Waders at Kasumigaura: April 12-13, 1997,

Dear Friends,

In the tabel below I have combined the data of Eriko Fujioka from the
Shiokawa area and the data collected by Hiroshi Ikenaga-san,
Katayama-san, Tanaka-san, Honda-san, Fer-Jan de Vries and Neil
Fergusson of the South West part of Kasumigaura.

South West part of Kasumigaura apparently is a favorite route for
migrating waders. I don't the general pattern of migration of waders,
but locally they favor to cross Kasumigaura at a not to wide point:
coming from the Edosaki-coast they cross the lake to the protuding
Tozaki coast.  The two coasts are different, Edosaki is a bit dryer
and more sandy it seems to me, whereas Tozaky is very wet: it is
consists of rather wet and muddy lotusfields, some deep, some shallow. 
The tiny gras dykes separating the paddies provide nice hiding places
for snipes and for example Wood Sandpipers.  The Lesser golden plovers
are clearly attracted by the more drier fields of Edosaki.

I don't know the Shiokawa tidal flat: Shiokawa is a large tidal flat
near TYOHASHI CITY and TAHARA-CHO, which is SSE of Nagoya. I presume
the difference between seawater of Shiokawa and the fresh water of
Kasumigaura explains part of the differences between the list of
species observed.

QUESTIONS: How is the migration from Shiokawa? Do waders continue from
there in North east wards direction to the Bay of Tokyo or do they
cross the mountains north of Shiokawa? And where do our waders: do
the6y follwo a line starting in Okinawa?

For me the interesting thing of the Kantori list is the potential it
offers to get a better global view on birds in Japan. I am glad that
Eriko Fujioka-san and Atsushi MATSUI-san are willng to share their
data with us.

Perhaps the combined knowledge of the Kantori birdwatchers knows the
answers to my questions? Who has an idea?
 
Happy birding,

Fer-Jan de Vries

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Weather in Kasumigaura: sunny, strong SSW wind.
12-20 degrees Celsius 

-------------------

Location:  Shiokawa tidalflat   Tozaki    	       Edosaki
Date:               13 April	12 April 13 April      12 April 13 April  g

 1.Little Ringed Plover     8	4	4		7	4
 2.kentish Plover           6				1	1
 3.Lesser Sandplover       88   
 4.Pacific Golden Plover    9                           	80	130
 5.Grey Plover            191
 6.Grey-headed Lapwing     96
 7.Ruddy Turnstone          2
 8.Red-necked Stint         7	1
 9.Temminck's stint		1
10.Dunlin                4613	8	38
11.Great Knot               3
12.Green Sandpiper          3
13.Wood Sandpiper           3	1	2			2
14.Common Sandpiper         5		1
15.Bar-tailed Godwit       16
16.Eurasian Curlew          1
17.Common Snipe            20	6	10		6	20
18.Swinhoe's Snipe       1+1?
19.Spotted redshank		1

The rest of the observations:

Little grebe [Kaitsuburi]
Great Cormorant [Kawa-u]
Spot-billed duck [Karu-gamo]
Mallard [Ma-gamo]
Northern Shoveler [Hashibiro-gamo]
Green-winged Teal [Ko-gamo]
Falcated Teal [Yoshi-gamo]
Eurasian Wigeon [Hidori-gamo]
Pochard [Hoshi-hajiro]
Greater scaup [Suzu-gamo]
Herring gull [Seguro-kamome]
Black-headed Gull [Yuri-kamome]
Black-crowned night-heron[Goi-sagi]
Little egret [Ko-sagi]
Intermediate egret [Chuu-sagi]
Great egret [Dai-sagi]
Gray heron [Ao-sagi]
Coot [Ou-ban]
Common Gallinule [Ban]
Little ringed plover [Kochidori] 
Snowy plover [Shiro-chidori]
Lesser golden plover [Daizen]
Rufous-necked stint [Tounen]
Temminck's stint [Ojiro-tounen]
Dunlin [Hama-shigi]
Spotted redshank [Tsuru-shigi]
Wood sandpiper [Takabu-shigi]
Common sandpiper [Iso-shigi]
Common snipe [Ta-shigi]
Black kite [Tobi]
Gray-faced buzzard-eagle [Sashiba]
Common pheasant [Kiji]
Rufous turtle dove [Kiji-bato]
Skylark [Hibari]
Barn swallow [Tsubame]
Yellow wagtail [Tsumenaga-sekirei]  Tozaki, April 13, 1997: 2 ex  simillima
White wagtail [Haku-sekirei]
Japanese wagtail [Seguro-sekirei]
Water pipit [Tahibari]
Brown-eared bulbul [Hiyodori]
Bull-headed shrike [Mozu]
Dusky thrush [Tsugumi]
Bush warbler [Uguisu]
Fan-tailed warbler [Sekka]
Siberian meadow bunting [Hoojiro]
Rustic Bunting[Kashiradaka]
Reed Bunting [Ou-jurin]
Oriental greenfinch [Kawarahiwa]
Tree sparrow [Suzume]
Gray starling [Mukudori]
Jungle crow [Hashibuto-garasu]

A 30 cm "baars"-like fish called Funa, was spawning in the
Lotusfields. The fish normally lives in the lake Kasumigaura.  The
Bull frogs were getting active as well.

For more details see

http://www.etl.go.jp/etl/etlclu/~ferjan/birds.html