Middendorff's(?) Grasshopper Warbler on Hegurajima

Spring migrants should all have completed their journeys by now, any that haven't are potential megas waiting to be found. It's therefore time to reflect on the good birds I did see (Thick-billed Warbler), those I didn’t (Redwing and Chinese Blackbird) and what I might have... and to that end, I do have a ‘funny’ locustella warbler that has been bothering me ever since I came across it on a day trip to Hegurajima on 9 May.

Despite some unresolved questions about its appearance at the time, I concluded it had to be a Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler before heading for the ferry. Once back home I looked through my iffy images which only amplified my confusion.

I first saw it in bright sunlight clinging to the outside of a clump of pampas grass in one of the harbour-front ‘gardens’ as I was drifting towards the waiting ferry. My instinctive reaction was Oriental Reed Warbler, not only did it seem large and long-tailed but it had the uniform light-brown upperparts you might expect from first glance of a brightly sunlit Oriental Reed. Before I got the bins on it, it flew into deep shade and tangled vegetation at the foot of the steep slope next to a house. That might have been the end of it as I wasn’t going to spend much time trying to get a better view of an Oriental Reed when my four and a bit hours on the island was all but up. However, I caught a glimpse of it creeping around on the ground and waited a little longer. I managed to see bits of it as it crept under or clambered through lower stems; enough bits to realize it wasn’t an Oriental Reed.

It was 30 metres away in deep shade and frequently obscured by vegetation, I couldn’t make out much detail but quickly checking through shots on the back of the camera I could see white tips to the longest tail feathers and concluded it must be a Middendorff’s, although I was a bit puzzled by my initial impression of it being large and long-tailed.

The bird’s appearance has niggled ever since. My thoughts then turned to the size and structure seeming better suited to Styan’s, which I've never seen on Hegura, while the plumage leans to Middendorff’s without it being quite what I’d expect. However, lightly streaked locustella with white tips to the tail has to be either a Styan’s or Middendorff’s, that much is straight forward, but which, and from which population?

I see plenty of Middendorff’s on Hegura in autumn (even the odd ones in Kyoto city), particularly autumn juveniles, which aren’t really relevant in terms of plumage but it’s been many years since I’ve had good views of spring Middendorff’s, which effectively means I have zero experience. This might be partly responsible for me thinking the plumage looks a bit ‘off’. Nevertheless, plumage aside, Middendorff’s always strike me as well proportioned, somewhat lightly-built, with a relatively fine bill and a shortish tail, unlike this bird. I can see my ‘local’ population of Styan’s throughout summer, from fresh arrivals in May to worn and faded birds in August. They’re a stronger-looking warbler with a deep bill and a longer, broader tail, matching the Hegura bird to an extent, but in terms of plumage they’re peas from the same pod (apart from the extent and saturation of greyish-brown wash on the underparts) and nothing like the Hegura bird.   

It’s tempting to leave it as Middendorff’s/Styan’s. However, the intriguing possibility of identifying a subcerthiola Middendorff’s or a ‘continental’ Styan’s prevents me from quite letting this go. Kennerley (Reed and Bush Warblers) describes subcerthiola as larger than ochotensis and northernmost birds as a match for Styan’s in size. Could this account for my feeling this was a large bird?  I have no idea whether subspecies are identifiable in the field so it seems a bit of a stretch.

 Things which to me don’t seem to sit well with the Middendorff’s indentification:–

Structurally, this was a large, heavily-built warbler with a very deep bill and a long, broad tail which never suggested it could possibly be neatly rounded if spread; the tail was like a plank!

At no time did I see the usually fairly obvious whitish edge of P2, nor can I detect it in any of the images I have.

Things that don’t seem to sit well with anything:–

The tail structure looked odd. T1–2 were broad and surprisingly squared-off, further, instead of having evenly spaced T3–6 with T6 about level with the tips of the undertail coverts, this bird T5–6 bunched closely together and well past the undertail coverts. Additionally, it lacked both cross barring and white tips to the underside of the tail feathers. As it was possible to detect subtle whitish undertail covert tips on a pale ground, any tail markings should have been fairly easy to make out even in these views, I would have thought. Only T1–2 had white tips, narrowly on the former and more prominently on the latter.

The sides of the throat and the upper breast were heavily streaked, the sides of the breast were grey and met in the centre as a mottled grey breast band producing a clear divide between the white throat and yellowish underparts. Prominent breast streaks and yellowish tints might be expected in juveniles but not in spring birds I wouldn't have though, certainly not to this extent. Even then, the yellowish hues of juveniles are more centred on the throat rather than the underparts.

An important point to stress is that assessing plumage details both in the field and in these images was/is tricky because the bird was constantly moving between strong sunlight and deep shade, it was often dappled and rarely in good viewing conditions. In strong sunlight the upperparts looked uniformly pale brown but in light shade the bird was a much darker brown with greyish nape and cheeks and with clear dark centres to crown and mantle feathers creating a subtly streaked appearance. There's a suggestion in one or two images that the rump/uppertail coverts might be slightly paler than the mantle but I didn't notice that in the field and am therefore unsure about this point.

One thing which may or may not be of relevance is that looking through the Macaulay Library images of Middendorff’s dated early May, there were two images that caught my eye but neither showed the whole bird so I don't know whether they were really similar but in each the bird shown has a very streaked throat and both these images were taken in the ROK in early May. Is this coincidental? I’d have assumed the most northerly breeding locustella would be arriving at a later date? How much fresher-looking are early May birds compared to a month later? More questions than answers. 

First some shots of my local Styan's Grasshoppers for comparison.

It always seems sunny when I go so a shot in duller conditions is good. Strong, deep-based bill and relatively long tail are apparent. This late June bird is already looking a bit tatty about the vent/undertail coverts.

They are very plain-looking birds (this early June) but have a strong bill and quite long tail extending well beyond the longest undertail coverts. 

The undertail cross-barring and evenly-spaced white tips should be equally obvious on Middendorff's I'd have thought.

And a couple of mid-October Middendorff's...

To me, this would is a fairly typical Middendorff's, dainty, spiky bill and short, rounded tail.

Despite the foreshortening at this angle, the tail gives a rounded impression, fitting well with the full undertail coverts.

And the bird in question...

That's quite a bill its got, more in the Gray's/Sakhalin class. Bold throat streaking extends diffusely onto the flanks.

It was only in good light (ie shade but not too deep) that head and mantle streaks became apparent. I don't think the pale tip to the bill means anything but it was always noticeable.

This is what I mean by 'tail like a plank', long, broad and straight. There's a hint of contrasting uppertail coverts here.

This shows the narrow white tips of T1 and broader tips of T2.

I almost feel I'm trying to identify a SE Asian bulbul rather than a locustella. The undertail is remarkably uniform and the spacing of the feathers looks very odd; this is never going to produce a short, rounded effect if spread. Yellowish tinted underparts are strange too.

Why is the almost hidden photo-bomber in focus?! The grey sides of the breast meet in the centre creating a clean divide between the white throat and yellowish underparts.

Birding would be so boring if everything was easy.

Hegurajima: October 11th-13th

My second two-night stay on Hegura this month (October 2018), and ride of place on this trip has to go to Siberian Accentor; a lifer. For some reason I always failed to see this species, even when there have been several on the island, even when they've been nailed-on from the window of my accommodation(!), they simply don't show for me. Or haven't until now.

Got it!!!

The Accentor aside, my best bird of the trip was a Pallas's Leaf Warbler simply because I haven't seen one for ages and they look fantastic. Fantastically difficult to photograph too. Other warblers proved less trying.


This 1st autumn Middendorff's didn't exactly sit-up but I can put the pieces together from the following images.

A warbler that really did give itself up was this Black-browed Reed on freshly mown grass...

It's not only wader that can have misleadingly dirty bills.

Another Black-browed Reed, this one required patience to see.

Interesting to compare the wing structure of these two; the point being formed by p3 in the case of the first bird with fairly evenly spaced feathers and p4 in the second with bunched feathers. I think to be able to see things like this is the beauty of having a camera. Without it I'd never have noticed this difference, not least because I wouldn't even have been looking for it.

The first bird with p3 clearly the longest and fairly evenly spaced feathers through 3-10.

The second bird, showing p4 as the longest primary with quite different p3-6 spacings.

Marsh Grassbird to acros

Marsh Grassbird used to be a scarce winter visitor to Ogura when I first arrived in Kyoto but it no longer seems to occur. There used to be 3-4 Japanese Reed Bunting each winter in the same area too but I haven't seen one for over 15 years. Given their similar breeding range and habitat it's interesting that both should drop off the local birding map.

Marsh Grassbird display flight, Hotokenuma, Aomori, 7 August 2009.

It was a pleasant surprise that such a localised species was so numerous at Hotokenuma.

Asian Stubtail is quite a common breeder on the hills around Kyoto. It's a forest floor skulker but not shy and can be easily call in.

A poor shot of a migrant Asian Stubtail on Mishima, Yamaguchi. 1 May 2010.

Japanese Bush Warbler is a very common species in and around the city. I've yet to see Korean Bush Warbler here but I have seen ssp borealis on Hegurajima in October so they certainly could occur. I've also heard singing Cettia c. canturians (Manchurian Bush Warbler) on Mishima in spring.

Japanese Bush Warbler in the Kyoto botanical gardens, 3 February 2013.

The nominate race diphone on Chichijima, Ogasawara. A potential split.

Korean Bush Warbler C.c.borealis on Yonaguni, early April 2013.

Pleske's Warbler is the only locustella breeding in Kansai, on islands off the Kii Peninsular. Others are possible on migration, Lanceolated has occurred in Osaka Castle Park for example and I've seen a Middendorff's at Ogura, but none should be expected.

Some years quite a number of Middendorff"s pass through Hegurajima and sometimes just sitting in the undergrowth is enough to get reasonable views. 10 October 2010.

Middendorff's on Hegurajima, 14 October 2013.

Pleske's Warbler, Wakayama, July 2007. The bill is obviously much larger than that of Middendorff's.

Pleske's Warbler, Wakayama, 23 June 2013.

Oriental Reed Warbler is the only breeding acrocephalus in Kansai and it's common in suitable habitat. I once heard about six Black-browed Reed Warblers singing in May at a site near Kyoto city and more recently a summer bird at Lake Biwa.

Oriental Reed Warbler at Ogura, Kyoto city, 3 May 2004.

Oriental Reed, Mie 14 August 2014. 

Oriental Reed, Lake Biwa 7 June 2014.

Breeding Black-browed Reed Warblers at Hotokenuma, Aomori, 7 August 2009.

Migrant Black-browed Reed Warbler on Hegurajima, 7 October 2011.

Hegura October 10th-14th

10th October
This was our first morning without a typhoon hammering at the windows and though the forecast was for rain the sky looked quite promising. As birds had been making landfall yesterday we set off with high hopes and by about 07:00 the sky was clearing and the wind, initially from the north, gradually moved into the north west.

A pre-breakfast walk around the north end of the island produced our first Siberian Stonechat, Rustic Bunting numbers were clearly up and I pulled back Elegant Bunting that Gordon had seen yesterday. Two Black Terns were still flying round and still attracting a lot of pointless attention from the Peregrines.

Saddly for Gordon the sea was sufficiently calmed for the ferry to be opperating again so his time was cut shorter than he'd wished. He had no excuse not to be on the quay in Wajima to meet his waiting family in the afternoon. So the pressure was on him to find something good before the ferry departed at 3pm. There certainly were new birds arriving but it really wasn't until close to his departure time that things picked up. He had a Great Spotted Woodpecker and I had a Pigmy, there were 4-5 Daurian Redstarts where there had been none, more Siberian Stonechats put in an appearance, there was a Rubythroat and half a dozen Blue and White Flycatchers. No big rares, but an unexpected Korean Bush Warbler was an island first for me and as I write a Black-crowned Night Heron is calling over the minshyuku bringing today's total to 44 species and the trip to 63.


                                                                     The first of many.

11th October
The wind started from the north west this morning, it was darkly overcast and there had already been heavy rain. In front of the minshyuku I found three Middendorff's Warblers, and one Black-browed, a Rubythroat and a Little Bunting. Siskin and Rustic Bunting numbers had swollen dramatically and I witnessed a Northern Sparrowhawk and five Grey Herons come off the sea before breakfast. Things were looking good. But before long torrential rain set in, stair-rods with 10cm high splash back misting above the concrete path, thunder banded and rumbled and the relative calm of a brisk northerly transformed into a howler from the south. The ferry was going nowhere yet again so Gordon made the right call in leaving yesterday.

I plodded round for a while but there comes a point, be it on the landlocked local patch or a high profile migration hot spot, where you have to acknowledge that if your aim is to fine birds and the weather is making that impossible, then you may as well be doing something else. I came back to the minshyuku at about 11am to sit it out and here I am still sitting writing this. This is more like a typhoon than the typhoon!

Things did improve, the rain became bins birdable by 2:30. No tripod, scope or camera: old school. New birds for the trip were Osprey, Dark-sided Flycatcher, which I always think of as a surprisingly scarce migrant, and a Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler. Also of interest was another Korean Bush Warbler which, despite being in a different area from yesterday's bird from a birders perspective, was only about 200m away as the bush warbler clambers. Nevertheless it looked a bit smaller and less bright so perhaps it could have been a female.

With five new trip birds today the total edged up to 68. As I write a Japanese Oak Silk Moth has just banged into the minshyuku door and tatty as it may be, it doesn't look too bad considering the weather it's had to fly through.


                                          
                                                    


12th October
It's 05:15 and I'm waiting for birding light over an instant coffee. The marine forecast is predicting a 45Kt westerly for the day, less severe than yesterday but enough to ensure there'll be no ferry again today. Looking on the bright side it's another day of not tripping over photographers or dipping on other people's birds. But more importantly, though I get to Hegura almost every October, I can't remember a time I've had a strong and sustained westerly originating in Asia.  There has to be something good today!

The day started overcast, but despite my high hopes a Common Kingfisher on the Dragon Pond was the only evidence of new arrivals in the morning.


                                               Most cuckoos pass through brfore October.

There were sudden showers between long sunny spells in the afternoon and movement was more apparent on the windward side. A Kestrel passed straight through, there was a cuckoo on the coastal path, a conspicuous White-cheeked Starling on the lighthouse wires and a Greater White-fronted Goose flew south before doubling back to settle on the harbour 'waste ground'. The real surprise was to flush a scops owl from the trackside near the south end at 4pm. So, things were happening but nothing to really set the pulse racing. There must be more I haven't connected with yet.

Other birds Gordon had seen that I managed to catch up with today were Great Spotted Woodpecker, White's and Eye-browed thrushes hauling the total up to 78.

13th October
The day began with the wind still in the west, no longer so strong but the direction and duration were encouraging. With conditions as they'd been I thought the central path might be the best bet to find a skulker in the open first thing. A sparrowhawk with a Pale Thrush on the path proved I had the right idea, I was just a little slow getting there. I can't complain, it was satisfied with a Pale Thrush, I'd have wanted something better.


                                                                    The early bird.


I'd never bother with breakfast on other islands, a waste of precious birding time, but on Hegura the minshyuku is in one of the birdiest locations on the island and always worth giving another look. This morning was no different with a European Starling on the wires right outside the door and stepping back outside a Japanese Sparrowhawk dashed by. There were four vociferous Yellow-brows and a couple of Little Buntings around too.


                                                    Yellow-brows were fairly common.


                      Geese that don't pass straight through usually end up by the harbour.

The area was suddenly awash with Daurian Redstarts. Ever the optimist, there really had to be something good... !

Well, there wasn't and today was disappointingly quite.

The ferry ran today and a boat-load of birders piled onto the island. The island had gained a few new birds, most noticably the Daurians which are in anycase expected in good numbers now being early-arriving winter visitors, but a lot of stuff had obviously left the previous night. The flycatchers were gone, warbler and thrush numbers were way down and by three o'clock the thought that I should've taken the ferry back even crossed my mind.

Lighter wind and resultant lack of spindrift (airbourne ocean more like) allowed access to a good stretch of shoreline habitat which held two more Middendorff's and the trip's first Reed Bunting.


              Working the little coves is hard work with so much wet salt getting everywhere.

Though rather disappointing the feeling is tempered by the thought migration would be barely perceptible were I birding back in Kyoto. The trip list has crawled up to 82.


                                         Middendorff's aren't always as skulking as other locustella.


14th October
I made it back to Kyoto at around midnight for a 05:30 work alarm this morning. Though waking 30 minutes later than I would've done on Hegura we all know getting up for work is quite a different matter.

But, back on the island the pre-departure lethargy had set in at about noon yesterday. It's not actually lethargy, more an irritable sense of futility, there's not enough time to get stuck into anything. The last chance to find a mega maybe but supposing you glimpse a skulker with potential while hurrying back to the harbour? For me it's more a time to sit and wait, to hope someone else finds something while there's still time to dash off for it. So I wandered back to the minshyuku to pack, dumped my bag at the dock and mooched. Believe it or not the mooching paid off thanks to a couple of Pine Buntings in the patch of confined scrub next to what I think of as the town square down by the ferry dock. Anyone who's been there will know the square of mown grass with a couple of shelters and a few benches for the tourists. Quite why half the area is fenced off rank vegetation with two or three bushes I don't know, perhaps in acknowledgement that tourist pretty much equates to birder out there.

I'd already seen Pine Bunting that morning, one of two new species for the trip, and there had obviously been an influx of Elegant Buntings. It seemed the late arrival of buntings was finally underway. And the other new species...   Moorhen. Ah, well.

Earlier in the morning I'd been lurking in the scrub and trees behind the minshyuku hoping for something to pop up when a screeching Peregrine behind me drew my attention to a rather remarkable sight. Up on a horizontal branch, the island's adult Black Kite was clutching a live Pale Thrush! It even seemed to be milking the situation by affecting the air of nonchalant arrogance that might come naturally to cat. The notion that a Kite is capable of catching a thrush seems a bit far fetched but no more so than it might have robbed a Peregrine. Even if the latter had shown themselves in a less than flattering light over the preceeding week.


                                                         Is this Kite a top predator?


                                                            Was this Pregrine mugged?

The only other sightings of note were Black Woodpigeon in the tree at the side of the minshyuku, it had been there at some point everyday but through the window in the pouring rain isn't as good as in outside in the sunshine, and that the Radde's that had been present all week along the harbour front road finally sat up long enough to be photographed.


                                            One of two very yellow first autumn birds.

The morning had dawned clear and calm and expectation was at a low ebb. I hadn't gone there for the scenic sunrise.


                                                      Nice, but uninsiring birdwise.

It would seem churlish to complain there weren't many birds, churlish and patently nonsense as wave after wave of departing birds were replaced by new arrivals. However the poor showing of herons, the lowest number and smallest range of waders I've ever experienced here, few migrant raptors, low numbers of buntings with no expected Tristram's or not infrequent Black-headed and Lapland and most of all the absence of a major rarity all contributed to a slight feeling of anticlimax. Nevertheless I headed home content that the first long drive home without a new bird for my Japan list had been defered to a (hopefully distant) future date thanks to the surprise Black Terns. Finding my first Hegura Korean Bush Warbler was another highlight. The opportunity to examine so many Arctic complex warblers was also something I welcomed.

The final total was 88 species for the week.