JAPAN May/June 2007

A quick rundown on a recent VENT tour of Japan:


Japanese Accentor

Starting in Tokyo, we moved westward to the foothills of the Japan Alps at Karuizawa. These lush broadleaf forests are a wonderful place to start – not only is it very picturesque but there are some great birds that are difficult to find elsewhere. The scarce Japanese Yellow Bunting is regular here and we were very happy to have super views of two or three. We then spent a day at Mount Fuji.

Ijima Leaf Warbler

Our next destination was the island of Hachijojima, in the Izu Islands group. This chain of volcanic islands stretches from just south of Tokyo down into the Pacific Ocean to Aogashima, a very distant 1000 kilometres from Tokyo. Many people are very surprised to find that even on Hachijojima – 300km from Tokyo, they are technically still part of this massive city! Well, we had a great time exploring the island in search of the endemic warbler and thrush.

From Kagoshima we continued on to Amami Oshima. One night we went out in search of the Amami Woodcock. We found the woodcock in abundance as well as a fantastic Japanese Hawk Owl, the elusive Ryukyu Scops Owl and many very kawaii Amami Black Rabbits, an extraordinary creature with very un-rabbit-like features. This topped off an excellent day’s birding during which we found a number of other endemics and specialities including Lidth’s Jay, Owston’s Woodpecker, Ruddy Kingfisher, the very distinctive Owston’s (Narcissus) Flycatcher, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher and the endemic race of Ryukyu Robin. Personally, this is one of my favourite places in Japan.

Spotted Nutcracker

Our next destination was Miike in the Kirishima mountain range straddling Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures. This small lake is famous for its migratory population of Fairy Pitta, one of the scarcest of its kind. Alas the bird arrived late this year due to an unusually long winter. We met with great success otherwise, recording all our hoped for species including Ruddy Kingfisher, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher and more.

On our first outing on Okinawa we immediately found the alarmingly rare Okinawa Woodpecker in the unusual Yanbaru forest. Undoubtedly the highlight of the first part of our Japan tour though was an amazing total of seven separate sightings of the Okinawa Rail. The elusive nature of this very beautiful and colourful skulker is illustrated by the fact that the species was only discovered in 1978! At one stage we watched as a bird came out onto a quiet road in the pouring rain to bathe in a puddle for a minute or two.

From the southernmost part of Japan we returned to Tokyo and travelled to Hokkaido by ferry. Thousands and thousands of Streaked Shearwaters (and Giggling Schoolchildren) provided the backdrop to beauties such as Japanese Murrelet, Laysan’s Albatross and Fork-tailed Storm Petrel.

Hokkaido Brown Bear on the Shiretoko Peninsula

The last part of our travels was spent touring the incredible island of Hokkaido - Japan’s new frontier. Traversing the Tsugara Straits between Honshu and Hokkaido, we enter a different zoogeographic zone when we cross the Blakiston’s Line and here there is a much stronger Siberian influence. On the second part of our tour in Hokkaido we enjoyed remarkable displaying Latham’s Snipe (this really has to be seen to be believed!), close up views of Spectacled Guillemots with their startling bright red legs, many roding Eurasian Woodcocks, family groups of foraging Hokkaido Brown Bear and Japanese Cranes with chicks. But something that will endure as one of those unforgettable birding experiences was our encounter with a pair of truly incredible Blakiston’s Fish Owls. As we used our vehicle as a hide we collectively gasped as first the male flew in to a perch right in front of our eyes and then the female. With a wingspan of 2 metres it is hard not to be impressed.

Lanceolated Warbler

From the wetlands of Utonaiko in the south to the dramatic cliffs of Kushiro in the east, we travelled over the central mountain range through the superb Daisetsuzan National Park (Japan’s largest) to the very beautiful Shiretoko Peninsula, then down to the extraordinary Notsuke Peninsula and the saltwater marshes of Lake Furen. This variety of habitats allowed us to observe a very exciting range of Hokkaido’s special birds. The White-tailed Eagle was a much hoped for prize and we were fortunate to see many around the lakes and eastern seashores even though numbers decline in Japan over summer.

Japanese Crane

We saw thirteen Japanese endemics (out of a possible fourteen), four endemic breeding birds and thirteen near endemics. On top of this we recorded a number of distinctive endemic subspecies that are not only intrinsically interesting but could well be recognised as full species in the future.