BIRDING JAPAN: Hokkaido Day One

From Tokyo, we took an early morning flight into Kushiro, before driving to the Hickory Wind Wilderness Lodge. Along the way were many black-eared kites, and I got my first look at some stunning red-crowned cranes. In the woodland around the lodge itself was a small mixed flock of Eurasian nuthatches and marsh tits. We left the lodge for lunch, before heading off on a guided canoe trip down the Kushiro River.

BLACK-EARED KITE Milvus lineatus

RED-CROWNED CRANE Grus japonensis

EURASIAN NUTHATCH Sitta europaea asiatica

MARSH TIT Poecile palustris hensoni

On the canoe trip itself we saw several flocks of black-faced buntings and many black-eared kites overhead. A distant grey-headed woodpecker was heard but not seen. We got great views of 2 white-tailed eagles scanning the river for prey. An American mink and many Sika deer were also seen.

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE Haliaeetus albicilla

BIRDING JAPAN: Tokyo Disneyland

Both days in Tokyo were spent in and around Disneyland, thus birding opportunities were limited. A fair number of species was still present in the park grounds: very tame Oriental turtledoves, white-cheeked starlings, Eurasian tree sparrows, feral pigeons and brown-eared bulbuls were abundant. A pond next to the castle held my first Eastern spot-billed duck, and was being used as a bath by a flock of white-cheeked starlings. 

WHITE-CHEEKED STARLING Sturnus cineraceus

EASTERN SPOT-BILLED DUCK Anas zonorhyncha

EURASIAN TREE SPARROW Passer montanus

BROWN-EARED BULBUL Hypsipetes amaurotis

BIRDING JAPAN: Kyoto and Surrounds

My family and I recently travelled to Japan. We spent our first few days in Kyoto, followed by a day in Tokyo, 5 days in Hokkaido and another day in Tokyo.

The morning of our first day in Kyoto was spent walking to a stretch of the Kamo River, for our first taste of Japan's birds. Throughout the city, Eurasian tree sparrows were extremely common, along with large-billed and carrion crows. Once we arrived at the river, I immediately spotted a beautiful Japanese wagtail searching a nearby pile of rocks for food. The river also held several white wagtails, mallards, grey herons, great egrets and little egrets. While walking, a black-eared kite flew overhead, mobbed by several crows. Finally, as we left the river a lone white-cheeked starling was seen. 

JAPANESE WAGTAIL Motacilla grandis

CARRION CROW Corvus corone orientalis

WHITE WAGTAIL Motacilla alba lugens

MALLARD Anas platyrhynchos

GREAT EGRET Egretta alba

GREY HERON Ardea cinerea jouyi

LARGE-BILLED CROW Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis

Our next destination was the Imperial Palace, which we reached quickly by subway. In the gardens, there were several large, mixed flocks of eastern great tits and long-tailed tits. 2 Japanese pygmy-woodpeckers were the highlight of the day. In the palace itself were several grey herons and 2 Oriental turtledoves. 

LONG-TAILED TIT Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus

JAPANESE PYGMY-WOODPECKER Yungipicus kizuki nippon

ORIENTAL TURTLEDOVE Streptopelia orientalis

On our second day in Kyoto, we caught the train to Nara and visited Nara Park. Though this was not very productive bird-wise, it gave us close views of the resident, tame Sika deer.

SIKA DEER Cervus nippon

On our third day, we visited Arashiyama Monkey Park and a nearby bamboo grove. Along with many  Japanese macaques, a small feeding flock of Japanese white-eyes and long-tailed tits was seen, along with a single Japanese pygmy-woodpecker. On our way down from the park, we saw our first brown-eared bulbuls. The grove itself held no wildlife of interest, though a lone Temminck's cormorant flew overhead as we were walking.

JAPANESE MACAQUE Macaca fuscata

BROWN-EARED BULBUL Hypsipetes amaurotis

Our final day in Kyoto was spent visiting the Hiroshima Peace Museum, and, aside from a few Eurasian tree sparrows, no birds were seen.