Hello Kantorians,

In January, winter seemed intent on making up for its earlier reticence by bringing colder weather, daily snow, and thankfully lots more birds. Many species which had been absent in December became common and widespread, such as Dusky Thrush and Brambling. In the second week, all of the large lakes completely froze (and were quickly descended upon by ice fishermen). The ice drove all of the waterfowl either out of the area or into smaller, spring-fed ponds, quite convenient for us. The breadcrumb-snatching Whooper and Bewick's Swans became more aggressive, and the odd Falcated Duck and Smew dropped in for a few days at a time, but were a little more "wild". Numbers and variety of gulls grew along the northeast coast, but almost all of the Herrings and Black-taileds departed, surprisingly.

The most surprising bird seen (in my opinion), aside from the apparent first-year Iceland Gull seen at Shirinuka, was the Japanese Green Woodpecker seen flying in front of me, while Harlequins and an Oldsquaw swam in a harbor 100 meters behind me.

January 1998

Here is our list of January observations, all from the most northeasterly 90 km of Honshu coastline (between Hachinohe and Shiriyazaki), all essentially at sea-level. A preceding '-' indicates 5 or less individuals seen during the month, while '+' indicates 100 or more:


-Arctic Loon		Gavia arctica		Ohamu
-Red-necked Grebe	Podiceps grisegena	Akaeri-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
-Bean Goose		Anser fabalis		Hishikui
+Mallard		Anas platyrhynchos	Ma-gamo
+Spot-billed Duck	Anas poecilorhyncha	Karu-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
-Smew			Mergus albellus		Miko-aisa
Red-breasted Merganser	Mergus serrator		Umi-aisa
+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
-Iceland Gull (apparent)	Larus glaucoides	??
+Common Gull		Larus canus		Kamome
C. Black-headed Gull	Larus ridibundus	Yuri-kamome
+Black-legged Kittewake	Larus tridactylus	Mitsuyubi-kamome
Great Egret		Egretta alba		Dai-sagi
Gray Heron		Ardea cinerea		Ao-sagi
European Coot		Fulica atra		O-ban
-Long-billed Plover	Charadrius placidus	Ikaru-chidori
-Kentish Plover		Charadrius alexandrinus	Shiro-chidori
+Dunlin			Calidris alpina		Hama-shigi
Sanderling		Crocethia alba		Miyubi-shigi
-White-tailed Eagle	Haliaeetus albicilia	Ojiro-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
-Merlin			Falco columbarius	Ko-chogenbo
-Eurasian Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus	Chogenbo
-Com. (Green) Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus	Kiji
Rufous Turtle Dove	Streptopelia orientalis	Kiji-bato
-Common Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis		Kawasemi
-Japanese Green Woodp	Picus awokera		Ao-gera
Great Spotted Woodp.	Dendrocopus major	Aka-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
-Coal Tit		Parus ater		Hi-gara
Great Tit		Parus major		Shiju-kara
-Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus	Enaga
Meadow Bunting		Emberiza cioides	Hojiro
Rustic Bunting		Emberiza rustica	Kashira-daka
-Lapland Longspur	Calcarius lapponicus	Tsumenaga-hojiro
Oriental Greenfinch	Carduelis sinica		Kawara-hiwa
Eurasian Siskin		Carduelis spinus	Ma-hiwa
+Common Redpoll		Acanthis flammea	Beni-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 6, 1998