Migrants Grounded by Bad Weather
Two consecutive days of bad weather brought large numbers of shorebirds and plovers — apparently mid-migration — dropping in to localized spots. The biggest group was Black-winged Stilts, over 400 birds, followed by Wood Sandpipers at 200+. There were too many to keep counting, so I stopped midway. ^^;
Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and Garganey also arrived, making the paddies extremely lively — though two days later everything was back to normal. ^^;
Along the coast, Greater Sand Plover numbers increased, and a small number of Grey Plovers also came through.
Two Curlew Sandpipers confirmed.
A single Pied Avocet flew in.
A Bar-tailed Godwit — a species that tends to pass straight through Ishigaki on fine days thanks to its strong flight — was also resting among a flock of Black-winged Stilts in the rice paddies.
Black-winged Stilts in impressive numbers: over 400. The sight of them in flight was breathtaking.
Over 200 Wood Sandpipers arrived as well.
A group of ten-odd Pectoral Sandpipers.
Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper (left) also came down on the island.
A few Swinhoe's Snipe — first of the season — confirmed.
Perhaps out of exhaustion, nearly every individual I found was sitting still.
Around ten Pacific Golden Plovers confirmed.
The Oriental Pratincoles looked utterly exhausted.
A small group of a few Temminck's Stints arrived.
Barn Swallows were wheeling in flocks at low altitude.
Two male Garganeys arrived. Several more appeared to have come in at another site as well.
The Striated Heron that has been staying since last autumn has finally started to moult.
A few Grey Plovers were on the sandy beach.
There were no Lesser Sand Plovers that day — nothing but Greater Sand Plovers.
A Greater Sand Plover in active moult.
A dark-morph Pacific Reef Heron. It was being chased around by a white-morph individual.
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