Spring is in the air

Some Brent Geese and Harlequin Duck near Hakodate dock last week. Spring is in the air in south Hokkaido. Despite this I slipped on a rogue bit of ice under a light feathering of snow the other day, my first slip of the winter. I got a nasty bang on my elbow and pulled some muscle in my abdomen. This was before I went drinking, rather embarrassingly.

Anyway, the buds are appearing on the trees and last week's neo-arctic weather in northeast Hokkaido is but a distant memory.

The Crossbills are still around.





I like the way they tip their heads towards me. Sometimes I don't even notice them close to me, then they look down and wink at me and fly off before I get my camera on them.





A lot of Crows have taken up residence in the park where I watch the crossbills and at least 1 pair of the ultra aggressive Large Billed Crows will probably nest there. I swear those things had a vendetta against me last summer. Last spring the local council destroyed a Carrion Crow's nest in the same park (an absurd piece of comedy actually, it took SIX men to do it, typical Japanese government waste and inefficiency). They'll have to send in a SWAT team for the more aggressive Large Billed Crows. Soon I'll be too sacred to risk any crossbill shots.........

Other stuff in Hakodate this week has included Hawfinch, Brambling, Redpoll, Long Tailed Rosefinch, Bullfinch, Great, Coal and Varied Tits, Goldcrest, Common Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Daurian Redstart, Grey Heron, Common Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.

Over at Onuma the Whooper Swans seemed to have upped and left. The lake was still mainly frozen though.



And the usual tame species were as tame as ever....





If you have time to kill you can check my other blog for more pics. You may need a lot of time actually. My homepage has been extremely slow to load recently, so much that I'm thinking of changing it completely. Ditch iweb and use Rapidweaver? I think I just might. The blog part anyway.......iweb is a bit of a dog of an application and much as I like most Mac stuff they made a mess of this one. Apart from the slow loading pages there are lots of bugs in it too.

This afternoon (Sunday) the Crossbills had moved on downstream to near the beach. I took lots and lots of shots which I'll put on my new blog rather than here. The new blog is here and the crossbills shots are here.

The crossbills where so close that I got crossbill crap on my camera. Honestly, I did. Here's a picture.



It was very windy but I got some OK shots but there are a lot of them to sort out so here's a male Bullfinch from near my apartment also this afternoon.



I checked some of the other Hokkaido blogs linked on the right and whilst we were in east Hokkaido we missed Canvasback, Rough Legged Buzzard and Surf Scoter. To be honest we didn't do too much actual birdwatching per se. And I'm not really into listing (except my local list maybe) but..........sh*t we should have paid attention a bit more perhaps.

So Liverpool trounced Real Madrid. I only watched the last 30 minutes but 4-0 is a pretty impressive result and unbelievably they continued in the same vein against Man U last night. If only we'd won those games against Stoke, Hull etc.........

The imminent arrival of milder springlike weather coupled with the end of the financial year has seen the usual legions of otherwise unemployable men doing pointless construction jobs across town. Actually only a few of them seem to be doing anything, the rest stand around smoking, waving red sticks, blowing whistles or talking into cellphones. And it's all very noisy as well as pointless. I've just done my annual tax returns and have just seen where all my tax from last year has been spent on.

I was woken up this morning by an idiot with a loudspeaker. A member of the Japanese Communist Party (as minor here as it is everywhere else these days) was stood outside my apartment building bellowing out some crap about something or other. 10 minutes he went on for and then he and his cronies moved on to another street corner to annoy some other poor folk on Sunday morning. I'm all in favour of free speech but this moron should have just shut the f**k up. Japan is a de facto one party state run by corrupt bufoonish men of retirement age. Shouting outside my window on a Sunday morning(when I had a hangover too I might add) isn't going to change that.

My wife got a new job, full-time for 3 years. Whilst this is great news financially (my god we may even be able to save some money at last) it will curtail any midweek birding trips to Onuma, Yakumo etc. I'm a useless loser who never took a driving test you see (I intend to get one, no really, just a little later when I, errr have the, errr time like you know).

East Hokkaido Trip 2009 #2

A Stellers Sea Eagle sitting on the drift ice a few kilometres offshore from Rausu. We took a boat out to the ice and god it was so cold. It was the only nasty weather of the whole trip, snowing and windy. The ice was still spectacular though.



It was however something of an anticlimax. I'd really been looking forward to taking pics of the eagles on the ice. Close up against a blue sky. Look on the internet:there are loads of wonderful national geographic standard photos taken by bumbling amateurs like me. The days before and after were apparently brilliant with lots of eagles present and calm sunny weather. But we were unlucky.

Thank god there were a few eagles still around.







It seems like the earlier sunrise boat trip would have been better. Anyway it was too dangerous to go too near the ice and throwing fish onto the ice to attract the eagles was not possible. I suppose in the great scheme of things me missing some eagle shots is not so important. I mean this last week we've had terroist attacks on cricket teams and the global economy continues on its' downwards spiral. But still. F**king hell.

We saw the nice couple from the UK who went the day after and they said it was amazing. I felt like vomiting there and then.

It was probably the coldest I've ever been in my life. At one stage an icy wave soaked me and Dan and the sea suddenly got very rough and I was clinging onto the deck with assorted camera gear dangling from my neck and nearly throttling me.

Birds? A few Cormorants, Auks and Gulls. Lots and lots of Glaucous Gulls.





And a few marine mammals too........





My advice if you take this boat trip is to wrap up as warm and weather proof as possible and to go twice. I have to go next winter.

I met some American birders on the boat (they were hoping for Long Billed Murrelet but didn't seen any I think). One of them even professed to be a fan of this blog. Another birder was a neurosurgeon from South Dakota........

When we got back to Rausu the ice had drifted all the way ashore..........



There were several corpses on the ice, mostly Seals but I think one was a Sea Otter. This Red Necked Grebe was still alive but it didn't look 100%.



More photos from the ice trip are here.

We left Rausu and headed back down to Kushiro to see the Cranes. We stopped off at Lake Masshu which looked very nice and blue but I was still fuming about the eagles......



The Cranes at Kushiro are very easy to photograph. Basically they are fed by local farmers and are very tame in winter before they disperse around the local wetlands in the breeding season. Actually it was like taking photos in a zoo but still it was fun. And they are very photogenic, if sometimes difficult to fit in the frame..........





The Owls at Rausu are attracted by fish put out each night, the Cranes are fed by farmers and had we seen them, the eagles would have been attracted by fish tossed out for them..........but hey I'm not complaining.

One last eagle disappointment awaited. There were a few eagles perched in the trees near the cranes. The warden puts out fish for them at 2pm every day and down they come. But our flight was at 1.10pm. We asked him if it was possible to throw out a few fish earlier. The warden looked aghast, as if we'd asked to borrow his wife for a porn shoot. No it wasn't possible he said. We jokingly said we'd bring our own fish and he looked extremely uncomfortable so we left it at that.

We only stayed one night but I have to say Kushiro is possibly the most depressing and butt-ugly city I've seen in Japan (and that is saying a lot trust me) but once you get outside the city limits it's much nicer and it does of course have lots and lots of cranes....





For more Cranes shots please go here.

So it was a great trip despite my whining about a lack of eagle on the ice photos. The winter is much more intense than down here in Hakodate and the drift ice is a pretty impressive sight. The Owls and Cranes were great and I still managed some nice eagle shots. I can't believe they are such a common urban bird up there. They perch on top of lamp posts for gods sake!

Thanks a lot to Dan for doing the bulk of the driving and also for being great company. Thanks for my wife for putting up with me (she's not actually that interested in birds and I think the boat trip was probably torture for her, she liked the Sea Otter though).

I see Liverpool's title bid finally evaporated whilst I was away. I missed the Boro defeat but I had already predicted Boro would do what Real Madrid had failed to only a few days earlier.

So back to reality and daytime temperatures above freezing..........the Crossbills are still around at least and I'll bore you with those next weekend I'm sure........

East Hokkaido Trip 2009 #1

A Stellers Sea Eagle up close in Rausu Harbour.

I had a big trip up to northeast Hokkaido last week. I saw lots and lots of eagles but ended up slightly disappointed as you will find out in Part 2.

Our trip started in Kushiro. We (me, my wife and Dan) flew there from Hakodate and landed around 4pm and picked up the rental car and just had enough time before sunset to see this creature in the river in the middle of Kushiro.



It's a wild Sea Otter, kind of like a cross between a giant slimy rat and a seal. It has been named 'Ku-chan' by the local media and is something of a celebrity. There were lots of people watching it (some had fallen in the river in days previously, it was very very icy) but it was too dark for any decent pics so we headed east to Furen-ko and Matsuo's well-known lodge on the lakeside. The GPS was a godsend and we didn't need to consult a map for the whole trip, just tap in the phone number of where you want to go and you're sorted. A nice female voice informs you when a turn is coming up too.

The lodge was full with several guests from the UK and we spent some time the next day with a nice couple who had just been to the Pacific Seabird meeting in Hakodate and there was another man with a loud voice who sounded just like Michael Caine..

We got up the next morning and had a cold bleak walk around the lake and beach. Not much around in the forest, a White Backed Woodpecker and some Tits and Goldcrests and of course the Eagles which were everywhere. A few Gulls and ducks were on the sea too and a group of Asian Rosy Finch were also present.





I'd been here twice before in May and know the area a little bit so we headed out to the easternmost point in Japan the other side of Nemuro. There were some more great views of eagles, some even sitting on the top of lamp posts. They were usually immature birds and not so shy or wary.





Noasspu Cape was cold and windy but there were lots of birds on the sea. Long Tailed Ducks were one of several duck species and there were also Red Necked and Slavonian Grebes and various species of alcid. These included Spectacled and Pigeon Guilemots and Ancient Murrelets. Several seals were bobbing around too. More shots from Nemuro are here.

Heading north up to Rausu we took a brief look at Notsuke, lots of White Winged and Black Scoters and more Long Tailed Ducks here but we wanted to hit Rausu in time to see the eagles returning to roost just like it said in Mark Brazil's well known book. We passed several eagles roadside but pressed on to the aforementioned location which turned out to be a tiny river with, erm, no eagles whatsoever. We asked a passing local if this river was the right one and he said the eagles didn't come there anymore and it was old information. Serves us right for using a 25 year old book. We headed back to the harbour and to be greeted with this sight. A Stellers and White Tailed Sea Eagle sharing a perch on top of a streetlight.



There were several eagles of both species affording extremely good views and all of them were adults.





Great views and they compensated for some later eagle disappointments. Like I say the eagles were all over the show, even pretty much perching in people's gardens.





The harbour itself was also great for birds, all the usual winter gulls and ducks were around as well as Common Guilemot and some Harbour Seals too..





We visited the harbour several times. Here are a couple of views, one looking inland towards Shiretoko and one looking outwards towards the Russian island of Kunashiri at sunrise.





More shots from Rausu are here.

We were staying at Washi-no Yado, a wel known guesthouse that specialises in this rather rare species.







Blakistons Fish Owl, the world's largest and also one of the rarest Owl species. The guesthouse owner has constructed a small pond next to the stream running in front and stocks it every night with fish (after dinner of course). There is even a light that shines on the pond. You either sit at your window in the guesthouse with your camera pointed and ready or sit in the car with the tripod set up next to the window and shutter release ready. Me and Dan sat in the car getting drunk on beer and hot sake with the heater on both nights. The Owl came 4 times and despite the slow shutter speeds and high ISO settings I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of these photos. I know this is contrived but these are wild birds. Honestly.

More Owl shots are here

It was very very cold in Rausu, way colder than Hakodate. When we were in the car drinking beer waiting for the Owl to appear (and the heating off) our bladders shrank to the size of walnuts. We manfully waited for the Owls to appear and leave before we relented though.

It was much colder when we went out on the boat to check out the drift ice abut I'll save that for Part 2.

Cranes

At Kushiro just before our flight home.

Freezing

The drift ice at Shiretoko came ashore this afternoon.

Sea Otter

A crappy shot of the well known Sea Otter at Kushiro.

February=Finches

A Hawfinch taking a drink in Goryokaku Park.

Every February Hakodate becomes inundated with finches of various kinds, usually 7 -8 species. Last year it was Redpoll, Asian Rosy Finch and Crossbills as well as the commoner visitors such as Hawfinch and Brambling. This year most of the same species are present plus lots and lots of Bullfinches, they are everywhere munching away on the cherry blossom buds. I hope they leave some for the locals to 'view' in early spring..........



The Crossbills are still around, I spent a brief time with them on Monday lunchtime in very good weather. These photos are from the tiny park near my flat. It's behind the public toilet as a matter of fact but luckily the toilets are closed in the winter. Obviously the local cottagers are not a hardy bunch.





I looked for them in the same place for several days afterwards but couldn't relocate them, there are however some in Goryokaku Park which may or may not be the same group. More Crossbill shots from behind the toilet are here.

Speaking of Goryokaku Park I met not one but four foreign birders there on Wednesday. They were in town for a Pacific Seabird meeting (I'm not quite sure what that entails, I guess they were marine biologists or something). This tame Hawfinch kept us entertained for a few minutes.....



And there were also Redpoll, Long tailed Rosefinch, the aforementioned Bullfinch and Crossbill as well as several Brambling....



More shots from the park are here.

The fact that the park used to be a military fort means some of the ramparts are good for getting almost eye level shots of birds that make it look like I've been lying down in the snow, mud and slush........

Monday was the only really clear weather of the whole week and we managed a couple of hours out at Onuma with the Varied Tits and Nuthatches looking great in the bright winter sunshine.....





This a view from a section of the forest where the 'Onuma International Seminar House' is located.



This is a site with several buildings tucked away in the forest. There is a sign in badly translated English prattling on about how the buildings 'empahsize the harmonious relationship between man and nature' or some such crap. You can also 'cleanse your mind and feel relaxation' there too if you want. However some moron has decided that it was a good idea to attach loudspeakers to the outside of one of the buildings and blast out awful 'jazz' style piano background muzak that completely destroys the peace and quiet. You know the type of music. Endless bland insipid noodlings and repeated refrains that make you want to kill someone if you have to listen to it for any length of time. Actually the type of music is irrelelevant. Whoever decided to blast out any form of music in the middle of a forest should be striped naked and have their private parts basted in honey and sunflower seeds and fed to the Nuthatches and Woodpeckers.

The sun showed briefly again on Thursday, here's a distant Kingfisher on the local river.



Today (Friday) I went to Goryokaku Park, more of the same including a bigger flock of Crossbills, about 40 or so birds. I got some OK shots but this blog entry doesn't need any more Crossbill shots I think.........more photos are here for perusal at your leisure.

So Liverpool did Real Madrid away from home and without Gerard too. I didn't expect that. I got up to watch the second half live and couldn't believe how poor Real Madrid were. Ironic that Liverpool appeared to have more Spaniards in their team than the establishment club of Spain but anyway. So we're not going to win the Premier League but are looking good in the Champions League. Again. So how exactly they can beat Real Madrid but not Stoke City is beyond me. I'll miss their next 2 domestic games. Will Sunderland or Boro be able to do what the mighty Madrid couldn't and hold or beat Liverpool? Yup, probably......

Instead of muttering and cursing at Liverpool on TV I'll be in east Hokkaido this weekend to see (hopefully) Eagles, Cranes and Fish Owls. This will be my 3rd visit to the area and my first in winter. The Kushiro/Nemuro/Shiretoko area is a staple for birding tour groups in winter and is pretty well known across the whole birding world. I often get hits on this blog for people doing searches such as 'birding hokkaido winter'. You'll see my site is at the top on yahoo and # 5 on google. Of course people quickly realise the places I talk about and they've never even heard of are miles away from the famous sites in east Hokkaido and move on thinking 'who's that loser down there in the middle of nowhere?' Anyway I'm off there myself on Saturday for 4 nights. On Monday we have a 5am boat trip out to the sea ice booked, my god it will be cold. Expect a deluge of photos next week both here and on my other blog.

We fly to Kushiro tomorrow afternoon and pick up a car at the airport and drive to Furen-ko (it'll be dark by the time we start driving unfortunately) where we'll stay at Matsuo's Minshuku (I've stayed there twice before, it's a great place for birds). Sunday will be spent around Nemuro/Notsuke and Sunday evening to Tuesday lunchtime will be in Rausu at Washi No Yado with the freezing boat trip on Monday morning and hopefully Blakistons Fish Owl both nights. Back to Kushiro Tuesday afternoon, hopefully to see the Cranes on Wednesday morning before we fly back to Hakodate. I'll be skint for the next few months as a result of this trip but I know it will be worth it.

I may try to update this blog from my cellphone. Perhaps. If the photos are the wrong size/orientation it's because I'm a f**kwit.