Hello Kantorians,

I'm getting the impression that most of you live and bird in the Tokyo area, or roughly around central Honshu, so I thought I'd give you an idea of what birding is like up where we live, in Eastern Aomori ken. This account is based on only a few discontinuous months' birding, and so lacks any descriptions of Spring or early summer. Please excuse me if I butchered any of the Japanese bird names.

Most of our birding activity revolves around Ogawara-ko, the largest of a group of several lakes near the Pacific coast. Even in summer, this area is interesting for its breeding birds, most notably Japanese Marsh Warblers (O-sekka) and Japanese Reed Buntings (Ko-jurin), both of which are common and conspicuous until the beginning of September. Also common are Gray-headed Buntings (Ho aka), Common Reed Buntings (O-jurin), Black-browed Reed Warblers (Ko-yoshikiri) and Oriental (Great?) Reed Warblers (O-yoshikiri). Probably also common but quite inconspicuous and not observed very often by us are Chinese Yellow and Schrenk's Bitterns (Yoshi-goi, O-yoshi-goi), Ruddy Crake (Hi-kuina) and Water Rail (Kuina), the latter two seen skulking across dirt roads through wet areas. Latham's Snipe (Oji-shiga) nests locally. One of the lakes has nesting Great Crested Grebes (Kanmuri-kaitsuburi).

Not far to the West of us is more hilly country (though not nearly so high as the Japan Alps) and Towada-ko, with its Oirase Gorge, renowned for its summer and fall scenery and foliage. We found nesting Gray Buntings (Kuroji) in this general area, as well as commoner Narcissus Flycatchers (Ki-bitaki). Brown Dippers (Kawagarasu) and Japanese Wagtails (Seguro-sekirei) are apparently resident. We found only a single Japanese Green Woodpecker (Ao-gera) in July, and a pair of White-backed Woodpeckers (O-aka-gera), among more numerous Great Spotted (Aka-gera) and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (Ko-gera). The latter two moved down to our coastal woods in fall and winter, as did the 5 tit species.

We were absent for most of August, and so missed part of shorebird season, but beginning in late August and through September we made a concerted effort to catch up. It was a frustrating undertaking, as some habitats are too scarce and others are too plentiful. There are a couple of rivermouths which have mudflats, but as often as not they contained no birds. There are large expanses of rice paddies, but these are almost all planted and would not be enticing to shorebirds (except snipe). There are miles and miles of deserted sandy beaches, but this means a lot of walking is required to find just a few Red-necked Stints (Tonen).

The mudflats eventually yielded Common Greenshanks (Aoashi-shigi) (relatively common), Spotted Redshanks (Tsuru-shigi) (small numbers), Marsh Sandpiper (Ko-aoashi-shigi) (one), Terek Sandpiper (Sorihashi-shigi) (one), Bar-tailed Godwit (O-sori-hashi-shigi) (small numbers), Far Eastern (Australian) Curlew (Horoku-shigi) (one), Dunlin (Hama-shigi) (small numbers), Gray-tailed Tattler (Kiashi-shigi) (small numbers), and Red-necked Stint (Tonen) (relatively common). We never saw a single plover (chidori) of any kind there, and a few other expected "mudpipers" went unseen.

We never saw anything at all in the rice paddies, except for a few flushed snipes (some Common (Ta-shigi) , others unidentified), and the occasional Wood Sandpiper (Takabu-shigi) (always seemed to be flying away).

The sandy beaches near the Takase River mouth were where we made our most exciting find, a Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Hera-shigi) on September 12. It remained for 4 days, and was joined on September 14 by a second individual. They were mixed in with a roving band of Red-necked Stints (Tonen), and were all juveniles. On the fourth day, an adult Northern Hobby (Chigo-hayabasu) scattered the flock, and engaged in aerial pursuit of one of the flock. The next day, a typhoon brushed by our area, and thereafter the small shorebirds nearly disappeared. At other times there were Whimbrel (Chushaku-shigi), Bar-tailed Godwit (O-sori hashi-shigi), Mongolian Plover (Medai-chidori), Little Ringed Plover (Ko-chidori), Pacific Golden Plover (Munaguro), Dunlin (Hama-shigi), and Ruddy Turnstone (Kyojo-shigi), Gray-tailed Tattler (Kiyashi-shigi) and Common Sandpiper (Iso-shigi) around the jetties. Many of these birds flew off in a consistent direction (inland towards the reclaimed marshland of Hotoke-numa), but we never found their roost.

One of my favorite spots (as much for photography as for birding) has been Cape Shiriya (Shiriyazaki), the Northeastern tip of Honshu. There were usually a few shorebirds there in season, and unlike elsewhere, they were extremely approachable with a camera. I took many rolls of Red-necked Stints (Tonen) as closely as 5 feet. Streaked Shearwaters (O-mizunagidori) are always observable from shore.

In late September, we noted a few snipe in the area that were not Commons, and looked different than the Latham's we'd seen before. We more-or-less assumed they were Pintail Snipe (Hario-shigi), but don't have much to go on. Does anyone know the migration routes/dates of Pintail vs Swinhoe's (Chuji-shigi) vs Latham's (Oji-shigi)?

Also in late September, just before I had to fly back to the U.S. to complete moving, I noticed immature Northern Hobbies (Chigo-hayabasu) (up to 3 at a time) hawking dragonflies over the airport and over town (Misawa). Late in the day and early in the morning, these birds roosted in a tall grove of trees near the airport. They frequently flew in tandem, calling shrilly to each other. I wondered if they'd actually nested in town, wondered if they could have done so undetected. Next year we'll know where to look.

I returned a week ahead of Lee in mid-October, and drove up to Shiriyazaki. The shoreline was disappointingly empty, but as I stared vacantly at the ocean, a small passerine came into view, flying low over the waves and fighting the strong Westerly winds. As it flew by me, it became obvious that it was a Japanese Robin (Komadori), a new bird for me. It landed in some shrubbery about 100 meters from the shoreline, at the base of a wooded hillside. I reasoned that if there was a Japanese Robin in those woods right now, there might be other things. I spent the next few hours seeing several more Japanese Robins, plus Narcissus and Blue&White Flycatchers (Ki-bitaki, O-ruri) and a Gray Bunting (Kuroji), and lots of Japanese Bush Warblers (Uguisi). I planned to bring Lee back here when she arrived next weekend, but as bad luck would have it, there was nothing there except a skittish female Daurian Redstart (Jo-bitaki).

The morning I was to pick up Lee at the airport, I made a short trip to the Oirase Gorge area to enjoy the fall foliage, and encountered a small, drab female flycatcher overhead in bad light. I assumed it was Narcissus (Ki-bitaki), but when I pished, a male Mugimaki Flycatcher (Mugimaki) appeared from nowhere, perching at eye level where I could see the color.

In early November, Long-tailed Rose Finches (Beni-mashiko) began to arrive. I'm glad I learned their calls, or I would have become convinced that they were a scarce bird.

At about this time, we learned of the duckpond at Shimoda Park, roughly in between Misawa and Hachinohe. This pond attracts hundreds of Whooper Swans (O-hakucho) , and is the site of a swan festival in early March(?). The first time I went, in mid-October, there were only 3 Whooper Swans present, but they increased to 250 by late December. Numbers of ducks also built up, and in November a few Smew (Miko-aisa) visited, and a single eclipse (or immature?) male Falcated Duck (Yoshi-gamo). The commonest species are Spot-billed Ducks (Karu-gamo), Mallards (Ma-gamo), Teal (Ko-gamo), Tufted Ducks (Kinkuru-hajiro), and Common Pochards (Hoshi-hajiro). There have also been a few Northern Shovelers (Hashibiro-gamo), Gadwalls (Okayoshi-gamo), and Eurasian Wigeons (Hidori-gamo). There is a wintering Northern Goshawk (O-taka) present, but it usually only shows itself at the ends of the day, and sometimes makes a pass at the ducks. Black Kites (Tobi) are abundant, and Common Buzzards (Nosuri) are common. Common Kingfishers (Kawasemi) and Little Grebes (Kaitsuburi) seem permanent, and the surrounding coniferous forests have Jays (Kakesu), Wrens (Misosazai), and the tits. On the morning of December 1, a lost Long-billed Plover (Ikaru-chidori) appeared on the artificial shoreline. We returned at noon and watched it trying to feed in a snowstorm.

In late December, a stunning male Falcated Duck (Yoshi-gamo) appeared, but somehow managed to remain just beyond my camera range, for several days. On another morning, a beautiful adult male Sparrowhawk (Hai-taka) dove unsuccessfully into a flock of Oriental Greenfinches (Kawara-hiwa), and then sat at close range for photos.

I'd been told that this pond was spring-fed, and so didn't freeze over in the winter. But when colder weather and increased snow arrived with the new year, this pond did freeze over, and almost all of the waterfowl departed. My plans to spend the first hour of every morning there to photograph the swans flying in low over and in front of the snowy trees were foiled. I've been wondering what the festival sponsors are going to do. The temperature hasn't risen above about 2 degrees Centigrade for over a week now. I think their only choice is going to be to take a boat out there and manually break and remove the ice. I've been watching the families with small children drive up with their breadcrumbs and stand blinking at the desolation.

Shiriyazaki in winter is a cold, windy place, and we haven't yet seen any sea-eagles there, but it is an excellent spot for gulls (kamome) (8 species on a good day, 7 on an average day), and Harlequin Ducks (Shinori-gamo) are numerous around the rocks.

We've been rather pleased with Misawa as a birding area, but at the same time remain astonished that we've not yet encountered a single other birder anywhere around here, and so it's generally up to us to discover good birds and good sites. We expect that May and June might be more popular times of year for birders here. We'll see.

Good birding! Mike and Lee
Aomori-ken Januari 14, 1998