2 weeks just went by...............

2 male Red Cheeked Starlings in Hakodate this afternoon.

2 weeks have just gone by, now we are in the second half of 2013. I was pretty busy in the second half of June and did little birding despite the great weather. Nothing around anyway, only the common stuff feeding youngsters far away from prying lenses. Last week I was watching an Osprey nest on an offshore stack. 2 chicks were present but it was too far away for a photo (I  even tried digiscoping for the first time in ages but the results were terrible). A Kentish Plover south of Esashi was the only bird of any interest anywhere.

I heard secondhand of a Ruddy Kingfisher nest in Onuma. I have a vague idea of where it is and may pay a visit  in the next couple of weeks. Notice I only said 'may'. It isn't only the prospect of standing around in the forest getting eaten alive by mosquitoes whilst realizing the birds are too far away for my lens and it is too dark anyway. Last time there were 30 or more photographers sporting 500 or 600mm lenses and the atmosphere wasn't always  friendly. I often bump into several of the local bird photographers now and those ones are nice enough but there are some real selfish unfriendly characters around too who regard the kingfishers as 'their' birds. What the hell, I'll probably go. It may give me a chance to practice sarcastic one liners in Japanese. (Oh I see, are they your f**ing pets then?).

A bit lazy and unmotivated to do anything at the minute. I'm waiting for  the start of the Ashes. I've been following the England cricket team since around 1984 and this is probably the first time in my cricket following life that England go into an Ashes series as clear favourites. I'm not 100% sure if that is a good thing though...............

I'm not really much of a rugby fan (not at all actually)  but the Lions games are on TV here and the first 2 were pretty tense and exciting even for someone like me. Unlike the cricket (or footy) I don't really care if 'we' lose. That simple fact makes watching sport much more enjoyable sometimes.................

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Summer in the grasslands

An Eastern Marsh Harrier near Oshamanbe on Sunday.

After Yakumo we were on the grasslands near Oshamanbe. All the common species were singing and there were also flocks of Sand Martin above.

Black Browed Reed Warblers are absolutely abundant in this place.................

I took a short video on a rickety old tripod..............



This was another individual which seems to have lost most of  its tail

Back at Yakumo I tried again for the Ospreys. One of them was sitting on some driftwood on the opposite bank..................too far away for a pic though.

Wish it had been as close as this Black Kite..............

On the way home we stopped at Onuma where I got my first mosquito bite of 2013.

There was a lone Whooper Swan sitting in the shade next to the lake. I guess this is an old or injured bird that couldn't make the spring trip back up north.

Or maybe it was just lazy.................

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Linked to Wild Bird Wednesday.

Saunders Gull

An immature Saunders Gull at Yakumo today. Nothing special about the pictures but it was rather a nice find, my first lifer for over a year. There were only a handful of Black Tailed and Slaty Backed Gulls around and at first I dismissed this as a rather late Black Headed Gull (they sometimes hang on until June). I was trying (without success) to get some pics of the fishing Ospreys when it flew over making a noise like a Common Tern...............a big surprise to see this species so far north in Japan and at this time of year too.

June is a handy month for finding these kind of vagrants..................7 years ago I got a Caspian Tern and 4 years ago I got a Gull Billed Tern (the latter also at Yakumo).

It was a strange day, sunny for short periods and then foggy. All the summer stuff was in full voice at Yakumo. Lathams Snipe, Siberian Stonechat, Oriental Reed, Black Browed Reed, Japanese Bush and Grays Grasshopper Warbler, Oriental and Common Cuckoo, Skylark, Chestnut Eared and Black Faced Bunting and Long Tailed Rosefinch were all singing. Other birds around included 2 White Throated Needletail, 2 Intermediate Egret and Little Ringed Plover. A pair of Osprey were fishing, I guess that means the eggs have hatched..............

There were lots of Siberian Stonechat around..............

And lots of these too........................a singing Black Browed Reed Warbler..............

I was hoping to spend a mellow Sunday night drinking cold beer and listening to the cricket. Damn the weather in south Wales................well at least I still have the beer option.
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Predictable...............

Well it is that time of year again. Summer is very predictable in town, only a few species, 3 of which you see above.....................

Not much to report. It hasn't rained for a couple of weeks. Really, that's all.

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The other Reed Warbler

A Black Browed Reed Warbler at Oshamanbe this afternoon. This is one of my favourite summer visitors, I much prefer it to its noisier relative the Oriental Reed Warbler..............

They are abundant in the grasslands in summer, really they are incredibly common in the right habitat. You can see how they get their name..............

Most of the regular stuff was around including an Eastern Marsh Harrier that was very closse but still managed to drift away before I was ready to take a shot. I see this species pretty much every time I visit the right habitat but still haven't managed anything other than blurry record shots.

It was a very clear hot day, easily the warmest of the year so far. Despite visiting Kamiiso, Yakumo, Oshamabe and Onuma (and several other places en route) it was not a successful day with the camera, I must have used up all my luck for 2013 in those few days back in the middle of May.

England are going to bore Australia into submission in the Ashes.

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Slow time

Some of the 7 or 8 singing Oriental Reed Warblers as I walk upstream from my apartment. For such a loud noisy bird they are pretty shy and drop down into the long grass as soon as they realize they are being watched.

Slow time in Hakodate is here. Just the dozen or so local breeders in town now. Other singing species included Black Faced and Chestnut Eared Bunting and  lots of Oriental Greenfinch. Lots of Red Cheeked Starlings around too as well as the common stuff like Bullheaded Shrike, Eastern Great Tit, Asian House Martin, Tree Sparrow, Brown Eared Bulbul, Spot Billed Duck and the 2 resident species of crow and gull.

Hopefully I can get out off town at the weekend, the weather has been great this week and the ricefields, grasslands and rivers should have a few more birds at least.................

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The F Word

2 Black Footed Albatross off Tomakomai yesterday morning...............

F as in FOG.

It has been bright and sumnny the last few days but during the 4 hours or so we were on the boat it was foggy..................making it difficult to a) spot birds and b) photograph them.

Luckily the albatross were up close so the poor visibility didn't matter so much.

Some people on the boat were hoping for more albatross species but for me one is enough..............

Despite the foggy weather it was a good trip. There were lots and lots of birds on the sea................shame about the visibility. Lots of Ancient Murrelet and Rhinoceros Auklet but the commonest auk was Brunnichs Guillemot................

There were also Short Tailed and Sooty Shearwater (not sure if I can distinguish these by myself). Lots of Pacific Diver too but they were very skittish.

Both species of pharalope were around but in small numbers..............some heavy cropping going on here.

I see other peoples blogs/galleries and I can't believe how good some of their pelagic shots are. OK we had fog yesterday and good light may have helped some of thse shots but I find focusing very hard on a moving boat and missed numerous BIF chances and even birds just bobbing around on the water presented a great challenge that I didn't really rise to.

Another challenge that I failed to rise to was putting on the lifejacket by myself. I know it should be easy and a 5 year old could do it but for some reason (and this was my 5th boat trip) whenever I pick it up I look at it blankly and just cannot work out how it goes on. Someone always patiently helps me but my god they must think I'm retarded or something....................

Other birds on the trip included my first Grays Grasshopper Warbler, Sand Martin, Pacific Swift and Black Browed Reed Warbler of the year as well as Japanese Green Pigeon, Osprey, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Siberian Blue Robin and lots and lots of Lathams Snipe................
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