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.
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.
Oshamanbe is the most northern location we regularly visist. It is particularly good at this time of year but on Sunday we had to endure sleet, hail, snow and rain. Not ideal for photography.
Birds around included Dunlin, Black and Stenjeger’s Scoters, White-tailed Eagle (only 1), Great Egret, Red-necked Grebe, lots of ducks including big flocks of Pintail (above), Whooper and Bewick’s Swans and White-fronted Geese,
The Glaucous and Glaucous-winged Gulls are coming into summer plumage now. Here’s one of the latter.
The Glaucous-winged Gulls are coming into summer plumage before their return trip north.
They fit in well in Japan. Like the locals, they eat pretty much anything that comes from the sea…………..
Glauocus-winged Gulls are common winter visitors and can be easily seen on all the local coasts at this time of year. Like the paler Glaucous Gulls they seem so evocative of far northern latitudes. I wonder if this individual, in Sawara this afternoon, comes across Polar Bears or Snowy Owls in summer?