One rainy day in Saga, part 1

When the news came about a rare sighting of a certain sandpiper, the M's came to pick me up and we drove to the Ariaki Sea early in the morning. We waited for the tide to come in, so no mud would be exposed, but very few birds came to the shore to rest on the stones. Was it the rain? The lack of light added to the gloomness of the morning and we didn't find our bird.

There were a number of migrators, of course, but I picked the overstayers for a change:

Black-faced Spoonbills, クロツラヘラサギ

Some lonesome plovers:

Little Ringed Plover, コチドリ

Kentish Plover, シロチドリ


We drove to nearby reclaimed land with lotus farms and found some waders wandering in the rain.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, ウズラシギ

The soft shades of wet green leaves made me feel energized.

Birding in the rain is a good way to charge your batteries.