A quiet end to Golden Week

Golden Week 2017 has come to a quiet end..................

A Tattler

A Grey Tailed Tattler this afternoon...................but not much else of note at Kamiiso.

Still a bit slow migration-wise. 1 Eastern Crowned Warbler and 1 Wryneck only on the river.

Probably lots of migrants will pass through en masse next week when my work schedule is busy again.

On this day (May 5th).............................

May 5th 2011.

A Red-rumped Swallow near my place 6 years ago today.

This is the rarest of the 4 hirundine species to be found in Hokkaido and that morning I was surprised to see several of them over the local river. I've seen them a couple of times since but they remain a bit of a local rarity....................

Another failed early rise

I was up at 5am again this morning. Surely there would be some interesting migrants in the park?

Nope.

There was only a single Eastern Crowned Warbler on the river and a lone Japanese Bush Warbler in the park, an Osprey flew overhead briefly and there were still a few Dusky Thrush about. The wrynecks were still calling in the park but were high up in the trees, the one near my apartment was also calling but I couldn't see it.

Red-cheeked Starlings were everywhere though............and it was another beautiful warm spring day. Maybe we need some nasty weather to bring some new birds.............

Sakura

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom.............

Mayday

We were out west in beautiful spring weather yesterday...............

Caspian Tern

I had a very nice surprise the other day. A Caspian Tern showed up......................

Kingfisher and other stuff

A Kingfisher near Yakumo this afternoon.................

Spring 2017..........it begins.

The start of a holiday week in Japan saw more summer visitors arrive......................

On this day (April 29th).....................

29th April 2013.

3 Common Redshank near Yakumo 3 years ago today. Not a great photo and, to someone from the UK, not an especially exciting bird but it is not common at all in Japan and this is the only time I've ever seen them in south Hokkaido...................

And again

The Wrynecks were still in the park today..................

Wrynecks

There were 2 or 3 Wrynecks in one of the local parks this morning................

Another long and fruitless day

We were up bright and early for another long day in the spring sunshine...............

Spring arrives in full

A crap heavily cropped pic of an Eastern Marsh Harrier, I saw them in several places today.

After some pretty prolific posting in 2017 (100 posts by mid-April, it's true I have no life) the bird photos and hence the posts dried up this week. I saw some pretty good birds today but nothing posed for the camera despite me walking for 12km with my big lens (I know how far because my iphone tells me).

At Yakumo there were Bar-tailed Godwit, Terek Sandpiper, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Osprey, Goshawk, a flock of White-fronted Goose, Little Egret, Great Egret, Black Scoter, huge numbers of Pintail and Teal, a few Shoveler and Wryneck.

Siberian Stonechat, Red-cheeked Starling, Black-faced Bunting and Asian House Martin are everywhere...........spring is in full swing at least.

A quiet Sunday again

 The Ospreys in various sites were nowhere near as co-operative as last week but yesterday there were at least things to see offshore like the above Slavonian Grebe which was looking nice in almost full summer plumage.

Other stuff included Great-crested and Red-necked Grebes (also in SP), Rhinoceros Auklet, Black-throated Diver, the usual common ducks, Brent Goose and a lone White-fronted Goose, The first Stonechats of the year have arrived and the spring migration season should get moving really soon.................

A double dose of LRP/LPR

Well I didn't find any Hoopoes today, in fact the birding was pretty quiet but I did manage to photograph this Little Ringed Plover up close. Many birders call it 'LRP' because they can't be bothered to write or type it.

LPR  stands for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux,a condition which I think I've been suffering from for a while. Sore throat and hoarse voice....I'm a bit tired of it. In fact I'm going to the doctor tomorrow.

I know how to say LRP in Japanese, looks like I'll have to learn the LPR word too.

Hoopoe Weather

Strong winds from the west the last few days...........in early spring this sometimes wafts Hoopoes over from mainland Asia. A much sought after bird with local bird photographers...............over the last 12 or so years I've seen them 4 times in south Hokkaido at this time of year after similar weather. Other birders have posted recent pics of them on various local blogs and facebook.

But no Hoopoes for me this week................in fact hardly any birds around anywhere I've looked. A flock of Brambling in the local park a few days ago and a few swans honking in the distance at Onuma today............that's about it.

At least the above Red Fox at Onuma posed for the camera..............

On this day (April 13th).................

April 13th 2014.

Not a great photo but this was the last day I ever saw the Gyrfalcon in Sawara that year...............and disappointingly it never came back in subsequent winters.

If it survived into adulthood I hope it's pure white and tearing it up on the tundra somewhere far to the north of Japan...................

Early Spring Ospreys #2

Some more Osprey shots from Monday..................

Early Spring Ospreys #1

We were on the west coast looking for Hoopoes but found only Ospreys..................which isn't such a bad thing.