A Bunch Of Unproductiveness

Even though I have already complained about the lack of birds during this winter in a few other posts, this post is also dedicated to the same topic. Sekinoe kept disappointing me so bad that I have lost my motivation to visit it again. I've been thinking of going to Oita River for a few days now, but I also fear of not seeing any decent bird. This winter seems to be much delayed too, so I am not sure if interesting migrants like the Baikal Teal that I found last winter or the Japanese Waxwing that I missed, have already arrived or not. Anyway, at least I have found 2 Beppu's firsts during this season, which are the Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) that I found both at Hamawaki and Rakutenchi, and the Common Coot (Fulica atra) at Sekinoe and Furuichi.

Juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) at Hamawaki on December 6, 2011.

Possibly different juvenile Eurasian Sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) at Sekinoe

The only Accipiter hawk that I've found in Beppu has always been the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). This winter has been a little bit different because 2 Japanese Sparrowhawks were found in the southern part of Beppu including Hamawaki and Rakutenchi entrance. I was actually unsure about the identification of the bird in the first picture at first, but after sending it to a raptor expert, I was confirmed that it is a juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk. It has different streaking and barring pattern on the underparts with a much shorter tail. Juvenile Eurasian Sparrowhawk has no vertical streaking on the breast with a much longer tail.

Male Common Teal (Anas crecca)

A flock of Common Teals resting in the afternoon

Eclipse male and female stretching wings

Comparing to other years, the number of waterfowls at Sekinoe is quite disappointing. Normally, a large flock of Common Teals (Anas crecca) would be filling the whole lotus fields by late November. However, this year there were only about 20 birds. There was a pair of male Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) among the flock of Common Teals and a single Common Coot (Fulica atra) swimming in the river.I was so shocked to see the emptiness of the fields. Only a pair of Common Sandpipers, a lone Buff-bellied Pipit, a Grey Wagtail and a pair of Japanese Wagtail were found feeding in the fields at Sekinoe. Things are a little bit better on Furuichi side. I flushed up a single male Greater Painted-Snipe and an extremely shy Ruddy-breasted Crake was seen moving and calling in the grass.

Male Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca erythrothorax)

Male Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus)

And the female

This year even the Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) which normally passes through Beppu in a large number seems to be fewer than ever. I've always got decent shots of this species during autumn either at Sekino or Beppu Park easily without much effort. However, this year it was more difficult for me to get any decent shot of the birds. Apart from these usual migrants, I also found a single Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) soaring above Sekinoe field and a few Black-faced Buntings (Emberiza spodocephala personata) flicking within the reeds. It's the species that I'm still waiting to get a decent shot of. On my recent visit on December 4, I also found another Common Coot feeding in an open lotus field along with a small flock of Common Teals at Furuichi.

Common Coot (Fulica atra)

Male Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus)

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Female Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala personata)

Oita River

These photos were all taken earlier in January at Oita River. I started my day by dropping out at Kaku Station, then made my way upstream along the river to Onozuru and Taromaru. The scenery of Mt. Yufu and Mt. Tsurumi was perfect in the warm morning light. I just wished there were more snow on the mountains. Along the reeds, there were many Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), but they mostly kept hiding inside the reeds and rarely popped out into the open. A small flock of Common Teals and Mallards were resting in the rivers, as well as a pair of Ruddy-breasted Crakes, which I heard them making weird sounds inside the reeds.

A view of Mt. Yufu (left) and Mt. Tsurumi (right)

Non-breeding Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus)
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis) calling

Around Kaku area, I spotted a single Northern Goshawk soaring high up in the sky. The bird later landed into a very thick bush on the river side. There was another female Common Kestrel flying around the area as well. Actually, the target of the visit was the Japanese Waxwing, of which a small flock was photographed a few days earlier. I searched through the area but found nothing but the common stuff, including a flock of Long-tailed Tits, Meadow Buntings, Japanese Grosbeaks and Oriental Turtle-Doves.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus)
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)

Bungo Toyo-oka

These are quite old photos taken on November 10th. I visited Bungo Toyo-oka (豊後豊岡), a small town just north of Beppu, as suggested by Furuso-san. It only took a few minutes by train from Kamegawa Station (亀川駅). As the train rapidly moved through the field of Sekino-E, I saw the two geese standing nicely in the warm morning sun of autumn. The town of Bungo Toyo-oka is very quiet and peaceful. The weather was brilliant and I had a good time walking through the urban area out into the wild. There are more rice fields here than in Beppu, all were harvested. Black-eared Kites were very common. I saw lots of them throughout the morning walk.

First-year Vega Gull (Larus vegae)

First-year Common Gull (Larus canus Kamtschatschensis)

There was a big flock of gulls bathing in a small harbour near the town. Most of them were Black-headed, Black-tailed and Vega Gulls. There were also a few first-year Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus), and an odd first-year Common Gull (Larus canus Kamtschatschensis), a bird I don't see very often around here. There were also fresh footprints of a weasel on the sandy shore, too bad I couldn't find one. Common Sandpipers and Little Egrets were feeding along the small canal nearby as well.

Female Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus)

Male Eyebrowed Thrush (left) with male Brown-headed Thrush (right)

Male Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus)
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Male Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis bengalensis)

I chose to walk upstream to the mountain side. Along the way, I came across a very big flock of thrushes, mostly Dusky, Pale and Eyebrowed with several Brown-headed. The Brown-headed and Eyebrowed are not the birds that I often see in Beppu. The birds seemed to be enjoying some kind of wild berries fruiting along the riverside. Unfortunately, all of them were so shy so I couldn't get any decent shot of them. All of the above shots were cropped.

Japanese Weasel (Mustela itatsi)

Male Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus)

While I was photographing the thrushes, a Japanese Weasel popped out of the bush in the river below. I tried to get some nice photos of it, but it was really difficult to catch up with. It moved so fast through the bushes and the rocks. The above shot was the only acceptable shot of it in the open. There was a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) soaring high up in the sky while I was watching the thrushes as well. It was later chased by a flock of Large-billed Crows. Daurian Redstarts and Common Kingfishers were along the river in quite a good number. I later took a bus back to Beppu around 11.30 as the wind started to get too strong and the birds began to disappear.