Also around were a few Red-necked Stint, a lone Dunlin and Grey-tailed Tattler, a flock of Kentish Plover, a couple of Mongolian Plover and a Common Ringed Plover which despite its name is a scarce bird in Japan.
And more Sanderlings
Tag: Sanderling
More Sanderlings
Most of the flock seemed to be adults in winter plumage, or already moulted juveniles but the above bird is in full juvenile regalia I think.
Some Sanderlings
Last March, when I was checking a new location for me, I found a flock of Sanderlings, a bird I’d never seen in winter before. I guessed maybe they overwinter every year.
Today in the same place I found a flock of the same species. Have they returned for the winter?
A grey Sunday in August
After an extremely hot 3 weeks a typhoon hit south Hokkaido and temperatures dropped dramatically in the space of a couple of days. Weird weather…………
A few common waders were around and the only typhoon-blown birds was this flock of Red-necked Pharalope…………….
A classic old lens
Someone has very kindly lent me his old 400 f5.6 lens and I tried it out at the weekend. I’d always wondered about this ‘classic’ old birding lens.
6 species of waders near Yakumo but the 400 wasn’t quite long enough for any decent shots.
But in this hot weather it was a relief not to be carrying one of the big whites.
And this Osprey was close enough at least……………
The quietest of quietest months
July is always a quiet month in south Hokkaido and for various reasons July 2021 has been even quieter than usual.
It’s been really really hot too. Last Sunday it was foggy in the morning which provided temporary relief. Not great for photos but juvenile Ospreys were practicing fishing and the first of the ‘autumn’ waders were passing through.
Some other port birds
I was concentrating on ducks but there were some other birds around in the port last weekend. 3 species of grebe including Red-necked and Slavonian…………….
And the Sanderling flock was still there. Maybe they’ve been there all winter?
Some winter waders
Dunlin are regular wintering waders and there is a small flock of them every year in or near one of the ports in Oshamanbe.
I was very surprised to see a flock of Sanderling in a different port: I’d never seen them in winter here.
Some more Sanderlings
I think Sanderling was the first shorebird I positively identified. I must have been about 11 or 12 (?) and I remember seeing this small white wader running around on Blackpool Beach on a cold wintry day. Afterward I went to my Great-aunt’s house nearby and she had a copy of ‘The Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe’ and I found the Sanderling in there looked just like the one I’d seen earlier.
And here we are 40 years later.
A quiet Sunday on the beach
It’s been a bit of a lazy last few weeks. The weather has been either unbearably hot or very stormy. Not many birds around either.
There were some Sanderlings near Yakumo yesterday. A common enough bird at this time of year but one of my personal favourites. It was an overcast windy, humid day and not great for photos.
