On the spring equinox, one of the twenty-four solar terms, a university student who absolutely wanted to see a Common Hoopoe came to visit, so I played at being a bird guide and searched seriously for birds for the first time in a while. The student had also come to Ishigaki last week but missed the hoopoe, so he returned full of determination. As a result we successfully observed and photographed 2 Common Hoopoes and a beautiful adult Chinese Blackbird. It seems that our group was the only one on Ishigaki to see a Common Hoopoe that day. Anyway, I'm glad we saw it!
As always, I have already reported the three spots we found to Spotter, Ishigaki's number one bird guide. ^^
We also saw the 3 Pied Avocets that Spotter had told me about, but they flew off somewhere as soon as construction started nearby.
Among the waders, we confirmed the season's first Black-winged Stilt and Pacific Golden Plover, and Common Redshank, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank and others are coming onto the island intermittently.
It was overcast all day, but we had many encounters with the three great residents of Yaeyama farmland, Crested Serpent Eagle, Malayan Night Heron and Purple Heron, and everyone enjoyed it together with a friend from Naha. ^^
I could hear a Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher calling and looked for it, but didn't find it. They get easier to see once April comes, so it's two more weeks until then.
For the Common Emerald Dove, I confirmed a male calling and briefly saw a female flying away. It will be a while before Common Emerald Doves become easy to see.
After the birding, six of us, including my family, raised a toast at our usual gyoza place. ^^
