The Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 put an end to my wildlife globetrotting adventures for some time. Planned holidays were postponed and then, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, my planned trip to Kamchatka and Chukotka, originally organised for 2021, was cancelled. I decided to transfer to a winter visit to Japan in early 2023, in the hope that that country would open up for visitors without having to undergo a period of quarantine, which it thankfully did in November 2022.
Getting in to Japan was still not straightforward but, having satisfied all the entry requirements, I eventually arrived on 31 January after a thirteen hour flight. Our party of eight 'Naturetrek' clients and our leader spent a day in Tokyo before heading up to the northern island of Hokkaido for a five night stay - for me, the main part of the holiday with so many bird watching highlights. We transferred back to Tokyo for another night, before heading north west for a two night stay in the town of Nagano, from where we would visit the 'Snow Monkeys' for the final winter highlight of our trip. Then it was back to Tokyo for a final night and, whilst some stayed on for an extension, I came home on a fourteen hour eastwards flight, to complete a circumnavigation of The Earth.
As westerners who have been to Japan will probably agree, this country is unique in many aspects. The food is very different and the people are incredibly polite and helpful. However, I was surprised to find that vehicles drive on the left hand side of the road! On escalators people also (logically) stand on the left, rather than on the right as in the UK. Japan has undergone much stricter Covid-19 protection procedures than the UK and the wearing of face masks indoors in public places was obligatory. Whilst there had recently been a relaxation of face mask wearing outdoors, many Japanese continued to wear masks at all times in public, except when eating and drinking. I could say a lot more about the country itself, but I was there to see the wildlife!
Tokyo
Although we spent three nights in Tokyo, bird watching was restricted to an afternoon on the first day, spent in a park adjoining Tokyo Bay, and a later morning in the gardens of the Imperial Palace. Whilst these walks, accompanied by good weather, were peppered with new species for me I was surprised by how many water birds were familiar to UK bird watchers. Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Greater Scaup, Tufted Duck and Goosander were all seen here, as were Great Crested, Little and Black-necked Grebes. Spot-billed Duck was a new bird for me, but a particular highlight was seeing a flock of Falcated Ducks in the Imperial Palace gardens. I have only seen these birds in collections before - the male is a truly beautiful bird.
Male Falcated Duck, Imperial Palace Gardens, Tokyo, 7 February
Other Tokyo highlights included seeing Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese Tits (a very common bird and closely related to the Great Tit), colourful Varied Tits and Japanese White-eye.
Hokkaido
Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan's main islands and is a very special place for wildlife. Indeed, my main reason for visiting was to see some of its special birds. In early February, when we visited, it is covered in snow and has temperatures ranging from -5C by day to -20C by night. There was heavy snowfall on the first night of our stay. The UK would have ground to a halt under such conditions, but Hokkaido (literally) ploughs on and we were able to get around unperturbed in our minibus/small coach. The first special birds that we concentrated on were the Red-crowned Cranes. This extremely rare bird almost became extinct in Japan. Thankfully, it is now recovering, helped by the provision of winter feeding stations in southern Hokkaido. We visited two of these stations. The cranes are photogenic birds, particularly when photographed against the snow on the ground and the dense woodland in the background, and I spent happy times taking images of them flying, landing, taking off and displaying. The red crowns are not very obvious at this time of year, so I had little hesitation in converting images to monochrome - a typical example is shown below.
Red-crowned Cranes, Hokkaido, 2 February
Moving on, we headed north and east, heading for Rausu on the coast of Hokkaido. Rausu is known for its spectacular winter gathering of Steller's and White-tailed Eagles, which sit on the harbour walls and will snatch fish from the sea when these are thrown out from the many boats that take tourists out to watch and photograph them. We went on two boat trips, a mid-afternoon one when the birds must have been satiated, because very few were coming for fish, and an early morning one, where we set off at dawn (6.30am) when the recorded temperature was -14C! On the early morning trip, the eagles were only too happy to swoop down and pick up the proffered fish, but I struggled again to get enough light into my Nikon D7500 camera with 100-400mm lens (as I had struggled in Georgia last October) in the available half-light. Nevertheless, these trips were a great experience and I doubt whether I will ever get the chance to get so close to wild eagles again.
White-tailed (left) and Steller's Sea Eagles, Hokkaido, 4 February
Whilst in Rausu we made a couple of evening visits to a local hide, with a set-up for seeing one of the rarest owls in the world, Blakiston's Fish Owl. The hide overlooked a river and, at the side of the river, a pool had been dug in the ground where a number of fish were placed every evening. The 'arena' was lit by a strobe light, such that if we set our cameras to 1/80 second and used a very high ISO, we could capture images of the owls, as and when they arrived. On the first night we had two visits from these huge, fluffy owls and I was able to capture a few images of the sequence as the owls arrived, dropped into the pool, emerged with fish and flew off. On the second evening there were no visits but on both occasions, as we walked back to the minibus, we could see the pair of owls perched in a bush by the side of the river.
Blakiston's Fish Owl with Fish, Rausu, Hokkaido, 3 February
We saw another Blakiston's Fish Owl at the hotel where we had our final night's stay in Hokkaido. There were bird feeders by the side of a stream, that passed just outside the lobby of the hotel, with a wonderful indoors viewing area where we were able to watch Eurasian Jays, Dusky Thrushes, Japanese and Marsh Tits, Japanese Pygmy and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and other birds at close quarters: a photographer's dream! Despite getting very little sleep due to continuing jetlag and having to suffer in the exceptional cold, the visit to Hokkaido was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.
Nagano - Snow Monkeys
Having travelled to Nagano, situated in a hilly region north-west of Tokyo, by bullet train (we returned in a minibus) we were able to spend a day and a half in the region doing a bit of bird watching, but also visiting the Jigokudami Monkey Park, where the 'Snow Monkeys' bathe in a pool of hot water, produced by hot springs (there is much volcanic activity in the region). Normally there is a lot of snow in this region, but on our visit there was little around and the crampons that we had brought along with us were not really needed. There wasn't much bathing going on on the visit, although one monkey was enjoying herself in the pool (image). However, the various antics of the monkeys (adults and young) kept us amused for a pleasant few hours. Bird watching in the Nagano area produced Japanese Green Woodpecker, Japanese Grosbeak, Japanese Accentor and Meadow Bunting, amongst many others. Other mammals seen on the trip included Steller's Sea Lion (Hokkaido), Sika Deer and Red Fox (common everywhere).
'Snow Monkey' (Japanese Macaque), Jigokudami Monkey Park, 8 February
Over the holiday I saw 88 bird species, of which 31 were 'lifers'. Other group members saw a few additional species and those who flew south for the holiday extension would have seen many more. However, I was very happy with what I did see on what was another wildlife 'holiday of a lifetime'.
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