Bird News from Jason Loghry with Alex Broda
Sunday afternoon at Junam was mostly clear-skied and quiet. It was a perfect day to be outside for a walk. We avoided the main entrance to the lake. In the surrounding rice fields, there were groups of Taiga Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, and a few Northern Lapwing. We sat and watched the lapwings feed and found Brambling, Rustic Bunting, and Yellow-throated Bunting in and out of nearby trees and bushes. There were a good number of thrushes in flight and perched in trees. These were mostly Dusky Thrush, some Naumann’s Thrush, and a few Pale Thrush. We saw Buff-bellied Pipit, lugens White Wagtail, a couple Bull-headed Shrike, many Oriental Turtledove, White-cheeked Starling and Eastern Great Tit. Woodpeckers observed and heard include Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, and Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. Across the lake we found White-naped Crane but on the lake there seemed to be relatively few birds. We observed several Mongolian Gull, Black-headed Gull, a few Eurasian Spoonbill, and we shared great views of an adult White-tailed Eagle circling overhead. We were most enamored with about five Japanese Waxwing sat perched at tree top. A passing birder stopped by and we all shared a moment just admiring how perfectly beautiful these birds are.