An Armchair Tick and an HDD Lifer

An armchair tick refers to "an addition without leaving one's home, typically as a result of a taxonomic change." In plain english, it means that a new species was created by splitting it from an existing one (taxonomic change).  Thus a birder is able to add a new species to his list without actually going out to bird.  I have previously experienced this in 2014.  On February 8th of that year, I birded at Bangkong Kahoy and one of my 12 (😲) lifers that day was the White-throated Kingfisher.  Later that year, I saw the same bird at Penang, Malaysia.  I included it among the list of species I saw/photographed that day but I did not count it as a lifer because I had already seen it previously at Bangkong Kahoy.  A few months after this, the White-throated Kingfisher in the Philippines was split and declared a new species by one of the organizations that maintain World Bird Lists (I think it was Clements).  This new endemic species was called the Brown-breasted Kingfisher. Because of this, I gained a new lifer, the Brown-breasted KF (which I saw in BK, DRT, and Baras). However, since I also saw the White-throated Kingfisher in another country, I kept said bird in my list.

About three weeks ago, I learned from fellow Palawan birder, Erickson Tabayag that there were three new recognized Palawan endemics, (this time, I think IOC did the split).  One of these is the Palawan Crow, split from Slender-billed Crown.  This became an armchair tick for me. However, it was not an addition to my overall lifer count because Palawan Crow only replaced Slender-billed Crow in the list unless of course I can find the latter in any of my trip reports outside of Palawan. Yes, I make a list of the birds I saw after every sortie.  It is kept in a small black notebook (now two notebooks), and later copied to an excel file. I wonder which birding mentor I copied this from... hmmm...

Anyway, the prospect of a potential lifer led me to scour my birding notebooks and hard drives all the way back to my pre-birder days (2010), in search of a record, any record, of the Slender-billed Crow seen or photographed outside of Palawan.  But nada, zip, zero.  I sent all the photos I could find to Maia Tanedo, Djop Tabaranza, and Rommel Cruz, but all of them IDéd these as Large-billed Crow. 😡😡😡.  The main problem was, when we bird, we do not usually pay attention to the crows, so no photos, not even listed.  😢😢😢 

Last night's search led me to bird photos from my family's November 2018 Japan trip.  While checking the internet if the Slender-billed Crow occurs in Japan (it doesn't), I learned that there were two species of crow in that country, namely, Large-billed Crow (Ssp japonensis), and Carrion Crow.  This prompted another frantic search in my Japan files if I was able to capture a Carrion Crow.  Towards midnight, I found a photo of a crow that looked different. Not wanting to disturb any Filipino birder (due to the late hour), I decided to message Rob Hutchinson, thinking that he was still in the UK (which is seven hours behind).  He replied a little past 1am saying that he was back in Manila (patay!).  I apologized for waking him up but he said he was experiencing jetlag.  So I asked him to confirm the ID of these four:

Shinjuku Park, Tokyo, Nov 4, 2018

Kasai Rinkai Park, Tokyo, Nov 5, 2018

Hida Takayama, Nov 2, 2018

Hida Takayama, Nov 3, 2018

As expected the bird in the first three photos were Large-billed Crows on account of their beak and the glossy blue-black shoulder.  I pointed out that the bird in the last photo had a different beak (shorter and smaller) and that the feathers seemed different. (But I also knew that my eyes may be playing tricks on me and I am seeing things that aren't).  Rob's reply came after several agonizing minutes... (probably just seconds but the suspense was killing me....) ....

"I agree on the 4th bird, the bill is smaller and more pointed, it has feathering extending out into the top of the bill and the head is more neatly rounded, I think that is Carrion Crow" 

Yehey!!!   And with that I got to add a tick to my over-all life list.  Meanwhile, the search for the Slender-billed Crow (and other lifers), shall continue in the real world.

Thank you to all who helped me add this lifer -  from Erickson to Maia, Djop, Rommel, and finally, Rob!

Note: in researching for this blogpost, I looked at the different Bird Lists (IOC, Clement, HBW, Birdlife) and true enough these lists do not exactly match.  I realize that for consistency, one should only follow one list.  I also realized that my personal list does not adhere to just one (hahaha).  But that is another issue to tackle in the future.  For now, I will bask in the joy of adding a lifer from my second favorite country while confined to my mancave at home.  

Chasing Lifers: At the Land of the Rising Sun - Tokyo

After two and a half days at Takayama, it was time to say goodbye and head back to Tokyo.  But two and a half days was simply not enough time to explore this beautiful and quaint city.  It is my idea of a vacation destination and I want to be able to go back, hopefully soon.  We arrived in Tokyo early evening, had a quick meal at a McDonald's (hey, we wanted to see a McDo in Japan), and explored the nearby Family Mart and Seven Eleven looking for a powdered Pokari Sweat because it was the "bilin" of a favorite niece (I have many favorite nieces!!! baka may mag protesta). 

Early the following morning, I went birding in Shinjuku Park which was located across our hotel.  After going inside, walking a bit and not hearing anything but crows, I began to doubt my decision to bird here (I was debating on going to another but farther site).  But I was already committed to this site so I kept walking about.  And as with most birding sorties, patience is often rewarded... a lifer right in front of me...within good shooting distance, nice bokeh and good light.  Oriental Turtle Dove, Japan Lifer # 6.

Oriental Turtle Dove, Japan Lifer # 6

Bouyed by the Oriental Turtle Doves, I continued birding.  On one part of the park, I found a temple and decided to explore its grounds (I could hear birds!).

On one of the trees just outside the fence, I found my 7th lifer in Japan - Japanese Tit, also known as Oriental Tit.

Japanese Tit, Lifer # 7 in Japan

I also saw the Chestnut-eared Bulbul again but was not able to get any shot worth posting. Sometime later, a mixed flock of small birds arrived, very noisy and very active, but difficult to photograph. Seeing movement on some branches, I let out a burst was able to get a docu shot of a Japanese White Eye, my 8th Japan Lifer, 

Japanese White Eye, Japan Lifer # 8.

The Japanese Tits were back in numbers but still very active. While trying to get a photo of them, I spotted this lone bird on a branch to my left so I just fired away. Black-faced Bunting, Japan Lifer # 9!

Black-faced Bunting, Japan Lifer # 9.

After the Bunting left, I turned back my attention to the tree where the Japanese Tits were converging and just started shooting at anything moving.  And somehow, I got another lifer, #10, Long-tailed Tit!

Long-tailed Tit, Japan Lifer # 10

A slightly better photo of the Japanese Tit

And a more open docu shot of a Japanese White Eye

I espied a few White Wagtails on the well manicured grass in the distance.  I tried to get closer but they would fly away.  As I was about to go back to our hotel, two of them perched in front of me.

White Wagtail

Not only did they perch, they also started strutting...

White Wagtail, strutting

And after putting on a show, it gave me a bow!  We were in Japan, after all...

White Wagtail, giving me a "bow"

After the Wagtail show, it was time to head back to the hotel (the buffet breakfast time was about to end!).  Anyway, five lifers in a quickie morning birding is not bad at all!

The rest of the day was spent shopping - mainly for our sons. Leon, wanted to check out Tokyo Hands, a big school, arts and office supplies store for his Archi stuff.  Next stop was Akihabara, the electronics district where Luis wanted to look for some things.  

Early the following morning, our last day in Japan, I decided to go for broke and visited Kasai Rinkai Park, a site recommended by a birder from a Japanese FB birding site.  The only problem was, it was an hour away by train.  But, its bird list on ebird was quite impressive so off I went to a destination I have never been to.  Fortunately, the Japanese train system is easy to figure out and super efficient.  I arrived at the site after one hour and ten minutes.  

Upon entering the park, a flock of birds flew into a bare tree but quickly left. I was able to snap a few docu shots.  White-cheeked Starling, Japan Lifer # 11.

White-cheeked Starling, Japan Lifer # 11.

It was a large park, (per google, it's 81 hectares!!!), and all the signs were in Japanese. Hence, determining where the birding spots were was a challenge.  So I just walked and kept my eyes and ears open.  I again saw the Chestnut-eared Bulbuls.  This time, with better photo opportunities.

Chestnut-eared Bulbul

I continued walking and looking for the coast as most of the birds listed in ebird were waterbirds.  Along the way, I saw a Hawfinch (Japan Lifer #12), perch briefly near the top of a tree. Luckily, i managed a docu shot. 

Hawfinch, Japan Lifer # 12

Soon, I reached the coast but unfortunately, access to it was restricted.  I did read somewhere that there was an area that was off limits to people so that the wild bird population will come back. Reading between the lines, one may deduce that this must have been a bird habitat that was disturbed when they built the Kasai Rinkai Park (and Aqua Park) but now there are efforts to bring back the birds.  

At one point, I could see plenty of birds in the distance.   

Nearer to the shore, I spotted several White-cheeked Starlings perched on some railings.

Docu shot of White-cheeked Starlings

A couple of large dark birds flew in the distance and I was able to get a very poor shot.  After some heavy cropping, these were identified by Rob Hutchinson as a pair of Black Cormorants. One of my target birds in this park.  Lifer # 13.  

Black Cormorants, Japan Lifer # 13

A bit closer were some white birds hovering near the water.  I assumed they were terns but after some cropping and enhancing, I guessed that they were Black-tailed Gulls.  My guess was confirmed by Mr Hutchinson.  Here is a docu shot of Lifer # 14.

Black-tailed Gull, Japan Lifer # 14.

By 8:30am, I started my way back to the park entrance (where the train station was).  It was a good twenty minutes walk away.  I needed to be at the hotel by 10am because we were checking out already. I passed by a large three-storey all glass building which turned out to be a bird observation deck complete with mounted telescopes (!) but it only opens at 9am.  So all I could do was look at it and imagine what lifers I could have seen through its powerful lenses.     

The bird observation deck/building

As I was walking towards the exit, I saw some ETS on a nice perch so I took a few photos.  I felt that it was only fitting that my last bird photo in this Japan trip is the same species as the first one I took four days earlier (in Takayama).

"Japanese" Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Birding wise, it was a satisfactory trip, given my limited time and knowledge of the birding sites.  It leaves me wanting for more, but then again, we birders are seldom satisfied. (hehehe).  But kidding aside, Japan is a beautiful country that I would always want to go back to.  Hopefully, I will get a chance to see and photograph the Cranes and the Stellar Sea Eagles.  

Domo Arigatogozaimashita Nihon! 

Big thank you to Mr. Robert Hutchinson for all the help in identifying these birds.