this spring's snipes and woodcocks

I haven't done any dedicated sniping this spring so I'm a bit low on my usual haul, however a spring Solitary (May 4!) is a first.


I was told that the Asamo Valley (Tsushima) used to be a regular site for Solitary in February and March but that there hasn't been a record for three years.


There had been torential rain overnight, the Met Office high resolution nowcasts normally show quite limited areas being hit by the very heaviest rain, but that night extensive sheets of red covered the map from parts of ROK, through Tsushima and well into Kyushu. The whole region had thunder storm alerts and they rolled in and out in a dazzling, and sometimes very loud, display. The upshot was some lanes more resembled streams than anything else the following morning, It seemed the Snipe agreed, and if it hadn't been for the extreme weather I don't doubt we would never have seen this great bird.

By the time we spotted the bird and stopped we were almost on top of it. Being a passenger I had to squirm my whole upper torso out the window and twist round to manage this shot of the bird on the drivers side. I'm quite pleased with the result. 

Fortunately it came across onto my side of the lane and waded up through the flowing water.

If the road hadn't resembled a stream, we'd never have connected with this bird.

This Swintail's features ticked all the boxes on the Swinhoe's side of the line, bar seeing the outer tail feathers this is as close as you can be to a certain identification of a bird on the ground. This is a very dark-winged bird, even the freshest looking (inner) coverts are quite worn.

You have to be cautious with the Swintail, of course. I had this one pegged as a relatively short-billed Swinhoe's in April of last year... Again, boxes ticked.

But what a differnce a change of posture can make, could it be a Pintail after all?

As you were; outer tail feathers to the rescue.

This snipe was on an raised paddy and the views were very brief but I'd put it down as Latham's on what I did see. Latham's in Hokkaido a week or two later were easily identified of course... whatever did they do before the advent of utility poles?

A noteable feature of this spring was that I was able to get multiple close views of both Japan's woodcock species, Eurasian in Hokkaido and Amami... quite. The Eurasian put on a good display, roding each early evening while the light was still quite good. Usually a single bird but occasionally a second bird would join in close formation. They could generally be heard into the early night and again pre-dawn.



Amami above, Eurasian below, they really don't look alike.



Neither snipe nor woodcock, but it is brown. I saw four Little Whimbrels when last I visited Tsushima, only the one this time. Nevertheless it would appear the island is as good a spot as any in Japan to catch up with this elegant wader.

Views were better last time too.



Blakiston's Fish Owl at Yoroushi Onsen and Washi no Yado

I've only only been to see Blakiston's twice in winter, staying at Washi no Yado five years ago and this month at Yoroushi Onsen. The two experiences are very different in terms of accommodation but as the Owls are the important thing it might not matter too much for someone who has never seen these magnificent birds. I would just say Yoroushi is far more comfortable and I wouldn't hesitate staying more than one night if I wanted to give the area more time. Whereas one successful night at Washi no Yado would be enough, I'd look for alternative accommodation if I wanted to spend longer in the area. But, and it's a big but, the food was fantastic at Washi no Yado.


An Owl arrived during dinner at Washi no Yado and after eating more quickly than I'd have otherwise chosen I sat outside in my rental car to get a better view. This steep, narrow valley is cold, really cold, and the car needed a jump start the following morning. The owner told me the same had happened to another birder the day before. The local garage was doing good business. The small pool in the middle of the river is kept stocked with fish (at least as long as people are viewing it seems) so there's plenty of time to watch the Owls coming and going or just sitting in the snow. The problem is you are virtually sitting in the snow too and I'm not as tough as the Owls so there was a limit to how long I could sit motionless in the car with the windows open in minus (a large number) degrees. Of course you could watch from the minshyuku but that would double the distance to the birds.


Similarly the Yoroushi Owl arrived while we were still at the dinner table and caught me off guard. Stupidly I'd left my camera in my room and by the time I dashed to get it the window was already lined by (mostly) non-birders and I had to hand-hold the camera at the back of the group as a result. This would have been easily avoidable if I'd been aware of the feeding regime. Unlike the protracted viewing at Washi no Yado, with fish being put out as required, there were just two feeding sessions, one between 6-7pm as I recall and the other must have been between 5-6am. There's actually a calendar pinned up next to the office giving the times of daily sightings but the penny didn't drop that these neat clusters of sightings were dependant on when fish were put out. The result is that though the views are remarkably close, they are also relatively brief before the Owl polishes off the fish and disappears into the surrounding darkness along the river. It also resulted in me getting very few shots of the bird as I thought I'd have plenty of time after the crowd lost interest.


So which site is better for the Owls? The view is much closer at Yoroushi, maybe only eight metres, and the experience is slightly surreal from the warmth of the lounge. If you want a more authentic and slightly more distant, cold, freezing cold, really freezing cold experience then Washi no Yado wins hands down. If you intended to watch from indoors at Washi no Yado then I'd definitely recommend staying at Yoroushi.


I suppose the supporting cast needs to be considered too. Washi no Yado had Brown Dipper on the river in front of the minshyuku and common woodland birds in the surrounding woodland. Yoroushi had Solitary Snipe and Crested Kingfisher on the river in front of the ryokan and common woodland birds on the feeders right outside the window. Better for me, it also had Sable, a mammal tick, coming to the feeders too.


Kicking off with the Washi no Yado birds under the powerful spotlights...

In in reply, Yoroushi...

Coming back to the supporting cast...

sable

red fox

This Solitary Snipe was on the near bank of the river and as such wasn't visible from inside the minshyuku.

Great Spotted Woodpecker. Compared to woodpeckers in Honshu I always think that the Hokkaido birds are tripping over themselves to get in front of any camera. However this GSW was the only one to give itself up on this trip. Though admittedly we weren't really after any woodland species and didn't spend more than a daylight hour or two at this our only woodland stop on the trip.

Marsh Tits were common, a great little bird we can't see in Honshu.

The brandtii Jay of Hokkaido... I can't resist putting a comparative shot of the Honshu japonicus below. 



Probably the only thing their respective heads have in common is a bill. The pattern of white in the wing is quite different too.



Solitary Snipe... long overdue

My first Japan tick of 2015, Solitary Snipe. It could have been the first Japan tick of 2014 if it had been a bit more cooperative, I went for this bird five times last winter without connecting. But that's been par for the Solitary course. I've spent time looking for them on Hokkaido winter trips, wading through deep snow to reach favoured streams or pools, particularly on my first trip up there in 1987 when it would still have been a lifer. I've tried for them so many times in Kansai, where they are a scarce wintering species, but even the most nailed-on individuals temporarily vanish whenever I visit the stretch of river/stream that "they never leave".

I had planned to look for it on Saturday afternoon after work then spend Sunday in the mountains for winter woodland birds. However, when I finished work at noon it was pouring and because of my dreadful track record with the species I just went straight home. No sooner had I got there than my phoned tinged with a text that it was there... and not only had the rain stopped but the sky was a mocking blue. There was no longer time to get there in daylight and my lucky twitching T-shirt came off and hovered briefly over the bin.

My Sunday plan didn't hover, it was ripped up and unceremoniously dumped. The new plan entailed seeing the Snipe as early as possible (really!) followed by a three-hour drive to reach some good woodland birding further followed by a list of back-up places of decreasing distance and interest in case the bird slept late. Or whatever it is they usually do when I'm on my way. I was on site at first light, the bird wasn't. No surprise there. Time passed, hours and hours of it in fact, it was almost funny... almost. There were a few birds of interest around, an Eastern Buzzard flew by now and then and good views of the usual parkland and riverside birds were to be had to. Long-tailed Rosefinch was probably the pick of the bunch but the Grey Wagtail below was the most photogenic.

After seven and a half hours someone located it on a different stretch of river and I confess I ran as fast as tripod, scope, camera and bins would allow. Another birder thoughtfully gave me and a couple of others a lift to the spot and... there it was. I didn't get the usual feeling of excitement a new bird brings, it was more a sense of relief than anything else. It was about 90 metres away rather than the 15-20 metres it normally performs at, I didn't care. In five minutes the sun dipped behind a hill filling the valley with shade transforming my poor digiscoped shots into appalling ones. No matter.

Actually, it's such a beautiful and intricately marked bird that it does deserve better views and maybe I'll go back later this winter in the hope of getting some decent shots of it but for now I'm done with Solitary Snipe. Who knows, it might be one of those crazy cases where once seen, birds keep popping up unexpectedly left and right.

The following images are little more than record shots but for now I'm really happy with them!