Bird News from Robin Newlin
My last one-and-a-half days on the island:
Friday May 5. Expected rain did not arrive, but fog began to roll in by mid morning. The morning boat nevertheless came and went, carrying away some birders and replacing them with a small crowd of bunting-seekers. That bird showed well, as did many of the birds of previous days. A Hawfinch was perhaps new (or newly seen), associating at times with the Chinese Grosbeaks. I glimpsed a Black-capped Kingfisher from the boardwalk and photographed a Common Kingfisher (a female this time) at a favorite perch. By the afternoon, the fog was quite dense, and there seemed to be little in the way of arrivals.
Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps ©Robin Newlin
Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata ©Robin Newlin
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis ©Robin Newlin
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis ©Robin Newlin
Somewhat surprisingly, the fog had quite disappeared by the morning of May 6. There was a Grey-backed Thrush behind the post office at dawn, and the Black Drongos had moved down into the village area. The Red-headed Bunting still showed, along with several Yellow-breasted, a Yellow, and a Chestnut-eared Bunting. At the boardwalk, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, the usual Yellow-browed and Dusky Warblers, and then a mild surprise: the Paradise Flycatcher (of yet-undetermined species) reappeared after a day of no sightings, this time closer to the village (at the island’s perhaps largest tree).
Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola ©Robin Newlin
Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata ©Robin Newlin
Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata ©Robin Newlin
Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps ©Robin Newlin (This bird is not singing, despite appearances: I think it was trying to re-orient a swallowed seed.)
Paradise Flycatcher sp. ©Robin Newlin
Paradise Flycatcher sp. ©Robin Newlin
Paradise Flycatcher sp. ©Robin Newlin