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When I was in Choshi fishing port, Japan, at the start of the year I was fortunate to come across a Black-legged Kittiwake that was both very approachable AND uninjured - a great combination for a photographer to take advantage of! There were several kittiwakes in the port - all of course of the eastern [...]

Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius phillipensis
Choshi, Chiba, Japan. January 2006 and 2008
 
The Blue Rock Thrush is found from southern Europe, north Africa, and the Middle East right across Asia into China and Japan. It is found mainly along rocky coastlines and cliffs, in mountain valleys and in large ruined buildings.

Males of forms in the [...]

The Japanese, so I’ve discovered, are REALLY into New Year. I’m a bit surprised given that the dates for the New Year are based around the Gregorian calendar rather than Moon/Sun phases which is more usual in the Far East. Surprised or not, what this means in practical terms is that the little [...]

Much as I would like to spend another 24 hours awake writing up a long blog about what a great day I had - and I did, even if I didn’t break any listing records - I do need to get a little sleep before I use the two hours of available time tomorrow [...]

The taxonomy of the “Black Kite” Milvus migrans is a complicated affair. It appears that there may well be three species within the traditional Black Kite grouping: Yellow-billed Kite, consisting of both M. (m.) aegyptius and M. (m.) parasitus (breeding in northeastern and southern Africa, respectively); Black Kite M. (m.) migrans which breeds through Europe [...]

I wrote a post yesterday about how a common bird in one area is sometimes seen as being a vagrant in another: specifically how some relatively common North American birds (eg American Robin, Black and White Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco) cause twitchers on my side of “the pond” to - well, start ‘twitching’. Vagrancy isn’t of [...]

The Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris is endemic to North-East Asia, breeding on sandy and rocky shores, islands and cliffs in the Sea of Japan/East Sea and wintering south as far as Hong Kong where it is a scarce visitor. It has not yet been recorded in Europe, but is an increasingly identified vagrant to North [...]

Vega Gulls Larus vegae
Choshi Port, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. 30 January 2006
 
The Vega Gull Larus vegae is the common “Herring Gull” of North-east Asia, breeding on islands and cliffs in the High Arctic and wintering widely throughout eg South Korea and Japan.

Structurally Vega is typically ill-proportioned - often looking rather short-legged, front heavy and rather large-headed [...]

Narita, Choshi Fishing Port, and Narita-san Temple Complex, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
29 - 31 January 2006
 

Narita High Street - the Temple is ten minutes down this road.

 
The following report is of a short trip to the small Japanese town of Narita, about an hour’s train ride north-east of Tokyo. Narita is the site of the [...]

Choshi Port, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
30 January 2006
 

 
Birding options in mid-winter in the Tokyo/Narita region are fairly limited if you’re on a short trip - like northern Europe and the northern parts of North America there are relatively few passerines around (most are struggling to find shelter in what’s left of the equatorial rainforests [...]

Black-faced Buntings Emberiza spodocehala personata
Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Japan29 January 2006
 

Male Black-faced Bunting E s personata
 

Male Black-faced Bunting E s personata
 

Immature Black-faced Bunting E s personata

 
All photographs copyright Charlie Moores.
 

Rufous Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis orientalis
Narita-san, Honshu, Japan. 18 January 2006
 
These Rufous Turtle Doves were photographed on a dull, grey day at the Narita-san Temple complex in the town of Narita (1 hour north of Tokyo). Common throughout East Asia and resident in both Japan and South Korea, they belong to the nominate form orientalis, [...]