Siberian Chiffchaff at Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan (Aki Sakuma)
For those that have followed the evolving identification criteria of tristis Chiffchaffs over the last few years here's the appearance of one 'at the other end of the Palearctic' currently wintering in Japan and also a link to one we found on Hegura-jima, Japan in October 2010:
With their buff supercilia lacking yellow, hint of dark lateral crown-stripes, brownish ear-coverts, grey-brown upperparts, dark alula, faint pale greater covert wingbar, greenish fringes to their secondaries and tail feathers, dark centred tertials, pale underparts lacking yellow, pale yellow marginal underwing coverts and black legs and feet they conform rather nicely to expectations. In addition, the Hegura bird continually called the rather quiet thin monosyllabic 'lost chick' call. Whilst it is still considered a vagrant to Japan (we met the finder, Toshikazu Onishi, of the 'first for Japan' whilst on Hegura) it would seem highly-likely they originate from considerably further east than the Urals. Certainly Brazil (2009) considers tristis to be the only taxon of the group likely to occur - he actually considers tristis a monotypic species...
Chinese Grey Shrike at Hofu, Yamaguchi, Japan (Aki Sakuma)
Chinese Penduline Tit at Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, Japan (Aki Sakuma)
Saunder's Gull at Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, Japan (Aki Sakuma)
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Amur Wagtail M. leucopsis at Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, Japan (Aki Sakuma)
Forest Wagtail at Mi-ike, Kyushu, Japan (Aki Sakuma)
Another weekend and another successful twitch for Aki this time way south to Kyushu for a wintering Forest Wagtail performing at Mi-ike. Sharing a distribution near-identical to Amur Wagtail (that spectacularly made the UK in April 2005), and like Amur Wagtail in having previously strayed to both Australia and the Western Palearctic, surely on the cards for northwest Europe sometime soon... planning on twitching Chinese Grey Shrike and Siberian Chiffchaff to the far southwest this coming weekend Aki still has a Savannah Sparrow and Japan's fourth drake American White-winged Scoter to catch-up with nearer to Tokyo. A very busy Winter to be twitching in Japan!
Richard's Pipit at Izumi (Aki Sakuma)
An annual scarce migrant in Japan typically found on offshore islands
Sandhill Cranes at Izumi (Aki Sakuma)
Still considered a rare winterer numbers are increasing in Japan and are now a regular feature at Arasaki
Ruddy Shelduck at Izumi (Aki Sakuma)
Another rare winterer in Japan and safe to assume this one doesn't originate from the feral European population!
Juvenile 'brown' Gyr near Hakodate, Hokkaido (Aki Sakuma)
Last weekend Aki successfully twitched this juvenile Gyr from Tokyo and obtained these superb images. Being a brown morph it is of all the more interest from a European perspective but is the typical morph of Gyr Falcons that hatch in northeast Russia being the likely origin of this individual.
