John Nihon
_______________
Don't forget the rubbish foraging karasu, the bane of all our lives in Tokyo and plenty of other cities.
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Why no birds in Japan? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter amelia1730
- Start date
youcancallmedavid
New member
I, too, was amazed at the lack of birds. In Australia, I'd expect every pond and rice paddy to have at least a few ducks.
Maybe I'm unfairly comparing to Australia (Canberra, Sydney) which might just have very high wildlife populations. The nights and some parks just sounded eerily quiet.
Over 20 years (the lifespan of this thread?) there has been a notable decline. Pesticide use in rice paddies is one issue, although urban ponds had healthy dragonfly populations.
Efforts to reduce pesticide use in paddies (by 75 percent!) are underwY.
The imperial palace wildlife surveys show that area to have increasing diversity , that article notes that corvid control measures are increasing diversity.
Maybe I'm unfairly comparing to Australia (Canberra, Sydney) which might just have very high wildlife populations. The nights and some parks just sounded eerily quiet.
Over 20 years (the lifespan of this thread?) there has been a notable decline. Pesticide use in rice paddies is one issue, although urban ponds had healthy dragonfly populations.
Efforts to reduce pesticide use in paddies (by 75 percent!) are underwY.
The imperial palace wildlife surveys show that area to have increasing diversity , that article notes that corvid control measures are increasing diversity.
In Kiyosato sparrows are a local delicacy, but people only look down upon that which they don't eat themselves. Many places in this country have lots of ducks, geese, pheasants, quail and grouse being taken every day, but it's normal here. I've been there several times and had the sparrows one two occasions, but nothing strange about it anymore than what we eat over here.
When I go to my friend's place down in Yamaguchi there are always ducks and shirasagi (herons/cranes?) in the creek across from their company and I definitely spend some time watching while there.
Nothing wrong with crows and ravens, or am I the only one who likes them?
I've been to Japan four times now, three in winter and once in summer. I really enjoy birding there. It's an unusual country for birding in some ways. I think there are usually a fairly high number of birds around, although they may not always be as conspicuous as in Europe particularly in terrestrial habitats. The coast and sea often have very high numbers of birds, particularly in winter.
Something I've noticed is that it seems hard in Japan to build up a substantial day list. When I visited sites, I have rarely been able to record more than around 20-30 species even in places with a mix of habitats. For comparison, I can easily see 60+ species around where I live in the UK in a day, sometimes in just a few hours. I once managed 52 species at Kasai Rinkai Park in Tokyo in December. That's about the best I've done in a day in Japan! The only times I've seen big day lists in Japan on Ebird are from major migration sites like Hegurajima, where it seems 80+ is possible on a good day. I think that in order to get a decent variety of species in Japan, you need to travel around quite a lot and visit different areas. Then it's really good. Quality is usually high, even if quantity and variety is less so.
Something I've noticed is that it seems hard in Japan to build up a substantial day list. When I visited sites, I have rarely been able to record more than around 20-30 species even in places with a mix of habitats. For comparison, I can easily see 60+ species around where I live in the UK in a day, sometimes in just a few hours. I once managed 52 species at Kasai Rinkai Park in Tokyo in December. That's about the best I've done in a day in Japan! The only times I've seen big day lists in Japan on Ebird are from major migration sites like Hegurajima, where it seems 80+ is possible on a good day. I think that in order to get a decent variety of species in Japan, you need to travel around quite a lot and visit different areas. Then it's really good. Quality is usually high, even if quantity and variety is less so.
Pretty surprised to see the park at Kasai Rinkai mentioned here, and having walked through it on the way to Tokyo once, it's only close by train! It's really something to see mention of few birds findable in Japan and then see that you found 52 species in one single locale.
