Birdwatching on Yonaguni Island
A work trip to Yonaguni Island gave me a little time for birding. I had hoped for rarities like the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and Grey-faced Buzzard from the previous year, but it didn't quite work out that way. Even so, I got to see a flock of Eurasian Siskins — a species you rarely encounter on Ishigaki — so it was an enjoyable trip.
My first Naumann's Thrush of the season turned out to be on Yonaguni Island.
Also my first Siberian Stonechat of the season. Birds were being reported on Ishigaki Island at the same time.
Eurasian Siskin — a species I see often on Okinawa Island and Yonaguni Island, but rarely recorded on Ishigaki Island. Strange.
White Wagtail (taivana subspecies) in first-winter plumage. White Wagtails of any kind have been scarce in the Yaeyamas this season.
A juvenile Common Buzzard had turned up.
Northern Lapwing numbers are up in the Yaeyamas too. Most are juveniles.
On both Yonaguni Island and Ishigaki Island, almost all the leaf warblers at this time of year are Arctic Warblers. Occasionally a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler turns up, and rarer still is the Japanese Leaf Warbler.
Grey-streaked Flycatcher — nearly gone from Ishigaki Island by now, but still quite visible on Yonaguni Island at this time of year. That's the usual pattern.
Yellow Wagtails seem to be scarce across the Yaeyamas as a whole this season.
The wintering Common Kestrels are gradually increasing in number.
Yonaguni Island has very few paddies — rice farmers are down to the last one — but a Common Snipe managed to hang on.