Japan for Bird's Wildlife & Nature Tours - Day 10: Part 2: 14th February 2025

The local harbours to the south at Shibetsu were checked once again and the same suite of Gulls scrutinised and this time the drake Ring-necked Duck had moved to another bay with his Tufted and Scaup buddies. Mergansers, ‘Quins and Pelagic Cormorants were also feeding close in.  Candice could not resist a bit of Snow Angel action.

Slaty-backed Gulls

Slaty-backed Gull - not even sure where you begin at actually identifying this

Great Scaup

Ring-necked Duck and Tufted Ducks

Slaty-backed Gulls - quality brown jobs

We were all grown ups...

Ring-necked Duck - Dan Duff

Ring-necked Duck - Dan Duff

Candice ascending - Spencer Simmons

We picked up some lunch in town and headed south and out onto the impossibly thin Notsuke Hanto.  To our right the shallow sea bay was completely frozen already and obviously to a good depth as the locals were camped out there and ice hole fishing.

To our left the sea was a deep metallic blue with the volcanos of offshore island of Kunashiri in the distance and either side of us were Sika. Herds of them including some fine bucks.  Asian Rosy-finches were on the radar and several come down briefly in the road to look for easier windblown seeds but they did not linger long.

Sika

Several bitterly cold stops were made towards the end and some scanning of the sea gave us a flock of close Black Scoters, the females of which had slightly raised culmens and most had patchy yellow on them, not wholly dark like on our own Commons. Two stunning male Stejneger’s White-winged Scoters bobbed even closer inshore showing off that complicated bill shape and vibrant colours while Long-tailed Ducks and ‘Quins added more colour. Several silvery Red-throated Divers flew through and I was pleased to call a Pacific Diver as it powered through.  The lack of thigh patch was actually very obvious.  Three Spectacled Guillemots were seen and close enough to see the blotchy face pattern, fairly long neck and fully black wings while a smaller cigar shaped auk looked like a winter plumaged Black Guillemot but also had full dark wings suggesting Snow’s as the more likely over Pigeon. 

Black Scoters - Simon Stirrup

Black Scoters

Black Scoters

Spectacled Guillemot

Spectacled Guillemot - a quality 'Essence of' crop

The trio of big gulls patrolled and an adult Thayer’s was a great find as it flew along the beach. Another new bird for me and strikingly different in flight.  There were a couple of Black-headed Gulls and several Kamchatka Gulls.  This taxon is heavy and dark and sometimes even felt like a smallish big gull until you clocked the wing pattern and fairly small bill.

Kamchatka Gull - Simon Stirrup

 Thayer's Gull - Simon Stirrup

Glaucous Gull

Kamchatka Gull

White-tailed and Steller’s Sea Eagles cruised up and down and the fact that you might pick one up out to sea while scanning for auks made me smile more than once.  A couple of Harbour Seals bobbed up and down and a Harbour Porpoise surfaced a couple of times.

Steller’s Sea Eagles

Steller’s Sea Eagle

Down at the end the most beautiful sandy Red Fox with the thickest, fluffiest coat I have ever seen was hoping for handouts but looked very well and healthy.  It just sat on the road and let us pap away merrily.

Red Fox

Red Fox - Simon Stirrup

Red Fox - Simon Stirrup

Sika - Simon Stirrup

The watery sun was dropping, as was the temperature and we had a fair drive across the vast flat lands to reach the Yoroushi Onsen in the foothills for our last night on Hokkaido.  It was a vista of endless snow; vast fields unblemished by any print whatsoever with occasional farm steads nestling into the small copses and pine belts. Foxes were spotted now and then and a pair of Red-crowned Cranes were seen in one of the many rivers that we crossed on our way. 

Red-crowned Cranes 

The low sun made stopping for some scenery shots irresistible.  

The Yoroushi Onsen was magnificent and famous for not only its hospitality but the chance of Blakiston’s Fish Owl once again.  We were all so enamoured that we even came down to dinner in our Kimonos.  It was another multi dish banquet and a proper gastronomical send off.

Dave awaiting his hot Saki...

After dinner and the log we sat round for a bit and watched the floodlit river but nothing was doing and we were all tired after an emotionally draining day and no one chose to stay up all night just in case an owl came in.  As it happened it was about midnight before one showed up and I suspect we were all sound asleep by then.