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Birding
Vacational Trip Reports
Japan Feb/March 2016
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<blockquote data-quote="birdboybowley" data-source="post: 3407635" data-attributes="member: 60953"><p><strong>25th Feb</strong> – Another glorious morning and breakfast! The feeders were active today with <strong>Nuthatch, Great Spot, Brown-eared Bulbuls</strong>, stacks of <strong>Tree Sparrows</strong> and the usual 3 tit species. Overlooking all this was a super adult <strong>Steller's</strong> sitting in a roadside tree soaking up the warmth of the sun as it rose. We drove down to Habomai Harbour this morning with Sean and Bryan to go out on the boat cruise off Cape Nosappu. It cost ¥3500pp and was pretty good although, as I mentioned earlier, there just weren't huge numbers of seabirds close inshore this winter. Be aware though that the trip out is very weather dependent – especially upon the wind and swell conditions. The previous evening Take-san put the local news on and double-checked in the morning that the boat was going out.</p><p></p><p>We went into the harbourside office where we bought our tickets then the man waved for us to follow him which we did, a little perplexed. He led us to the toilets as the boat doesn't have any....ah, it was like before going on a long drive as a kid!! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> We drove back to the other side of the harbour (Take-san had shown us on a map where the office was and where the boat is docked) and you can park your car right by the quayside.</p><p>We joined 4 other photographers on board, were all given rather fetching yellow lifejackets and off we set. There is a heated lower cabin so you can escape the worst of the cold if needs be. The sun was blazing but the temperature gauge was still well below freezing!! In the harbour were several <strong>Long-tailed Ducks, mergs, Black Scoters</strong> and <strong>Scaup</strong> with <strong>Slaty-backs</strong> and <strong>Glauc-wings</strong> floating about too. On the harbour wall were several smart adult <strong>Glaucs</strong> loafing and as we gently powered out into the open sea we encountered loads of small <strong>Harlequin</strong> flocks.</p><p></p><p>The most numerous alcid was definitely <strong>Spectacled Guillemot</strong> with c50 seen, followed by <strong>Ancient Murrelets</strong> with c15 seen. We also had 1 <strong>Brünnich's Guillemot</strong> but best of all we had 1 <strong>Pigeon Guillemot</strong> and a nice <strong>Least Auklet</strong>. The views were pretty good for the majority, although taking photos in a rolling boat ain't easy! 3 <strong>Stejneger's Scoters</strong> did a fly-by and 2 <strong>Black-necked</strong> and a single <strong>Red-necked Grebe</strong> were also seen. <strong>Black Scoter</strong> were everywhere as were <strong>Pelagic Cormorants</strong> and a <strong>Pacific Harbour Seal</strong> popped up nearby but this was the only mammal we saw unfortunately. We were out for about 2hrs and I gotta admit, it did start to get a tad chilly on the way back in! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>After disembarkation we headed back to Cape Nosappu lighthouse for another seawatch....pretty much the same as yesterday but with better views of the surprisingly nearby Kuril Islands. We had the obligatory photos taken at the sign and had a look at the arch momument with its eternal flame. We headed back westwards along the southern coastline to Ochiisi where we had good views of <strong>Steller's</strong> in the bay and near-misses with the bloody <strong>Sika Deer</strong> that I'm sure are as attracted to engine noise as moths are to lights!! We also had a <strong>Rough-leg</strong> here too . The views over the town from atop the Cape were impressive – as was the awesome <strong>Sika</strong> stag that stared down at us from a high ridge above the carpark as his herd moved away.</p><p></p><p>We headed back along Hwy142 towards our lodge and found a smart <strong>Brandt's Jay</strong> (apparently a potential split) on the roadside snow piles. Dodging more <strong>Sika Deer</strong> we then turned off onto a minor road signed 'Tobai' that wound through some forest with the hope of seeing some passerines. We first saw 4 <strong>DuskyThrushes </strong>in the trees so stopped for a look and soon had 2 <strong>Willow Tits</strong> close to the road whilst some soft tapping led us to a <strong>Great Spot</strong>, followed by a cracking <strong>Lesser Spot</strong>, then a <strong>Jap Pygmy-Wood</strong> and finally a brilliant <strong>White-backed Wood</strong> flew over the road. Not a bad stop at all!</p><p></p><p>We carried on further up the road, almost to the end where we found a house on the right with a variety of feeders hanging. These attracted a flock of <strong>Brown-eared Bulbuls</strong>, a couple more <strong>Brandt's Jays, Jap Tits, Marsh Tits</strong>, 2 <strong>Nuthatches</strong> but alas no Grey-bellied Bullfinches. This road rejoins the main Hwy44 (just after where the central reservation ends if coming from Kushiro). We then stopped back at Furen-ko Nature Reserve and had good views of another <strong>Great Spot, Nuthatch</strong> and <strong>Brandt's Jay</strong> on the feeder by the main building. Another relaxing evening with a great meal ensued back at Take-san's...our last unfortunately.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]586987[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586988[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586989[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586990[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586991[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="birdboybowley, post: 3407635, member: 60953"] [B]25th Feb[/B] – Another glorious morning and breakfast! The feeders were active today with [B]Nuthatch, Great Spot, Brown-eared Bulbuls[/B], stacks of [B]Tree Sparrows[/B] and the usual 3 tit species. Overlooking all this was a super adult [B]Steller's[/B] sitting in a roadside tree soaking up the warmth of the sun as it rose. We drove down to Habomai Harbour this morning with Sean and Bryan to go out on the boat cruise off Cape Nosappu. It cost ¥3500pp and was pretty good although, as I mentioned earlier, there just weren't huge numbers of seabirds close inshore this winter. Be aware though that the trip out is very weather dependent – especially upon the wind and swell conditions. The previous evening Take-san put the local news on and double-checked in the morning that the boat was going out. We went into the harbourside office where we bought our tickets then the man waved for us to follow him which we did, a little perplexed. He led us to the toilets as the boat doesn't have any....ah, it was like before going on a long drive as a kid!! ;) We drove back to the other side of the harbour (Take-san had shown us on a map where the office was and where the boat is docked) and you can park your car right by the quayside. We joined 4 other photographers on board, were all given rather fetching yellow lifejackets and off we set. There is a heated lower cabin so you can escape the worst of the cold if needs be. The sun was blazing but the temperature gauge was still well below freezing!! In the harbour were several [B]Long-tailed Ducks, mergs, Black Scoters[/B] and [B]Scaup[/B] with [B]Slaty-backs[/B] and [B]Glauc-wings[/B] floating about too. On the harbour wall were several smart adult [B]Glaucs[/B] loafing and as we gently powered out into the open sea we encountered loads of small [B]Harlequin[/B] flocks. The most numerous alcid was definitely [B]Spectacled Guillemot[/B] with c50 seen, followed by [B]Ancient Murrelets[/B] with c15 seen. We also had 1 [B]Brünnich's Guillemot[/B] but best of all we had 1 [B]Pigeon Guillemot[/B] and a nice [B]Least Auklet[/B]. The views were pretty good for the majority, although taking photos in a rolling boat ain't easy! 3 [B]Stejneger's Scoters[/B] did a fly-by and 2 [B]Black-necked[/B] and a single [B]Red-necked Grebe[/B] were also seen. [B]Black Scoter[/B] were everywhere as were [B]Pelagic Cormorants[/B] and a [B]Pacific Harbour Seal[/B] popped up nearby but this was the only mammal we saw unfortunately. We were out for about 2hrs and I gotta admit, it did start to get a tad chilly on the way back in! ;) After disembarkation we headed back to Cape Nosappu lighthouse for another seawatch....pretty much the same as yesterday but with better views of the surprisingly nearby Kuril Islands. We had the obligatory photos taken at the sign and had a look at the arch momument with its eternal flame. We headed back westwards along the southern coastline to Ochiisi where we had good views of [B]Steller's[/B] in the bay and near-misses with the bloody [B]Sika Deer[/B] that I'm sure are as attracted to engine noise as moths are to lights!! We also had a [B]Rough-leg[/B] here too . The views over the town from atop the Cape were impressive – as was the awesome [B]Sika[/B] stag that stared down at us from a high ridge above the carpark as his herd moved away. We headed back along Hwy142 towards our lodge and found a smart [B]Brandt's Jay[/B] (apparently a potential split) on the roadside snow piles. Dodging more [B]Sika Deer[/B] we then turned off onto a minor road signed 'Tobai' that wound through some forest with the hope of seeing some passerines. We first saw 4 [B]DuskyThrushes [/B]in the trees so stopped for a look and soon had 2 [B]Willow Tits[/B] close to the road whilst some soft tapping led us to a [B]Great Spot[/B], followed by a cracking [B]Lesser Spot[/B], then a [B]Jap Pygmy-Wood[/B] and finally a brilliant [B]White-backed Wood[/B] flew over the road. Not a bad stop at all! We carried on further up the road, almost to the end where we found a house on the right with a variety of feeders hanging. These attracted a flock of [B]Brown-eared Bulbuls[/B], a couple more [B]Brandt's Jays, Jap Tits, Marsh Tits[/B], 2 [B]Nuthatches[/B] but alas no Grey-bellied Bullfinches. This road rejoins the main Hwy44 (just after where the central reservation ends if coming from Kushiro). We then stopped back at Furen-ko Nature Reserve and had good views of another [B]Great Spot, Nuthatch[/B] and [B]Brandt's Jay[/B] on the feeder by the main building. Another relaxing evening with a great meal ensued back at Take-san's...our last unfortunately. [ATTACH]586987._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586988._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586989._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586990._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]586991._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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Vacational Trip Reports
Japan Feb/March 2016
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