North Hokkaido 2018 #9

Common Reed Buntings are very, well, common in north Hokkaido.............

2017 Best Of #7

Some more photos from earlier in the year, these are all from a trip to north Hokkaido in late June...................

North Hokkaido Summer 2017 #15

The last few photos from my trip at the end of last month...............

North Hokkaido Summer 2017 #5

A male Reed Bunting from last week.....................

North Hokkaido Summer 2017 #1

We spent a few days up on the Ohotsuku coast in north Hokkaido last week..........

East/North Hokkaido Summer 2016 #7

The breeding season was in full swing in the grasslands of North Hokkaido................

Ujihodai #2

Some more common local species feeding on the maggots and insects in the rotting seafood detritus last Saturday.................

Round Hokkaido Trip 2012

We just got back from a big trip around Hokkaido, a bit of a tough one with some very chilly nights in the tent and lots of driving for my poor wife.

The first day we drove up to central Hokkaido and camped in a small town called Pippu just outside Asahikawa. En route we stopped at Mukawa which was rather disappointing: there were no waders at all and the only noteworthy species was a lone Glaucous Gull. Near the campsite were the usual common forest birds but nothing especially interesting and the next morning we headed up to Monbestsu on the Ohotsk coast. The birdlife got more interesting as we hit the coast. The first Siberian Rubythroats, Lathams Snipe and White Tailed Eagles appeared but nothing posed for the camera and in the afternoon we reached Lake Kucharo-ko where we camped for the next 2 nights.

There was a very skittish small wader flock here, Grey Tailed Tattler and Common Sandpiper mainly but also this Terek Sandpiper.

Other birds here included more Rubythroats, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Common Tern, Eastern Crowned Warbler, some unidentified thrushes, Long Tailed Tit, several species of common woodpecker and lots of Russet Sparrow such as this female watching me eat breakfast one morning.

White Tailed Eagle were also in the area.

The north part of Hokkaido seems pretty good for birds: there are lots of grasslands, marshes and lakes. We stopped at one headland and it had a huge colony of Sand Martin whilst and Eastern Marsh Harrier hunted on the beach below. Siberian Rubythroat were a common sight and were often singing on wires next to the road.

On Sarobetsu there were lots of Yellow Wagtails next to the road but they were very shy and flew away before I could get closer.

Grey Tailed Tattler were everywhere on the coast.

By Japanese standards the area is very remote with hardly anyone living there.

On the third morning we discovered a grassland just near where we were staying.

Lots of Rubythroats here but this is a very shy species and I found it difficult to photograph. With a bit more time and local knowledge (and maybe a better longer lens) I'm sure it's possible to get some nice shots but this is a typical view.

I got my only lifer of the trip here: a Middendorffs Warbler flitting around under the boardwalk. Yellow Wagtail were also present at the same site and it looks like a good place to visit next time I'm in the area.

Other species in north Hokkaido included Gadwall, Shoveler, Scaup, Red Breasted Merganser, Wigeon, Pintail, Harlequin Duck, Whooper Swan, Whimbrel,  Black Headed and Glaucous Gulls, Reed and Chestnut Eared Buntings, Common Buzzard and other stuff which was everywhere on the trip like Common and Oriental Cuckoo, Black Browed Reed Warbler, Black Faced Bunting, Siberian Stonechat, Japanese Green Pigeon etc.

We also visited the northernmost point of Japan: Soya Misaki. I was expecting a dramatic windswept cape but what we got was just a car park next to the sea.

After north Hokkaido we headed eastwards but the fog set in around Abashiri where we stayed one night. Just before it got foggy I'd seen several White Tailed Eagles sitting on dead trees on the beaches but we didn't stop.............the next day the fog lingered. Here's an eagle in the mist near Tofutsu-ko........

Next stop was Notsuke, we spent a couple of days here. This was the best place birding-wise of the trip.

There were lots of eagles here but they weer rather jumpy, not like I remember from previous visits. Most of them were young birds and some of them looked very raggedy.

All I could get were BIF shots.

There were various waders around. I couldn't find any Common Redshank (there were loads here on my first visit 6 years ago, where have they all gone?) but I did see Mongolian Plover, Grey Tailed Tattler, Oystercatcher and lots of Ruddy Turnstone. Lathams Snipe were everywhere.

Siberian Rubythroat were common but as elsewhere difficult to approach even from a car.

Long Tailed Rosefinch were also common by the roadside.

Common Reed Bunting were, well, common.

Still plenty of wildfowl around including this distant Falcated Teal.

Several pairs of Japanese Crane were displaying far out in the lagoon...........

Notsuke is a bit of a bleak place.

We stopped off at Furen-ko but had to abort a walk into the forest when we saw bear footprints on the boardwalk. A worried looking man came up behind us and went to check to see if the bear was still around. All he had was a pair of binoculars (no gun, not even bear spray). He returned unharmed later. Nossapu was the next stop: the easternmost point of Japan and it was extremely windy. White Tailed Eagle were here.

Not much on the sea, it was too windy to check anyway. Black Scoter, a couple of divers, Rhinoceros Auklet and lots of cormorants (no Red Faced that I could find alas). An old shipwreck sits on the cape here, it gets smaller every time we come.

We had planned to stay at Kiratappu the last night but I'd made a mistake and the campsite wasn't open yet. It was even windier here anyway, the tent would have blown away I'm sure. Kushiro was a couple of hours drive away so we sent a night in a cheap business hotel there.

After this the birding dried up as we headed back south. I saw Arctic Warbler near our hotel in Minamifurano and this baby fox was roadside near Biratori...........

We spent the final night of the trip at Toya, I was surprised to see a Grey Tailed Tattler on the lake shore and at Oshamanbe I heard my first Grays Grasshopper Warbler of the year...........

A bit disappointed with some of the photos, perhaps I was expecting too much on a whistle stop tour like this.

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New Year 2010/11

A Ruff at Martinmere a few days ago. The snow has all melted and now we just have dull grey drizzly weather: at least this means my flight back next week should be unaffected..............

I visited various well known locales in the last 10 days or so. At Fairhaven there was a good selection of waders on the beach but the lake was frozen over and the only thing of interest there was a male Shoveler on the ice. The waders were fairly close but the sun was right behind them meaning no decent photos to speak of. I did take this though, part of a small flock of finches. I thought it was a Twite at first but on second thoughts it may just be a Linnet.

I also managed to limp down to the river in Penwortham. Not much at all here except lots of Redwings and Fieldfare and a lone Merlin. The ice drifting down the river on the incoming tide looked like something you would see in Alaska, I'd never seen this before in Preston................

Lapland Bunting had been reported near here the week before but the only Buntings I could find were Reed Buntings..............

At Marshside there were no birds at all, this drake Gadwall was on the frozen Marine Lake.

Martinmere was better, lots of Whooper Swans plus the usual ducks and geese plus plenty of Ruff..........

At Fleetwood there were lots more waders on the beach but it was so cold and dark photos were out of the question so here's a Robin in Penwortham...............

I have a new respect for bird photographers in the UK. In Japan the birds seem a touch tamer and consistently dark dull days are the exception rather than the norm.

So a bit quiet on the birding front, one thing I've noticed is that Common Buzzards are everywhere and there appear to be at least 3 Nuthatch territories near my parents' house (the latter was a scarce bird when I was last living here and the former was only common in upland areas I recall).

So Happy New Year to all those who follow this blog.................

Midsummer in the ricefields..........

A Siberian Stonechat at Ono this afternoon.



The sun finally came out today (and I even got a nasty sunburn on my neck) and we headed out to Onuma and after that the ricefields in Ono. Lots of activity in the padis, lots of young birds and singing adults. Night Herons were everywhere feasting on the frogs and tadpoles, Skylarks were abundant, Chestnut Eared Buntings were singing from the fenceposts, Swallows and Asian House Martins were swooping low over the water and family groups Siberian Stonechats were all over the place.





This tame but bedraggled looking male was star of the day...........









Black Browed Reed Warblers occupied very patch of long grass............a shame that I couldn't get a clear shot all afternoon........





Oriental Reed Warblers were even more numerous.........



And here's a boring pic of a bird I don't get to photograph so often, a female Reed Bunting.......



Earlier we were at Onuma, I got my first mosquito bites of the summer. Not much here. There were birds in the forest but now it's so lush and overgrown they're difficult to find. Lots of Narcissus Flycatcher singing, we heard a Black Woodpecker and I got this so-so shot of a Moorhen in amongst the lotus..........





I spent a frustrating night trying to watch the Lions game on P2P last night. I have to watch this type of stuff on a Windows system alas. Sopcast doesn't seem to work on IE8 and the usually reliable JustinTV seems to be pay per view now..........

Tuesday is the 10th anniversary of my arrival in Japan. My God. I can't believe it's been 10 years. I arrived as a slightly jaded 30 year old and spent the first 4 months in a boring small town about 2 hours north of Tokyo. It was stinking hot and I wondered what I had let myself in for. Things improved when I moved to Hokkaido though........

10 years ago! That was when the internet was still a bit of a novelty (well it was to me anyway). I was single, a heavy smoker and drinker, in debt and still living life as if everything was temporary, nothing had changed since I'd left university. I had no interest in photography and was a partially lapsed birder. Man U were the top team in England and Europe, Liverpool were good but always second or third best. I still cared about music and fashion. I wasn't overweight.

I'm going to crack open a beer (note use of the singular) and think what else has changed since then..............and what hasn't.