Red Rumped Swallow...........

I got up early to catch the second half of Man Utd's reserves beating some German pub team and as the sun came up it became apparent that we were finally to get some nice weather this Golden Week.

I had a quick look down the river, a lone Red Flanked Bluetail was flitting around in the bushes and this Kingfisher was flying up and down the river.

I was hoping for some of the scarcer migrants, a Wryneck maybe or perhaps a Whites Thrush. There didn't seem to be any migrants around (apart from the Bluetail) except lots and lots of hirundines. Just Asian House Martins and Barn Swallows I thought  but I was wrong...............

The flock contained 3 or 4 Red Rumped Swallows, a new bird for my Japanese list. I've seen them before in Indonesia and Greece, both times I remember thinking eh that swallow looks a bit weird.

I'm raking in additions to my Hakodate list, this was the 7th of the year so far (#204 I think).

My wife disappeared to take some cherry blossom pictures and I went back to bed for a couple of hours. We then headed out to the ricefields at Ono, no waders inland today but lots of Siberian Stonechats as always.

In the hills I got my first Sakhalin Leaf Warbler but otherwise not much else around so headed home visa Kamiiso where I saw several wader species on the beach (I'll post those later).

Back home the cherry blossoms are out. I prefer views of them like this rather than whole trees of them.

Lots of Red Cheeked Starlings arriving now.

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An afternoon in the ricefields

The rain and grey gloomy weather returned today but we had a productive couple of hours in the ricefields of Ono and Nanae.

The Siberian Stonechats returned about a week or so ago, these are one of the commonest farmland birds in Hokkaido.

The padis haven't been irrigated yet but due to the recent rains there were plenty of wet muddy areas and we were lucky enough to find a small flock of Wood Sandpiper. These photos were taken out of the car window.

They were eating some wormlike thing, is it a leech I wonder? Yuk.

These are much commoner in east Asia than back in the UK, indeed I've only ever seen one back home (at Marshside in the mid 80's). I've seen them from a distance a few times in the ricefields but never up close like today.

In the same field I noticed this bird, a Buff Bellied Pipit or at least I think it is. This is a bird I only ever see occasionally, usually flying away on some icy windswept beach in winter.

I took a crappy handheld video of one of the Wood Sandpipers out of the car window.........

A flock of geese flew over late in the afternoon, too far away to ID but probably Whitefronts.

Surprise of the day was a flock of 8 Japanese Waxwing in someone's garden. I've never seen these in May before............

I've had 6 out of the last 7 days off but we've been pretty unlucky with the weather. Hopefully tomorrow (my final day off in Golden Week) will see better weather. May is always the best birding month, fingers crossed for some interesting things turning up in the next 2 or 3 weeks.........

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Some spring waders

Whimbrel, Marsh Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper, 3 waders from a long long spring day............

We started off very early and drove up Hakodateyama to check for migrants. There were quite a few birds around including lots of Red Flanked Bluetails, a bird I can never get a decent photo of. It was too dark and gloomy this morning for photos anyway. Other birds in the forest included Dusky, Brown and Japanese Thrush, Siberian Blue and Japanese Robin, Black Faced and Siberian Meadow Butnings, Japanese Bush Warbler, Japanese White-eye and Long Tailed Rosefinch. We didn't stay too long here, it looked sunnier to the east so we headed over that way.

Lots of stuff on the sea: Scaup, Red Breasted Merganser, Goosander, Harlequin Duck, Brent Goose, Pintail, Wigeon etc............our first stop was at Kikonai.

There were 7 species of wader here. Grey Tailed Tattler were the commonest, here's one with a Marsh Sandpiper. Like most of today's photos, some heavy cropping going on here.

And a lone Wood Sandpiper............

The other species were Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Whimbrel and Kentish Plover. There were 3 heron species. Grey Heron, Great Egret and Little Egret, just one of each plus a lone Whooper Swan that is always here. Did it just get bored of migrating north every summer? It looks fighting fit, is there such a thing as a lazy Swan?

Ducks here included a male Falcated Teal, a female Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Pochard. There were also a pair of Osprey but they were flying too high for any photos. Chestnut Eared Buting, Siberian Stonechat and Blue Rock Thrush were all singing, it was very springlike and even slightly warm.......

We then headed out to Matsumae, on the way I noticed 3 egrets in a field, 2 Cattle Egret and 1 Intermediate Egret. One of the Cattle Egrets was in full sumer plumage........

I think that's the first time I've seen all 4 egret species in one day in Hokkaido before. The 3 smaller ones are all fairly regular spring overshoots but Cattle and Intermediate are a little scarce.

This Rustic Bunting was in the same field..........

In Matsumae I had a couple of hours to kill whilst my wife looked around the cherry blossom park. There were a few Harlequins and Brent Geese on the sea, more Grey Tailed Tattlers and Common Sandpiper and a pair of Whimbrel........

Plus the inevitable Ospreys...........

We headed back to Hakodate and the rivermouth in Kamiiso. There were 4 Great Egret and 10 or so Night Heron which brought today's heron list to 6 species. Just before it got too dark a Black Tailed Godwit flew over, a local tick no less (#203).

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I'm exhausted.

So the Premier League season isn't over yet after all. God I hope Chelsea win on Sunday with a really controversial refereeing decision, just to see SAF's red spluttering rage.

A few migrants appearing.......

Part of a flock of White Fronted Geese in a roadside field at Yakumo yesterday.

I still haven't really figured out BIF flock shots yet.

The nasty weather continues but there have been a couple of brief sunny interludes. This morning I got up early and saw my first Eastern Crowned Warbler and Red Cheeked Starlings of the year. Crossbill (a lone male), Hawfinch, Brambling, Dusky Thrush and Teal still remain near my apartment. Yesterday's birds included Glaucous Gull, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Osprey, Great Egret, Reed Bunting, Scaup, Red Breasted Merganser, Wigeon, Pintail, Goosander and lots and lots of Siberian Stonechat.

They always fly off just as I'm about to press the shutter.

I think I've worked out what set off my herniated disk/nerve pains again. Last Friday when I was looking for the White Winged Crossbills I had an urgent call of nature, the only handy toilet was a traditional style squatter, I think I twisted something as I hunkered down.

Another reason to hate those type of toilets. I haven't met a single Japanese person who prefers them. Usually I avoid them but this was an 'any port in a storm' situation. Japan has more pressing problems now I know but the next PM should consider a nationwide upgrading of public toilets.

I mean you can't even check the news on your cellphone whilst using them.

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On this day (April 28th)

April 28th 2009.

Actually a day early but this week has been so uneventful I have literally nothing to post.........

The above pic shows a Japanese White-eye in the cherry blossoms near my flat 2 years ago. It must have been a warmer spring 2 years ago as the cherry blossoms are nowhere near open yet in 2011.

This has been a very quiet last week or so: cold wet weather, a busy schedule and ongoing nerve pains as a result of my slipped disk has meant very little action. I've had a couple of brief excursions but only Dusky Thrush, Hawfinch and Bullheaded Shrike are around. There were some Brambling around a few days ago and I had a brief fleeting glimpse of an odd looking bird from my window last weekend, it could have been a Woodcock. Or perhaps just a pigeon being weird.

2 years ago on this day there were lots of stuff around right near my flat, not only the White-eyes but also this Short Tailed Bush Warbler, not a bird I often get to photograph.



And this female Red Flanked Bluetail too.........



Unfortunately a lot of the trees and bushes along the river where I took the above 2 shots have gone as Hakodate City Hall have 'improved' the river (I wish they had picked up all the festering garbage at the same time). There really haven't been any migrants so far this spring in the handful of trees and bushes that have escaped the chainsaws.

On the same day 2 years ago there were a couple of very tame Crossbills in the park.



This one is uncropped.



Lots of stuff around 2 years ago but SFA around now, at least near my apartment.

I hope the weather improves soon, I have several days off coming up........

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First lifer of 2011

It's a lousy heavily cropped photo but it shows a male White Winged Crossbill this morning, part of a flock of 10 birds (at least one I think was a normal Crossbill). I guess you could say I twitched it as I'd heard they were present and decided to take a look myself.

This is a new bird for me although I've had a few 'maybes' of this species before.

This was in an area about 40 minutes walk from my apartment. It's in a nice quiet part of town and was a peaceful place to wander around in. Shortly after I arrived I saw Osamu who had found the crossbills a couple of days ago, he was with 4 friends and they said the crossbills had just flown off!

I waited another hour or so and heard their calls, the flock was fairly mobile and stayed up in the trees, it was impossible to get a good shot.

There were other birds around too. Siskin, lots of Coal Tit, Great Spotted and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers..............

It then started raining so I set off home, unfortunately the nerve pain from my herniated disk made a return so it was a long wet rather uncomfortable hobble through the rain..............but at least I saw the White Winged Crossbills.

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A grey Wednesday

It's been a grey cold week so far in south Hokkaido. There are a still a few Crossbill around, this male was one of a group of  half a dozen in Goryokaku park this afternoon.

There were 40 or so Brambling and a few Hawfinch but they were very shy.

Dusky Thrush are always very common at this time of year, there were lots in the park this afternoon.

A few White Wagtail remain in winter but generally it is an abundant summer visitor, they are everywhere at the moment.

The first Swallows of spring were skimming over the moat with a few Asian House Martin. The last couple of days has seen a few Bullheaded Shrike, Daurian Redstart and Japanese Bush Warbler pass through and today I saw the first Siberian Stonechat of the year too.

Why are all the decent footy games on at inconvenient times this season? Spurs v Arsenal tonight looks like it'll be a very interesting game but I'm not getting up at 3.45am to watch it, the only game I could catch last Saturday was West Brom v Chelsea for christs sake.

The city elections are at the weekend, like I said in a previous post electioneering here consists of candidates driving slowly around town hysterically bellowing slogans with their 'supporters' (usually the local equivalent of dumb blondes) waving and smiling out of the windows.

At least I don't have to put up with a Royal Wedding (although you'll at least get a day off work).

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On this day (April 19th)........................

April 19th 2009.

Female Black Woodpecker at Onuma.

One of the star birds of Hokkaido, this species can regularly be seen in Onuma. This female was checking out a nesting hole............

If you've been following my blog you'll know I've seen them several times this spring, and last spring too but the only time I could get nice shots of this species was this day 2 years ago and one day the previous spring.......

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