Merlin, Owl and a Fox.

A female Merlin by the side of the road in Ono this morning. Lots of birds in Ono, Goldcrest and Hawfinch everywhere, flocks of Rook joining the resident crow species, lots of common ducks in nearby Kamiso and also a pale buteo species that was probably just a Common Buzzard but which disappeared before i could check for Roughlegged.

The main bird of the day was this Ural Owl at Onuma.







The top one is only cropped sideways.It was off a side road in a huge tree. Someone was already there with and absurdly expensive lens and I wasn't sure how close one could go without a) scaring the Owl and b) incurring the wrath of the taciturn Japanese photographer. It was hard to choose which ones as all the pics basically looked the same.

Here's what it looked like at 400mm totally uncropped.



I also tried digiscoping. I didn't have any adapters or my decent fixed eyepiece so I just handheld the camera against the zoom eyepiece using only the automatic settings. This was my best effort, cropped to remove vignetting. I'll take the better eyepiece and adapter/cable release etc next time.



Lots of common stuff around today. White Tailed Eagle, Treecreeper, Siskin, Goosander and 3 species of Woodpecker. Here's a Greyheaded Woodpecker in an unusual pose.



The lake was starting to freeze in places.



There was however still lots of open water so the Whooper Swans were spread all around the lake.





The tame Tits and Nuthatches were around as per usual.





They were being eyed hungrily by this Fox.





And here's the obligatory shot of Mt Komagadake to finish up with.



So Liverpool seem determined not to break clear at the top of the Premier League and the England cricket team seem determined to allow India to win with a record last innings total. Here's hoping West Ham can do Chelsea later tonight and Flintoff can rip through the Indian top order tomorrow.

Song of the week: 'Mean Heart' by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, I just can't get it out of my head.

This week has been really hard. I just couldn't stop thinking about my friend Michael's death but last night at least I could talk to another old (mutual) friend from England and it was good to get some things off my chest as well as share some memories of the good times we'd had with Michael over the years up and down England.

Life goes on even if it is tinged with sadness. One thing me and Michale had in common was music, we both liked indie stuff in the 80's and early 90's. Last night I listened to some of the songs we used to play on the stereo and make compilation tapes of in his parent's living room all those years ago. Joy Division was a big fave of both of ours, not exactly the most cheerful music in the current circumstances I know but I listened to some of their songs last night and it brought back some nice memories.

I hope there's a decent stereo system wherever Michael is now. Hopefully he's already telling the angels to stop warbling all that religious droney crap and put on some good tunes instead.

A walk down the river

A very mild winters day saw me walking down the river to the beach today. I needed to clear my head (see below).

The usual common winter birds were about. The above Wren is the first time I've been able to photograph this species in Japan. Lots of Hawfinch around today, also Brown Dipper, Kingfisher, Daurian Redstart and Great, Coal and Varied Tits. A momentarily glimpsed raptor from my window was probably a Goshawk.

5 species of duck included this male Pochard, another personal photographic first for Japan.



5 species of Gull on the river included the long staying Thayers Gull which is now entering the raggedy winter plumage phase.




I had some very bad news the day before yesterday. One of my best friends from school passed away. He leaves a widow and 5 young kids and a 6th on the way and due around christmas. I've had a numb empty feeling since I heard the news and am having difficulty dealing with it. Being so far away makes the whole situation worse, I can't go the funeral either.

I met Michael in primary school in 1977 and we stayed good friends over the years. His parents live in the same village as mine and attend the same church. Here's a picture of him and me back in 1995.



Michael ended up living in Worcester. The weekend me and another friend visited him saw the hottest weather I can ever remember in England. We did a small hike, somewhere on the outskirts of the Cotswolds where the above picture was taken. It was a perfect weekend. Going out for beers in Worcester on a Saturday night, drinking in country pubs, watching Dominic Cork take a hat-trick against the (then) mighty Windies. I visited him and his wife several times in the heart of England including one time just before I came to Japan. They also visited me in Germany. We hung out in many places, when I was working in Stratford in 1998 he was just up the road. He came to see me in London and Newcastle. We kind of drifted out of touch over the last 3 or 4 years and I didn't get in contact with him last time I was back home. I only had 2 weeks and hey I thought he's probably too busy and anyway I had lost his e-mail/telephone and was too lazy to get them off his parents. I'd do it next time I go home, I thought at the time. We had plenty of time to catch up, I mean the rest of our lives lay ahead.

My thoughts go to his wife, kids and his parents. He was a very kind considerate person and a great friend who put up with my selfish behaviour and numerous bad points over the years. I still can't believe I'll never see him again. His funeral is on Friday in Worcester.

Some unvaried pictures

We went over to Onuma this afternoon and it was pretty wintry, the lake was showing the first signs of freezing over and there were several inches of snow in the forest. Whooper Swans, White Tailed Eagles, Yellow Throated Bunting and Siskin were the most noteworthy species but it was the tame Varied tits that provided 90% of the photos on my memory card.







Not much birding in Hakodate the last few days, sleet and rain kept me indoors most of the time.

The other resident species were around too of course.





In attempt to avoid being too repetitive here are some of the other birds around today, wish they were as tame as Varied Tits. Not great shots these I have to admit. A Grey Heron, Common Buzzard and Long Tailed Tit.







I'm looking forward to the wife finishing her job later in the month as we can hopefully get up to Yakumo and get some eagle shots. Only 2 weeks to go. Next Sunday no doubt we'll be in Onuma again by which time I'll expect the lake to be looking a lot more icy than this.



Shall I watch Everton v Villa tonight? Dunno, there were a lot of 0-0 games last weekend. Mind you I have nothing else to do.

Maybe some exciting incidents like these might happen and make it worth staying up for.



Or back in the 1970s when men were real men.

More winter returnees

One of 6 Brent Goose over in the harbour near Hakodate Dock a couple of days ago. It's been a very low key last 10 days or so, mild grey wet weather has resulted in not many photos to upload. The Geese were definitely the highlight.







They're not exactly shy but can be a little wary. Unlike swans or most of the commoner ducks they don't respond to tidbits of food either, unless I had some fresh seaweed in my pockets.







Earlier in the week there were 6 species of Gull and 3 species of Heron on the river but I didn't get a single shot worth posting. A Kingfisher has appeared almost daily but is nowhere near as co-operative as this time last year.

Other stuff locally has included Long Tailed Rosefinch, Hawfinch and Brown Dipper. Stil waiting for the first lenghty cold snap which usually results in some new birds coming through. Here's an adult Glaucous Winged Gull I snapped whilst I waited in vain for some Harlequin Ducks to swim closer.



Business is bit down these days, the last couple of months have been very poor. It is inevitable I suppose (it always fluctuates). I ditched the chance of a successful well paid career in the summer of 1990. I was poised to go for an interview for one of the big accounting firms in London (can't remember which one. Peat Marwick something or other?). I'd just graduated with a pretty good grade and the day before the interview I called to cancel it. I'd seen acquaintances join these firms and they were mostly complete d**ks. Plus they had another 3 years of study and exams to look forward to. Nah, I thought. No f***ing way. Plus I didn't have a suit to wear to the interview.

Now it's 18 years down the line and those same d**ks are no doubt rich and financially secure and I'm scrabbling around just about earning enough to get by in a small town no-one has heard of outside Japan and with no savings to fall back on. Luckily I'm not a bitter person. Stupid perhaps.

A year with my lens

A Varied Tit at Onuma last Sunday.

Well it's been a year since I got my 100-400 lens. And if you hark back to this same date last year you'd see I'm taking pretty much identical pictures, the same birds in the same trees even.

There was some nice light at Onuma for an hour or so and the usual species were as tame and photogenic as ever.







The Varied Tits even stayed relatively still allowing me to snap a series of poses.











A Great Tit and a female Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker were also about.







Not much chance for any scenery pictures as the weather soon closed in.......



Pretty quiet around Hakodate, here's a Wigeon and a Hawfinch from the last few days............the Hawfinch flew off before I realised my camera settings were all wrong.





So November 25th was when Franck lent me the 100-400 lens (which I eventually bought the following spring). I've taken approx 20,000 shots in the last 12 months and I'd say 90% were with this lens. I'm now realising the limitations of my 400D but money being the way it is it'll do me another winter for sure.

What else has happened during the last 12 months? Pound sterling has dropped by about 30 or 40% against the ¥. I went back to England for a visit in spring before this happened of course. This time last year I was bemoaning England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, at least they seem to be sorting themselves out now. Liverpool? Still not the finished article and too many mediocre foreigners. But again better than this time last year. I got a new imac. We got a new fridge and my wife got a new camera. The car started making funny noises and the window on the passenger seat side doesn't open anymore.

My blurb book was too dark so I re-edited the pics and uploaded the revision. In the intervening 3 weeks (since I ordered the original) they changed the postal rates so now it costs $19 instead of $7 to mail it to Japan! I sent an angry e-mail and got the usual automated response which of course just made me angrier. 'It's beyond our control, thanks for your understanding, please contact me if you have any further questions' type crap. Still it's cheap if you live in Europe or North America.

The next 12 months? Why I'll get and rich and famous after I sell lots and lots of books. Perhaps we can actually get the car fixed. Hey you gotta dream.