Wajiro

Wajiro is not only famous for the striking oystercatcher, but it is also well known for Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna). My first visit to Wajiro on March 3 saw me taking photos of a flock of 8 Common Shelducks that was resting on a sandy beach at high tide. They were certainly not tame, but fortunately there was a wall for me to hide behind, so I could take photos of them at really close range.

Non-breeding male Common Shelduck

An immature female

Adult female

With a Common Coot drinking water in the background

I was a bit disappointed to see that none of the drakes was in breeding plumage. I was hoping to see a drake with large red knob on the bill but all of them were still in non-breeding plumage with buffish fringes on the head and no red knob. All of them were sleeping and bathing in shallow water. I took few videos of them while bathing. It was interesting to see that they were also drinking (fresh?) water that was running into the sea. Lots of Common Coots were joining the drinking party as well.

Drinking (fresh?) water

Enjoying afternoon bath

It was really difficult to get the green of its head and speculum

An adult non-breeding male

Another male with buffish fringes on the head

Wajiro seems to be a really good place for birding only if the tide is low. I've been there twice and the tide was high on both visit, yet birds were still considerably good. There were lots of Northern Pintails, Greater Scaups and other common ducks in the water. Few Black-necked and Great Crested Grebes were seen as well. Small flocks of waders have already arrived by the time I visited the place. There were Grey Plovers, Dunlins, Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 species of curlews.

A large flock of Greater Scaups

The Bigger Spoon

Guess I'm easily attracted by birds with spoon shaped bill, but isn't that the same with any other birders. These photos were taken on March 20, just few days before I left Japan. After finding a pair of Eurasian Oystercatchers at Wajiro, I went to Imazu which is on the opposite side of Hakata Bay. Deep in my heart, I wished that I'd be able to get photos of the Black-faced Spoonbills up close, since even after 2 visits I still haven't got any photo of them at close range. After my arrival at the train station, I quickly took the bus to the birding area. I then walked to the river where the spoonbills roosted and as I arrived, I was completely speechless when I saw that the tide was extremely low and the spoonbills were walking right before my eyes!

Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) in breeding plumage

Landing

An immature bird; notice black primaries tip

Probably an even younger bird; note smooth upper mandible

Bill looks pinkish from below

The total number of the spoonbills seemed to drop a little bit compared to the last time I visited in January. I also didn't see any Eurasian Spoonbill, the species I photographed up close last time. This time, even though Black-faced Spoonbills were all over the place, it was not too easy to get decent photos of them. They seemed to be a bit shyer than the Eurasian Spoonbill I found. However, by hiding behind the sea wall and slowly approaching, I could get some pretty good shots that at least could satisfy me well.

Feeding in flock with Great Cormorants

Note different amount of yellow on facial skin

This one looks pretty typical for breeding Black-faced Spoonbill

The birds seemed to favour feeding near the river mouth where I photographed a flock of Falcated Ducks. They gathered and fed in group along with a large number of Great Cormorants and some Great Egrets. Unfortunately, the birds flew out as I tried to get closer since the cormorants were really wary and flew out as soon as they saw me, so the spoonbills also followed them. They landed some hundreds metres away and started feeding again.

Birdscaping with an immature bird

An obliging individual with large yellow spot on the face

Wading through the mud searching for preys

I enjoyed taking photos of them all through the afternoon and as the sun was about to set, a bird in almost full breeding plumage came walking towards me. This individual seemed to be the most obliging one. It shows unusually large yellow spot on the lores making it look somewhat unlike Black-faced Spoonbill. However, after going through archives of images of Black-faced Spoonbills, I found that it's not too unusual for them to have this characteristic.

Feeding on a small crab

It took almost 3 minutes for this bird to finish its meal.

Finally swallowed!

The Last Lifer

Just a few days before I left Japan, I visited a place called Wajiro (和白), a famous birding site in the eastern part of Hakata Bay in Fukuoka. It's my second time visiting the place. As I arrived early in the morning, I felt a bit disappointed as the tide was quite high and there were not many birds in the bay. This place is famous for being one of the best places in Japan to see the Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus). I didn't expect to see it since the the tide was high and birds were really quiet. But as I was scanning through a flock of sleeping ducks far on the west side of the bay, I was amazed to see 2 oystercatchers resting along with 2 Far Eastern Curlews, 1 Eurasian Curlew and a Bar-tailed Godwit. It's my last Japanese lifer before I left the country.

My first view of the Eurasian Oystercatchers

Jumping on one leg!

They didn't seem to get along well.

I couldn't get much closer to the birds since the noisy Eurasian Curlew kept calling its alarm call and the oysterchatchers would wake up and become more aware of me when the curlew called. The oystercatcher's call is a loud, high pitched, single-note call. They constantly gave the call when they noticed me trying to approach them. As the time went by, the tide began to slowly go down revealing the mud flat where shorebirds come to feed. The oystercatchers became a bit more active and one of them often started a fight by chasing the other bird around.

With 2 Far Eastern Curlews and a Bar-tailed Godwit

Calling

Showing upperwing pattern

I stopped approaching them once I got the above shots and decided to wait for the birds to fully awake and start feeding. However, all the birds were flushed by an old guy who came jogging along the shore. The oystercatchers flew out and disappeared in the distance. I was really upset but gave it a try waiting for them to come back. In the end, no bird came back to the same area and I just had to leave the place.

A view of mudflat at Wajiro

Far Eastern Curlew showing its underwing coverts

Bar-tailed Godwit moulting into breeding plumage

A relatively short-billed Eurasian Curlew

Showing its distinct white rump

I just love the information boards along the footpath.

A quick sketch of the oystercatcher I made while watching them.