BIRDING JAPAN: Hokkaido Day Three

After a delicious breakfast at the Hickory Wind Wilderness Lodge, we began the 3 hour drive to the town of Rausu. Along the way, we stopped at Kushiro Marsh, where we got great views of 2 red-crowned cranes.  On the last stretch of road to Rausu itself were many slaty-backed gulls, black-tailed gulls and Temminck's cormorants. We stopped 2 more times to look at a flock of female goosanders and a pair of white-tailed eagles. 

GOOSANDER Mergus merganser orientalis

We arrived in Rausu and, after a few minutes of searching, we were able to find our destination: Washi No Yado, the most reliable site in Hokkaido for Blakiston's fish owls. We settled in our rooms, before walking to the mouth of the nearby stream and back in search of dippers. By the time we'd returned, a particularly fearless brown dipper was preening on a rock, and eventually started to hunt in front of us. 

BROWN DIPPER Cinclus pallasii

As night set in, I caught sight of 3 large, brown birds fly into a distant tree. Probably Blakiston's fish owls, but not quite the views I was hoping for. We sat in our room (which had a view of the stream) and waited for the owls to show. Eventually, I went to sleep and asked my mother to wake me when the owl arrived. We were all rewarded for our patience at 11.55, when 2 stunning Blakiston's fish owls flew down to the stream and started to scan the water for fish.

BLAKISTON'S FISH OWL Bubo blakistoni