Another very quiet week....

Today it was snowing. All day, heavy slushy wet sleety snow. In late April. Global warming my a*se.

So we didn't go out anywhere today..........I tried redoing some of my photo galleries on my main website but I'm still not 100% happy. The page isn't finished yet, these are made using Rapidweaver. I tried Apples MobileMe but didn't really like the gallery styles there, ditto iphoto. Adobe Lightroom's galleries are great (some are linked on the right) but I can't automatically sync or update them.　Should I try SmugMug? Dunno.

Sorry that last paragraph was so boring. The whole of the week has been pretty dull. A very very quiet week, awful weather combined with a busy working schedule meant I didn't get out much. I managed to get up Mt Hakodate again on Friday on the only sunny day of the week, not much around, you can see photos of the day here.

A few summer migrants arriving this week (the first Red Cheeked Starlings and Short Tailed Bush Warblers) but not much happening in the way of photos, except for the chipmunks again. They fulfill the same role as the Nuthatches at Onuma, wild fauna but tame and photogenic and useful for padding out blog posts when there's not much else going on......



Somebody tossed some food to this one, what is it? A lychee?

Lots of Red Flanked Bluetails on the trails but these are turning into a bit of a photographic bogey species.

So, er, that's it. Man U are going to win the Premier League. I missed both Liverpool's recent 4-4 draws (both on in the middle of the night here). Actually I did get up to watch the end of the Champions League game against Chelsea. I woke up and sleepily checked the latest score on my cellphone browser and it was 4-3 to Liverpool with 5 minutes to go! I got up just in time to see Lampard's goal that killed off the tie.........

I hope the weather improves this week, I have 5 days off from Wednesday. The migration season tends to pick up dramatically in the last 3 or 4 days of April so fingers crossed.........

Black Woodpeckers and other stuff.....

A Black Woodpecker this morning at Onuma, we came across a pair excavating a nest hole, snapped some shots and moved on quickly(although the birds didn't seem to mind so much). The male was shyer than the female though, so most of the shots were of the female.........





It was a beautiful spring day but the forest was surprisingly quiet. All the resident species were present including the inevitable Tits and Nuthatches.





Also seen today were Mandarin Duck, Goosander, Long Tailed Rosefinch, Siskin, Rustic Bunting and 4 species of Woodpecker.

Some birds were tricky to see.



Otherwise a pretty quiet week again................



On Friday I climbed to the top of Mt Hakodate, it was a beautiful sunny day as you can see from this view from the top. The mountain trails were rather busy and full of retired locals hiking up the modest hill ('mountain' is too grand a term). Despite the mild spring weather and total lack of snow for the last month some of them were kitted out in full hiking regalia and I actually burst out laughing when one woman walked past me in a gore-tex coat and gaiters (it was very bright and sunny, it has only rained once in the last 2 weeks and the forecast is good for several days). I didn't actually see any ice-axes but I'm sure some of them had them in their packs. I swear I went trekking for 10 days in the Himalaya with less gear then these folks used for a 60 minute stroll to the top of a hill that has a road to the top and a tourist cable car...........

Memo to Japanese hikers #1: When walking it is more efficient to hold a conversation with someone next to you rather than shout to someone 50 yards in front or behind.

Memo to Japanese hikers #2: Please leave your stupid f**king radios at home and don't play loud tinny sounding radio shows from a radio dangling from your pack.

Birds? Lots of Red Flanked Bluetail but these were difficult to photograph, darn active little critters........this was the best of a bad bunch.



Other new arrivals included Black Faced Bunting, Siberian Stonechat, lots of Japanese Bush Warbler and Japanese White-eye. On the sea were Rhinoceros Auklet and Black Throated Diver and the usual resident species were much in evidence.......





Other stuff included Long Tailed Rosefinch, Siberian Meadow Bunting and Blue Rock thrush. The last few Crossbills, Bullfinches and Brambling were hanging on in the forest at the foot of the mountain (I actually briefly saw a male Crossbill in the tree opposite my flat a couple of days ago).

The most photographed creature of the day was this, lots of Asiatic Chipmunk live in the forest on Mt Hakodate and you have to admit they are cute.......





And here's a sunset from my balcony tonight........



More bird photos are on my other blog.............which nobody seems to ever look at according to google analytics.

And a familiar view that I have shown on this blog many many times...........but never in sepia tones.





Villain of the week: Yamada Denki for unbelievably crap service.

Disappointment of the week: the fact that Liverpool's season may effectively be over on Wednesday night.

Photoshop thingy of the week: I'm trying to get a handle on the curves thing.

A very quiet week........

Good old reliable Nuthatches. A Wryneck at Asabu and a male Black Woodpecker at Onuma were nowhere near as co-operative and the blurry out of focus pictures have already been deleted off my hard drive and memory card........

It was a gorgeous warm spring day and we headed over to Asabu. The Ospreys were already on the nest but as you can see it is a long way off.



A 100% crop a minute or so later reveals the 2 birds on top of the stack.



Asabu is a good place in summer for birds but today there really wasn't much about. The Wryneck and Ospreys were the only noteworthy species. The only singing species was the hordes of Skylark. They were everywhere.



And there were a few Red Breasted Mergansers in the nearby fishing harbours too........



It's been a quiet week in Hakodate, even though the weather has been pretty good I haven't been out so much. My business has picked up quite nicely plus my wife is working full-time so taking pics of birds is taking a bit of a back seat.

I saw the last Crossbill (a flyover male) on Tuesday but there was a flock of 5 in the local park on Monday including this tame individual......



Shame they seem to have gone. The most photographed bird of the year so far in Hakodate this year and I'm already hoping they return next winter (they've been common the last two winters but were absent for the three before yet common the three before that).

Otherwise not much at all. A singing Japanese Bush Warbler on Friday was the first of the year and the lone adult Night Heron was in the same place most of the week.



And groups of Teal have been courting on the local river, here's a male.



The first Bullheaded Shrikes appeared too and a few winter ducks were still hanging on in Kamiso this morning (Scaup mainly).

Bad result for Liverpool against Chelsea the other night and now Man U seem to have uncovered another annoying young south European. Damn.

Another busy week coming up...........