Archive for the ‘Japan Nature’ Category

Apr

2012

An Overcast Morning at Kabashima

I usually stay away from popular birding spots on weekends, but this morning was fine although cloudy after pretty nasty weather the day before, so I thought it would be interesting to see if any vagrants or rarities had been blown across to the Japanese mainland. Unfortunately, no rarities….. but there was a lot of interesting action going on nonetheless. Perhaps the most astonishing was the sight of a large female Peregrine Falcon flying along with what appears to be a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. I am fairly sure the night heron weighed almost as much as the falcon, and in fact she dropped it at one point before catching it again in mid-air and continuing along her way. The male falcon was shadowing his mate, and their cries could be heard all over Kabashima. Other highlights were a male Siberian Rubythroat, male Siberian Stonechat and Osprey with a very nice catch!

Kabashima Coast

Nagasaki Coast

Siberian Rubythroat (male breeding)

Siberian Stonechat (male breeding)

Temminck's Cormorant & Pelagic Cormorant

Osprey

Peregrine Falcon (female) diving to recapture juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

Peregrine Falcon (female) flying off with juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

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Mar

2012

Umagase

Umagase is a famous sunrise-watching place in Hyuga city, Miyazaki prefecture. I actually hadn’t heard of it, but when I visited Hyuga on Sunday night, some patrons of a bar recommended it to me upon learning I was a photographer. So in total darkness at 05:00 on Monday morning, I duly went in search of this spot. I wasn’t sure whether I was in exactly the right location they were talking about, but it was the best I could do at short notice – I had a boat to catch at Kadogawa at 08:00!

Umagase (pre-dawn)

Umagase Sunrise

Umagase

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Mar

2012

Ferry to Kumamoto

At sunset last Sunday I took the ferry from Shimabara to Kumamoto in order to drive around to Hyuga, Miyazaki Prefecture. There are two ferries to Kumamoto from Shimabara; the fast one (Ocean Arrow, 30 mins) and the slow one (1 hour). I usually take the slow ferry as it has a nice deck out the back from which it is easier to observe and photograph from. So I got on the slow ferry which left at 17:50, the last ferry for the day. As usual, dozens of Black-headed Gull followed the ferry as it left port, eager for handouts. People often feed them with prawn-flavoured snacks (which I am quite fond of too, actually!), and so the gulls follow every ferry in eager anticipation. I like to use these times as photography practice – lots of fast moving, close in action to test the reflexes, camera settings and photography technique. And the lack of light, as well as mostly back-lit subjects, made getting decent shots of the gulls much more difficult on this particular trip. After practicing on the gulls for a while, I took the time to capture a magnificent sunset over Mount Unzen.

Passengers feeding Black-headed Gulls on the Ocean Arrow

Black-headed Gull

Mount Unzen Sunset

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Feb

2012

Chijiwa

This morning I went to Chijiwa town in Unzen city for a change of scenery. I was hoping to see some seabirds and perhaps get lucky. However there was not so much activity, and most of the interesting birds were very far from the shore. There were several Black-necked Grebe and perhaps even an Ancient Murrelet. Closer in were the usual Black-tailed Gull, Northern Pintail and Eurasian Wigeon, while along the small river were Black-crowned Night Heron and Little Egret. I then stopped at Tachibana Shrine before heading back over the flanks of Mount Unzen to Shimabara. Tachibana Shrine had Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Pale Thrush, Meadow Bunting, Eastern Great Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul and Oriental Greenfinch.

Black-tailed Gull

Black-crowned Night Heron

Little Egret

Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker

Northern Pintail (pair)

Northern Pintail (male)

Tachibana Shrine

Plum Blossoms

Mount Unzen

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Feb

2011

Usa Shrine, Oita

After Shidaka Lake, I just had time to pop in at Usa Shrine on the way home. I arrived right on dusk, so not much light to work with. The big surprise here was finding lots of Red-billed Leiothrix. They are obviously much more used to human presence than the birds I usually encounter, and were therefore more confiding and even feeding out in the open. A nice male Pale Thrush was also very confiding. Some plum blossoms were also in full bloom!

Red-billed Leiothrix

Pale Thrush (male)

Plum Blossoms

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May

2010

Japanese Azalea and Trunks

Mount Unzen, Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan

Canon EOS 7D, EF17-40 f/4L USM

1/13 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100

Tsutsuji (Japanese Azalea) and Trunks

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May

2010

Nita Toge Pass, Mount Unzen

Nita Toge is a well-known place on Mount Unzen and is where most people park their cars and start hiking up to Fugen-dake. There is also a cable car station here that takes less adventurous visitors up to Myogen-dake, where there are panoramic views of Fugen-dake, Kunimi-dake and Heiseishinzan, the new highest point on the mountain created by a giant lava dome from the last eruption in the early 1990′s. Nita Toge Pass becomes a magnet for flower lovers in late May, when thousands of Japanese Azalias bloom, carpeting the mountainside in lovely shades of pink, red, orange and purple.

Canon EOS 7D, EF17-40 f/4L USM

Nita-toge

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May

2010

Blue Triangle (Graphium sarpedon)

A very colourful, beautiful and instantly recognisable butterfly. Mount Unzen, Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan.

Canon EOS 7D, EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x (420mm); various exposure settings.

Blue Triangle Butterfly

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May

2010

Oita Colour

The mountains in Oita dish up a wealth of vibrant colour during spring. This time the wisteria were in full bloom, along with other mid-spring flowering shrubs and trees. Even some red leaves around too, contrasting with the bright new greenery. EOS 7D, 300/2.8, 1.4x TC.