I visited Daijyugarami, Saga prefecture, last Friday to see what birds had started migrating through. The highlights were a solitary juvenile Asian Dowitcher, a Long-billed Dowitcher in breeding plumage, a Red Knot also in breeding plumage, a Broad-billed Sandpiper, a Long-toed Stint, four Black-faced Spoonbill, one Saunders’s Gull, a few Black-tailed Godwit and plenty of […]
Tag: japan
Mount Aso Highlands
Last Friday afternoon I revisited the highlands near Mt Aso, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. Usually I visit this location in the early morning, but I wanted to see what was happening in the late afternoon. Also, the light direction is better in the afternoon, so more options to photograph species active in the area. The scenery […]
Mount Norikura, Gifu Prefecture
Last weekend I decided to go up to central Honshu island and search out some personal “firsts” seeing as I had a total of four days. I was planning to visit both Mt Ibuki (Shiga prefecture) and Mt Norikura (Gifu prefecture), the first location for Golden Eagle and the second for alpine birds such as […]
More Japanese Reed Buntings
I had planned a longer photography trip this weekend, specifically to look for Pleske’s Grasshopper Warbler, however the typhoon that was supposed to pass across from the Japan Sea to the Pacific Ocean promptly decided to turn itself into a depression and sit just off the western coast of Kyushu! After a bit of procrastination, […]
Japanese Reed Bunting | Emberiza yessoensis
Yesterday I visited the Aso-Kuju area in central Kyushu. Specifically I wanted to see Japanese Reed Bunting (aka Ochre-rumped Bunting), but also other summer birds of higher altitudes. Although this was the middle of rainy season, the forecast seemed promising so I arrived at dawn. Soon after starting off a trail famous for having my […]
Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha)
One bird I’ve long been wanting to see while in Japan is the beautiful Fairy Pitta. The numbers of this globally-endangered species in Japan seem to have been steadily decreasing, or else they are moving from historic breeding grounds such as Mi-ike to more secretive locations deeper in the mountains. Every year a few migrate […]
Azamidani
This morning I spent some time at Azamidani, Mount Unzen. There was an outside chance of migrant warblers and thrushes, however only the usual summer breeders and residents. The highlights were seeing the male Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Japanese Thrush. In particular, I observed what seemed to be some kind of courtship display by […]
Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)
It is always a sign of summer coming when the Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) start setting up their territories and making the normally quiet reed banks come alive with their noisy, grating song. While they will sing at any time of day, the dawn chorus is very special. At Oe reclaimed land area there […]