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In
the Sea of Japan
Hegura Island
(Hegurajima)
some notes by Armas
Hill,
& a list of birds during 7 FONT tours on the island
It's an intriguing place, Hegurajima,
where during the spring and fall migrations, there's some of the most
fascinating birding anywhere. Hegura is a small island, actually tiny. It's less than
1 kilometer wide and less than 2 kilometers long. One can walk the path around the
entire coastline of the island in less than an hour.
Some people live on the island. But not many, about 50. There was a small store
(no longer), but there is an
inn (where fortunately, where one can overnight and have meals). Also on the
island: some homes, a school (just recently closed; there was an enrollment of 5), and 1
doctor. The most prominent
structure on the island is a lighthouse (the white tower in the photo above).
In the morning, the women of
Hegura dive for seaweed. Later in the day, if sunny, they put it out to dry. Men go out on
boats to fish.
There's a ferry once a day, in each direction, to and from the island. It's less
than a
two-hour ferry ride from mainland Honshu, during which there can be some good
seabirding. In the spring, the endemic Japanese Murrelet, the "Kanmuri-umisuzume"
(a wonderful bird with a wonderful name) can be seen from the
boat, along with Rhinoceros Auklets that breed nearby. Streaked
Shearwaters and Red-necked Phalaropes can be numerous.
But it's on the island itself where birding can really get interesting. At
night, when many landbirds in the spring are migrating north, they come upon the
small island in the sea. Given optimum conditions, in the morning, the island
can be bursting with birds. They're in the open on fields, in bushes, small
trees, under debris by the homes, and along the rocky coast. In short, they're
everywhere.
Birds that elsewhere can be notorious skulkers, are often more
out in the open. In that category, for example, are the shy Japanese Robin,
Siberian Blue Robin, and the White's Ground Thrush.
Routine migrants are enroute from where they've wintered in the Asian tropics to
where they'll breed as far north as Siberia. These include the Siberian
Rubythroat, Siberian Stonechat, and Yellow-breasted Bunting.
Birds migrating north, generally more common on the Asian mainland in China and
Korea, are readily seen. There are a number of birds in that
category that we've seen during our 7 previous FONT tours on Hegura Island.
These birds have included: Chinese Egret, Chinese Pond Heron, Purple Heron, Hoopoe, Richard's Pipit,
Tree Pipit, Pied Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, White-throated Rock Thrush, Swinhoe's (or Rufous-tailed) Robin,
Dusky Warbler, Radde's Warbler, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Tricolored Flycatcher,
Taiga (formerly part of Red-breasted) Flycatcher, Purple-backed
(or Daurian)
Starling, Black-naped Oriole, Black Drongo, Chinese Grosbeak, Chestnut Bunting,
Little Bunting, Yellow-browed Bunting, and Tristram's
Bunting.
A list of all the bird species (totaling 179) that have been seen during our 7 FONT Hegura Island
tours during the spring (in late-April & in early and mid-May) follows,
including those seen nearby from the ferry.
In 2007, we
added 22 species to the list.
In 2010, we added yet another 8 species, including our
first Eurasian Tree Sparrow (1 bird). The Eurasian Tree Sparrow
is extremely common, and widespread, throughout Japan (other than on Hegura).
If you'd really like to go a place in this world, that's totally removed from
everything, from hustle, bustle, troubles, whatever, Hegura is it. And it's a
place that's fun to bird - a bit like a fantasy, where a birder can be completely immersed in birds.
There's another fascinating aspect of this "bird island" during
migration. It's the mingling that can be done with Japanese birders. They're
very helpful in sharing what's about. And the whole experience we would have with them is
one never to be forgotten.
During a good day in early or mid-May, with a fallout of landbirds, shorebirds,
and waterbirds, nearly a hundred species could be seen on the tiny island
of Hegura. That's more birds during a day than virtually anywhere else in Japan.
And every day can be different, each with a surprise or two, something totally
unexpected.
A COMPLETE LISTING OF THE BIRDS FOUND DURING OUR 7 TOURS ON HEGURA ISLAND
FOLLOWS.
Links:
Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Japan
Birds
found during FONT Japanese Birding Tours in the Spring
A White-throated Rock
Thrush, Monticola gularis,
during the FONT tour on Hegura Island, Japan, May 21, 2005.
This species is an
ultra-rarity in Japan.
It is normally on mainland Asia,
breeding mostly in Manchuria and eastern Siberia,
and wintering in southern
China, and further south in Southeast Asia.
Note in the top photo the white patch on the throat.
(top photograph by Iwasaki Shohgo,
other 2 photographs by
Katsuyuki
Genma)
This Isabelline Wheatear was seen
along the rocky coastline of Hegura Island
during the FONT tour in May 2007.
The species normally occurs in central and western Asia,
and winters in Africa.
(We've seen the bird during FONT tours in Turkey.)
Somehow, this bird made its way to Hegura Island in the Sea of Japan.
When "A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan" was published in 1982,
there was only one record of this species for Japan.
More bird photographs are
included the following bird list.
BIRDS
SEEN DURING FONT SPRING TOURS
ON HEGURA ISLAND
(and in nearby waters)
(in mid-April & in early and mid-May)
mid-apr: April 11-20
early- may: May 1-10
mid-may: May 11-21
The dates of the FONT tours on Hegura have been:
01 - April 16-17, 2001
02 - May 6-7, 2002
04 - May 15-18, 2004
05 - May 19-21, 2005
06 - May 10-12, 2006
07 - May 9-12, 2007
10 - May 16-18, 2010
Bird names given in both English
& Japanese.
