Osprey on a nest plus other stuff

After following both the Champions League quarter-finals live on TV and seeing what a wonderful morning it was (at 5.30am ish) I went out for a short walk and photographed this Varied Tit. And then I went back to bed before re-emerging a couple of hours later to be driven round Oshima by my good wife. First stop was the river at Kamiso. The usual commmon Ducks and Gulls. The main thing of interest was these 9 White Fronted Geese relaxing on the beach.





An odd looking bunch that got me thinking of possible Lesser Whitefronts at one stage before I woke up properly. Next stop was Moheji where this Osprey was being mobbed by a Crow.



A couple of Divers offshore (we couldn't stop to check) and some Whooper Swans were at Kikonai. Lots of Scaup, Red Breasted Merganser and Wigeon too.

Next up was Asabu. This is a pretty good place from May to September but can be a bit bleak the rest of the year. I got a first for Hokkaido at this very same spot last year. A Caspian Tern. I even wrote to the oficial recorder and have heard nothing since. Mind you I did write in English. Hmmmmm.......

From late May the area is alive with the songs of a dozen or so species but today there were only Japanese Skylark plus a few non-singing Reed Bunting. No ducks either except for a handful of Goosander and Tufted Duck. Just down the coast from the rivermouth at Asabu is this stack.



And if we zoom in a lot we can see what's on top.



We finished the day at Onuma. Still lots of Whooper Swans scattered around the lake. The woods were pretty quiet. No summmer vistors here yet. Singing Treecreeper was the best bird. I walked into the forest trying to find some of the rarer Woodpeckers (Black specifically but Grey Headed or White Backed would have been ok) but was unsuccessful. Oh well at least I can rely on the Nuthatches.



Here's a view across the lake just before sunset.



I think I'll tape the Liverpool game as I need an early night.