28 December 2018

The Last Post



So this is the end: my last ever post on this blog. My new blog is here


After almost exactly 12 years I've decided to wind up this blog. There are various reasons for doing this: one of the main ones being I felt it was getting very repetitive. It was also turning into a bit of a chore and now seems a good time to gently put it to rest.

I'll be moving over to a wordpress site. I'll go for quality rather than quantity this time. I hope to build a decent website with blog, galleries and other pages but it'll take a while for me to figure it all out. The blog part at least should be active from January 1st 2019. I will continue with my flickr page for reasonably prompt photo updates.

I will leave this blog as is, frozen in time, assuming google continues to offer it for free. So the spelling mistakes and poor grammar, ID errors as well as the low resolution photos/broken links from the early days will remain too............

Thanks to the regular readers/commenters who have visited the blog over the years. John in Hong Kong, Russell in Japan , Phil on the Fylde, Margaret in Ireland and also people who used to visit in the past like Ayuwat in Thailand, Stuart in Scotland, Mark in Ireland and others I've forgotten to mention or whose real names I don't know.

Thanks also to people who I've been birding with over the last 12 years: Especially Hideki Kato, Dan Roberts, Franck Ambrosini whose company I always enjoy and others I've introduced to my hobby and have generously driven me around on occasion like Toshio Tanaka and Tomohiro Katayama. And the people I've met through the blog like Megumi and Tony from London

Biggest thanks of all goes to my long suffering wife who has driven me around Hokkaido and let me spend lots of money on expensive gear without it all leading to divorce or worse. And also thanks to my parents back in England and other friends there who have taken me to birding places on my visits back to the UK.

Here is one photo from each of the 12 years..................

2007:


A Varied Tit at Onuma.

2008:


A Long-tailed Tit near Hakodate.

2009:


A Common Crossbill in Hakodate.

2010:


A Red-cheeked Starling in Hakodate.

2011:


A Long-toed Stint near Hakodate.

2012:


A Narcissus Flycatcher in Hakodate.

2013:



A Mugimaki Flycatcher in Onuma.

2014:


A Gyrfalcon in Sawara.

2015:



A White-tailed Eagle in Yakumo.

2016:


An Osprey in Kikonai

2017:


A Steller's Sea Eagle in Yakumo.

2018:


A Japanese Waxwing in Hakodate.

So thanks again for people who took time out to read or comment over the last 12 years.

8 comments:

  1. See you on the new one Stu. Good luck.

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  2. I will be sad to see you go Stuart and have enjoyed seeing the birds from your part of the world. Thank you for all your comments over the year. I am just back from Cape Town with thousands of photographs which I now have to edit! I hope that 2019 will bee a a happy and healthy one for you and your family.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Margaret. Please check my new blog when it's up and running.

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  3. Hello Stuart,
    I am filled with sadness that you are ending your current blog which I have enjoyed enormously over the years.
    Thank to your blog my Japanese friends in London realised that there are such beautiful green pigeons in Hokkaido and Tony & I could see you and your lovely wife in Hakodate.

    You hinted in the past that you might close your blog and I was hoping such a day will not come.
    But here we are. Thank you very much for your photos of beautiful birds and your interesting comments.
    I am also very grateful that you put my beloved Hakodate on the internet map !!
    Best of luck and I look forward to reading your new blog.


    Megumi




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    1. Thanks Megumi. My new blog should be up and running tomorrow or when I take my first decent photo of 2019.

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  4. Really a time to reflect on all your hard work and commitment to produce a fantastic archive of Hokkaido Birding which has certainly inspired myself and Megumi to enjoy the avian wildlife on our ‘patch’. Would be a great pity if this archive was lost - and hope you can link to your new online platform. Looks like our winter trip to E.Hokkaido will be delayed a year but still looking to visiting Hakodate in Feb. Best regards, Tony

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tony, the link is in the post above and I will put a permanent link at the top. I've backed up this blog and may move it over to the new site or leave it here as is. Haven't decided yet.........

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