Iceland in March: Iceland Gulls galore

A short trip to Iceland last weekend was not focussed on birding but presented me with some great opportunities to catch up with Iceland Gulls at Keflavik.  Hundreds were feeding around the harbour area, many close-up, foraging with Eiders and Fulmars.

Iceland Gulls breed in nearby Greenland and are a common winter visitor to Iceland.  Very elegant gulls with beautiful grey and white plumage.  I could have spend much longer watching them but it was bitterly cold and breakfast was calling...
Other birds seen included a pair of Barrow's Goldeneye, several groups of Whooper Swans, a flock of Snow Buntings and lots of Ravens.  The Northern Lights also showed well for us on our first evening.

Adult Iceland Gull - winter plumage

Iceland Gulls of various ages with a couple of Herring Gulls

First winter Iceland Gull

Adult Iceland Gull - breeding plumage

two adult Iceland Gulls

First winter Iceland Gull

Adult Glaucous Gull (rear left) and adult Herring Gull

 

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall - the sun shone briefly!

Skogafoss Waterfall - in strong winds

Troll Stacks near Vik, in very strong winds!

Kittiwakes (and huge numbers of Fulmars) were back on their nesting ledges

Awesome seascape at Black Sand Beach

Iceland was just emerging from the grip of winter: the scenery was awesome but the weather was a bit challenging  - snow, wind, rain, mist. 

Japan in November (No. 10)...and final: Kyoto & Arasaki

Daurian Redstart, Arasaki crane reserve.  A "bird on a stick" photo but a rather nice one...

Kyoto in late autumn is the best time for autumn colours, and so the city was quite busy with tourists.  There are plenty of parks, temples and a river that flows through the centre.  The hills are not far away and there are high speed trains that can get you a long way in a short space of time.

Japanese Maple

Japanese Grosbeak, Imperial Palace Gardens - large flocks were busy feeding on the small fruits in these trees

Japanese Maple

Pale Thrush, Imperial Palace Gardens

Varied Tit, Imperial Palace Gardens

Ginko Tree

Dusky Thrush, Imperial Palace Gardens

White-cheeked Starlings, Imperial Palace Gardens

Japanese Maple

crane flock wheeling above Arasaki reserve.  We took a high speed train from Kyoto to Izumi then taxi to the crane reserve.  About four hours journey each way, but well worth it.

Hooded Cranes at Arasaki - about 10,000 winter in an area of about 300 hectares - a good chunk of the world population

White-naped Crane, Arasaki reserve - we also saw a couple of Eurasian Cranes.

Bullfinch, Honshu race (the male is quite pale compared to ours in the UK), hillside above the International Convention Centre

Daurian Redstart, male, Kyoto International Convention Centre

Mandarin Ducks on the lake next to the International Convention Centre

I could have written more about Japan but have run out of time.  My thanks to Tommy Onita at Japan Birdwatching for his excellent help in making arrangements for visiting Hokkaido.

Japan in November (No.9): Red-crowned Cranes in the marshes of Kushiro

A century ago, the wetlands inland from Kushiro were the last place in Japan to provide a safe haven for the Red-crowned Crane.
Formerly quite widespread in Japan, the crane suffered a major decline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  For a while they were thought to be extinct, then a small population was re-discovered in Eastern Hokkaido, breeding in the extensive Kushiro Marshes and spending the winter near the village of Tsurui.  Conservationists and local farmers came to the rescue, protecting the wetlands and feeding the cranes over the winter.  The population gradually recovered and now number over a thousand.

Red-crowned Crane portrait

Firmly established as a very special bird in Japan, and designated a "national monument", the cranes are the cornerstone of local ecotourism and an incredibly popular subject for photographers. We stayed one night in the village of Tsurui to watch them at sunrise at the famous viewing point at Otawa Bridge.  Large groups sometimes roost in the river, mostly during the coldest weather.  When we arrived there were just a family of three cranes, but others were flying around the area and as we stood and watched a group of four flighted in.

this adult was adept at finding food in the river

flock of four flighting in

The party of cranes were also gathered at a roadside sanctuary, and started to display and "dance".  Wonderful sight.

dancing cranes

Later in the day we explored the wetlands and had some more great views of the cranes, as well as herds of whooper swans and bean geese.

Whooper Swan family

Bean Geese (Taiga)

adult and juvenile

family of cranes in wet grassland habitat

A couple of large freshwater lakes provided good fishing for large flocks of Goosanders and Smews. Overhead, a couple more Steller's Sea Eagles, our last of the trip, and quite a few White-tailed Sea Eagles.

There are a couple of great viewpoints that give you a vista across the landscape.  It is only then that you really appreciate how big and relatively wild this place is.  It is thankfully now a protected area for the cranes and much other wildlife.  It is not pristine - there has been drainage and reclamation around the edges, but it is still a much bigger (22,000ha) and more natural wetland ecosystem than we are used to in most of Europe and there is certainly nothing like it in the UK.  Think "Insh Marshes on a grand scale" (Insh Marshes are a wonderfully wild wetland nature reserve in Speyside, Scotland).

 

Japan in November (No.8): kingfishers from the hot spring baths

crested kingfisher - large, stunning bird but quite shy

solitary snipe - a winter visitor: one of the birds of the trip and almost the only wader!  A nice find beside the river close to the hotel

Moving inland for a couple of nights, we stayed at a rather wonderful and somewhat luxurious spa hotel, close to the Akan National Park, an area famous for its volcanic landscape, lakes and forests.  Situated next to a small river, the hotel was very nature-friendly with lots of bird feeders kept well stocked during the day, attracting large numbers of jays and marsh tits, plus a good selection of other birds.   In the evening a Blakiston's fish owl also showed up to great excitement from the massed guestes. Superb cuisine too: basically a real treat.

marsh tit - very common visitor to the feeders, but there were also a few willow tits (the call just like our race)

The surrounding area offered some good birding and photo opportunities though generally the birds were quite shy.  One of the best places to birdwatch was from the hot spring baths (onsen) that overlooked the river, especially to watch the crested kingfishers, but not the place to take binoculars!

caldera lake: Lake Mashu

wren - one of my favourite photos from the trip

brown-eared bulbul - pretty common

hawfinch

black woodpecker (record shot!) - not easy to see in Hokkaido

mountain views - very little old growth forest in this area, mostly plantations

pine grosbeak (female) - saw these twice including a couple of males but shy and wary

Three more posts about Japan to come in the next few days - I need to get a move on as Spring is almost here......