Dear Kantorians,

all March we spent on some of the Nansei-shoto (including few days in Arasaki), not mainly for birdwatching but for collecting flies. Of course, beside field work we also looked for other two-winged creatures, and here we summarize the results. I do not present a full species list (about 120 in total), but hope to have picked out the most interesting observations completed by some notes on various species. For general information, please, ask for the details you are interested in. (The weather was fairly good for rainy season conditions, about half of all the time it was raining.)

Arasaki, February 24-26:

Fairly late for the cranes in normal years, but this February they stayed longer than usual in big numbers despite of fine warm weather (estimations by others: 8000 Hooded and 800 White-naped Cranes). We also found at least 1 ad. and 2 immat. Common Cranes and 1 Sandhill. No problem, of course, to spot Rook and Jackdaw, the latter in small numbers in both phases. Additionally in Arasaki area, a few Gray-headed Bunting, 3 Penduline Tit, 2 Gray-backed Myna among Gray Starlings, and Peregrine Falcon, Osprey (a maximum of 11 spms), 1 Falcated Teal, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Spoonbill.

For going from island to island we always took ferries, but a very few Streaked Shearwaters were the only seabirds at all (sorry, also 1 Brown Booby). For example, when going from Naha to Naze on March 24, we saw not a single bird within 10 hours of watching except for the stopover on Tokunoshima.

Okinawa, Man-ko, March 1 and 23:

No Saunder` s Gulls. On 1st (during high tide), 7 roosting Black-faced Spoonbill, further, 4 Marsh Sandpiper among Redshank, Greenshank and others. 1 Peregrine flying over Naha Harbour, Chinese Bulbul. On 23rd (at low tide): 6 Marsh Sandpiper, 1 Ruff.

Tokashiki Island, March 1-3:

1 Woodcock in secondary forest and a flock of about 10 munias, probably Chestnut Munia, but so far I have not read a description or have seen a picture of this species (but of other munias). Further, some Red-capped Green Pigeon, Gray-faced Buzzard, Japanese Lesser Sparrowhawk.

Iriomote Island, March 5-14:

Ryukyu Crescent Eagle daily, a maximum of 14 some morning between Funaura and Ohara; also more or less every day Ryukyu Minivet, Ryukyu Scops Owl (together with Brown Hawk Owl), White-breasted Waterhen, Purple Heron, Intermediate Egret (8+9 some day). A very few Wood Pigeon, Narcissus Flycatcher, Olive-backed Pipit, Little Ringed Plover (5 and 4, resp.), Brown and Dusky Thrush. Only once we saw: Brown Shrike (1 female of subsp. lucionensis), 3 Richard` s Pipit (also heard the call), 1 Arctic Warbler, 1 female ad. Peregrine, 1 Blackbird in Sonai Village (I took two slides of the bird good enough to identify species.), 1 pair of Malayan Night Heron (in orchards of Sonai) very close and not at all shy in daylight, 1 Hoopoe, 1 male Cinnemon Bittern, 2 Japanese Waxwing, 2 Woodcock entering a sugarcane field at sunset, 2 Green Sandpiper. The biggest concentration of waders were 70 Black-bellied Plover + 12 Greenshank in tidal flats of the east coast. Superficially confusing we found many of the molting Gray Wagtails: not only they had that white V illustrated in the Field Guide, but also a much more conspicuous white spot around upper wing coverts.

Okinawa, Yambaru, Yona area, 15-22:

We lived in the Yona Field Station of University of Ryukyus, situated just at forest edge and beside a river. There we heard the calls of Okinawa Rail (1-2 spms) almost all night after sunset and in morning again, the calls were mainly of that type recently described by Tom, and additional calls similar to those described in The Birds of Japan. Even by working in the forest day by day we could not find Pryer` s Woodpecker, I guess mainly because it was raining most of time during our stay. A few Siberian Bluechat (females), some Red-capped Green Pigeon, 1 female Lesser Sparrowhawk very close during heavy rain, only 1 Ryukyu Robin and no songs at all, 1 dead Ryukyu Scops Owl in forest, 1 immat. male Gray Bunting (probably some more of this species, but buntings were extremely shy and hidden in forest).

Amami Oshima, March 25-30:

Among the endemics Lidth` s Jay was most easily to find both in primary and secondary forest, but often we only heard the various calls; at night once 1 + 1 Amami Woodcock along roadside. Ryukyu Robin was singing all the day and in great density, once we spotted a warbling bird in very dark forest at Mt. Yuwandake not more than 20 m away what was one of the most impressive observations during the trip. Amami White-backed Woodpecker, what a strange name for this dark bird, we often heard when drumming, but we saw the species only once: a male, later also a female searching for insects on logs on forest floor, very secretive and inconspicuous. Further, a flock of House Swift (5-10 spms), 2-3 Gray Bunting, 1 male Yellow-throated Bunting.

Good birding for all of you,
Mathias & Catrin Jaschhof