Finally...Hokkaido Birds

Where to start, where to begin to tell the tale of a magical few days in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Where to lead you on this wonderful road, how to describe the beathtaking scenery, the quiet roads, lack of people, the quiet, the clean air, the frozen seas...oh to be a story teller.

Two flights from cold Osaka Itami airport on a fresh February morning, and 5 hours later, with a slight stop-over in Tokyo, I was finally breathing Hokkaido air. The sight of Mt. Fuji and volcanoes as we made our way up the country warmed the spirits but the blast of icy air certainly froze the flesh. Letting my gaze fall upon 2-3 metre high snow drifts was surreal. And we hadn't left the airport yet. We rented a Toyota 4x4 jeep, costing about 60,000yen all-in (including petrol) for the 4 days. That was bloody good. I guess I'd better tell you where we flew into rather than belt into the tale of the first bird I saw (a crow by the way). It was a tiny airport, smaller than Knock airport I would say. The terminal was really just a two-storey building and the bags could have been taken off the plane ourselves. I felt like I was home :) Anyway, we got in the car and headed east, to the coast and the birds. Nemuro Shibetsu was our first port of call, with Harlequin Duck, Glaucous-winged gulls, glaucous gulls (literally hundreds), Slaty-backed gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, Black Scoter, Common Guillemot, auk sp.'s flying in the distance and glorious White-tailed Eagles flying by. It was very cold but the excitement of seeing Harlequin duck and Glaucous-winged gulls insulated me I think because I felt so warm. We quickly got into the car again and headed south towards Furen-ko. The thoughts of seeing flocks of Steller's Eagle was racing through my mind as we drove by frozen seas and 2 meter snow drifts.

Along the way, we stopped to look at White-tailed Eagles perched in trees, with little groups of tits (Marsh, Great and Long-tailed) and Dusky Thrush pushing through. And then, just like home, in amongst the long-tailed tits, a treecreeper calling and flitting about the trees, my first (and so far only) one in Japan. This was quickly followed by Nuthatch and fly-over greenfinches. As dusk approached and the road stretching ahead of us, I spotted a Steller's soaring over the horizon...my first one in Hokkaido. Not to disappoint, rounding a bend I saw a large grey shape perched on a roadside bend and shouted out "OWL!!" much to Rob's delight. A quick u-turn and we were looking at a magnificent Ural Owl, no more than 20 meters ahead of us, sitting there in the twilight. Then, as silently as we sat there, the bird gave us one more cursory glance and lifted off the dead tree to fly north and into the forest. Incredible. What a bird to end an amazing first day in Hokkaido.

The following day we headed to cover the amazing Nemuro Penninsula. In -15C temperatures, we drove around the penninsula and watched pack ice float by the headland and cast our gaze across massive snow fields which were impenetrable and prevented us from reaching one of the best seawatching points in the region, Ochiishi Misaki. I was gutted, but there was still the point off Nosappu Misaki. Some Irish birders had been there the previous week and found a white-phase Gyrfalcon, so we were keeping our eyes peeled for it...alas, it never showed. On our way back to Nosappu Misaki we stopped off at at the beach at Ochiishi Misaki to look for buntings, preferably snow and lapland bunts as they were lifers for Rob. Unfortunately we dipped on them there and dipped again with a flock of 30 or so lapland buntings that were seen further up the coast at Notsuke Hanto. While walking the snow covered beach, I heard a call I couldn't believe I was hearing...Northern Raven!! A sound that brings me back to home, back to my youth when my good friend, and uncle, Jim (he who "ruined"my life by turning me into an obsessive birder) used to call out to the birds in Cuskinny and we used to listen to them answer back. Northern Ravens are a rare bird in Japan, seen annually in Hokkaido, they are very unusual in this part of Hokkaido. I was delighted, as was Rob, another lifer for him. Chuffed with ourselves, we headed out to the point of Nosappu Misaki. It reminded me of home really, the open headland, a lighthouse, seals, seabirds and a cold wind. The only difference was that the sea was frozen, the seals were ringed seals, the seabirds were Pigeon Guillemots, Spectacled Guillemot, Red-faced Cormorant, Harlequin Ducks, Slaty-backed gulls, calling Black Scoters (a very eerie call), Goosander and there were Steller's Eagles flying over head. Apart from that...

We slowly made our way back to Furen lodge and as we did, the sky was getting darker and the wind colder. We knew there was something on the way. When we got back to Furen lodge, Matsuo-san told us there was a big storm coming in so it might be difficult getting to Rausu, which was next on the itinerary. We decided to be cautious and changed our plans entirely. Theresa wanted to see the Japanese Cranes (as did we) and with the inclement weather approaching, we changed our reservations in Rausu to the following night and decided to head to Kushiro, further west along the coast, heading towards Sapporo. A second incredible meal with Matsuo-san and we all went to bed, tired but amazed at the sights of the day. One of those sights was a Red Fox, which stood by the side of the road in the glorious sunshine, staring at us for 5 minutes before getting bored and padding back into the deep snow covering the flat land of Nosappu Misaki.

Rob and I decided to get up at 5am and drive back to Nosappu Misaki to look for auks and murrelets before we went looking for the large morning flock of Steller's Eagle on the ice, waiting for the fishermen to throw their scraps out to them. When we got up we were greeted by a blizzard. In the true spirit of adventure (or stupidity some might say), we got into the car and made our way to Nosappu again in search of, well, birds we thought. As we drove through Nemuro City, the snow storm was getting worse, and visibility was deteriorating, quickly. Then disaster struck. We reached a certain point on the road out to find the road had been closed due to the weather conditions. Snow drifts had come right across the road and blocked our passage. We quickly drove across the width of the headland hoping the other road was open...it wasn't. What to do? We headed back into Nemuro City to look for Waxwings. I know, it was madness but we're birders and that is what we do. Although we didn't find Waxwings, we found a pair of Redpolls, a lifer for Rob and a rare bird in Japan. The drive through the blizzard was worth it for that alone.

A quick stop at the lake on the way to Kititappu en route to Kushiro, yielded a flock of Steller's Eagles, roosting in the trees after their morning feed. Despite our best efforts at sneaking up to them in order to try and get a decent photo, we were rumbled and off they flew. A dozen Steller's, plus the same number of White-tail's, took off from the trees...amazing. My mouth was just hanging open and I froze. To witness that spectacle was incredible. I then came back to the present and started taking photos of the flying eagles. A smile on my face as broad as the frozen Furen bay didn't leave my face for quite a while. A small number of Sika deer were startled from their foraging on the bay edges as we walked back through the snow drifts to get back to the car and the journey west to Kushiro. A brief visit to Kititappu yielded Brunnich's guillemot, White-winged Scoter's, Buzzards and about 300 Black-eared Kites sitting in a group of trees. That was remarkable. We arrived in Kushiro tired but exhalted after a wonderful day. A good night's sleep was needed.

The next morning we arose at 5am to get to the Setsurigawa Tsurui Japanese Crane site. This was the coldest temperature we had experienced on the trip, a chilly -18C!!! It was bloody freezing. It was bloody worth it though. As the sun rose over the hills, heating the air and the water, an eerie mist was rising off the river and the Cranes were stirring in the distant. As the morning got older and the sun higher in the sky, the Cranes started dancing and calling. It was fantastic. Although very distant, it was worth braving the temperatures and the noise of the 100 or so Japanese photographers that had gathered to witness this spectacle. As I was scanning the trees behind me for a Nuthatch I heard calling, I noticed a pair of Cranes not more than 200m away, snoozing in the river. Fantastic! They didn't seem to mind the noise of the photographers and just kept on sleeping. And that is how we left them. A nice way to start my birthday day. We had wanted to check out some of the forests in the area but the depth of the snow made it impossible. The drive back throught the hills, covered in snow and tree-lined, the active volcanoes in the distance bellowing out steam/smoke made for a surreal drive through northern Japan. We once again reached the east coast and birded Notsuke Hanto. A 10km long stretch of a sand spit, looking like a breaking wave on the map. Although the gulls kept us busy, it was the lucky find of a stunning male Asian Rosy finch which made the stop here worthwhile. A fabulous bird that Neil warned me not to see as he has still to see this bird. I knew now I could go back to Osaka with some ammunition to slag him off. A gorgeous bird, rich colours and great call.

That night, we drove up to Rausu, situated on Shiretoko Hanto surrounded by the Sea of Okhotsk. This for me was the most beautiful of all the places in Hokkaido I had seen. Epic scenery. Driving on roads which cut through forests, one suddenly comes upon a coastal road that is perched on the foot of tall mountains that are covered with snow and ice and plunge into the sea. The sea, frozen in the sheltered bays, was deep blue. A big fishing port, Rausu was magnificent. With Glaucous gulls and glaucous-winged gulls abundant, it was also awash with Steller's Sea Eagles and White-tailed Eagles. The area holds the largest wintering population of Steller's sea eagles in the world, with approximately one-fifth of the world's population residing there. To see them fly in from the frozen sea ice and roost in the hills behind us was amazing. A sight to behold and a call that was beautiful.

We pulled into the world famous Blakiston's Fish Owl Minshiku, dumped our gear in our room, had a wonderful meal and met 3 British birders who were staying for their second night. The owls hadn't turned up the previous night so we were worried that maybe they wouldn't turn up tonight. It was our only chance. I was willing to stay up all night if I had to. This was a dream bird, one that was on my "Japanese wish list" of birds. At about 6pm, we got into the car and waited. And waited. And waited. At about 9pm, the female bird flew in!! The female had been ringed the previous year at her nest but the male was not. This pair of Fish Owls regularly feed on this stretch of the river and now fish are put in a small pool of water on the river bank for them. This bird was HUGE!! I again froze. The bird was no more than 30yards away. I managed to take a couple of dodgy photos and she flew off again after a couple of minutes, eating the fish she had caught. We waited again for another few hours but I was feeling really bad at this stage and needed to sleep. We retired to the Minshiku. As I was just about to hit the pillow, I saw the camera flashes go off again. I looked out the window and there, on the tree, a pair of Blakiston's Fish Owls. They were magnificant. I was amazed at how large these birds are. A couple of fish later, and off they flew, calling into the night air.

The following morning greeted me with a need for two buckets (if you know what I mean). However, we went out of a couple of hours before heading back to Nemeru Shibetsu and the flight home. A Brown Dipper was busily feeding in the stream in front of the Minshiku, calling loudly and not bothered by our close proximity. A brief scanning trip up the coast yielded guillemots and an unexpected Long-billed Murrelet!! What a bonus. a few distant auklets flying were probably Ancient or Japanese Murrelets but too distant to tell. A very tired or sick Brunnich's guillemot came ashore and a dozen Harlequin ducks floated on by. I was in need of medical attention so we called it a day and headed back down the coast to the awaiting flight home. As I glanced out the back window for one more look at Rausu, half a dozen Steller's eagles were flying out to sea, tumbling and talon grappling on their way there, screeching and calling. With the ice-capped moutains as a backdrop to this wonderful display by a magical bird, I smiled with the realization that I had the most amazing birding experience of my life...

Places we stayed: the world famous Furen Lodge on Furen Bay near Nemuro Penninsula (2 nights), owned by Matsuo-san. Fantastic knowledge of the area and a great cook. By far the best food I've had in Japan and he makes his own sake which was fantastic; The Wood Hotel (1 night) near Tsurui-mura outside Kushiro, warm with a great open fire; the Blakiston's Fish Owl Minshiku in Rausu (1 night), with great food and a wonderful bird to be seen from one's bedroom window.