was a Caspian Tern that dropped in very briefly. I saw three Caspians here last winter but this one was closer and still with an almost full black cap. Unfortunately I didn't get any shots of it due to photographer incompetence; he's gone just as soon as I can find a replacement.


The next stop was Arasaki with a plan to cover the whole area and the luxury of three nights in a hotel while doing it.

One of the highlights was a Brown Booby in Akune harbour. Though they are to be expected along this coast in winter this is the first time I've seen one here, it was great to watch it plunge diving in the harbour.

One of only two adult Daurian Jackdaws I saw at Arasaki and only three on the whole trip compared to 30-40 first winters.

Another bird in the same flock has a very prominent neck patch recalling Eastern Jackdaw. Pity it's dark-eyed!

First winter Daurian Jackdaw.

First winter Daurian Jackdaw.

A bird with much greyer underparts (more like juvenile plumage but presumably first winter unless some second winters don't look full adult?) and again with a prominent pale collar.

I only saw two first winter Taimyr Gulls in the area, this one lingered just long enough to get a few images.

These images are slightly lightened to show more plumage detail so the actual colour fidelity shouldn't be relied on. The primary window was darker when the wing was spread compared to the birds I typically see in Kansai. I have no idea whether it's possible to separate Taimyr and Heuglin's at this age or whether the darker window would have any significance. It's a pity this gull didn't hang around, I'd have loved to get a better view than just the couple of fly-bys before it wandered off from the river mouth.

Early each morning there were 13 Eurasian and three Black-faced Spoonbills in the same spot before they dispersed for the day.

Long-billed Plovers were easy to find inland along rivers but on the Arasaki fields, as you'd expect, Little Ringed was the only plover present. Eight was the biggest group I saw but they were dotted around the large expanse of fields.

Common Snipe.



Green Sandpiper.



Bull-headed Shrike.

minivets to Paradise Flycatcher

Ashy Minivet seems to be declining in numbers while Ryukyu is possibly expanding in range. In Kyoto city Ashy is a migrant and parties can sometimes be seen on the surrounding hills but it's much easier to find in the forested hills to the north or in the mountains of Nara and Wakayama. It is frequently heard and seen flying overhead and I'd be slightly surprised not to see them (or at least hear them) if I were spending a day in Ashyu Forest or the spine of the Kii Peninsular. However it's more difficult to get good perched views, a matter of being in the right place at the right time with such a mobile species. You can't go rushing off the trail in persuit on the steep-sided hills but on the other hand these steep slopes make it possible to get eye-level views of this canopy species. Ryukyu Minivet seems to be expanding into Kyushu but as far as I'm aware there has never been a record this far north. It's common in the Nansei Island forests and its habits are much like Ashy, it's more often seen flying overhead than perched, however I have seen them away from woodland in coastal scrub.

Female on Mishima, Yamaguchi 4 May 2008. Birds are reasonably common on the island and good views are a more regular event with good of access to the wooded hills. 

Female Mishima, Yamaguchi 3 May 2009. 

Male Ashy Minivet on the Noto Peninsular May 2014.

Male Ryukyu Minivet, one of a party a couple of kilometres from the nearest forest. Iriomote, 4 April 2013.

Bull-headed Shrike is very common in the region and in Kyoto it will be seen on any walk near  scrubby riparian habitat or arable land. They are early breeders and though quieter at this time they still perch prominently and are hard to miss. Outside the breeding season and their harsh calls are very much a feature of birding along the city's rivers.


Bull-headed is the only shrike that can be expected in the region, though several others turn up from time to time. A Great Grey wintered near Kyoto 2012/2013 and a Brown in Osaka the previous winter. Chinese Grey is a rare and irregular winter visitor to the Japan Sea side of the region. Other species are even less likely, Long-tailed is a rare winter visitor and Tiger, though a breeding species in Japan, is probably the most difficult species to see unless you happen to know a breeding site.

A breeding male, looking very bull-headed, along the Uji/Yodo River in Kyoto city, 10 April.

A breeding female along the Uji/Yodo River in Kyoto city, 15 April.

An immature on the Yamatogawa in Osaka, December.

A wintering male lucionensis Brown Shrike at Arasaki, Kyushu. Birds are more often seen as migrant in spring and autumn on the Japan Sea islands.

Brown Shrikes winter in the southern Nansei Islands, this one of several in heavy moult on Yonaguni in early April 2013. 

Japan's first Red-backed Shrike wintered in Shikoku (3 March 2007).

Isabelline Shrike on Hegurajima May 2014.

A wintering Great Grey Shrike in Kyushu, 2014/15.

A wintering Chinese Grey Shrike in Kyushu.

Black-naped Oriole is mainly seen as a spring migrant on the Japan Sea islands. Despite their bright colouration their habits make them very difficult to see, hence they're more often heard than seen on the larger forested islands. A pair may have bred at a site east of Kansai in 2013 but even there it was very difficult to see a bird. On smaller islands such as Hegurajima getting a decent views is far more likely.

A video grab of a bird on Hegura.

Drongos are rare in the region, Black and Ashy have both been recorded in recent years. Black is possibly increasing as a rare migrant in western Japan, I found three on Tsushima in 2012 and I heard of 3-4 others during that week.

A bird at the northern end of Tsushima 29 April 2012.

Two of a threesome at the southern end of the island on the same date.

Ashy Drongo, Hegurajima October 2014.

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher breeds in broadleaf forests in the region but is nowhere common. I see more migrants on the islands than in the region.

If I'd had a camera rather than digiscoping I'd have got some great shots of this obliging cliff-top spring migrant on Mishima.