A Smew at Onuma taken with the 2X T/C. It looks OK (ish) at low resolution.
But brutal at full-size.
One last eagle pic from the weekend (without T/C).
A Smew at Onuma taken with the 2X T/C. It looks OK (ish) at low resolution.
But brutal at full-size.
One last eagle pic from the weekend (without T/C).
Yesterday was a grey misty Sunday. The spring migration season has just about fizzled out: a bit of a quiet one this year.
Some muted birds on a somewhat muted day.
Other stuff around included Cattle Egret, Green Sandpiper, lots of Grey-tailed Tattlers, a small flock of Falcated Duck, Eastern Marsh Harrier and newly arrived Black-browed Reed Warblers.
A female Black Woodpecker at Onuma yesterday……………….
Not the easiest bird to photograph as it often was too close and almost always hiding behind twigs.
We spent a couple of early mornings in Onuma this last week. Lots of birds around: the 9 Snow Geese and single White-fronted remained, 5 species of woodpecker, Great Egret, Whooper Swan, Great Crested and Little Grebes, White-tailed Eagle, the usual tits and nuthatches, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Hawfinch, Bullfinch, Rustic Bunting, Japanese Wagtail, Great Egret, Dusky Thrush and Common Crossbill.
There was a flock of 9 Snow Goose at Onuma last weekend. There was even a snowy background…………
Otherwise a quiet weekend: Japanese Waxwing and Rook at Onuma and the usual early winter at Yakumo.
After last winter’s invasion it was nice to see some Waxwings again. There was a small flock of them in Onuma.
Other stuff passing through included lots of Dusky Thrush and a few Siskin.
The Fox cubs were still around and still cute but it’s gotten pretty warm the last couple of days and there were lots of mosquitoes around (you can see one on the nose of one of the cubs above): I think that may be the last time in Onuma for me for a while.
The fox family was still around yesterday. That was probably the last time I’ll see them……….
A couple of typical summer birds in Onuma………….
Mandarin Ducks are very wary at Onuma and difficult to approach.
Other stuff at Onuma the last few days included Latham’s Snipe, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Siberian Blue Robin, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eastern Crowned and Sakhalin Grasshopper Warblers, Japanese and Brown-headed Thrushes, Great Crested Grebe and Narcissus Flycatcher.
A dark grey rainy day in Onuma a couple of days ago but there was a bit of colour in the treetops……….
Japanese Green Pigeons are summer visitors to Hokkaido and their weird calls are a common sound in the forests.
I usually don’t see these in the trees much as they hide in the foliage. They are easiier to see when they come down to the sea to drink the saltwater.
Not particularly good photos but as I say i don’t often see them like this.
Admit it: they’re cute.
The Black-winged Stilts earlier in the week just before the sun went down…………