Birding Diary Jan. - June, 2008
Birding Diary Jan. - June, 2008
June 19-22 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) ,
Temp in Hara Village: High 25.6(C), Low 16.2(C) (F)
We just enjoy staying in Tateshina.... There are 3 bed rooms and cozy room with wood stove, other living room and comfortable kitchen. We are happy to be here, better than in Tokyo. So every weekend, as much as we can, we come to Tateshina just to sleep. The most enjoyable season for bird listening was over. Now we have to take care of the garden: waiting for the currants and berries are ripe. And this weekend we enjoyed just walking in the forest and having lunch at our favorite cafe....thank you for the beautiful herb-bouquet!!
Birds we saw/confirmed were Spot-billed Duck, Black Kite, Rufous Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Little Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Gray Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Wren, Siberian Blue Robin, Gray Thrush, Brown Thrush, Short-tailed Bush Warbler, Bush Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Crowned Willow Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Great Tit, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
June 6-8 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) ,
Temp in Hara Village: High 23.1, Low 8.3 (C)
Birds we saw/confirmed were Black Kite, Pheasant, Rufous Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Little Cuckoo, Ural Owl, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Skylark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Gray Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Siberian Blue Robin, Brown Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
May 30-June2 : Tateshina and Okushiga (Nagano)
June 1, 16:25-19:50,Temp in Nozawa-onsen: High 21.4, Low 8.2 (C)
Birds we saw/confirmed in Okushiga were Horsfield's Hawk-Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Little Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Wren, Siberian Blue Robin, Siberian Thrush, Short-tailed Bush Warbler, Bush Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Coal Tit, Japanese White-eye, Gray Bunting, Jay and Jungle Crow.
May 26-27 Rokkasho-mura Village(Aomori Pref.)
Marmot, gouty patient, went on a business trip to Rokkasho-mura Village. Not only he is suffering from gout but also got whooping cough, almost got over now. What a wonderful May! Anyway, he couldn't absent from the visit, had difficulty in walking though. During the supervised tour in the Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant, he heard the voice of Wryneck. He felt fabulously interested in it, and it tugged back at him, but at work! Someday, we can record the voice of Wryneck, I am sure, I hope!
May 24-25 : Togakushi Heights (Nagano), Temp in Shinanomachi Village: High 74.1, Low 56.3 (F)
We couldn't see Ruddy Kingfisher, some people heard/saw him though. We missed him and we miss him!
Anyway, Togakushi Heights is the special place for bird watchers, we think. It is one of "the Holy Ground" for birds. You are super lucky, if you happen to see Ruddy Kingfisher. We can't even feel the presence of him.
Anyway, we enjoy walking around, marmot beome proficient in walking on crutches. The area we can walk in restricted to promenade with wood, and walking on the wet wood is dangerous, so we hurry away our steps and return to our car. It is only four hours of strolling but enough for us. We heard the songs of Narcissus Flycatchers, Gray Thrush and Black-faced Bunting, and could see a cute female of Narcissus Flycatcher among beautiful tender green. Next morning, we wake up with the strong sound of falling rain, at 4 a.m. Marmot murmurs..."heavy rain, no way, no birding" and return to deep sleep. And around at 6, it becmes light rain and we go out! It raing heavily, off and on, and we can hear the paradise song in the intervals. Listening the heavenly sound of Paradise Flycatcher, I drop off into mysterious sleep, I can't describe in a word.... We will be back here again, the same season next year...
Birds we saw/confirmed were Rufous Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Little Cuckoo, Japanese Green Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, Gray Wagtail, Ashy Minivet, Brown-eared Bulbul, Siberian Blue Robin, Gray Thrush, Brown Thrush, Bush Warbler, Narcissus Flycatcher, Brown Flycatcher, Willow Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Japanese Yellow Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
May 1-6 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) ,Temp in Hara Village: High 77.5, Low 39.2 (F)
Marmot had very bad cold, he was barely able to speak. On the fist day of Golden Week Holiday, he already knew he would be down with the cold, and he thought it would be better to sleep in Tateshina than in Tokyo. You Were Right! I was Busy in Taking him to the HospitalS though. Anyway, it is the best season for bird listenieng! Blue, yellow, brown and black birds are singing cheerfully, and sometimes doing quiet territorial feud. The winner of Blue-and-White Flycatcher was the first comer. I have never saw him get so angry. The intruder was the beautiful blue one, so he will find a good partner in his new territory. Soon after that, we found a female was perching on the tree. We were very happy to see her, and the male was more and yet more!! He was switched on and began singing on the top of the tree with strong voice. And in the same bush, there was another blue bird, Siberian Blue Robin. We also witnessed their silent quarrel, and he was the winner. The Narcissus Flycatcher was still fighting, but gave short shrift to the intruder. Now we are waiting for the females' arrival.
Now marmot recovered from his cold, and I have a sore throat. Sigh...
Birds we saw/confirmed were Black Kite, Rufous Turtle Dove, Little Cuckoo, Ural Owl, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Siberian Rubythroat, Gray Thrush, Brown Thrush, Bush Warbler, Goldcrest, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Brown Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Black-faced Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Red-cheeked Myna, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
April 25-29 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano), Temp in Hara Village: High 68.2, Low 32.9 (F)
Spring has come, welcome back migrating birds!
In my neighborhood, there come many migrating birds again. Welcome back! Evey morning, we get up very early, earlier than birds, and waiting them begin singing. Our basic bird listening style is...strolling, watching and recording, and having a coffee break. Sorry, we are a lazy couple. And this morning, we make towards the songs as usual and find the CMYKs: Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, Brown Thrush, Narcissus Flycatcher and Gray Thrush! They mover very quickly and I can't take photos, unable to see it with a telescope. Anyway, we are excited to see the yellow birds are fighting with buzz. It is not a bee, it is Narcissus Flycatcher. They keep fighting for more than 30 minutes, and I am freezing. I hope they both will find a good companion.
Birds we saw/confirmed were Black Kite, Pheasant, Rufous Turtle Dove, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Skylark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, White's Ground Thrush, Gray Thrush, Brown Thrush, Bush Warbler, Pale-legged Willow 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, Rustic Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
April 18-20 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano), Temp in Hara Village: High 58.5, Low 39.9 (F)
How I miss you, migrating birds....
We are excited to see red, blue, yellow and black birds from the South. As usual, we drive at night and enter the wood country. I wake up with the voice of White's Ground Thrush around 4 o'clock. It is difficult to see, but it's OK for us to hear the subtle and profound song of White's Ground Thrush, I would be happy if I can see and take some photos though. (Do I ask too much?) Anyway!! Our most favorite birds, Gray Thrush is singing cheerfully. You'll never know how we love you. And furthermore, we find a smart bird perching on the electric wire, and it is HIM, we are expecting you. Welcome back! How we feel happy to see you again...
Birds we saw/confirmed were Little Grebe, Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Rufous Turtle Dove, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, House Martin, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Wren, White's Ground Thrush, Gray Thrush, Brown Thrush, Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
April 12-14 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano), Temp in Hara Village: High 59.5, Low 37.0 (F)
We are eager to see summer birds, and in a week they will come. Japanese Grosbeak and Gray Wagtail are singing cheerfully, and their song make us happy.
Birds we saw/confirmed were Little Grebe, Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Rufous Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Gray Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Wren, White's Ground Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Bush Warbler, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
April 5 : Shinjuku Gyoen Nnational Garden (Tokyo) Temp in Tokyo: High 67.2, Low 51.6 (F)
Marmot and I go to the Cherry Blossom Viewing picnic at Shinjuku Gyoen, an innner-city park. It is good way to spend a weekend like this, isnt' it?
March 28-30 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano),
Temp in Hara Village: High 49.1, Low 24.6 (F)
It is still extremely cold in Tateshina, freezer temperetures here! We expect to see Red Crossbill, in vain. The traffic is too busy to see birds, so we give up waiting and move to the next birding point. In the mountain area, Wren is singing cheerfully and strongly! And beside a river, we can see Greater Pied Kingfisher after all these years! How have you been?
Birds we saw/confirmed were Spot-billed Duck, Common Buzzard, Rufous Turtle Dove, Greater Pied Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, House Martin,Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Bull-headed Shrike, Wren, White's Ground Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Japanese Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay and Carrion Crow.
March 19-23 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano), Temp in Hara Village: High 62.8, Low 27.1 (F)
Happy Easter!
It is a Easter Sunday, and I feel a little guilty that I do not attend the Easter Mass. We are not a Christian couple, only I am a Christian, so I rarely attend the Sunday Mass...sorry... I want to make the most of every weekend, which we have together. After returning to Tokyo, we went to Kandagawa-river for cherry blossom viewing. We have to wait for a few days to full bloom, but we enjoyed the flower, and it is enough for us!
Birds we saw/confirmed were Black Kite, Sparrow Hawk, Common Buzzard, Rufous Turtle Dove, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul ,Bull-headed Shrike, Wren, 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, Red-Crossbill, Japanese Grosbeak, Hawfinch, Tree Sparrow, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
16 March : Akigase (Saitama) Warm, cloudy though, Temp in Saitama 65.7, Low 48.6 (F)
The cherry blossoms began to bloom :-)
There was a binary decision for us: 1)Yatsu Tide Land to see Saunders's Gull in black head, and 2)Akigase, mainly just for walk. We chose 2) and enjoyed walking and picnicing. It meant...there was no particular bird, we could record the voice of Goshawk though. In the park, we saw many family doing barbecue, and it smelled. We knew the outdoor activity season has come, and have to prepare for the traffic jam. Sigh....
Birds we saw/confirmed were Goshawk, Bamboo Patridge, Rufous Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Skylark, White Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Pale Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Bush Warbler, Great Tit, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Azure-winged Magpie and Jungle Crow.
February 16-18 & 22-24 : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Sunny, cloudy, windy and snow, Temp in Hara Village: High 39, Low 2.8 (F)
Five years ago, we had a lot snow in Tateshina, and we could see many Red Crossbills here. Last warm winter, we have met many Palla's Rosy Finch here. And this winter, it is one of the coldest winter we have ever had....and now we can meet "Red Bird" here again.... Which bird do you think we can see this winter??? Yes, Red Crossbills came to "the wall" again, and it means we have more chance to record their song/voice. Till the end of February, we have to make recordings of something...a certain bird song, with LS-10. (It is stylish and high-quality PCM recorder.)
Well, whatsoever, anyway, anyhow....we want to record winter cheerful songs in mid-winter. But it was freeeeeeeezing in the mountain area. And we know from our experience, that even in this freezing weather, Red Crossbill would sing cheerfully on the sunny day. If all the conditions are met, recording is simple and easy. But under the unexpected circumstances, many things had happened. Red Crossbill is singing just above our head, and...1) the wind blows, 2) a jet plane is flying over, 3) snow clearing machine begins working and 4) hear the hunting gunshots. We are eager to have one good recording, only one would be enough for us now. We sit it out...(Feb 16 10:30-15:30; Feb 17 8:10-15:30; Feb 18 9:00-11:35; Feb 22 10:20-14:00; Feb 23 10:10-30) And somehow, we did it! We want to stay as long as we can, and try to take better recording, but we also want to keep ourselves away from the hunting guns!! There was a couple of chances for recording, and we want our recordings would meet their expectations. Anyway, we want to say "thank you" for giving us this fun time and LS-10!
Birds we saw/confirmed were Bewick's Swan, Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Common Merganser, Black Kite, Steller's Sea-Eagle, Copper Pheasant, Rufous Turtle Dove, Japanese Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Siberian Bluechat, Daurian Redstart, Brown Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Rustic Bunting, Yellow-throated Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Long-tailed Rose Finch, Red-Crossbill, Japanese Grosbeak, Hawfinch, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Jay, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
February 11, 08 : Kitamoto Nature Observation Park (Saitama) Sunny and warm, Temp in Saitama: High 48.9, Low 29.8 (F)
We are eager to take good recording for the Website for Olympus, because we will write an article on LS-10. It is new on sale and we made a contract to write a report on the Website for Olympus. This PCM recorder is very smart and stylish and we both like it very very much! The sound quality is also good. Please listen to the call of Long-tailed Rose Finch. Isn't it good?
Next weekend, we are going to stay in Tateshina, with much snow!! I will make a report what kind of birds we can meet. (I expect to see Red Cross-bill, because our friend told us he saw them singing and courtship feeding. We hope to record their songs!!!!!!!
Birds we saw/confirmed were Green-winged Teal, Pintail, Goshawk, Bamboo Patridge, Rufous Turtle Dove, Wryneck, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Daurian Redstart, Brown Thrush, Dusky Thrush, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Oriental Greenfinch, Long-tailed Rose Finch, Hawfinch, Tree Sparrow and Jungle Crow.
2 February : In our veranda (Suginami-ku, Tokyo) Cloudy after sunny, Temp in Tokyo: High 39.1, Low 29.1 (F)
My new year's resolution: writing birding diary, every time, without fail!?!?(I don't know, I can do it.)
It is very cold this winter and it is expected to snow tomorrow. We are very lazy recently. And today, we decided to bird watching, listening and recording from our warm living room. There are five planters in our veranda. In the winter months, we lavish Tree Sparrow, Japanese White-eye and Brown-eared Bulbul: by placing some abortive kernel and oranges on the empty planters. Every morning, 6 Tree Sparrows come and sing. pressing us for breakfast. At one time, we saw more than thirty Sparrows are gathering and fighting! Today there are six Japanese White-eye and doing aerial battle. Stop quarreling, cute guys and ladyhoods! It is our daily routine to place their food, only during winter.
28 December - 5 January : Tateshina and its vicinities (Nagano) Temp in Hara Village: High --, Low -- (F)
Birds we saw/confirmed were Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Black Kite, Rough-legged Buzzard, Rufous Turtle Dove, Short-eared Owl, Ural Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Gray Wagtail, White Wagtail, Japanese Wagtail, Brown-eared Bulbul, Bull-headed Shrike, Wren, Daurian Redstart, Dusky Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Japanese White-eye, Siberian Meadow Bunting, Rustic Bunting, Yellow-throated Bunting, Brambling, Oriental Greenfinch, Siskin, Rosy Finch, Long-tailed Rose Finch, Red-Crossbill, Tree Sparrow, Gray Starling, Azure-winged Magpie, Carrion Crow and Jungle Crow.
