Waders in South West Ibaraki and Chooshi

Sakuragawa Amada, Hasaki, Chooshi, Azuma: September 19, 1998


Saturday at 7.00 am Ikenaga-san picked me up for what turned out to be a surprisingly varied and rich birding trip through the South-West corner of Ibaraki. The initial plan had been raptor watching Tsukuba-san, but the early morning fog made us change our mind.

The day however turned into quite a hot and sunny day with Tsukuba-san prominent featuring in the background. This warm Saturday was following a week in which a strong typhoon passed Tokyo bringing birds North form as far as the Bonin Islands... The water in the rivers was still higher as usual and brown of color. Until kilometers out of the coast of Chooshi the ocean was colored brown...

Either the after effects of the typhoon or just the progressing migration season brought a number of unusual birds to South-West Ibaraki. Garganey, Easter Reef Heron, Pomarine/Parasitic Jaeger, Common Ringed Plover (new for me in Japan), Greater Sand Plover and Osprey for instance.


Numbers larger than five are often just estimates.

  1. Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis [Kaitsuburi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
    • Shintonegawa: 2 ex
  2. Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha [Karu-gamo]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 10 ex
    • Shintonegawa: few
    • Chooshi: 1 ex
  3. Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata [Hashibiro-gamo]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 3
  4. Green-winged Teal Anas crecca crecca [Ko-gamo]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: > 500 ex (eclipse)
    • Shintonegawa: > 20
  5. Garganey Anas querquedula [Shimaaji]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 4 ex (eclipse)
  6. Northern Pintail Anas acuta [Onaga-gamo]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
  7. Pochard/Canvasback Aythya ferina? [Hoshi-hajiro?]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
    • Some observers believe this to be a male Canvasback.
  8. Streaked Shearwater Calonectris ieucomelas [Oo-mizunagidori]
    • Hasaki: few
  9. Pomarine/Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius ? [Toozokukamome ?]
    • Hasaki: 1 immature
    I am inclined to think it was a Parasitic Jaeger, but the light (against the sun) made it hard to distinguish colors. The bird was dark brown above, and appeared to be black from below. The bird had relatively narrow long, sharply angled wings. No elongated tail feathers.
  10. Slaty-backed Gull Larus schitisagus [Oo-seguro-kamome]
    • Hasaki: few
    • Chooshi: few
  11. Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris [Umineko]
    • Hasaki: several hundreds
    • Chooshi: several hundreds
  12. Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus [Yuri-kamome]
    • Hasaki: several at sea
  13. Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax [Goi-sagi]
    • Shintonegawa (1 dead juvenile)
  14. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis [Ama-sagi]
    • Azuma: 150 ex on field being harvested
  15. Little Egret Egretta garzetta [Ko-sagi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada
    • Hasaki: several
    • Chooshi: several
  16. Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia [Chuu-sagi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: several
    • Azuma: 1 ex
  17. Great Egret Egretta alba [Dai-sagi]
    • Shintonegawa: several
  18. Eastern Reef Egret Egretta sacra [Kuro-sagi]
    • Hasaki: 1 ex
  19. Gray Heron Ardea cinerea [Ao-sagi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: several
    • Hasaki: few
    • Shintonegawa: at least 40
  20. Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus [Miyakodori]
    • Hasaki: 3 ex
  21. Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius [Kochidori]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: several
    • Hasaki: few
    • Chooshi:few
    • Azuma: few
  22. Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula [Hajiro-kochidori]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 juv.
  23. Snowy Plover Charadrius alexandrinus [Shiro-chidori]
    • Hasaki:several
  24. Mongolian Plover Charadrius mongolus [Medai-chidori]
    • Hasaki:several
  25. Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii [Oomedai-chidori]
    • Hasaki: 1 immature ex with prominent large bill.
  26. Rufous-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis [Toonen]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: at least 5 ex
    • Hasaki : several
    • Chooshi: at least 10 ex
  27. Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii [Ojiro-toonen]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
  28. Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta [Hibari-shigi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
  29. Sanderling Crocethia alba [Miyubi-shigi]
    • Hasaki: 3 ex
  30. Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris [Oba-shigi]
    • Hasaki: at least 5 ex
  31. Ruff Philomachus pugnax [Erimaki--shigi]
    • Chooshi: 2 ex
  32. Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus [Kusa-shigi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
    • Chooshi: 1 ex
  33. Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos [Iso-shigi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
    • Chooshi: 1 ex
  34. Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus [Sorihashi-shigi]
    • Chooshi: 5 ex
  35. Greenshank Tringa nebulara [Aoashi-shigi]
    • Chooshi: 3 ex
  36. Gray-tailed Tatler Tringa brevipes [Kiashi-shigi]
    • Chooshi: 2 ex
  37. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres [Kyoojo-shigi]
    • Chooshi: 1ex
  38. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus [Chuushaku-shigi]
    • Hasaki: 5 ex
    • Chooshi: 1 ex
  39. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago [Ta-shigi]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
    • Chooshi: 1 ex
  40. Northern Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus [Akaeri-hireashi-shigi]
    • Chooshi: 2 ex
  41. Osprey Pandion haliaetus [Misago]
    • Shintonegawa: 1 ex
  42. Black Kite Milvus lineatus [Tobi]
    • Hasaki: 1 ex
  43. Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus [Choogenboo]
    • Hasaki: 1-2 ex
    • Azuma: 1 ex
  44. Rufous Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis [Kiji-bato]
    • Chooshi: 2 ex
    • Azuma: several
  45. Rock Pigeon Columba livia [Do-bato]
    • Shintonegawa: several
  46. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis [Kawa-semi]
    • Hasaki: 1 ex
  47. Japanese Skylark Alauda japonica [Hibari]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: few
    • Hasaki: 1 ex
  48. Bank Swallow Riparia riparia [Shoodo-tsubame]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
  49. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica [Tsubame]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: several
    • Shintonegawa: several
  50. White Wagtail Motacilla alba [Haku-sekirei]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: few
    • Hasaki: few
    • Chooshi: few
  51. Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus [Mozu]
    • Hasaki: 1 ex
  52. Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius [Iso-hyodori]
    • Hasaki: few
    • Chooshi: few
  53. Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis [Sekka]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: few
  54. Japanese Reed Bunting Emberiza yessoensis [Ko-jurin]
    • Sakuragawa Amada : 1 ex
  55. Oriental Greenfinch Carduelis sinica [Kawarahiwa]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: several
  56. Tree Sparrow Passer montanus [Suzume]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: several
    • Chooshi
  57. Gray Starling Sturnus cineraceus [Mukudori]
    • Sakuragawa Amada : few
    • Chooshi: few
  58. Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyana [Onaga]
    • Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
  59. Carrion Crow Corvus corone [Hashiboso-garasu]
    • Chooshi: few
  60. Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchos [Hashibuto-garasu]
    • Shintonegawa: few


    Birds in Japan and Asia
    Last modified: September 21, 1998.