9th October 2012 Hegura-jima Calm and cooler

We awoke to a calm and cooler morning with a slight southerly breeze increasing during the day. Our early morning walk to the Dragon's Pool didn't produce anything new but there were still migrants present on the island. However, as the day progressed clearly there were migrants with a likely Japanese origin on the island. On the SW beach we had a brief encounter with a presumed Sakhalin Leaf-Warbler that had clearly just arrived. We then tried the SW enclosures and the woodland walk where JFC saw a Japanese Robin and a first-winter male Mugimaki Flycatcher. At Tsukasa 2 male Pine Buntings were still present and we found a Japanese Grosbeak near the harbour and we finished the day with a female Japanese Grey Thrush in a fruiting tree near the NTT tower.

Grey Heron 2
Teal 3
Mallard 3
Black-eared Kite 1
Peregrine 1
Coot 1
Black-tailed Gull 100
Rufous Turtle Dove 1
Wryneck 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2
Olive-backed Pipit 8
Siberian Buff-bellied Pipit 1
Black-backed Wagtail 10
Brown-eared Bulbul 4
Japanese Waxwing 1
Siberian Rubythroat 1 female
Red-flanked Bluetail 2
Daurian Redstart 8
Stejneger's Stonechat 5
Blue Rock Thrush 2
Japanese Grey Thrush 1 female
Pale Thrush 8
Eye-browed Thrush 2
Dusky Thrush 75
Asian Stubtail 1
Japanese Bush Warbler 4
Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler 1
Black-browed Reed Warbler 1
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler 1
Arctic Warbler 10
Goldcrest 30
Blue-and-white Flycatcher 1
Mugimaki Flycatcher 1w male ex.
Narcissus Flycatcher 2
Varied Tit 1
Japanese White-eye 30
Bull-headed Shrike 2
Large-billed Crow 2
Brambling 40
Oriental Greenfinch 20
Siskin 100
Japanese Grosbeak 1
Hawfinch 10
Masked Bunting 12
Grey Bunting 6
Black-faced Bunting 1
Pine Bunting 4
Elegant Bunting 2
Tristram's Bunting 1
Rustic Bunting 15
Little Bunting 3

Black-browed Reed Warbler at the School Field

Adult Japanese Waxwing at Tsukasa

Asian Stubtail at the Drinking Pool

First-winter Black-backed Wagtail at the School Field

First-winter Eye-browed Thrush at the School Field

Narcissus Flycatcher at the Drinking Pool

Red-flanked Bluetail at the Drinking Pool

Varied Tit at the Drinking Pool

an interesting photographic effect - 1/3 second on ISO1600

Varied Tit at the Drinking Pool