Someone very kindly lent me his 600 f11 lens when he heard about my dodgy shoulder.
It was a nice sunny day today so I took it out for a spin. It might take a bit of getting used to but it seems pretty reasonable for a walk about lens…
No exciting birds around, the injured long-staying Whooper and a few common ducks and lots of Dusky Thrush.
The snow is starting to melt in places; this Dusky Thrush was behind a snow drift on an open piece of grass foraging on fallen berries….
It’s been a long winter.
Not many passerines around anywhere, and Hakodate is no exception.
Just a few Dusky Thrush. Hope they leave a few berries for any waxwings that may wander this way…
Some common birds at this time of year posing for the camera…
A lot of Dusky Thrushes in town at the moment…
Some common species from the local park…
A very very quiet time at the moment: for various reasons I haven’t been out much and even when I do there aren’t many birds around. 2022 has been a bit of a slow year across the board.
Here are a few common local birds from the last few days.
Most winters we either have flocks of Waxwings or flocks of Crossbills. Or both. Or if not maybe Redpolls, Bullfinches…
Not so lucky this year. Only Dusky Thrushes…
A Brambling snacking on Dusky Thrush poop in town today…
There were loads of Dusky Thrush last week in Hakodate but most appear to have gone. Nothing interesting among them. And they ate all the berries so if any Waxwings do make it to my neighbourhood this winter there won’t be much food for them.
Not much else around: Sparrowhawk, Goshawk and Hawfinch being the most noteworthy.
It has stopped snowing at last…
Some staples from this time of year. It’s been a fairly quiet week………….
Some more photos with the R5/100-400LM1/1.4X combo.
In addition to the Crossbills there were quite a few other things around too. Best of all was an adult Steller’s Sea Eagle that briefly shot past (only the second one I’ve ever seen in Hakodate) and there were also Brambling. Siskin, Redpoll, Coal Tit, Wren, Peregrine and Common Goldeneye.
Lots of Dusky Thrush too…………
And this is a real ‘dirtbird’ in Japan……………
In among the Crossbills (and Redpolls) were other winter passerines……….
Also around were Hawfinch, Brambling as well as various tits and woodpeckers, Eurasian Jay and Dusky Thrush.
Several White-tailed and at least 3 (!) Steller’s Sea Eagles were in the Esan area in addition to Eastern Buzzard, Peregrine and 2 Mountain Hawk-Eagles too.
