April featured no rarities, but very good variety (90+ species on the 4th). The warm weather much of the month brought many spring migrants and summer breeders earlier than I'd expected them, and earlier than Mark Brazil's big book expected them. Perhaps the effects of El Nino still. But in the early part of the month, most of the wintering birds remained. In fact, the only ones that didn't were Steller's Sea Eagle (O-washi) and the flocks of geese (gan) that passed through in early March (although, surprisingly, 3 Bean Geese (Hishikui) appeared on the 18th, among one of the last groups of swans to pass through). It looks as though we'll continue to see both swans (hakucho) all summer, since there are 3 Whooper (O-hakucho) and 1 Bewick's (Ko-hakucho) on the duckpond, which are probably flightless (one has a visibly damaged wing).
Many of the wintering birds remain (probably "staging") even now. In particular, there are more Dusky Thrushes (Tsugumi) (hundreds) and Hawfinches (Shime) still present than there were at any time during the winter. There was still a Glaucous Gull (Shiro-kamome) on the 26th, and flocks of scoters and loons (ohamu) continue at Shiriyazaki. And many birds are already nesting. Temminck's Cormorants (Umi-u) and Slaty-backed Gulls (O-seguro-kamome) have established sites, and Peregrines at Shiriyazaki have been incubating for weeks. Brown Dippers (Kawagarasu) are feeding nestlings in Oirase Gorge. Tree Sparrows (Suzume) and Gray Starlings (Mukudori) are forcing their way into our eaves. The one bird that's continuing to keep me in suspense is Spectacled Guillemot (Keima-furi). They've been present just offshore now for 2 months; when are they finally going to come in and get started?
It seemed as though every farmer in the area chose this month to burn the fields for the upcoming season. It seemed to me to ruin the habitat of the Common (O-jurin) and Japanese Reed Buntings (Ko-jurin), who'd already settled in, and to make the area less inviting to the Japanese Marsh Warblers (O-sekka), who arrived anyway, took their places and are now singing like crazy. The place was so lush and green last July, but right now is little more than black earth with some brown reed patches scattered across it.
In order to pack more detailed information into this list, I've changed from the set of prefixes I'd been using earlier to explicit dates and numbers of individuals. The number means at least that many individuals over the course of the month. A '~' before a number means "approximately". A '->' BEFORE a date indicates a (presumed) last sighting of a wintering or transient species; read it as "until". A '->' AFTER a date indicates a first sighting of a summering or transient species; read it as "onwards". Naturally, the "until" dates could change next month. Also, since there are many areas I can only bird on weekends, these dates have several days' "slop" to them, and since I was away on Miyakejima (separate write-up) on the weekend of April 11-12, arrival and departure dates of the weekends preceding and following that one are prone to twice as much "slop".
A '*' before a bird name means nesting. '*?' means suspected nesting.
My apologies for my eratic taxonomy. It's based on my own whimsy, and not on any established systematization.
Maximize the size of your mail window to view this message in a reasonable format.
Arctic Loon (->4/26 (25)) Gavia arctica Ohamu Pacific Loon (4/4 (1)) Gavia pacifica Shiroeri-ohamu Red-throated Loon (4/4 (1)) Gavia stellata Abi *?Great Crested Grebe (14) Podiceps cristatus Kanmuri-kaitsuburi Red-necked Grebe (->4/4 (2)) Podiceps grisegena Akaeri-kaitsuburi Horned Grebe (->4/18 (10)) Podiceps auritus Mimi-kaitsuburi Eared Grebe ((12) Podiceps nigricollis Hajiro-kaitsuburi *?Little Grebe (20) Podiceps ruficollis Kaitsuburi Short-t Shearwater (4/18-> (thousands)) Puffinus tenuirostris Hashiboso-mizunagidori *?Great Cormorant (20) Phalacrocorax carbo Kawa-u *Temminck's Cormorant (30) P. filamentosus Umi-u *?Pelagic Cormorant (30) P. pelagicus Hime-u Great Egret (25) Egretta alba Dai-sagi Little Egret (1) Egretta garzetta Ko-sagi Gray Heron (25) Ardea cinerea Ao-sagi Brant (4/5 (2)) Branta bernicla (nigrescens) Koku-gan Bean Goose (4/19 (3)) Anser fabalis Hishikui *Mute Swan (6) Cygnus cygnus Kobu-hakucho Whooper Swan (->4/26 (12)) C. olor O-hakucho Bewick's Swan (->early (1)) C. columbianus Ko-hakucho Mallard (->early (10)) Anas platyrhynchos Ma-gamo *?Spot-billed Duck (100+) Anas poecilorhyncha Karu-gamo Common Teal (50+) Anas crecca Ko-gamo Falcated Duck (->4/26 (15)) Anas falcata Yoshi-gamo Gadwall (->4/26 (72)) Anas strepera Okayoshi-gamo Eurasion Wigeon (200+) Anas penelope Hidori-gamo Northern Pintail (200+) Anas acuta Onaga-gamo Garganey (4/4 (1)) Anas querquedula Shimaaji Northern Shoveler (4/1,26 (2)) Anas clypeata Hashibiro-gamo Common Pochard (50) Aythya ferina Hoshi-hajiro Tufted Duck (300+) Aythya fuligula Kinkuro-hajiro Greater Scaup (400+) Aythya marila Suzu-gamo Common Scoter (4/4,26 (50+)) Melanitta nigra Kuro-gamo Velvet Scoter (4/4,26 (200+)) Melanitta fusca Birodo-kinkuro Harlequin Duck (50) Histrionicus histrionicus Shinori-gamo Common Goldeneye (->4/19 (25)) Bucephala clangula Hojiro-gamo Smew (->4/26 (8)) Mergus albellus Miko-aisa Red-br Merganser (->4/26 (20)) Mergus serrator Umi-aisa Common Merganser (->4/5 (3)) Mergus merganser Kawa-aisa Osprey (4/4-> (2)) Pandion haliaetus Misago *Black Kite (100+) Milvus migrans Tobi White-tailed Eagle (->4/4 (1)) Haliaeetus albicilia Ojiro-washi Northern Goshawk (->4/24 (4)) Accipiter gentilis O-taka Eur. Sparrowhawk (->4/19 (3)) Accipiter nisus Hai-taka *?Common Buzzard (10) Buteo buteo Nosuri N. (Hen) Harrier (4/4,5,18 (2)) Circus cyaneus Haiiro-chuhi *?Marsh Harrier (4/24-> (2)) Circus aeroginosus Chuhi *Peregrine Falcon (4) Falco peregrinus Haya-busa Merlin (4/18,26 (2)) Falco columbarius Ko-chogenbo Com. (Green) Pheasant (5) Phasianus colchicus Kiji *?European Coot (100+) Fulica atra O-ban *?Little Ringed Plover (6) Charadrius dubius Ko-chidori Pac. Golden Plover (4/24 (~40)) Pluvialis pacificus Munaguro Northern Lapwing (4/5,6 (6)) Vanellus vanellus Tageri Spotted Redshank (17) Tringa erythropus Tsuru-shigi Common Sandpiper (4/18-> (4)) Tringa hypoleucos Iso-shigi Eurasian Curlew (4/25 (1)) Numenius arquata Daishaku-shigi Common Snipe (4/26 (2)) Gallinago gallinago Ta-shigi Latham's Snipe (4/17 (~8)) Gallinago hardwickii Oji-shigi C. Black-headed Gull (~50) Larus ridibundus Yuri-kamome Herring Gull (6) Larus argentatus vegae Seguro-kamome *Slaty-backed Gull (~200) Larus schistisagus O-seguro-kamome Glaucous-winged Gull (->4/4 (2)) Larus glaucescens Washi-kamome Glaucous Gull (->4/26 (4)) Larus hyperboreus Shiro-kamome Common Gull (~5000) Larus canus Kamome Black-tailed Gull (~200) Larus crassirostris Umineko Black-l. Kittewake (->4/4 (1)) Larus tridactylus Mitsuyubi-kamome Common Murre (4/4 (1)) Uria aalge Umigarasu Spectacled Guillemot (~10) Cepphus carbo Keima-furi Long-billed Murrelet (4/4 (1)) Brachyramphus perdix Madara-umisuzume Ancient Murrelet (4/5 (6)) Synthliboramphus antiquus Umisuzume Crested Auklet (4/4 (2)) Aethia cristatella Etorofu-umisuzume Rhinoceros Auklet (~200) Cerorhinca monocerata Utou Rufous Turtle Dove (~50) Streptopelia orientalis Kiji-bato Rock Dove (~100) Columba columba *?Common Kingfisher (->4/4 (5)) Alcedo atthis Kawasemi Great Spotted Woodpecker (~10) Dendrocopus major Aka-gera Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (1) Dendrocopos kizuki Ko-gera *?Skylark (~25) Alauda arvensis Hibari Bank Swallow (4/19 (1)) Riparia riparia Shodo-tsubame *?Barn Swallow (4/4-> (~75)) Hirundo rustica Tsubame *?Asian House Martin (4/5-> (~25)) Delichon urbica Iwa-tsubame Gray Wagtail (~10) Motacilla cinerea Ki-sekirei Black-backed Wagtail (~75) Motacilla lugens Haku-sekirei Japanese Wagtail (->4/18 (2)) Motacilla grandis Seguro-sekirei Brown-eared Bulbul (~50) Hypsipetes amaurotis Hiyodori Bull-headed Shrike (~10) Lanius bucephalus Mozu @*Brown Dipper (4/25 (4)) Cinclus pallasii Kawagurasu *Wren (~10) Troglodytes troglodytes Misosazai Daurian Redstart (4/2 (1)) Phoenicurus auroreus Jo-bitaki Stonechat (4/18-> (~30)) Saxicola torquata No-bitaki *?Blue Rock Thrush (5) Monticola solitarius Isohiyodori Brown Thrush (4/13-> (~25)) Turdus chrysolaus Akahara Dusky Thrush (~200) Turdus naumanni Tsugumi Bush Warbler (4/1-> (~15)) Cettia diphone Uguisi Japanese Marsh Warbler (4/24-> (6)) Megalurus pryeri O-sekka Goldcrest (~5) Regulus regulus Kikuitadaki @Blue-and-White Flycatcher (4/25 (4)) Cyanoptila cyanomelana O-ruri Long-tailed Tit (~10) Aegithalos caudatus Enaga Willow Tit (4) Parus montanus Ko-gara Coal Tit (~10) Parus ater Hi-gara Great Tit (~30) Parus major Shiju-kara Varied Tit (4) Parus varius Yama-gara @Nuthatch (4/18,25 (2)) Sitta europaea Goju-kara @Tree Creeper (4/18 (1)) Certhia familiaris Kibashiri Japanese White-eye (4/5-> (~40)) Zosterops japonica Mejiro Meadow Bunting (~15) Emberiza cioides Hojiro Gray-headed Bunting (4/24-> (1)) Emberiza fucata Ho-aka Rustic Bunting (->4/26 (~30)) Emberiza rustica Kashira-daka Black-faced Bunting (~4/5-> (~35)) Emberiza spodocephala Aoji Japanese Reed Bunting (3/28-> (~6)) Emberiza yessoensis Ko-jurin Reed Bunting (~100) Emberiza schoenicius O-jurin Brambling (->4/19 (~40)) Fringilla montifringilla Atori *?Oriental Greenfinch (~200) Carduelis sinica Kawara-hiwa Siskin (->4/19 (~10)) Carduelis spinus Ma-hiwa Long-tailed Rose Finch (->4/19 (~8)) Uragus sibiricus Beni-mashiko Japanese Grosbeak (4/26,28 (4)) Eophona personata Ikaru Hawfinch (~15) Coocothraustes coccothraustes Shime *Eurasian Tree Sparrow (~100) Passer montanus Suzume Red-cheeked Myna (4/29-> (8)) Sturnus philippensis Ko-mukidori *Gray Starling (~100) Sturnus cineraceus Mukudori Jay (~10) Garrulus glandarius Kakesu Azure-winged Magpie (~15) Cyanopica cyana Onaga Carrion Crow (~50) Corvus corone Hashiboso-gara *Jungle Crow (~500) Corvus macrorhynchos Hashibuto-garasu Good birding! Mike *************************** mikexlee@heronet.or.jp 011-81-176-53-2365 Misawa, Japan U.S. mail address physically located here: Mike Danzenbaker & Lee Hung PSC 76 Box 6193 APO AP 96319-6193 ***************************