The Black-necked Grebes were still in town last Monday................
I'm guessing this will be the last time I see them this season. There were only about half of the number of birds from previous weeks so some of them must have already departed...........
They didn't come close at first.
The sun came out briefly...........
Group shots yet again............
At Onuma there were lots of swans on the lake and a flock of White-fronted Geese flying over. Other stuff included Smew, Mandarin Duck and White-tailed Eagle.
Dark skies and heavy rain came but the grebes were still in the port and closer.
But it was really dark.................
A concentration of grebes like this is pretty spectacular.
ReplyDeleteIt's been fun whilst it lasted.......
DeleteYou can imagine the fuss that just one of those would cause around here. Especially in summer plum.
ReplyDeleteI've never even seen one in the UK.......
DeleteMy first attempt to send this appears to have failed, so - I will be in Hakodate on a cruise stop on 27 April and would love to see a few Hokkaido birds (eg Japanese Waxwing). The cruise offers a trip to Onuma NP as a shore excursion - is that worth it this time of year?
ReplyDeleteI’d be glad to be in touch - my blog (perennially out of date) is A Wandering Naturalist (ronorenstein.blogspot.com). I’m enjoying your excellent photography!
Hi Ronald. I'm busy that day at work but I can give you a couple of tips: I'd recommend a trip to Mt Hakodate. Get a taxi or cable car up there and walk along the top for a couple of hours. If that sounds a bit too energetic you could also try Goryokaku Park which should have cherry blossoms in full bloom by then........lots of people but probably some birds too. There is another park in the east of town (Kosetsuzen) which can be quite good. Both these parks are easy to get to by taxi.
DeleteI don't know about the trip to Onuma.............if you have free time it may be worth it. You should ask. If you can have a couple of hours to yourselves it may be worth it but if it's a whistle stop tour of souvenir shops and 'sights' I'd skip it.
Japanese Waxwings my be tricky at this time of year, don't get your hopes up..........
Thanks, Stuart - very useful information. Sorry that you will be busy!
ReplyDelete