White Beppu

I haven't been to Mt. Tsurumi since last year's February. Exactly one year has passed and I finally went up there again with two of my friends to take photos of the snowy Beppu on last Thursday. The night before that we saw a minor blizzard hitting the city, so we planned to go up on the mountain on the next morning in hope of seeing some spectacular wintery landscape, and so we did. The scenery at the top of the mountain was just mind blowing. Everything was white. I kept telling my friends how it reminded me of Hokkaido. There were many other groups of photographers as well. Most of them were old people with some really nice cameras. I saw exactly 0 bird but it didn't matter since I was too busy taking photos of the gorgeous landscape. Here I share some of the shots that I took and hope that all of you will enjoy!

A view from the top of Mt. Tsurumi

The clouds moved really fast and the light would change almost every minute.

Some photos of the shrine near the cable car station

It almost looked as if the flowers are blooming!

Below is a panoramic view of the area behind the cable car station

The only bird that I could photograph on that day was surprisingly a female White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos namiyei) that was found feeding in the park near the lower cable car station after I came down from the mountain top. I first heard its call coming from a distance. I later accidentally flushed the bird and it flew out to a nearby tree, but it was too difficult to get a decent shot as it was extremely shy. The only acceptable shot that I got is the one below. You can't even see its whole body. Hope I can get a better shot in the future.

Female White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos namiyei)

What's Left?

So I've been away from this blog for quite a while...here's the final post for the Japanese stuff I took before flying back to Thailand. Nothing much, just a bunch of common birds and some landscape shots from the top of Mt. Tsurumi. The Chinese Plum in Beppu Koen was already starting to bloom since February 2. There were a few trio; Japanese, Varied, Long-tailed Tits, hopping here and there among the plum trees. The Japanese Tits were concentrating on singing their sweet songs and trying to attract the females.

Japanese Tit (Parus minor)

Varied Tit (Parus varius)

At the Beppu Ropeway bus stop, I was a bit surprised to see a pair of Varied Tit busily looking for a place to build a nest. One of the bird, possibly a male, was very tame and vocal, while another bird flew up and down the roof checking anything with holes that could fit its body. Seems like spring has already made its appearance and the breeding season has finally arrived once again. There were lots of Meadow Buntings feeding on the small lawn near the ropeway station as usual. Among them were a few Black-faced and Yellow-throated Buntings. I noticed that most of the male Meadow Buntings had brownish eyestripe instead of black, almost like the subspecies found in China. I guessed it's a matter of breeding/non-breeding plumage.

Varied Tit (Parus varius) "Anyone knows when's the next bus?"

Male Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)

As the cable car went up towards the summit of Mt. Tsurumi, I could see many Sika Deer feeding out in the open down below. They seemed to favour grassy area among the forest. I could grab a few shots as the car was moving. At the summit, I spent time taking some landscape shots as the scenery and the weather were just brilliant. There was some common stuff around as well, including the Long-tailed, Coal and Willow Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and Meadow Buntings. I also saw my first Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) for a few minutes. It was a female bird perching far in the woods.

Sika Deer (Cervus nippon)

Mt. Yufu viewed from the top of Mt. Tsurumi
Willow Tit (Parus montanus)

Asian Rosy Finch

Although I'm now in Thailand, here's still a post about Japanese birds. After finding a flock of the Asian Rosy Finches at the top of Mt. Tsurumi on February 2, I revisited the place again on the next morning. I arrived at the summit around 9AM but there was no sign of the finch. I walked around the area and found nothing but the common stuff like Long-tailed and Willow Tits, Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers and Meadow Buntings. I almost thought that I'd fail seeing any Rosy Finch, but I tried waiting for them until around noon, when the birds were seen the day before. After 12 a single Rosy Finch finally flew up from the hill on the east and perched on the electric pole near the lawn. It then came down to the ground and I could finally get some shots of it in good light. Since the weather was incredibly good, the photos looked much better than the ones I got earlier. The bird didn't stay for long though, because one of the tourists came walking down the yard and chased the bird away.

Asian Rosy Finch (Leucosticte arctoa brunneonucha)

After the first bird has gone, I waited for about half an hour and another bird came. This one was a more colourful male. It has darker blackish face with much brighter pink feathers. Fortunately, it was about the time when the number of the tourists decreased, so I could spend my time taking photos of the bird without being interrupted. This new bird was much more approachable, not tame though. I had to crawl slowly across the lawn and waited motionlessly for it to come closer to me. It eventually came closer than 2 m. though! I was exceedingly happy with the results, well who wouldn't!

There's just no need for cropping!

The bird later moved to another area because of the tourists. I followed and took some more shots of it. It was later accompanied by another female bird which has much drabber plumage. The female was a bit more wary at first, but then came as close as the male. Both of them occasionally stopped feeding to drink some water from the melting snow. Although the number of the birds was much less than the day before, I was very satisfied with the results. At least, I didn't have to waste 1,400yen for the transportation. If I didn't go for it at that time, I would never have the chance again, as I was about to go back to Thailand, and these birds should be disappeared to the north by the time I get back to Japan again in April. I know now the meaning of an expensive bird.

Non-breeding male Asian Rosy Finch

Here's the female