Japan 2015 day 14: Karuizawa

1 January 2016

The New Year dawned cold and bright - though there was an almost total lack of snow around Karuizawa (very unusual for this time of year), we had at least been afforded a hard frost. As we walked down towards the bird forest our first birds of 2016 included a couple of decent flocks of Rustic Buntings and a new bird for the trip: Japanese Green Woodpecker. Meadow Buntings and Dusky Thrushes were common, as was the usual range of woodland species that we'd been encountering throughout our fortnight in Japan - more notable species included Hawfinch and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers.

A pair of Brown Dippers were on the river opposite 7-11 while I jammed in on a male Long-tailed Rosefinch in the scrubby area behind the store; unfortunately it had disappeared by the time Rich arrived. A male Daurian Redstart there was one of only a few encountered at Karuizawa.

We'd been given recent gen on a pair of Japanese Accentors, seen just before Christmas along one of the bird forest trails. A thorough search of the stream failed to produce the species but we bumped in to a male Naumann's Thrush, which flew up from the track and gave brief views before flying off in to the forest - another surprise bird for the trip.

While Mick went to twitch a waterfall to the north of town, Rich and I spent several hours walking the trails in the bird forest. Birds were relatively few and far between and it was by no means easy going. It seems like finding Copper Pheasant here requires luck as well as persistence and I was afforded my slice of fortune early afternoon when I flushed a female from a steep ridge - the only one seen in our day and a half here. This was quickly followed by prolonged views of Japanese Serow (resembling an oafish goat-deer hybrid), the animal seemingly just as fascinated by us as we were by it. Another new mammal here was Japanese Hare.

 Japanese Serow, Karuizawa

We found a group of at least seven Long-tailed Rosefinches in the main clearing in the bird forest, this including a couple of stunning males. Another group of 5+ was then seen back behind the 7-11 store late afternoon, but we couldn't find any Japanese Green Pheasants around the town.

Fem/imm Long-tailed Rosefinch, Karuizawa bird forest

Other notable birds seen in the forest throughout the day included at least five Japanese Grosbeaks, a couple of Red-flanked Bluetails, more Brown Dippers, Bull-headed Shrike and at least one male Bullfinch (apparently grisiventris, but it seemed to have a slight warm flush to the belly c.f. rosacea) as well as all the expected species. We didn't get a sniff of the area's winter specialities (Japanese Waxwing, Pallas's Rosefinch and the accentor) - presumably the mild winter wasn't helping and a lack of snow meant no concentrations of birds.

First-winter Bull-headed Shrike, Karuizawa bird forest

It had been a glorious and relaxing day in Karuizawa, one that I very much enjoyed despite the slow pace of birding. I think that in all honesty we could have stayed another night to give ourselves another early morning shot at the pheasants, but pre-trip planning dictated that we needed to pick up a hire car and drive the couple of hours over to Nakano for a bit of duding at the famous 'snow monkeys' the following morning. It took a while to get there due to our sat nav trying to lead us down various blind alleys but we finally arrived mid-evening. Snow-free Karuizawa had us fearing that the snow monkeys might not actually be set to a white backdrop but thankfully it was a few degrees colder in Nakano, and there was clearly at least a bit of snow on the ground.

Mt Asama looms large over the clearing in Karuizawa bird forest - Long-tailed Rosefinch here

Britain's 'National Bird'

It's not often that I write anything meaningful for this blog, so forgive me for the sudden stylistic shift. And, before I launch in to what I want to say, may I just point out that, for various reasons, I didn't actually watch the big reveal of Britain's National Bird last night on the BBC's Springwatch program.

For anyone who doesn't know by now, (European) Robin won the poll by what can only be described as a landslide. According to the BBC, 34% of the 200,000+ voters chose the species. In second was Barn Owl, with 12%; Blackbird came third with 11%.

This is utterly unsurprising. The United Kingdom (UK) already has a national bird - Robin. It's a very common species with a distinct plumage. Not only are they commonly found in gardens, parks and other urban/suburban environments, but they are a charismatic species with an iconic song. They can also be very confiding, and are sometimes even fearless of man. It is a symbol of Christmastime, when it pops up just about anywhere - cards, wrapping paper, mugs, decorations ... you name it, it's probably got a Robin on it.

Robin is therefore a familiar and instantly recognisable species to the vast majority of British public, unlike some of the final 'top 10' - such as Puffin, Red Kite ... and Hen Harrier.

As just about anyone with a sympathetic ear for nature or conversation will know, Hen Harrier is almost always having a hard time of things on our shores, not least in recent weeks following the 'mysterious' disappearances of breeding males in the north-west of England (see here and here). I won't delve in to this further as it is straying from my point somewhat.

Going on the counter-attack, birders and conservationists have rallied together to vote Hen Harrier in the aforementioned poll, the aim being to draw the species' miserable plight to the attention of the British public. Those that voted have done a fine job of propelling it to its position in the final top 10.

What I can't get my head around is some of the fallout on social media. People (by people I mean individuals involved in the birding/ornithological/conservation 'scene') who are disappointed/shocked/saddened/appalled that Hen Harrier did not figure further up in the list. Conservationists - and indeed birders - form such a tiny fraction of the British public that ninth place is surely an excellent result? There's a fair chance that most of the 200,000+ voters haven't even heard of Hen Harrier, let alone are aware of the appalling discrimination that it continuously suffers. At least Mark Avery seems a bit more realistic, describing it as 'A great victory for the Hen Harrier' - which it is.

Back to the vote itself. Apart from the successful 'hijack' (meant positively) that ensured Hen Harrier a finish in the top 10, the entire campaign seems something of a lost cause. It has established that Robin is our national bird - a status that it already possessed. Yes, it's great to get people talking and thinking about birds, but the furore and media coverage will die down very quickly - as it does with just about everything. People will move on, and the campaign forgotten by most.

So, after months of social media bombardment, are there any winners, Robin aside? Well, there does appear to be one. The face of the campaign - self-proclaimed naturalist, writer, broadcaster, speaker, photographer, wildlife tour leader and educationist David Lindo - has gotten his name banded about a bit, and he's been back on the telly. You can also buy a t-shirt to celebrate the inevitable re-establishment of Robin as our national bird from his website, alongside a whole assortment of other questionable memorabilia.

Without wanting to sound too much of a cynic, David and his team have evidently worked hard on this campaign, and that at least deserves some credit and recognition. However, now that it's all over, I can't help but wonder what could have been achieved if all that effort had been invested in something else.

These are uncertain times for the natural world - not just in Britain but across Europe, and indeed beyond. Wouldn't it be great if all of those votes translated to signatures on a valuable petition such as BirdLife's Nature Alert campaign?

So, before you buy a t-shirt to celebrate what was an inevitable victory, take a good, hard look at the above photo. Then I politely suggest that you reconsider how you might spend the £23 you would have shelled out for it. Why not invest it in something that would perhaps do some good somewhere, or at least contribute towards it?

Portland, 8th September

Had a great morning around Portland and Weymouth yesterday morning. The birds were pretty scant, but some great insects and great weather not to mention catching up with friends, both new and old. I went back for second helpings of the Short-billed Dowitcher early doors; duly located it for those who had travelled down overnight. Nice views in the low light, but quite distant and often obscured. The sunrise was pretty spectacular; you can just make out the fog rolling down off the hills in to Weymouth Bay in the distance:

I headed back up to Portland at around 08:00 via a quick stop at Ferrybridge - plenty of Dunlin and Ringed Plover plus nine Med Gulls, but nothing more unusual. Unfortunately, fog had rolled in over the isle so I decided to go and chill out at the obs for an hour or so. Personal highlight was getting my grubby mits all over this Convolvulus Hawkmoth, very much reminding me of a sleepy week I spent at the obs in August 2005 with Stephen Menzie, Will Bowell and Kit Day when just about the only thing we saw of any note were a few of these crazy moths.

Otherwise, the night's catch was pretty unremarkable, although this L-album Wainscot was smart:

Martin also extracted a rather noisy female Sparrowhawk from the nets while I was there; this was the first time I'd seen the species in the hand.

With the weather clearing up somewhat, I decided to head up to Easton to look for the previous day's Monarch. Not too long after arrival, it floated up from nowhere before sitting atop a buddleia, warming itself up in the mid-morning sunshine. Eventually it began to play ball and I enjoyed some good views, even managing some decent video footage. Bit tatty at the wingtips but a spectacular species nevertheless.

Blogging from Bird Fair

I can't escape gulls. Adult Yellow-legged and 2nd-s/3rd-w Mediterranean on the dam at Rutland Water prior to the first morning on the BirdGuides stand at the British Birdwatching Fair, 17th August. Lovely stuff.