Autumn Staples

Harlequin Ducks arrive back on the coast in October....................

Some summer pondlife

It was very dark in Onuma on Sunday....................

2017 Best of #8

Some more photos from earlier in the year................

If at first you don't succeed............

 2 or 3 weeks ago we witnessed a pair of Little Grebes having a bit of a nesting disaster.............

Some bad family planning

We were in Onuma earlier in the week.................

A rainy morning in Onuma

It was raining heavily on Sunday....................

Monochrome weekend

It was a grey and rather overcast weekend..............

A bit quiet on the coast.........

Some pics from Sawara/Shikabe yesterday...............

The annual lull.........

Well it's that time of year again. Mid July heralds a month or so of very quiet birding, most of the summer stuff has stopped singing and now I'm just waiting for the waders to start passing through in mid August.

The 2 staples at this time of year are the fishing Ospreys at various locales and the Japanese Green Pigeons at Shikabe. I had no luck with the Osprey pics last Wednesday at Yakumo (despite there being four of them fishing at the rivermouth) and headed out to Shikabe this afternoon on a dark grey afternoon more in hope than expectation. Recently every time I've been there have been fishermen standing on the rocks where they come down to drink but today I had the beach all to myself........

The light was terrible and I couldn't get that close to them but I managed to get a few shots of what is one of my favourite local species.

It was a bit dark for BIF shots.........

Not much else around here but I was surprised when 2 Grey Tailed Tattlers flew overhead heading north.............what's their story? Pretty late to be heading north to breed........

At Onuma earlier I spent a couple of hours getting bitten by mosquitoes.

If the above pigeons seem exotic to UK birders the Little Grebes and Moorhens at Onuma are reassuringly familiar. The latter is much scarcer (and shyer) than it is in the UK.

Nothing much in Hakodate the last few days, just common stuff like this Brown Eared Bulbul.

No sport on TV or the internet this weekend...........thank god for beer.

Thanks for clicking this link.......
人気ブログランキングへ

Spring Migration hots up........

An Intermediate Egret near Onuma this afternoon. This is one of 3 egret species that regularly overshoot in spring and it is the first one I've managed to photograph.

It was a pretty productive day which started with some shorebirds at the beach in Kamiso. 2 Whimbrel and 4 or 5 Grey Tailed Tattler.

The Tattlers look much better in summer plumage. Unlike most wader species they are as common in spring as in autumn.

We then headed over to Onuma via Ono. The ricefields haven't been irrigated yet (so no chance of waders) and it is also too early for the Reed Warblers and Night Herons but the Siberian Stonechats were present and getting ready to raise this year's generation.

Lots of Skylarks and White Wagtails here too.......

The Intermediate Egret was feeding in a field just outside Onuma. These photos were all from the car window..........

It was eating worms and other slimy things. God knows what actually. Leeches? Newts?

The forest at Onuma was full of birds. This one is a male Narcissus Flycatcher, one of the commonest summer visitors and also one of the most beautiful.

And this is an Eye Browed Thrush, a fairly common spring/autumn migrant.

A bit of a heavy crop that one, as is this Asian Brown Flycatcher.

Other stuff included lots and lots of Eastern Crowned Warblers, Blue and White Flycatcher, Russet Sparrow and lots of the usual residents including this Eastern Great Tit.

I was hoping for a nice pic of a Mandarin Duck this spring but we couldn't find any. Here's a grainy shot of a Little Grebe instead......

I'll watch the end of the Premier League season, hope Wigan actually turn up and at least make it interesting (although I don't want Man U to be champions).

Thanks for clicking this link.

So as Britain grapples with a hung Parliament, the Euro plunges in value and ash hangs in the sky over northern Europs I have nothing to worry about over here except deciding which of the 150 or so almost identical egret shots to keep or delete...................

Golden Week 2010 #1

Golden Week (a 5 day holiday in Japan) began today and we visited Onuma in the afternoon. The Nuthatches were still tame but looking very very scruffy, it must be spring moult time.

Some Marsh Tits and Great Tits were also around.

Not many summer migrants in evidence at Onuma, some Swallows and Bush Warblers but that was about all. We went to a small pond nearby and it was very reminiscent of the UK. Coot, Moorhen, Grey Heron and these 2 species: Little Grebe and Kingfisher. It was a bit dark and the Kingfisher pic is a very heavy crop.

Earlier in the day we checked Kamiso, not much on the sea at all, here's a summer plumage Black Headed Gull which always feels a bit exotic here in Hokkaido.

I saw another birder here who said he saw a Little Gull (very rare in Japan) 10 years ago in this exact same place....................

We passed through the ricefields in Ono on the way to Onuma. They haven't been irrigated yet and the ditches don't have many reeds in either. Still a few Siberian Stonechat, Reed Bunting and lots of Skylark were about.

I doubt Liverpool will still be in with a shout of 4th place tomorrow but you never know.........

Thanks for clicking on this link.........

By the way if you're curious as to how I get so close to the Nuthatches here's the answer.

We cheat.