Hokkaido 4 Mar 2018 (Day 10)

Here came to Day 10, and nearly the end of our trip. We just repeated the birding spots as Day 2 and Day 9.

breakfast first

Hokkaido's milk is perfect!

and we came to the cliff again

gulls

watching gulls can be relaxing

Steller's Sea Eagle, my bird of the trip

Slaty-backed Gull

another Slaty-backed Gull

Sea Otter again

White-tailed Eagle, a nesting site?

Glaucous Gull

a flyby Peregrine Falcon, why not a Gyr Falcon

the otter would become Spotted Seal sometimes

Red-necked Grebe

a Carrion Crow pair

the commonest crow in Hokkaido - the Carrion Crow, maybe split as Oriental Crow one day?

Japanese Cormorant, the only time we saw in this trip

a digiscoping shot of the Japanese Cormorant

Black Scoter

male Common Goldeneye

not a lifer, but we found something unusual in Hokkaido (not really rare but still good birds) - the Pine Bunting

there were three Pine Bunting, one male and two female!

there were two records in HK, I only saw once, and no good photos

Pine Bunting

the male is quite handsome!

but the female is more friendly

more Black Scoter, their call is funny

more Kamchatka Gull Larus canus kamtschatschensis

and a few Black-tailed Gull, not common in this time of the year, with a Kamchatka Gull

more Kamchatka Gull Larus canus kamtschatschensis

Eurasian Coot

Harlequin Duck, a female

Common Goldeneye

two male duck, Black Scoter and Harlequin Duck

Black Scoter

Common Goldeneye

a Whooper Swan

some grebes around, mostly Black-necked, but there was one different, which was a Horned Grebe! our lifer!

and you can see this Black-necked Grebe, they have different head pattern and bill shape

snack before lunch

we saw a lifer on the way, a Goldcrest

but this tiny bird is very active

and you know why it is called Goldcrest

 we had lunch in a a local noodle restaurant 

inside the restaurant

a lovely cup, Tung must love it

and a super delicious noodle!

After lunch, we just went birding in nearby.

Kamchatka Gull Larus canus kamtschatschensis

Slaty-backed Gull

take more Slaty-backed Gull before back to HK

Greater Scaup

Eurasian Coot, they are much friendlier than their friends in HK

Kamchatka Gull Larus canus kamtschatschensis

a winter plumage Kamchatka Gull Larus canus kamtschatschensis

Steller's flying

Northern Pintail

some more duck, a wigeon showing whitish-grey axillaries, I will go for a hybrid wigeon, like the HK bird

Eurasian Wigeon, the underwing is less cleaner

I love Hokkaido, a peaceful place

and life in Hokkaido is easy, snacks then bird, bird then snacks

a young Steller's, sometime they will prey on mammals

and we were back to the Crane Village!

all are Red-crowned Crane

and the same Common Crane

a close up Red-crowned Crane

Crane

a Crane pair

more crane

this one is an immature

Red-crowned Crane is always elegant

adult with immature

and they are still Endangered species

we could enjoy crane dance here

Red-crowned Crane

evening time

as we planned to visit Otowa Bridge in the next morning for the view, we had a quick dinner this night

Yoshinoya is also 'my cup of tea', and is much more delicious than HK one (also cheaper!)

snacks after dinner

and don't forget ice cream

we had nothing to do this night, except watching TV or editing photos, or wandering around, near the Kushiro Station

crane everywhere

and back to room early to watch TV

also beer

and noodle