An autumn camping trip

We just got back from a 2 night camping trip..................

On this day (October 27th)....................

October 27th 2013.

A Mugimaki Flycatcher in the autumnal glow at Onuma 3 years ago today.

This is a male I think, the species is a scarce but regular passage migrant in Japan, I see one every couple of years or so. This individual was the first bird I photographed with my then brand new 500 f4 lens.............a pretty nice subject.

Mugimaki

A Mugimaki Flycatcher next to the river near my apartment this morning..................

Not a great photo, it was skulking in the shade and was very actively buzzing around.

I've kind of neglected the local river the last couple of years: a combination of my busy schedule on workdays meaning not much time to pop out, the city chopping down most of the trees and bushes along the riverside plus my wife isn't working these days so on my day off we go out further afield in the car.

Mugimakis are scarce passage migrants.............I see them most years but they are never common and always nice to see.

Shame I wasn't carrying the 500 f4, just my old 7D MK1 and battered 100-400L MK1.

4 species of duck, 3 species of heron, some Rustic and Black Faced Bunting, an unidentified thrush and cuckoo species, Bullheaded Shrike, Siberian Stonechat, Asian Brown Flycatcher.............typical autumn birds in Hakodate.

On this day (May 10).......................

May 10 2012

A male Mugimaki Flycatcher in Goryokaku park 3 years ago today. This was just coming into bredding plumage, one of these springs I'll get the male in full colours................

Mugimakis

I got to use my lens for the first time today and the main test subjects were 2 Mugimaki Flycatchers at Onuma. I think all these picsbar one are are of a first year male but I may be wrong.

Mugimaki

A female Mugimaki Fycatcher and another male Narcissus Flycatcher in Goryokaku Park yesterday morning.

I had got up at 5am and was in the park before 6am looking for yesterday's Narcissus Flycatcher, there were actually 2 or 3 of them around today and they were setting up temporary territories and singing.

The weather was grey and dull and with a slow lens it was hard to get any sharp shots of such an active little bird................

This female Mugimaki Flycatcher was a nice find and was probably the tamest least active bird on show...................

Shame it wasn't a male but the female is pretty cute too...........

There were lots of other small birds whizzing about the cherry blossoms too. Several Eastern Crowned Warbler, lots of other small brownish birds that were mostly Asian Brown Flycatcher. These were very active and difficult to get a shot of..............

There were also some female Narcissus Flycatcher but I couldn't find any Sootys. I also had a brief view of this male Blue and White Flycatcher.

I had an even briefer view of a Siberian Blue Robin which I could hear singing in the middle of the park. The Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker from the previous day was still present as was this Great Spotted Woodpecker.

This is one of 2 female Russet Sparrows, another passage visitor.........

And of course there were lots of Red Cheeked Starlings everywhere..........

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It's gone quiet............

An Asian Brown Flycatcher on the river near my apartment yesterday. The spring migration is beginning to fizzle out, everything is going green.

There were 2 or 3 ABFs buzzing around, a drab-looking but perky character.

Other migrants included 8 Common Sandpiper, Arctic Warbler and Eye Browed Thrush but they were skulking in the bushes, as was this bird.

A female Mugimaki Flycatcher, a scarce but regular migrant and the first one I've seen near my flat.

Soon there will just be the residents and summer breeders, liks this Bullheaded Shrike.

The first 2 weeks of May were wonderful but it's been a bit slow since then. Last Sunday we went to the ricefields at Ono where Osamu (a local birder) had found a very impressive selection of waders. All I could find were a handful of Wood Sandpiper (which flew away as soon as I noticed them) and a flock of 10 or so Pacific Golden Plover, a local tick.

Onuma was getting more leafy and buggy (I got my first mosquito bite of the year). Lots of stuff around: Narcissus Flycatcher, Black and Grey Headed Woodpecker, Japanese Thrush, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Russet Sparrow etc but no photos except this huge frog.

Looking forward to the start of the test series tomorrow, god I can't believe it's just about summer again................

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Some interesting stuff passing through town.

An Oystercatcher on the beach at Kamiso this afternoon in between some very heavy showers..........

Mid October is a great time for birding as there is lots of stuff passing through. It's the time of year when you think you may find rarities............

It isn't a great time for bird pictures though, despite the generally nice light everything is so darn busy and active.........

Yesterday at Onuma there were at least 3, maybe even 4 or 5 Mugimaki Flycatchers, a scarce bird here (I'd only ever seen one before). Here's a crappy record shot of one, a female I think.

It was a quite beautiful autumn day...........

Lots of stuff coming through Hakodate too. Pale, Japanese and Brown Thrush, Arctic Warbler, Red Flanked Bluetail, Japanese White-eye, Black Faced and Rustic Buntings. I just hope I can turn up something else rare this next week or so.

Today I met Kim and he told me where to find this Oystercatcher.

Very common back in the UK of course but this was only the second time I'd seen in Japan and it was a local tick.

And I think these are Bewicks Swans. Another local tick.............

They winter further south than Whoopers but seeing as they pass through Hokkaido I guess it was just a matter if time before I got them on my local list. I'd seen a couple of individuals elsewhere in Hokkaido before.

For some heavily zoomed pics go here.

I make these #197 and #198 on my Hakodate list. This isn't a full species as far as I know, if so I may be on 199.

The status of this bird is uncertain, the consensus seems to be that it is a hybrid between Vega Gull (the common 'Herring' Gull in NE Asia) and Heuglins Gull (a darker variant from central Asia). It is sometimes called 'Tamiyr Gull' but I'm afraid I can't count it. Actually Kim told me of half a dozen species he's seen in Hakodate in the last year or so that have yet to make my local list. I've seen almost all of them elsewhere in Hokkaido but not in the all important within 10 miles or so of downtown Hakodate area...............

Lots of Gulls on the beach now, the aforementioned Vega becoming more common, lots of Black Headed Gulls and the first Glaucous Winged Gull of the season. Offshore were Scaup and Black Necked Grebe, a flock of what I'm pretty sure were Rook flew over and the numbers of common Ducks on the river in Kamiso is rising, lots of Wigeon plus a few Tufted Duck and Pochard today........

The Night Herons are still around near my apartment.

I was feeling creative so.................

I got up to watch the second half of England's plucky draw with the mighty Montenegrins.

If someone had offered my 7 points from the first 3 games i'd have taken it after the dire World Cup. i'm struggling to get my head round Montenegro topping the group at this stage though.......

Liverpool seem to have sorted themselves out. If they can finish in the top 6 and win either the Europa or FA Cup it'll be just about acceptable.................hahaha who am I kidding, just to not get in a relegation battle would be OK for now..................

I watched 'Life during Wartime' last week. It is a follow up to 'Happiness', a movie I'd seen just before I came to Japan and, in my humble opinion,  a minor classic. The sequel used different actors for the same characters which was just bizarre. The film was OK but not a patch on the first one. Still it's not every day you can watch and even enjoy a movie in which a central character is a child molester.

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