Gageo Island, April 29, 2019

White-shouldered Starling Sturnia sinensis
with White-cheeked Starling Spodiopsar cineraceus 

Chestnut-cheeked Starling Agropsar philippensis

Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla

  More cold and wet weather overnight, so more dead birds littering Gageo-do. Unfortunately, one of the Taiga Flycatchers was found dead near the power plant, having succumbed to the cold and resultant lack of available insects. I saw it in the same area yesterday, lethargically searching for food. Many of the birds I saw along the trails today seemed similarly punch-drunk and not as wary as they need to be.
  With the rains and south-easterly winds, there was a clear-out of many of the birds that have been stuck in town for the past week, without much in the way of arrivals. The three new species noted around 1-Gu in the morning were two Little Whimbrels, a Rufous-tailed Robin, and a White-cheeked Starling. The Little Whimbrels, like their ‘full-sized’ cousin yesterday, were wandering around in the parking lot for the new quarry, perhaps wondering what had happened to the weedy gravel field they favoured in the old configuration of the quarry.
  The heavy rains began in earnest at about 10 a.m., forcing me to retreat inside for the day. I managed to get out briefly in the late afternoon for a quick rain recon, and found some new shorebirds at the mossy slab – four Terek Sandpipers, six Grey-tailed Tattlers, and a Mongolian Plover. Tomorrow promises no rain – maybe the larks and the Black Redstarts will show up?