Pied Avocet, ソリハシセイタカシギ

An incidental visitor to Japan, and the first time for me to see in Kyushu.
It's a cute bird with its up-turned bill, feeding in shallow water, sweeping that bill from left to right, much like a spoonbill. Despite the distance it was fun to watch. We had to wait for the tide to recede before we could see its legs. Not brightly colored like a stilt, but an elegant bird in its own way.

surfing?

With some plovers flying over

shake shake

legs!

Shichimenso is a kind of sea blite, found on the shores of the Ariake Sea in Kysushu.

In October the plants turn red and purple, creating colorful photo opportunities. However, the Dunlins didn't show up in their typical formation flight, neither were there any other waders that could do the job, so I had to be content with our Avocet.

Trying to get both in the picture

Grey-streaked Flycatcher, エゾビタキ

Seen on September 27th

  

Below an Asian Brown Flycatcher, コサメビタキ 

a Dark-sided Flycatcher, サメビタキ　to compare

And some kind of vine with edible looking mini potato type bits of fruit that was dangling in front of my eyes...

Siberian Stonechat, ノビタキ on the way south

The day after the typhoon, it's still quite windy.

We all have a bad hairday sometimes

 

Still around, よかった！Spotted Redshank, ツルシギ

  

Watching the activity from a pole...  Bull-headed Shrike, モズ

オーストラリアセイタカシギ, White-headed Stilt

On October 8^th I drove to Isahaya in Nagasaki hoping to find some migraters, kestrels, merlins or an early Amur Falcon maybe.  I left early and got there just before sunrise. There was very little activity that day, although I did see some Common Kestrels and a very early Daurian Redstart.

Luckily a White-headed Stilt was spotted and mentioned in one of the blogs. Not a common bird in Japan. We get many Black-winged Stilts, also in Fukuoka, but this one usually stays further south, therefore named Australian Stilt in Japanese. So halfway the morning I headed out in search.

Stilts are easy to detect with their long legs, but some ongoing construction work in the reclaimed area made them retreat to some hidden corner and it took me and 3 others the best part of the day to locate. Halfway the afternoon someone finally found it and there were the birds: 8 of them; male and female, adults and juveniles, all dressed in black and white and all looking different. They moved in and out of the rice plants and the watered field, behind that blue netting that is so widely used in Japan (I hate it!) Now, which one is the Ozzie???

Got it! Once you know it's easy... White head, Black nape, slightly different bill and just a wee bit taller than the others. (Only visible when they all stand up straight, which is.... seldom)

juvenile female  オーストラリアセイタカシギ, White-headed Stilt on the right, juvenile Black-winged on the left.

on the right again.

Once I had her sorted out our bird disappeared in the greenery. It took time again to wait for it to come out so all of us birders could see it. 

lurking at the back...

stepping forward...? No, not yet.

When it finally did come forward it lifted one leg up, tucked its head in and went to sleep…

Of course the only thing we could do was wait...  again. But then: 

Our bird from down under is the one on the left, calling "Hi, it's me!" with an Ozzie accent.

With my white face and blackish nape, on the very left.

  

left

left

Just when I got ready to leave it did a brief tour in the waterlogged field and returned to the safety of the secluded rice paddy. By now it really was time for me to head back, but I did have some photos.

Spotted Redshank, ツルシギ

A typhoon is on its way. Where do these birds find shelter?

with Black-winged Stilt, セイタカシギ Red legs are the trend

Last a couple of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, ウズラシギ

Siberian Stonechat, ノビタキ (and some flowers)

October 3rd, a male and female at a vegetable farm.

male

female

Right behind this blue net were rows of flowering veges, like eggplant and okura.

Tall plants, perfect for a Stonechat to perch on. It would make such a pretty photograph....But no, they both preferred the net and its bamboo sticks.

eggplant, ナス　          　 okura, オクラ

 

オクラ, okura but not the edible kind.

コスモス, kosmos but without the Stonechat...

カマキラ