Reasonable numbers of both species of eagle at Yakumo at the moment but there really isn’t that much to eat for them…
And not opps for decent photos either.
More hungry eagles
Category: Yakumo
Twiggy
The eagles are back at Yakumo. This one (I think it’s the same one) always occupies the same spot on the river and it’s difficult to get a clear shot of it as it’s usually obscured by twigs. Hence the nickname ‘Twiggy’.
There seemed to be about 20-30 eagles of both species but for the third winter running salmon numbers are very low. As this is their main food supply I don’t think they’ll stick around for long. This juvenile Steller’s was pitifully thin…
Twiggy did take a dump though; this photo is post-dump pose. Twiggy has eaten something recently at least.
Other interesting stuff around included Whooper Swan, Crested Kingfisher and Stejneger’s Scoter.
Autumn terns
At the rivermouth in Yakumo there were lots of Black-headed Gulls and a couple of Common Tern; always a nice bird to see in Hokkaido where terns are pretty scarce.
Wader season fizzling out
Maybe the last of 2023 from Yakumo this afternoon…
More beach birds
Think that one must have over-summered locally…
More common waders
Lots of common waders around at the weekend…
August ends
Wow that was a hot one. And it looks set to continue into September.
Yesterday was bearable in Yakumo; a bit of a cool breeze and under 30 at least. Lots of waders around including Great Knot and Long-toed Stint but not much posong for photos.
2 Common Terns flew past at Yakumo. I don’t see many terns in Hokkaido so this was a nice surprise.
Another dark windy Monday
Hakodate had its hottest every day last week but amazingly we had another cool Monday (the high temps will return later this week…again).
The above Kestrel at Yakumo was a nice find; not a bird I often see in Hokkaido.
The storms were pushing the waves right up the beaches so it was tricky to find waders; only 3 species around today. And terrible conditions once again for photos.
It’s been a hot one
Wow it’s been a hot humid summer this year. I’ve hardly left the house in the last 5 or so weeks…
But today the temperature dipped below 30 for the first time in what seems like ages and it was even breezy with low clouds. The waders had returned to the beaches anyway.
Hot temps will return tomorrow or the day after according to the forecast.
I might even get a get a good night’s sleep in this lull.
Also around were Red-necked Stint, Whimbrel and Kentish Plover as well as Eastern Marsh Harrier and lots of Great Egret.
Success
We hung around long enough to see the Osprey grab a (small) fish…
A stop at a rivermouth
We stopped at Yakumo on the way back from our trip…
An Osprey was fishing just offshore.
Not great conditions for BIfs.
A failed Spoonbill chase
2 Eurasian Spoonbills were seen at Yakumo so we went for a look. I saw one standing in the middle of the river, went back to the car to get my camera (with 2X T/C attached) but the bird flew off. I snapped the above warbler and then got the portable 600 f/11 and walked around trying to relocate the spoonbill but no joy.
Quite a lot of birds around though…
A lens I struggle with for BIFs.
Other stuff around included Pacific Swift, Mandarin Duck, Garganey, White-fronted Goose, lots of singing Sakhalin Leaf Warblers, Common Cuckoo etc…
But no spoonbill pics.