Blakiston’s Fish Owl observatory - Wildlife of Japan

2023.03.03 update

Wildlife Sightings for January in Eastern Hokkaido

February is generally the peak season in Hokkaido’s eastern region, but what is it like in January? In this blog, we would like to introduce the wildlife that you might see in East Hokkaido (Kushiro, Notsuke Pennisula, Rausu) in January.

Short-Eared Owl (Notsuke Peninsula)

During this period, short-eared owls migrating from Siberia and other places, could be observed (depending on the year). This grassland owl is a rarity in Japan, but when you visit the open grassy fields in the evening, you might observe them flying around looking for mice. After that, as the weather gets colder, many of the owls migrate to other places around the main island of Japan (Honshu), so Hokkaido in January might be the best time to photograph the snowy landscapes with short-eared owls.

Ural Owl (Eastern Hokkaido)

The ural owl, is an endemic species that inhabits Hokkaido as a resident year around. It is easy to spot these birds in the leafless trees.

Blakiston’s Fish Owl (Rausu)

The Blakiston’s fish owl can be seen from a facility along the Chitorai River in Rausu. It is a very rare species that inhabits only eastern Hokkaido and Far East Russia (Kunashir Island).

White-Tailed Eagle (Rausu, Notsuke Peninsula, Nemuro)

In eastern Hokkaido, there are wildlife that migrate here to overwinter, and there are also resident birds as well. They are most abundant in February, and can be easily seen flying around Lake Furen and Rausu.

Steller’s Sea Eagle (Rausu, Notsuke Peninsula, Nemuro)

The Steller’s sea eagles, which breed in Far East Russia such as in the Kamchatka Peninsula, migrate to eastern Hokkaido in the winter. February is the most common, month they start arriving, but I was able to confirm their appearance in January as well.

Red Crowned Crane (Tsurui Village)

In January, the red-crowned cranes are preparing for the breeding season. I was able to see the paired couples singing and dancing together, and a young bird practicing alone. From February to March, the breeding season is in full swing, the number of couples increase and the time they spend doing their displays goes on for longer periods of time.

Red Fox

The red fox, a subspecies that inhabits the Sakhalin, Hokkaido and its surroundings, is also approaching their breeding season as well. During this period, males will walk large areas in the deep snow searching for females, so the muscles of the upper body are said to be very developed, and this one here is a good example, showing very developed pectoral muscles.

One fox approached us with the Kunashir Island in the backdrop, and if you look closely at its tail, you can see some small hair loss. Scabies is spreading among the red foxes, and is seems to be causing a population decline.

Ezo Sika Deer

These are some Ezo Sika Deer with the Kunashir Islands in the background. At this time of year, they have winter fur and are very cute, but they have a voracious appetite and are highly successful at reproduction, so in some areas they are being exterminated due to damage to agricultural areas. At Shiretoko Sarai, the venison is added to the menu so it is not wasted.

In addition, you might see kestrel and a group of long-tailed tit.

January was a fulfilling time to encounter wildlife in eastern Hokkaido for a 3 nights and 4 days stay in January.

Photo & text: Wataru HIMENO

Observation: Jan 2023, 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 a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

*Youtube : Wildlife of Japan

Tags: Bird photography in Japan, Tsurui village, Winter Hokkaido, Crane Dance, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, Owl Photography, Rausu, Blakiston’s Fish Owl observatory, Washi no yado, Shiretoko Serai, Shiretoko, Widlife in Japan, Ural Owl, Red-crowned Crane, Saiyu Travel, Birds of Hokkaido, Tancho, Owl, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan

2023.01.03 update

Raising The Next Generation of Blakiston’s Fish Owl; Observed in Rausu

Two chicks were born in 2022

Usually, the Blakiston’s fish owls will mate in February and lay two eggs in March. The female warms them for 35 consecutive days, without rest. However, for the Blakiston’s fish owls it is very challenging with various factors influencing the results: like the extreme weather and cold temperatures during breeding; the physical condition of each owl itself; and their past experience of raising chicks. On average only one bird survives until fledging.

At the Blakiston’s fish owl Observatory in Rausu (Washinoyado), the birds can be observed throughout the year, and in June 2022, the pair were able to fledge both chicks for the first time in 15 years! The young birds practiced flying near their nest, and then eventually around August, they would come down to the river with their parents to learn how to catch the fish. Around September, they learned how to hunt for themselves, becoming more independent.

Mother bird showing how to hunt

The mother taking the food to the chicks

Sometimes, there are young birds that cannot fish successfully, and end up on the roadsides to try to eat roadkill. However, they might end up getting hit by cars due to the dark conditions. Thankfully, our two chicks at the Observatory have been safe from this kind of accident so far.

One of the chicks born in 2022

In December, the two will become independent, and then around 2024 they will mature and find their own partners and live somewhere in Shiretoko. I am praying that they can both survive the trials of winter to live long lives.

Image & text: Kaito IMAHORI

This report is based on observations till Oct 2022

Tags: Washi no yado, Shiretoko Serai, Birds of Hokkaido, Saiyu Travel, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Owl, Bird photography in Japan, Rausu, Winter Hokkaido, Shiretoko, Widlife in Japan, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, Blakiston’s Fish Owl observatory

2022.08.14 update

East Hokkaido Wildlife Photography Tour in Early Summer (Part 1)

This is a June field report on the tour conducted by Gaku Tozuka, a photographer, when we toured Eastern Hokkaido during the early summer.

Winter Photography Tour of Red-Crowned Cranes, Tsurui Village -Part 1

Winter Photography Tour of Red-Crowned Cranes, Tsurui Village -Part 2

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June 12 (Sunday)　Cloudy with Heavy Rain
We started with taking photos around Lake Furen, early in the morning. Typically, on good weather days, we would start the morning around 4:30 to 5am, but on this day, it was dark and cloudy so we gathered in front of the lodging to begin shooting.

A pair of Red-crowned Cranes were in the marsh.

The yellow flowers of the Thermopsis montana in the foreground help to frame the pair off in the distance.

I was loading the bags in the car after breakfast when I saw a bright red male Long-tailed Rosefinch just on the opposite side of the road. Everyone started clicking away.

We head to the Ochiishi port, and on the way there were a pair of White-tailed Eagles perched on a large tree. We approached quietly and slowly and showing no signs of wanting to fly away, we could get photos of them from the bridge.

I was honestly a little worried about the rough seas and being able to get out for the cruise in Ochiishi, but we were able to leave safely.

The Rhinoceros auklet was the first thing we saw, appearing now and then. But the real challenge is taking photos with the waves rocking the boat…it was really swaying. Such difficult conditions to get a good photo!

So I happened to look up just as a bird was flying over us…(It was stubby and plump, but flew higher than a puffin…!) So I blurted out “Tufted Puffin!” and luckily or unluckily by the time everyone looked up, the bird had flown so close, but all they could see was the tail as it flew away. These recent years have seen a decrease in the number of sightings, so we were just lucky to see it at all!

*Side note: In Japan, these species are so rare to be seen but they do breed on Yururi Island and Moyururi Islands.

After that, our guide spotted a young Horned Puffin which we photographed. The other tour participants seemed to have trouble getting a good photo of it that was in focus. But this bird is rarely seen in Japan and on top of that, it was in its summer plumage, which is even more rare!

There was some information going around that many Red-faced Cormorants were around this year, so we went to the rocky outcrops. It is very challenging to photograph from the rocking ship, but the tour members did a pretty good job.

We then made our way to the rocky area where we could observe the Sea Otters, and the first ones we saw were a baby with its parent. Soon after that we encountered a raft of sea otters, maybe 10 or so who were wrapped in kelp. It was like we transported to California! For me, this was the first time to see such a scene and I was super excited! In Hokkaido the sea otters only breed in the Nemuro area (Cape Kiritappu and the Moyururi Islands) so again, we were so lucky to see this many at once.

The otters wrapping themselves in the kelp beds. Sea otters found in Hokkaido are subspecies, Enhydra lutris lutris. It had at one time disappeared from the wild in Japan, but it was confirmed to be breeding since 1980.

There were some Spectacled Guillemots in the area so now and then we could grab some photos of them as well. Just before entering the harbor to alight, the Arctic Skua also made an appearance. I could not get a good photo of them, but typically they live offshore, so again, we had a fortunate chance to get to see some so close to the port.

June 13 (Monday) Rainy and Remained Cloudy after the rain
We headed to the Nosuke Peninsula in the early morning. There, the deer had already finished off the grass in the most easily accessible areas for photography. This is usually the place that the birds go for collecting nesting materials, but due to the overgrazing, the bird’s numbers are decreasing, and we could not see them. We moved on to some spots where we could see some flowers blooming, but it was quite cold there, so the birds were not feeding near the flower blooms. This is because when the temperatures are cold, the bugs stay close to the ground.

The Ezo deer in their summer coats.

However, the Common Cuckoo was flying around in the area. We could see some other small bird species that were nesting in the area as well.

This day’s lodging in Rausu was the Shiretoko Serai, an inn run by our Saiyu Travel Agency. The dinner was so elaborate and presented to nicely, that I could not believe I was in Rausu. Then at night, we were off to see the Blakiston’s fish owls…if only we could have stayed to relax and enjoy the meal a little longer! lol

This year, the pair of fish owls had 2 chicks, so the parents were at the feeding spot often to catch food for them. They came at 7:50pm, then again at 8:50, but we did not see them again after that. We finished our evening birding activities as planned around 11PM. (If the Owls had not made any appearance, we would have stayed until midnight, just in case.)

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)

Rausu’s Drift Ice Cruise and the Drift Ice in the Port of Rausu・The Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Eagle

Icy Lake Furen: Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-Tailed Eagle (Lake Furen, Hokkaido)

Long-tailed Tit : Winter Photography Tour (Nemuro, Hokkaido）

Tags: Wildlife of Hokkaido, 知床, Wildlife of Japan, Birding tour Japan, Birds of Hokkaido, Bird Watching Japan, Birds of Japan, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Wildlife in Japan, Wildlife tour in Japan, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, Rausu, Blakiston’s Fish Owl observatory, Washi no yado, Shiretoko, GAKU TOZUKA

2022.03.22 update

Blakiston’s fish owl that lives in the forest of Shiretoko

雛に狩りを教えるシマフクロウの母鳥 — A mother Blakiston’s fish owl teaches her chicks to hunt

Our Guesthouse in Rausu, Shiretoko Serai’s nature guide, Kaito Imahori, sent us a report from the 2021 season!

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In 2021, I was able to see one chick and a parent bird next to each other at the Rausu’s Fish Owl Observatory for the first time in several years.

Only about 160 owls live in Japan, and it is difficult to find Blakiston’s fish owls in the wild. In Rausu, there is an accommodation called “Washi no Yado” (Fish Owl Observatory) where you can observe the fish owls visit the river through the night, and where bird watchers also gather and can see them every night.

The pair of Blakiston’s fish owls that came here, have failed to breed for many years. From the fall of 2019, a different female started coming around. No one knew where this new female came from, like where she was born or raised and she was much more fearful of people and now they come to the river more rarely.

シマフクロウのペア（上オス、下メス） — The Blakiston’s Fish Owl pair (Top one is the male, lower one is the female)

In June of this year, when we were observing the male, the female suddenly appeared on a dead tree stump with the male, and they stayed for 30 minutes fishing at the river, and then left. After this day, the female started to appear more at the river, and from August, the long-awaited chicks appeared with the parents. The chicks were taught how to feed on the fish swimming in the river by the mother owls.

シマフクロウのヒナ — A Blakiston’s Fish Owl chick

雛に魚を運ぶシマフクロウのオス — The male Blakiston’s fish owl carrying fish to its chicks

The number of chicks found in this year’s survey was at a record high of 37 chicks. I hope that many more owlets can be born and live in the forests of Shiretoko.

Photo & text: Kaito Imahori (Shiretoko Serai)
Observation: Summer 2021, Rausu, Shireoko Hokkaido

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