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Japan in Winter - A photographic Odyssey Feb 2018


kittykat23uk

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kittykat23uk

I wandered back and met up with the gang back at the car park. There is a little cafe that serves much need hot chocolate. We saw four Grey-bellied Bullfinches feeding in the trees by the car park. We headed up to Mount Asama to look for Pallas’s Rosefinch, which we failed to find, but we did see some more Long-tailed Rosefinches instead and more Japanese Grosbeaks.

 

During the journeys to and from the monkey park we saw several White-cheeked starlings perched on wires. We finished up back at the farmland around Karuizawa to look for Green Pheasants, none of these were seen, but we did see more rosefinches, Meadow and Rustic Buntings and a Hawfinch. We finished up at Hoshino Onsen again where we connected with a Red-flanked Bluetail and two pairs of Brown Dippers, plus another poor view of White’s Thrush.

 

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P2181512 Grey-bellied Bullfinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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OI000074 Grey-bellied Bullfinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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OI000075 Grey-bellied Bullfinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181594 Japanese Grosbeak by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181646 adj Meadow Bunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181723 adj Long-tailed Rosefinch by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181731adj Rustic Bunting by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180218_155538 Farmland, N.W. Kariuzawa by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181818 Red-flanked Bluetail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181825 Icicles by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2181852 Brown Dipper by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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The snow monkekeys series is fabulous; but the B&W photo just stands out, showing that when the moment is captured colours might only be a distraction. Also interested to see many familiar birds in their "japanese" edition :D.

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Towlersonsafari

Now that is a Bullfinch @kittykat23uk

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Peter Connan

Magnificent photography throughout.

The black and white is a great photo, but to me the portrait just below it is the one.

 

The birds are very interesting.

 

Thank you!

 

 

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@kittykat23uk Thank-you for this. Really interesting and superb photos - another vote for the B&W monkeys :)

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kittykat23uk

Thanks everyone!  Much appreciated! 

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I loved the snow monkeys series, and hope to get to see it "in person" someday. Funny to see the "Japanese" version of birds I encountered somewhere else in the world, it shows us how similar they (and we) are.

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vikramghanekar

Loving this trip report.

I have seen quite a few photographs of Japanese wildlife on social media but this is a treat.

Looking forward to Cranes and Stellar's sea eagles.

Vikram

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Great report so far Jo.  I LOVE the snow monkey shots.  Sounds like it wasn't too crowded and touristy which would be my worry since everyone knows about this place now.

 

Alan

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  • 2 weeks later...
kittykat23uk

Thanks for following along and sorry for the delay, other more pressing matters got in the way of this and will likely continue to do so for at least the next couple of weeks. but I have at least written up the next chapter and as I'm taking a break this weekend, on we can go...

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kittykat23uk

19 Feb 2018

 

Today we left Karuizawa for a long drive through the snow and many tunnels through the mountains  to Komatsu.

 

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20180219_082315 Views of the road by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We had some nice sightings in some little pools by the side of the road, seeing Grey-headed Lapwing, Common Snipe, White-cheeked Starling and Bull-headed Shrike.  

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P2191949 adj Bull-headed Shrike by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2191951 Common Snipe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2191997  Grey-headed Lapwing by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2191987  Grey-headed Lapwing by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192038 Common Snipe by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192065 Bull-headed Shrike by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192117adj White-cheeked Starling by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Our goal was a well known bird reserve and surrounding fields that should have been teeming with flocks of geese and ducks.

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P2192126 Baikal Teal by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately, the fields were covered in thick snow and so the wildlife didn't get the telegram and we were left wondering where all the birds were. We did manage to find the odd Baikal Teal from the hide but not the views I had been hoping for.  Also present, Mallards, Pintail, Bewick’s Swans,

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P2192148 Northern Pintail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192168 Bewick's Swan by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192236 Bewick's Swans by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A flock of Mandarin Ducks flew off at a local dam before I could get any decent photos. A Falcated Duck and a drake Smew added a nice splash of colour to a large pond.

 

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P2192278 Smew by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

27290930288_39fceb511c_c.jpgP2192283 Falcated Duck by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

A stunning Japanese Green Pheasant  was feeding with some Grozzer by the side of a road.

 

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P2192424  Japanese Green Pheasant by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192500  Japanese Green Pheasant by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192522 Japanese Grosbeak by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192547 Mandarin, being shy! by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180219_162351 Komatsu bird reserve by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2192567 Bull-headed Shrike by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180219_171054  Komatsu by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We checked into our B&B Neagari. This had traditional Japanese style rooms with mattresses on the floor. They were actually quite comfortable and I had a room to myself, so that was nice. That night we ate out at a fantastic teppanyaki restaurant. A few of the group were brave enough to try the pig intestines, personally I took a pass, but the rest of the meat on the platter was delicious, not that I really knew what it all was (mostly beef of different sorts I think).

 

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20180219_200345 Teppenyaki by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180219_203916 Pig intestine by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

41500903645_4ef875ff2a_c.jpgteppenyaki by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited by kittykat23uk
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kittykat23uk

20 Feb 2018

 

We had some kind of noodley soupy thing for breakfast (breakfast?!). It was time to leave Honshu and head to our second island in Japan, Kyushu. We caught a flight to Fukuoka and drove down towards Izumi.

 

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20180220_072821 Bunneh by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Dinosaurs had invaded the airport!

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20180220_082407 Roar!! by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 We stopped off en route around the coast to look for gulls, ducks, grebes etc. Again the area wasn’t exactly heaving with birds and those we did see were mostly quite distant (scope views). We did find Saunder’s gulls trip, plus endangered Black-faced Spoonbill, Blue Rock Thrush and Russet Sparrows.

 

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P2202583 Black-backed Wagtail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2202651 Saunder's Gull by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2202664 Japanese White-eye by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2202678 Osprey by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

 

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P2202799 Black-eared Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

P2202799 Black-eared Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2202929 Black-faced Spoonbill by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2203019 Black-faced Spoonbill by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

Walking along a harbour wall I had a complete disaster. My foot planted itself straight down a hole and a fell right up to the top of my thigh. The camera and lens I was holding ended up in corresponding hole, the lens mount on the lens sheared off, and the camera hotshoe got dented. Well, looks like I wasn’t going to be able to take any pictures with that lens again! Thankfully I fared better than the camera, getting away with only a few bruises.

 

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OI000025 Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180220_175735 Sunset by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180220_214023 Disaster!! :( by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2203121 Daurian Redstart by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

We checked into Hotel King, just basically a city style hotel. We had a hard time deciphering the menu, but we eventually got a decent meal, I went for the western style beef steak (basically a burger in gravy), but I think I might have been better off with the sushi plate in hindsight.  

Edited by kittykat23uk
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Great photography, thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Loved, loved the monkeys with their various facial expressions. Do you think a similar trip can be done independently?

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Towlersonsafari

100% agree with you on the pigs intestine front.I was once surprised by a bowl of tripe in the fridge but your intestines look like the worst picture of food ever seen! And how frustrating about the camera @kittykat23uk greatly enjoying your report

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kittykat23uk
14 hours ago, xyz99 said:

Great photography, thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Loved, loved the monkeys with their various facial expressions. Do you think a similar trip can be done independently?

 

@xyz99  Yes I don't see why not, I had another friend who did just that and one of our group also continued on afterwards without us.

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kittykat23uk
12 hours ago, Towlersonsafari said:

100% agree with you on the pigs intestine front.I was once surprised by a bowl of tripe in the fridge but your intestines look like the worst picture of food ever seen! And how frustrating about the camera @kittykat23uk greatly enjoying your report

 

Thanks @Towlersonsafari Yes, shows you should always come prepared with a back up camera body and lens. In my case this meant continuing to use to MK2 as only the hotshoe was unusable, and reverting to my 4/3 50-200 with the 1.4 Converter.  

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kittykat23uk

21 Feb 2018


After a couple of mediocre days, we were back to “spectacle” with a visit to the Arasaki crane sanctuary and surrounding paddy fields.

 

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P2213381Adj copy Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

It is said that cranes started to arrive in this particular area in around 1700, a few decades after the reclamation project in Arasaki by the Satsuma Domain and Shimazu Domain (domains were the administrative units in those days set by the Edo Shogunate). The area was registered as a natural monument and sanctuary as one of the Japan’s largest wintering places for cranes in 1921, and the Izumi crane migration grounds were designated as a special natural monument in 1952.

The total area of the site is about 254 ha. There is a very reasonably priced observation centre where one can see the full spectacle of thousands of feeding. The migration of cranes used to be seen in several places in Kyushu, but currently Izumi City is the only place where cranes come to spend the winter. It is such a major migration ground, with about 13,000 cranes here every year.

The types of cranes also vary. The vast majority that we saw were Hooded Cranes followed by smaller numbers of elegant White-naped Cranes. We also spotted two Common Cranes, and a lone Sandhill Crane. Siberian cranes and Demoiselle cranes also occur occasionally. Information on cranes is shown in panels and footage in the Observation Center building, there’s also a cafe and small shop and nearby is a little restaurant.

 

The centre wasn’t open when we first arrived, but cranes were also feeding on the surrounding fields in good numbers.

 

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P2203150 adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2203166 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2203356 Large-billed Crow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2213763adj copy White-naped Crane by Jo Dale, on Flickrr

 

I set up my camera on a tripod to the left side of the centre. The main feeding ground in front of the centre is cordoned off with tarp, but I could watch cranes coming and going from my lower vantage point, a good opportunity to try and get some BIF shots!

 

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P2213703 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2213705 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr


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P2210027 adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210120 adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210116 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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kittykat23uk

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P2213707 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

From the centre itself one can see the full spectacle of the cranes.

 

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P2213381 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2213401 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2213464 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2213613 White-naped Cranes with Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2213675 Hooded & Common Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

Some of the cranes were dancing and displaying.

 

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P2210155 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210156 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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kittykat23uk

While watching the cranes I spotted a scruffy looking creature making its way along one of the tracks. It was quite some distance away but when we put scopes on we realised it was a Raccoon Dog! Another lifer for me!

 

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Racoon Dog - Kagoshima Crane Centre 21.2.18-4 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

After watching the spectacle of the cranes for a good while the group became more restless and it was time to move on and see what other avian delights we might find in the surrounding area.

 

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FB_IMG_1527496961161 lunch at the crane centre restaurant, on Flickr

 

We found Spot-billed Ducks, a few Japanese Bush Warblers, a couple of Little Ringed Plovers, Chestnut-eared Buntings, Chinese Penduline Tit, 200+ Bramblings,  and a Wigeon x American Wigeon as well as 100s of Buff-bellied Pipits.

 

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P2210321 Spot-billed ducks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Japanese bush warbler adj copy by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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bramblings adj copy by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Chestnut eared bunting adj copy by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210471adj Chinese Penduline Tit by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210528adj Chinese Penduline Tit by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210556adj Japanese White-eye by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210555 adj Japanese White-eye by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210634 Common Kestrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210682 Eurasian Spoonbill by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210009 Pale Thrush by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210036 Tree Sparrows by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210040 Tree Sparrow by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210045 Dusky Thrush by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210054  Dusky Thrush by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210157 Hooded Crane by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

That evening we took a night drive around Kogawa Dam. We spotted 16+ Sika Deer and a Wild Boar but the highlight of the evening was a fantastic Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel.

 

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P2210028 (2) adj Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210046 Sika Deer by Jo Dale, on Flickr

Edited by kittykat23uk
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A fascinating report - the cranes are amazing. Shame about your lens, but you were well prepared - and a good job your leg is tougher!

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kittykat23uk

22 Feb 2018

 

We spent from 0745 to around 10:45 at the crane centre before we moved on to Kogawa dam.

 

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20180221_144051 "Izumi Crane Sanctuary" by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180221_144136 restaurant at "Izumi Crane Sanctuary" by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210156 Hooded Crane by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210210 Black-backed Wagtail by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210017 (3) Black-eared Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

These cranes were displaying and bugling:

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P2210265 adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210272adj Hooded Cranes[/url] by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210281adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210280 adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210289 adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210288 adj2 Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210290adj Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210581 (3) White-naped Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210303 Hooded Crane by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210302 Hooded Crane by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210028 (2) Hooded Cranes by Jo Dale, on Flickr


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"Izumi Crane Sanctuary" surroundings by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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kittykat23uk

On the way we birded some rivers, finding more Spot-billed Ducks, Common Sandpiper and then we spotted a lovely Crested Kingfisher that was quite confiding.

 

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P2210427 Spotbilled Ducks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210437 Common Sandpiper by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210447 Spotbilled Ducks by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210548 Crested Kingfisher by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180221_163610 Scenery by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_122835 Kogawa Dam by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_122918 Kogawa Dam by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_122959 Kogawa Dam by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_130236 Kogawa Dam by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

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kittykat23uk

We stopped in Satsuma and ate some satsumas and watched a very curious old guy walking backwards along the river.

 

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20180222_145101 Satsuma by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_145131 Satsuma by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_145153  Satsuma by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_145245 Satsuma by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Satsuma by Keith Langdon[/url], on Flickr

 

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20180222_145445 Eating Satsumas in Satsuma by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

 

Then we went searching for Long-billed Plovers, finding a pair down an old disused track down to a dam.  

 

39705831074_a449104a52_c.jpg20180222_154335 Looking from Long-billed Plovers by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_154650 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_154739 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_165734 Looking from Long-billed Plovers by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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Long-billed Plover adj by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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20180222_165747 Looking from Long-billed Plovers by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

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P2210593 Long-billed Plover by Jo Dale, on Flickr

 

For the next two nights the group was split between two guest houses. Most of the group were staying at Minshuku Michiyasou at Kirishima. Unfortunately by the time WIllis and I had come to book it was full so we ended up at Guesthouse Coco Garage. Now Willis was convinced that these two guest houses were within walking distance but this turned out to be not the case at all and we had quite a bit of trouble locating our accommodation, especially as the most direct road was closed.

 

We eventually found it and were met by the owner Kihara-san who ushered us into his caravan that he uses as his reception area. He spoke decent english, which was really helpful.  After checking in, he showed us to our accommodation, a large log cabin. This place is really eclectic, stuffed full of Americana memorabilia! My room was a bit of an effort to get to up some wooden ladders, but once settled it was quite comfortable. It’s a really nice little place, Willis got a family room and I was back in a dorm, but thankfully we were the only two checked in at the time.  There’s free wifi and a nice common room area with a long bench table.

 

After dropping our bags off we went with the rest of the group to get some dinner. The rest of the group had a lot of trouble communicating with their host and one of them had fallen foul of the slipper rule and seemingly had been chased all over the minshuku by the owner who was desperately trying to get him into the correct footwear.

 

After we all reconvened in the reception, we went in search of dinner before the group got locked out of their minshuku. We ended up in what seemed to be a local pub. No one spoke English and so we had a hard time ordering food, eventually we were given bowls of ramen with poached egg, which was actually really tasty.

 

We had hoped we might do a night drive but there was a problem as the minshuku is locked up from the inside at 2130. So we all decided to call it a night with WIllis and I driving back to our log cabin.

 

41501452015_830d860dd4_c.jpg

map of accommodation in Kirishima copy by Jo Dale, on Flickr

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Alexander33

Took a bit of a break, but I am thoroughly enjoying the report. You do a good job of depicting the environment and giving a feel of what it would like to be there. Maybe someday!

 

So sorry to hear absolutely about your spill, but I’m glad you were not as damaged as the camera and that you had a back-up. 

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