2014 Best of #1

Well it's been a very very quiet last 2 or 3 weeks so here are some of my fave shots from early winter 2014, all taken in SW Hokkaido............it seems like a long time ago already..............



The star of the winter was undoubtedly the Gyrfalcon at Sawara...................it was tame and erasy to see. Sawara is a cold bleak place in winter though................




This Ural Owl was in a hole at Onuma for a few weeks until someone scared it off. I did see 2 incredibly stupid/selfish middle aged women walk right up to the tree and try and take photos of it with their iphones. Someone eventually put up a rope barrier and a sign saying don't go too close but by then it was too late...............



I didn't get as many Gyrfalcon BIFs as I'd hoped................



The eagles were all present and correct at Yakumo...............



Lots of driftwood on the beach at Sawara provided perches for the Gyrfalcon. On this day I got the very early initial stages of frostbite (I'd left my gloves in the car), a rather painful experience.



There was a big influx of Common Crossbill this year. This shot was taken in Hakodate in one of the many small parks.








The Gyr was not the only falcon species at Sawara....................although I don't imagine this Peregrine would have been tolerated long. The Gyr did manage to kill a Short Eared Owl and a Rough Legged Buzzard in the area didn't stay around too long either...................

I wanted to get a pic of the Gyr eating a gull (its usual prey) but all I got was this one of it eating a piece of fish that it probably snaffled from a Black Kite (and the kite probably pilfered it from the nearby seafood factory).






I managed to get my first ever picture of an Olive Backed Pipit, this one was in a park in east Hakodate...................





Waders are generally thin on the ground in winter but this Dunlin was part of a flock in Oshamanbe..........













The Gyrfalcon chilling out in a blizzard...............

There were several Great Egret overwintering on the river in Hakodate................

Despite its size and weight the 500 f4 is a great BIF lens..............







To be continued.................