Lafone
Well-Known Member
Do you have a favourite bird/s / mammal/s or moment from the trip so far?
Chlidonias Goes To Asia, part seven: 2024-2025
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
Do you have a favourite bird/s / mammal/s or moment from the trip so far?
Generally speaking, my favourite or most memorable animals tend to be the unexpected ones rather than the planned ones. If there is a "guaranteed" animal you just go there, you see it, and even if it is a really cool animal it doesn't stick as well as an animal you just randomly come across.
Having said that, for China my favourite mammal was probably the White-headed Langurs which are as good as guaranteed once you get to the reserve.
My favourite birds seen in China would probably be the Scaly-sided Mergansers, Striated Bulbul, and Bramblings. Overall top bird was probably the Grey-headed Parrotbills.
For Japan (so far), best / most memorable mammal is without doubt the Japanese Badger from Kogawa Dam, although Sea Otters are close behind:
Top birds for Japan (so far): Steller's Sea Eagles and Blakiston's Fish Owl (these will be in the following posts), and of course the Harlequin Duck, Falcated Duck, and Baikal Teal. The top bird would be a toss-up between Steller's Sea Eagle and Harlequin Duck.
Rausu
Up in the top northeast corner of Hokkaido is the Shiretoko Peninsula. There is the Shiretoko Nature Cruise company up there with whom in summer you can see Ezo Brown Bears and Killer Whales, and in winter seals and Steller's Sea Eagles. All year round you can see the Blakiston's Fish Owl, which is the largest species of owl in the world. Whenever you see photos of Steller's Sea Eagles on rafts of sea-ice, that's at Rausu, and whenever you see a photo of a Blakiston's Fish Owl there's a high chance that was taken at Rausu as well.
There was only one hotel on Trip for Rausu, it was NZ$137 per night, and when I looked at the map it was well south of the town itself which wasn't much good. (When I passed it on the bus on my way to Rausu it took another 15 minutes for the bus to reach town).
I decided to wing it again. It seemed a bit risky given that it is the middle of winter but the tourism website for Rausu lists numerous accommodations, and the worst that would happen is if I couldn't find a hotel I'd catch a bus back to Kushiro and have just wasted the day.
The bus is 3.5hrs from Kushiro to Rausu. There are only three a day on weekdays (8.15am, 1.45pm, and 4.05pm) and two on weekends (8.15am and 1.45pm). Coming back the times are 6.40am, 1pm and 4.50pm on weekdays, and 7.10am and 1pm on weekends.
When I was on the bus I realised I had forgotten to get out any cash beforehand. I did have money in my wallet but if I had to pay for an expensive hotel then I'd be short for the Nature Cruise or maybe even for the bus back to Kushiro. Only some ATMs work for me - e.g. the ones in the Lawsons do, but the ones in the 7-elevens won't accept my card - so I was hoping I'd be able to find one in Rausu given that it is only a tiny town.
Luckily I found a compatible ATM (in the post office) right by the bus stop in Rausu. I then walked back one street to where I'd seen a hotel from the bus. They were full, but the owner pointed out another hotel called the Business Hotel Isaribi across the street which had a room, and it was only 4700 Yen.
The bus had also passed the Nature Cruise office a couple of streets earlier, so I knew how to walk there, and I booked a spot on the next morning's boat. Then I went to the information centre around the corner (everything is close because Rausu is so small) where the lady rang up Washi No Yado, the Blakiston's Fish Owl place, and arranged for me to visit that evening. There is accommodation at Washi No Yado, which I had been going to try to get into, but the 4000 Yen fee just for viewing was significantly cheaper than staying there and made things easier.
Everything for Rausu had fallen into place perfectly.
One of the first things you notice in Rausu in winter are the Steller's Sea Eagles - they are everywhere! Following fishing boats, perched in rows along the sea walls, and filling the trees on the hill above town. I could see a dozen directly across the street from the hotel perched in trees. It was amazing.
Equally common are the gulls, with mixed flocks of Slaty-backed, Glaucous, and Glaucous-winged Gulls all around the port, with some additional Vega and Black-headed Gulls here and there. Harlequin Ducks are just as common in the port, swimming in little groups amongst the boats, so close you could just about scoop one up in a butterfly net.
Harlequin Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Washi No Yado is only half an hour's walk from town. I'd been worried about walking this before the trip, hence why I had been going to try and stay at the place rather than do an evening visit. One, it was winter and I hadn't known how bad the conditions would be after dark. Two, I didn't know how busy the road would be. And three (most importantly) I knew there was a road tunnel between town and Washi No Yado, and I didn't know if it was safe - or even possible - to walk through this.
All these concerns were unfounded. There is a sidewalk alongside the road the entire way, including right through the road tunnel. And although it had been snowing when I arrived in town, by the evening it was clear and completely still so the walk back in the dark was fine.
The turn-off to Washi No Yado (basically, their driveway) is directly after the road-tunnel. There were Hokkaido Sika Deer on the hill here, digging down through the snow to find food. I arrived there near dusk so the photo below looks a bit odd, colour-wise, because I had to lighten it up.
Hokkaido Sika Deer
At the information centre in town the lady had said that Washi No Yado would be fully-booked for both viewing and rooms on weekends - which is why I made sure I got there tonight (a Friday) and didn't wait until the next evening. There were only five other people in the building-hide that night.
The set-up at Washi No Yado is along a rocky stream (where I saw a Brown Dipper before dark). An artificial pool has been set amongst rocks in the stream, in which fish are placed, and floodlights illuminate that spot for the photographers. The cabins (for staying guests) and a building which acts as a hide (for visitors) allow the owls to be seen and photographed without disturbing them.
The owls are still wild of course, so there are no guarantees that they will show up on any given night, despite the presence of an easy fish meal, and I have read of some people missing out or having to wait until well after midnight before any sightings.
I was lucky though. An owl turned up at 5.45pm, which might sound like it wouldn't be night-time yet but it gets dark very early in Hokkaido in winter. The owl caught and ate three fish, and then departed. I waited another hour but there were no further showings so I left because I didn't want to get caught out should it start snowing, and I also didn't know if my hotel locked the doors at night!
All the photos were rubbish but I saw it perfectly well so I was happy. The one below was the best of a whole lot of awful photos!
Up in the top northeast corner of Hokkaido is the Shiretoko Peninsula. There is the Shiretoko Nature Cruise company up there with whom in summer you can see Ezo Brown Bears and Killer Whales, and in winter seals and Steller's Sea Eagles. All year round you can see the Blakiston's Fish Owl, which is the largest species of owl in the world. Whenever you see photos of Steller's Sea Eagles on rafts of sea-ice, that's at Rausu, and whenever you see a photo of a Blakiston's Fish Owl there's a high chance that was taken at Rausu as well.
There was only one hotel on Trip for Rausu, it was NZ$137 per night, and when I looked at the map it was well south of the town itself which wasn't much good. (When I passed it on the bus on my way to Rausu it took another 15 minutes for the bus to reach town).
I decided to wing it again. It seemed a bit risky given that it is the middle of winter but the tourism website for Rausu lists numerous accommodations, and the worst that would happen is if I couldn't find a hotel I'd catch a bus back to Kushiro and have just wasted the day.
The bus is 3.5hrs from Kushiro to Rausu. There are only three a day on weekdays (8.15am, 1.45pm, and 4.05pm) and two on weekends (8.15am and 1.45pm). Coming back the times are 6.40am, 1pm and 4.50pm on weekdays, and 7.10am and 1pm on weekends.
When I was on the bus I realised I had forgotten to get out any cash beforehand. I did have money in my wallet but if I had to pay for an expensive hotel then I'd be short for the Nature Cruise or maybe even for the bus back to Kushiro. Only some ATMs work for me - e.g. the ones in the Lawsons do, but the ones in the 7-elevens won't accept my card - so I was hoping I'd be able to find one in Rausu given that it is only a tiny town.
Luckily I found a compatible ATM (in the post office) right by the bus stop in Rausu. I then walked back one street to where I'd seen a hotel from the bus. They were full, but the owner pointed out another hotel called the Business Hotel Isaribi across the street which had a room, and it was only 4700 Yen.
The bus had also passed the Nature Cruise office a couple of streets earlier, so I knew how to walk there, and I booked a spot on the next morning's boat. Then I went to the information centre around the corner (everything is close because Rausu is so small) where the lady rang up Washi No Yado, the Blakiston's Fish Owl place, and arranged for me to visit that evening. There is accommodation at Washi No Yado, which I had been going to try to get into, but the 4000 Yen fee just for viewing was significantly cheaper than staying there and made things easier.
Everything for Rausu had fallen into place perfectly.
One of the first things you notice in Rausu in winter are the Steller's Sea Eagles - they are everywhere! Following fishing boats, perched in rows along the sea walls, and filling the trees on the hill above town. I could see a dozen directly across the street from the hotel perched in trees. It was amazing.
Equally common are the gulls, with mixed flocks of Slaty-backed, Glaucous, and Glaucous-winged Gulls all around the port, with some additional Vega and Black-headed Gulls here and there. Harlequin Ducks are just as common in the port, swimming in little groups amongst the boats, so close you could just about scoop one up in a butterfly net.
Harlequin Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Washi No Yado is only half an hour's walk from town. I'd been worried about walking this before the trip, hence why I had been going to try and stay at the place rather than do an evening visit. One, it was winter and I hadn't known how bad the conditions would be after dark. Two, I didn't know how busy the road would be. And three (most importantly) I knew there was a road tunnel between town and Washi No Yado, and I didn't know if it was safe - or even possible - to walk through this.
All these concerns were unfounded. There is a sidewalk alongside the road the entire way, including right through the road tunnel. And although it had been snowing when I arrived in town, by the evening it was clear and completely still so the walk back in the dark was fine.
The turn-off to Washi No Yado (basically, their driveway) is directly after the road-tunnel. There were Hokkaido Sika Deer on the hill here, digging down through the snow to find food. I arrived there near dusk so the photo below looks a bit odd, colour-wise, because I had to lighten it up.
Hokkaido Sika Deer
At the information centre in town the lady had said that Washi No Yado would be fully-booked for both viewing and rooms on weekends - which is why I made sure I got there tonight (a Friday) and didn't wait until the next evening. There were only five other people in the building-hide that night.
The set-up at Washi No Yado is along a rocky stream (where I saw a Brown Dipper before dark). An artificial pool has been set amongst rocks in the stream, in which fish are placed, and floodlights illuminate that spot for the photographers. The cabins (for staying guests) and a building which acts as a hide (for visitors) allow the owls to be seen and photographed without disturbing them.
The owls are still wild of course, so there are no guarantees that they will show up on any given night, despite the presence of an easy fish meal, and I have read of some people missing out or having to wait until well after midnight before any sightings.
I was lucky though. An owl turned up at 5.45pm, which might sound like it wouldn't be night-time yet but it gets dark very early in Hokkaido in winter. The owl caught and ate three fish, and then departed. I waited another hour but there were no further showings so I left because I didn't want to get caught out should it start snowing, and I also didn't know if my hotel locked the doors at night!
All the photos were rubbish but I saw it perfectly well so I was happy. The one below was the best of a whole lot of awful photos!
The Business Hotel Isaribi
The hill directly opposite the hotel. You can't actually see them in the photo, but those trees have a whole bunch of Steller's Sea Eagles in them.
River in town. Whooper Swans on the right bank.
The set-up at Washi No Yado. The poles are for the lights over the stream. On the right of the photo are the viewing buildings. The old bus half-buried in snow is also a viewing area.
Attachments
more Rausu
The second reason for coming to Rausu was for the Shiretoko Nature Cruise. Bird reports always talk about going out on the boats to see eagles on the ice, and there being even the chance of seeing Ribbon Seals.
There are two trips a day, and I had booked the morning one (with the intention of doing the afternoon one as well, depending on what it was like and what I had seen).
In winter (January to March) the price is normally 11,000 Yen for the 2.5 hour morning cruise at 8.30am but, because there was no drift ice when I was there, the price was now 8000 Yen and the time reduced to 1.5 hours (as it turned out, because they don't leave the harbour). The afternoon cruise at 1pm was listed as 4400 Yen for one hour. The summer cruises (April to October) are listed as 8800 Yen and 2.5 hours for both the morning and afternoon trips.
I was actually expecting the trip to be cancelled when I was walking to their office in the morning, because it was snowing heavily, but it went ahead. It wasn't much of a "cruise" to be honest - with no drift ice the boat stayed entirely within the harbour and it is more of a "feed the eagles" tour. The boat goes to the outer harbour sea-wall where the eagles hang out, and they throw them fish and everyone can take photos, then the boat goes mid-harbour and more fish is thrown so people can take photos of the eagles snatching them from the water. It has excellent photo opportunities, but the chance of seeing anything other than eagles and gulls seems remote. In fact when I was at the office asking about what could be seen the girl specifically said she's never seen Spotted Seals, which were one of the species I was most wanting to see.
White-tailed Sea Eagle
Steller's Sea Eagle
The weather here changes quickly and unexpectedly (as can be seen from the two photos above). When the boat was at the sea-wall we were being blasted by driving snow, which made for dramatic photos of the eagles! But when the boat was mid-harbour with fish being thrown out to the dive-bombing eagles, it was almost completely clear and calm.
These might be the coldest-looking photos yet, but that's only because of the blizzard. Or as they call it in Rausu, Saturday.
The lack of seals was disappointing (especially because their pamphlet has pictures of Spotted and Ribbon Seals on it), but otherwise it is an excellent boat trip for getting photos of the eagles and I highly recommend it. However I didn't bother doing the afternoon boat trip because it would have just been the same thing repeated.
Steller's Sea Eagle
The second reason for coming to Rausu was for the Shiretoko Nature Cruise. Bird reports always talk about going out on the boats to see eagles on the ice, and there being even the chance of seeing Ribbon Seals.
There are two trips a day, and I had booked the morning one (with the intention of doing the afternoon one as well, depending on what it was like and what I had seen).
In winter (January to March) the price is normally 11,000 Yen for the 2.5 hour morning cruise at 8.30am but, because there was no drift ice when I was there, the price was now 8000 Yen and the time reduced to 1.5 hours (as it turned out, because they don't leave the harbour). The afternoon cruise at 1pm was listed as 4400 Yen for one hour. The summer cruises (April to October) are listed as 8800 Yen and 2.5 hours for both the morning and afternoon trips.
I was actually expecting the trip to be cancelled when I was walking to their office in the morning, because it was snowing heavily, but it went ahead. It wasn't much of a "cruise" to be honest - with no drift ice the boat stayed entirely within the harbour and it is more of a "feed the eagles" tour. The boat goes to the outer harbour sea-wall where the eagles hang out, and they throw them fish and everyone can take photos, then the boat goes mid-harbour and more fish is thrown so people can take photos of the eagles snatching them from the water. It has excellent photo opportunities, but the chance of seeing anything other than eagles and gulls seems remote. In fact when I was at the office asking about what could be seen the girl specifically said she's never seen Spotted Seals, which were one of the species I was most wanting to see.
White-tailed Sea Eagle
Steller's Sea Eagle
The weather here changes quickly and unexpectedly (as can be seen from the two photos above). When the boat was at the sea-wall we were being blasted by driving snow, which made for dramatic photos of the eagles! But when the boat was mid-harbour with fish being thrown out to the dive-bombing eagles, it was almost completely clear and calm.
These might be the coldest-looking photos yet, but that's only because of the blizzard. Or as they call it in Rausu, Saturday.
The lack of seals was disappointing (especially because their pamphlet has pictures of Spotted and Ribbon Seals on it), but otherwise it is an excellent boat trip for getting photos of the eagles and I highly recommend it. However I didn't bother doing the afternoon boat trip because it would have just been the same thing repeated.
Steller's Sea Eagle
Kushiro again
There are only two buses from Rausu to Kushiro on weekends, at 7.10am and 1pm. I left on the Sunday, catching the morning bus because was a bit worried about getting snowed in and being stuck there. I saw a couple of Sea Otters from the bus just south of the town.
Last time I was in Kushiro I stayed at the Hotel Crown Hills because that was the cheapest place listed on the booking sites other than one place which was 6km from the train station. This time when I was coming to Kushiro there were a bunch of places right around the train station which were cheaper. The Hotel Crown Hills had been about 6000 Yen (NZ$70) when I stayed there. This time I booked the Hotel AreaOne, right around the corner, which was not only 2000 Yen (NZ$23) cheaper but included breakfast in the price (although the 4000 Yen price per night which I paid via Trip was a hefty discount from 5700 Yen). It's actually surprising how much the prices change even within a single day. I had checked Trip in the morning and the Hotel AreaOne was 4955 Yen, then in the afternoon it was down to 4702 Yen, and by the time I booked it in the evening it was 4006 Yen. It really is worth booking hotels as late as you can, although obviously you could then run the risk of not being able to get one at all in some places.
I couldn't check in to the hotel until 2pm - the first time on this trip that a hotel has stuck with this! I left my pack in their luggage store and went to Kushiro Zoo. There are only two buses a day to the zoo from the bus station, but I got around this by taking a bus to the Aeon mall and then a second bus from there, so got to the zoo at 1.30pm. Closing time was at 3.30pm, which turned out to be enough time because it is a pretty small zoo. Some enclosures were blocked off, and several others were empty, some with memorial photos and flowers because the animal had died. Most cages were pretty small, some were very small, a few were okay.
I put a small review and species list here: Kushiro Zoo (Hokkaido) visit and species list: February 2025
Afterwards, while waiting on the bus back to town, I watched a flock of Long-tailed Tits in the trees nearby. The Hokkaido subspecies japonicus doesn't have the dark head stripe of the other subspecies, the whole head and breast being pure white. They look like tiny little snowmen who have trained as trapeze artists and acrobats.
There are only two buses from Rausu to Kushiro on weekends, at 7.10am and 1pm. I left on the Sunday, catching the morning bus because was a bit worried about getting snowed in and being stuck there. I saw a couple of Sea Otters from the bus just south of the town.
Last time I was in Kushiro I stayed at the Hotel Crown Hills because that was the cheapest place listed on the booking sites other than one place which was 6km from the train station. This time when I was coming to Kushiro there were a bunch of places right around the train station which were cheaper. The Hotel Crown Hills had been about 6000 Yen (NZ$70) when I stayed there. This time I booked the Hotel AreaOne, right around the corner, which was not only 2000 Yen (NZ$23) cheaper but included breakfast in the price (although the 4000 Yen price per night which I paid via Trip was a hefty discount from 5700 Yen). It's actually surprising how much the prices change even within a single day. I had checked Trip in the morning and the Hotel AreaOne was 4955 Yen, then in the afternoon it was down to 4702 Yen, and by the time I booked it in the evening it was 4006 Yen. It really is worth booking hotels as late as you can, although obviously you could then run the risk of not being able to get one at all in some places.
I couldn't check in to the hotel until 2pm - the first time on this trip that a hotel has stuck with this! I left my pack in their luggage store and went to Kushiro Zoo. There are only two buses a day to the zoo from the bus station, but I got around this by taking a bus to the Aeon mall and then a second bus from there, so got to the zoo at 1.30pm. Closing time was at 3.30pm, which turned out to be enough time because it is a pretty small zoo. Some enclosures were blocked off, and several others were empty, some with memorial photos and flowers because the animal had died. Most cages were pretty small, some were very small, a few were okay.
I put a small review and species list here: Kushiro Zoo (Hokkaido) visit and species list: February 2025
Afterwards, while waiting on the bus back to town, I watched a flock of Long-tailed Tits in the trees nearby. The Hokkaido subspecies japonicus doesn't have the dark head stripe of the other subspecies, the whole head and breast being pure white. They look like tiny little snowmen who have trained as trapeze artists and acrobats.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
That sounds a great opportunity to see the owls. It's also quite something to think of sea eagles just hanging about like that! The group of them in the snow...stunning. The deer look great too - there appears to be a huge amount of snow going on.
Thanks also for the top things so far. Great views of all the birds and the badgers looked amazing. The Falcated duck looks like other ducks got together; pintail, teal, gadwall and donated their shapes and colours generously to the mix. The Harlequins are really striking.
Thanks also for the top things so far. Great views of all the birds and the badgers looked amazing. The Falcated duck looks like other ducks got together; pintail, teal, gadwall and donated their shapes and colours generously to the mix. The Harlequins are really striking.
When I first saw you bring up how the weather foiled your plans to visit Kushiro Zoo, I thought you would have gave up on visiting the zoo since it’s, at best, a lifetick facility that is not shown on ZC at all.
I mean, I didn't have to "make time" to visit the zoo. The bird sites are all outside Kushiro, and the transportation options are infrequent. Because I came back into town in the late morning I could either go to the zoo or just go sit in the hotel. It wasn't a difficult decision. If I hadn't been staying back in Kushiro, or if I had just been passing through the same day, I wouldn't have gone. But also Kushiro was the only place I anticipated being in Hokkaido which had a zoo, and (as I mentioned in the original post) I've never been to a zoo in the snow before and I just wanted to do that.
I don't do "life-ticks" for zoos. I do keep a list of the zoos and aquariums I have visited, just because my brain works that way, but I don't ever visit a zoo for the purpose of increasing that list. I visit them just because I like visiting zoos, and the ones I visit are either ones that I know I want to visit (or am just curious about) or are ones which happen to be where I am at that time. If I am in a town and there is a zoo there, and I have the time, then I will go check it out (unless I already know it is a Pata Zoo) but if I don't have time then I won't bother. I usually won't have looked up anything about it beforehand though, other than how to get there.
I would (probably) never do a trip dedicated to just visiting zoos, but if I did I would make sure I knew exactly what each zoo was like to know whether I wanted to visit it. I wouldn't just be rushing from one to the next so that I could say I visited X number of zoos that day or X number of zoos in my life.
That sounds like a really cool cruise. Do you ever think about going back to Japan in the summer to pick up species that you can't see in the winter, or is this trip your definitive trip to Japan?
I think this will probably be the only trip. If I did go back it would only be for specific animals, and Japan is too expensive for that I think, but who knows. I would like to see the Ezo Brown Bears, but the big animal to see in Hokkaido is the Northern Pika Ochotona hyperborea. They are only high up in the mountains and, although they don't hibernate, the weather conditions make seeing them "awkward" during the winter. I did spend quite a bit of time during planning trying to find a way of seeing them but I just didn't think it would work (and having now been there in winter, I think trying to see them in the areas where they occur would have been futile). It's difficult going somewhere with pikas and not going to try and see them, but such is life.
At first I really didn't understand why you would want to visit Japan in winter, apart from cranes. After all these posts, I do totally understand it though. Which of these winter species become impossible in summer an how many birds/mammals compensate for that in summer, apart from pika & bear?
My main reasons for going in winter were Steller's Sea Eagles and the cranes at Arasaki, as well as Harlequin Ducks and Baikal Teal, all of which are winter migrants. There are resident Falcated Ducks in the country but they are much easier to see in winter when the migrants flock in. Additionally, the Japanese Macaques are only "snow monkeys" during the winter months. Really the Steller's Sea Eagles on their own are worth it.
Outside of winter there are a lot more birds in Japan, both in numbers and species, but that is because of migrant passerines coming back in - and all those species can be easily seen in southeast Asia or where-ever else they winter. The endemic birds are all in Japan year-round (apart for some endemic breeding-migrants), so if you go in winter you can see all the "important" birds as well as the winter specialties which are difficult anywhere else. I think really the only "important" animals one would miss in winter would be the bears and pikas. Even the squirrels can still be seen in winter, although with less reliability (I didn't see the Hokkaido subspecies of Red Squirrel or Chipmunk, but I have seen both species elsewhere). I guess a lot of the species might be easier to see in summer than winter though.
It is, of course, a lot easier getting around Hokkaido outside winter because there aren't massive snow-drifts everywhere. You can't go wandering around forests very easily in winter.
If a person's trip was mainly about zoos then winter isn't the best time, but for wildlife I think it is.
All photos I've seen of Japanese Brown bears show it to be a very dark animal with a contrasting much paler head. I once saw a photo of a whole crowd of captive ones in a large 'bear pit' setting, there were dozens of them, and every one was alike. Presumably a subspecies colour characteristic.
I'm way behind on updates for this thread! This post is for Kawayu Onsen which I visited on February 10, two weeks ago. Since then I have finished with Hokkaido and come down to Honshu where I have been to both Nagano and Karuizawa, and I'm now back in Tokyo. I'll try to get things up to speed, so there might be a glut of posts over the next couple of days...
Kawayu Onsen
Kawayu Onsen is a hot-springs town north of Kushiro. The forests there are supposed to be the best place in Japan to find woodpeckers, and even in winter are said to be the easiest place to find Black Woodpeckers (which in Japan are only found on Hokkaido). I had originally been going to stay at the town but decided to do it as a day-trip instead because by train it is only two hours from Kushiro, so it would save mucking around wasting time on moving hotels.
As usual there are only a few trains per day. I caught the 8.32am train from Kushiro, arriving at the Kawayu Onsen station at 10.29am. Buses are timed to meet the trains, and it takes only ten minutes to reach the town. I saw Sika Deer, a small flock of Rooks, a Steller's Sea Eagle, and a pair of Red-crowned Cranes from train, and a Red Fox from the bus.
There was deep snow everywhere. I first went to the tourist information centre, just by the bus stop, to check on trails - both where the trails were and whether they were accessible. They have Wellington boots and snowshoes for free hire. I took a pair of boots in the largest size they had which were just big enough.
There were a couple of trails around the centre, one being a simple loop trail entirely within the forest, and the other (which it joined onto) was a longer one-way trail to a nearby mountain. The lady in the centre said the longer trail was not within the forest, so I spent the time I had going around the loop trail a couple of times.
The forest here is spruce. Subarctic rhododendrons were scattered here and there, although being winter they were not in flower and the leaves were curled, so they were just uninteresting twiggy bushes.
The snow on the trail was packed down a bit so was easy enough to walk on, but either side it was up to knee-deep - over the tops of the boots. It would be much easier visiting here in spring or summer, and you could also see bears then (or be eaten by bears, depending on how things worked out).
It was extremely cold, probably the coldest place I'd been in Hokkaido yet. My beard froze into a plank from the breath settling on it.
Unfortunately I didn't have any luck with the Black Woodpeckers - I saw Great Spotted and Pigmy Woodpeckers, but no Black. No Hokkaido Squirrels either, which I was hoping to see.
I did see several flocks of Dusky Thrushes feeding on berries, one of which included a single Naumann's Thrush and a White's Thrush, both being lifers for me. A flock of Eurasian Siskins accompanying one of the thrush flocks was also a lifer species.
Other birds seen were Goldcrests, Eurasian Nuthatches and Treecreepers, and Japanese, Willow, and Long-tailed Tits.
While waiting for the 4.20pm bus back to the train station I had a wander round the town hoping to find a bird-feeder attracting squirrels. I didn't find any feeders (or squirrels), but did see more Dusky Thrushes, this time accompanied by a flock of Common Redpolls.
Kawayu Onsen
Kawayu Onsen is a hot-springs town north of Kushiro. The forests there are supposed to be the best place in Japan to find woodpeckers, and even in winter are said to be the easiest place to find Black Woodpeckers (which in Japan are only found on Hokkaido). I had originally been going to stay at the town but decided to do it as a day-trip instead because by train it is only two hours from Kushiro, so it would save mucking around wasting time on moving hotels.
As usual there are only a few trains per day. I caught the 8.32am train from Kushiro, arriving at the Kawayu Onsen station at 10.29am. Buses are timed to meet the trains, and it takes only ten minutes to reach the town. I saw Sika Deer, a small flock of Rooks, a Steller's Sea Eagle, and a pair of Red-crowned Cranes from train, and a Red Fox from the bus.
There was deep snow everywhere. I first went to the tourist information centre, just by the bus stop, to check on trails - both where the trails were and whether they were accessible. They have Wellington boots and snowshoes for free hire. I took a pair of boots in the largest size they had which were just big enough.
There were a couple of trails around the centre, one being a simple loop trail entirely within the forest, and the other (which it joined onto) was a longer one-way trail to a nearby mountain. The lady in the centre said the longer trail was not within the forest, so I spent the time I had going around the loop trail a couple of times.
The forest here is spruce. Subarctic rhododendrons were scattered here and there, although being winter they were not in flower and the leaves were curled, so they were just uninteresting twiggy bushes.
The snow on the trail was packed down a bit so was easy enough to walk on, but either side it was up to knee-deep - over the tops of the boots. It would be much easier visiting here in spring or summer, and you could also see bears then (or be eaten by bears, depending on how things worked out).
It was extremely cold, probably the coldest place I'd been in Hokkaido yet. My beard froze into a plank from the breath settling on it.
Unfortunately I didn't have any luck with the Black Woodpeckers - I saw Great Spotted and Pigmy Woodpeckers, but no Black. No Hokkaido Squirrels either, which I was hoping to see.
I did see several flocks of Dusky Thrushes feeding on berries, one of which included a single Naumann's Thrush and a White's Thrush, both being lifers for me. A flock of Eurasian Siskins accompanying one of the thrush flocks was also a lifer species.
Other birds seen were Goldcrests, Eurasian Nuthatches and Treecreepers, and Japanese, Willow, and Long-tailed Tits.
While waiting for the 4.20pm bus back to the train station I had a wander round the town hoping to find a bird-feeder attracting squirrels. I didn't find any feeders (or squirrels), but did see more Dusky Thrushes, this time accompanied by a flock of Common Redpolls.
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Photos:
View from the Kawayu Onsen train station.
Hot spring running through town (I don't think you can see it in the photo but the water is steaming obviously)
Biruwa train station - a lot of the minor train stations in Hokkaido have just an old railway carriage as the station.
View from the Kawayu Onsen train station.
Hot spring running through town (I don't think you can see it in the photo but the water is steaming obviously)
Biruwa train station - a lot of the minor train stations in Hokkaido have just an old railway carriage as the station.
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Are you not lumping these (the Redpolls)?
It's Acanthis flammea. I just still call them Common Redpolls but yes, I do treat them as a single species.
Cape Ochiishi
A few posts back I mentioned how in my original plans for Hokkaido I had been going to stay at the town of Nemuro and use that as a base for visiting several nearby bird sites, but I changed that on account of not being able to book anywhere to stay there. One of those sites was Cape Ochiishi, which I had wanted to visit primarily for Sea Otters but also for a Nature Cruise which runs from the port there to a couple of offshore rock stacks.
I had already seen Sea Otters well at two other places by now (Cape Kiritappu and Cape Nosappu) but I had a free day so decided to go to Cape Ochiishi as a day-trip from Kushiro and see if I could spot any guillemots or puffins.
The Ochiishi Nature Cruise only runs on Fridays and weekend days, and also needs a minimum number of customers, so the timing for that didn't work out for me unfortunately. There were photos from the cruise inside the waiting room at the Ochiishi train station, showing Spectacled Guillemots and Tufted Puffins, just to show what you're missing out on.
It was supposed to be 4km from the station to the cape, but I think it must be much further than that. It took me almost an hour to reach the end of the road and there was a sign there saying that the cape was still another 1.2km further on.
Between the car parking area and the cape there is a stretch of dwarfed spruce with a boardwalk. There were lots of Sika Deer, all through town and then loads of them in and around the forest, all very tame and unwary. No birds though. Not a single bird was seen on the way to the cape through the forest, and on the way back I saw one Goldcrest. Looking at the eBird list for the location, almost all the non-seabirds are being seen in the middle of the year.
I don't know how anyone sees birds from the cape itself. I suspect a scope is a necessity. It would probably be easier at other times of year as well, just because the whole area is covered in snow in winter which means you can't really wander around much. Obviously it is also super exposed out there - you're just standing on the cliff-top exposed to the wind blasting in off the ocean. I saw some Harlequin Ducks and Slaty-backed Gulls. That was it. No Sea Otters were seen, so I'm glad I hadn't use this as my primary option for them in the end!
I didn't spend too long out there. It was too cold and exposed. I wasn't sure if I would make it back for the train, and had to run the last bit - the train arrived just as I reached the road which leads down to the station, but luckily the driver waited for me to run the rest of the way. I was glad of that, because otherwise I would have had a 2.5 hour wait for the next one!
A few posts back I mentioned how in my original plans for Hokkaido I had been going to stay at the town of Nemuro and use that as a base for visiting several nearby bird sites, but I changed that on account of not being able to book anywhere to stay there. One of those sites was Cape Ochiishi, which I had wanted to visit primarily for Sea Otters but also for a Nature Cruise which runs from the port there to a couple of offshore rock stacks.
I had already seen Sea Otters well at two other places by now (Cape Kiritappu and Cape Nosappu) but I had a free day so decided to go to Cape Ochiishi as a day-trip from Kushiro and see if I could spot any guillemots or puffins.
The Ochiishi Nature Cruise only runs on Fridays and weekend days, and also needs a minimum number of customers, so the timing for that didn't work out for me unfortunately. There were photos from the cruise inside the waiting room at the Ochiishi train station, showing Spectacled Guillemots and Tufted Puffins, just to show what you're missing out on.
It was supposed to be 4km from the station to the cape, but I think it must be much further than that. It took me almost an hour to reach the end of the road and there was a sign there saying that the cape was still another 1.2km further on.
Between the car parking area and the cape there is a stretch of dwarfed spruce with a boardwalk. There were lots of Sika Deer, all through town and then loads of them in and around the forest, all very tame and unwary. No birds though. Not a single bird was seen on the way to the cape through the forest, and on the way back I saw one Goldcrest. Looking at the eBird list for the location, almost all the non-seabirds are being seen in the middle of the year.
I don't know how anyone sees birds from the cape itself. I suspect a scope is a necessity. It would probably be easier at other times of year as well, just because the whole area is covered in snow in winter which means you can't really wander around much. Obviously it is also super exposed out there - you're just standing on the cliff-top exposed to the wind blasting in off the ocean. I saw some Harlequin Ducks and Slaty-backed Gulls. That was it. No Sea Otters were seen, so I'm glad I hadn't use this as my primary option for them in the end!
I didn't spend too long out there. It was too cold and exposed. I wasn't sure if I would make it back for the train, and had to run the last bit - the train arrived just as I reached the road which leads down to the station, but luckily the driver waited for me to run the rest of the way. I was glad of that, because otherwise I would have had a 2.5 hour wait for the next one!