Sunday and Monday were dark overcast days, not good for photography but there were quite a few waders around...........
North of Yakumo there was a flock containing several species. The inevitable Red-necked Stints were joined by a dozen or so Sanderling.
And this lone Ruddy Turnstone, nowhere near as common here as it is in the UK.
There were also 4 Mongolian Plover and 2 Whimbrel.
This Grey-tailed Tattler was near Oshamanbe.
Near Hakodate today there were lots of Red-necked Stint, as always at this time of year.
The only other waders around were 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Whimbrel and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit. Here are the latter 2 species.
Not much else around except the shorebirds. A few Great Egret here and there, lots of Ospreys offshore, Japanese Green Pigeon, Mandarin Duck.............
Here's a Grey Heron at Onuma............
A very nice variety of shorebirds - I would have enjoyed this excursion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment David..........
DeleteWhenever I see Grey-tailed Tattler on blogs etc, I can't help but think it's a species that could be seen in the UK. It is a rather cool bird, sort of undistinguished but very attractive if that makes sense. Lovely action shots of it Stu that show the species to good effect.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed it hasn't appeared over there. They seem to be the commonest medium sized wader in the north Pacific by far, the law of averages would suggest the occasional individual would stray west to NW Europe.........
DeleteSome excellent wader shots Stuart. I'm looking forward to my first wader trip of autumn this weekend... at last. I believe there have been two or three Grey-tailed Tattlers in the UK. Certainly birds in Wales and the south west.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil, you'll probably get more where waders you are, both in terms of quality and quantity.
DeleteTime for change here too, saw a few wheatear contemplating the journey across the channel the other day, then yesterday the first swallow. The waders will arrive soon, most numerous turnstone, followed in no particualar order by,Sanderling,Ringed plover,Dunlin and grey plover. I have seen a few redshank and even the odd Greenshank. These are on the beach and nothing quite as prolific as the Ribble estuary.Great pics as usual Stu.
ReplyDeleteWeird to think many of those same species occur here too......
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