July is always a quiet month in south Hokkaido and for various reasons July 2021 has been even quieter than usual.
It’s been really really hot too. Last Sunday it was foggy in the morning which provided temporary relief. Not great for photos but juvenile Ospreys were practicing fishing and the first of the ‘autumn’ waders were passing through.
A very quiet last couple of weeks but I did get out briefly yesterday. There were several duck species around: the resident Spotbills and Goosander of course but also a lone Scaup, several Red-breasted Mergansers and this pair of very scruffy Harlequin Ducks. Not a bird I often see in summer: the latter 3 duck species are presumably non-breeding lingerers.
Siberian Rubythroats were fairly common near Sapporo………..
This female was showing a bit of red too………….
‘Tis the Season for Stonechats…………..
There was a Wryneck nest right next to a road………….
I went north with a friend and we checked out a site north of Sapporo. We were looking for Brown Shrike but couldn’t locate any. There were lots of other commoner birds around at least, like this Reed Bunting.
A typical sight in early June is when the Stonechats suddenly become very tame and don’t fly away. They must have young in the nest nearby. I fire off a few shots and then leave them to it………..
On the way home we checked the forest pool again. Sadly it was also the wrong time of day again.
Got some nice views of this female Japanese Thrush at least.
They weren’t as tame or as photogenic as further north or east……………..
In addition to the Rubythroats there were many birds……………..
Middendorf’s, Lanceolated and Sakhalin Grasshopper Warblers, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Northern Hobby, White-tailed Eagle, Sand Martin, Northern Hobby, Latham’s Snipe, Wryneck, Long-tailed Rosefinch…………………and these 2 common species.
We spent one night in the car near Tomakomai. The car park, next to a busy-ish road, was adjacent to some grassland. There were lots of birds around in the early morning including several Siberian Rubythroat.
The Tomakomai area must be right on the southern limit of this species range in Japan (they don’t breed near Hakodate).
This one was singing on an old electrical wire next to a railway line.