On this day (February 11th).....................

February 11th 2014.

A male Pine Bunting at Sawara 4 years ago today. This species is a scarce winter visitor, generally occurring the coast and very mobile as they move from one snowy windswept beach to another so perhaps a but overlooked.

This was part of a small flock and proved a nice sideshow to that winter's Gyrfalcon on the same location.

On this day (January 18th).......................................

January 18th 2015.

A male Pine Bunting 2 years ago today on the coast near Mori.

This is a scarce but regular winter visitor to south Hokkaido. Small flocks move around the (usually) snowbound  beaches and sand dunes and if you're lucky and in the right place at the right time you might just see them..............

A sunny Monday in February #5

2 rare winter Butings from earlier in the week.................

2015 Best of #2

Some more shots from the early part of 2015.......................

A week is a long time in birding.............

A male Pine Bunting on a beach yesterday afternoon....................

On this day (January 13th)..................

January 13th 2012.

Pine Bunting and Rough Legged Buzzard to the east of Hakodate 3 years ago today.

Rarely leaving south Hokkaido, I don't get many additions to my Japanese list these days. In 2012, 2013 and 2014 I only managed 4 new ones a year. On this day however I managed 2 within a hour or so of each other. Not great pics I know.  I've seen more of each species and taken better photos subsequently but sometimes you can't beat your first time............

Scratched pine

A Gyrflacon and a male Pine Bunting at Swara this afternoon.

I had a free afternoon and in glorious light we headed out to Sawara.

Dinner on the beach...............and some Pine Buntings.

Some more photos from Monday, this time a little later in the day.

Not one but TWO lifers......

A male Pine Bunting and a first winter (?) Rough Legged Buzzard, 2 new birds for both my Japan and life lists.

Actually I don't really keep a life list (too many vague sightings and hazy memories) but I recently counted up my Japan list which is now on 267 (and all but half a dozen of those have been in Hokkaido and most in the area where I live).

The day started off in Onuma which was very wintry.

There were some Whooper Swans dozing on the ice..........

I went to a small pond which is kept ice free in the winter (I think it must be near a hot spring or something). Usually there is a Great Egret there and sometimes a Kingfisher. Neither species was there but I was pleased to see this drake Smew...............

It flew off before I could get closer.

The weather then closed in, the Ural Owl was cosy in its hole.

We took the scenic route on the coast down to Esan. Lots of Brent goose and common seaducks and winter gulls as well as a White Tailed Eagle but no bird photos from here, it was too dark and cold. The area is famous for its frozen waterfalls in winter.........

This was below the hanging ice, it looks a little phallic.........

We ended up in Esan around lunchtime to look for the Buntings and Buzzards. I saw several common Buzzards and was ready to give up on the Rough Legged thinking I was jinxed. I looked for the Pine Buntings and found them immediately, 7 of them I think.

A few minutes later I saw my first Rough Legged Buzzard, there were 3 distant BIF sightings, I don't know if it was the same bird or several different individuals (6 were seen here last weekend). I fired off some record shots which I won't bother posting.

We headed back to Hakodate seeing lots more Common Buzzards...........as you can see they are pretty pale..............

................but not as pale as this Rough Legged Buzzard on the outskirts of Hakodate.

I've probably seen and overlooked this species before but today's birds were my first firm ID.

Shame it was against a grey sky late in the afternoon........

So a successful day, thanks once again to Osamu Kimura for finding the Buntings and Buzzards and kindly pointing out where to look for them. The Rough Legged Buzzard in these photos was my own find at least, there seems to be a bit of an influx at the moment.

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