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

August 19th 2011.

A Long Billed Dowitcher at Kamiiso 2 years ago today. It was in pretty much full summer plumage and was a lifer to boot. A couple of individuals have appeared on other local blogs since then (but they were immatures or winter plumaged adults) so they are probably a scarce but regular visitor.

It shared the beach with a Great Knot and Ruff..............an interesting trio of shorebirds.



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On this day (August 14th)..............

August 14th 2010.

A Black Footed Albatross off Tomakomai 3 years ago today. This was my first pelagic trip and it was a very successful one.....................6 additions to my Japan list and 5 lifers. This was my first ever albatross (we also saw Laysan) and it was pretty exciting, they were even tame and approached the boat for some squid handouts..................

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Black Faced Spoonbill

An immature Black Faced Spoonbill at Kamiiso this afternoon. A real surprise, I was just doing a very quick check to see if there were any shorebirds around and stumbled across this rare east asian specialty.

I saw one a couple of years in Yakumo so obviously a few occur in Hokkaido but this is primarily a bird of more southern locales. A very nice addition to my local list (which is running around 220ish now I think).

It's been very hot the last week or so, maybe the warm winds wafted over the spoonbill from mainland Asia.

So hot and humid that we have got an airconditioner!!!!! Actually a friend had an old one which he didn't need anymore so he kindly came round an attached to it to one of our window frames. Thank you Tomoo...........

The spoonbill probably enjoyed the hot weather..........

Hope England get a few early wickets today.................otherwise we'll be hoping for another rainy draw.

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Still slow

A young Osprey at Yakumo a couple of days ago.

Not much around. A Peregrine disturbing the gulls, a lone tired looking Sooty Shearwater offshore, a couple of piping calls lost in the wind that may or may not have been waders.....................that is all.

Hot and humid outside, not many birds, not much motivation to do anything. Summer? Meh.

Manchester summer weather secured the Ashes at least.

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Linked to Wild Bird Wednesday.

The slowest week of the slowest month

The worst month for birding in south Hokkaido is generally July. Actually the start of the month is often OK but by the end there really isn't much going on plus in the last week of July it starts to get pretty hot and humid. Ospreys and Green Pigeons, as I've said before, are the only birding staples at this time of year so today we headed over to Shikabe to see the latter.

The skies were leaden and the dirty pebble beach was covered in rotting stinking seaweed and loads of insects.

The pigeons put in a couple of appearances but were very skittish due to 2 hunting Peregrines in the area.

Only BIFs.

Not much else around except flocks of Pacific Swift high overhead. Very quiet locally too. Goosander and Common Sandpiper at Kamiiso a couple of days ago, that's about it.

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Meet the Locals #7

Grey Tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)

Another east Asian specialty, something to post about when the birding has gone quiet.

This is a common passage visitor throughout Japan and unlike most waders it is as common in spring as it is in autumn. It is the 'default' medium sized wader of the region, similar to the Redshank back in the UK. It breeds in Siberia and winters in SE Asia and the south Pacific.

In Hokkaido they appear in a variety of habitats but they seem to prefer rocky coasts. Having said that I have seen them on sandy beaches, mudflats, inland on rivers and lakeshores and even once on the moat in Goryokaku park. They were the first wader species I saw in Hokkaido.

They first appear around Hakodate in late April, a few linger on into June. These photos are all in May and (like all the photos in the post) were taken invarious locations in Hokkaido, mainly the southwest.

They often appear in small loose flocks and sit around on the rocks. Their slightly eerie call is one of the most familiar sounds on the jettys and harbours in spring and autumn...........

I first saw this species in late 1994, bobbing up and down on a pole in the mangroves near Cooktown, FNQ. A few months ago I saw this individual in Kamiiso.

I sent an email to the relevant folk quoting the number on the tag and got this reply.............

A Grey-tailed Tattler Heteroscelus brevipes was sighted by Stuart Price at:
Hakodate Hokkaide, Japan 41deg 46min 8sec N, 140deg 43min 43sec E  on
13/05/2013 with flag(s) as follows:

      LEFT leg: nothing/unknown on tibia (upper leg) above nothing/unknown
on tarsus
      RIGHT leg: green engraved flag on tibia (upper leg) above
nothing/unknown on tarsus

This bird was flagged Manly Boat Harbour, Moreton Bay, approximate
co-ordinates 27deg 27min S, 153deg 11min E, which uses the flag combination
Green Engraved.

The resighting was a distance of approximately 7804 km, with a bearing of
350 degrees, from the marking location.

They return again in early August and the first ones to pass through seem to be adults...................

They are especially common in September, I think all these are juveniles but I'm not 100% sure. They all have the white markings on the back anyway...............

By the end of September they have moved south although I usually see a few stragglers into October.


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Ospreys again

A juvenile (I think) Osprey at Yakumo yesterday.

There were 3 Ospreys around, 1 of which was probably an adult (it could catch actually fish). The weather was humid and overcast, not great for BIFs.

This individual came fairly close at least.  Lots of very similar shots as you can see.

Not much else around. The only singing species was a Grays Grasshopper Warbler. Other stuff included Sand Martin, Little Ringed Plover and a couple of Great Scaup (a few individuals spend the summer).

I watched England trying to break a dogged last wicket stand for the second consecutive Sunday but it's fair to say it wasn't quite  so tense this time.........................

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