We took our own car on the overnight ferry from Hachinohe to Tomokomai. This has become our preferred strategy for birding Hokkaido. It's much easier and cheaper than flying, we can pile every imaginable accessory in the trunk and on the back seat, and it also saves the expense of car rental (which on Hokkaido suffers the additional problem of limited mileage allowance).
We arrived Tomakomai in early morning with some rain, and immediately headed to Utonai. We'd been wanting to visit there in winter to see what their feeder situation was. To our disappointment, the feeders were amazingly devoid of birds, except for a few tits, but we did enjoy great views of a White-backed Woodpecker (O-aka-gera) in the woods on the way in. A couple of Redpolls (Beni-hiwa) flew over.
The dreary weather and lack of bird activities in Utonai encouraged us to depart early for Furen-Ko, where we were to stay 4 nights at Minshuku Furen with Matsuo-San and his family. As last year, this was thoroughly enjoyable. Matsuo-San is not only very knowledgable on the local wildlife, but runs a very comfortable and quiet Minshuku. His dinners, if they aren't already, should be famous; they featured at least two new fish dishes or other kind of seafood each night. He is always able to tell us (or show us in a book) exactly what the fish are.
We shared the dinner table with other guests three of the four nights, and they were all birders. Along with them, we tried for the Blakiston's Fish-Owls (Shima-fukuro) each evening at the bridge. Earlier, one owl had been frequenting an open perch quite close to the bridge, but the nights we were there it made no appearance. On only one night did we hear the deep duetting of the pair down the river to the west.
Matsuo-San told us the biggest local concentration of eagles was at the north end of Furen-Ko, where 200 individuals (mostly Steller's) had recently been counted. The attraction there are scrap fish left on the ice by commercial fishermen. The fishermen make their rounds on the ice in snow-mobiles and small pickup trucks. My earlier "There's no way I'm walking out on ice" turned to "If it can hold a truck, I bet it can hold me and every camera and lens I own". Flocks of Black Kites (Tobi) and Slaty-backed (O-seguro-kamome) and Glaucous Gulls (Shiro-kamome) follow the fishermen around. The gulls wait patiently while the fishermen are working, sitting on ice not more than 30 feet away. They dive in only after the men leave the spot. The eagles are not far behind, although they seem to prefer to steal from the kites and from each other over picking up their own bits.
My strategy for photography became more-or-less to follow fishermen around the frozen lake. This was good exercise and netted a few pictures. I also got to see close-up what is the fishing technique. They use chain saws to cut holes in the foot-thick ice. Sometimes the ice needs to be chipped away with large grim-reaper-like blades to finish the job. They then haul in traps laid down the day before, take the "good" fish, dump the rejects on the ice, cover the holes with planks and move on. Each stop takes at least 15 minutes, with cutting through the ice consuming most of the time. Walking on a wide open frozen lake was a new experience for us. Once we got rid of the thought "I might fall in", it actually was very eye-opening (literally) to be so far from land and still on our feet.
In the afternoon a strong wind kicked up, and we foolishly decided to check Ochiishi. It was very cold around the lighthouse. There we saw the concentration of at least 500 Red-faced Cormorants (Chishima-ogarasu) gathered on the sea, some trickling in to roost on the cliff faces below and to either side of us. We knew of the presence of these birds in advance, but it made seeing them no less amazing.
We were lucky to have clear, warm weather and good visibility the day we birded Nosappumisaki. It didn't take too long to see a few Spectacled Guillemots (Keimafuri), and a small group of flyby Rock Sandpipers (Chishima-shigi), rather rare and local in Japan. A Peregrine (Hayabusa) perched on the tower at the tip and made a pass or two at unseen targets. This was probably the same bird as wintered in this spot last winter, the one we watched pluck a Least Auklet (Ko-umisuzume) from the sea surface.
On another day we'd planned on revisiting the eagles, but morning fog rolled in from the south. We changed our plans and successfully outran the fogbank by heading north to Notsuke-misaki, where we found several of both eagles, plus a few Northern Ravens (Watari-garasu, also scarce and local in Japan) and a single Snow Bunting (Yuki-hojiro). We stopped at Odaito, famous for its swans, but found the swan spectacle less impressive than the flocks we see in our own area (Aomori), but there were 4 male Canvasbacks there (O-hoshi-hajiro, rare in Japan), and a small group of Asian Rosy-Finches (Hagi-mashiko).
Some of the other guests at our minshuku had told us of seeing a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Ko-aka-gera) coming in to feeders at the campground at the Nakashibetsu Midori Forest park. It was not too far from Notsuke-misaki. This turned out to be a good place to take photos of some small birds, especially Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Aka-gera), which are normally quite shy of people. Here, they were relatively oblivious, as were the Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (Ko-gera) and the single female Lesser Spotted. We also enjoyed the white-headed Hokkaido form of the Long-tailed Tit (Enaga) here (and several other places). We spent at least a couple of hours by the feeders, then went through some snow returning to Furen-Ko. It turned out that down there it had snowed rather heavily for most of the afternoon, so our guesswork at fleeing the fog had worked out well.
After a final morning on the ice with the fishermen and the eagles, we drove west towards the Japanese Crane concentration in the Akan area, staying at the Akai-Bere, across the road from the crane center. We had come here last February only for a single morning, and were eager to see the afternoon feeding of fish to the cranes, not so much to watch the cranes eat fish but to see the White-tailed Eagles (Ojiro-washi) come in. We ended up having 5 afternoons here to watch this, but it wasn't until the last day that the sun came out and the wind direction was right so that I could put away the black & white film and take some color photos of these huge birds cruising by and overhead at quite close range.
This area, as in many other areas of Japan, had received little snow lately, and the fields used by the cranes, normally beautifully snow covered, were on the verge of being just muddy, a detraction from the aesthetics of the place. It tried to snow one of the nights we were there, but it got so warm the next day that the snow melted quickly. Well, at least that made being outside all that time comfortable. We didn't even wear our heavy coats and I didn't have to wear gloves for my fingers to work.
On a couple of middays, we checked the feeders at Tsurui-Mura, another spot where cranes are fed. Around the feeders was the largest flock of Hawfinches (Shime) I've ever seen, about 30 birds. There were also 2 or 3 Bohemian Waxwings (Kirenjaku) around, one of which came down to an old wooden feeder with apples. We'd seen a flock each of these in Kushiro and Nemuro, but here was a chance to watch one at leisure at close range. The owner told us that Japanese Waxwings (Hirenjaku) had been here a few days ago. Alas.
On our last morning, we went to a patch of forest said to be famous for Ural Owl (Fukuro, which we didn't find, but did find another Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Ko-aka-gera)). Getting to the site, we chanced upon an adult Northern Shrike (O-mozu) at the intersection of rts. 53 and 243. Even more interesting, though, were some tracks Lee found in the snow evidently made by a large cat. If we'd found these tracks in Alaska or Canada, we'd have easily pegged them as Lynx, but in Japan?
Around the Kushiro marsh, several Japanese Cranes (Tancho) had already arrived on breeding territories and were advertising themselves loudly. Several White-tailed Eagles (Ojiro-washi) circled the lakes and forests, and we saw our only Long-tailed Rose Finch (Beni-mashiko) of the trip. Sika deer were abundant.
After our 4 nights in this area were over, we drove west into a pink sunset to Tomokomai, where we took the midnight ferry back to Hachinohe. (As a matter of interest, we'd driven 2100 km in Hokkaido.) I'd chosen the midnight ferry rather than the 9:30 PM one because there would be some daylight on the Aomori end to do a little pelagic birding. There were more birds around than I'd expected, especially alcids, this thanks in part to flat seas. The smaller alcids were not at all numerous, but made up for that with variety. All but the Crested Auklet were well-seen, close to the boat. Since these were not in or near Hokkaido, I've listed them separately from the Hokkaido species list below. They will also be in the "March birds in Aomori-Ken" writeup later.
Birds seen from ferry: Laysan Albatross (4) Ko-ahodori Diomedea immutabilis Slaty-backed Gull O-seguro-kamome Larus schistisagus Black-tailed Gull Umineko Larus crassirostris Black-legged Kittiwake (200+) Mitsuyubi-kamome Larus tridactylus Common Murre (1) Umigarasu Uria aalge Thick-billed Murre (50) Hashibuto-umigarasu Uria lomvia Unidentified Murre (200) ??-Umigarasu Uria, sp.? Ancient Murrelet (4) Umisuzume Synthliboramphus antiquus Crested Auklet (1) Etorofu-umisuzume Aethia cristatella Least Auklet (2) Ko-umisuzume Aethia pusilla Parakeet Auklet (2) Umiomu Aethis psittacula Rhinoceros Auklet (1) Utou Cerorhinca monocerata Here's the Hokkaido bird list: Red-necked Grebe (1 Nosappumisaki) Akaeri-kaitsuburi Podiceps grisegena Temminck's Cormorant Umi-u Phalacrocorax filamentosus Red-faced Cormorant (500+ Ochiishi) Chishima-ogarasu Phalacrocorax urile Pelagic Cormorant (5-10 Nosappumisaki) Hime-u Phalacrocorax pelagicus Gray Heron Ao-sagi Ardea cinerea Whooper Swan (<200 Odaito) O-hakucho Cygnus olor Mallard Ma-gamo Anas platyrhynchos Common Teal Ko-gamo Anas crecca Falcated Duck (1 Odaito) Yoshi-gamo Anas falcata Gadwall (3 Utonai) Okayoshi-gamo Anas strepera Eurasian Wigeon Hidori-gamo Anas penelope Northern Pintail Onaga-gamo Anas acuta Pochard Hoshi-hajiro Aythya ferina Canvasback (4m Odaito) O-hoshi-hajiro Aythya valisineria Tufted Duck Kinkuro-hajiro Aythya fuligula Greater Scaup Suzu-gamo Aythya marila Common Scoter Kuro-gamo Melanitta nigra Velvet Scoter Birodo-kinkuro Melanitta ?? Harlequin Duck Shinori-gamo Histrionicus histrionicus Oldsquaw Kori-gamo Clangula hyemalis Common Goldeneye Hojiro-gamo Bucephala clangula Smew Miko-aisa Mergus albellus Red-breasted Merganser Umi-aisa Mergus serrator Common Merganser Kawa-aisa Mergus merganser Black Kite Tobi Milvus migrans White-tailed Eagle Ojiro-washi Haliaeetus albicilla Steller's Sea-Eagle (250 Furen-Ko) Owashi Haliaeetus pelagicus Common Buzzard Nosuri Buteo buteo Northern (Hen) Harrier (3 W. Kushiro) Haiiro-chuhi Circus cyaneus Peregrine Falcon (1 Nosappumisaki) Hayabusa Falco peregrinus Eurasian Kestrel (1 W. Kushiro) Chogenbo Falco tinnunculus Japanese Crane Tancho Grus japonensis Rock Sandpiper (10 Nosappumisaki) Chishima-shigi Calidris ptilocnemis Herring Gull (10-20) Seguro-kamome Larus argentatus vegae Glaucous-winged Gull (5) Washi-kamome Larus glaucescens Glaucous Gull (>300) Shiro-kamome Larus hyperboreus Slaty-backed Gull (>300) O-seguro-kamome Larus schistisagus Mew Gull Kamome Larus canus Black-tailed Gull (<15 Nosappumisaki) Umineko Larus crassirostris Common Murre Umigarasu Uria aalge Thick-billed Murre Hashibuto-umigarasu Uria lomvia Spectacled Guillemot (~5 Nosappumisaki)Keimafuri Cepphus carbo Least Auklet (1 Nosappumisaki) Ko-umisuzume Aethia pusilla Blakiston's Fish-owl (2h Nemuro area) Shima-fukuro Ketupa blakistoni Short-eared Owl (2 Akan area) Komimi-zuku Asio flammeus Black Woodpecker (1 Shunkunitai) Kuma-gera Dryocopus martius Great Spotted Woodpecker Aka-gera Dendrocopus major White-backed Woodpecker (1 Utonai) O-aka-gera Dendrocopus leucotos Lesser Sp. Woodp. (1 Nakashibetsu, 1 Kushiro marsh)Ko-aka-geraDendrocopus minor Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker Ko-gera Dendrocopos kizuki Black-backed Wagtail (1) Haku-sekirei Motacilla lugens Japanese Wagtail (5) Seguro-sekirei Motacilla grandis Brown-eared Bulbul Hiyodori Hypsipetes amaurotis Bull-headed Shrike (1 Tsetsurigawa) Mozu Lanius bucephalus Northern Shrike (1 Akan area) O-mozu Lanius excubitor Bohemian Waxwing (20 Kushiro, 10 Nemuro, 3 Akan area)Ki-renjaku Bombycilla garrulus Wren Misosazai Troglodytes troglodytes Dusky Thrush Tsugumi Turdus naumanni Goldcrest Kikuitadaki Regulus regulus Long-tailed Tit Enaga Aegithalos caudatus Marsh Tit Hashibuto-gara Parus palustris Willow Tit Ko-gara Parus montanus Coal Tit Hi-gara Parus ater Varied Tit Yama-gara Parus varius Great Tit Shiju-kara Parus major Nuthatch Goju-kara Sitta europaea Creeper Kibashiri Certhia familiaris Rustic Bunting Kashiradaka Emberiza rustica Snow Bunting (1 Notsuke-misaki) Yuki-hojiro Plectrophenax nivalis Brambling Atori Fringilla montifringilla Oriental Greenfinch Kawara-hira Carduelis sinica Siskin Ma-hiwa Carduelis spinus Common Redpoll (2 Utonai) Beni-hiwa Acanthis flammea Asian Rosy Finch (8 Odaito, 10 Akan) Hagi-mashiko Leucosticte artoa Long-tailed Rose Finch (1 Kushiro marsh)Beni-mashiko Uragus sibiricus Hawfinch Shime Coccothraustes coccothraustes Eurasian Tree Sparrow Suzume Passer montanus Gray Starling Mukudori Sturnus cineraceus Jay Kakesu Garrulus glandarius Carrion Crow Hashiboso-garasu Corvus corone Jungle Crow Hashibuto-garasu Corvus macrorhynchos Northern Raven (6 Notsuke-misaki) Watari-garasu Corvus corax Good birding, Mike and Lee