GUIDED BIRDWATCHING TOUR
We'll drive you around Ishigaki Island to wherever the birds are showing best that day. Observation is mostly from inside the vehicle, and we keep it to a maximum of 3 guests so everyone can take their time.
三角池にエリマキシギが2羽やってきました。幼鳥のオスとメスです。
ほかにはトウネン、コアオアシシギ、アカアシシギ、セイタカシギなどが滞在中。先日、コガモが2羽入っていましたが今日は見当たりませんでした。
Ruff juvenile male (right) and juvenile female.
Marsh Sandpiper adult winter plumage.
Common Redshank adult winter plumage.
Red-necked Stint juvenile.
Long-toed Stint juvenile.
今日のジシギ識別練習。ハリオシギが出てこなくて不安になる…。^^;
9月25日追記
2枚目のジシギの識別を間違えていました。タシギではなくチュウジシギの第1回冬羽です。しかし、以前は漠然とジシギとひとくくりにしていましたが、沖縄本島でマスターと出会うことによって少しずつですが分かってきた。打率もだいぶ上がってきました。ジシギが沖縄に滞在している間にもう少し場数を踏まなくては…。
Swinhoe's Snipe.
I thought it was a Common Snipe, but on the advice of an expert it turned out to be a Swinhoe's Snipe in first-winter plumage. In the field I did check the tail feathers, but they were in mid-moult, so there was no clinching feature, and I was apparently misled by the overall colouration and the shape of the outer webs of the scapulars.
Common Snipe on the left, Swinhoe's Snipe on the right.
クロハラアジサシの群れが三つほど入って合わせて30羽ほどが田んぼにいました。その中に1羽だけハジロクロハラアジサシの幼鳥を見つけた。
ツバメチドリとムナグロはそれぞれ20羽ほどの群れが入っていました。ツバメチドリの群れは、すべて成鳥でした。
The bird at the far right is a juvenile Whiskered Tern.
A juvenile White-winged Tern. Finally found one among three scattered flocks. Exhausted… but happy. ^^
An adult Oriental Pratincole in winter plumage. Even past the autumn equinox it is still hot in Okinawa, and all the pratincoles were standing with their bills open.
田んぼにコシャクシギが1羽で滞在しています。秋のコシャクシギはなかなか見る機会がなかったので嬉しい1羽。
水路でエリマキシギとツーショットで撮ったアメリカウズラシギの写真は、手違いで消してしまった…。^^;
A charming Little Whimbrel.
A bee was hassling the Little Whimbrel. Perhaps there is a nest nearby?
It kept coming closer and closer toward us. Cars passing and people walking didn't seem to bother it at all.
The Little Whimbrel was moving back and forth between the grassland and the paddy fields where the rice had grown tall. Once it stepped into the paddies, the rice stalks were higher than the bird, making it nearly impossible to find. ^^;
It was busy foraging, and its bill was muddy.
今朝は、アカハラダカの渡りを拝みに嘉津宇岳に行ってまいりました。沖縄自動車道を降りて国道58号線を北上していると名護市本部半島の嘉津宇岳には雨雲がかかっておりました。名護岳の方は、晴天でそちらへ向かいたい気持ちもあったのですが、友人と現地で落ち合う約束をしている上に私は遅刻気味だったので名護岳を眺めながら嘉津宇岳を目指しました。
嘉津宇岳に午前7時20分ごろ到着すると駐車場にはすでに車が20台以上。うーん。出遅れた…。友人はすでに到着していて状況を聞くとまだ飛んでいないとのこと。沖縄本島北部のアカハラダカの渡る時間は午前8時半ごろがピークなので間に合いました。^^;
そして到着後、1時間ほどするとアカハラダカの群れがどこからともなく湧いてきてあれよあれよと言うまに1200羽以上が越冬地を目指して嘉津宇岳の上空を南下していきました。
最大の群れは200羽余りでしたでしょうか。上昇気流に乗ってタカ柱をつくると高度をぐんぐん上げて雲の中へ消え渡って行ってしましました。
An adult male Chinese Sparrowhawk. The wings gleaming in the morning sun looked both beautiful and powerful.
This is an adult female. Male and female Chinese Sparrowhawks can be told apart by eye colour.
A juvenile Chinese Sparrowhawk. It is gripping a Ryukyu large brown cicada in its foot. The crop is bulging, so it seems to have eaten well — but perhaps it is carrying the leftover as provisions for the long journey ahead.
A male Chinese Sparrowhawk that flew directly overhead.
A juvenile Chinese Sparrowhawk.
An adult male Chinese Sparrowhawk.
An adult female Chinese Sparrowhawk.
The largest flock of the day. The sight of more than 200 Chinese Sparrowhawks spiralling upward in a great hawkwatch column was breathtaking.
The flock caught a thermal and climbed steadily, moving south on migration.
Once they had risen to an altitude of several hundred metres, they caught the north wind and headed south all at once.
We were blessed with clear skies, and the wind shifted from westerly to northerly — perfect conditions for watching the raptor migration. ^^