After a smooth flight from Heathrow we managed to reconvene almost
the whole crew at the Royal Park Hotel in Haneda Airport in Tokyo and head out
into the chilly but crisp city on the Monorail in search of a some pre-trip
birding in the Tokyo Port Park.
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| Fuji and the mist |
The walk from the station gave us Large-billed Crows,
Black-eared Kites and even a female Daurian Redstart before we got to the park
entrance.
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| Large-billed Crow |
It was a gentle but exciting introduction into Japanese
birding and a chance for the team to become familiar with the vocal range of
Brown-eared Bulbuls, the shape of Bull-headed Shrikes, rusty winged Dusky
Thrushes and twittering Warbling White-eyes.
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| Warbling White-eye |
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| Brown-eared Bulbul |
With the recent amalgamation of the global lists there have
been a few name changes but I shall still be using sub-specific names to
differentiate them. Your list is your
own and I am still a firm believer in recording what you see so the ‘White
Wagtails’ we saw will always be called Black-backed.
Anyway, I digress.
The main reedy pool area had been drained and was being mown in places
to allow rejuvenation and although there may have been no wet birds, the Dusky
Thrushes and White-cheeked Starlings were very happy hopping around and the
Shrikes had more opportunities for pouncing on prey.
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| White-cheeked Starlings |
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| Bull-headed Shrike - This male was actively hunting within the reed edge with often only the wagging tail giving away its position |
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| Bull-headed Shrike |
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| Bull-headed Shrike - a different bird - Elaine Chuang |
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| Bull-headed Shrike - Chris Darby |
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| Bull-headed Shrike - Jim Willett |
The reed edges held furtive Masked Buntings and surprisingly
showy Japanese Bush Warblers which were seen loosely with parties of Japanese
Tits while fat billed, pallid Reed Buntings fed in the Phragmites tops. A male Grey-capped
Greenfinch was nibbling tree buds and a Hawfinch sat up briefly before bounding
away.
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| Japanese Bush Warbler - Chris Darby |
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| Masked Bunting - Chris Darby |
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| Masked Bunting |
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Reed Bunting E s pyrrhulina
|
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| Grey-capped Greenfinch - Chris Darby |
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Grey-capped Greenfinch
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I was mentally going through the park last from last year
and we soon added Eastern Buzzard, Oriental Turtle Doves (OTDs) and a
Kingfisher and on the first lagoon there were Coots and poggei Little
Grebes whose almost white eyes I never noticed last time.
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| Oriental Turtle Dove - Jim Willett |
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| Oriental Turtle Dove |
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| Eastern Buzzard |
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Eastern Buzzard
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| Little Grebe - T r poggei - Chris Darby |
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| Little Grebe - T r poggei |
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| Coot |
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| Black-eared Kite |
Down at the harbour spur there was no large Aythya flock
this time with just a few Pochard along with Mallard, Pintail, Teal, Wigeon,
Great Cormorants and Great Crested Grebes.
Grey Heron and Common Sandpipers were on the muddy margins and below the
viewing screen there ere several smart Black-backed Wagtails poking around
along with two Siberian Pipits and a male Dusky Thrush that posed far better
than I had seen before.
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| Dusky Thrush |
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| Siberian Pipit - Jim Willett |
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| Common Sandpiper & Siberian Pipit |
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| Common Sandpiper |
We retraced ours steps to the visitors centre where a male
Brown-headed Thrush dashed out of his Bramble clump to see off a Dusky but
unfortunately never returned although we did see a pair of Daurian Redstarts.
A circuit of the other end gave us nothing different but
further views of Masked Buntings and the White-eyes and some incredibly close
encounters with the OTDs as they kicked through the laurel leaflitter.
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| Oriental Turtle Dove |
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| Oriental Turtle Dove |
We ambled back adding a male Eastern Blue Rock Thrush on a
building cliff face and surprisingly six Brown-headed Thrushes on a small green
spot from the slow moving monorail!
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| Eastern Blue Rock Thrush - Elaine Chuang |
Once back in the terminal we worked our way back outside and
across the road to the Solamnade Haneda Green Space but the tide was right in
and there were very few duck to be seen either but we did find our first two Eastern
Spot-billed Ducks along with Wigeon, Tufted Ducks and Pintail. There were no big gulls at all but several
large flocks of Black-headed Gulls headed through at dusk much to Dave’s (who
had joined us) surprise. A triangle of rough land over the seawall gave us another
male Eastern Blue Rock Thrush up close as well as several Tree Sparrows and a
female Daurian Redstart.
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| Eastern Blue Rock Thrush |
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| Eastern Blue Rock Thrush |
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| Large-billed Crow |
It was getting late and we were starting to flag with the
earlier adrenaline of arrival now being out competed by the nine hour time
difference. Time for dinner and bed…
