Teuri Island - Wildlife of Japan｜Saiyu Travel

2021.09.01 update

Spectacled Guillemot at Terui Island / Akaiwa Observatory

>For information and tours of Teuri Island, click here!

Finally, I had the chance to make it to Terui Island; I have always wanted to visit here. Spectacled guillemots and Rhinoceros auklets breed here, but it is very hard to see them breeding up close overseas.

Photographs from the Small Fishing Boat! Spectacled Guillemot of Teuri Island

Homecoming of the Rhinoceros Auklet (Teuri Island – Hokkaido）

Rhinoceros Auklets on the Rocky Cliffs: Teuri Island

Ocean Sunset at Terui Island, with the Spectacled Guillemot and Rhinoceros Auklet

We immediately head to the Akaiwa Observatory, where we can observe the spectacled guillemot, and see the world’s largest breeding ground for the rhinoceros auklet. Akaiwa, meaning red rock, is a 48 meter high rock that protrudes from the westernmost part of Terui Island. The surrounding cliffs are called the Akaiwa Observatory, and there are trails and terraces for observing the breeding grounds of the auklets.

The observation boardwalk and the burrows of the auklets. The burrows are about 20 cm in diameter. The auklets do not return to the Island until after it gets dark, but you can still observe the guillemots on the sea-facing cliffs.

The spectacled guillemots returned from sea with the namesake Akaiwa in the background. Spectacled guillemots build nests in the crevices of the ‘Red Rock,’ taking advantage of any small gaps and nooks on the rough surface. From this vantage point, you can see guillemots flying to and from the nests and the sea, as well as get good observations of their courtship behaviors as the pairs sit on the rocks.

A Spectacled guillemot returning from the sea, landing near its nest.

Then the partner came out and they started their display. This was the lovely first glimpse we got, right off the bat.

A spectacled guillemot husband and wife.

I wonder what they are saying to each other, these guillemots.

Their courtships calls pierce the sky.

This is the effect the Akaiwa Observatory can have on you…where you are captivated by the beauty of the guillemots and you forget to look at the time.

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Jun 2018, Teuri Island, Hokkaido, Japan

★ Visit our web site of TEURI ISLAND.

★Contact us to make arrangements for photographing seabirds on Teuri Island and Wildlife of Japan.

★Wildlife videos are also available on Youtube – we have the playlist as well.

Tags: Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Wildlife in Japan, Wildlife tour in Japan, Wildlife in Hokkaido, Birds Photography of Japan, Teuri, 天売島, Teuri Island, ケイマフリ, Akaiwa Observatory, Keimafuri, Spectacled Guillemot, Birding tour Japan, Wildlife of Japan, Bird tour Japan, Birds of Japan, Bird Watching Japan

2021.08.25 update

Ocean Sunset at Terui Island, with the Spectacled Guillemot and Rhinoceros Auklet

>For information and tours of Teuri Island, click here!

No where else in the world can you see these rare seabirds nesting, as close as you can on Terui Island, the island of the Spectacled Guillemot and Rhinoceros Auklet. To get there, one needs to take a ferry from Haboro, Hokkaido for about 1hour and 30 minutes, in the remote reaches of the Sea of Okhotsk. The birds will arrive at the island from April to July, but it is a bit easier on the traveler to come when the sea conditions are calmer, around June. By this time, breeding has passed its peak and you can observe the seabirds hastily raising their chicks.

On the day we arrived on Terui Island, Mr. Takaki Terasawa, a nature photographer living on the Island, told us “Today’s sunset has a lot of potential” so we headed back out to sea in his boat, ‘Keimafuri Gou’ (literally translated to the ‘Spectacled guillemot ship’).

By June, you can see the seabirds diligently carrying a beak full of fish back to their chicks in the nest. Right off the bat, we saw a rhinoceros auklet.

Once the sunsets, it is time to head back to the nest. We could see this figure appear, an auklet with a bunch of fish in its beak. As its namesake implies, the mature Auklet has a growth that resembles a rhinoceros horn, which protrudes from the base of the upper beak.

This rhinoceros auklet has many fish to take back to the chicks waiting at its nest.

This is a guillemot that is carrying some fish in its beak. Probably it has caught the Pacific sandlance? The common name in Japanese for the guillemot translates to “Red legs” derived from the Ainu name “Keima hure” because of its noticeable bright red legs. The English name is based on the smart pair of glasses the birds wear, Spectacled guillemot, due to the white patterns around its eyes. Either way, however, it is hard to understand these descriptive names in this back lit scene.

As the sun sets low and the sky grows dark, it is about the time that one starts to worry about whether the shutter speed on the camera can capture the images we want. More and more guillemots are arriving with fish in their beaks.

The setting sun in the sea off Terui Island.

The striking scene of the setting sun silhouetting the rhinoceros auklets. I have such a deep appreciation to be able to see this amazing site! Thank you!

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Jun 2018, Teuri Island, Hokkaido

★ Visit our web site of TEURI ISLAND.

★Contact us to make arrangements for photographing seabirds on Teuri Island and Wildlife of Japan.

★Wildlife videos are also available on Youtube – we have the playlist as well.

Tags: Wildlife in Hokkaido, Teuri Island, Teuri, Rhinoceros Auklet, 天売島, Akaiwa Observatory, ケイマフリ, ウトウ, Keimafuri, Wildlife of Japan, Spectacled Guillemot, Utou, Birds of Japan, Birding tour Japan, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Bird tour Japan, Wildlife tour in Japan, Bird Watching Japan, Birds Photography of Japan, Wildlife in Japan

2021.08.05 update

Homecoming of the Rhinoceros Auklet (Teuri Island – Hokkaido）

>For information and tours of Teuri Island, click here!

Teuri Island is the largest breeding ground in the world for the Rhinoceros Auklet. They are a member of the ancient murrelet family, and just as the name suggests, it has horn-like protuberance at the base of its upper beak, in its summer plumage.

The birds returning after sunset, to their nests on Teuri Island, during the breeding season is masterful. The beaks of the adults will be filled with fish like the Pacific sandlance and come into the nest at an amazing speed! When you see it, you’d think they will just collide into the ground!
After enjoying an early dinner at the lodge (fresh seasonal sea urchins at that!) the guide took us to Akaiwa Observatory parking lot. It is good manners to take this tour with a local guide in order to avoid accidents, as there is a chance that the rhinoceros auklet might be resting on the road. Once we attached our observational light to the guardrail next to the roadway and set up the tripods, then we are ready for getting some photos.

We can hear the sounds of the feathers ruffling in the wind just before the they land. Then there is a bit of a tussle between the birds that could catch fish and the birds that couldn’t as they battle for the food and cry out “Gu-e” when attacked. Those parents that couldn’t find any fish attempt to desperately “steal” their neighbor’s catch. The birds with fish, rush to their burrow after landing in order to protect the food for the chicks.

A rhinoceros auklet with a bunch of fish in its beak. It will scurry into its nest to avoid getting robbed on the way.

One auklet in hot pursuit of the one with a fish. They passed just at my feet unaware of their observers.

The pair of rhinoceros auklets appeared out of the burrow we were observing, just in front of us. They were so loving to each other.

It was a very satisfying night at the Akaiwa Observatory for us as we could see the fast homecoming + fish-filled beaks + a lovey-dovey pair of auklets.

Photo & Text : Mariko SAWADA

Observation : Jun 2018, Teuri Island, Hokkaido, Japan

★ Visit our web site of TEURI ISLAND.

★Contact us to make arrangements for photographing seabirds on Teuri Island and Wildlife of Japan.

★Wildlife videos are also available on Youtube – we have the playlist as well.

Tags: Wildlife tour in Japan, Teuri, Birds Photography of Japan, 天売島, ウトウ, Teuri Island, Utou, Rhinoceros Auklet, Bird in Hokkaido, Akaiwa Observatory, Seabirds in Japan, Birding tour Japan, Bird tour Japan, Wildlife of Japan, Bird Watching Japan, Birds of Japan, Wildlife in Japan, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Wildlife in Hokkaido