This afternoon I visited Kabashima yet again. To my surprise, there were several pairs of Yellow-browed Bunting, along with a few pairs of Tristram’s Bunting and even a male Yellow-breasted Bunting (an increasingly rare bird for Japan). Another rarity for Japan was a female Red-breasted Flycatcher, while in the undergrowth Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler and Japanese Bush Warbler could be heard and glimpsed. Commoner birds included Oriental Greenfinch, a female Red-flanked Bluetail and a male Black-faced Bunting (Masked Bunting subspecies).

Yellow-browed Bunting (male)

Yellow-browed Bunting (female)

Yellow-breasted Bunting (male)

Tristram's Bunting (male)

Red-breasted Flycatcher (female)

Red-flanked Bluetail (female)

Japanese Bush Warbler

Oriental Greenfinch (female)

Black-faced Bunting (Masked Bunting) (male)

I found this beautiful adult breeding Oriental Pratincole walking around in a car park next to a Chinese noodle restaurant at Nomozaki Peninsula. It was very approachable, so I drove very slowly at a tangent until I was very close, then took some shots from the driver’s side window.

Oriental Pratincole (adult breeding)

This afternoon I visited Azamidani for the first time since the bird tour earlier in the month. This time there was a lot more activity – the summer breeders have started to arrive! I could photograph male Japanese Thrush and male Narcissus Flycatcher, along with the resident Red-billed Leiothrix and returning Brown-eared Bulbul. I could hear a lot of other birds as well, so perhaps a dawn-to-dusk vigil at the pond would produce some interesting results.

Narcissus Flycatcher (male)

Japanese Thrush (male)

Red-billed Leiothrix

Brown-eared Bulbul (face discoloured by camellia pollen)

I heard reports of Garganey at Karako, Isahaya, so this morning I went to see them. Upon arriving I could spot one pair, but they soon disappeared into reeds and despite my waiting for an hour they didn’t reappear. Nevertheless, it was nice to finally see them, as this had been one species that had eluded me.

Garganey (male)

Today I went on a trip to three places in Kumamoto prefecture. Firstly I went to Hitoyoshi to look for Crested Kingfisher, then I went to Yatsushiro for Palla’s Gull and Saunder’s Gull, and finally I stopped at Hikawa estuary for Black-faced Spoonbill. I could find all species apart from Palla’s Gull, which may have migrated already. I saw three Crested Kingfisher at Hitoyoshi, but they were a bit too far away for my 70-300 zoom. However the Saunder’s Gull and Black-faced Spoonbill were quite close so I could get good shots of them. Some interesting observations too, with a flock of Dusky Thrush feeding on a mudflat along with Common Greenshank. Also a Far Eastern Curlew was a bit peeved at having to share its mudflat with a Black-headed Gull! Also, a male Japanese Green Pheasant was spotted hiding in a spring onion field……

Crested Kingfisher (male)

Saunder's Gull

Black-faced Spoonbill (adult breeding)

Japanese Green Pheasant (male)

Fight on the Mudflat

Dusky Thrush (male)

Well, spring migration is well and truly underway in my area. Also, many winter visitors have left Kyushu already – quite a bit earlier than usual. Yesterday I visited Kabashima, Kawahara-ooike and Isahaya. I just missed some migrants at Kabashima – Red-billed Starling were seen for a week up until Tuesday, but unfortunately had moved on during the night. Despite this and the lack of overall numbers of birds, I did locate some rarities for Japan. At Kabashima there were Eyebrowed Thrush, Naumann’s Thrush, Hoopoe and Amur White Wagtail (Motacilla alba leucopsis). Kawahara-ooike had lots of thrushes, but all seemed to be either Pale or Eyebrowed. Isahaya was very very quiet, although a few harriers were still haunting the reeds.

Ural Owl

Naumann's Thrush (female)

Eyebrowed Thrush (male)

Amur Wagtail (male)

Amur Wagtail (male)

Amur Wagtail (male)

Amur Wagtail (male)

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hen Harrier (male)

Little Egret catching Shrimp

The main purpose of my trip to the Hyuga Sea region of Miyazaki prefecture was to observe and photograph the vulnerable and endemic Japanese Murrelet. I had tried to see this species before off the coast of the Amakusa Islands in Kumamoto prefecture but had no luck. So this year I headed to the most famous place to see them – Birojima, a small island off Kadogawa town. Seeing as I was wanting to try to find them on a Monday morning, I had to charter a boat by myself. Luckily with the help of the local tourism office I could arrange one with little difficulty. We departed Kadogawa port at about 08:00 and had just cleared the lighthouse when I spotted my first ever Japanese Murrelet. This pair quickly disappeared, but soon after I spotted another pair which didn’t mind the presence of the fishing boat. I was able to observe them and take many photographs at relatively close range for about 10 minutes. After that I instructed the boat owner to let them continue feeding in peace and we proceeded out towards Birojima island. However, once we cleared the headlands, the wind was very strong and chopped up the sea surface too much to enable me to spot any birds. So instead of going all the way out to the island, we stayed in close to the shore and followed the coastline. I was able to spot a group of three birds and then another pair as we were returning to port. We only stayed out for 2 hours, so a return of several birds in such windy conditions was very satisfying.

Birojima Island

Japanese Murrelet

Japanese Murrelet

Japanese Murrelet

Japanese Murrelet (pair)