The Ruddy Shelduck that have been present since last year fluctuate between three and five birds. Two Tundra Swans are also on a long stay.
One Mallard was among a flock of Eastern Spot-billed Ducks — an unusual sighting for Ishigaki Island. A flock of 42 was at the dam.
It has become considerably less wary than when it first arrived.
Black-winged Kites are seen in numbers on a given day, with many pairs apparently moving into breeding. Crested Serpent Eagles are also in the early stages of breeding, and calling between individuals can be observed. The number of birds visible is high.
A pair of Black-winged Kites. These individuals showed little wariness.
The Rosy Starling that has been present since November last year . Moult appears to have progressed a little, but there is still a long way to go. It was associating with a flock of White-cheeked Starlings, Red-billed Starlings, and Common Starlings.
The moult is progressing and the juvenile look is starting to fade from the face.
Within a mixed flock of around 100 White Wagtails, Eastern Yellow Wagtails, and Red-throated Pipits, I found one individual that stood out from the rest.
Aside from being at a different stage of moult compared with the surrounding (Blyth's) Eastern Yellow Wagtails, the bird's bright blue-grey head, broad and long supercilium, white below the eye, and white throat suggest it could be Western Yellow Wagtail ( Motacilla flava beema ) or Russian Yellow Wagtail ( Motacilla flava flava ).
Incidentally, some taxonomic treatments regard Western Yellow Wagtail as a species separate from Eastern Yellow Wagtail, in which case Russian Yellow Wagtail would be a subspecies of Western Yellow Wagtail.
However, since this individual is in first-winter plumage, moult will need to progress a bit further before anything conclusive can be said. Picking out a bird like this from within a huge wagtail flock is its own kind of fun.
Within the White Wagtail flock, alongside the White Wagtails proper, there were also Taiwanese White Wagtails and White-faced White Wagtails.
An individual that looks distinctly odd — probably a Western Yellow Wagtail or an Eastern Yellow Wagtail. That said, there are cases where first-winter Citrine Wagtails moulting into summer plumage also show white below the eye.
Wishing everyone a happy new year.
The new year got off to a rough start — the entire family came down with COVID-19 right at the beginning of the holidays. We couldn't go anywhere, and I spent the time in bed until the 8th. ^^
My first birding of the year was on the 9th. Overwintering since last year: Common Crane, Ruddy Shelduck, Common Shelduck, Tundra Swan, Korean Kestrel, Grey-faced Buzzard, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, thrushes, wagtails, Amur Stonechat, Chinese Pond Heron, and four species of starling.
For New Year's, you can't leave out a juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle — the bird celebrated in the Okinawan song "Washi nu Tui-bushi."
At year-end, having coughed up blood to get all my copy filed before the end of the year, I squeezed in a short final birdwatch for 2022.
Entering December, Dusky Thrushes, Brown-headed Thrushes, and Pale Thrushes had increased sharply. Most of the Dusky Thrushes were Naumann's Thrushes, and the variation in plumage tones makes comparing them a pleasure in itself. Brown-headed and Pale Thrushes have also relaxed since shortly after arrival and are easier to observe.
Manchurian Bush Warblers and Dusky Warblers were calling from patches of scrub here and there, though slightly fewer than last year.
Daurian Redstart, Amur Stonechat, Red-throated Pipit, and Eastern Yellow Wagtail are also wintering.
In addition to the three Ruddy Shelduck already present, four Common Shelduck also arrived. Tundra Swans, Common Cranes, and Eurasian Spoonbills continue to stay on.
Among the ducks, Northern Shoveler were the most numerous, followed by Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, and Tufted Duck. Ferruginous Duck has not been confirmed this season.
Large numbers of Common Snipe are wintering; among roughly 200 counted across multiple paddies, there was one Swinhoe's Snipe.
Crested Serpent Eagles — both immatures and adults — have become easier to see. Road casualties will increase from here on, so care is needed when driving on Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island.
The most vividly coloured Naumann's Thrush of the day. An adult.
The dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard that has been wintering on Ishigaki Island for five consecutive years has become easier to observe. It may be showing itself in prominent spots because it is facing off against a neighbouring individual in an adjacent territory.
Korean Kestrels are numerous this season, with three individuals confirmed. Continental birds must be bold — none of them shows any wariness at all.
A dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard visiting for the fifth consecutive year. After a long while, I was finally able to photograph it in sunlight.
The Greylag Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, and Tundra Swan are settling in for a long winter stay. Duck numbers are also increasing. Quite a few have turned up at the dam, but without a scope they're just too far away…
A Grey-lag Goose with no wariness at all, settled into wintering mode alongside a Bean Goose.
Rooks used to arrive in reasonable flocks every winter, but I hadn't been able to confirm any in the past few years. This season, three have turned up. They occasionally joined up with flocks of Large-billed Crows.
Rooks with not much wariness. Three birds, all juveniles. Moulting into first-winter plumage.
Two Pied Avocets have arrived. They may be individuals already wandering around the island — four more Pied Avocets have also been confirmed elsewhere.
The Common Crane is also in wintering mode. At first it was extremely wary, but now not at all. ^^
A Eurasian Spoonbill is also staying on — a friendly individual. Wintering waders are showing up as well.
Pied Avocets foraging together. The bird in the background is in first-winter plumage; the one in the foreground is an adult in winter plumage.
The three Ruddy Shelducks already on the island have joined up together. Two more have also arrived, bringing the total on Ishigaki to five — a record high.
While I was watching the Ruddy Shelducks, a Eurasian Spoonbill came down. It's likely the individual that has been moving around the island since last month.
I had just spotted a Von Schrenck's Bittern and was waiting at the edge of the rice field where it had vanished in an instant, when a Cinnamon Bittern walked over from the adjacent paddy. A little while later, just as the Cinnamon Bittern seemed to have entered the rice too, it flushed the Von Schrenck's Bittern out…
The Von Schrenck's Bittern dropped into a fallow field a short distance away, but the grass was too tall to see anything. I had to be somewhere else soon, so I left the rest to my friends. Apparently, once a farmer started working the field, both a Von Schrenck's Bittern and a Eurasian Bittern flushed!! All sorts of things are hiding out here — Ishigaki really is a joy to bird. ^^
Ruddy Shelduck — juvenile (background) and adult.
On the way home, I found a Slaty-legged Crake on the road near my house — apparently hit by a car. I brought it home and kept an eye on it overnight in a cardboard box.
By the next day its pupils were responding well to light and there seemed to be no fractures, so I released it using a semi-soft-release approach. It walked off steadily into the forest.
Slaty-breasted Rail, male. I placed a cardboard box on the ground with the flap slightly open, and after a while it came out, looking around warily.
A Black Stork has arrived on Ishigaki. One came in last year too, and they turn up occasionally before that, but they are always quite wary and surprisingly difficult to photograph. This individual, however, could be observed fairly close-up and at leisure — for a Black Stork, anyway.
The Tufted Duck is my first of the season. A juvenile had already been confirmed last month, but this was my first sighting. On the coast there were Grey Plovers, Siberian Sand Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Red-necked Stints, and Sanderlings. Two Caspian Terns were flying distantly. I expect Caspian Tern numbers will increase a little more toward year's end.
Black Stork, juvenile. My wife saw one last year but I missed it. This individual was not especially wary for a Black Stork, and we were able to photograph and observe it at close range.
Since around mid-November, Rosy Starlings have been appearing at two locations. Today I went to see the one closer to home.
It seems to be touring the farmland day by day, mixing with flocks of Common Starlings and Red-billed Starlings. On this occasion it had joined a flock of about ten White-cheeked Starlings. I was on the move between work assignments, so I had only about fifteen minutes to observe.
On the coast, Ruddy Turnstones, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Siberian Sand Plovers, Pacific Golden Plovers, and Red-necked Stints were present. Again, about fifteen minutes of observation. Lately I've been too busy to get out properly.
Rosy Starling, juvenile. Molting from juvenile into first-winter plumage.
Following the previous two adults, a juvenile Ruddy Shelduck has now arrived. The adults were extremely wary, but this juvenile showed almost no wariness — perhaps a sign of its youth — and was easy to observe.
The Greylag Goose has been staying a long time; it looks like it may well winter over. Taiga Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, and Common Crane are also still present.
On the coast, small numbers of Siberian Sand Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Pacific Golden Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Common Greenshanks, and Dunlins are staying on. In the paddies, Spotted Redshanks, Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpipers, Long-toed Stints, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, and Common Snipe are conspicuous. Whiskered Terns — both adults and juveniles — are also still present.
This season, the starling family is represented by several species but numbers are low.
Dusky Thrushes, Pale Thrushes, Brown-headed Thrushes, and Eyebrowed Thrushes have started arriving.
The third Ruddy Shelduck of the season was a juvenile — in the process of moulting from juvenile plumage into first breeding plumage.
The Greylag Goose that appeared about ten days ago is still here. Alongside the Greylag Goose, Ishigaki currently hosts a Lesser White-fronted Goose, a Greater White-fronted Goose, a Taiga Bean Goose, a Tundra Swan, and a Common Crane — quite an unlikely lineup for a southern island.
The juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle was the ninth individual of the season. A very active bird, it was catching prey in the rice paddies and mown grasslands.
Caspian Terns have also been coming in over the past few days. They usually stay for a while each year but rarely winter over. On the coast, Siberian Sand Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Little Ringed Plovers, Pacific Golden Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Common Greenshanks, and Ruddy Turnstones are present in fluctuating numbers.
I had already seen a flock of five Greylag Geese at the end of last year on Okinawa Island, but this was my first encounter with the species on Ishigaki Island.
Two Ruddy Shelducks, two Lesser White-fronted Geese, a Common Crane, and a Greater White-fronted Goose are all on an extended stay. On this day I couldn't find the Greylag Goose or the Taiga Bean Goose. They were quite wary, so perhaps they've retreated to the Ampar wetlands area.
Two female Ruddy Shelducks. Both are adults.
The overwintering small birds are increasing on Ishigaki Island.
Among them, I found a strange Daurian Redstart. At first I thought it might be a male juvenile transitioning into its first-winter plumage, but that doesn't seem to be the case — it's been suggested the bird may be a female-type individual with unusual plumage. Either way, it was an interesting Daurian Redstart.
Dusky Warblers appear to be arriving in decent numbers in the riverside thickets. Getting a good photo of them is not easy.
A fair number of Black-faced Buntings were lurking in the sugarcane fields. Some individuals that looked more like Masked Buntings were mixed in as well.
I thought the area around the throat might be partway through changing to adult male plumage, but it looks as though feathers have been lost, exposing the black area beneath. Even so, the whitish feathering from above the eye toward the cheek area looks like a male's.
That said, when Daurian Redstarts transition from juvenile to first-winter plumage, male individuals apparently develop vivid orange feathers. This individual shows some orange in places, but is otherwise brown.
The dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard that has been overwintering on Ishigaki Island every year since 2018 has returned again this year. It was a juvenile in the first year, so it is now 5 years old. It has been gradually becoming less wary, and this year I was able to observe it at quite close range.
The Black-winged Kite first appeared on Ishigaki Island in 2015 and has been breeding steadily ever since, to the point where it can now be seen all over the island — and it has finally moved into town as well. On this day I confirmed two birds flying together over the MaxValu in Maesato. I also frequently see them foraging on the wasteland to the east of Ishigaki City Hall.
A Black Baza wintering on Ishigaki Island. This marks its fifth year visiting. It typically stays until around March.
A Tundra Swan arrived for the first time in about two years. Last time it stayed until spring — I wonder how long this one will stick around. It shows almost no wariness, so it would be great if it settles in for a long stay.
Crested Serpent Eagles are becoming more active ahead of the breeding season. I've been hearing them calling back and forth and often seeing them soaring over their territories.
Chinese Pond Herons are overwintering at several locations. Once they step into the grass they blend right in and become very hard to spot.
Eurasian Coots increased sharply after November began. Two years ago they were frequently attacked by Upland Buzzard. This season an Eastern Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, and Peregrine Falcon are all present, so it looks like it will be a tense winter for the coots.
For waders, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Long-toed Stint, Common Snipe, and Wood Sandpiper are all staying on.
I recorded my first Gadwall of the season. Tufted Duck and Eurasian Wigeon numbers are also building up at the dam.
Tundra Swan for the first time in two years. It doesn't seem particularly wary.