First Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe of the season!! (video)
Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe have finally arrived on Ishigaki Island. Juveniles should start coming in from here, and numbers are expected to keep climbing toward the peak in late August to early September. Something to look forward to.
The 5th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp currently has one person signed up. There is room for one or two more, so if you feel like enduring the ordeal, please get in touch. ^^ You are also welcome to browse the past Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp reports.
Found an adult Pin-tailed Snipe among three snipe. We pulled the car up close, waited until their wariness eased, then began watching.
Before long the Pin-tailed Snipe started bathing.
Wing-stretching after the bath. Moult of the flight feathers does not appear to have progressed much.
During preening I was able to confirm the needle-like tail feathers.
The tail feathers on the other side are clearly visible too.
A different adult Pin-tailed Snipe. A beautiful individual with a strong reddish tone.
The tail feathers of the same individual as above. It was fairly wary and spent much of its time feeding in the grass.
Adult Swinhoe's Snipe. While I was watching the Pin-tailed Snipe, this one flew in from the opposite bank.
A bit compact-looking, but an adult Swinhoe's Snipe.
Same individual as above. It showed me its tail feathers.
Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.
Another Swinhoe's Snipe adult.
Another Swinhoe's Snipe adult. This one and the individual below are additional birds found in the same paddy field three days after the first record of the season.
Yet another Swinhoe's Snipe adult.
Same individual as above. It fanned its tail feathers wide open.
