The aim was to see an earlier spotted Pine Bunting, but apart from busloads of of birders we only found other buntings. The supposed spot of the Great Grey Shrike was swarmed by highly equipped photographers.
- Neil Fergusson
12/13 Nobeyama in Nagano, near western Yamanashi, SE of Mt. Yatugatake.
Tohden-chosei-ike, a reservoir in Saku City 10:30a-5p.
Participants: TERADA Kazumi and Neil FERGUSSON
Weather: mild and sunny
- Little Grebe 5
- Great Cormorant 2
- Great Egret 10
- Grey Heron 5
- Mallard 40
- Spot-billed Duck 20
- Green-winged Teal 8
+ Baikal Teal 1 (male)
- Eurasian Wigeon 20
- Northern Pintail 10
- Common Pochard 10
- Tufted Duck 5
+ Smew 8
- Common Merganser 4
- Black Kite 50
+ Eurasian Kestrel 2
- Rufous Turtle-dove 5
- Domestic Pigeon +
- White Wagtail 3
- Brown-eared Bulbul 6
- Bull-headed Shrike 2
+ Great grey Shrike 1
- Daurian Redstart 1
- Dusky Thrush 6
+ Willow Tit 3
- Great Tit 6
+ Pine Bunting 2
- Siberian Meadow Bunting +
- Rustic Bunting +
+ Yellow-throated Bunting +
- Oriental Greenfinch +
+ Long-tailed Rose Finch +
- Tree Sparrow +
- Grey Starling 6
- Azure-winged Magpie 1
- Jungle Crow +
- crow sp. +
12/19 Nobeyama & Tohden-chosei-ike 10:30a-5p
Participants: Fer-Jan DEVRIES, Neil FERGUSSON, IKENAGA Hiroshi,
Catrin JASCHHOF, Mathias JASCHHOF, KATAYAMA Shuusaku
Weather: mild and sunny; a bit windy
Although the birding was only moderately succesful around
Nobeyama, the last half hour of the day, spent at Tohden-chosei-ike,
produced some nice waterfowl. Most of the ducks were present,
including four female BAIKAL TEAL [Tomoe-gamo],
a FALCATED TEAL [Yoshi-gamo], several SMEW [Miko-aisa],
and a MANDARIN DUCK [Oshidori]. There was also a side-by-side
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE [Ma-gan] and BEAN GOOSE [Hishikui].
- Temminck's Cormorant 2
- Great Egret 4
- Little Egret 1
- Grey Heron 1
+ Greater White-fronted Goose 1
+ Bean Goose 1
+ Mandarin Duck 1
+ Mallard +
+ Spot-billed Duck +
+ Green-winged Teal +
+ Baikal Teal 4
+ Falcated Teal 1
+ Eurasian Wigeon +
+ Northern Pintail +
+ Common Pochard +
+ Tufted Duck +
+ Smew 10
+ Common Merganser 10
+ Black Kite +
+ Eurasian Kestrel 1
- European Coot 1
- Rufous Turtle-dove 2
+ Common Kingfisher 1
+ Japanese Green Woodpecker 1
+ Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
- Brown-eared Bulbul 2
- Dusky Thrush 8
- Great Tit 2
+ Pine Bunting 1
+ Siberian Meadow Bunting +
+ Rustic Bunting +
+ Yellow-throated Bunting 1
- Oriental Greenfinch +
+ Long-tailed Rose Finch +
- Tree Sparrow 200
- Carrion Crow +
- crow sp. +
12/20 Nikko area including: Yuudaki falls, Senjougahara marsh,
Chu(u)zenjiko Lake (in passing by car), and Kotoku-ike;
then off to Watarase Yuusuichi (north entrance) near Koga city
in the Four Corners area (Ibaraki, Saitama, Tochigi, and
Gunma prefectures) for Harriers.
Weather was Sunny, mild, and a bit windy in the lowlands,
but fairly cold and snowing in and around Senjougahara.
In the higher altitudes, because of the snow, there was little
bird activity. It was rather hopeless trying to locate the
previously reported PALLAS'S ROSEFINCH [Oo-mashiko]
and ROSY FINCH [Hagi-mashiko] in the area.
At one point I managed to pish up a GREAT TIT [Shijuu-gara].
We did, however, manage to flush the SOLITARY SNIPE [Ao-shigi],
which was sitting still along the tiny flow which leads from
the road just before the gate (a small building) of the falls area
to the main river just downstream from the falls.
We only managed a one or two second glance of the bird as it
zig-zagged off through the trees to the main river.
In Watarase, We enjoyed the daily (between 4:00 and 4:45 pm)
return of the Harriers to their roost in the reeds.
No less than ten HEN HARRIER [Haiiro-chuuhi] appeared
right on schedule, the ratio of males to females being about 50-50.
These birds seem to like only one field for their roost,
the more common MARSH HARRIER [Chuuhi] settling in the
adjacent fields.
According to a photographer a WHITE-TAILED EAGLE [Ojiro-washi]
had made an appearance an hour earlier.
Participants: TERADA Kazumi and Neil FERGUSSON
- Little Grebe 1
- Eared Grebe 6
- Great Cormorant 100
- Great Egret 3
- Gray Heron 3
- Mallard 3 (falls)
- Common Pochard 20
- Tufted Duck 20
- Black Kite 50
+ Northern Harrier 10
+ Marsh Harrier 4
+ Eurasian Kestrel 2
* Solitary Snipe 1
- Rufous Turtle-dove 3
- Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker' 1
- Japanese Wagtail 2
- Brown-eared Bulbul 4
+ Brown Dipper 2
- Daurian Redstart 1 (roadkill)
- Dusky Thrush 5
- Long-tailed Tit 5
- Great Tit 2
+ reed bunting sp. 10
+ Hawfinch 1
- Carrion Crow +
- crow sp. +
+ Japanese Maquaque 15 (48 curves road)
+ Japanese Squirrel 1 (woods near falls)
+ Shika Deer (scat only and trees bared)