Tue Jan 5 22:38:13 JST 1999
We had reasonably good weather there. Nights were cold enough to freeze much of the lakes, the areas occupied by waterfowl being about the only parts which didn't freeze. In the day, it warmed up enough to thaw most of the ice. There was intermittent snow and sun, similar to the weather we've been having up here in Aomori-Ken, though a few degrees warmer and not as windy.
We spent some time scanning the throngs of Greater White-fronted Geese (Ma-gan), hoping to see the Lesser WF Goose (Karigane) seen by Ikenaga-San, Fer-Jan-San, et al, several weeks earlier, but had no luck with that. Indeed, we were unsuccessful in finding all but a tiny fraction of the birds at their daytime feeding areas in the paddy fields. There were no Bean Geese (Hishikui) at Izunuma or Uchinuma at all, as far as we could see. We did see a few hundred Bean Geese (race middendorfi) several kilometers to the south. These were birds which apparently roosted at Kejonuma. .
We did have success finding other birds, though. The highlight for us were two groups of Baikal Teal (Tomoe-gamo), totalling 11 individuals. These were in the south-central part of Izunuma, associating on and off with Mallards. Tetsuo Shimada, a researcher at the visitors' center on the north side of the lake, told us that in October and November there had been between 100 and 200 present, a quite large number for Japan.
The other surprise bird was a Eurasion (Great) Bittern (Sankano-goi) which we flushed while walking along a dike near where the Baikal Teal were. It was not in a reedbed, but just some scrub at the water's edge. It flew a great distance, bypassing seemingly suitable reedbeds.
The goose flyout for which the site is famous was spectacular, but very short in duration. Small groups began lifting off at about 6:45 AM, just before sunrise. Within just a few minutes, virtually the entire flock lifted, milled around a bit, and flew mostly to the east - southeast. There was a nice full moon up which provided a picturesque backdrop for the skeins of birds. By 7 AM, there were no geese left on the lake.
Also noteworthy were two beautiful adult White-tailed Eagles circling over Uchinuma.
Eurasian Bittern (1) Sankano-goi Botaurus stellaris Great Egret (10+) Dai-saga Egretta alba Gray Heron (10) Ao-sagi Ardea cinerea White-fronted Goose (0000's) Ma-gan Anser albifrons Bean Goose (00's) Hishikui Anser fabalis middendorfi Whooper Swan (200) O-hakucho Cygnus olor Bewick's Swan (1) Ko-hakucho Cygnus bewicki Mallard (1000+) Ma-gamo Anas platyrhynchos Spot-billed Duck (00's) Karu-gamo Anas poecilorhyncha Common Teal (100) Ko-gamo Anas crecca Baikal Teal (11) Tomoe-gamo Anas formosa Falcated Duck (5) Yoshi-gamo Anas falcata Eurasian Wigeon (10) Hidori-gamo Anas penelope Northern Pintail (10000+) Onaga-gamo Anas acuta Northern Shoveler (2) Hashibiro-gamo Anas clypeata Pochard (00's) Hoshi-hajiro Aythya ferina Tufted Duck (00's) Kinkuro-hajiro Aythya fuligula Greater Scaup (~10) Suzu-gamo Aythya marila Common Goldeneye (10) Hojiro-gamo Bucephala clangula Smew (100+) Miko-aisa Mergus albellus Common Merganser (200+) Kawa-aisa Mergus merganser Black Kite (50+) Tobi Milvus migrans White-tailed Eagle (2) Ojiro-washi Haliaeetus albicilla Eurasian Sparrow Hawk (2) Hai-taka Accipiter nisus Common Buzzard (10) Nosuri Buteo buteo Asian Marsh Harrier (4) Chuhi Circus spilonotus Peregrine Falcon (3) Hayabusa Falco peregrinus Green Pheasant (1) Kiji Phasianus colchicusJapanese Eurasian Coot (00's) O-ban Fulica atra Common Black-headed Gull (10+) Yuri-kamome Larus ridibundus Rufous Turtle Dove (20+) Kiji-bato Streptopelia orientalis Great Spotted Woodpecker (~3) Aka-gera Dendrocopus major Skylark (20) Hibari Alauda arvensis Black-backed Wagtail (10) Haku-sekirei Motacilla lugens Japanese Wagtail (5) Seguro-sekirei Motacilla grandis Water Pipit (2+) Tahibari Anthus spinoletta Brown-eared Bulbul (40) Hiyodori Hypsipetes amaurotis Bull-headed Shrike (10) Mozu Lanius bucephalus Wren (1) Misosazai Troglodytes troglodytes Daurian Redstart (3) Jo-bitaki Phoenicurus auroreus Dusky Thrush (50) Tsugumi Turdus naumanni Bush Warbler (8) Uguisu Cettia diphone Goldcrest (8) Kikuitadaki Regulus regulus Long-tailed Tit (25+) Enaga Aegithalos caudatus Great Tit (10) Shiju-kara Parus major Meadow Bunting (15+) Hojiro Emberiza cioides Rustic Bunting (25+) Kashiradaka Emberiza rustica Black-faced Bunting (1) Aoji Emberiza spodocephala Reed Bunting (5+) O-jurin Emberiza schoeniclus Oriental Greenfinch (40+) Kawara-hira Carduelis sinica Long-tailed Rose Finch (5) Beni-mashiko Uragus sibiricus Eurasian Tree Sparrow (00's) Suzume Passer montanus Gray Starling (00's) Mukudori Sturnus cineraceus Carrion Crow Hashiboso-garasu Corvus corone Jungle Crow Hashibuto-garasu Corbus macrorhynchos