All three snipe species on Ishigaki Island — Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, and Common Snipe — are finally present at the same time. From here, Pin-tailed and Swinhoe's Snipe numbers will decline, while Common Snipe will increase.
A textbook individual — identifiable as Pin-tailed Snipe at a glance.
I went birdwatching on the side while on a work trip to cover the Yonaguni Town Council election. ^^
I confirmed multiple migrating Chinese Sparrowhawk, and Common Kestrel had also arrived to overwinter. Migrating Oriental Dollarbird and Grey-streaked Flycatcher were also present, along with good numbers of overwintering Brown Shrike, Arctic Warbler, and Eastern Yellow Wagtail.
In recent years the rice paddies on Yonaguni Island have decreased, so waders and plovers are sparse — just small numbers of Black-winged Stilt, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Common Sandpiper, and Red-necked Stint.
Common Emerald Dove, having finished breeding, formed small flocks and I watched them feeding on several occasions.
Chinese Sparrowhawk, juvenile. I also picked out several adults soaring.
The Javan Pond Heron population on Ishigaki Island is increasing; around 10 individuals are currently being observed across several sites.
Two Javan Pond Herons.
September has arrived, and autumn migration on Ishigaki Island is now in full swing. Eastern Yellow Wagtail numbers jumped overnight, and flocks ranging from small to large can be seen in farmland all over the island.
Among the waders, juveniles have started arriving on the heels of the adults. Flocks in fresh juvenile plumage are coming in.
An adult Eastern Yellow Wagtail of the white-supercilium type, transitioning into winter plumage.
This is the extras edition of the 7th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp. Since we had already observed both adult and juvenile Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe to a reasonable degree on the first day, the second day was spent observing a wider variety of species beyond snipe. This post covers those sightings, including observations from day one.
Please also see the main report from the Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp.
Three Javan Pond Herons confirmed during the Ishigaki Island snipe camp.
The 7th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp was held successfully over two days, 22 and 23 August. This time we had two women join us. Both took notes and made sketches with great enthusiasm.
The camp went ahead despite unsettled weather as a typhoon approached. The first day in particular brought occasional heavy rain, and by evening the sky had turned wild with a typhoon look about it.
We shifted the car around to dodge the driving rain and managed solid views of a dozen or so snipe, including both adults and juveniles.
Because of the prefectural governor election and unified local elections, the camp was held earlier than usual this year, and Common Snipe were not recorded.
The bonus post will cover Javan Pond Heron, an out-of-season Roseate Tern, Black-naped Tern, and more.
Arrived at the paddy field with the highest snipe count this season. The first bird I could observe was a pale-looking adult Swinhoe's Snipe.
The first Swinhoe's Snipe juveniles of the season have finally arrived. This year they came in earlier than the Pin-tailed Snipe juveniles.
The Javan Pond Heron is also settling in for a long stay.
The long-awaited juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe has appeared. Beautiful. ^^
Migrant waders are building up and the paddies on Ishigaki are getting lively.
Juveniles now make up more than half of the Long-toed Stints present, and I confirmed the first juvenile Wood Sandpiper of the season. I had already found juvenile Common Redshank about two weeks ago, but this was my first time photographing one this season.
Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Pacific Golden Plover, and Black-faced Spoonbill have also been showing up one after another.
First juvenile Wood Sandpiper of the season. Only one individual confirmed, but numbers will keep climbing from here.
With the 7th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp a week away, I spent concentrated time looking for snipe in the usual paddies. Juveniles had not yet arrived, but both Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe adults are present.
Javan Pond Heron and Chinese Pond Heron are also staying on. Grey Herons are slowly increasing.
A Pin-tailed Snipe at relatively close range.
Two Javan Pond Herons and one Chinese Pond Heron are currently present. Encounters with Cinnamon Bittern and Purple Heron — both adults and juveniles — are becoming more frequent.
Snipe numbers are also growing steadily. On this day I found several individuals each of Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe.
Javan Pond Heron in winter plumage. Two birds have been present for the past few days.
Three Javan Pond Herons turned up. While I was watching one, two more burst out chasing each other from among the rice in a nearby paddy. As happens every year, once Javan Pond Herons have been around for a while on Ishigaki in autumn, Chinese Pond Herons follow. Two Javan Pond Herons are also currently staying on Okinawa main island.
Encounters with Cinnamon Bittern — adults and juveniles alike — are becoming more frequent. It is the season when numbers peak after the breeding period ends. Purple Heron adults and juveniles are also showing up regularly.
Pin-tailed Snipe seem to be increasing gradually. I confirmed the first juvenile Black-winged Stilt of the season.
最初に見つけたジャワアカガシラサギ。あまり警戒心のない個体でした。
Passed through Banna Park. I had good encounters with multiple Ruddy Kingfishers. One adult was feeding a fledgling that had grown to nearly adult size.
The Crested Serpent Eagles are in the final stages of raising their young. The beautiful white-plumaged juveniles should be appearing soon.
I also recorded the first Grey Wagtail of the season — a small group of four.
The Eurasian Tree Sparrow chicks that had been breeding in the nest box on my house have also fledged. The garden is lively these days.
This Ruddy Kingfisher was still feeding its fledgling. The adult was relaxed, but the fledgling was an extremely wary individual.
I found three Pin-tailed Snipe — the first of the season!! The three were together, so they may well have come through last night.
Besides snipe, the paddies now hold Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Long-toed Stint, Wood Sandpiper, and Whiskered Tern. Migration is well and truly under way.
For moult notation, from this season I will be adopting the WRP System (Wolfe–Ryder–Pyle System).
Finally got confirmation. Pin-tailed Snipe, adult. DCA (Definitive Alternate plumage).
I recorded the first Black-faced Spoonbill and Dunlin of the season. The Javan Pond Heron disappeared after about a week.
I have been busy lately and have not been shooting much, but I am keeping up my daily observations. On the island, the terns, owls, Ruddy Kingfisher, and Black Paradise Flycatcher that breed here have finished raising their young. Crested Serpent Eagle and Common Emerald Dove fledglings should be appearing around now too.
The migration that began in mid-July is moving along at its own pace. I expect it to accelerate sharply once we get past the middle of August.
The first Black-faced Spoonbill of the season arrived. It was an easy bird to watch, showing no wariness at all.
I went back to my home prefecture for the children's summer holidays. I took the chance to look for Latham's Snipe but drew a complete blank. Still, I got to see Japanese Wagtail, Eurasian Skylark, Grey-headed Lapwing, and Black Kite — birds not found on Ishigaki — so I can't complain.
Heard that distinctive call and went looking — found two Japanese Wagtails on a distant greenhouse. There are a handful of records for Okinawa Island, but none yet for Ishigaki.
The Glossy Ibis is still here. A Javan Pond Heron in beautiful summer plumage has also turned up. Both are unwary and easy to observe and photograph.
I recorded the first Common Greenshank, Long-toed Stint, and Black-winged Stilt of the season. Young Purple Herons have also started to appear — breeding seems to have concluded successfully.
A Crested Serpent Eagle was on the forest road, likely in the middle of raising chicks. I expect fledglings to appear from late August onward.
The other day I went to check on a recently fledged Ryukyu Scops Owl and found the parent locked in a battle with crows — apparently holding its own against four of them.
The Glossy Ibis seems to have a favourite paddy — it is always in the same spot.
The Glossy Ibis that arrived on Ishigaki Island with Typhoon No. 9 is now in its fifth day of stay. It has become less wary and easier to observe.
Wood Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plovers on autumn migration have increased rapidly in the rice paddies. Little Terns that apparently bred on the island came to bathe, bringing their recently fledged chicks.
The Ruddy Kingfisher along the forest road has finished raising its young and is taking it easy.
By the fifth day of its stay, wariness had faded. It stopped flushing even when tractors and kei trucks passed by.
This year on Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Scops Owls began fledging a little earlier than usual. This nest was the last among the ones I have been monitoring to produce fledglings. One of the two chicks fledged. Nearby, the parent bird was standing by.
A juvenile Ryukyu Scops Owl that apparently fledged last night. Downy feathers still remain.
Typhoon No. 9, which had prompted serious warnings of a direct hit, veered eastward at the last moment and spared Ishigaki Island and the rest of the Yaeyama Islands. Rare vagrants often turn up after typhoons, and this time the storm brought a Glossy Ibis.
For the Yaeyama Islands, Glossy Ibis records include the first Yaeyama record, discovered by the author in 2019, 19 birds in 2021, and a single bird on Yonaguni Island the same year. This sighting is the first in five years, following those records.
A Glossy Ibis — the first record on Ishigaki-jima in five years. Likely a post-typhoon vagrant.
Three Northern Boobook siblings have fledged. The nest was in a dead standing Ptychosperma macarthurii palm. A Ruddy Kingfisher had originally been excavating the hole, but once the Northern Boobooks started nesting there, the Ruddy Kingfisher moved out. ^^;
A fledgling Grey Nightjar — just out of the nest.