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.
Pretty quiet the last few days. Ospreys are everywhere, I heard the first Lesser Cuckoo and White-bellied Green Pigeons of the summer, lots of Rhinoceros Auklets offshore too.
As we pulled into a beachside car park there were 2 Ospreys fishing inshore very close. I grabbed my camera and didn’t really have time to adjust the settings.
Not too bad but the shutter speed was too slow and I was in crop mode. If I had been waiting for a while in this spot I may have been ready. Next time, next time.
This Osprey really struggled to pluck this fish out of the water. I thought it was going to get dragged under. The action happened too far out for any photos but it flew back inland reasonably close.
Had a quick drive west of town 3 days ago: not much around. A fishing Osprey, thousands of Common Gull and a flock of Rooks were the most noteworthy stuff……………
Very dark yesterday so crap for photos but a few interesting birds around: various grebes including a couple of hundred Great Cresteds, several Black-throated Diver, a lone White-tailed Eagle, lots of Brent Geese and huge numbers of Common Gull.
And my first Osprey of the year too.
Damn twigs in the way……………..
There were a small group of White-tailed Eagles on the beach near the port in Mukawa………….
This one was in the port itself.
There were still quite a few eagles around the Mukawa area. Some of the White-tailed Eagles are resident, others are presumably winter visitors or passing through. The Steller’s are definitely not resident.
The 2nd day of our trip was very sunny and although there were quite a few interesting birds I couldn’t get many good photos. We stayed around the coast between Yufutsu and Mukawa. Stuff around included White-tailed and Steller’s Sea Eagle, Japanese Crane, and various common winter ducks and gulls.
Unlike around Hakodate, there didn’t seem to be many winter passerines except for several flocks of Eurasian Siskin.
There were groups of Whooper Swan and a few geese flying around: both Taiga Bean and Greater White-fronted.
This Peregrine was atop an old lighthouse…………….
A White-tailed Eagle eating a Slaty-backed Gull this afternoon.
Still working out the best settings/most comfortable customizations for my new camera.
