Birding in the land of the rising sun

In April I completed my fifteenth and final year of forest bird call counts here on Stewart Island for SIRCET. The weather was kind, so I got the survey done in time.

The “five minute bird call count” survey began in April 2004 and I started 7 years later in April 2011.  It measures native and endemic forest bird calls in a pest controlled area and a non-pest controlled area to understand population changes over time in both areas.  For over 20 years this survey has been gathering data to ascertain whether predator control is helping the native and endemic birds.

I am proud to have played my small part - it’s not a chore finding and listening to birds while walking around the stunning native forest that I call home – but I thought after fifteen years it was a time to hand over the conservation reins to someone else and I wish SIRCET all the best.

At the end of April I flew to Osaka via Christchurch and Cairns in Australia to join the Heritage Expeditions’ ship, Heritage Adventurer.  I would be guiding on four back-to-back trips around Japan and South Korea. 

The first two trips were 10 days long, travelling around the southern part of Japan and into South Korea. The third trip was 15 days and headed north to Hokkaido on the Pacific side before heading south to Osaka. The fourth and final trip was another 10-day tour of Southern Japan.   The tours were advertised as cultural and nature tours but it reaffirmed to me that you can find birds anywhere and anytime - sometimes in the most unlikely spots!

For this latest news I’ll share a few highlights.

Before guests arrived, I had a free morning in Osaka, so after breakfast I got a taxi to the Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary, a tidal wetland reserve at the entrance of Osaka harbour with a little bit of forest.  I had visited here back in 2023 and it was a great reserve to start my seven weeks in Japan.

I set my scope up in a large hide overlooking the dropping tide.  Waders first:  Siberian Sand Plover (or if you’re old school like me, Lesser Sand Plover) numbered around 20 plus birds.  10 Whimbrel, a lone Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Grey-tailed Tattler, 1 Common Snipe, 5 Red-necked Stints, plus 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Kentish Plover, and a single Common Sandpiper. 

In the trees surrounding the water was a Japanese Robin plus my first Japanese Bush Warbler in over a year.  Brown-eared Bulbuls, Asian Tits, and White-cheeked Starlings all sang to remind me of their calls so that I could file them in my memory banks.

Male Japanese Macaque, Minoo Park

The first excursion with guests was to Minoo Park the next morning, finding Varied and Long Tailed Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, Warbling White-eyes, a smart Blue & White Flycatcher, plus a relaxed male Japanese Macaque.

The Island of Yakushima was a new island for me, lying further south than the main islands it had a wet tropical feel.  Definitely a place I would love to explore again.  The warmer waters attracted Brown Boobies - the only place I ever saw these birds during my 7-weeks in Japan.

We visited the island twice, once in an unbelievable rainstorm and the second time the island showed its gems.  We encountered more Japanese Macaques - the rarer Yakushima sub-species - darker in colour with longer fur and overall a bit smaller than the mainland macaques.  Walking around the stunning rainforest we saw Varied Tits, Eurasian Wrens, and a stunning male Narcissus Flycatcher.

Chinese Pond Heron in Yakushima

I had some free time in the afternoon so I followed the road near the Miyanoura River. I crossed the bridge and saw a distant wader on the sandy shore.  The shaped looked familiar and as I got closer the ID was positive for a Terek Sandpiper.  It was quickly joined by a Chinese Pond Heron.  They look a little rusty in colour until they fly when their white wings become quite striking.  Then a flurry of wing beats over my head and a lifer landed in the tree next to me – a female Whistling Green Pigeon!  Awesome!  The pigeon left but I noticed beneath the bridge I had just crossed, had a small party of House swifts breeding.  All this within 10 minutes!  I grabbed some better images of the Pond Heron, and found Japanese Bush Warblers, Blue Rock Thrushes and Tree Sparrows on my way back to the ship.

In Osaka on change over day (effectively one trip ends and another starts) I had a few free hours so decided to head back to the Osaka Nanko Bird Sanctuary.  The hide was a bit busier this time and a number of large cameras were pointing at a selection of waders.  I counted 50 plus Red-necked Stints (all in stunning breeding plumage), 20 plus Grey-tailed Tattlers, 3 Terek Sandpipers, 3 Siberian Sand Plovers, 5 Whimbrel, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper, along with Little Grebes, Spot-billed Ducks, Grey Herons, and a single Osprey.  Then a head popped up in the middle of the reeds.  Yes, a Japanese tick for me in the shape of an adult Black-winged Stilt!  A little time later the bird took off from the cover of the reeds and was joined by a juvenile bird.  The two flying stilts caught the attention of the cameras and a thousand images were captured!

Juvenile Asian Glossy Starling, Osaka

I spent another hour in the hide, just watching birds, as well as three large Nutria

(Water Rats) swimming around.  As I packed my gear to leave the hide, which was now a lot emptier.  I was approached by warden/volunteer who, in his broken English, said come quick, a rare bird, Glossy Starling!  I followed him around the corner and was met by a wall of over forty large cameras pointing at a fruiting cherry tree.  I joined the paparazzi scrum and grabbed a few shots of the juvenile Asian Glossy Starling.  I was in the right place at the right time – there are less than 20 records for Japan – and I was in the midst of a Japanese twitch!

Heading north towards Hokkaido on the Pacific side of Japan, we picked up a few more sea birds, including 20 plus Black-footed Albatross, 3 Flesh-footed Shearwaters, heaps of Short-tailed and Streaked Shearwaters, around 20 plus Red-Necked Phalaropes and a single Humpback Whale.  The pacific and southern side of the Japanese islands was a whole lot better for birds and wildlife than the northern side, which sometimes felt void of any marine life.

At Muroran, a port in southern Hokkaido, it was time for my free day.  I looked at eBird and found a hotspot at Mount Sokuryo, a large hill full of telecommunications ariels and masts overlooking the harbour town.  I set off in the rain, climbing higher and higher leaving behind the suburbs and came out on quiet road.  I saw an Oriental Honey Buzzard on the walk up but apart from the occasional Oriental Turtle Dove there was very little on show or even calling.  I continued climbing to the highest point, looking down through the clouds and rain I could make out the ship in the harbour below.  From this elevation I could see the band of rain clouds and clear skies following, so I waited awhile.  Sure enough, the front passed and like a switch had been flicked, birds started to call and show themselves.

A new species for me. A pair of Squid Gulls in Matsuhima

First up was a lifer!  From a nearby bush I heard singing from a bird that I knew was a thrush.  I soon located this very special bird – an adult male Siberian Thrush – wow!  Overall it was looking bluey in colour but the most obvious feature was the curving white eyebrow.  I thought about grabbing a few shots but it was in a tricky position and the view through the bins was just perfect!  What a mega bird!

Heading down to the park from the summit, birds came thick and fast.  Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, Asian Brown Flycatchers, a stunning male Blue and White Flycatcher, Asian and Varied Tits.  Continuing with the thrush theme, I added to my list another two species: Eyebrowed and Japanese Thrush - the latter I grabbed a few images of a male singing in a tree above me.  Oriental Greenfinch and Masked Buntings called and perched all around.  As the clouds moved away and blue skies appeared a couple of Pacific Swifts whizzed around hawking on the wing.  It was the best couple of hours birding I have had in a long time and definitely worth the wet climb.

That afternoon as the ship departed Muroran and Hokkaido we headed out of the mouth of Uchiura bay towards Cape Esan.  Bird numbers picked up: first a few Streaked Shearwaters were joined by Short-tailed Shearwaters, then a group of the tiny Japanese Murrelet and plenty of the larger Rhinoceros Aucklet.  A lone Pacific Diver flew across the bow of the ship. A couple of Japanese Cormorants were in amongst the Great Cormorants, a single Black-footed Albatross graced us with its appearance on the port side, Black-tailed Gulls outnumbered the Slaty-backed Gulls, not forgetting the hundreds of Red-necked Phalaropes that swirled around in large flocks (with at least two Grey Phalaropes amongst them).  This rounded off probably my most productive days’ birding while on tour.

It was early summer in Japan.  At Niigata we had a couple of hours at the Fukushimagata Wetlands and Oriental Reed Warblers were everywhere - a large reed warbler with a clunky heavy call.  This particular wetland would be overflowing with wildfowl in the winter months, which without a doubt would be the best season to visit Japan as a birder.

But back to summer.  We walked the paths and saw Asian House Martin, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Grey streaked Flycatcher, Bull-headed Shrike, Common Cuckoo, Eastern Buzzard, Great Crested Grebes, Eurasian Coot and Moorhen.  Bird of the day went to, not one but three, drake Falcated Ducks sitting out in the middle of one of the large lakes.  I picked it up through the scope near a drake Wigeon.  These birds you would expect to encounter in the winter months but not so much in May.  I really appreciated them staying a little longer as this was a bird I was hoping to see.

A Dome, Hiroshima

We did a couple of trips to Mount Daisen in Tottori, a mountain forest with some great birding and I can’t not mention two visits to Hiroshima; the Peace Memorial Park, museum and A-Bomb Dome.  With the way world is at the moment it is a sobering reminder how humans have not learnt any lessons from recent history.  I have visited Auschwitz in Poland, and Nagasaki and Hiroshima three times – and believe everyone should visit one of these places in their lifetime.

South Korea is one of the powerhouses of Southeast Asia, and home to Hyundai.  At Ulsan, South Korea’s huge industrial harbour, the Heritage Adventurer was dwarfed by the huge car carriers tied up next to us.  As I mentioned earlier, you can find birds anywhere.  At Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju, Common Cuckoo and Daurian Redstarts seemed common, with stunning males singing from the tops of buildings and lamp posts.  A bonus was the White-backed Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Bunting, plus, Marsh and Varied Tits.

At the National Museum in Gyeongju on a little bit of scrubland at the back of the museum which backed onto rice paddy fields, in 35 minutes I found: another Common Cuckoo, Dollarbirds, Striated Heron, Oriental Magpies, Light-vented Bulbul, and the classy Vinous-throated Parrotbill.

On the paddy fields: Great white, Intermediate and Little Egrets, plus Mandarin and Spot-billed Ducks. Flying overhead was Grey-faced Buzzard, Barn Swallows, White-cheeked Starlings and White Wagtails.  Just outside of Ulsan was the Bamboo Forest where we found more Vinous-throated Parrotbills plus, Oriental Reed Warblers, Eastern Red-rumped Swallows, and Large billed Crows. Streaked Shearwaters and Black-tailed Gulls were seen as we left South Korea and headed south across the China Sea back to Japan. 

On 7th June I disembarked the ship in Kanazawa.  I had been onboard since 24th April and had met some awesome folks, worked with old friends and made new friends.  We had visited some amazing places; embraced Japanese culture; seen some great birds, tasted great food, including gold leaf ice cream (I feel richer inside!) and I had been in shorts every day.

From my Kanazawa hotel I saw a pair Peregrine Falcons flying and displaying over the city square.  I was here for 2 of my 6 nights and 7 days birding until I needed to be at Narita International airport in Tokyo before heading back to New Zealand.  I was flying solo and went out for a meal and a large beer!

Red Turtle Dove at Kanazawa

The next morning the alarm went off at 5:30am.  At 6:55am I jumped out of a taxi at Kemmin Kaihin Park, a few miles west of Kanazawa.  The light wasn’t great but literally the first bird I clapped eyes on I thought “that looks different”.  I moved closer.  Sitting in the top of an old pine tree, were two doves, the larger bird to the left was an Oriental Turtle Dove.  The smaller bird to the right was a lovely dark red clay colour with a greyish head - and a dark collar.  A Red Turtle Dove aka Red Collared Dove!  It had been nearly twenty years since I had seen one in Sri Lanka and Thailand.  I knew they must be rare here.  I entered it into eBird, and it seemed to lose its shit!!

I grabbed a few record shots before the doves got spooked by a Crow and disappeared.  I had visited this park once before in April 2024 and I got the impression it was a migration gateway with species passing through or out to their breeding grounds.

Even though there was not the number of birds I encountered on my first visit, it was still a great place to spend time birding.  Highlights were Eastern Crowned Warblers, White-cheeked and Chestnut-cheeked Starlings but it wasn’t all birds - I also found a Japanese striped snake and a stunning Tropical Fritillarys.

I bumped into an older Japanese guy who had been studying the local Meadow Buntings.  This was his local patch and I told him about the Red Collared Dove I’d seen earlier.  He was keen to get copies of my very average images and it turned out (later that evening) through emails and translations that the Red Collared Dove was the first record for the park and the 308th species for the park – they were more commonly found as a rare migrant on the southern islands of Japan.

Walking the 6.5 miles back to the hotel from the park I found a good haul of 21 species including Little Tern, Skylark, Oriental Reed Warblers, Black Kites, Asian House-Martins, Little Egrets, Brown-eared Bulbuls to name but a few.

The following morning at the busy Kanazawa Station I waited for my 9:15am bullet train to Karuizawa.  Two hours inland from Kanazawa, Karuizawa is a small mountain town surrounded by lush green landscapes and would be my base for the next three nights.

At some stages on the two hour journey the train reached a speed of over 280KMH or in old money around 175MPH.  All this speed and free WIFI was a bit mind blowing really, so no surprise that we arrived at Karuizawa station on time.

I dumped my bags at the hotel and I walked to a local hotspot called Kumoba Pond, finding a Meadow Bunting and female Daurian Redstart singing from the phone wires in the small town.  A good start.  

Around the small pond I found a couple of stunning male Narcissus Flycatchers - I will never get bored of seeing these birds.  Warbling white-eyes, Willow Tits, Coal Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Asian Tits, plus a familiar call as an Ashy Minivet flew over.  On the pond itself, a single Little Grebe, a pair of Spot-billed Ducks with fresh ducklings, and a fly by Grey Wagtail.

Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker at Karuizawa

The next morning at 6am I rode my hotel rental pushbike the half an hour to the Karuizawa forest bird sanctuary. It was a very wet morning with consistent drizzle but the birding was awesome.  The big highlight was finding a female Siberian Blue Robin – she was obviously feeding young as she had a beak full of worms and grubs.  Other great birds seen: three species of Woodpecker; Japanese Pygmy, Great Spotted and Japanese Woodpecker.  Blue & White, Asian Brown and Narcissus Flycatchers.  Masked and Grey Buntings.  The tiny Asian Stubtail which sounds like an insect when it calls.  A family of Brown Dippers on the flowing river and the outrageous introduced Red-billed Leiothrix AKA Pekin Robin.  

The rain was still falling the next morning so this time I caught a taxi to same sanctuary.  It took a little longer for the rain to ease but I saw pretty much the same as the previous day including the same Siberian Blue Robin, but added Japanese Thrush, Japanese Bush Warbler, more Ashy Minivets, and a Common Cuckoo calling besides the road.

The following morning I was at the sleepy Karuizawa station for my one-hour bullet train ride into Tokyo.  At Tokyo central station I successfully navigated my way through not one, but two local trains outside the city to my final hotel for the night.  I dumped my bags at the hotel and caught a taxi out to Imba Marsh following a tip from a mate that this would be a good place to add Yellow Bittern to my Japanese list.

Within in ten minutes of being at the site I had at least two tiny Yellow Bitterns flying over the reed bed.  Heaps of Oriental Reed Warblers sang and showed themselves, a couple of Zitting Cisticolas gave themselves up and Meadow Buntings called from the small bushes.  Common and Little Terns hawked over the water.  In the fields behind, Green Pheasants strutted around, a Mute Swan fed on the stubble, and a couple of Black-crowned Night herons flew high over.  Great, Intermediate and Little egrets were spotted plus a bonus on the mammal front was seeing a Japanese Racoon dog feeding in the farmland hedge rows.

I had breakfast at my hotel on my final morning in Japan before checking out a small urban park opposite my hotel room window.  There were no eBird reports from this park so I had nothing to lose.  As I stepped out of the hotel a Grey-faced Buzzard flew by with a lizard in its talons.  In an hour and forty minutes I had seen 24 species, including a lifer - a pair of Japanese Sparrowhawks.  Other great birds seen in this little green oasis: a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, 2 Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, 2 Blue Rock Thrushes, Black Kite, Great, Intermediate and Little Egrets, a Little Grebe swam around the pond, Oriental Reed Warbler was seen singing, along with Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Large-billed and Carrion Crows.  Leaving the highly rewarding Matsumushihime Park I then caught the local train from the hotel into Narita International Airport.  

Yushien Garden

At 8pm my Air New Zealand flight took off, heading south for ten hours towards Auckland. We arrived on time at Auckland and I caught connecting flights to Christchurch and then further south to Invercargill.  My fourth and final flight from Invercargill to Stewart Island and home!

I walked in the door at home.  It had been more than seven weeks since I left Jules and Nonu who were happy to see me.  The washing machine less so!  My tan fell off as entered winter from summer in under 24 hours.  I’m home for month before heading away on a two-week winter Wrybill tour of New Zealand.  Thanks Japan for some great memories and birds.