This morning I tried Azamidani to see if any migrants were passing through. Seems a bit early still, as the Grey-bellied Bullfinch and Red-flanked Bluetail were still there, however all the wintering thrushes had gone. It seems likely that migrant warblers should be passing through any day now. Among the Grey-bellied Bullfinch was one male […]
Tag: japan
Little Ringed Plover – Charadrius dubius
This morning’s weather was terrible, but I thought I would go to Isahaya and try to see the immature Steller’s Sea Eagle that arrived last Thursday. I’d seen heaps of these raptors in Hokkaido so it wasn’t a big deal for me personally (hence waiting this long to go and try spotting it!), but it […]
A Quiet Morning…
This morning I thought I would check out a few places for spring migrants. Firstly I went to Kabashima and later to Karako, both in Nagasaki prefecture. Although there were a lot of birds calling at Kabashima, very few were showing well – most were either skulking or very flighty. That said, there seemed to […]
Brown-eared Bulbul
Brown-eared Bulbul are common residents in Japan, but usually quite shy unless they happen to be feeding. Cherry blossom time is a good chance to get photos of them.
Reikyu Park, Shimabara
Another spot I don’t usually visit is Reikyu Park in Shimabara City. Although at first glance this seems like a good birding area, it is usually pretty quiet. But now is Cherry Blossom time, so plenty of birds are visiting to feed on the flowers, and this congregation attracts other birds as well. Today I […]
Saunders’s Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi)
Yesterday morning I visited Daijyugarami for the first time this year. A little early for the rarer migrant waders, but there were plenty of Grey Plover, Red-necked Stint, Dunlin, Kentish Plover and Greater Sand Plover. There were also quite a few Black-faced Spoonbill slowly coming into breeding plumage, along with a sprinkling of Far Easter […]
Wintering Birds of Lake Kawahara
Lake Kawahara is a small lake by the sea in Nagasaki prefecture, Japan. It is not far from Kabashima, one of the best places for spring and autumn migrants. Lake Kawahara is particularly attractive to thrushes and starlings, but smaller passerines also winter here as there is plenty of shelter for them in the forests […]