30th September 2012 Hegura-jima NW1 Light Rain

We awoke to a light NW1 breeze accompanied by light rain - classic conditions! We walked to the Harbour Park, the School Field and the Dragon's Pool before breakfast. Then Tsukasa, the North Cape and back to the Dragon's Pool before returning to the Minshuku. We then walked the Central Track to the SW beach walking the west coast to the helipad and Dragon's Pool where at 4pm heavy rain and a strong wind picked-up associated with an incoming typhoon so we called it a day. A good fall of migrants with Thrushes and Flycatchers seen arriving in off the sea during the late morning and afternoon. Highlights included 4 Mandarin Duck, our only Osprey arrived, a tired Kestrel on wires at the North Cape, finding a Lesser Sandplover on the SW beach, a Woodcock, 4 Oriental Cuckoos, Grey Wagtails at their peak daily number of 10, Black-backed Wagtails at their peak daily number of 25, two Brown Shrikes, an Oriental Great Reed Warbler at the Harbour Park, Arctic Warblers at their peak daily number of 30, our first Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Grey-streaked Flycatchers at their peak daily number of 60. Rare migrants were represented in the form of a yakutensis Willow Warbler, 4 Little Buntings and a Chestnut Bunting.

Japanese Cormorant 1
Great Egret 1
Grey Heron 5
Mandarin Duck 4
Teal 7
Mallard 4
Pintail 2
Shoveler 1
Osprey 1
Black-eared Kite 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Kestrel 1
Peregrine 1
Lesser Sandplover 1 ex.
Woodcock 1
Snipe 1
Common Sandpiper 2
Grey-tailed Tattler 1
Black-tailed Gull 100
Japanese Woodpigeon 1
Rufous Turtle Dove 1
Oriental Cuckoo 4
Grey Wagtail 10
Black-backed Wagtail 25
Brown-eared Bulbul 4
Siberian Stonechat 3
Blue Rock Thrush 6
Pale Thrush 1
Eye-browed Thrush 30
Dusky Thrush 50
Japanese Bush Warbler 1 +h
Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler 1
Oriental Great Reed Warbler 1
Arctic Warbler 30
Pacific Warbler 1
Willow Warbler 1 yakutensis ex.
Blue-and-white Flycatcher 1
Grey-streaked Flycatcher 60
Brown Flycatcher 6
Brown Shrike 2
Large-billed Crow 2
Brambling 80
Oriental Greenfinch 30
Siskin 16
Hawfinch 1
Masked Bunting 30
Little Bunting 4
Chestnut Bunting 1



Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler at Tsukasa Fields

 

Male Eurasian Kestrel at the North Cape

 

First-winter Brown Shrike at the earth field along the west shore

 

Grey-streaked Flycatchers at the earth field along the west shore

 

Lesser Sand Plover on the SW beach

 

Osprey over the SW beach

 

 

Willow Warbler of the form P.t. yakutensis along the SW beach

Juvenile Grey-tailed Tattler on the SW beach

 

Great White Egret over the SW beach

29th September 2012 Hegura-jima WSW2 Partly Overcast

We awoke to a partly overcast dawn with a light WSW2 breeze. Caught the 9am ferry to Hegura-jima that was accompanied by plenty of Streaked Shearwaters enjoying the wake. We were immediately greeted to Hegura-jima at the Harbour Park by a juvenile Japanese Waxwing proving a very promising start! Migrants were conspicuous with a number of Flycatchers present on the telegraph wires. It was very hot and sunny over midday. We walked the School Field, the drinking pool, the Central Track to the southern tip and temple garden, the SW beach, SW enclosures and north to the Dragon's Pool. We briefly returned to the Mishuku and then to Tsukasa Fields for the evening. A good array of migrants were present on the island including our only Sand Martin of our visit, an Olive-backed Pipit, Grey and Black-backed Wagtails, Siberian Stonechats, a few Eye-browed and Dusky Thrushes, two Middendorff's Grasshopper Warblers, a Black-browed Reed Warbler, 10 Arctic Warblers and a Pacific Warbler, Grey-streaked and Brown Flycatchers and a couple of Little Buntings. We also found a rare migrant in the form of a Greater Short-toed Lark on the SW beach.

Streaked Shearwater 80+
Great Egret 1
Grey Heron 6 Wajima, 6 Hegura
Teal 3
Mallard 1
Spot-billed Duck 1
Pintail 2
Shoveler 1
Black-eared Kite 50 Wajima, 1 Hegura
Snipe 1
Grey-tailed Tattler 1
Black-headed Gull 3 Wajima
Black-tailed Gull 400 Wajima, 300 Hegura
Feral Pigeon 5 Wajima
Japanese Woodpigeon 1
Greater Short-toed Lark 1 that sported a warm rufous was across its breast so was probably of the form dukhunensis.
Skylark 1
Sand Martin 1
Olive-backed Pipit 1
Grey Wagtail 6
Black-backed Wagtail 20
Brown-eared Bulbul 1
Japanese Waxwing 1 juvenile
Siberian Stonechat 2
Blue Rock Thrush 10
Eye-browed Thrush 8
Dusky Thrush 6
Japanese Bush Warbler h
Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler 2
Black-browed Reed Warbler 1
Arctic Warbler 10
Pacific Warbler 1
Grey-streaked Flycatcher 8
Brown Flycatcher 2
Large-billed Crow 30 Wajima
Brambling 30
Oriental Greenfinch 15
Siskin 4
Masked Bunting 10
Little Bunting 2

Juvenile Black-eared Kite and first-winter Black-tailed Gulls at Wajima

Juvenile black-eared Kite at Wajima

Second-winter Black-tailed Gull at Wajima

Black-eared Kites over Wajima Harbour

Wajima Route Inn (left) viewed from the Hegura-jima ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Streaked Shearwaters from the Hegura-jima Ferry

 

 

Arriving at Hegura-jima

 

Grey-streaked Flycatcher on the beach near the southern Temple

...clearly we weren't the only new arrivals to the island!

 

Grey-tailed Tattler on the SW beach

 

Sand Martin over the Dragon's Pool