Crested Ibis and Oriental White Stork

After the good Hegura trip of the previous post, I woke early and mostly freewheeled back to the base of the headland. Basically the area is going to get the same birds as Hegura but they'll be able to disperse further more quickly and many will be harder to find. As there wasn't a large number of migrants on the island yesterday, I wasn't expecting the trees and bushes to be dripping with them here. How right I was.

By 8:30 I'd covered a fair amount of ground and the only migrants to show for tramping up and down the hills under the already hot sun was a small group of turdus thrushes clucking as they melted away. One at least was Japanese. And down in the village there was a large flock of mainly Red-rumped Swallows but with a few Barn, at least one Sand Martin and three Pacific Swifts.

It was then my phone pinged and a text on Sunday can only be for a bird. Sure enough someone I emailed while waiting for dawn got back to say a Crested Ibis was watched just 16km away at Suzu yesterday. He didn't have more details, where exactly other than in fields, or how long it might have been there. But only 16km for a Crested Ibis was too good to miss.

To be honest I thought the Ibis was nailed-on. Coastal villages have squeezed into every fingernail of flat space the hills neglected and their small associated areas of paddies cling to the slopes or shoehorn into narrow valley bottoms - this Ibis is going to be easy. Just a 16km dash. I'd never been to the western side of the peninsular, or southern which would be more appropriate up here at the crook, so eagerly cut across the peninsular with the bird already half ticked, totally oblivious to the awaiting reality.

Suzu is a moderately-sized rural city set on a coastal plain, around it an ocean of paddies with an archipelago of low hills creating inlets, straits and any number of secluded coves. My heart sank. There were Intermediate Egrets and grey Herons dotted singly or in small groups but no Ibis. Even on the extensive open areas there were so many ditches to lurk in and overgrown bunds to hide behind this wasn't going to be as straight forward as I'd imagined and ultimately ended in failure.

This is the second Crested Ibis I've chased in Ishikawa which seemed and I suppose still seems an easier bet than going to Sado Island. If the birds are successful on Sado, it must only be a matter of time before they re-colonise this former stronghold.

Because there hadn't been many migrants at the point and the weather certainly wasn't conducive to new arrivals I decided to drift homewards and with my mind already shifted to introductions it was only natural that the Oriental White Storks in Shiga presented themselves as an acceptable alternative. I'd never been to look for these birds but had pretty good directions and knew the general area quite well.

After trawling round the fields and seeing big numbers of egrets and Grey herons I was getting a familiar sinking feeling and stopped to gather my thoughts. No sooner had I switched off the engine when a Stork came gliding over the village through the nearside window. Then another, and another. Success! These birds come with no ethical listing ambiguity, I'd seen two in Japan before the re-introduction programme began, I could just enjoy them for the spectacular birds they are.

And yes, that egret is Great White.

Grey Nightjar to Hoopoe

Grey Nightjar is a common breeding bird in mixed forests in the hills of northern Kyoto and Nara/Wakayama. They start singing just before dark and in favourite spots there's a reasonably good chance of seeing them flying round before dark and even on moonlit nights or after first light. They also have a habit of checking roads for roadkill insects not long after dark which can produce some good views. I've never seen one in Kyoto city but they must be widespread migrants through the area so there's always a chance.

A migrant in Osaka Castle Park, 26 April 2013.

Japan's three breeding swifts are all irregular in Kyoto. The two long distant migrants, Pacific and White-throated Needletail, must normally pass over unseen as they can suddenly appear during heavy showers only to disappear again just as quickly. They're as likely to be seen over the centre of Kyoto as anywhere else but sightings unrelated to sudden changes in weather are less common. House Swift isn't a regular breeder in this area but it certainly breeds much closer than the other two so it's perhaps surprising that it's by far the least likely of the trio to be met with here.

All the straight lines and sharp angles look as though they could have inspired stealth technology. Fitting for a bird that usually passes over unnoticed.

October migrant Pacific Swift in Ishikawa.

A single Dollarbird sighting is all I have to show for over 20 years birding in Kyoto. They breed to the west and are even common very locally, and they can be found further north too. I most often see them as spring migrants on islands off western Honshu, but even then they're anything but common.

Ruddy Kingfisher is common in mixed forests in the hills of Kansai many birds can be heard from daybreak and later in the day if misty or when raining but, unlike the far more obliging bangsi in the Nansei Islands, major is almost impossibly difficult to get good views of unless you know a nest site. A fly past is normally the best that can be hoped for.
Common Kingfisher on the other hand is remarkably common and I'm at a loss to know where they all breed! Growing up in the north east of England this was a near mythical species and even though I see them so often now, the novelty hasn't worn off. They can be seen on all Kyoto's rivers and even non-birders sometimes mention seeing one flying along the Kamogawa in the city centre.
Crested Kingfisher is widespread but a low density breeder along wooded rivers in the region, usually on more secluded stretches but they can move lower into the outskirts of towns in winter.

Poster girl for the concrete industry? This bird loved the random blocks in the river rather than the abundance of natural perches. Katsura River,  Kyoto city 25 October 2010.

There are invariably one or two birds in the botanical gardens where they are a favourite with photographers, this bird 15 March 2012. The fish was almost as long as the bird!

A male catching freshwater shrimp at Takaragaiike, 14 September 2012, its serrated tongue clearly visible. I love the raindrop uppertail coverts. 

I've only bumped into one Hoopoe in Kyoto and seen one or two others in Osaka. They are scarce, usually early spring migrants, though I can recall one wintering bird in Osaka, and they can turn up almost anywhere. Though scarce in this region they are more regular on southern islands in spring.

Quite regular on some islands such as Tsushima or in this case Mishima 30 April 2010. With the Hoopoe in focus, there's no way this shot was taken in Europe.

Reasonably common in the Yaeyama Islands, this a roadside bird while driving by. Iriomote 3 April 2013.