Mon Sep 14 18:30:00 JST 1998
It was fairly obvious they were nesting, as they tended to remain in a very small area most of the time, and called frequently, especially when Jungle Crows (Hashibuto-garasu) came around, which was often. We witnessed a few prey exchanges before finally discovering the nest. They managed to keep its location secret for a while because they tended to approach it from the opposite side to where we were standing (this due not to our presence but to wind direction and to how the branches were arranged). The nest was high and well concealed, but we could make out two nearly full-grown nestlings. We could never get a good enough look to identify the prey items; either small mammals or small birds. The adults themselves specialized in that staple food for Hobbies, dragonflies, but seldom brought these to the young. The late timing of their nesting seems to have coincided well with the burgeoning dragonfly migration.
On warm days especially, they could be in view almost constantly, hunting. They seemed able to spot dragonflies from a considerable distance (up to 200 meters), fly directly to it, and then at the last moment swerve so as to grab it with their talons. They would then pluck the wings off and consume the body, all in flight.
The fledgling young were tentative. They were much plumper and shorter tailed than the adults, and could generally only fly in a straight line. This combination of characters gave them a quite pigeon-like appearance. Landings were especially awkward, but gradually improved. After a few days of being out of the nest, and doing little else than the occasional practice flight in between prey deliveries, the young became hungry enough and impatient enough to attempt dragonfly capture on their own. These efforts were almost completely unsuccessful. They used the same strategy as that of the adults, displaying the same remarkable vision, but the final swerve and grab always seemed fruitless. Usually, they would bend their heads down to meet their feet before seeming to realize there was nothing there.
Next month I'll tell you how things eventually turn out ..
The search for shorebirds (waders) was difficult; low numbers, low variety. Predictably, all were adults until about the second week of the month. Then, certain species changed to almost exclusively juveniles. Only Sanderlings, tattlers, turnstones and some of the plovers continued to show any numbers of adults by the end of the month.
The two swift species only appeared on one day of the month each. Both days were stormy, with low, dense clouds which the swifts appeared to be fleeing. On the day of the needletails, small groups were here and there, and I rushed home and looked from there until a couple flew by near enough to make it onto the "yard list".
We've stopped venturing into the inland hills and are back to our "winter" route, that being the 90 or so most northeasterly kilometers of coastline of Honshu, from Misawa to Shiriya. Maybe by this time next month the Harlequins will have returned.
Little Grebe Kaitsuburi Podiceps ruficollis Great Crested Grebe Kanmuri-kaitsuburi Podiceps cristatus Streaked Shearwater O-mizunagidori Calonectris leucomelas Great Cormorant Kawa-u Phalacrocorax carbo Temminck's Cormorant Umi-u Phalacrocorax filamentosus Chinese Little Bittern (8/1(4)) Yoshi-goi Ixobrychus sinensis Black-cr. Night Heron Goi-sagi Nycticorax nycticorax Great Egret Dai-saga Egretta alba Little Egret Ko-sagi Egretta garzetta Gray Heron Ao-sagi Ardea cinerea Mute Swan Kobu-hakucho Cygnus cygnus Whooper Swan (2 disabled) O-hakucho Cygnus olor Bewick's Swan (1 disabled) Ko-hakucho Cygnus bewicki Mandarin Duck (1) Oshidori Aix galericulata Spot-billed Duck Karu-gamo Anas poecilorhyncha Pochard (1 disabled) Hoshi-hajiro Aythya ferina Osprey Misago Pandion haliaetus Black Kite Tobi Milvus migrans Northern Goshawk (1) O-taka Accipiter gentilis Common Buzzard Nosuri Buteo buteo Asian Marsh Harrier (1) Chuhi Circus spilonotus Peregrine Falcon (4) Hayabusa Falco peregrinus Northern Hobby (10) Chigo-hayabusa Falco subbuteo Green Pheasant Kiji Phasianus colchicusJapanese Moorhen Ban Gallinula chloropus Eurasian Coot O-ban Fulica atra Little Ringed Plover (1) Ko-chidori Charadrius dubius Kentish Plover (28) Shiro-chidori Charadrius alexandrinus Mongolian Plover (10) Medai-chidori Charadrius mongolus Lesser Golden Plover (1) Munaguro Pluvialis dominica Ruddy Turnstone (5) Kyojo-shigi Arenaria interpres Red-necked Stint (100) Tonen Calidris ruficollis Dunlin (8/25(1juv)) Hama-shigi Calidris alpina Great Knot (8/24,26(1juv)) Oba-shigi Calidris tenuirostris Sanderling Miyubi-shigi Crocethia alba Wood Sandpiper (1) Takabu-shigi Tringa glareola Gray-tailed Tattler Kiashi-shigi Tringa brevipes Common Sandpiper (8) Iso-shigi Tringa hypoleucos Terek Sandpiper (8/25(2)) Sorihashi-shigi Xenux cinereus Whimbrel (8/30(85)) Chushaku-shigi Numenius phaeopus Common Black-headed Gull Yuri-kamome Larus ridibundus Slaty-backed Gull O-seguro-kamome Larus schistisagus Black-tailed Gull Umineko Larus crassirostris Common Tern (8/30(160)) Ajisashi Sterna hirundo longipennis Rufous Turtle Dove Kiji-bato Streptopelia orientalis Common Cuckoo Kakko Cuculus canorus White-thr. Needle-t. Swift (25) Hario-amatsubame Chaetura caudacuta Pacific Swift (100) Amatsubame Apus pacificus Common Kingfisher Kawasemi Alcedo atthis Great Spotted Woodpecker Aka-gera Dendrocopus major Skylark Hibari Alauda arvensis Bank Swallow Shodo-tsubame Riparia riparia Barn Swallow Tsubame Hirundo rustica Asiatic House Martin Iwa-tsubame Delichon ?? Gray Wagtail Ki-sekirei Motacilla cinerea Black-backed Wagtail Haku-sekirei Motacilla lugens Japanese Wagtail (3) Seguro-sekirei Motacilla grandis Brown-eared Bulbul Hiyodori Hypsipetes amaurotis Bull-headed Shrike Mozu Lanius bucephalus Blue Rock Thrush (1) Isohiyodori Monticola solitarius Brown Thrush Akahara Turdus chrysolaus Bush Warbler Uguisu Cettia diphone Japanese Marsh Warbler O-sekka Megalurus pryeri Black-browed Reed Warbler Ko-yoshiki Acrocephalus bistrigiceps Great Reed Warbler O-yoshikiri Acrocephalus arundinaceus Varied Tit Yama-gara Parus varius Great Tit Shiju-kara Parus major Japanese White-Eye Mejiro Zosterops japonica Meadow Bunting Hojiro Emberiza cioides Japanese Reed Bunting (20) Ko-jurin Emberiza yessoensis Gray-headed Bunting Hoaka Emberiza fucata Black-faced Bunting Aoji Emberiza spodocephala Reed Bunting O-jurin Emberiza schoeniclus Oriental Greenfinch Kawara-hira Carduelis sinica Japanese Grosbeak (8/1(1)) Ikaru Eophona personata Hawfinch (3) Shime Coccothraustes coccothraustes Eurasian Tree Sparrow Suzume Passer montanus Red-cheeked Myna (200) Ko-mukudori Sturnus philippensis Gray Starling (1000) Mukudori Sturnus cineraceus Azure-winged Magpie Onaga Cyanopica cyana Carrion Crow Hashiboso-garasu Corvus corone Jungle Crow Hashibuto-garasu Corbus macrorhynchos
Good Birding,
Mike and Lee ********************************* Mike Danzenbaker and Lee Hung PSC 76 Box 6193 APO AP 96319-6193**********************************