Oystercatcher is a rare spring and autumn migrant or rare winter visitor along the coast of Japan, seen occasionally in small flocks on tidal flats, sandy beaches and rocky shores. The first Oystercatcher record for Ishikawa Prefecture (located on the Japan Sea side of central Honshu) was 12 October 1977, along the beach at Chirihama. The second and third records, both at the Ohama landfill in Kanazawa City, were on 6 October 1979 and November 1981. Since then, scattered observations of migratory Oystercatchers have been reported annually along the coast from Chirihama to Uchinada. On the night of 21 October, an Oystercatcher was caught in a fishing net at the coast of Takamatsu in Kahoku-gun (36°46′N, 136°43′E). The bird was in 1st winter plumage, but with juvenile feathers still remaining on body and upper tail coverts. After banding with a numbered metal ring (Japan Environment Agency, Kankyo-cho Japan 092-13577), the bird was weighed and measured and released in good health on 22 November. Measurements showed in Table 1. The shafts of three outer primaries (P8-P10) of the birds showed black, and this bird also showed no white on the outer webs of P6 through P10. Nasal grooves did not extend more then half-wayalong the bill. These characteristics indicate the subspecies
H. o. osculans. This was the first banding record for a juvenile Oystercatcher in 1st winter plumage in Japan.
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