The highlights were all 4 loons (the single Yellow-billed at close range, molting into alternate plumage), all 5 grebes, both sea-eagles (a single adult Steller's on the ice of Ogawara-Ko), well over a thousand White-fronted Geese (which presumably had quit Izu-numa early) and nearly every species of waterfowl we'd ever seen in Japan.
There many (other) signs of Spring. Black-tailed Gulls have returned in immaculate plumage, and most of the adult Slaty-backed Gulls have shed their winter head streaking. Pochards are departing in flocks, and being replaced by more by the next morning (or is it the same birds returning?). Tits are singing, woodpeckers are drumming, and Gray Starlings, present all winter in flocks, are now exclusively in pairs. Dusky Thrushes have descended from the trees, and are now feeding on the exposed ground near the edges of thawing ice and snow.
-Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii Hashijiro-abi Arctic Loon Gavia arctica Ohamu -Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica Shiroeri-ohamu Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata Abi -Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus Kanmuri-kaitsuburi Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena Akaeri-kaitsuburi Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus Mimi-kaitsuburi -Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Hajiro-kaitsuburi -Little Grebe Podiceps ruficollis Kaitsuburi Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Kawa-u Temminck's Cormorant P. filamentosus Umi-u Pelagic Cormorant P. pelagicus Hime-u +Whooper Swan Cygnus olor Kobu-hakucho Bewick's Swan C. columbianus Ko-hakucho -Brant Branta bernicla (nigrescens) Koku-gan +Gr. White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons Ma-gan -Bean Goose Anser fabalis Hishikui +Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Ma-gamo +Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha Karu-gamo -Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata Hashibiro-gamo Common Teal Anas crecca Ko-gamo Falcated Duck Anas falcata Yoshi-gamo Gadwall Anas strepera Okayoshi-gamo +Northern Pintail Anas acuta Onaga-gamo Eurasion Wigeon Anas penelope Hidori-gamo +Common Pochard Aythya ferina Hoshi-hajiro +Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Hojiro-gamo +Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula Kinkuro-hajiro Greater Scaup Aythya marila Suzu-gamo +Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus Shinori-gamo *Oldsquaw Clangula hyemalis Kori-gamo Common (Black) Scoter Melanitta nigra Kuro-gamo *-Velvet (White-winged) Scoter Melanitta fusca Birodo-kinkuro Smew Mergus albellus Miko-aisa Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator Umi-aisa -Common Merganser Mergus merganser Kawa-aisa *-Common Murre (Guillemot) Uria aalge Umigarasu -Thick-billed Murre (Brunnich's G)Uria lomvia Hashibuto-umigarasu *Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiquus Umisuzume *-Least Auklet Aethia pusilla Ko-umisuzume *-Crested (not Cassin's?) Auklet Aethia cristatella Etorofu-umisuzume Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata Utou +Slaty-backed Gull Larus schistisagus O-seguro-kamome Herring Gull Larus argentatus vegae Seguro-kamome Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris Umineko Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens Washi-kamome Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus Shiro-kamome +Common Gull Larus canus Kamome +C. Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus Yuri-kamome Great Egret Egretta alba Dai-sagi Gray Heron Ardea cinerea Ao-sagi +Japanese (Red-crowned) Crane Grus japonensis Tancho +European Coot Fulica atra O-ban -Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus Shiro-chidori +Dunlin Calidris alpina Hama-shigi Sanderling Crocethia alba Miyubi-shigi -White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilia Ojiro-washi -Steller's Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus O-washi +Black Kite Milvus migrans Tobi Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Nosuri -Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis O-taka -European Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus Hai-taka -Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Haya-busa *-Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus Komimi-zuku -Com. (Green) Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Kiji Rufous Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis Kiji-bato -Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis Kawasemi Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus major Aka-gera Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos kizuki Ko-gera Black-backed Wagtail Motacilla ? Haku-sekirei -Japanese Wagtail Motacilla grandis Seguro-sekirei +Brown-eared Bulbul Hypsipetes amaurotis Hiyodori -Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus Mozu -Wren Troglodytes troglodytes Misosazai -Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius Isohiyodori +Dusky Thrush Turdus naumanni Tsugumi Goldcrest Regulus regulus Kikuitadaki *-Marsh Tit Parus palustris Hashibuto-gara *Willow Tit Parus montanus Ko-gara -Coal Tit Parus ater Hi-gara Great Tit Parus major Shiju-kara -Varied Tit Parus varius Yama-gara -Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus Enaga *Nuthatch Sitta europaea Goju-kara *Tree Creeper Certhia familiaris Kibashiri Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides Hojiro -Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica Kashira-daka *-Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala Aoji Oriental Greenfinch Carduelis sinica Kawara-hiwa Eurasian Siskin Carduelis spinus Ma-hiwa Brambling Fringilla montifringilla Atori -Long-tailed Rose Finch Uragus sibiricus Beni-mashiko Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula Uso Hawfinch Coocothraustes coccothraustes Shime +Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus Suzume +Gray Starling Sturnus cineraceus Mukudori Jay Garrulus glandarius Kakesu Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyana Onaga Carrion Crow Corvus corone Hashiboso-gara +Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Hashibuto-garasu Mike Aomori-ken Feb 28, 1998