osprey, kite & harriers

I'll often see Ospreys flying along rivers in the Kyoto area but they never hang around anywhere. They are surprisingly uncommon visitors to Lake Biwa, which anywhere other than in Japan would seem a great place for Ospreys with all the small wooded islands and headlands in the north. Osprey is really a coastal specialist here and in suitable areas it's not uncommon to see flocks outside the breeding season, sitting on posts in the water like gigantic terns or even dotted in loose groups on the ground more like Black Kites.

A female flying down the Katsura River (Kyoto city), October 2011.

Sitting in the rain, Mie, August 2014.

Black Kite is a really common and widespread bird in the region, there can be gatherings of as many as 50-100 birds over the Kamogawa (Kyoto city) outside the breeding season. Even bigger numbers ring Lake Biwa and any fishing port will be full of them.

Juvenile.

In early May Black Kites can look very worn and unkite-like.

Two birds on a quayside so intent in their tussle they were oblivious to people passing by.

Seven species of harrier have been recorded in Japan which sounds great but only two, Hen and Eastern Marsh can be considered in anyway common or likely to be seen by visitors. Of the others Pied is rare, a male on Hegurajima is the only one I've seen, and the others extremely so.

Eastern Marsh Harrier is a winter visitor to Kansai and is reasonably common over reedbeds, or open arable country within reach of a reedbed for roosting. They can be seen quartering the riverside reeds along the Yodogawa from the centre of Osaka right up to Kyoto. Birds are fairly common in the Lake Biwa area, along the lake side or neighbouring fields. Lake Sainoko, near Omihachiman, half way down the east side of Lake Biwa, is an important roost site. The road along the north side of this lake is a good place to get close fly-by views in late afternoon.

Eastern Marsh Harriers at Lake Sainoko, Shiga. 

Hen Harriers are less common than Eastern Marsh but can be found in most of the same places, though they aren't likely to be found in Osaka and numbers further up the Yodo River seem to have dropped in recent years. Lake Sainoko is probably the most reliable place to find them. Males are far less common here.

Hen Harrier at Lake Sainoko, Shiga.

accipiters

I've never heard of Chinese Sparrowhawk in the region but as they are recorded migrating south over Cape Irago they are obviously passing into Mie and hence necessarily through the region, albeit in small numbers. So it's something people need to be aware of but not to expect.

Japanese Sparrowhawk breeds in the forested hills of the region. It's probably reasonable common but sightings are unpredictable. They are far more conspicuous on migration than in continuous mountain breeding habitat and it's even possible to see them in city parks or along major river systems.

Flight shots of an October migrant on Hegurajima.

Seeing one dash by in woodland is one thing, but finding them perched requires even more luck.

 
Eurasian Sparrowhawk can be equally difficult to find in summer but in winter they also move into open country and are far more easily seen. I'll often come across one at Ogura or around Lake Biwa, hunting along hedges, riverside trees or even across open fields.

A spring migrant on Mishima, Yamaguchi.

A typical winter bird sitting in riverside trees at Ogura.

Another island migrant, this time on Hegurajima in Ocober.

Goshawk is also a common winter hawk, often seen in open country, much as Eurasian Sparrowhawk, and they are frequent in the Ogura area. While Eurasian Sparrowhawk is something I often see on islands during migration, Goshawk seems less common out there.

Adult and juvenile Goshawks on a misty winter's morning along the Uji River at Ogura.

buzzards

Continuing to group birds by name for convenience sake, rather than by accepted taxonomic order, we come to Oriental Honey Buzzard. This might be expected as a breeding species in the region but I've never seen any myself, however it is a common autumn migrant. There are good migration watch-points in and around the region (see http://www.gix.or.jp/~norik/hawknet/hawknet0.html in Japanese) but the buzzards are a broad front migrant and I often see them passing over the city during September. The top of Mt.Inari used to be a good location to see a variety of raptors, and other diurnal migrants, passing through. A number of birds would also roost there and they could be seen leaving but tree cover is more closed now and viewing is difficult.

Male on Mishima, May 2010.

Female on Mishima, May 2010.

Grey-faced Buzzard migrates through the area much as OHB and the above comments apply but it can also be found during the breeding season in hilly, forested parts of the region.

A migrant Grey-faced Buzzard leaving its roost at Takaragaiike, Kyoto city in early September.

While a common winter visitor in the Ryukyu Islands, a bird in Kyoto in mid-January is an exceptional record.

This Grey-faced on Yonaguni in early April could be a migrant or a wintering bird.

Eastern Buzzard is a common late autumn migrant and winter visitor. It can be found at Ogura and along the Uji/Yodo River. Several usually roost on the isolated hill at Yawata on the Keihan line just south of the city. It's common in all open country, especially in the north of the region, throughout winter.

Eastern Buzzard, Lake Biwa.

Two shots of toyoshimai, the Ogasawara race of Eastern Buzzard. 

Rough-legged Buzzard is fairly rare in Kansai though odd ones do occur irregularly on the Japan Sea coast. In 2008 an unprecedented invasion occurred and it was relatively common in the north of the region. Far more surprising three birds were at Ogura and two or three visited Yodo River in the centre of Osaka!

Rough-legged Buzzard, Ogura. January 2008.

Rough-leg, Ogura.

Upland Buzzard is rare but not unheard of in the region. The most reliable site in Japan is Yonaguni in the extreme south.

Three shots of Upland Buzzard on Yonaguni April 2013. That's a Grey-faced Buzzard alongside it in the final shot.