We visited all 3 major feeding sites for Red-crowned Cranes (Tancho) in the Kushiro area. All have become very built up for tourists, but Tancho no Sato, the westernmost one, just north of the town of Akan, presents the birds in a "wilder" setting. Certainly we felt this was the best site for photography, even though the birds were actually closer at the other two sites. The cranes indulged in a lot of dancing, certainly the most spectacular sight we've seen in Japan. We also visited the roost at the bridge over the Setsurigawa. The birds were rather distant, but there were dozens of photographers lined up on the bridge early in the morning.
Other birds at the crane sites were Oriental Greenfinch (Kawara-hiwa), Hawfinch (Shime), Brambling (Atori), Long-tailed Rose Finch (Beni-mashiko), Long-tailed (Enaga), Willow (Ko-gara), Coal (Hi-gara) and Great (Shiju-kara) Tits, White-tailed Eagle (Ojiro-washi), Sparrowhawk (Hai-taka), Dusky Thrush (Tsugumi), Japanese Wagtail (Seguro-sekirei) and others. Sika Deer and Red Fox were also plentiful.
We had barely left Kushiro, heading west towards Furen-Ko, when we saw a pair of adult Steller's Sea-Eagles (O-washi) perched at the top of a tall tree along the road. We were encouraged by this, believing that it meant there would be a lot where we were going. This turned out not to be the case (more below).
We stayed at Minshuku Furen-Ko, with Matsuo-San and his family. It was very comfortable, the food excellent, and Matsuo-San was very knowledgable about the birds and other wildlife in the area. He told us that on February 1, he had seen 800 Steller's Sea-Eagles (O-washi) sitting on the ice at one time from a small spit extending into the lake. He explained that in recent years, there had been a steady decline in their numbers at the traditional roosts near Rausu on the Shiretoko peninsula, and that many of these birds now wintered in protected, wooded valleys near the lake. In the morning, we went to the spit he showed us, but incredibly, a 180 degree scan with binoculars turned up not a single bird on the ice. He was shocked later when we told him this, as it was Sunday, a working day for the ice fishermen, whose scraps attract the eagles there. Rather than wait around there, we headed out around Nosappumisaki. This was a cold and windy place, but there were eagles of both species there, although not in large numbers (about 10 Steller's and about 20 White-taileds wound up our highest daily counts). On the plus side, they were both very photographable at one location, hanging motionless in the wind above a place where some fish had been left out recently. The Glaucous Gulls (Shiro-kamome) chased after them, but were ignored.
Scanning the ocean did not reveal the hoped-for Spectacled Guillemots (Keima-furi) on any day, but there were a lot of Ancient Murrelets (Umisuzume). Overnight, the wind blew a lot of sea ice in to shore from the north, leaving the south side open, wind-sheltered and attractive to tired ducks and alcids. There were Red-necked Grebe (Akaeri-kaitsuburi), Common Scoters (Kuro-gamo), Common Goldeneyes (Hojiro-gamo), Red-breasted Mergansers (Umi-aisa), Oldsquaws (Kori-gamo), Harlequins (Shinori-gamo), Common Murres (Umigarasu), Ancient Murrelets (Umisuzume), and Least Auklets (Ko-umisuzume). At one point, as I walked down to the water's edge, I saw a small, gray alcid swim around behind a rock (never to reappear), and I immediately knew it was a Cassin's Auklet, a bird I've seen in the thousands in California). Since seeing a bird we hadn't before seen in Japan is still not uncommon, I didn't think too much about it until later, when I became aware that that species does not occur in Japan. That's the kind of thing that can make one feel foolish! Would that I had known, I would have paid a lot more attention to it, and am now more-or-less forced by prudence to assume that it was probably a strangely dark-billed immature Crested Auklet (Etorofu-umisuzume).
This same afternoon, we saw a male Peregrine (Haya-busa), which had been perched on a tower overlooking this cove, suddenly take off purposefully down and out over the water, and strike a small bird on the surface about 500 meters from shore. It struck it twice more before clutching it and flying back in and past us with it to an unseen perch for plucking and dining. As it flew past, we saw enough of the face pattern of the victim to ascertain that it was an Ancient Murrelet (Umisuzume). There had been several other small alcids much closer to shore than this individual; it's a puzzle what made the falcon decide that that individual was a better bet for a meal. Only a little later, a 2nd year Glaucous Gull (Shiro-kamome), which had been making half-serious lunges at small alcids near the edge of the ice, managed to catch a Least Auklet (Ko-umisuzume). It drowned it, attempted unsuccessfully to swallow it whole, and then took off with it out over the sea ice, presumably to avoid the thieving eyes of other gulls. Unfortunately for the gull its flight didn't go unnoticed by a White-tailed Eagle (Ojiro-washi), which had no difficulty in pursuing the gull and stealing the auklet. It landed right away and wasted no time in consuming the bird.
As long as I'm on the subject of birds of prey in action (this has nothing to do with Hokkaido), the other morning I was visiting our duckpond, and saw a Goshawk (O-taka) catch a female Pochard (Hoshi-hajiro), and fly off with it to the ice at the edge of the pond. The duck, not dead yet, flapped and dragged the hawk several feet along the ice before succumbing. But the Gos had barely begun plucking when a Common Buzzard (Nosuri) dove in, startling it long enough to steal the duck and drag it to a somewhat protected spot at the edge of some reeds. The Goshawk sat on the ice nearby and waited. After about half an hour, the buzzard was staed, and the Goshawk moved in and had its fill. The rest was left to the assemblage of Jungle Crows (Hashibuto-garasu).
Back to Hokkaido .. Nosappumisaki kept us occupied for most of the time in that area, but one morning we made a brief attempt for Hazel Grouse (Ezo-raicho) and Black Woodpecker (Kuma-gera). Snow deeper than our boots kept us from going as far in on the forest tracks as we would have liked, and we didn't find either bird. Did however find Marsh Tit (Hasibuto-gara), Tree Creeper (Kibashiri), Goldcrest (Kikuitadaka), Nuthatch (Goju-kara), Great Spotted (Aka-gera) and Japanese Pygmy (Ko-gera) Woodpeckers, etc.
We also visited a well-known site for Blakiston's Fish-Owl (Shima-fukuro), but even though the weather conditions were excellent, we neither heard nor saw the bird there. The best we did was a flying squirrel (of unknown species?), and a few eagles heading to their roosts.
A stop at Kiritappu peninsula on the way back to Kushiro produced nothing new except Velvet Scoters (Birodo-kinkuro), although a Gyrfalcon had been wintering there, and even an Imperial Eagle had been seen sporadically.
good birding, Mike Aomori-ken, Februari 25, 1998
*************************** mikexlee@heronet.or.jp 011-81-176-53-2365 Misawa, Japan U.S. mail address physically located here: PSC 76 Box 6193 APO AP 96319-6193 ***************************