Bewick's, Whistling and Whooper Swans at Lake Biwa

I visited Lake Biwa for the first time this year at the weekend, twice in fact. Friday was sunny and Sunday was not, which is why the nominate columbianus images are so much duller.


A lot of people were on the fields (not just the Steller's Sea Eagle spot) because of the two local rares; both Whooper Swan and Cackling Goose were new Kansai birds for me. The Cackling Goose was the bigger draw and this made finding it relatively easy. Flocks of swans were dotted over a huge area but the Cackling Goose flock always had a line of roadside birders flagging the spot across the flat expanse between the Lake and the mountains.

I'd normally try to creep the car towards the flock hoping not to disturb the birds but it seems I've always erred on the side of caution because the swans simply don't give a hoot. The birds were even closer on Friday and actually walked towards the line of photographers with the closest coming to only 10 metres.

The main draw for me was the Cackling Goose and in fact I hadn't known about the Whooper Swans. It was only when the Cackler moved slightly back into the flock that I checked the birds in the next field down the road and discovered two of the white shapes were Whoopers. Whooper Swans are never common this far south in Japan, I've seen one further west in Shimane Prefecture and another at Arasaki in southern Kyushu(!) but this pair were a real surprise. I walked along and could get reasonably good shots, probably the best I've ever had of Whooper, despite all the geese and swans in this field being less close to the road.

After looking at large numbers of close range Tundra I was surprised how strikingly pale-eyed this bird was. According to Brazil (who ought to know) paler blue-grey eyes are not uncommon in Whooper Swans so this was a nice example.

This, dare I say rather smug-looking, Tundra's eye is also blue-grey though much duller.

So if I'm already anthropomorphising then it's safe to say I'd rather buy a used car from this bird. Oh, and this has the more usual dark eye. 

Sunday was much duller and colder with an increasing wind; the beginning of the end of a few days mild weather. I didn't hang around long enough to see if this Whistling Swan would come any closer so these are the best shots I could manage.

The above bird in the foreground and there's another possible columbianus behind it. I suppose this extent of yellow on the bill falls within the range of the nominate subspecies and I sometimes see birds like this paired with classic-looking columbianus, never with bewickii, which tends to support they are also Whistling Swans but eliminating the possibility of hybrid ancestry is impossible.

I suspect it's more likely to be Whistling than Bewick's. As I said I've seen such birds paired with clear-cut columbianus, with young, but never with bewickii.

Thanks to there being numerous small flocks dotted around a large area there was relatively frequent coming and going and plenty of opportunity for getting the prefect flight shots. I was far more interested in the two rarities but couldn't resist trying my hand at flying swans. The shot below was my best effort.

The other swans of interest were two birds with solar powered geolocators; I saw one on Friday, two on Sunday. Add those sightings to only seeing the Whoopers on Friday and Whistling Swans on Monday and it shows how difficult it is to see everything on a single visit. There must still be additional fields I've yet to find that are attracting flocks.

The 'Friday swan' getting a power boost.

Chinese Penduline Tits and Red-billed Starlings

A quick drive round the fields on my final morning at Arasaki produced the usual birds; the two Whooper Swans in winter residence, a few Common Shelducks, many Dusky and Pale Thrushes and plenty of Russet Sparrows.

Large flocks of Russet Sparrows are a common sight on the wires.

Less often seen are Hawfinches and, surprisingly, Kestrel. They were far more common at Isahaya Bay.

The best encounter of the morning was a party of Red-billed Starlings with the Common and White-cheeked by the pig farm.

Common Starling.

The first two Red-billed Starlings were a surprise but as I walked into the pig farm I found many more. 

A single Commom (top) with Red-billed.

With some time left before having to start the long drive back to Kyoto I decided to have one last try for Penduline Tit. I'd heard them several times, both here and at Isahaya Bay but so far one brief flight view was all I'd managed. Fortunately conditions were very calm this morning and it didn't take long to find small groups flying this way and that across the reeds. about 40 birds was the biggest group I saw in flight but there were obviously a lot more birds present judging by the calls in both directions along the river.


They sometimes came quite close but were hidden, low in thick reeds. The only photographic opportunity was slightly further away where there was a break in the reeds and I could get these more distant shots.


On one of the occasions a party crashed into the reeds close by they flushed a Dusky Warbler! It flew up and called dropping back into the reeds four or five metres on but continued to call for a short time. I've no idea how many Duskys may winter in this part of Japan but this is my second at Arasaki, after one seen well with Sean Minns and Mark Carmody in 2008.

And one other bird along the river... spot the Hen Harrier.

The list of 119 species recorded during the week-long Kyushu trip:-


Whooper Swan
Common Shelduck
Mandarin Duck
Gadwall
Falcated Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Teal
Common Pochard
Tufted Duck
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Eurasian Spoonbill
Black-faced Spoonbill
Black-crowned Night Heron
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Little Egret
Great Cormorant
Eurasian Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine
Osprey
Black Kite
Eastern Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Northern Goshawk
Eastern Water Rail
Ruddy-breasted Crake
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Sandhill Crane
White-naped Crane
Common Crane
Hooded Crane
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Northern Lapwing
Grey plover
Long-billed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Snipe
Eurasian Curlew
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Dunlin
Black-tailed Gull
Common Gull
Vega Gull
Mongolian Gull
Slaty-backed Gull
Taimyr Gull
Black-headed Gull
Saunder's Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Ural Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Common Kingfisher
Crested Kingfisher
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Japanese Woodpecker
Ryukyu Minivet
Bull-headed Shrike
Daurian Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Large-billed Crow
Eastern Great Tit
Varied Tit
Chinese Penduline Tit
Barn Swallow
Long-tailed Tit
Japanese Skylark
Zitting Cisticola
Brown-eared Bulbul
Japanese Bush Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Japanese White-eye
Eurasian Nuthatch
Red-billed Starling
White-cheeked Starling
Common Starling
Pale Thrush
Dusky Thrush
Red-flanked Buletail
Daurian Redstart
Blue Rock Thrush
Brown Dipper
Russet Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Forest Wagtail
Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
White wagtail
Japanese Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Buff-bellied Pipit
Brambling
Oriental Greenfinch
Long-tailed Rosefinch
Hawfinch
Japanese Grosbeak
Meadow Bunting
Chestnut-eared Bunting
Rustic Bunting
Elegant Bunting
Black-faced Bunting
Common Reed Bunting