This is part two of a report of the Wildlife Photography Tour lead by Gaku Tozuka, wild bird photographer (conducted from June 11-16).
East Hokkaido Wildlife Photography Tour in Early Summer (Part 1)
June 14 (Tuesday) Cloudy, then Sunny
Despite the cloudy and foggy weather, we boarded the ship in the morning. As soon as we set sail, the announcement over the intercom announced “We will go look for Minke Whales,” and we made our way to the ocean. In fact, Minke whales will appear out here, but it often seems like when they do come out, it always is just a flash of dorsal fin and then they hide immediately. They are not like the killer whales which take their time around you so we can enjoy watching them for some time. It can be so frustrating with the Minkes. After that, we had three boats searching for killer whales as well, but we did not have even one sighting.
We also couldn’t find any large flocks of Short-tailed Shearwaters, only sometimes seeing a Rhinoceros Auklet and the Northern Fulmar to photograph. Then, out of nowhere, a large flock of Fulmars started following our boat, as the rode the waves that the boat was creating! In a rush, I went to tell the tour participants, so they could get photos of the flock. They were able to get photos of them.
In the afternoon, it cleared up and was perfectly sunny, so we went to Shiretoko Pass for the Pine Grosbeak. I had heard from others that the grosbeak was not coming out lately, so it was just going to be up to luck if we did get to see it. Then, while we were chatting and eating our lunch, the driver shouted out at me, “Hey, Mr. Tozuka, isn’t that the Pine Grosbeak?” As he was pointing at the Siberian Dwarf Pine very near to us. Sure enough, just in the spot super close to us, was a brightly colored male sitting on the branch!
At 3:30 PM, we wrapped things up there and headed to the Rausu Visitor’s Center, then we returned to the lodging. Same as the previous night, we had some free time until dinner time. In the evening after dinner, we headed back to the Blakiston’s Fish Owl Observatory for photos.
Similar to the night before, one bird arrived at 7:50 PM. At around 8:50, it returned and before I could realize it, the other bird had arrived and we could get photos of the pair together. Then, again like the previous night, they left and did not return. We left there around 11PM.
June 15, (Wednesday) Sunny
I was awakened by a phone call at 6:50 AM, it was the chartered cruise boat company. “Today we are seeing high waves so we will cancel the cruise for today.” I was speechless. It was really sunny and seemed like perfectly good weather…but there was nothing we could do. I explained the situation to the guests over breakfast, and agreed to change the plan to try again for photos of the Pine Grosbeak. We retuned to the same place we saw it yesterday, and I searched around for it here and there but to no avail. Then as I was walking around, I saw a group of cameramen… “There is the red male!” they pointed it out. So, I ran to get my group participants and we all waited patiently for him to reappear. While we were there, the male came out 4 or 5 times again. Everyone’s photos were so-so but at least they could capture the red clearly on the male.
In the afternoon, we went to photograph the brown bears that appeared on the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula. I was so worried because the morning cruise had already been canceled on us, but the Captain gave us the “Go” sign and we hurried to the wharf.
Our cruise for this tour is using a small boat, so we were able to get quite close to the shoreline when the bears appeared. First to come out was a young bear and we were able to get him at a pretty close distance. After that, we kept encountering bears one after another, and at the tip of the cape, we were able to see a mother and her two cubs. It is quite a rare thing to see bears at the end of the peninsula like that, so we were pretty lucky with this sighting!
Since we were all the way at the far end of the Cape, we were about to go over time with our cruise, but on the way back, there was another sighting and the Captain of the boat said “There are two bears.” Perhaps they were a young pair of siblings, but they let us get their photos as well. On this day, we observed a total of 9 bears, for me this was the highest encounter rate I had ever had! Even though we went over time, the captain’s gracious attitude made it very unforgettable cruise.
This evening’s lodging is in Shari, and it will take some time to get down there, so we had a plan not to make any stops along the way. But right when we left, we saw a baby fox who was quite a character, so we started a photo session, right out the gate. This charming little fox did not run away, and even when we stepped out of the vehicle for photos he did not run. He let us get loads of photos of him playing by himself and even stopped to strike a pose for us now and then!
As we started making our way, the driver asked me, “So, Neboku Pass or Shiretoko Pass?” Since the weather was pretty good and clear, I decided to catch the beautiful evening vista of Shiretoko for our drive.
June 16 (Thursday) Light Rain and then, Sunny
Finally we are on our last day of the tour. It was a soft rain in the morning, but as soon as we left, it lifted. Today our goal is the Koshimizu Wild Flower Garden for the small birds.
Perhaps it was the low temperatures, but the little birds were pretty quiet today. However, as the temperatures rose, we started to hear the calls of the Lanceolated Warbler which sounds like the chirping of insects. We were not so fortunate as the birds, like the Locustellidae were making calls but they just would not make any appearances! It was so frustrating! LOL…Only the Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler showed itself. This year, due to the colder weather, the flowers were blooming late, so the sightings were not so good. But still at least we could see the Black Lily Fritillaria camtschatcensis.
Since the time hit 10 AM, we moved from here to the final leg of the tour. We explored the lakeside paths, and looked for creatures to photograph. We could see and photograph different species like the kingfisher, little ringed plover, and the yellow-bellied kingfisher.
I wish to thank all the participants who came on this tour, I appreciate the good times during our long tour for 6 days and 5 nights!
Birds Photographed:
Japanese Cormorant / Pelagic Cormorant / Red-faced Cormorant / Grey Heron / Northern Fulmar / Short-tailed Shearwater / Red-crowned Crane / Common Cuckoo / Pacific Swift / Little Ringed Plover / Latham’s Snipe / Slaty-backed Gull / Common Guillemot / Spectacled Guillemot / Rhinoceros Auklet / Horned Puffin / Tufted Puffin / White-tailed Eagle / Blakiston’s Fish Owl / Treecreeper / Great Spotted Woodpecker / Marsh Tit / Great Tit / Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler / Black-browed Reed-warbler / Chestnut-cheeked Starling / Siberian Rubythroat / Siberian Stonechat / Japanese Pied Wagtail / Oriental Greenfinch / Long-tailed Rosefinch / Pine Grosbeak / Black-faced Bunting / Reed Bunting / Chestnut-cheeked Starling
Birds Observed:
Eurasian Wigeon / Mallard / Greater Scaup / Himalayan Cuckoo / Black-tailed Gull / Pomarine Skua / Black Kite / Common Kingfisher / Black Woodpecker / Bull-headed Shrike / Marsh Tit / Jungle Crow / Varied Tit / Eurasian Skylark / Barn Swallow / House Martin / Brown-eared Bulbul / Eurasian Nuthatch / White-cheeked Starling / Tree Sparrow / Grey Wagtail / Eurasian Bullfinch / Chestnut-eared Bunting / Common Merganser / Oriental Turtle Dove / Himalayan Cuckoo
Birds Hear Calling:
Japanese Robin / Brown-headed Thrush / White’s Thrush / Lesser Cuckoo / Japanese Bush Warbler / Sakhalin Leaf-warbler / Lanceolated Warbler / Gray’s Grasshopper-warbler / Oriental Reed Warbler / Narcissus Flycatcher
Other Mammals:
Brown Bear / SeaOtter / Minke Whale / Ezo-sika Deer / Raccoon Dog / Ezo Red Fox /Chipmunk
Photography & Text: Gaku TOZUKA (Bird photographer)
Visit: 2022, 11-16 JUN, Eastern Hokkaido
*Contact us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have our guesthouse Shiretoko Serai in Rausu on the Shiretoko Peninsula.
Please see other article related “Birds Photography in East Hokkaido”
Bird Photography : Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Eagle (Rausu, Hokkaido)
Spectacular View! Rausu Drift Ice Cruise at Dawn (Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula)
Icy Lake Furen: Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle (Lake Furen, Hokkaido)
Long-tailed Tit : Winter Photography Tour (Nemuro, Hokkaido）
