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Message: <blockquote data-quote="birdboybowley" data-source="post: 3409558" data-attributes="member: 60953">27th Feb – Something to remember in Hokkaido in winter: always lift the window wipers off the windscreen overnight!! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> Today was our last day on Hokkaido so we were up early as usual, had the so-so breakfast, watched the Brown Dipper in the stream outside and set off. We hit the port again but just the usual suspects were around but as it was morning time, the eagles were gathering on the sea wall awaiting the return of the fishing boats. There must've been c300 along the wall! We headed back through town but soon pulled over as the roadside trees overlooking the harbour were festooned with Steller's! Absolutely awesome, there were again c200 easily ranged all along the hillside, with fewer White-tails in with them. Allowing very close approach, this was a fantastic experience – Dawn said she hadn't seen me smile so much since I was enswirled by a flock of c25000 Budgies back in WA in '06! Waited all my life to see this majestic bird and it didn't disappoint.Reluctantly I had to get back in the car and head westwards. We were going to drop into Daiichi Onsen with the hope of seeing Solitary Snipe that can be visible from the road. The scenery as we crossed inland was amazing, white and crisp...but the roads were all pretty much clear with just a couple of minor roads a bit whiter than I like! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> It was like driving around NZ again as we kept stopping for scenic pics then we'd round another corner and out would come the camera again!We reached the Onsen and had a quick look at the roadside feeder by the hotel which had about a dozen Brandt's Jays, Coal & Marsh Tits, 2 Nuthatches, 4 Great Spots and Brown-eared Bulbuls coming to it, but again no bullfinches. We walked up the road a little and climbed up on the bank where we literally stood in Micky & Pauls footsteps....but luck was against us this time as there was no sign of the snipe at all. We went to the other side of the river downstream from the onsen itself but to no avail. In the end we went inside the place and asked if we could look out their main window. They graciously allowed us but again, nothing! Bummer <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown    :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> But yes, I would definitely choose this place to stay next time, even if you can only view the owl through the windows!!We had a quick drive up past the onsen as the road goes over a couple of bridges that are a reliable site for Crested Kingfisher...but not today <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown    :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> Double bummer! Time was now going by far too quickly so we headed off for our next destination courtesy of Sean & Bryan. Problem was, the map we had taken off of Google didn't match up with the road numbers on the satnav or the map we'd been given.....hmmmmm. Anyway, we basically missed the place completely and ended up at Akan Crane Centre instead, where we asked the helpful girl on the desk where Otowa Bridge was as our spot was near that.With our corrected directions we set off again as it was only about c22kms from the centre itself and as we sped down the 243 we soon crossed the famous Otowa Bridge so we knew we were nearly there. A few more kms up the road, just past a big horse ranch on the left at roughly 43°11'47.6"N 144°23'29.8"E we pulled carefully off the road (Micky & Paul had got their car stuck on their visit!!) and walked down the obvious path off to the left in the snow and into the trees. The well-cut path was very well-used and soon enough we could see the gnarled old tree with the huge hole in it...which was occupied by the ghostly form of a stunning Ural Owl! What a cracker of a bird...so much paler than the Scandinavian ones I'd seen the previous year. It just sat there watching us watching him...occasionally twisting his head round to look at something he'd heard and then just chilling as the sun came out to warm up his roost.We wandered back up thepath to a growing gathering of cars full of photographers and made our way back to the Otowa Bridge. There were 7 Red-crowned Cranes upriver with several Goosander and a female Mallard with them. Best of all was our first pair of Japanese Wagtails which were very nice but stayed very distant unfortunately. As we drove back to Akan we came across several other pairs of cranes and made it back to the centre just in time for the 1400 feeding time. In the carpark we had our only Goldcrests of the trip along with more Coal Tits.The Akan Crane Centre is reminiscent of Slimbridge in a way...and is naturally very popular with photographers as these amazing birds perform literally in front of you. Entry fee is only ¥470pp so is well worth it. We saw about 70 birds in all with lots of displaying and fighting going on which made for some atmospheric video opportunities. Several White-tailed Eagles swooped in to pick up food and were accosted by the more belligerent cranes but when the one and only Steller's (a female judging by its size) took off from her perch and flew over the feeding area, every single crane looked skyward and they all shut up....quite an amazing difference in reaction to the two species.Black-eared Kites were ever-present, swooping down to grab tidbits, an opportunistic Red Fox also grabbed a mouthful but was chased off by an irate immature crane which then proceeded to wildly dance about like a raver on acid....hilarious! Several family groups of Whoopers came in and waddled into the feeding area with inly the same freaked-out immature crane giving them any grief.We wanderd around the set-up and found another family party of cranes in a more 'natural' seeting and then were introduced tp a couple of captive cranes that can't fly I believe. There was also one forlorn-looking White-naped Crane in a cage here too which seemed a real shame. As the crowds dwindled we had a look around the main visitor centre and read all about the success story of the Tancho that was at one stage thought extirpated from Japan until a small non-migratory flock was discovered in eastern Hokkaido.Sadly it really now was time to head back so we drove back towards Kushiro where we stopped at a roadside restaurant where they spoke no English but luckily the menu had pictures! A nice steak was had as night fell and we set off again to find a fuel station and return our car by 1800. As we were dropped back at the airport for our 2005 flight back to Haneda, we admired the big Tancho statues outside with their bugling calls echoing around, a fitting end to a wonderful part of our journey. I can't wait to come back again when Hokkaido is all green instead of white!![ATTACH]587483[/ATTACH][ATTACH]587484[/ATTACH][ATTACH]587485[/ATTACH][ATTACH]587486[/ATTACH][ATTACH]587487[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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