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.
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 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.
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).
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.
6th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp side notes: a Broad-billed Sandpiper showed at close range, and the paddies also produced a flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Long-toed Stints in summer plumage, freshly arrived Eurasian Whimbrels, breeding Greater Painted-snipes, and Cinnamon Bitterns in beautiful nuptial plumage.
While traveling between sites, we encountered Ruddy Kingfishers, a Crested Serpent Eagle, Red-throated Pipits, and a large flock of Eastern Yellow Wagtails.
When I first spotted it the Broad-billed Sandpiper was at the far end of the rice paddy, but it gradually worked its way closer.
Spring migration on Ishigaki Island has been building gradually since February, and by March it has grown noticeably more active. The variety of waders is increasing first of all. Brown Shrikes and White-cheeked Starlings that spent the winter on the island are beginning to move north.
Some individual Crested Serpent Eagle juveniles are well along in their moult.
A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle. It is within the territory of an adult pair and gets chased off every time it is spotted, yet it stubbornly stays put.
I have been able to document Pin-tailed Snipe wintering on Ishigaki Island as a definite record. This is the individual confirmed last November. Construction started nearby and I was too busy with work over the year-end and New Year period to get out and check, but it was wintering at the same spot.
Pin-tailed Snipe had been observed here as late as late February 2024, but a solid wintering record had remained elusive. Having confirmed this bird from November through to late January, it now stands as a firm wintering record. I can only hope this individual stays on through to the spring Pin-tailed Snipe season in April.
This Pin-tailed Snipe left a strong impression, so I've been able to identify it individually. You can tell at a glance. ^^ First-winter plumage.
A Taiga Bean Goose that had been reported a little while back was resting in the paddies. Waders present included Pied Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Long-toed Stints, Wood Sandpipers, Common Redshanks, Common Greenshanks, Marsh Sandpipers and Common Snipe. An out-of-season Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was also there on its own. Temminck's Stints have been numerous this season — I confirmed several birds.
Bean Geese had been seen in multiple individuals, but on this day there was only one.
This breaks the latest date record for Pin-tailed Snipe on Ishigaki Island by a full month!!
I found it among a small flock of Common Snipe. It was not a typical Pin-tailed Snipe individual, and at first I wavered between that and Swinhoe's Snipe, but after watching for a while I became certain it was Pin-tailed. I stuck it out for about an hour and managed to get photos of the tail feathers as documentary evidence.
It is an exceptionally Swinhoe's-like individual, which makes it all the more interesting. This is definitely a Pin-tailed Snipe I won't forget in a hurry. ^^
The previous late record for Pin-tailed Snipe on Ishigaki was an adult on 18 October, so this is a substantial update to the record. ^^
Incidentally, the earliest record is a juvenile in late February. That individual may well have been wintering, though.
Pin-tailed Snipe, first-winter plumage.
The Common Ringed Plover that appeared in early September was still present — three weeks into its stay. It seems to be moving widely around the island, between the rice paddies and the coast. The Javan Pond Heron is also on an extended visit.
The first Pacific Golden Plover juvenile of the season has also arrived. When these appear, the wader migration is in its final stages.
Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe numbers fluctuate daily as residents mix with birds moving through.
A Kentish Plover still present.
No change among the Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe, but a second Curlew Sandpiper of the season had arrived. The other waders are the usual crowd, numbers fluctuating as they linger on.
Pin-tailed Snipe, adult.
Javan Pond Heron have increased, with 4 birds confirmed at 3 sites. They seem to be turning up steadily on Okinawa Island too, and have become a fixture of this time of year. I recorded the first juveniles of the season for Black-winged Stilt, Long-toed Stint, Wood Sandpiper, and Marsh Sandpiper. Both the variety and numbers of juveniles are growing day by day.
Two Javan Pond Herons. Not particularly wary — easy to observe.
On Ishigaki Island, the autumn wader passage is growing more active by the day, with both species and numbers on the rise.
In the paddies I recorded the first Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, and Long-toed Stint of the season. Little Ringed Plover juveniles have also arrived. Wood Sandpiper can be seen in flocks of several dozen birds across various paddy areas around the island. Common Greenshank are also passing through in good numbers. Four Whiskered Tern — the first of the season — had arrived as well.
The first Curlew Sandpiper of the season.
The wader migration has started on Ishigaki Island. Along the coast, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Terek Sandpipers, Eurasian Whimbrels, and Greater Sand Plovers have appeared, while the paddyfields have received Common Greenshanks, Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpipers, Long-toed Stints, and Little Ringed Plovers. Numbers and species will keep building from here. With any luck, the snipe we have all been waiting for will show up in late August.
As the tide came close to high, Grey-tailed Tattlers and Terek Sandpipers gathered on the coastal rocks.
With shorebirds on the increase, I spent the entire day searching for waders. The result: starting with Asian Dowitcher, I recorded Pectoral Sandpiper, Little Stint, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Pin-tailed Snipe, Greater Sand Plover, and more — 21 species of waders in total. Seeing this many species in a single day is one of the great pleasures of this time of year. ^^
A Bar-tailed Godwit in summer plumage that suddenly dropped in alongside Black-winged Stilts and Black-tailed Godwits near the end of a shorebird search. Looking sharp in that summer plumage.
I tracked down the second-ever Ring-necked Duck for Okinawa Prefecture among a flock of 600 Tufted Ducks. The distance was over 200 metres and branches and leaves limited the view, but after searching for about an hour I managed to find it. Once I knew which area it was floating in, I didn't lose it again and was able to watch it for over an hour.
Ring-necked Duck, male breeding plumage. Following a record on Miyako Island in 2023, this became the second record in the prefecture — a valuable sighting.
Two Black-faced Spoonbills are roaming and staying around the island. As it gradually starts to feel like autumn, Garganey, Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Pintail are also increasing.
Adult Black-faced Spoonbill.