Bird new from Subhojit Chakladar with Robin Newlin
The regular weekend dash to Gageo to check out what the migration has brought forth. The sea crossing under overcast and increasingly windy conditions produced half a dozen Ancient Murrelet and 2 Streaked Shearwater. Following RN’s lead went straight to the garbage dump area in search of the Black Redstart spotted a couple of times in the last few days. An hours search failed to spot the bird but produced 2 Yellow Buntings and a female Citrine Wagtail instead, along with the other regulars in the area. The retreating tide revealed a Mongolian Plover and a Temminck’s Stint on the mossy slab. Walking around the main village, there was a feeling that the island has been taken over by Narcissus Flycatchers! But the gorgeous colors mean you never get tired of looking at them. Apart from them, there were good numbers of Blue-and-White Flycatchers, Asian Brown Flycatchers, Olive-backed Pipits, Red-throated Pipits along with Barn Swallows and a few Red-rumped Swallows in the sky. 3 Straited Heron were observed, including 1 coming off the sea just as the boat entered Gageo harbor. Walking up the quarry from the village produced good numbers of Pale and Brown-headed Thrush. The lower sections of the quarry had about 3 dozen Eurasian Siskins and 2 Little Curlew.
The next morning skies cleared out but very few birds of note were in evidence. Once again an extended stake-out for the redstart failed to produce any results. There were a few Eastern-crowned Warblers, Asian Stubtails in the neighborhood. Walking up the ‘pass’ produced 3 Tristram’s Bunting, 2 Rustic Bunting in breeding plumage and a group of very photogenic and confiding Japanese White-eyes. Following a call from RN, I rushed back to the new road construction just behind the village in time to see a White-shouldered Starling which feasted on berries and provided some nice photo opportunities. Just before leaving the island, a Greater Short-toed Lark was seen right outside the pension. A total of 54 species in the 24hr stay on the island.
Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata © Subhojit Chakladar
White-shouldered Starling Sturnia sinensis © Subhojit Chakladar
Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina © Subhojit Chakladar