Black Woodpecker and Hazel Grouse... we don't see these in Kyoto!

Most of my trips to Hokkaido are in winter when snow can make getting into Black Woodpecker and Hazel Grouse habitat more challenging. Plus to be honest, fantastic as these two are, there are more compelling reasons to be on the coast; woodland birding takes a back seat. When I go up there in summer I tend to have a specific target in mind or the place is no more than the turn round point for seabirding from the ferry. Either way, most trips don't afford the opportunity of seeing these two birds but in May this year I was able to get excellent views of both.

The first, utterly unforgetable, Hazel Grouse I ever saw was in South Korea. I just couldn't see the small bird making that call, bending this way and that to peer through the foliage I suddenly saw the culprit, a Hazel Grouse not 10 metres from me. I was so shocked, it's one of those birding memories that stay with you.

Black Woodpeckers are fantastic birds too but usually all I'll have to show for my attempts to photograph them will be a tail disappearing out of the frame or a shadowy motion blur zipping through a gap in the trees. Thus this trip was very satisfying, my best views ever.


I mentioned compelling reasons to be on the coast in winter and for most people the Sea Eagles are one such reason. I suppose I'm spoilt in that we have a local over-wintering Steller's in Kansai, but White-tailed is harder to come by down here, and of course it's the archetypal Haliaeetus from a European birders perspective. Seeing them inland in summer is still very special for me and a noisy adult seeing-off an immature in central Hokkaido one evening raised a smile.

Right overhead calling, not the youngest judging by the head and breast colouration.



It was determined to make its point, this lake and surrounding forest is taken.

It sat there well into dusk, certainly till after the first Eurasian Woodcocks were roding.

Oriental Cuckoo is common enough in the Kansai mountains but, a bit like our woodpeckers, they are far less easy to see well compared to their Hokkaido counterparts. Or that's how I always feel.

Oriental Cuckoo was common, the only Common Cuckoo was sitting on wires in the middle of a village.

Hardly a Hokkaido speciality but it was easier to photograph than the Grey Buntings we were after.

Rausu and Notsuke

From the Blakiston's Fish Owl atYoroushi Onsen we cut across to the coast to head up to Rausu and the next iconic Hokkaido sight, the flocks of eagles around Rause harbour.


The eagles were the main target and though it would have been good to connect with the likes of the returning Bufflehead, the local wintering Ravens or anything else of interest we moved soon moved south to the Notsuke Peninsula once we'd had good views of the eagles and checked the various (largely empty) harbours.

Imagine this on your doorstep.

The usual birds were in the harbours but from the Kansai perspective Harlequin Duck, Glaucous-winged and Glaucous Gulls were the pick.

Harlequins



Glaucous-winged Gulls

Juvenile Glaucous takes some beating...

The first birds we saw on Notsuke were Snow Buntings but it was really difficult to get decent shots because they were quite flighty and the grass stems meant some were always out of focus. It was only after going through the images at home that I realised Snow Bunting was a photograph tick!

In late afternoon hundreds of Sika Deer were coming out into the open along the peninsula.

I've never been to Lake Biwa when there wasn't a long line of photographers' cars and ranks of cameras at the ready to capture 'our' Steller's every move. It almost seems sinful to have a solitary Steller's all to yourself.

eagles

White-tailed Eagle is probably annual, with odd birds along the northern Kansai coast and beyond up the Noto Hanto (Noto Peninsular) as well as occasionally south as far as northern Lake Biwa. When birds do arrive they usually stay throughout winter but, between wandering over a large area for food and sitting for long periods in a favourite tree, even long stayers can be tricky to see on any given day.


Of course Hokkaido is the place to see the haliaeetus eagles and White-tailed can be found quite easily in summer as well as winter.

Adult Ochiishi Peninsular, Hokkaido, January 2013.

Immature Notsuke Peninsular, Hokkaido, January 2013.

Immature Cape Nosapu, Hokkaido January 2013.

Adult Shiretoko Peninsular, Hokkaido, August 2012.

For years there's been a wintering adult Steller's Sea Eagle at Kohoku-cho in northern Biwako, if my memory serves, November 26 is its expected arrival date. Though I've seen three additional birds on the lake over the years, it'll be a big miss when it no longer turns up. It's easy to find the bird, from the Kohoku-cho Wild Bird Center look back across the fields away from the lake and you'll see a hill. The eagle is always sitting in the trees when it's not duck hunting on the lake, there are invariably lines of photographers waiting for it to fly! As with White-tailed, Hokkaido is by far the best place to see this species.

Immature Steller's Notsuke Peninsular, Hokkaido, January 2013.

Adult Notsuke Peninsular, Hokkaido, January 2013. All the white-winged gulls are a dead giveaway this isn't in Kansai!

Adult Notsuke Peninsular, Hokkaido, January 2013.

Heading south to the opposite end of the country Ryukyu Serpent Eagle is equally easy to see. It's very common on Iriomote and only slightly less so on Ishigaki. They sit on roadside telegraph poles and are impossible to miss. They are also quite approachable.

Iriomote, April 2013.

Iriomote, April 2013.

Iriomote, April 2013.

Immature Iriomote, April 2013.

Immature Iriomote, April 2013.

The place to see Golden Eagle in Kansai is Ibukiyama, on the border of Shiga and Gifu prefectures. The 17km access (toll) road is closed to vehicles during winter but it is nevertheless a great platform for birding on the forested slopes. Snow makes for heavy going and I've never made it all the way to the top during winter. It might be possible to walk the much shorter zig-zagging path directly from foot to summit on the west side, I've never tried it. 


I don't know of any other aquila records from Kansai but for many years a Greater Spotted Eagle spent each winter in Kyushu. When that bird stopped coming it seemed there'd been no more opportunities to see the species however a juvenile appeared in the winter of 2014/15 so perhaps it'll continue the tradition.

Juvenile Greater Spotted Eagle in Kyushu, December 2015.

Golden Eagle Ibukiyama, November 2006.

Birds settling to roost Ibukiyama, November 2006.

Mountain Hawk Eagle is a low density breeder throughout the region's higher mountains including the Ibukiyama area, central Kyoto prefecture and the spine of the Kii Peninsular, but they are wide-ranging birds and luck is needed to see them. Away from Kansai, I've had great views of them in roadside trees along a stretch of route 317 in Aomori pefecture on different visits to the area over a number of years.

The distinctive shape of an overhead Hawk Eagle. Kyoto prefecture April 2014.

Mountain Hawk Eagle near Hirosaki, Aomori, August 2013.

Near Hirosaki, Aomori, August 2013.