Narcissus Flycatcher (Nagano Pref.)
Field Note in Japan
After January 2001
Last Updated December 15, 2002 (since November 24, 2000)
Narcissus Flycatcher (Nagano Pref.)
This page presents you current field note of my birding in Japan.
| Date/Time | December 14, 2002 |
| Site Name | Miyagase Dam |
| Weather | fine |
| Species Observed | 1.Great Cormorant 2. Mallard 3. Spot-billed Duck 4. Osprey 5. Black-eared Kite 6. Mountain Hawk-eagle ? 2 7. Common Kingfisher 8. Japanese Pied Wagtail 9. Brown-eared Bulbul 10. Bull-headed Shrike 11. Japanese Accentor 2 12. Orange-flanked Bush-Robin 13. Daurian Redstart 14. Dusky Thrush 15. Pale Thrush 16. Long-tailed Tit 17. Great Tit 18. Varied Tit 19. Japanese White-eye 20. Siberian Meadow Bunting 21. Rustic Bunting 22. Black-faced Bunting 23. Siskin 24. Long-tailed Rosefinch 25. Jay 26. Large-biled Crow |
| Comments | A very brief view of two large raptors might be Mountain Hawk Eagle. |
| Date/Time | October 23, 2002 |
| Site Name | Mt. Hiei - Kyoto Pref. Botanic Garden - Ikejiri |
| Weather | mainly fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Grey Heron 3. Great Egret 4. Little Egret 5. Black-eared Kite 6. White-fronted Goose 2 7. Mallard 8. Spot-billed Duck 9. Teal 10. Gadwall 11. Pintail 12. Northern Shoveler 13. Eurasian Wigeon 14. Baikal Teal 1 15. Tufted Duck 16. Common Moorhen 17. Oriental Turtle-dove 18. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 19. Japanese Green Woodpecker (call) 20. Barn Swallow 21. House Martin 22. Grey Wagtail 23. Black-backed Wagtail 24. Japanese Pied Wagtail 25. Olive-backed Pipit 26. Brown-eared Bulbul 27. Bull-headed Shrike 28. Daurian Redstart 29. Japanese Bush Warbler 30. Arctic Warbler 33. Long-tailed Tit 34. Varied Tit 35. Coal Tit 36. Great Tit 38. Japanese White-eye 39. Siberian Meadow Bunting 40. Brambling 41. Siskin 42. Oriental Greenfinch 43. Japanese Grosbeak 44. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 45. Jay 46. Carrion Crow 47. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Great View of Daurian Redstart. Still several Arctic Warblers. |
| Date/Time | October 6, 2002 |
| Site Name | EXPO park |
| Weather | cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Great Cormorant 2. Grey Heron 3. Little Egret 4. Spot-billed Duck 5. Oriental Turtle Dove 6. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 7. Red-rumped Swallow 8. Grey Wagtail 9. Japanese Pied Wagtail 10. Black-backed Wagtail 11. Brown-eared Bulbul 12. Bull-headed Shrike 13.thrush sp. (call) 14. Japanese Bush Warbler 15. Grey-streaked Flycatcher 16. Asian Brown Flycatcher 17. Long-tailed Tit 18. Great Tit 19. Varied Tit 20. Japanese White-eye 21. Siberian Meadow Bunting 22. Japanese Grosbeak 23. Grey Starling 24. Large-billed Crow 25. Carrion Crow 26. Little Grebe |
| Comments | Good to see Grey-streaked & Asian Brown Flycatchers! |
| Date/Time | September 21-22, 2002 |
| Site Name | Genting Highland (Malaysia) |
| Weather | cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Emerald Dove 2. Whiskered Treeswift 3. White-bellied Swiftlet 4. Rhinoceros Hornbill? 1 5.Fire-tufted Barbet 6. Gold-whiskered Barbet 7. Black-browed Barbet 8. Blue-eared Barbet (call) 9. Crimson-winged Woodpecker 1 10. Pacific Swift 11. Grey-chinned Minivet 12. Blue-winged Leafbird 13. Orange-bellied Leafbird 14. Black-crested Bulbul 15. Ochraceous Bulbul 16. Mountain Bulbul 17. Ashy Bulbul 18. Lesser Rachet-tailed Drongo 19. Black-naped Oriole 20. Crested Jay (call) 21. Large-billed Crow 22. Sultan Tit 23. Striped Tit-Babbler (call) 24. Grey-throated Babbler 25. Pygmy Wren-babbler (call) 26. Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrush 27. Long-tailed Sibia 28. Oriental Magpie Robin 29. Yellow-bellied Warbler 30. Verditer Flycatcher 31. White-throated Fantail 32. Grey Wagtail 33. Little Spiderhunter 34. Streaked Spiderhunter 35. Fire-breasted Flowerpecker |
| Comments | Many Grey-chinned Minivets and leafbirds! |
| Date/Time | September 16, 2002 |
| Site Name | Lake Biwa (Ebie - Echi River - Yasu River - Konohama - Kusatsu River) |
| Weather | cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Great Cormorant 4. Black-crowned Night Heron 5. Cattle Egret 6. Great Egret 7. Intermediate Egret 8. Little Egret 9. Egyptian Goose (escarpee) 10. Mallard 11. Spot-billed Duck 12. Common Teal 13. Baikal Teal 1 14. Garganey 8 15. Northern Pintail 16. Northern Shoveler 17. Osprey 1 18. Black-eared Kite 19. Northern Goshawk 1 20. Peregrine Falcon 1 21. Common Moorhen 22. Coot 23. Little Ringed Plover 24. Pacific Golden Plover 25. Grey-headed Lapwing 26. Little Stint 1 27. Red-necked Stint 28. Dunlin 29. Red Knot 1 30. Great Knot 2 31. Ruff 4 32. Wood Sandpiper 33. Common Greenshank 34. Common Sandpiper 35. Black-tailed Godwit 36. Common Snipe 37. Oriental Turtle Dove 38. Common Kingfisher 39. (Japanese) Skylark 40. Barn Swallow 41. Black-backed Wagtail 42. Japanese Pied Wagtail 43. Brown-eared Bulbul 44. Bull-headed Shrike 45. Siberian Meadow Bunting 46. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 47. Grey Starling 48. Carrion Crow 49. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Because of extremely little precipitation in this couple of months, Lake Biwa's shallow water has been dried up. It is so surprising to see a Baikal Teal so early autumn! |
| Date/Time | June 2, 2002 |
| Site Name | Togakushi, Nagano |
| Weather | mainly fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Spot-billed Duck 3. Green Pheasant (call) 4. Oriental Turtle-Dove 5. White-bellied Green Pigeon 1 (call) 6. Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo 1 (call) 7. Cuckoo (call) 8. Oriental Cuckoo (call) 9. Little Cuckoo (call) 10. Ural Owl (call) 11. Pacific Swift 12. Ruddy Kingfisher 1 13. Greater Spotted Woodpecker 14. Japanese Green Woodpecker 15. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 16. Barn Swallow 17. Asian House Martin 18. Grey Wagtail 19. Japanese Pied Wagtail 20. Ashy Minivet 21. Brown-eared Bulbul 22. Bull-headed Shrike 23. Winter Wren 24. Siberian Blue Robin (call) 25. Japanese Grey Thrush 26. Brown Thrush 27. Japanese Bush Warbler 28. Eastern Crowned Warbler (call) 29. Narcissus Flycatcher 30. Blue-and-white Flycatcher (call) 31. Dark-sided Flycatcher 32. Asian Brown Flycatcher 33. Willow Tit 34. Coal Tit 35. Varied Tit 36. Great Tit 37. Eurasian Nuthatch 38. Siberian Meadow Bunting 39. Japanese Yellow Bunting 40. Black-faced Bunting 41. Grey Bunting (call) 42. Oriental Greenfinch 43. Japanese Grosbeak 44. Russet Sparrow 45. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 46. Chestnut-cheeked Starling 47. Grey Starling 48. Jay 49. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Because we visited in the weekend, there are hundreds of birdwatchers and flower watchers. It seems that number of some summer migrants have been decreasing at Togakushi. They are Siberian Blue Robin and cuckoos. It is pleasure to see Dark-sided Flycatcher and Ruddy Kingfisher, though the number is small. |
May 19: Little Cuckoo arrived!
May 20: Brown Hawk-Owl arrived!
| Date/Time | May 15, 2002 |
| Site Name | Izuriba |
| Weather | Cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Copper Phesant 2 2. Oriental Turtle-Dove 3. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 4. Japanese Green Woodpecker 5. Barn Swallow 6. Grey Wagtail 7. Ashy Minivet 8. Brown-eared Bulbul 9. Short-tailed Bush Warbler 10. Japanese Bush Warbler 11. Eastern Crowned Warbler 12. Blue-and-white Flycatcher 13. Great Tit 14. Varied Tit 15. Long-tailed Tit 16. Japanese White-eye 17. Siberian Meadow Bunting 18. Japanese Grosbeak 19. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 20. Grey Starling 21. Jay 22. Carrion Crow 23. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Bonus of Copper Pheasant! |
| Date/Time | April 28, 2002 |
| Site Name | Mt. Myoken - Miyama |
| Weather | Fine, hazy |
| Species Observed | 1. Intermediate Egret 2. Grey Heron 3. Black Kite 4. Chinese Bamboo Partridge 5. Oriental Turtle Dove 6. Oriental Cuckoo 7. Japanese Green Woodpecker 8. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 9. Barn Swallow 10. Brown-eared Bulbul 11. Bull-headed Shrike 12. Japanese Robin 2 (My, MI) 13. White's Thrush 1 (My) 14. Dusky Thrush 15. Pale Thrush 16. Red-billed Leiothrix (introduced, MI) 17. Short-tailed Bush Warbler 18. Japanese Bush Warbler 19. Eastern Crowned Warbler 20. Blue-and-white Flycatcher 21. Long-tailed Tit 22. Coal Tit 23. Great Tit 24. Varied Tit 25. Japanese White-eye 26. Siberian Meadow Bunting 27. Black-faced Bunting 28. Rustic Bunting 1 (My) 29. Oriental Greenfinch 30. Siskin 31. Japanese Gosbeak 32. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 33. Grey Starling 34. Carrion Crow 35. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Because of weather (?), not many song birds were seen today. However, we had a good view of Green Woodpecker and Japanese Robin. Rustic Bunting and Siskin will be the latest record of the season. Thrush-like beautiful song was heard in Miyama. Surprisingly, it was Red-billed Leiothrix, an introduced species. |
| Date/Time | April 20, 2002 |
| Site Name | Izuriba |
| Weather | Fine & Cool day |
| Species Observed | 1. Oriental Turtle Dove 2. Japanese Pygmy
Woodpecker 3. Grey Wagtail 4. Olive-backed Pipit 5. Ashy Minivet 6. Brown-eared Bulbul 7. Dusky Thrush 8. Short-tailed Bush Warbler 9. Japanese Bush Warbler 10. Pale-legged Warbler 11. Blue-and-white
Flycatcher 12. Long-tailed Tit 13. Great Tit 14. Japanese
White-eye 15. Siberian Meadow Bunting 16. Black-faced Bunting 17. Oriental Greenfinch 18. Large-billed
Crow (red: summer migrants purple: passage migrants green: winter migrants) |
| Comments | Pale-legged Warbler has arrived. It seems that Blue-and-white Flycatcher has started breeding. |
| Species/Date | April 15 | April 19 | April 22 | April 23 | April 27 | April 28 | May 2 | May 3 | May 5 | May 8 | May 9 | May 14 |
| Great Cormorant | V | 1 | 1 | 1 | V | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Grey Heron | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| Great Egret | 2 | |||||||||||
| Black-crowned Night Heron | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Spot-billed Duck | 1 | |||||||||||
| Green Pheasant | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Black Kite | 1 | |||||||||||
| Little Ringed Plover | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Oriental Turtle-dove | V | V | V | 5 | V | 1 | V | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| White-bellied Green Pigeon | 1 | |||||||||||
| Oriental Cuckoo | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Common Kingfisher | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | V | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Barn Swallow | V | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | V | 5 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Olive-backed Pipit | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 3 | ||||
| Bull-headed Shrike | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Brown-eared Bulbul | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Ashy Minivet | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Orange-flanked Bush Robin | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Japanese Robin | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Siberian Blue Robin | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Pale Thrush | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Brown Thrush | 1 | |||||||||||
| Eye-browed Thrush | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Japanese Grey Thrush | 1 | |||||||||||
| Dusky Thrush | 15 | V | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Short-tailed Bush Warbler | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Japanese Bush Warbler | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Eastern Crowned Warbler | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Pale-legged Warbler | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Arctic Warbler | 3 | |||||||||||
| Narcissus Flycatcher | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Blue-and-white Flycatcher | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Japanese Paradise Flycatcher | 1 | |||||||||||
| Long-tailed Tit | 4 | V | V | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Varied Tit | 3 | V | V | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Great Tit | 2 | V | V | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | V | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Japanese White-eye | V | V | V | 10 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Siberian Meadow Bunting | V | V | V | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Black-faced Bunting | V | V | 5 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Japanese Yellow Bunting | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Brambling | 3 | 50 | 5 | 50 | 20 | 5 | 5 | |||||
| Siskin | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Oriental Greenfinch | 8 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | V | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Hawfinch | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | ||||
| Japanese Grosbeak | 10 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | V | V | V | V | 10 | V | 15 | V | 20 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Grey Starling | V | V | V | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Carrion Crow | V | V | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||||||
| Large-billed Crow | 20 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Summer migrants are typed with brown |
| Passage migrants are typed with red |
| Winter migrants are typed with green |
| Latest record in the season is highlighted with green bold |
| Earliest record in the season is highlighted with red bold |
| "V" means view of the species |
| Date/Time | April 15, 2002 |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten - EXPO Park |
| Weather | warm and hazy |
| Species Observed | 1. Great Cormorant 2. Great Egret 3. Grey
Heron 4. Oriental Turtle Dove 5. Japanese
Pygmy Woodpecker 6. Olive-backed Pipit 7. Bull-headed Shrike 8. Japanese Robin (call) 9. Orange-flanked Bush Robin imm 1 10. Pale Thrush (many) 11. Dusky Thrush 12. Dark-throated Thrush 1 imm 13. Japanese Bush Warbler 14. Blue-and-white Flycatcher 1 male 1 female 15. Long-tailed Tit 16. Varied Tit 17. Great
Tit 18. Siberian Meadow Bunting 19. Black-faced Bunting (many) 20. Brambling
(many) 21. Siskin 22. Oriental Greenfinch 23. Hawfinch 24. Japanese Grosbeak 25. Tree Sparrow 26.
Jay 27. Carrion Crow 28. Large-billed Crow (red: summer migrants purple: passage migrants green: winter migrants) |
| Comments | Spring migration seems to be started earlier. There have been already news of Grey Thrush, J. Robin, Siberian Blue Robin, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Eastern Crowned, Pale-legged and Short-tailed Bush Warblers. Actually, I was able to see a pair of Blue-and-white Flycatcher in this morning though the female normally arrives in the end of April. A race (Turdus ruficollis ruficollis) of Dark-throated Thrush has been seen for more than a week. This is a lifer for me in Japan since I saw a Bimaculated Lark about 1.5 years ago. |
| Date/Time | February 21-22, 2002 |
| Site Name | Kawanishi - Mino - Ikejiri - Mt. Myoken - Kiso River - Nagara River - Kisen Dam - Ogura |
| Weather | warm during two days (fine - rain - fine) |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Great Cormorant 4. Great Egret 5. Little Egret 6. Grey Heron 7. Mallard 8. Spot-billed Duck 9. Common Teal 10. Baikal Teal 11. Falcated Teal 12. Gadwall 13. Wigeon 14. Northern Pintail 15. Northern Shoveler 16. Pochard 17. Tufted Duck 18. Smew 19. Common Merganser 20. Osprey 21. Black Kite 22. Northern Goshawk 23. Common Buzzard 24. Eastern Marsh Harrier 25. Kestrel 26. Chinese Bamboo Partridge 27. Coot 28. Kentish Plover 29. Long-billed Plover 30. Northern Lapwing 31. Grey-headed Lapwing 32. Common Sandpiper 33. Common Black-headed Gull 34. Mew Gull 35. Herring Gull 36. Oriental Turtle Dove 36. Common Kingfisher 37. Japanese Green Woodpecker (call) 38. Great Spotted Woodpecker (call) 39. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 40. Skylark 41. Grey Wagtail 42. Black-backed Wagtail 43. Japanese Pied Wagtail 44. Buff-bellied Pipit 45. Brown-eared Bulbul 46. Bull-headed Shrike 47. Winter Wren 48. Orange-flanked Bush-Robin 49. Daurian Redstart 50. Pale Thrush 51. Dusky Thrush 52. Japanese Bush Warbler 53. Long-tailed Tit 54. Coal Tit 55. Varied Tit 56. Great Tit 57. Japanese White-eye 58. Siberian Meadow Bunting 59. Rustic Bunting 60. Black-faced Bunting 61.Common Reed Bunting 62. Brambling 62. Siskin 63. Oriental Greenfinch 64. Hawfinch 65. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 66. Grey Starling 67. Jay 68. Rook 69. Daurian Jackdaw 70. Carrion Crow 71. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Scaly-sided Merganser has not been seen for this three days. We were lucky to see about 50 of Baikal Teal at Tatsuta Bridge of Kiso River. |
| Date/Time | February 16, 2002 |
| Site Name | Kiso River - Nagara River |
| Weather | fine and warm |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Great Cormorant 4. Grey Heron 5. Bewick' s Swan 6. Mallard 7. Spot-billed Duck 8. Green-winged Teal 9. Falcated Teal 10. Gadwall 11. Wigeon 12. Northen Pintail 13. Northern Shoveler 14. Pochard 15. Tufted Duck 16. Greater Scaup 17. Smew 18. Scaly-sided Merganser 19. Goosander 20. Osprey 21. Black Kite 22. Common Buzzard 23. Coot 24. Long-billed Plover 25. Kentish Plover 26. Grey-headed Lapwing 27. Northern Lapwing 28. Common Sandpiper 29. Herring Gull 30. Oriental Turtle Dove 31. Skylark 32. Black-backed Wagtail 33. Japanese Pied Wagtail 34. Buff-bellied Pipit 35. Bull-headed Shrike 36. Daurian Redstart 37. Dusky Thrush 38. Great Tit 39. Siberian Meadow Bunting 40. Black-faced Bunting 41. Oriental Greenfinch 42. Grey Starling 43. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 44. Carrion Crow 45. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | A male Scaly-sided Merganser was seen exactly same place with an individual which was seen about ten years ago. Approximately 50 people (or more) was exciting with the rare beautiful duck. We tried to find another bonus along the river but was not so successful. Well, still a merganser was worthwhile enough for the day trip. |
| Date/Time | January 13, 2002 |
| Site Name | Ai River - Mt. Myoken - Utagaki |
| Weather | fine and warm |
| Species Observed | 1. Black Kite 2. Great Cormorant 3. Black-crowned Night-heron 4. Great Egret 5. Little Egret 6. Grey Heron 7. Spot-billed Duck 8. Green-winged Teal 9. Wigeon 10. Northern Pintail 11. Black Kite 12. Hen Harrier 1 (male) 13. Northern Lapwing 14. Common Snipe 15. Common Black-headed Gull 16. Oriental Turtle-Dove 17. Long-eared Owl 18. Japanese Pygmy-Woodpecker 19. Black-backed Wagtail 20. Brown-eared Bulbul 21. Bull-headed Shrike 22. Pale Thrush 23. Dusky Thrush 24. Japanese Bush Warbler 25. Long-tailed Tit 26. Coal Tit 27. Varied Tit 28. Great Tit 29. Japanese White-eye 30. Siberian Meadow Bunting 31. Rustic Bunting 32. Black-faced Bunting 33. Brambling 34. Oriental Greenfinch 35. Siskin 36. Japanese Grosbeak 37.Howfinch 38. Grey Starling 39. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 40. Jay 41. Carrion Crow 42. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Long-eared Owls were easily found in a dense small tree. At Mt. Myoken, we saw a large flock of Japanese Grosbeak, Brambling and Siskin. A male Hen Harrier was found in the paddyfield near Nose Town. |
| Date/Time | January 12, 2002 |
| Site Name | Izuriba |
| Weather | fine and warm |
| Species Observed | 1. Grey Heron 2. Oriental Turtle-Dove 3. Japanese Green Woodpecker (call) 4. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 5. Japanese Pied Wagtail 6. Brown-eared Bulbul 7. Winter Wren 8. Brown Dipper 9. Orange-flanked Bush-Robin 10. Daurian Redstart 11. Pale Thrush 12. Dusky Thrush 13. Japanese Bush Warbler 14. Japanese White-eye 15. Siberian Meadow Bunting 16. Rustic Bunting 17. Black-faced Bunting 18. Oriental Greenfinch 19. Japanese Grosbeak 20. Long-tailed Rosefinch 21. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 22. Jay 23. Large-billed Crow 24. Carrion Crow |
| Comments | Comparing with December, there are less species. However, I enjoyed a warm day birding. A Japanese Bush Warbler was training its territory song. A male Orange-flanked Bush Robin was taking a bath in a small stream. |
| Date/Time | January 6, 2002 |
| Site Name | Ikejiri |
| Weather | cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Grey Heron 3. Little Egret 4. Great Egret 5. Osprey 6. Black Kite 7. Mallard 8. Spot-billled Duck 9. Green-winged Teal 10. Baikal Teal 11. Falcated Teal 12. Gadwall 13. Wigeon 14. Northern Pintal 15. Northern Shoveler 16. Oriental Turtle-Dove 17. Common Kingfisher 18. Grey Wagtail 19. Black-backed Wagtail 20. Japanese Pied Wagtail 21. Buff-bellied Pipit 22. Brown-eared Bulbul 23. Daurian Redstart 24. Japanese Bush-Warbler 25. Long-tailed Tit 26. Great Tit 27. Siberian Meadow Bunting 28. Rustic Bunting 29. Black-faced Bunting 30. Reed Bunting 31. Hawfinch 32. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 33. Grey Starling 34. Jay 35. Carrion Crow 36. Large-billed Crow 37. Pale Thrush |
| Comments | Snowy morning with fine and warm day. A male Baikal Teal was the highlight of the day. |
| Date/Time | December 22, 2001 |
| Site Name | Izuriba, Osaka |
| Weather | cloudy - drizzling |
| Species Observed | 1. Grey Heron 2. Oriental Turtle-dove 3. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 4. Japanese Pied Wagtail 5. Brown-eared Bulbul 6. Brown Dipper 7. Winter Wren 8. Daurian Redstart 9. Orange-flanked Bush Robin 10. Pale Thrush 10. Japanese Bush Warbler 11. Long-tailed Tit 12. Great Tit 13. Varied Tit 14. Japanese White-eye 15. Siberian Meadow Bunting 17. Black-faced Bunting 18. Grey Bunting (call) 19. Brambling 100+ 20. Siskin 21. Long-tailed Rosefinch 22. Jay 23.Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Izuriba is located in low mountain area with a valley. A beautiful male Long-tailed Rosefinch was highlight of the day. Brambling seems fairly common in this winter. We saw several flocks during the two hour walk. A Brown Dipper was calling frequently since it starts breeding soon.... |
| Date/Time | November 18, 2001 |
| Site Name | Nishiike Pond - Takayama, Asai Town - Onoue - Kaizu Osaki - Imazu - Shojo Lake |
| Weather | cloudy - drizzling |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Great Cormorant 4. Great Egret 5. Little Egret 6. Grey Heron 7. Bean Goose 8. Bewick's Swan 9. Mallard 10. Spot-billed Duck 11. Green-winged Teal 12. Falcated Teal 13. Gadwall 14. Wigeon 15. Pintail 16. Northern Shoveler 17. Red-crested Pochard 1 female 18. Common Pochard 19. Tufted Duck 20. Greater Scaup 21. Common Goldeneye 22. Common Merganser 23. Black Kite 24. Northern Goshawk 25. Common Buzzard 26. Common Moorhen 27. Coot 28. Northern Lapwing 29. Common Black-headed Gull 30. Mew Gull 31. Oriental Turtle-Dove 32. Common Kingfisher 33. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 34. Greater Spotted Woodpecker 35. Skylark 36. Grey Wagtail 37. Black-backed Wagtail 38. Japanese Wagtail 39. Olive-backed Pipit 40. Brown-eared Bulbul 41. Bull-headed Shrike 42. Daurian Redstart 43. Japanese Bush Warbler 44. Winter Wren 45. Long-tailed Tit 46. Willow Tit 47. Varied Tit 48. Great Tit 49. Japanese White-eye 50. Siberian Meadow Bunting 51. Rustic Bunting 52. Black-faced Bunting 53. Reed Bunting 54. Oriental Greenfinch 55. Long-tailed Rosefinch 56. Japanese Grosbeak 57. Hawfinch 58. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 59. Grey Starling 60. Jay 61. Carrion Crow 62. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | It was the first visit to Lake Biwa in this season. Although there was some news of Baikal Teal, we did not see it. For trying to cover forest birds, we dropped in Asai Town and Shojo Lake in Makino Town, though it was not so productive. |
| Date/Time | November 3, 2001 |
| Site Name | Kyoto Prefectural Botanic Garden - Kamo River - Midorogaike Pond |
| Weather | rainy |
| Species Observed | 1. Black-crowned Night Heron 2. Great Egret
3. Little Egret 4. Grey Heron 5. Mallard
6. Spot-billed Duck 7. Wigeon 8. Black Kite 9. Common Black-headed Gull 10. Oriental Turtle-Dove 11. Japanese Pygmy
Woodpecker 12. Grey Wagtail 13. Black-backed
Wagtail 14. Japanese Pied Wagtail 15. Brown-eared
Bulbul 16. Bull-headed Shrike 17. Daurian Redstart 18. Pale Thrush 19. Japanese Bush Warbler 20. Long-tailed
Tit 21. Varied Tit 22. Great Tit 23. Japanese
White-eye 24. Black-faced Bunting 25. Oriental Greenfinch 26. Japanese Grosbeak
27. Hawfinch 28. Tree Sparrow 29. Grey Starling 30. Carrion
Crow 31. Large-billed Crow Winter migrants are highlighted with red |
| Comments | Although it was a chilling rainy day, we were lucky to see some winter migrants, such as Pale Thrush and Hawfinch. There were about 10-15 Hawfinches in the garden. It seems this winter is a good winter for the finch. |
| Date/Time | October 27, 2001 |
| Site Name | Mt. Myoken - Mt. Miyama |
| Weather | fine and warm day |
| Species Observed | 1. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1 male 2. Oriental Turtle Dove 3. Japanese Pygmy
Woodpecker 4. Olive-backed Pipit 5. Brown-eared Bulbul 5. Bull-headed Shrike
6. Winter Wren (call) 7. Orange-flanked Bush Robin 8. Daurian Redstart 9. Eye-browed Thrush approx. 10 - 10. Dusky Thrush 1 11. Japanese Bush Warbler 12. Arctic Warbler
4+ 13. Eastern Crowned Warbler?1 14. Narcissus Flycatcher 2 15. Mugimaki Flycatcher 1 16. Coal Tit 17. Great Tit 18. Varied Tit
19. Long-tailed Tit 20. Japanese White-eye
21. Siberian Meadow Bunting 22. Rustic Bunting 23. Black-faced Bunting 24. Oriental Greenfinch 25. Siskin 26. Brambling 27. Long-tailed Rosefinch 28. Japanese Grosbeak 29. Jay 30. Large-billed
Crow Winter migrants are highlighted with red Passage/breeding species are highlighted with purple |
| Comments | Red leaves season has started. It would be the last chance for seeing passage/breeding migrants and first opportunity to see winter visitor. Although we saw only a few, we heard and more calls of Eye-browed Thrush which was feeding wild berries. Two female type Narcissus Flycatchers were seen together with Brambling and Daurian Redstart in the same tree while Arctic Wablers were looking for insects even in the same tree. Another highlight, Mugimaki Flycatcher was found at a fruiting tree at Miyama. At Miyama, we heard/saw many early arrivals of winter migrants, such as Brambling, Siskin, Long-tailed Rosefinch, Rustic Bunting and Orange-flanked Bush Robin. |
| Date/Time | September 28, 2001 |
| Site Name | Mt. Myoken - Ogura Kantaku |
| Weather | Cloudy in the morning, fine in the afternoon |
| Species Observed | 1. Cattle Egret 2. Great Egret 3. Intermediate Egret 4. Grey Heron 5. Eastern Marsh Harrier 6. Kestrel 7. Grey-headed Lapwing 8. Oriental Turtle Dove 9. Japanese Green Woodpecker (call) 10. Greater Spotted Woodpecker (call) 11. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 12. Grey Wagtail 13. Brown-eared Bulbul 14. Siberian Ground Thrush 15. Japanese Grey Thrush 5+ 16. Japanese Bush Warbler (call) 17. Asian Brown Flycatcher 1 18. Grey-spotted Flycatcher 2 19. Coal Tit 20. Great Tit 21. Varied Tit 22. Japanese White-eye 23. Siberian Meadow Bunting 24. Grey Starling 25. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 26. Jay 27. Carrion Crow |
| Comments | A beautiful autumn day with blue sky. Because of relatively strong wind, we concerned whether it affects for looking for bush birds, fortunately, we were lucky enough to pick up some of passage migrants. Highlight was a flock of thrushes, which contain Japanese Grey and Siberian Ground. They were feeding wild grape together. The scene is cerntainly a part of autumn! In Ogura-kantaku paddyfield, we saw two raptors (early birds!) in the afternoon. Both Kestrel and Harrier seem to be very young. It was a very beautiful scene when a Harrier was gliding on the golden rice field under the blue sky. |
| Date/Time | September 9, 2001 |
| Site Name | Shiokawa Tidal Flat - Cape Irago |
| Weather | Mainly Cloudy, very windy because of Typhoon No. 15 |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Streaked Shearwater 3. Great Cormorant 4. Black-crowned Night-heron 5. Cattle Egret 6. Great Egret 7. Intermediate Egret 8. LIttle Egret 9. Grey Heron 10. Spot-billed Duck 11. Common Teal 12. Pochard 13. Black Kite 14. Green Pheasant 15. Common Moorhen 16. Ringed Plover 2 17. Little Ringed Plover 18. Mongolian Plover 19. Pacific Golden Plover 20. Grey Plover 21. Grey-headed Lapwing 22. Ruddy Turnstone 23. Red-necked Stint 24. Dunlin 25. Great Knot 26. Ruff 2 27. Common Greenshank 28. Grey-tailed Tattler 29. Terek Sandpiper 30. Common Sandpiper 31. Bar-tailed Godwit 32. Eurasian Curlew 1 33. Eatern Curlew 2 34. Whimbrel 35. Swinhoe's Snipe 2 36. Black-tailed Gull 37. Oriental Turtle Dove 38. Common Kingfisher 39. Sand Martin 40. Barn Swallow 41.Grey Wagtail 42. Black-backed Wagtail 43. Japanese Wagtail 44. Bull-headed Shrike 45. Zitting Cisticola 46. Siberian Meadow Bunting 47. Oriental Greenfinch 48. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 49. Chestnut-cheeked Starling 1 female 50. Grey Starling 51. Carrion Crow 52. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Because of Typhoon no.15, it was a very windy and dusty day. Two Swinhoe's Snipes are bonus of the day. |
| Date/Time | September 2-5, 2001 |
| Site Name | Niseko, Lake Utonai etc. Hokkaido |
| Species Observed | 1. Temminck's Cormorant 2. Grey Heron 3. Mallard 4. Black Kite 5. Common Buzzard 6. Slaty-backed Gull 7. Black-tailed Gull 8. Oriental Turtle-dove 9. White-bellied Green Pigeon 10. Pacific Swift 11. Greater Spotted Woodpecker 12. Barn Swallow 13. Asian House Martin 14. Grey Wagtail 15. White Wagtail 16. Japanese Wagtail 17. Olive-backed Pipit 18. Brown-eared Bulbul 19. Bull-headed Shrike 20. Orange-flanked Bush Robin 21. Brown Thrush 22. Japanese Bush Warbler 23. Arctic Warbler 24. Narcissus Flycatcher 25. Long-tailed Tit 25. Marsh Tit 26. Coal Tit 27. Varied Tit 28. Great Tit 29. Eurasian Nuthatch 30. Japanese White-eye 31. Siberian Meadow Bunting 32. Oriental Greenfinch 33. Bullfinch 34. Pine Grosbeak ? (call) 35. Hawfinch 36. Japanese Grosbeak 37. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 38. Grey Starling 39. Jay 40. Carrion Crow 41. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | Because of off-peak for summer visitors, I did not see any Hokkaido speciality. Narcissus Flycatcher was still remaining in the breeding ground. |
| Date/Time | May 9-10, 2001 |
| Site Name | Togakushi, Nagano |
| Weather | Mainly Cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Common Buzzard 3. Mountain Hawk-Eagle 4. Copper Pheasant 5. Oriental Turtle-dove 6. Oriental Cuckoo (call) 7. Japanese Green Woodpecker 8. Great Spotted Woodpecker 9. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 10. Barn Swallow 11. Grey Wagtail 12. Olive-backed Pipit (call) 13. Ashy Minivet 14. Brown-eared Bulbul 15. Winter Wren 16. Siberian Blue Robin (call) 17. Japanese Grey Thrush 18. Brown Thrush 19. Japanese Bush Warbler 20. Eastern Crowned Warbler 21. Goldcrest 22. Narcissus Flycatcher 23. Blue-and-white Flycatcher 24. Asian Brown Flycatcher 25. Willow TIt (call) 26. Coal Tit 27. Varied Tit 28. Great Tit 29. Eurasian Nuthatch 30. Treecreeper 31. Siberian Meadow Bunting (call) 32. Black-faced Bunting 33. Grey Bunting 34. Oriental Greenfinch 35. Japanese Grosbeak 36. Cinnamon Sparrow 37. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 38. Chestnut-cheeked Starling 39. Jay 40. Jungle Crow |
| Comments |  Two days short trip to Togakushi was more
impressive than our guess. Although we did
not hear any Common & Lesser Cuckoo's
call, major species have already arrived
and started singing. Japanese Grey Thrush
was heard in several locations while Grey
Bunting was relatively common in or near
coniferous forest. It may be unusual to see
Mountain Hawk-eagle in such high mountain
range. |
| Species/Date | April 17 | April 22 | April 26 | May 8 |
| Great Cormorant | 4 | |||
| Grey Heron | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Green Pheasant | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Oriental Turtle-dove | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Common Kingfisher | 1 | |||
| Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Barn Swallow | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Olive-backed Pipit | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Brown-eared Bulbul | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Ashy Minivet | 1 | |||
| Orange-flanked Bush Robin | 1 | |||
| Pale Thrush | 10 | 5 | 2 | |
| Brown Thrush | 1 | |||
| Dusky Thrush | 3 | 2 | ||
| Short-tailed Bush Warbler | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Japanese Bush Warbler | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Eastern Crowned Warbler | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Pale-legged Warbler | 1 | |||
| Narcissus Flycatcher | 2 | 4 | ||
| Blue-and-white Flycatcher | 1 | 2 | ||
| Long-tailed Tit | 4 | 2 | 10 | |
| Varied Tit | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Great Tit | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Japanese White-eye | 10 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| Siberian Meadow Bunting | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Japanese Yellow Bunting | 1 | |||
| Black-faced Bunting | 7 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Grey Bunting | 2 | |||
| Brambling | 3 | 15 | 5 | |
| Oriental Greenfinch | 8 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| Japanese Grosbeak | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Grey Starling | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Carrion Crow | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Large-billed Crow | 15 | 15 | 30 | 20 |
| Summer migrants are typed with brown |
| Passage migrants are typed with red |
| Winter migrants are typed with green |
| Last record in the season is highlighted with green bold |
| Earliest record in the season is highlighted with red bold |
| Date/Time | April 10, 2001 / 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten |
| Weather | fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Grey Heron 2. Green Pheasant 3. Oriental Turtle-dove 4. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 5. Brown-eared Bulbul 6. Olive-backed Pipit 7. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 8. Pale Thrush 9. Dusky Thrush 10. Japanese Bush Warbler 11. Short-tailed Bush Warbler 12. Varied Tit 13. Great Tit 14. Long-tailed Tit 15. Japanese White-eye 16. Siberian Meadow Bunting 17. Black-faced Bunting 18. Brambling 19. Oriental Greenfinch 20. Grey Starling 21. Jay 22. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | A warm (likely early May) day. Black-faced Buntings were singing everywhere while Brambling uttered harsh, "zweet" call. Pairs of Japanese White-eyes were chasing each other and uttered unusual snapping sound when it flies. The speciality for the day was Short-tailed Bush Warbler, aka Asian Stub-tail, the earliest summer migrants (except Barn Swallow) here. |
| Date/Time | April 6, 2001 / 10:30 a.m. - 11:30a.m. |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten |
| Weather | fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Grey Heron 2. Oriental Turtle-dove 3. Japanse Pygmy Woodpecker 4. Olive-backed Pipit 5. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 6. Pale Thrush 7.Dusky Thrush 8. Japanese Bush Warbler 9. Great Tit 10. Varied Tit 11. Long-tailed Tit 12. Japanese White-eye 13. Siberian Meadow Bunting 14. Rustic Bunting 15. Black-faced Bunting 16. Brambling 17. Oriental Greenfinch 18. Grey Starling 19. Jay 20. Carrion Crow 21.Jungle Crow |
| Comments | Still some Rustic Buting & Orange-flanked Bush-robin. |
| Date/Time | April 1, 2001 / 10:30 a.m. - 11:30a.m. |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten |
| Weather | fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Wigeon 2. Green Pheasant 3. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 4. Brown-eared Bulbul 5. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 6. Dusky Thrush 7. Pale Thrush 8. Japanese Bush Warbler 9. Long-tailed Tit 10. Great Tit 11. Varied Tit 12. Japanese White-eye 13. Siberian Meadow Bunting 14. Black-faced Bunting 15. Yellow-throated Bunting 16. Oriental Greenfinch 17. Carrion Crow 18. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | Probably the last day to see some of winter migrants. A great view of male Green Pheasant. |
| Date/Time | February 19, 2001 / 8:50 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
| Site Name | Kawanishi - Hatsutani Valley - Mt. Myoken - Mino Kinen-no-mori - Ogura Kantaku - Higashi-Ota |
| Weather | fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Mandarin Duck 3. Mallard 4. Grey-headed Lapwing 5. Oriental Turtle-dove 6. Common Kingfisher 7. Common Sandpiper 8. Japanese Green Woodpecker 9. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 10. Grey Wagtail 11. White Wagtail 12. Japanese Pied Wagtail 13. Brown-eared Bulbul 14. Daurian Redstart 15. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 16. Dusky Thrush 17. Pale Thrush 18. Japanese Bush Warbler 19. Long-tailed Tit 20. Varied Tit 21. Great Tit 22. Siberian Meadow Bunting 23. Black-faced Bunting 24. Oriental Greenfinch 25. Long-tailed Rosefinch 26. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 27. Grey Starling 28.Rook 29. Carrion Crow 30. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | A warm day. Japanese Green Woodpecker has started calling on the tree top while skylarks were singing in the sky. |
| Date/Time | February 18, 2001 / 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
| Site Name | near Hyuga - Miike |
| Weather | cloudy - rainy - cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Cormorant 4. Little Egret 5. Grey Heron 6. Mallard 7. Spot-billed Duck 9. Wigeon 10. Northern Pintail 11. Greater Scaup 12. Black Kite 13. Common Sandpiper 14. Herring Gull 15. Black-tailed Gull 16. Ancient Murrelet 1 17. Japanese Murrelet 7 18. Oriental Turtle-dove 19. Common Kingfisher 20. Greater Spotted Woodpecker (call) 21. Japanese Green Woodpecker (call) 22. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 23. Grey Wagtail 24. White Wagtail 25. Olive-backed Pipit 26. Ryukyu Minivet 27. Brown-eared Bulbul 28. Bull-headed Shrike 29. Daurian Redstart 30. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 31. Dusky Thrush 32. Pale Thrush 33. Japanese Bush Warbler 34. Long-tailed Tit 35. Varied Tit 36. Great Tit 37. Eurasian Nuthatch 38. Japanese White-eye 39. Black-faced Bunting 40. Yellow-throated Bunting 41. Japanese Grosbeak 42. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 43. Winter Wren 44. Grey Starling 45. Rook 46. Carrion Crow 47. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | A day for Japanese Murrelet. We were able to see at least seven Japanese Murrelets very well. A pair often came closer to us. Once they came within 5m to us! They dove very often. They also sometimes showed only their face and beak for breathing. There was also an Ancient Murrelet. At Miike, we were suffered from the weather. A Ryukyu Minivet was bonus for me while we saw a flock of Yellow-throated Bunting with a good view. |
| Date/Time | February 17, 2001 / 10:00 a..m. - 5:30 p.m. |
| Site Name | Izumi - Tatsuta-yama - Hikawa River - Kuma River - Hitotsuse River |
| Weather | fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Great Crested Grebe 2. Great Cormorant 3. Black-crowned Night Heron 4. Great Egret 5. Little Egret 6. Grey Heron 7. Oriental White Stork 1 8. Black-faced Spoonbill 19. Mallard 20. Spot-billed Duck 21. Common Teal 22. Wigeon 23. Osprey 24. Black Kite 25. Eurasian Kestrel 26. Chinese Bamboo Partridge 27. Hooded Crane 28. White-naped Crane 29. Kentish Plover 30. Grey Plover 31. Dunlin 32. Common Snipe 33. Common Black-headed Gull 34. Herring Gull 35. Mew Gull 36. Black-tailed Gull 37. Saunder's Gull 38. Oriental Turtle-dove 39. Japanese Green Woodpecker (call) 40. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 41. Skylark 42. Barn Swallow 43. White Wagtail 44. Japanese Pied Wagtail 45. Buff-bellied Pipit 46. Ashy(?) Minivet (call) 47. Bull-headed Shrike 48. Daurian Redstart 49. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 50. Pale Thrush 51. Dusky Thrush 52. Japanese Bush Warbler 53. Long-tailed Tit 54. Great Tit 55. Varied Tit 56. Japanese White-eye 57. Siberian Meadow Bunting 58. Rustic Bunting 59. Yellow-throated Bunting (call) 60. Black-faced Bunting 61. Oriental Greenfinch 62. Japanese Grosbeak 63. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 64. Grey Starling 65. Rook 66. Carrion Crow 67. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | A very warm & fine day. Although we saw plenty of tits at Tatsutayama, we missed Grey Bunting & Japanese Green Woodpecker. At Hikawa, we saw a young Black-faced Spoonbill was feeding. There was no Great Black-headed Gull today, again. We saw more than ten of Saunder's Gull. At Hitotsuse River, we were lucky to find an Oriental White Stork immediately. There were also four Black-faced Spoonbills. |
| Date/Time | February 16, 2001 / 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. |
| Site Name | Izumi - Sendai - Izumi |
| Weather | rainy/cloudy (very windy) |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Cormorant 3. Temminck's Cormorant 4. Cattle Egret 5. Great Egret 6. Little Egret 7. Grey Heron 8. White Spoonbill 3 9. Black-faced Spoonbill 1 10. Mallard 11. Spot-billed Duck 12. Common Teal 13. Gadwall 14. Bewick's Swan 15. Wigeon 16. Northern Pintail 17. Black Kite 18. Common Buzzard 19. Peregrine Falcon 20. Eurasian Kestrel 21. Common Crane 22. Hooded Crane 23. White-naped Crane 24. Siberian White Crane 1 25. Moorhen 26. Coot 27. Northern Lapwing 28. Dunlin 29. Common Sandpiper 30. Common Snipe 31. Herring Gull 32. Slaty-backed Gull 33. Black-tailed Gull 34. Oriental Turtle-dove 35. Common Kingfisher 36. Skylark 37. Grey Wagtail 38. White Wagtail 39. Japanese Pied Wagtail 40. Buff-bellied Pipit 41. Brown-eared Bulbul 42. Bull-headed Shrike 43. Dusky Thrush 44. Pale Thrush 45. Japanese White-eye 46. Siberian Meadow Bunting 47. Grey-headed Bunting 48. Black-faced Bunting 49. Great Reed Bunting 50. Pallas's Reed Bunting 2 51. Oriental Greenfinch 52. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 53. Grey Starling 54. Daurian Jackdaw 1 55. Rook 56. Carrion Crow 57. Large-billed Crow |
| Comments | A very windy and chilling day with rain. We were very lucky to see two Pallas's Reed Bunting with very close distance. Siberian White Crane was near feeding ground. In the morning, we saw within 20m! Two spoonbills and Bewick's Swans were unpredicted bonus. We also enjoyed Peregrine's hunting. It dove into a flock of wigeons, though it never succeeded. Although we went to Greater Spotted Eagle's site, we missed the eagle. |
| Date/Time | February 15, 2001 / 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. |
| Site Name | Ebino - Kuma River - Izumi |
| Weather | mainly fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Eared Grebe 4. Great Cormorant 5. Grey Heron 6. Common Shelduck 7. Mallard 8. Spot-billed Duck 9. Common Teal 10. Gadwall 11. Wigeon 12. Northern Pintail 13. Osprey 14. Black Kite 15. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 16. Eurasian Kestrel 17. White-naped Crane 18. Hooded Crane 19. Siberian Crane 1 20. Grey Plover 21. Dunlin 22. Common Black-headed Gull 23. Herring Gull 24. Heuglin's Gull 2 25. Mew Gull 26. Black-tailed Gull 27. Saunder's Gull 12+ 28. Oriental Turtle-Dove 29. Crested Kingfisher 1 31. Skylark 32. Asian House Martin 33. Grey Wagtail 34. White Wagtail 35. Japanese Pied Wagtail 36. Buff-bellied Pipit 37. Brown-eared Bulbul 38. Bull-headed Shrike 39. Dusky Thrush 40. Great Tit 41. Siberian Meadow Bunting 42. Oriental Greenfinch 43. Grey Starling 44. Rook 45. Large-billed Crow 46. Carrion Crow |
| Comments | A very beautiful day with warm weather. A Crested Kingfisher was seen near Ebino Exit of Highway. Although we arrived the best timing at Kuma River mouth, we missed a Great Black-headed Gull. Two Heuglin's Gulls were seen very well while more than ten Saunder's Gulls were seen closely. At Izumi, we immediately found a Siberian White Crane. |
| Date/Time | February 10, 2001 / 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten |
| Weather | mainly fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Grey Heron 2. Mallard 3. Wigeon 4. Northern Goshawk 1 5. Orirental Turtle-dove 6. Japanese Pygmy-Woodpecker 7. White Wagtail 8. Olive-backed Pipit 9. Brown-eared Bulbul 10. Daurian Redstart 11. Orange-flanked Bush-robin 12. Pale Thrush 13. Dusky Thrush 14. Japanese Bush Warbler 15. Long-tailed Tit 16. Varied Tit 17. Great Tit 18. Japanese White-eye 19. Siberian Meadow Bunting 20. Rustic Bunting 21. Yellow-throated Bunting 22. Black-faced Bunting 23. Grey Bunting 24. Oriental Greenfinch 25. Long-tailed Rosefinch 26. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 27. Carrion Crow 28. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | No large flock of thrushes any more. Orange-flanked Bush-robins are still well seen. An immature Northern Goshawk was flew over with a Large-billed Crow, which was mobbing the hawk. The hawk is the first record here. Two Grey Buntings flushed in pine woodland. The bunting is normally seen during spring migration. Long-tailed Rosefinch was feeding on the ground with Black-faced Buntings. |
| Date/Time | February 3, 2001 / 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
| Site Name | Lake Biwa (LB: Hikone - Omi-hachiman - Moriyama - Otsu) - Midoro-ga-ike pond (MP) - Kyoto Botanical Garden (KB) |
| Weather | snowing (northern Lake Biwa) / mainly fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Horned Grebe (LB) 3. Great Crested Grebe 4. Great Cormorant 5. Great Egret 6. Little Egret 7. Grey Heron 8. Mallard 9. Spot-billed Duck 10. Common Teal 11. Baikal Teal 3 (LB) 12. Falcated Teal (LB) 13. Gadwall 100+ (LB) 14. Wigeon 15. American Wigeon?1 (hybrid? LB) 16. Pintail 17. Northern Shoveler 18. Common Pochard 19. Tufted Duck 20. Greater Scaup 21. Common Godeneye (LB) 22. Smew (LB) 23. Red-breasted Merganser (LB) 24. Black Kite 25. Coot 26. Grey-headed Lapwing 1 (LB) 27. Common Black-headed Gull 28. Mew Gull 29. Oriental Turtle-Dove 30. Common Kingfisher 1 (KB) 31. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (KB) 32. Skylark 33. White Wagtail 34. Japanese Pied Wagtail 35. Brown-eared Bulbul 36. Bull-headed Shrike 37. Daurian Redstart 38. Pale Thrush (KB) 39. Dusky Thrush 40. Japanese Bush-Warbler 41. Long-tailed Tit 42. Varied Tit 43. Great Tit 44. Japanese White-eye 45. Black-faced Bunting 46. Oriental Greenfinch 47. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 48. Grey Starling 49. Carrion Crow 50. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | Although we originally planned to go to northern Lake Biwa, because of snowing, we stopped going there.... The heavy snowing limited access and view around Hikone. So, we decided to do birding around southern parts of the lake. We firstly went to Iemune River. Three Baikal Teals and a few Falcated Teals were nice to see. At Miami Beach, near Iemune River, we did not see any Red-crested Pochard what we saw on November. No snowing but freezing there. American people would be surprised to hear about chilling "Miami Beach". Around Moriyama, a large flock of Gadwall and Coot were observed. Both used to be rare or uncommon species by 15 years ago. They rapidly increased the number during late 1980's and early 1990's. Now, they are relatively common. At the Kyoto Botanical Garden, we were able to see very tame Great Tits and Black-faced Buntings. Both were within 3 meter from us. The bunting is normally skulking and shy. So, although they are common species, we were happy to see them well. |
| Date/Time | January 31, 2001 / 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten |
| Weather | mainly fine |
| Species Observed | 1. Wigeon 2. Oriental Turtle Dove Wigeon 3. Common Kingfisher 4. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker 5. White (Black-backed) Wagtail 6. Olive-backed Pipit 7. Brown-eared Bulbul 8. Bull-headed Shrike 9.Orange-flanked Bush-robin 10. Pale Thrush 11. Dusky Thrush 12. Japanese Bush Warbler 13. Long-tailed Tit 14. Great Tit 15. Varied Tit 16. Japanese White-eye 17. Siberian Meadow Bunting 18. Black-faced Bunting 19. Oriental Greenfinch 20. Long-tailed Rosefinch (call only) 21. Carrion Crow 22. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | More thrushes!! Probably, more than 50 dusky thrushes are staying at moment with about 10 or more Pale Thrushes. Because of colder weather, Long-tailed Rosefinch have come down from mountains (though I was not able to find the little long-tailed bird.) |
| Date/Time | January 28, 2001 / 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
| Site Name | Senrioka - Mino-Kinen-no-Mori (MK) - Mt. Myoken (MY) - Ikejiri (IK) |
| Weather | mainly cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Little Grebe 2. Great Cormorant 3. Grey Heron 4. Spot-billed Duck 5. Mallard 6. Wigeon 7. Shoveller 8. Common Teal9. Baikal Teal 10 10. Falcated Teal 3. 11. Common Pochard 12. Common Black-headed Gull 13. Common Moorhen 14. Black Kite 15. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 2 16. Oriental Turtle-dove 17. White Wagtail 18. Japanese Pied Wagtail 19. Brown-eared Bulbul 20. Orange-flanked Bush-Robin 21.Pale Thrush 22. Dusky Thrush 23. Japanese Bush Warbler 24. Great Tit 25. Varied Tit 26. Coal Tit. 27. Long-tailed Tit 28. Japanese White-eye 29. Siberian Meadow Bunting 30. Rustic Bunting 31. Common Reed Bunting 32. Brambling 33. Oriental Greenfinch 34. Long-tailed Rosefinch 35. Grey Starling 36. Jay 37. Carrion Crow 38. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | A few birds at Mt. Myoken and Mino. Some Long-tailed Rosefinches were only valuable to see. A flock of Baikal Teals is still in Ikejiri, though they are in the reedbed in most of the time. |
| Date/Time | January 6, 2001 / 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
| Site Name | Ibaraki-benten |
| Weather | mainly cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Great Cormorant 2. Spot-billed Duck 3. Mallard 4. Wigeon 5. Shoveller 6. Common Black-headed Gull 8. Oriental Turtle-dove 9. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (IK) 10. White Wagtail 11. Oilve-backed Pipit 12. Brown-eared Bulbul 13.Bull-headed Shrike 14. Orange-flanked Bush-Robin 15. Daurian Redstart 16.Pale Thrush 17. Dusky Thrush 18. Japanese Bush Warbler 19. Great Tit 20. Varied Tit 21. Japanese White-eye 22. Siberian Meadow Bunting 23. Yellow-throated Bunting 24. Black-faced Bunting 25. Brambling 26. Oriental Greenfinch 27. Grey Starling 28. Jay 29. Carrion Crow 30. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | Another cold day. This winter seems less productive on small birds while I find less Yellow-throated and Rustic Bunting in Ibaraki-benten.... Orange-flanked Bush-Robin is still fairly easily seen while Daurian Redstart is somehow very uncommon in this winter here. |
| Date/Time | January 3, 2001 / 10:40 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
| Site Name | Yura River (YR) - Ikejiri (IK) |
| Weather | mainly cloudy, occationally snowing |
| Species Observed | 1. Great Egret 2. Little Egret 3. Grey Heron 4. Mandarin Duck 7+ (YR) 5. Mallard 6. Spot-billed Duck 8. Common Teal 9. Baikal Teal 14+ (IK) 10. Falcated Teal 4 11. Wigeon 12. Pintail 13. Black Kite 14. Northern Goshawk 1 (imm) IK 15. Oriental Turtle-dove 16. Brown-eared Bulbul 17. Daurian Redstart 18. Japanese Bush Wabler 19. Long-tailed Tit 20. Great Tit 21. Siberian Meadow Bunting 22. Rustic Bunting (YR) 23. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 24. Grey Starling 25. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | A very freezing day with some snowing in
northern Kyoto. Our originally targetted
one to see was a Chinese Merganser but we
missed it. The merganser is often recorded
in dams and rivers in the mountain. Yura
River is certainly a habitat for the merganser.
Well, we are not lucky this time. On the way back, we dropped in Ikejiri. There were more than 10 Baikal Teals and 4 Falcated Teal. |
| Date/Time | January 2, 2001 / 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
| Site Name | Senrioka (SE) - Kawanishi (KW) - Koshien-hama (KH) |
| Weather | mainly cloudy |
| Species Observed | 1. Red-throated Loon 1 (KH) 2. Great Crested Grebe 3. Great Cormorant 4. Mallard 5. Baikal Teal male 1(SE) 6. Wigeon 7. Pintail 8. Northern Shoveller 9. Common Pochard 10. Red-breasted Merganser 1 11. Mountain Hawk-Eagle? 1 12. Coot 13. Dunlin 14. Common Black-headed Gull 15. Herring Gull 16. Mew Gull 17. Black-tailed Gull 18. Oriental Turtle-Dove 19. Grey Wagtail 20. Japanese Pied Wagtail 21. White Wagtail 22. Water Pipit 23. Brown-eared Bulbul 24. Bull-headed Shrike 25. Japanese Accentor 1 (call) 26. Daurian Redstart 27. Dusky Thrush 28. Japanese Bush Warbler 29. Japanese White-eye 30. Siberian Meadow Bunting 31. Black-faced Bunting 32. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 33. Jay 34. Carrion Crow 35. Jungle Crow |
| Comments | My new year birding. A male Baikal Teal was very closely seen. At Koshien-hama, although a Red-throated Loon was still observed, because of slightly strong wind, we were not able to see other seabirds. |
| Spring Migration | Autumn Migration |
| Winter Migrants in Japan | Southern Japan |
| Ibaraki-Benten's Birds | Birding in Shinshu |
| Shorebirds in Japan | Birding in Japan |
| Birding Guide in Japan | Field Note in Japan |