A few warblers on Hegura last week

It's possible to visit Hegura in October and find the place swamped with Kamchatka Leaf Warblers but not this time, there were surprisingly few considering the numbers of birds passing through. That said the selection of warblers, whether phylloscs or otherwise, was pretty good with eight (probably nine) species seen.

The 'probable' mentioned was a Middendorff's flushed from the track side and glimpsed diving into cover, everything about it fit the bill but I wasn't able to get a confirming view. Middendorff's is a species which can occur in good numbers on occasion... or so I suspect. There have been times over the years when I've seen several individuals in a single day which must translate into great many more of this skulker on the island. 

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler is even more of a skulker and, unlike Middendorff's, I've yet to see one sit up. I lucked into a very typical sighting on this trip, flushed from rank grass in a favourite cove of theirs. Stumbling through the tussock grass and overgrown rocks, trying to avoid sudden pools, this is where I've flushed all but one of my PG Tips on the island. This one flew a full 20 metres (a record?) before arrowing directly into cover. Normally they drop sooner into what might seem like less substantial cover but they're never to be seen again. This bird made directly for the type of cover their whole world population could have disappeared into. Why did I even bother to follow?

Black-browed Reed Warbler, on the other hand is an amateur skulker by comparison, I was able to see two birds quite well.

And that brings us to the phylloscs. The first day on the island the Kamchatkas were keeping close to or on the ground, yet despite my human sensibilities being unable to detect any significant change in weather they were up in the trees, but nevertheless still silent, by the third day. 

I only had one Dusky Warbler during my stay (usually a few) though I know from other birders there were certainly more on the island. Perhaps, like the other phylloscs, they were less vocal than usual and therefore less obvious. 

Returning to the minshyuku one evening I became aware of two small birds creeping through the sparse vegetation poking through the pebbles next to the path on the seaward side of the harbour-front houses. One of them flew across the path and down the side of a house. It was clearly either a Radde's or Dusky, fortunately the other bird stayed in the open giving itself up as the sole Radde's of the trip. It's likely the other bird would also have been Radde's but it'll have to go down as Radde's/Dusky.

Sakhalin Leaf Warbler may never be as common as Kamchatka Leaf but the single bird I saw was also an unexpectedly low count, even if most will have already passed through. Strictly speaking I suppose this bird should be considered either Sakhalin or Pale-legged, who knows how many, if any, Pale-legged pass through Japan in Autumn; and which part of Japan if they do. I had three Pale-legged on Tsushima in spring this year and I've had a couple of spring birds on Mishima in the past too. Clearly they are scarce but regular in western Japan in spring, when singing birds are easily found. 

This bird never called whereas in most years they call freely and are easy to locate but then the Kamchatka Leaf are also very vocal normally yet I didn't hear a single call this year; very strange. The weather really didn't seem as though it would keep birds quiet and the Yellow-brows were all as vocal as ever, half the birds I recorded were heard only. The bush warblers, thrushes, etc were also as vocal as ever. Inexplicable.

Oddly, considering how remarkably low phylosc numbers were in general, Yellow-browed weren't too far below par and I had four individuals on two of the days I spent on the island.

The big surprise was a Pallas's Leaf Warbler. I really don't think Pallas's Leaf is considered a rare migrant in Japan but I hardly ever see them. I honestly don't even remember the last one I saw and it's not as though they're inconspicuous, is it?

   

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

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.

phylloscopus

Eastern Crowned Warbler is the only widespread breeding phyllosc in Kansai. It can be found throughtout the forested hills in the region including those surrounding Kyoto city. Japanese Leaf Warbler also breeds in the region but at higher elevations, the centre of the Kii Peninsular is the only area they are likely to be found on a casual visit.

During migration Eastern Crowned can be found in city parks from late August. Arctic complex warblers are more common passing through the area from September through October mostly after Eastern Crowned have moved through but there is some overlap in September. Since the recent three-way split I've been looking out for autumn passage birds in city's parks and believe not only is there a single taxon involved but that they are Kamchatka Leaf rather than Japanese Leaf.

In spring I occasionally find a Sakhalin Leaf singing in trees along the Uji River in the Ogura area. This river attracts a wide range of migrants so perhaps it isn't surprising I've found them there but not elsewhere. There have been one or two Yellow-browed in Kyoto while I've been here but they're rare. They are quite common on Hegurajima however and I've seen many in Ishikawa on the Japan Sea coast.

Radde's and Dusky are both reasonably common on off-shore islands and can be found along the mainland coast but I've never found either in the Kyoto area.

Other phylloscs are rare to very rare in Japan, I've seen several Willow warblers on Hegura as well as a couple of migrant tristis Chiffchaffs there, plus a wintering Chiffchaff in Osaka. Wood Warbler also occurs on Hegura but I haven't been lucky enough to connect yet! Tickell's, or presumably Alpine Leaf, has occurred there too but it seems to be a spring specialist unlike the others. Greenish and Two-barred Greenish are also possible, as no doubt is Pale-legged but the latter is probably only identifiable when singing so it will be another spring speciality. Personally I've had two singing Pale-legged on Mishima but only un-tickable views of one of them. having said that I'm not sure what would constitute a tickable view as they're only identifiable by song, a ticking dilemma.

Not a phyllosc but convenient to include here, I found this Booted Warbler in Kyushu in December 2014. There had been three prior records in Japan, all in Sept/Oct on off-shore islands.

Four shots of a Siberian Chiffchaff wintering in Osaka, 2014/15.

Dusky Warbler are reasonably common on Hegurajima and I'd imagine also along the Japan Sea coast. This bird 7 October 2011.

Radde's Warbler on Hegurajima, 11 October 2011. Radde's seems to be considered much less common than Dusky but I think the imbalance might be overstated, in some Octobers I see as many Radde's. 

First autumn Radde's can be strikingly yellow below, this on Hegurajima, 14 October 2013. One of three I saw on the island during the week I was there.

A typical bright Yellow-brow on Hegurajima, 9 October 2009. They can be fairly common on the island and many must go undetected on the mainland.

A fairly bright bird with a very clear central crown stripe, again on Hegura, 8 October 2011.

A surprisingly grey-mantled bird for the date, 17 Ocober 2009. More surprising, the bill lacks an upper mandible!

 

Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Hegura May 2014, the crown/mantle contrast is obvious here.

 

Eastern Crowned Warbler on Mishima (Yamaguchi), 1 May 2009.

Eastern Crowned Warbler on Mishima, Yamaguchi, 29 April 2009.

Eastern Crowned Warbler in less strong light, Mishima, 29 April 2009.

Scraping the bottom of the barrel image-wise just to complete the breeders, this is actually an Ijima's Warbler on Miyakejima, 17 May 2013.