2018 Best of #5

Some shots from last spring.................

Another (different) Saunders Gull..................

I was surprised to find another Saunders Gull, only my 4th in Hokkaido................

Recovery time...............

Feeling slightly better on Saturday I could spend a couple of hours birding................

Out of action

I've been out of action for the last 3 days. A bit annoying as this is the season when birding is the most interesting and I did have lots of free time. I spent the free time in bed with a nasty cold or at the dentist having the start of root canal work due to some sudden but violent toothache.

I felt slightly better today and we had a quick look to see if anything interesting had appeared. The Saunders Gull was still there but not much else of interest. The same place as the Saunders Gull had produced Caspian Tern and both species of Spoonbill during late April/early May in the last 2 years so this small gull has carried on the tradition of this spot for turning up local rarities.

I have 3 days off coming up but it looks like it will be raining for most of the time................

Saunders still there

The Saunders Gull was still in town on Monday.............

Still hanging on in there..........

The Saunders Gull was still around on Sunday...............

A Golden Week Visitor

Golden Week, the spring holiday in late April/early May in Japan, often brings rarities or semi-rarities...........

Miiscellaneous

An Eastern Crowned Warbler at Onuma earlier in the week.

From April 29th to May 5th I had a lot of time off and it was all pretty hectic birdingwise and I updated my blog a lot, here's some of the other stuff I photographed in that time............

Saunders Gull

It's the time of year when rarities often appear and yesterday I found one. Well, a local rarity.

Saunders Gull

An immature Saunders Gull at Yakumo today. Nothing special about the pictures but it was rather a nice find, my first lifer for over a year. There were only a handful of Black Tailed and Slaty Backed Gulls around and at first I dismissed this as a rather late Black Headed Gull (they sometimes hang on until June). I was trying (without success) to get some pics of the fishing Ospreys when it flew over making a noise like a Common Tern...............a big surprise to see this species so far north in Japan and at this time of year too.

June is a handy month for finding these kind of vagrants..................7 years ago I got a Caspian Tern and 4 years ago I got a Gull Billed Tern (the latter also at Yakumo).

It was a strange day, sunny for short periods and then foggy. All the summer stuff was in full voice at Yakumo. Lathams Snipe, Siberian Stonechat, Oriental Reed, Black Browed Reed, Japanese Bush and Grays Grasshopper Warbler, Oriental and Common Cuckoo, Skylark, Chestnut Eared and Black Faced Bunting and Long Tailed Rosefinch were all singing. Other birds around included 2 White Throated Needletail, 2 Intermediate Egret and Little Ringed Plover. A pair of Osprey were fishing, I guess that means the eggs have hatched..............

There were lots of Siberian Stonechat around..............

And lots of these too........................a singing Black Browed Reed Warbler..............

I was hoping to spend a mellow Sunday night drinking cold beer and listening to the cricket. Damn the weather in south Wales................well at least I still have the beer option.
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