In the migratory seasons, we can see lots of shorebirds visiting mud flats in the Tokyo area. Yatsu-higata, Sanbanze, Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park, and the mouth of the Tama River and the Obitsu River are all famous birding sites for migrating shorebirds. It is not only exciting but also efficient for shorebird-watchers to look around some of these sites in a day.

　Among them Yatsu-higata is considered the best birding site. You should not miss it if you are in the Tokyo area during spring or autumn migration.
　Yatsu-higata is only a small inland mud flat surrounded by a school, huge apartment blocks, and an expressway. However, it attracts so many species of birds that it was approved as a registered marshland in the Ramsar Convention in 1993. More than 100 species are recorded every year, and altogether over 170 species have been recorded there.
　You will be able to see numerous shorebirds congregating on the mud flat. Little Ringed, Snowy, Mongolian, and Black-bellied Plover, Rufous-necked Stint, Dunlin, Common and Terek Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Greenshank, Gray-tailed Tattler, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Whimbrel, and Black-winged Stilt are all fairly common there. Hopefully, you may be able to see Australian Curlew, Great Knot, and some other uncommon shorebirds there.

　In autumn in 2002, Spoon-billed Sandpiper turned up in Yatsu-higata, and Baird's Sandpiper in Sanbanze. Since there is always a possibility for rarities to occur in Tokyo Bay, you should visit other birding sites mentioned above in addition to Yatsu-higata, according to current information.

　　　　 　　　　 　　　 　　　 　　　 　　　　Australian　Curlew　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Gray-tailed　Tattler

―Photos: Shigeki　Sogame