November 2004: Mike Yough, Aichi (Chubu/Tokai)

As I noted on November 7, good numbers of ducks have begun to filter into the Kisa/Nagara River area on the border of Aichi/Mie/Gifu. Mostly Mallards and Tufted Ducks with good numbers of Common Pochards and Common Teal (and a few Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Shovelers). No Baikal Teal or Bewick's Swans, though many ducks present on that date were missed. Two observations of note were 26 Pacific Golden-Plovers in a field in the area and 25 Common Coot feeding in an inlet (I had not observed this species at this locale before). Two winter firsts near my apartment in Nisshin-shi, Aichi: On October 23, I observed my first Daurian Redstart and on November 12 I heard my first Dusky Thrush. Also, wagtail (Black-backed/Japanese/Gray) activity has greatly increased over the past couple of weeks near the stream by my apartment.

December 2004: Mike Yough, Aichi

Araike in Nagoya was a pleasant surprise on December 22. In addition to about 20 Mandarin Duck (I didn't see any at this location last year), several Falcated Teal (no observations last year), and about 30 Smew (a sizable increase from last year; 2 were males), the numbers of remaining water fowl were similar to last year (Mallard, Spot-billed, Common Teal, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, and Tufted Duck, all represented in small numbers). Also observed this year but not last year included Long-tailed Rosefinch and Common Reed Bunting. I was also surprised to find other birders during my visit. Apparently, a Northern Goshawk has been hanging around the pond (though it didn't make an appearance during my visit).

Birds at Fujimae-higata in the Nagoya Port area on January 4 included: a single Eared Grebe, Great Crested Grebe (common), Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Gray Heron, Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard (common), Tufted Duck (common), Greater Scaup (common), a single Osprey (I don't think I've ever visited this locale without seeing one), a couple of Eastern Marsh Harriers, a couple of Common Sandpipers, approximately 30 Common Snipe, several Herring [Vega? - ed.] Gull, several Mew Gull, 1 immature Saunders's Gull, several Black-headed Gull, along with the common passerines. This was the first visit that I failed to see a Peregrine Falcon, perhaps because its 'usual perch' (an electrical tower) was missing.

At Nagashima between the Kiso and Nagara Rivers on January 4, there were: Great Crested Grebe (common), Great Cormorant, Gray Heron, 3 Tundra Swans (2 adults, 1 sub-adult), Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail (common), Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard (common), Tufted Duck (common), Greater Scaup (common), an immature Northern Goshawk, a couple of Common Buzzards, an Eastern Marsh Harrier, several Herring [Vega? -ed.] Gull, several Black-headed Gull, Gray-headed Lapwing, Northern Lapwing, as well as the common passerines (Japanese Skylark, Common Reed Bunting, Dusky Thrush, Fan-tailed Warbler, Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting-- all seem to be common here this time of year). What I didn't see were Baikal Teal, though their 'absence' may easily have been due to the fact that I didn't have a scope (most of the time that I've seen them here, a scope has been required, since they tend to gather a distance from the river banks at this locale).

I feel as if I'm not seeing the numbers of Dusky Thrush that I did last year.

January 2005: Mike Yough, Aichi

On the 14th I hit southern Aichi-ken in hopes of finding the avocets in Ishiki-cho, but no luck on this day.

Nothing very unusual at SHIOKAWA HIGATA. Unfortunately, it appears that they are filling in a couple of the farm ponds near the dike. The birds: Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Gray Heron, Spot-billed Duck, Common Teal, Common Pochard, Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Black Kite, two female Eastern Marsh Harriers, Peregrine Falcon, Green Pheasant, Gray-headed Lapwing, about 30 Northern Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, a couple of Herring (Vega) Gulls, Rufous Turtle Dove, Rock Pigeon, Japanese Skylark, Black-backed Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Daurian Redstart, Dusky Thrush, Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Common Reed Bunting. Oriental Greenfinch, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Thick-billed Crow, and Carrion Crow.

Next stop was LAGUNA GAMAGORI in Gamagori-shi. One Eared Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Gray Heron, Spot-billed Duck, Common Teal, one group of a couple of hundred Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Pintail, and a similarly-sized group of Common Pochard and Greater Scaup, Black Kite, one Snowy Plover working the beach, one Herring (Vega) Gull, several dozen Black-headed Gull, Rufous Turtle Dove, Rock Pigeon, Black-backed Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, two Brown Thrush (a pleasant surprise), Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Japanese White-eye, Oriental Greenfinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, and Carrion Crow.

And at ISHIKI-CHO: Little Grebe, one Eared Grebe, Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Gray Heron, Spot-billed Duck, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler (including 2 males with very orange breasts), Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, three Osprey, Black Kite, Green Pheasant, Gray-headed Lapwing, about 10 Northern Lapwing, Snowy Plover, a flock of Dunlin, two Common Snipe, a few Black-tailed Gull, a few Herring (Vega) and Slaty-backed Gull, one adult Saunders's Gull, Black-headed Gull (common), Rufous Turtle Dove, Rock Pigeon, Common Kingfisher, Black-backed Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Dusky Thrush, Black-faced Bunting, Common Reed Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, one Hawfinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, and Carron Crow.

I birded KAMINOGAIKE in Nagoya on the 25th: 5 Little Grebe, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Great Cormorant, 1 Black-crowned Night Heron, 4 Little Egret, 1 Great Egret, several Gray Heron, 6 Mallard, 6 Spot-billed Duck, 6 Falcated Teal, 6 Gadwall, 20 Eurasian Wigeon, 30 Northern Pintail, 2 Common Pochard, 2 Tufted Duck, 8 Smew, several Common Coot, 2 Common Moorhen, 25-30 Black-headed Gull, Rufous Turtle Dove, Rock Pigeon, 1 Common Kingfisher, 2-3 Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, 2-3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Black-backed Wagtail (1st-yr male coming into breeding plumage & probable 1st-yr female), 1 Gray Wagtail, 1 Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, 1 Bull-headed Shrike, 2 Red-flanked Bluetail (1 of each sex), 1 female Daurian Redstart, 1 Scaly Thrush, 4-5 Pale Thrush (1 female), 2-3 Dusky Thrush (at least 1 male), Long-tailed Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Japanese White-eye, Black-faced Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, 4-5 Eurasian Jay (I hadn't seen them here before), several Carrion Crow, and 2 Thick-billed Crow.

I also had a new 'yard bird': Common Snipe in the small stream by our apartment in the middle of the day resting on a "mud bar". Unexpected this far into the city.

December 2004: Neil Davidson, Kyoto

December in Kansai has been rather disappointing, the most remarkable feature of the month being that for the first three weeks there was no suggestion of seasonal change. There were still many resplendantly autumnal maples until late into the third week, by which time even the modest hills around Kyoto can usually be expected to have experienced their first transient dusting of snow. It wasn't until Christmas Day that there was a widespread frost and not until the last day of the year did the first snow finally fall. The following is a very subjective view of the month:

While a number of Little Grebes in breeding plumage on the 25th at Lake Biwa wasn't exceptional (I have even seen downy young in December in Kyoto) a breeding-plumaged Black-necked Grebe was a surprise. There were 175-200 Bean Geese and c. 80 Tundra Swans there on the same date. My feeling was that dabbling duck numbers were rather low compared to last early winter; relatively few Eurasian Wigeon were present and no Falcated Ducks or Northern Pintail were seen. Diving ducks, on the other hand,were well represented; Smew in particular were plentiful, with a tightly packed group of 30 being the largest concentration. I have not heard whether any White-tailed or Steller's Sea Eagles have arrived yet this winter, but a Long-billed Murrelet present on at least the 23rd was probably the lake's star bird of the month. Unfortunately it didn't linger till my visit and I had to settle for a flock of 30-40 Barn Swallows as an unexpected Christmas stocking filler. The majority of them had missing primaries, suggesting active moult; so presumably these birds will be wintering in Japan, though perhaps not this far north when the weather eventually does become more fitting for the time of year.

Eurasian Wigeon numbers also seemed low along the Yodogawa in Osaka, though, unlike at Biwa-ko, Northern Pintail numbers were typical, with about 100+ in the area I usually visit. Gabor told me of 2 Long-billed Dowitchers and 2 Black-winged Stilts near the mouth of the river on the 26th, both of which-- especially the dowitchers-- are good for this area. He also mentioned that there was a Saunders's Gull in south Osaka early in the month. On the Yodogawa in the city, there have been at least 6 different Yellow-legged (Mongolian) Gulls (L. (cachinnans) mongolicus) during the month; two or three can usually be seen on each visit to the area. An adult taimyrensis was seen on the 22nd, and then a 1st calendar-year and possible 2nd calendar-year taimyrensis on the 23rd. There was also a distant tantalizingly Thayer's-like adult on the 22nd: that would have been my bird-of-the-month had I been able to confirm it.

Birding around Kyoto has been unexciting. Early in the month there seemed to be a big build-up of Brown-eared Bulbuls along the rivers south of town. But the absentees are more noteworthy, and despite seeing c. 150 Rooks in one area early in the month, a visit to Ogura on the 28th was the first time I have ever failed to see them there; there were no accompanying Daurian Jackdaws either, of course. Very few ducks were on the rivers locally, and no harriers, Grey-cheeked or Japanese Reed Buntings; although I did not see any of the latter at all last winter, there were always a small number present in previous years. The only positives were a Cattle Egret following a plough on the 28th, a high count of 103 White 'leugens' Wagtails, and the Oriental Stork was still present until at least mid-month.

January 2005: Sean Minns, Hiroshima

On the first day of January I went to Kasaoka, just inside Okayama Prefecture. It was my first visit to the area. I had wanted to go for a long time, but seldom venture to eastern Hiroshima or Okayama. This reclaimed mudflat is now largely farmland with some ponds, dykes and grassland. It is surrounded by low deciduous hills. On the only large pond I found a Slavonian Grebe, among the 30+ Black-necked Grebe, 30+ Little Grebe and 10+ Great Crested Grebe. They are a very scarce visitor to western Japan. Then as I searched through the 2000 or so Greater Scaup (a big count for this part of Japan) I began to pick out some scarce wildfowl, the highlights being a male American Wigeon, and about 20 Smew, though only 2 males. There were also 300+ Eurasian Wigeon, 100+ Mallard, 50+ Common Teal, 50+ Spot-billed Ducks, 30 + Northern Pintail, 20+ Falcated Duck, 20+ Gadwall, 30+ Northern Shoveler, several Tufted Duck and Common Pochard, and 2-3 Eurasian Coot. Out in the bay there were more Black-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and 2 Red-breasted Merganser. After about an hour I started to search the fields and dykes for passerines, raptors and waders. I found a Green Sandpiper, a scarce winterer in western Japan, as well as 10 or so Northern Lapwing ( a low number). There were plenty of the usual passerines: Meadow Bunting, Daurian Redstart, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Skylark, Dusky Thrush, Pale Thrush and Buff-bellied Pipit. As I wandered along, I found another flock of 20 female or eclipse Smew feeding on one of the larger dykes. There were also raptors hunting these passerines and presumably the small rodents in the grassland areas and along the reedy dykes. I saw 5 Common Buzzard, 3 Eastern Marsh Harrier, 1 female Hen Harrier, 2 Eurasian Kestrel , 1 immature male Merlin and 1 Short-eared Owl, all hunting in a relatively small area as dusk closed in. Apparently there have been up to 3 Short-eared Owls here this winter. They are also a scarce winterer in western Japan, and are confined to a few extensive grassland areas, along with all the other raptors except for Common Buzzard.

On January 3rd, I went to the Saijo/Higashi Hiroshima area, some rice fields and lakes to the east of the city of Hiroshima. There were very few birds in the rice paddies, other than low numbers of Northern Lapwing (5), Common Snipe (3), Brambling (200+). Russet Sparrow, Rook, Daurian Jackdaw and Grey-headed Lapwing were conspicuous by their absence. A large reservoir known as Minaga Lake, a regular wintering spot for Baikal Teal, produced 34 species, with 14 Smew (7 male, 7 female) and 30+ Falcated Duck, bigger numbers than in previous visits-- and not full totals, as only a small portion of the reservoir is now viewable by the public.

While washing my face on the morning of the 4th January I heard and saw 4 Japanese Grosbeaks in trees close to my apartment, in Ushita, a not-so-leafy suburb near Hiroshima station. These were only my second record in four years. Two days later, a Japanese Green Pigeon, my first for the area, was calling in the early morning. I saw a bird on January 11th near where one had been calling on the 6th.

Other highlights from the low hills of this suburb include my first record of a Northern Goshawk, also on the 11th, and a Red-flanked Bluetail, scarce away from the bigger parks such as Hiroshima Castle, Shukkien Garden or Hijiyama Park. Another highlight was a pair of Long-billed Plovers feeding along the muddy edge of the small Ushita River; they rarely stray from the main Otagawa River. Their numbers and those of most ducks have been much lower this winter, while Chinese Penduline Tits have been largely absent, with only one record this winter, in a larger, low reedbed along the Otagawa river drainage in December 2004.

The 10th of January, I visited the Yahata River, after an erroneous report of a White-billed Diver there. However, I was compensated by Slavonian Grebe, a scarce annual winterer here since 1998; there have been up to four in previous winters. I also saw a Short-eared Owl hunting over the landfill site. This is my first record for here and Hiroshima. It is a very scarce winter visitor. The landfill will soon be dockland, as yet another reclaimed mudflat is sacrificed, while the birds are left with nothing but a useless concrete park. The only other birds of note were 3 Saunders's Gulls, a high count for this site.

On the 12th January, I visited an egret roost on the upper reaches of the Otagawa River, but failed to find a Ural Owl that had previously wintered. There were 40+ Little Egrets, 10+ Great Egrets and 20+ Black-crowned Night Herons.

No more birding until the 17th of January, when I revisited Minami-Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture to search the Renkon fields for ducks and waders. The Egret numbers were usual, but duck numbers seemed low. I found a dying teal, perhaps pollution-related or from some form of avian flu/botulism. The only birds of note were mostly waders, with an overwintering Marsh Sandpiper (one previous record in November of 4 birds is the only other winter record), 3 Little Ringed Plover, 5 Long-billed Plover, a single Dunlin, 30+ Common Snipe, 4 Green Sandpiper, and one Northern Lapwing, but no sign of the 3 Grey-headed Lapwing (site record) and 2 Wood Sandpiper that had been here in December (first record for December and second winter record) . I heard but could not locate the Red-throated Pipits I had seen in December. This is the second winter that I have seen them here. Outside of Kyushu they are quite a scarce winterer on the main islands.

The only other bird of note was a Saunders's Gull. One or two seem to be wintering here, as well as at the Hatsukaichi and the Yahata Rivers. They were a scarce passage migrant until perhaps three or four winters ago. Short visits to Ushita Yama on two occasions produced a Yellow-throated Bunting and not much else.

My final big trip was to Miyajima. Passerine numbers were low near the main ferry port, but once away from there, it became clear that there were large numbers of Grey Bunting, perhaps 30+ in all. Pale Thrush and Red-flanked Bluetail were also in low numbers, with a flyover Northern Sparrowhawk and 2 Buzzards. The only other birds of note were the small flock of 10 Olive-backed Pipit and a single Japanese Green Woodpecker, scarce away from the usual mountain sites.

Hope this helps to give a little flavour of the birding in the Chugoku region.