We headed north yesterday.............
The wintering flock of Dunlin are changing into summer plumage..................
Spring migration hasn't really got going yet but we did see quite a few summer visitors, some for the first time this year: Japanese Thrush. Siberian Stonechat, Red-cheeked Starling (below), Little-ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, a lone Ruddy Turnstone, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Osprey, Great Egret, lots of Black-faced Bunting and Japanese Bush Warbler.............
Here are some common summer birds:
Bullheaded Shrike..........
Both local species of Starling:
Lots of Dusky Thrush were on the move..............
The colony of Grey Heron and Great Cormorants was busy at Yakumo............
Lots of ducks offshore including White-winged Scoter, Great-crested Grebes, Black-headed and Common Gulls in summer plumage, a few Glaucous Gulls still around.......................
The last couple of days in April and the first few days in may always seem to bring interesting things: I wonder what will turn up this year?
Do your Dunlin breed on Hokkaido or do they move farther north?
ReplyDeleteHi David. They move north: they'll be gone in a week or 2. One of this regularly wintering flock was colour-ringed and it seems this particular group breeds in Kamchatka in NE Russia.
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