Pacific golden plover

　Ōse Beach is a prime observation point in Amami. Located just a five-minute drive from the airport, it’s an excellent spot to visit immediately upon arrival to see birds. During the spring and autumn migration periods, numerous sandpipers and plovers can be observed.
　Perhaps because people were gathering shellfish that day, when I hid behind the rocks, the Pacific golden plover came quite close to me.
　In Amami, several dozen individuals overwinter, but on Honshū they are most commonly seen in spring rice fields. While flocks exceeding several hundred birds were once observed, flocks of several dozen seem more common recently.