On this day (January 20th)...............

January 20th 2014.

An Olive-backed Pipit in Hakodate 4 years ago today. Unusual to see one in winter in Hokkaido. It is a fairly common summer visitor but is a species that seems difficult to photograph. Not this time though..............

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..............

Lunch on the beach

A surprisingly mild day saw us back at the Gyrfalcomn spot yet again and it put on a nice show around the middle of the day.

Brown Shrike

A really really crappy photo but it is (I think) a female Brown Shrike on the river near my flat this afternoon. I know it isn't brown..........this is the lucionensis subspecies. I have seen the nominate race a couple of times before in Hokkaido but have never photographed it.This is rarer and was a nice find.  It disappeared before I could get a decent shot.

Migration is hotting up but the weather is still cold..............no cherry blossoms out yet. Birds around in Goryokaku park the last few days have included a male Brambling in summer plumage, 2 Olive Backed Pipit, lots of warblers and buntings (all of which were just Japanese Bush Warbler and Black Faced Bunting), a flock of Dusky Thrush which contained 1 Brown Thrush, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Common Crossbill, lots of Barn Swallow, Red Cheeked Starling, Japanese White-eye and Common Teal.

I've never photographed Olive Backed Pipit before either.................here's another crappy photo of one.

I have 3 out of the next 4 days off, hopefully we'll get nice weather AND nice birds.

Stuart Hall, Rolf Harris, Ken Barlow? My god, who will be next?


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