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Birding
Vacational Trip Reports
Japan Feb/March 2016
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<blockquote data-quote="birdboybowley" data-source="post: 3405410" data-attributes="member: 60953"><p><strong>23rd Feb</strong> – Today was gonna be good! We were up ridiculously early for our 0800 JAL flight to Kushiro on Hokkaido. We saw our only <strong>Kestrel </strong>of the trip on the airport perimeter fence as we arrived. The flight was short and typically efficient and also yielded great views of the Central Alps as we flew over Honshu. The landscape below us on final approach was crisp and clean....and very white!</p><p></p><p>Baggage collection was quick and painless and we were soon in the van to be taken across the street to the hire car company. We had a Nissan Note which was also 4WD, I guess as standard in this place! We soon input Take-san's phone number into the satnav and we were off...straight into a blizzard – yeay!! Just outside the airport we saw a tree full of <strong>Black-eared Kites</strong>. We hit Kushiro and it was like driving in the USA (except on the correct side of the road!! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />)...traffic lights and crossroads every few hundred metres! An impromptu stop at a McDonald's (I know, I know!) whilst the worst of the weather abated filled a hole and we set off again eastwards, dropping down to Akkeshi Harbour for our first taste of Japanese winter birding!</p><p></p><p>Masses of <strong>Slaty-backed Gulls</strong> lined the quayside fighting for scraps with the outnumbered kites and <strong>Jap Crows</strong>. An adult <strong>White-tailed Eagle</strong> soon had everything else moving out of its way whilst out on the water we had many <strong>Black Scoters, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers</strong> and a single <strong>Pelagic Cormorant</strong>.</p><p></p><p>We crossed over the bridge and set off round the coast towards Cape Kiritappu and dropped into the harbour as we approached. Here I found the bird I most wanted to see....probably the whole reason for wanting to come to Hokkaido in winter: my first <span style="color: Red"><strong>Steller's Eagle</strong></span>, a gorgeous adult sitting atop the harbour building, beswirled by snow and glaring around in regal fashion – he knew who was the boss here!! Awesome.</p><p></p><p>In the harbour itself we had what was to become the common staple of the coast here: <strong>Black Scoters, Goldeneye, Long-tailed Ducks, Scaup, Goosander</strong> and <strong>mergansers</strong>. And of course gulls: hundreds of <strong>Slaty-backs</strong> and a single adult <strong>Kamchatka</strong> seen too. Some <strong>Pochard</strong> and <strong>Mallard</strong> were also seen here aswell as a nice <strong>Pacific Diver</strong> and <strong>Black-necked Grebe</strong>. 2 <strong>Pacific Harbour Seals</strong> were also seen here as they swam by. As we approached the Cape itself a very nice <strong>Short-eared Owl</strong> perched up roght next to the road and showed brilliantly in the whitening conditions. At the actual Cape I walked to the lighthouse seeing a <strong>Rough-legged Buzzard</strong> hanging in the air above it and flushed a <strong>Dusky Thrush</strong> from some exposed grasses. I had to laugh inwardly at the information sign that showed the Cape in all its summery beauty as I stood shaking in a snowstorm....apparently watching the sunset here is a must-see....next time!</p><p></p><p>We drove back up across the Kiritappu Wetland but there really wasn't anything to see at this time of year. The weather began to improve as we rejoined Hwy44 and we made good progress on snow-free roads seeing 6 big-conked <strong>Middendorf's Bean Geese</strong> fly over the road and land in a distant part of a lake, 2 more <strong>Steller's Eagles</strong> and several large herds of the native <em>yesoensis</em> subspecies of <strong>Sika Deer</strong> (known as Ezo Deer) on the way, reaching Lodge Furen by late afternoon – we had made sure we knew what the building looked like as it isn't really well signed. We were made very welcome by our amazing hosts and warmed ourselves with green tea and sat and watched the birds coming to the feeder outside: <strong>Marsh, Coal</strong> and <strong>Japanese Tits</strong>, a <strong>Great-spotted Wood</strong>, <strong>Tree Sparrows</strong> and <strong>Brown-eared Bulbuls</strong>. We chatted to Take-san about sites to visit andhe gave us maps aplenty, after which we were shown our large room and all the facilities and after dumping our gear we set off for a quick walk to the lake behind us. </p><p></p><p>We had a nice group of gulls resting by the bridge comprising c20 <strong>Slaty-backs</strong>, 14 <strong>Glaucous</strong>, 5 <strong>Glaucous-winged</strong> and a single <strong>Kamchatcka</strong>. Several <strong>Whooper Swans, Goldeneye</strong> and <strong>Pintail</strong> were seen out on the water and as we walked along the rather slippery and holey boardwalk we saw 3 nice <strong>Dusky Thrushes</strong>, a <strong>Fox</strong> and a <strong>Sika Deer</strong>. 2ad1imm <strong>Steller's Eagles</strong> and a few <strong>White-tailed Eagles</strong> were seen going to roost on the opposite side of the lake. The temperature really began to fall as the sun set so we returned to our lodge and met up with some of the other guests staying here, mostly photographers first, birders second. Our legendary meals appeared....unfortunately mostly fish and seafood which our fellow guests found highly amusing that neither of us eat it!! Some good-natured banter with bartering fish-for-rice-and-veggies had us all happy and after chatting away and swapping gen we returned to our lovely warm room and fell into a fitful sleep.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="birdboybowley, post: 3405410, member: 60953"] [B]23rd Feb[/B] – Today was gonna be good! We were up ridiculously early for our 0800 JAL flight to Kushiro on Hokkaido. We saw our only [B]Kestrel [/B]of the trip on the airport perimeter fence as we arrived. The flight was short and typically efficient and also yielded great views of the Central Alps as we flew over Honshu. The landscape below us on final approach was crisp and clean....and very white! Baggage collection was quick and painless and we were soon in the van to be taken across the street to the hire car company. We had a Nissan Note which was also 4WD, I guess as standard in this place! We soon input Take-san's phone number into the satnav and we were off...straight into a blizzard – yeay!! Just outside the airport we saw a tree full of [B]Black-eared Kites[/B]. We hit Kushiro and it was like driving in the USA (except on the correct side of the road!! :))...traffic lights and crossroads every few hundred metres! An impromptu stop at a McDonald's (I know, I know!) whilst the worst of the weather abated filled a hole and we set off again eastwards, dropping down to Akkeshi Harbour for our first taste of Japanese winter birding! Masses of [B]Slaty-backed Gulls[/B] lined the quayside fighting for scraps with the outnumbered kites and [B]Jap Crows[/B]. An adult [B]White-tailed Eagle[/B] soon had everything else moving out of its way whilst out on the water we had many [B]Black Scoters, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers[/B] and a single [B]Pelagic Cormorant[/B]. We crossed over the bridge and set off round the coast towards Cape Kiritappu and dropped into the harbour as we approached. Here I found the bird I most wanted to see....probably the whole reason for wanting to come to Hokkaido in winter: my first [COLOR="Red"][B]Steller's Eagle[/B][/COLOR], a gorgeous adult sitting atop the harbour building, beswirled by snow and glaring around in regal fashion – he knew who was the boss here!! Awesome. In the harbour itself we had what was to become the common staple of the coast here: [B]Black Scoters, Goldeneye, Long-tailed Ducks, Scaup, Goosander[/B] and [B]mergansers[/B]. And of course gulls: hundreds of [B]Slaty-backs[/B] and a single adult [B]Kamchatka[/B] seen too. Some [B]Pochard[/B] and [B]Mallard[/B] were also seen here aswell as a nice [B]Pacific Diver[/B] and [B]Black-necked Grebe[/B]. 2 [B]Pacific Harbour Seals[/B] were also seen here as they swam by. As we approached the Cape itself a very nice [B]Short-eared Owl[/B] perched up roght next to the road and showed brilliantly in the whitening conditions. At the actual Cape I walked to the lighthouse seeing a [B]Rough-legged Buzzard[/B] hanging in the air above it and flushed a [B]Dusky Thrush[/B] from some exposed grasses. I had to laugh inwardly at the information sign that showed the Cape in all its summery beauty as I stood shaking in a snowstorm....apparently watching the sunset here is a must-see....next time! We drove back up across the Kiritappu Wetland but there really wasn't anything to see at this time of year. The weather began to improve as we rejoined Hwy44 and we made good progress on snow-free roads seeing 6 big-conked [B]Middendorf's Bean Geese[/B] fly over the road and land in a distant part of a lake, 2 more [B]Steller's Eagles[/B] and several large herds of the native [I]yesoensis[/I] subspecies of [B]Sika Deer[/B] (known as Ezo Deer) on the way, reaching Lodge Furen by late afternoon – we had made sure we knew what the building looked like as it isn't really well signed. We were made very welcome by our amazing hosts and warmed ourselves with green tea and sat and watched the birds coming to the feeder outside: [B]Marsh, Coal[/B] and [B]Japanese Tits[/B], a [B]Great-spotted Wood[/B], [B]Tree Sparrows[/B] and [B]Brown-eared Bulbuls[/B]. We chatted to Take-san about sites to visit andhe gave us maps aplenty, after which we were shown our large room and all the facilities and after dumping our gear we set off for a quick walk to the lake behind us. We had a nice group of gulls resting by the bridge comprising c20 [B]Slaty-backs[/B], 14 [B]Glaucous[/B], 5 [B]Glaucous-winged[/B] and a single [B]Kamchatcka[/B]. Several [B]Whooper Swans, Goldeneye[/B] and [B]Pintail[/B] were seen out on the water and as we walked along the rather slippery and holey boardwalk we saw 3 nice [B]Dusky Thrushes[/B], a [B]Fox[/B] and a [B]Sika Deer[/B]. 2ad1imm [B]Steller's Eagles[/B] and a few [B]White-tailed Eagles[/B] were seen going to roost on the opposite side of the lake. The temperature really began to fall as the sun set so we returned to our lodge and met up with some of the other guests staying here, mostly photographers first, birders second. Our legendary meals appeared....unfortunately mostly fish and seafood which our fellow guests found highly amusing that neither of us eat it!! Some good-natured banter with bartering fish-for-rice-and-veggies had us all happy and after chatting away and swapping gen we returned to our lovely warm room and fell into a fitful sleep. [/QUOTE]
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Vacational Trip Reports
Japan Feb/March 2016
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