81 species on Hegurajima

81 species might not seem like a large total for five days birding but there are two mitigating facts: firstly five days sounds like far more than the just over 30 hours in the field that it boils down to and secondly as October progresses there isn't really the variety there was earlier in the season. It really can't compare to spring when you might be lucky enough to get that many in a day. So all told I was quite pleased with the birding, the absence of a tick being the only bugbear... after all the Siberian Accentor I still need isn't so much to ask for on Hegura at this time of year, is it?


The surprises big or small:-
   Zero Tristram's Buntings - I've never struck-out in October before, this is the 'island specialty' that isn't even so difficult to get on the mainland.


   The first trip (Oct 11-13) produced a small number of spodocephala Black-faced Buntings but no personata whereas on the two day trips (Oct 20 and 21) personata were very common and there were no spodocephala.


   Just a single Dusky Warbler but five Radde's. I don't think Radde's is nearly as rare as some people think but this tipped the scales further from general expectation as well as my own previous experience. There was also one unidentified Dusky/Radde's.


   A relatively large and growing flock of Temminck's Cormorants on rocks in the bay behind Wajima harbour, there were 26 birds when I left with more seen flying in later. There were two Great Cormorants in the harbour. I've never had this number of Temminck's along the coast here so perhaps this was a pre-typhoon gathering... the fishing boats were doing much the same the following day.

The only Radde's Warbler that stayed in the open long enough to get a couple of shots off. It seemed like I was the only person connecting with Radde's which was becoming a bit embarrassing, I don't want to get a reputation for stringing Radde's and I'm tempted to keep quite in future. I got on to all five birds (and the lone Dusky) because of the call, I was 25-30 metres past this one when I heard it. Don't other people hear them? Some birders might be too busy chatting and perhaps the photography specialist don't know the calls which could give the impression that they're a rarity.

And with a flash of undertail coverts, it was gone. Back into the depths of the undergrowth.

Black-faced Bunting E.s.spodocephala

I'd say it has to be an adult male with these underlying markings.

A nice shot of the nominate tail pattern.

Staying with buntings...

Rustic

Pine

Little

Yellow wagtails are a favourite of mine, any taxon will do... which is just as well at this time of year.

Like Dusky Thrush, Naumann's tends to perch in the open so it's much easier to assess numbers compared the other thrushes. Naumann's is definitely a very scarce bird, personally I've never seen more than one per autumn.

This first winter male spent a day hanging round the harbour.

The following birds are definitely not scarce...

There were huge numbers of Eurasian Siskin earlier in the month, slightly fewer later, and they occupied all habitats from the shoreline to woodland. Their small size in short coastal vegetation could be quite a distraction when looking for skulkers.

Eurasian Siskin

Bramblings were equally common, equally catholic in their choice of habitat and equally tame. Fortunately their larger size made them more obvious and less of a distraction... other than them being great looking birds.

Olive-backed Pipits are ever-present.

Finally some of those early morning Temminck's Cormorants congregating on inshore rocks in Wajima...

As a footnote, there's quite a lot of infrastructure work taking place on the island, it's strange to have dumper-trucks running round all over the place and to see this barge ferrying materials to the island.

The final load coming across before the typhoon was due to arrive the following day. This was the calmest I'd seen the sea all month.

And a very subjective and unscientific approach to listing all species during the sum of the observation periods:-
Japanese Quail   1
Greater White-fronted Goose   2
Mandarin Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Eurasian Teal
Tufted Duck
Streaked Shearwater
Grey Heron
Great White Egret   1
Temminck's Cormorant
Peregrine   3
Black Kite
Japanese Sparrowhawk   1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk   at least two, it's never easy to estimate numbers for such a mobile species but I saw two together circling with the Goshawk early one morning.
Northern Goshawk   1
Common Coot   3
Pacific Golden Plover   2
Grey-tailed Tattler   1
Common Snipe   7
'Swintail' Snipe   1
Black-tailed Gull
Vega Gull
Slaty-backed Gull
Black Woodpigeon
Oriental Turtle Dove
(one racing pigeon with full bling)
Ashy Drongo   1
Bull-headed Shrike   4
Rook   12
Large-billed Crow
Coal Tit
Skylark
Brown-eared Bulbul
Japanese Bush Warbler
Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler   1
locostella sp   1
Black-browed Reed Warbler   1
locustella/acro sp   1
Radde's Warbler   5
Dusky Warbler   1
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler   in large numbers mid-month, small numbers later
Yellow-browed Warbler   3 all heard only
Japanese White-eye   common later in the month
Goldcrest  1 mid-month became one of the commonest birds later
Eurasian Wren   1
White-cheeked Starling   2
Siberian Thrush   1
White's Thrush   2
Japanese Thrush   2
Eyebrowed Thrush
Pale Thrush
Naumann's Thrush   1
Dusky Thrush
Stejneger's Stonechat
Blue Rock Thrush
Red-flanked Bluetail
Daurian Redstart
Grey-streaked Flycatcher
Brown Flycatcher
Narcissus Flycatcher   1
Mugimaki Flycatcher   2
Taiga Flycatcher   1 heard
Taiga/Red-breasted Flycatcher   1 (possibly the same bird as above)
Yellow Wagtail   2
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Buff-bellied Pipit   2
Pechora Pipit   1
Brambling
Eurasian Siskin
Oriental Greenfinch
Hawfinch
Japanese Grosbeak
Pine Bunting   2
Meadow Bunting   2 on the 11th
Chestnut-eared Bunting   2
Little Bunting
Yellow-browed Bunting   1
Rustic Bunting
Elegant Bunting  
Black-faced Bunting
Grey Bunting   1

Eastern Yellow Wagtails in winter

I dug out an old copy of 'British Birds' with a short paper on the occurrence of Eastern Yellow Wagtail in Britain recently. Eastern was added to the British list on the strength of two first-winter specimens collected on Fair Isle in 1909 and 1912. Genetic analysis of the two specimens showed the earlier bird was indeed of eastern origin but that the 1912 bird was not. While classification of the many subspecies(/species) of Yellow Wagtail has seen significant changes over the last 100 years, field identification is still fraught with difficulty. Even aging the things in the field can be difficult.


Alstrom and Mild's 'Pipits and Wagtails of Europe, Asia and North America' (which sadly I don't own) would be the best ready reference and starting point to attempt to sort out any yellow wagtails in the field. Oh to find a Western in Japan! But as I struggle to identify the eastern taxa in all but spring breeding plumage, I'm not holding my breath. That last sentence may suggest spring birds are easy... well, up to a point. There's always the question as what is acceptable variation and what might suggest hybridization.


One of the highlights of a winter Kyushu trip is seeing a few non-breeding Eastern Yellow Wagtails. I see plenty of taivana and tschutschensis in spring on Japan Sea islands (the further west the better) and a single putative macronyx. However non-breeding plumages are more of a challenge to say the least. Starting from scratch I had no idea what I was looking at and though I wish I could say I've made progress over the last three winters I can't. Nevertheless patterns are emerging. Not that emerging patterns mean I know what the race/gender/age individuals are with any certainty, just that there are... patterns. And because of this repetition it's safe to say they're Eastern... hardly a revelation.


I'm uncertain about the status of Eastern Yellow in Kyushu in winter, obviously they winter there but I don't know how widespread they are. They have been easy to find each year on the fields at Isahaya but I've only seen one in about six days birding at Arasaki. I didn't see any at Tamana over two days spent there despite it being very good for pipits with three species present on the fields, or on the much smaller area of fields at Yatsushiro despite four visits during the three winters. Not exactly a comprehensive study! Nevertheless Isahaya stands head and shoulders above any other sites I've visited and I wonder what suitable areas along the north coast might be like.


The images below were all taken during the last week of December or first week of January since the end of 2014. All look good for taivana though one bird does stand out as being a little odd.

Bird 1. Anything with yellow in the supercillium surely has to be taivana. With extensive yellow on the underparts, greenish upperparts plus those evenly worn and narrowly tipped greater coverts I might push the boat out and boldly claim an adult male. I'm uncertain whether there's any significance in the all dark bill, at one time I had thought a pale base to the lower mandible might indicate a young bird but there appears to be huge variation, from all-dark to dark-tipped. Note the longest tertial looks fresh while the upper two are worn.

Bird 1. On the left side the middle tertial has also been replaced and two or three median coverts have been dropped.

Bird 1. A view from the rear clearly shows the difference between the old and replaced central tertial.



Bird 1. The cleaner white throat contrasting with brownish-grey breast and flanks seems typical.



Bird 1

I think that bird is about as straight forward as it gets, beyond this it's not exactly a quagmire but the ground gets progressively less firm under foot.

Bird 2. It's got to be another taivana due to the yellow supercillium and another adult I'd guess because of that yellow and the narrowly tipped, even greater coverts. Does the lack of yellow below (it's restricted to small areas on the lower throat, centre breast and vent sides) indicate female or is there too much individual variation to read anything into the duller underparts? This bird has a pale base to the lower mandible and cutting edge so if it is an adult then pale or lack thereof of the lower mandible isn't any indication of age. This bird has a very dark forehead and fore-crown to go with the lore and cheeks.



Bird 2

Bird 2

Bird 2. Little more than a hint of yellow on the underparts.

Bird 2. Asymmetric tertial moult again, the longest feather on the left side has been replaced.

Bird 3. Another adult taivana, like the first bird, it has extensive yellow on the underparts but the non-yellow areas are cleaner and less grey similar to the previous bird. Also the centre of the ear coverts is paler, slightly hollowed out as with Citrine, and the lores are less dark with just a darker spot before the eye. This bird has a whitest supercillium with just a slight greenish-yellow tint. Again the upperparts are greenish and the greater coverts narrowly fringed and tipped. The lower mandible is more extensively pale with just a dark tip. 



Bird 3



Bird 3

Bird 4. Yet another with extensive yellow on the underparts, it looks similar to the first bird.

Bird 4. Distinct yellow in the supercillium and narrowly tipped greater coverts. Is there a moult contrast visible in the greater coverts? It's difficult to tell in this poor image and the one below but as far as I'm aware this shouldn't be the case in adult birds.



Bird 4. The upperparts look greyer but the rump and uppertail coverts are distinctly green.

The next bird is the only bird I've seen a little further south at Arasaki. It was more distant, across a river, and because I didn't have my scope at hand to check details I felt this was a strikingly grey and white bird compared to the Isahaya birds. However after checking the images it clearly has distinct greenish tints across the crown and upperparts, even the extensively yellow throat didn't stand out in the field.

Bird 5. This bird had a strikingly grey and white appearance in the field, even the yellow throat didn't stand out, though the light was already going very quickly when I found it.

Bird 5

Bird 5

There are some constants here, such as the greenish upperparts and the narrowly tipped greater coverts whereas the extent of yellow below and on the supercillium is highly variable, as is the extent or even presence of pale on the lower mandible. However if my estimation that these are adults is correct, where are the first winter birds? Am I mistaken or are there fewer young birds wintering in Kyushu? None of these birds match the grey and white first-winters that catch the eye as potential Eastern Yellow in a European context.


The next three birds seem a far better fit for first winters; paler grey and white overall, each with a bold greater coverts bar due to prominent white tips. The first of the two seems an obvious example to my untrained eye, I didn't get good views of the second and the third bird is a little odd in that it shows more green on the upperparts than I'd expect and it's the only bird I've seen which is either actively moulting its tail or has suspended moult leaving an untidy state of re-growth.

Bird 6. A cleaner, colder individual with the merest hint of yellow below the throat and on the vent sides.

Bird 6. Very grey and white, there's just a hint of yellowish at the side of the vent and a bold greater coverts bar.

Bird 6. Very clean underparts, no yellow in the supercillium.

Bird 7. I don't think I should even try to age this bird with the little I know about the subject.

Bird 7. The central tail feathers are very worn, the outers look less so but the quality of the images isn't good enough to be sure of anything.

Bird 7. The upperparts looked greenish at times but grey at others, blowing the image up there seems to be a mix of grey and greener-tinted feathers on the mantle, the uppertail coverts don't seem uniformly grey either. There's a green tint supralorally and clearer green in the ear coverts. I don't have any suitable images which could show whether there's a moult contrast in the greater coverts.

Bird 8. Very broad tips to the greater coverts here and basically a plain grey and white bird. There is a definite green cast on parts of the head and mantle, as well as greater covert and tertial fringes. It gives the impression of being a tips/surface feature which could wear off leaving the bird greyer and whiter however as a juvenile shouldn't show any green (too my knowledge) that doesn't seem a plausible explanation.  



Bird 8

Bird 8. The tail is at a strange and untidy stage of growth.

Finally a couple of very poor images of a bird which doesn't quite sit comfortably within this series but as it also appears to have some yellow in the supercillium when the images are blown up I presume it must also be taivana.

Bird 9. This bird stood out because of its very dark mask and contrasting supercillium as well as having the greyest and most thrush-like breast of any of the birds I've seen to date.

Bird 9. Unfortunately because of distance and angle to the light it isn't possible to be sure of details and it may simply be this that enhances a somewhat different impression.  

Black Storks and Yellow Wagtails, Isahaya Bay

As I already posted, Booted Warbler was the star bird yesterday. But far from the only bird.

I arrived at the expanse of fields at about 10am and drove down the central road to the seawall to get a feel for the area. I didn't really expect to connect with the Storks on the way across, but it would have been nice. I was at a loss even where to start looking and a systematic approach might not be the best option with a potentially mobile target. But luck was on my side and after an hour, almost out of my search area towards the south, I caught site of a Stork flying off in the distance. It landed atop a utility pole and fortunately stayed there as a landmark while I made my way towards it. As I approached it dropped down onto the fields where I realised the other bird had been all along. I would never have found the birds at that location had I not seen one drop in, it really was amazing good luck to have been facing the right way to glimpse the distantly flying bird. A truck flushed them onto utility poles not far off as the Stork flies but it was some minutes before I could make my way dog-legging across the fields and bridging the levees across the flood gates. It was well worth it!

I'd almost forgotten I was in crane country but noisy flock of 33 Hooded Cranes crossing the fields was a reminder of what a great place Kyushu is for birding, though some birds, like this beautiful, very pale Merlin, I can see in Kyoto.

Hooded Cranes

The most productive location I found was an old maize field that was being cut. A huge flock of Rooks drew attention to it and though there were no hoped for Daurian Jackdaws with them there were plenty of other birds gathered around the rapidly shrinking stand of withered crop. About 50 European Starlings were easy to see, others less so. A Japanese Quail flushed by the harvester was totally unexpected.

Starlings perched in the final row of maize, everything was gone within 30 minutes of my arrival.

While the Quail was a surprise, it was nothing to the shock of finding the Booted Warbler of course and I can't resist posting a couple more shots of it.

There were also about 200 Buff-bellied Pipits and the same number of White Wagtails attracted to the feast. Though the only Red-throated Pipit I had was a bird calling overhead earlier in the day. There weren't any unusual White Wagtails as far as I could see but three Yellow Wagtails were far more exciting.


These are possibly the only winter Yellow Wagtails I've seen in Japan and it was interesting to see how much they differed, one very dark, another extensively yellow below and the third a pale grey individual.

Two shots of the dark bird with a very dark mask and almost thrush-like breast.

I only saw this bird briefly, it was much greener above and yellower below.

A very grey individual with greenish mainly restricted to the ear coverts but with some on the crown and mantle while pale yellow was limited to the throat.

As the afternoon wore on several Racoon Dogs came up onto the roadside and it was distressing to see how badly they're suffering with mange.

List of birds seen:-
Japanese Quail   1
Green Pheasant   1
Common Shelduck   1
Mandarin Duck   c50 on a reservoir en route to Isahaya
Eurasian Wigeon   100+
Mallard   common
Eastern Spot-billed Duck   common
Eurasian Teal   9
Common Pochard   common
Little Grebe   5
Great Crested Grebe   2
Black Stork   2
Grey Heron   several
Great White Egret   c5
Little Egret   10+
Pacific Reef Egret   1 en route
Great Cormorant   several
Eurasian Kestrel   4-5
Merlin   2
Osprey   several
Black Kite   several
Eastern Marsh Harrier   3-5
Hen Harrier   2
Eastern Buzzard   1
Moorhen   several
Common Coot   several
Hooded Crane   33
Northern Lapwing   c45
Common Snipe   1
Green Sandpiper   3-4
Rock Dove
White-bellied Green Pigeon   1 heard en route
Oriental Turtle Dove   fairly common
Common Kingfisher   5-10
Bull-headed Shrike   5-6
Rook   c500
Carrion Crow   fairly common
Large-billed Crow   several
Great Tit   1
Long-tailed Tit   a party en route
Japanese Skylark   common
Brown-eared Bulbul   fairly common
Japanese Bush Warbler   1 heard
Booted Warbler   1
Japanese White-eye   several
White-cheeked Starling   several
European Starling   50+
Pale Thrush   common
Dusky Thrush   fairly common
Daurian Redstart   common
Eurasian Tree Sparrow   common
Eastern Yellow Wagtail   3
Grey Wagtail   1
White Wagtail   very common
Japanese Wagtail   1
Red-throated Pipit   1 heard
Buff-bellied Pipit   common
Brambling   80-100
Oriental Greenfinch   several
Japanese Grosbeak   1 heard en route
Meadow Bunting   several
Black-faced Bunting   several
Reed Bunting   fairly common