Birding Diary Jan - June, 2006

Birding Diary (Top)

30 June - 2 July : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Sunny, rain and hot, Temp in Hara Village: High 76.1, Low 55.9 (F)
The world cup finals made me wake up late at night...sleepy morning and afternoon... In Tateshina, I didn't have the energy to be active and was all ears: I was listening the songs of Brown Thrush, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher at dusk. There were two Brown Thrushes in the yard and singing beautifully. Before dawn, the wake-up call was the song of Bush Warbler. It is still a good season as long as we can hear the wake-up bird songs.
Other birds we saw were Spot-billed Duck, Black Kite, Common Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Siberian Blue Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Red-cheeked Myna, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.

16-18 June : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Sunny, cloudy and rain, Temp in Hara Village: High 79.2, Low 57.9 (F)
We were satisfied with the birding last week, and now we have something to do in Tateshina: to tidy a garden. The weather was fine, and it was good day for sweat-inducing labor (~.~;) Last week, we saw Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding the nestlings, and it seemed that they already left the nest. Now we can use mowing machine without constraint. It was difficult to find them in leaves, we could hear the voice of fledglings though.
Other birds we saw were Rufous Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Brown Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Jay, Azure-winged Magpie, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.

10-12 June : Okushiga, Togakushi and Tateshina (Nagano) Sunny, cloudy and rain, Temp in Hara Village: High 79.2, Low 57.9 (F)
We visited many tourist spots!
6/10 Okushiga 16:40-20:35 Temp in Iiyama City: High 74.5, Low 63.3 (F)
In the darkness...we parked our cars on the left side of the moonlit mountain road, waiting for the voice of Scops Owl... And from the shadowy woods, we finally heard their voice, it was the third year(the fourth time) lucky! The native bird watcher said that it was the something one, to hear the voice so close. We heard the voice with pounding hearts...with a little noisy song of Siberian Blue Thrush. Anyway, we would like to give our thanks everyone who shared this happy moment with us. See you next year, at the same place.

6/11 Togakushi: Rain 13:30-15:30 Temp in Shinanomachi Town: High 65.1, Low 53.6 (F)
And the day after, we went a little further: Togakushi. We enjoyed walking in the rain and heard the chorus of Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo and Little Cuckoo. In the park, everywhere, we saw the terrible leaves of skunk cabbage, damaged from a hailstorm.

Tateshina Fine, cloudy after rain
And the next day, my husband took a day off on Monday, so we got up late and watched Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding. When the nestling received a big cicada, they returned it to the parents once, and after umplumed, they could eat it. Mmm, infinite parent's tenderness!
Other birds we saw were Little Grebe, Spot-billed Duck, Black Kite, Pheasant, Rufous Turtle Dove, Horsfield's Hawk-Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Little Cuckoo, Scops Owl, Ruddy Kingfisher, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Skylark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, White Wagtail, Ashy Minivet, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Siberian Blue Robin, White's Ground Thrush, Gray Thrush, Brown Thrush, Short-tailed Bush Warbler, Bush Warbler, Crowned Willow Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Brown Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Japanese Yellow Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Gray Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.

31 March -2 April : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Sunny, Temp in Hara Village: High 57.0, Low 21.0 (F)
Birds we saw were Gray Heron, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Pheasant, Woodcock, Rufous Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, House Martin, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Wren, Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Bush Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Jay, Azure-winged Magpie, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.

26-28 March : Suwako-lake & Tateshina (Nagano) Sunny, Temp in Hara Village: High 57.9, Low 28.9 (F)
About one month of secretarial work exhausted me. It was just because I had a hard time doing things I was not accustomed to, but I have learned a lot and people in the company were very nice. Thank you. Anyway, I finished it and went to Tateshina with enteritis, trouble sleep, headache and stiff neck. On our way to Tateshina, I fell into a deep sleep sitting in the passenger seat, without sleeping pills. I awoke at my husband's voice, "Look! So many cameras. Can you see Waxwings?", and I could easily see hundreds of birds in the tree. According to our birding friend, there were more than 410 Waxwings near Suwako-lake. It was our first time to see soooo many Waxwings and we couldn't help smiling. We were satisfied to see beautiful red and yellow one. They are very impressive birds, aren't they? 1, 2.
On Tuesday, on our way home, we stopped at Kawakami Village to meet Kawakami Dogs, who are the Natural Treasures in Japan. It was very lucky for us to play with four puppies!!!!! He was the smallest and the most wheedling one. They melted my stiff neck and my dried heart.
Other birds we saw were Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Common Merganser, Black Kite, Coot, Rufous Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, House Martin, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bohemian Waxwing, Japanese Waxwing, Wren, Dusky Thrush, Bush Warbler, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow, Jungle Crow and Natural Treasure Kawakami Dog.

11 March : Sanban-se & Yatsu Tideland (Chiba) Sanban-se 10:30-12:15, Yatsu Tideland 12:45-14:15, Temp in Funabashi: High 60.1, Low 41.2 (F)
To meet the annual Little Black Cap, we went to the seaside park in Chiba.

Other birds we saw were Black-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Egret, Little Egret, Gray Heron, Green-winged Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Goshawk, Coot, Oystercatcher, Snowy Plover, Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Black-headed Gull, Saunders's Gull, White Wagtail, Water Pipit, Japanese White-eye, Reed Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling and Jungle Crow.

4-6 March : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Sunny, Temp in Hara Village: High 49.1, Low 14.4 (F)
We went to Tateshina after two months interval. We feel the season is changing... On March 6, it was snowing in the morning, and the first strong south winds of the year blew in Tokyo. Still we enjoyed the wood stove in Tateshina. There were many things to do in Tateshina....to go to Nobeyama to see Horned Lark and thanks to our birding friend in Suwa, we could see the small cute bird. It was protectively colored and hard to find it. Anyway, we enjoyed to see and hear the cheerful songs of Siskin and Goldcrest. We can't wait to see migrating birds, summer visitor. ....And we found a cozy nest of Long-tailed Tit in our garden tree in Tateshina. We expect to see cute fledglings after a month...(^.^)
Other birds we saw were Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Rufous Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Wren, Dusky Thrush, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Horned Lark, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Azure-winged Magpie, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.

23 January : Inokashira Park (Tokyo) Sunny and shivery, Temp in Tokyo: High 41.5, Low 30 (F)
The National Center Test for University Admissions were held on 21 & 22 January. As usual, my husband supervised the test takers both of two days. He took compensatory day off on Monday, so we went to Kichijoji for storolling in the park and the mall. In Inokashira park, there were Jungle Crows as many as walkers. We didn't know why there were so many birdwatchers, even though it was Monday. The easiest way to see the birds is to find the birdwatchers. We could easily see cute Common Kingfisher(female), because two cameras aimed her. In the city park, especially in winter, many water birds are artificially fed. They come very close to people. I tried to take some photos with my camera phone, and I shot it. It is not bad, isn't it?

9 January : Watarase flood control basin (Tochigi) 11:00-16:50 , Temp in Tabebayashi: High 43.9, Low 26.8(F)
According to our pedometer, we walked 17,000 steps.
It was too cold to stay in Tateshina in mid-winter. We decided to stay in Tokyo area, and went to Watarase to see Short-eared Owl! When we arrived there, there were already 30 cars who waited for the dusk at the parking area. We walked to the end of the bank, and found it was flying! We went this way and that, chasing it. Finally, it flew away, mobbed by Carrion Crow. Sigh...we lost its sight. On our way back to the car, we saw the streamy flock of Rook. Someday, we want to record their voice clearly.
Birds we saw were Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Gray Heron, Mallard, Pintail, Smew, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Merlin, Coot, Lapwing, Rufous Turtle Dove, Short-eared Owl, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Water Pipit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Daurian Redstart, Brown Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Great Tit, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Reed Bunting, Long-tailed Rose Finch, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Daurian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jungle Crow.

28 Dec. 05 - 4 Jan. 06 November : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Sunny and snow, Temp in Hara Village: High 42.6, Low 8.4 (F)
30 Dec. Suwako-lake
On the frozen Suwako-lke, there was a Steller's Sea-Eagle as it was every year. And it was very far from every point of the lakeside, as usual. Anyway, we were veri satisfied to see it. On the unfrozen lake there were small and cute Smews(male and female).

Birds we saw were Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Bewick's Swan, Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Pintail, Smew, Common Merganser, Black Kite, Steller's Sea-Eagle, Sparrow Hawk, Coot, Woodcock, Rufous Turtle Dove, Ural Owl, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Wren, Daurian Redstart, Dusky Thrush, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Yellow-throated Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Long-tailed Rose Finch, Red-Crossbill, Hawfinch, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Azure-winged Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jungle Crow and squirrel.