|
| Hakodate Birding |
Wryneck, Shrikes and Warblers A male Stonechat at Asabu this morning. Lots of stuff singing here. Black Browed and Oriental Great Reed Warbler, Japanese Skylark, Black Faced, Reed and Chestnut Eared Buntings (below).  Also around were Common Cuckoo, Little Ringed Plover, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Blue Rock Thrush and Osprey. Oh and lots of bugs. Best bird was a Wryneck which didn't hang round long enough for a decent pic.  After Asabu we drove eastwards towards Yakumo on a rather pleasant mountain road (I'd never been this way before) encountering Grey and Japanese Wagtail as well as Mandarin Duck on the way. Ended up at Yakumo. Lots more Warblers..............here's a pic of Black Browed Reed Warbler.  Grays Grasshopper Warbler was also singing here. Usually the last summer vistor to arrive. A very difficult bird to see (I didn't see it today) but there were at least 3 singing in the scrub near the river mouth. Both Reed Warblers were abundant as were Stonechat. A second year Glaucous Gull, a few Mallard and a pair of Wigeon were the only reminders of winter. A lone Australian (or is it called Eastern these days?) Curlew was a surprise but the best bird of the day was a Brown Shrike (subsp cristatus). It's clear white eyestripe distinguishes it from the much commoner Bullheaded. A new bird for my Japanese list. It didn't stickaround long enough for even a lousy pic I'm afraid. Great White Egret, more Grey Herons, a fishing Osprey and various hirundines were also present. I scanned the sea and although there were no birds offshore I could see several Dolphins (dunno which type) about 500 metres away. A nice end to the day. Here's a weird seawater swimming pool.  Only 5 days to the World Cup. 02:00 - 5/6/2006 - post comment
|
Birding in South Hokkaido User Profile Archives BIRDFORUM KANTORILODE KANTORI Yamasemichi Some photos Tokyo Birder's blog Iceland birding Colorbox Ribble Blog My 2007 blog |