Hello Kantorians,

I just returned from a short trip to Tsushima Island, May 7-10, 1998. The trip was timed to miss Golden Week, and to coincide with the end of my folks' visit to Japan, on their way back to the U.S. from a birding trip in Bhutan. Since I'd never been anywhere near that part of Japan, I expected to see quite a few new birds, but also hoped to be able to find a few specific species sought by my father, who owns quite a hefty world lifelist (well over 7000 species, under the "traditional" taxonomy). We found the island much less populated by birds, especially migrants, than we'd hoped, and so the latter mission was not very successful.

There could have been many reasons for the paucity of birds (lateness of our visit, weather was too good, island was too big to concentrate the birds, too few birders with whom to pool observations, weren't paying attention, etc.), but as I created the triplist below, I began to realize that we actually saw quite a fair variety; perhaps it was just that the overall number of individuals was low (see parenthesized), especially of flycatchers and thrushes.

And of course, there were some notables (Japanese Night Heron (even though only heard, came quite close to actually seeing, but was lacking a flashlight at a critical moment), Collared Scops Owl, Red-tailed Robin, and a good variety of buntings).

Tsushima

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Little Grebe (4)			Podiceps ruficollis		Kaitsuburi
Japanese Night Heron (2H)		Gorsakius goisagi		Mizo-gio
Black-crowned Night Heron (10)		Nycticorax nycticorax		Hashibuto-goi
Little Heron (2)			Butorides striatus		Sasa-goi
Cattle Egret (150)			Bulbulcus ibis			Ama-sagi
Great Egret (1)				Egretta alba			Dai-sagi
Intermediate (Plumed) Egret (25)	Egretta intermedia		Chu-sagi
Little Egret (1)			Egretta garzetta		Ko-sagi
Gray Heron (10)				Ardea cinerea			Ao-sagi
Mallard (1)				Anas platyrhynchos		Ma-gamo
Osprey (6)				Pandion haliaetus		Misago
Honey Buzzard (125)			Pernis apivorus			Hachikuma
Black Kite (50)				Milvus migrans			Tobi
small Accipiter (1)			Accipiter sp.			taka
Common Buzzard (2)			Buteo buteo			Nosuri
Gray-faced Buzzard-Eagle (1)		Butastur indicus		Sashiba
Peregrine Falcon (3)			Falco peregrinus		Haya-busa
Ring-necked Pheasant (6)		Phasianus colchicus		Kiji
White-br. Waterhen (1H, not ID'd by us)	Amaurornis phoenicurus		Shirohara-kuina
Little Ringed Plover (2)		Charadrius dubius		Ko-chidori
Greenshank (1)				Tringa nebularia		Aoashi-shigi
Common Sandpiper (4)			Tringa hypoleucos		Iso-shigi
Far Eastern Curlew (6)			Numenius madagascariensis	Horoku-shigi
Black-tailed Gull (4)			Larus crassirostris		Umineko
Rufous Turtle Dove (10)			Streptopelia orientalis		Kiji-bato
Rock Dove (25)				Columba columba	
Japanese Green Pigeon (2)		Sphenurus sieboldii		Ao-bato
Oriental Cuckoo	(1H)			Cuculus saturatus		Tsutsudori
Collared Scops Owl (1)			Otus bakkamoena			O-konoha-zuku
Brown Hawk Owl (10)			Ninox scutulata			Aoba-zuku
Common Kingfisher (1)			Alcedo atthis			Kawasemi
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (10)		Dendrocopos kizuki		Ko-gera
Skylark (1)				Alauda arvensis			Hibari
Bank Swallow (1)			Riparia riparia			Shodo-tsubame
Barn Swallow (100)			Hirundo rustica			Tsubame
Red-rumped Swallow (8)			Hirundo daurica			Koshiaka-tsubame
Yellow Wagtail (4)			Motacilla flava			Tsumenaga-sekirei
Richard's Pipit (1)			Anthus novaeseelandiae		Iwami-sekeirei
Indian Tree Pipit (3)			Anthus hodgsoni			Binzui
Water Pipit (1)				Anthus spinoletta		Tahibari
Brown-eared Bulbul (100)		Hypsipetes amaurotis		Hiyodori
Brown Shrike (1)			Lanius cristatus		Aka-mozu
(Swinhoe's) Red-tailed Robin (1)	Erithacus sibilans		Shima-goma
Stonechat (1)				Saxicola torquata		No-bitaki
Brown Thrush (1H)			Turdus chrysolaus		Akahara
Bush Warbler (50)			Cettia diphone			Uguisi
Great Reed Warbler (10)			Acrocephalus arundinaceus	O-yoshikiri
Black-browed Reed Warbler (2)		Acrocephalus bistrigiceps	Ko-yoshikiri
Crowned Willow Warbler (5)		Phylloscopus occipitalis	Sendai-mushikui
Narcissus Flycatcher (1H)		Ficedula narcissina		Ki-bitaki
Blue-and-White Flycatcher (1)		Cyanoptila cyanomelana		O-ruri
Sooty Flycatcher (1)			Muscicapa sibirica		Same-bitaki
Asian Brown Flycatcher (5)		Muscicapa latirostris		Ko-same-bitaki
Black Paradise Flycatcher (2)		Terpsiphone atrocaudata		Sankocho
Long-tailed Tit (2)			Aegithalos caudatus		Enaga
Great Tit (20)				Parus major			Shiju-kara
Varied Tit (40)				Parus varius			Yama-gara
Japanese White-eye (80)			Zosterops japonica		Mejiro
Meadow Bunting (25)			Emberiza cioides		Hojiro
Little Bunting (10)			Emberiza pusilla		Ko-hoaka
Yellow-browed Bunting (2)		Emberiza chrysophrys		Kimayu-hojiro
Rustic Bunting (1)			Emberiza rustica		Kashira-daka
Yellow-breasted Bunting (4)		Emberiza aureola		Shima-aoji
Chestnut Bunting (20)			Emberiza rutilla		Shima-nojiko
Japanese Yellow Bunting (3)		Emberiza suphurata		Nojiko
Black-faced Bunting (6)			Emberiza spodocephala		Aoji
Brambling (1)				Fringilla montifringilla	Atori
Oriental Greenfinch (150)		Carduelis sinica		Kawara-hiwa
Chinese Grosbeak (1)			Eophona migratoria		Ko-ikaru
Russet Sparrow (5)			Passer rutilans			Nyunai-suzume
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (50)		Passer montanus			Suzume
Red-cheeked Myna (2)			Sturnus philippensis		Ko-mukidori 
Gray Starling (1)			Sturnus cineraceus		Mukudori
Jay (5)					Garrulus glandarius		Kakesu
Rook (30)				Corvus frugilegus		Miyama-garasu
Carrion Crow (10)			Corvus corone			Hashiboso-gara
Jungle Crow (100)			Corvus macrorhynchos		Hashibuto-garasu


Good birding!
Mike

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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
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