I was happy to see a pair of Mountain Hawk-Eagles in the port east of town. I didn’t see them at all last winter but they were around today. These pics are of the male.
Not a very good shot but this White-tailed Eagle completed the set…
There were 2 Mountain Hawk-Eagles, 1 Steller’s Sea Eagle and several White-tailed Eagles around…
A very cold weekend with s***loads of snow.
The 3 eagle species were present east of town with the immature Mountain Hawk-Eagle being the most active.
One of the resident Peregrines out east today.
A quiet Monday: Eurasian Kestrel, Buff-bellied Pipit, Rustic Bunting were among the more interesting species but nothing especially noteworthy. No Waxwings or winter finches yet.
A few raptors were around.
I can’t get sharp BIFs pointing upwards at 700mm.
Several White-tailed Eagles were in the skies but I couldn’t find the local Steller’s anywhere.
Why do male Harlequins never come close like this female?
A young Mountain Hawk-Eagle from today…it even perched down quite low and chased off an adult Steller’s Sea Eagle.
Another bitterly cold day with the same species as a couple of days ago…
A very cold New Years Day saw us east of town. All 3 species of eagle were present plus Goshawk, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine…
I waited a while for a Steller’s high up on the hillside to take flight…but it didn’t.
A few birds were in the water behind me…
It was a dark cold christmas eve….
We were east of town checking on the Steller’s Sea Eagle which takes up residence there every winter. It was there but sat on a tree on the mountainside doing nothing. A Mountain Hawk-Eagle put in a brief appearance at least.
The port was quiet but this Pelagic Cormorant popped up close.
We stayed at a hotel on a nearby cape…
We had a 3 day trip to the Mukawa area but it was very very flat for birds. A few White-tailed Eagles (like the one above) but no geese, hardly any winter gulls or ducks and no winter raptors except for a lone Merlin and Goshawk. neither of which posed for photos.
On the way back Yakumo was very quiet due to the lack of eagle food but there were a few eagles around at least.
Stupid frickin’ twigs.
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.
Out east is a good place to see Mountain Hawk-Eagles and there were 3 of them: 2 adults and 1 juvenile (above).
There were also at least 7 White-tailed Eagles around too. Not as tame or as photogenic as Yakumo………….
The road was absolutely horrible: it’s really wintry here at the moment.
We were east of town today under heavy grey skies. Not great for bird photos but there were lots of interesting birds around. 4 species of goose (a record for me in Japan!): in among the many skeins of White-fronted and Bean Goose heading north I found 3 Cackling Goose. There were also Brent Geese flocks feeding along the coast.
Lots of Common Crossbill around as well as White-tailed, Steller’s Sea and Mountain Hawk-Eagles (only singles of the latter 2), Harlequin Duck, Black-necked Grebe, Glaucous-winged Gull, Red-breasted Merganser and Asian Rosy Finch.
Shame about the dark gloomy skies.
