Terns and Pratincoles

Ukishima - Hasaki June 20, 1998

Highlights The bright sun gave us a perfect view on a group of about hunderd terns on the beach just north of the harbor of Hasaki. We could recognize 4 species (two subspecies of Common Tern, Little Tern, Artic Tern and Roseate Tern) despite disturbances by fishermen, people with dogs, a moterbike and a friendly chatting local birder. There was also a group of Great Knots, of which Brazil's Birds of Japan seems to mention migration during April and May only.

Participants: IKENAGA Hiroshi, Fer-Jan de Vries

Weather: Rather gusty wind after a rainy night. At dawn it was dry but overcast, but the clouds disappeared during first half of the morning, leaving a bright sky and suddenly hot weather. Very good visibility: especially when watching the terns with the sun behind us.

1. Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis [Kaitsuburi]
   • On the Shin-Tone river.
2. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo [Kawa-u]
   • Ukishima
3. Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha [Karu-gamo]
   • Ukishima
4. Pochard Aythya ferina [Hoshi-hajiro]
   • Sakura kawa, where the 125 crosses the river. 1 male.
5. Herring Gull Larus argentatus [Seguro-kamome]
   • Hasaki: one immature.
6. Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris [Umineko]
   • Hasaki: at least 50.
7. Streaked Shearwater Calonectris ieucomelas [Oo-mizunagidori]
   • Hasaki: everywhere at some distance of the coast of the Pacific. At least 150.
8. Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii [Beni-ajisashi]
   • Hasaki: 3 ex.
   • Descriptive note: Adult birds. Bright red legs; white breast and belly with a roseate tinge; two birds with entirely black bills, the third with a black pointed bill with a red base. Streamers of tail project beyond wing tips. Overall grey color of the Roseate Tern is rather light, when compared with the Common Terns.
   • N.b.: Brazil's Birds of Japan is out of date: it mentions only one "accidental" pair in Honshu. According to Ikenaga-san yearly one or two birds are seen at Choushi/Hasaki.
9. Common Tern Sterna hirundo longipennis [Ajisashi]
   • Hasaki: about 40 ex.
   • Descriptive note: Several birds in first summer plumage: all with a dark carpal bar on (upper coverts of the) the wing and (compared with the first summer Artic Tern rather low) white forehead.
   • N.b.: Brazil's Birds of Japan mentions main migration in May.
   Common Tern Sterna hirundo minussensis [Ajisashi]
   • Hasaki: 1 ex.
   • Descriptive note: Red legs, dark bill. The red was less bright than the red of the legs of the roseate terns.
10. Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea [Kyoku-ajisashi]
    • Hasaki: 1 bird in first summer plumage. Shorter legs than Common, giving it a fast wiggling walk, High white forehead, white from base of bill to over the skull beyond the eye projection. Roundish head. Dark carpal bar on upperwing: however, this dark edge is not as sharp and black as on Common, and also curves a bit around the forewing downwards. Dark bill.
11. Little Tern Sterna albifrons [Ko-ajisashi]
    • Hasaki: adult + first summer birds. In total about 50 ex.
    • On the pebbly beach of the new manmade pond where Route 125 crosses the Sakuragawa there was another group of about 50 ex.
    • The colony of about 80 birds on the Miho-coast of Kasumigaura was still present.
12. Chinese Little Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis [Yoshi-goi]
    • Ukishima: 1 ex.
13. Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax [Goi-sagi]
    • Ukishima: several
14. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis [Ama-sagi]
    • Ukishima: several
15. Little Egret Egretta garzetta [Ko-sagi]
    • Ukishima: several
16. Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia [Chuu-sagi]
    • Ukishima: several
17. Gray Heron Ardea cinerea [Ao-sagi]
    • Ukishima: several. At Sakurakawa a group of 20 birds.
18. Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius [Kochidori]
    • Hasaki: several.
19. Snowy Plover Charadrius alexandrinus [Shiro-chidori]
    • Hasaki: several.
20. Sanderling Crocethia alba [Miyubi-shigi]
    • Hasaki: 2 ex: one in winter, the other in partial summer plumage. Not yet red though.
21. Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris [Oba-shigi]
    • Hasaki: 12 ex
    • N.b.: Brazil's Birds of Japan mentions migration during April and May only.
22. Gray-tailed Tatler Tringa brevipes [Kiashi-shigi] 1 ex on flying and calling north of the harbor of Hasaki.
23. Wandering Tatler Tringa incana [Meriken-kiashi-shigi]
    • Hasaki: 1 ex.
    • It was moving rather quickly over, (mainly under and behind) concrete blocks in the Tonegawa just south of Hasaki harbour on exactly the same spot as the Wandering Tatlers we observed at May 9, 1998. It remained silent: the three short glimpses I got by scope suggested a smooth finely barred breast.
24. Indian Pratincole Glareola maldivarum [Tsubame-chidori]
    • 2 ex apparently breeding on dry sandy field 1 km sw of Ukishima. (same spot where we saw them flying one week ago)
    • Even with binoculars the birds are very hard to distinguish when they are sitting on the dry clay. One bird did the breeding while the other was sitting or sometimes standing nearby. They changed places once during the ten minutes we watched them. When the birds were standing they revealed rather striking white undertail coverts, as well as the beautiful head and neck colorations. I could see the red gape of the bill: the red color occurs only at part of the bill below the eye, giving the impression almost of only a red "lower-"gape. Exactly as on the picture in the Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol 3.
    • N.b. breeding in Central Honshu is of very recent years, outdating on this point Brazil's Birds of Japan.
25. Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus [Choogenboo]
    • Ukishima: 1 female.
26. Bamboo Partridge Bambusicola thoracica [Kojukei]
    • Calling at various places between Ukishima and Hasaki.
27. Rufous Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis [Kiji-bato]
    • Ukishima: several.
28. Skylark Alauda arvensis [Hibari]
    • Ukishima: several.
29. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica [Tsubame]
    • Ukishima and Hasaki, several.
30. White Wagtail Motacilla alba [Haku-sekirei]
    • Hasaki: several
31. Brown-eared Bulbul Hypsipetes amaurotis [Hiyodori]
    • Hasaki: several
32. Bush Warbler Cettia diphone [Uguisu]
    • Calling at various places between Ukishima and Hasaki.
33. Japanese Marsh Warbler Megalurus pryeri [Ou-sekka]
    • Ukishima: several singing.
34. Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis [Sekka]
    • Ukishima: several singing.
35. Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus [Ou-yoshikiri]
    • Ukishima; and singing birds at many places along the road to Hasaki.
36. Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps [Ko-yoshikiri]
    • Ukishima: several singing.
37. Japanese Reed Bunting Emberiza yessoensis [Ko-jurin]
    • Ukishima: several singing.
38. Tree Sparrow Passer montanus [Suzume]
    • Ukishima: several.
39. Gray Starling Sturnus cineraceus [Mukudori]
    • Ukishima: several.
40. Carrion Crow Corvus corone [Hashiboso-garasu]
    • Ukishima: several.
41. Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchos [Hashibuto-garasu]
    • Hasaki: several.