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.
-
Little Grebe
Podiceps ruficollis
[Kaitsuburi]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
- Shintonegawa: 2 ex
-
Spot-billed Duck
Anas poecilorhyncha
[Karu-gamo]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 10 ex
- Shintonegawa: few
- Chooshi: 1 ex
-
Northern Shoveler
Anas clypeata
[Hashibiro-gamo]
-
Green-winged Teal
Anas crecca crecca
[Ko-gamo]
- Sakuragawa Amada: > 500 ex (eclipse)
- Shintonegawa: > 20
-
Garganey
Anas querquedula
[Shimaaji]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 4 ex (eclipse)
-
Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
[Onaga-gamo]
-
Pochard/Canvasback
Aythya ferina?
[Hoshi-hajiro?]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
- Some observers believe this to be a male Canvasback.
-
Streaked Shearwater
Calonectris ieucomelas
[Oo-mizunagidori]
- Pomarine/Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius ?
[Toozokukamome ?] 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.
-
Slaty-backed Gull
Larus schitisagus
[Oo-seguro-kamome]
-
Black-tailed Gull
Larus crassirostris
[Umineko]
- Hasaki: several hundreds
- Chooshi: several hundreds
-
Black-headed Gull
Larus ridibundus
[Yuri-kamome]
-
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
[Goi-sagi]
- Shintonegawa (1 dead juvenile)
-
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
[Ama-sagi]
- Azuma: 150 ex on field being harvested
-
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
[Ko-sagi]
- Sakuragawa Amada
- Hasaki: several
- Chooshi: several
-
Intermediate Egret
Egretta intermedia
[Chuu-sagi]
- Sakuragawa Amada: several
- Azuma: 1 ex
-
Great Egret
Egretta alba
[Dai-sagi]
-
Eastern Reef Egret
Egretta sacra
[Kuro-sagi]
-
Gray Heron
Ardea cinerea
[Ao-sagi]
- Sakuragawa Amada: several
- Hasaki: few
- Shintonegawa: at least 40
-
Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegus
[Miyakodori]
-
Little Ringed Plover
Charadrius dubius
[Kochidori]
- Sakuragawa Amada: several
- Hasaki: few
- Chooshi:few
- Azuma: few
-
Common Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticula
[Hajiro-kochidori]
-
Snowy Plover
Charadrius alexandrinus
[Shiro-chidori]
-
Mongolian Plover
Charadrius mongolus
[Medai-chidori]
-
Greater Sand Plover
Charadrius leschenaultii
[Oomedai-chidori]
- Hasaki: 1 immature ex with prominent large bill.
-
Rufous-necked Stint
Calidris ruficollis
[Toonen]
- Sakuragawa Amada: at least 5 ex
- Hasaki : several
- Chooshi: at least 10 ex
-
Temminck's Stint
Calidris temminckii
[Ojiro-toonen]
- Long-toed Stint
Calidris subminuta
[Hibari-shigi]
-
Sanderling
Crocethia alba
[Miyubi-shigi]
-
Great Knot
Calidris tenuirostris
[Oba-shigi]
-
Ruff
Philomachus pugnax
[Erimaki--shigi]
-
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
[Kusa-shigi]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
- Chooshi: 1 ex
-
Common Sandpiper
Tringa hypoleucos
[Iso-shigi]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
- Chooshi: 1 ex
-
Terek Sandpiper
Xenus cinereus
[Sorihashi-shigi]
-
Greenshank
Tringa nebulara
[Aoashi-shigi]
-
Gray-tailed Tatler
Tringa brevipes
[Kiashi-shigi]
- Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
[Kyoojo-shigi]
-
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
[Chuushaku-shigi]
- Hasaki: 5 ex
- Chooshi: 1 ex
-
Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinago
[Ta-shigi]
- Sakuragawa Amada: 1 ex
- Chooshi: 1 ex
-
Northern Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus
[Akaeri-hireashi-shigi]
-
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
[Misago]
-
Black Kite
Milvus lineatus
[Tobi]
-
Eurasian Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
[Choogenboo]
- Hasaki: 1-2 ex
- Azuma: 1 ex
-
Rufous Turtle Dove
Streptopelia orientalis
[Kiji-bato]
- Chooshi: 2 ex
- Azuma: several
-
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia
[Do-bato]
- Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis [Kawa-semi]
-
Japanese Skylark
Alauda japonica
[Hibari]
- Sakuragawa Amada: few
- Hasaki: 1 ex
-
Bank Swallow
Riparia riparia
[Shoodo-tsubame]
-
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
[Tsubame]
- Sakuragawa Amada: several
- Shintonegawa: several
-
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
[Haku-sekirei]
- Sakuragawa Amada: few
- Hasaki: few
- Chooshi: few
-
Bull-headed Shrike
Lanius bucephalus
[Mozu]
-
Blue Rock Thrush
Monticola solitarius
[Iso-hyodori]
-
Fan-tailed Warbler
Cisticola juncidis
[Sekka]
- Japanese Reed Bunting
Emberiza yessoensis
[Ko-jurin]
-
Oriental Greenfinch
Carduelis sinica
[Kawarahiwa]
- Sakuragawa Amada: several
-
Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
[Suzume]
- Sakuragawa Amada: several
- Chooshi
-
Gray Starling
Sturnus cineraceus
[Mukudori]
- Sakuragawa Amada : few
- Chooshi: few
-
Azure-winged Magpie
Cyanopica cyana
[Onaga]
-
Carrion Crow
Corvus corone
[Hashiboso-garasu]
-
Jungle Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
[Hashibuto-garasu]
- Raccoon Dog Nyctereutes procyoides [Tanuki]
- Shintonegawa, 3 ex roadkill.
Birds in Japan and Asia
Last modified: September 21, 1998.