Overnight there appeared to have been a departure of yesterdays migrants. Most of the other birders had left yesterday after the week-end with just one Japanese ringer left and we took the opportunity over the next couple of days to assist him with the nets etc on the Island and this gave us some good photographic opportunities.
After breakfast we chiefly birded the Western shore, and saw 1 Arctic and 3 Pacific Warblers in the hand superb. Another arrival of birds during the course of the late morning and early afternoon and after a short lunch break we visited the Tsukasa fields an area we were going to cover many times during our stay. Late afternoon and evening and we saw 1 Pacific Warbler, 1 Siskin, 2 Eye-browed Thrushes,and 1 Dusky Thrush in the hand. We then visited the look-out shelter over the drinking pool and had a surprise with a Gray's Grasshopper Warbler singing its very loud song from a bamboo clump near the doctor's surgery and which gave a couple of brief views.
Highlights of the day: Oriental Cuckoos had increased to 8, our second Japanese Waxwing, our first Naumann's Thrush, with good numbers of both Dusky & Eye-browed Thrushes, still good numbers of Arctic Warblers with 3 of the recent split Pacific Warblers, 4 of the yakutensis Willow Warblers which is a rare migrant in Japan, an arrival of 25 Hawfinches. An arrival of buntings with 3 Pine Buntings including a fine summer plumage male, 2 Chestnut Eared Buntings, 15 lovely Little Buntings and a Yellow-breasted Bunting.
We all slept very well overnight.
Streaked Shearwater 50
Great Egret 1
Grey Heron 5
Mandarin Duck 4
Teal 3
Mallard 2
Shoveler 1
Osprey 1
Black-eared Kite 1
Peregrine 1
Woodcock 1
Snipe 2
Common Sandpiper 1
Black-tailed Gull 100
Slaty-backed Gull 1 juv.
Common Tern 3
Japanese Woodpigeon 2
Rufous Turtle Dove 7
Oriental Cuckoo 8
Pacific Swift 1
European Kingfisher 1
Wryneck 1
European Skylark 1
Grey Wagtail 8
Black-backed Wagtail 15
Brown-eared Bulbul 8
Japanese Waxwing 1
Siberian Stonechat 5
Blue Rock Thrush 7
Pale Thrush 3
Eye-browed Thrush 50
Dusky Thrush 100
Naumann's Thrush 1
Japanese Bush Warbler 3
Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler 1
Gray's Grasshopper Warbler 1
Black-browed Reed Warbler 1
Arctic Warbler 25
Pacific Warbler 3
Willow Warbler race yakutensis 4
Goldcrest 7
Blue and White Flycatcher 3
Grey-streaked Flycatcher 25
Brown Flycatcher 2
Japanese White-eye 18
Brown Shrike 3
Large-billed Crow 2
Brambling 40
Oriental Greenfinch 20
Siskin 40
Hawfinch 25
Masked Bunting 20
Pine Bunting 3
Chestnut-eared Bunting 2
Little Bunting 15
Yellow-breasted Bunting 1
Osprey over the West beach again
Juvenile Slaty Backed Gull in the Harbour
Eye-browed Thrush on the recently dug field.
50 of these Thrushes were seen today
Male Blue Rock Thrush in Harbour Park
Juvenile Slaty Backed Gull in the Harbour
Brown Shrike in the enclosure at West beach
Dusky Thrush in the West Beach enclosure
Dusky Thrush in the hand
Eye-browed Thrush on the recently dug field.
50 of these Thrushes were seen today
Male Blue Rock Thrush in Harbour Park
Siberian Stonechat at the Tsukasa fields
Grey Streaked Flycatcher numbers had decreased to 25 today
Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler first flushed from the Tsukasa fields and flew
into an area of stored nets and poles. This species was recorded in small numbers
throughout our trip.
Willow Warbler of the yakutensis race - 4 were seen today.
Pacific Warbler P. xanthodryas . A recent split from Arctic Warbler.
Note the yellow supercillium, greenish back and yellow wash to the
underparts, compared to the whiter plumage of the Arctic Warbler.
Arctic Warbler for comparison, note the whiter supercillium,
less of a green back and paler underparts.
Two more Pacific Warblers which we saw in the hand.
Siskins feeding actively at the Tsukasa Fields
Yellow Breasted Bunting with 2 Little Buntings near the School Field
Yellow Breasted Bunting near the School Field.
Chestnut-eared Bunting at the Tuskasa Fields - Just odd birds were
seen during our trip
seen during our trip
Adult Male, 1stW Male and 1stW/Female Pine Buntings
at the Tsukaka Fields. Pine Buntings were very much a
feature of our trip. We found three on this day and saw Pine
Buntings virtually daily, although different birds were involved.
The summer plumage male was a real stunner.
Japanese Clouded Yellow were quite common on the island
Just a few of this butterfly were seen.
Dragonfly - possibly a migrant as just one was seen and this was
very early in the morning.
Thousands of these Spiders were on the island.
