A lone Egret

Nice weather in Hakodate the last few days.................

A sunny springlike Monday

Monday was a sunny spring day.............

A quiet day up north

The ports to the north of Yakumo were a bit quiet on Sunday...............

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

March 19th 2015.

A Red-necked Grebe in the local park 3 years ago today.

This is the only time I've seen it inland in south Hokkaido, they are usually fairly common offshore in spring and occasionally visit the fishing ports too..................

A bit of spring in the air..........

A hint of spring at last...............

Ghost Town

Hardly any birds in town the last 10 days or so. Some birds have started appearing from the south: Oriental Greenfinches, White Wagtails and Black-tailed Gulls in breeding plumage (above).

Last week I saw just 1 Hawfinch and 1 Brown Dipper plus a brief flyover group of waxwings. This week saw even slimmer pickings: 1 male Daurian Redstart only. At Kamiiso the grebes weren't present but there were the usual ducks and gulls as well as 4 Great Egret.

The snow is melting fast. Spring is here, almost.

Some more Long-tailed Ducks........

Some more shots from the other day................

On this day (March 15th).............

March 15th 2015.

A male Merlin just outside Hakodate 3 years ago today. This is an annual winter visitor in small numbers but the usual sighting of one usually only lasts a couple of seconds as it flashes across the road and disappears into the fields.

A quiet Monday in mid March

Monday was a bit quiet...............

March in the ports............

The ports in SW Hokkaido can be productive in late winter.................

Some Long-tailed Ducks..............

We were north of town at the weekend.............

Winter starts to fade away...............

A White-tailed Eagle north of town today. There were quite a few of them still around (although all the Stellers seem to have departed). The weather has been milder the last few days, the main roads are clear in Hakodate and we can even see a bit of pavement (sidewalk) here and there too.............

Spring can't be far away. At long last. It's been a brutal winter in Hakodate.................

On this day (March 9th)............................

March 9th 2012.

A Red Fox at Onuma 6 years ago today..................

Another day with the Buntings..........

Both species of Bunting were still around on Monday...........

Snow Buntings in the sand dunes...........

There was a flock of 25 Snow Buntings on the nearby coast this week..............

Black Scoters

Whilst waiting for the rain to stop before we started chasing Snow Buntings we stopped in a nearby port................

A pair of Longspurs

The temperatures rose for a couple of days, the rains came and now we're living a slushy nightmare.................

On this day (March 4th).......................

March 4th 2014.

A male Crossbill in town 4 years ago today: part of the big invasion that year..............

On this day (March 3rd).............................

March 3rd 2014.

The Gyrfalcon at Sawara 4 years ago today. It may look bright and warm, cosy even.  but it was absolutely freezing with the wind coming off the sea................

Incidentally there is some evidence that this bird may not have been quite what it seemed. I was always surprised a) how tame it was b) its odd colouring and c) its damaged tail feathers. After seeing a picture on the internet about hybrid falcons and seeing how similar they were to this bird I voiced my concerns in a couple of places including here. There are some strong arguments made against it being a wild Gyrfalcon (mainly about the aforementioned tail and also the bird's moulting details) but....................see below.

It was suggested it may have been a hybrid Gyrfalcon/Saker falcon that had escaped from a falconer. I've tried emailing the Japanese Falconry Association for their opinion but got no reply. I did however contact a falconry group on facebook and encouragingly none of them thought it was a hybrid including several folk who keep/breed hybrids themselves. It was also put forward that the tail could have been damaged naturally due to its hunting style (the wings are undamaged) and its choice of habitat. Also such falcons are very valuable and are always ringed which this bird clearly isn't.

The colouring may indicate it is a rare genetic mutation that very occasionally occurs naturally. If it was a captive bird apparently it would be very valuable due to the colour. One Japanese falconer said that Gyrs are rarely kept in Japan because they are very vulnerable to disease because of the hot humid summers, Some of the falconers are kindly making further enquiries anyway ......................

Another one visited the same place a couple of years later (but only for a short time and I couldn't see it).............

A lot of Japanese birders saw and photographed it, including the author of a famous Japanese fieldguide. It was in numerous magazines.

I thought about unticking it but I haven't yet. Maybe we'll never know its true origin.

On this day (March 2nd).........................

March 2nd 2015.

A Goshawk near Oshamanbe 3 years ago today. This species is not especially rare but I don't photograph it much for some reason: just distant immatures against grey skies usually. This adult is probably the best shot I've managed.