Winter gulls are still much in evidence in Hokkaido in March…
Late Winter Trip 2022 Day 2 #2
Tag: Glaucous-winged Gull
On the way…
We went away for a week and just got back. These were some of the regular local winter birds we saw on the way there….
A couple of port birds
Not many birds in the port at Oshamambe, only a few Scaup and Goldeneye and a small flock of Wigeon. And this Black-throated Diver, which I’ve seen several times this winter.
Gull numbers also seemed to be picking up slightly…
Another classic winter gull
A slightly darker but still pale winter visitor…
Some winter gulls
The various gull winter visitors were present at the rivermouth in Yakumo last weekend..
Winter birds arriving
Lots of common winter gulls and ducks around now as well as the first swans and geese.
A very quiet last 3 weeks for various reasons, these photos were all just outside town this afternoon.
2021 Late Winter Trip #4
3 of the common winter gull species of Hokkaido, all sitting on the port wall in Mukawa.
Autumn sunshine
Beautiful clear autumn weather the last few days and a clear change in some of the bird species. Harlequin Duck and Glaucous-winged Gulls gave reappeared on the coasts.
A flock of Whooper Swan were flying south yesterday as were lots of Eurasian Jay. Lots of common ducks on the rivers and Great Egrets are becoming more numerous. Northern Goshawk and Daurian Redstart were other noteworthy species near Esan.
Hakodate is pretty quiet: a flock of Rustic Bunting were in one of the local parks today and There are still some Night Herons on the river.
And the Esan area always seems to have a Peregrine…………..
Some Gulls
The Scallop boats were busy in the harbours and there were a lot of Gulls waiting for handouts………..
Some Port Birds
Some common winter port birds from Oshamanbe today.
Winter staples in south Hokkaido
Apart from the eagles birding was a bit quiet today. Glaucous and Glaucous-winged Gulls (above) were around as were Smew, Long-billed Plover, Great Egret, Eastern Buzzard, Black Scoter and the usual common winter birds of this part of the world.
Winter returnees
The first ‘winter’ visitors of the year appeared the last week. The above Black-necked Grebe was near Hakodate and the Glaucous-winged Gull below was at Yakumo.
Other stuff around in the last week included lots of Osprey, a single White-tailed Eagle at Yakumo, Great Egret…………
Waders included Red-necked Stint, Terek Sandpiper, Lesser Sand Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Greenshank and Eastern Curlew. No photos though.