Shaun Robson

Ad Short-tailed Albatross, we saw 45 of these beauties, recovering from near extinction. Many were close to the boat and allowed flight shots with my bridge camera.

Laysan Albatross, at least 24, along with 25 Black-footed and more than 5000 Streaked Shearwater seen on the crossing

The very attractive and island endemic male Izu Thrush

Ural Owl, having missed this in Hokkaido where the "known" roost tree has fallen down, I thought we were going to draw a blank on this desirable species. Thanks to some local gen we were able to see one in a Tokyo park!

Home after an amazing time in wonderful Japan. I said it before and I will say it again. Where did we go wrong? The last part of our trip was around Tokyo and included a trip out to the Izu Islands. A must do at this time of year for the chance of an albatross spectacular on the return ferry.

eBird Checklist - 22 Mar 2025 - Tewaukon NWR - 23 species Submitted by Karl Bardon.

Is this the biggest ever single species count on eBird? Gobsmacking photos of an estimated 2.75M Snow Geese in North Dakota (HT @evornithology.bsky.social)

ebird.org/checklist/S2...

Stella's Sea-eagle on drift ice off Rausu. We saw more than 250 during our 2hr boat trip.

The birds roost on the drift ice when not feeding together with plenty, but fewer, White-tailed Eagles

Red-crowned Crane another Japanese conservation success story.

Blakiston's Fish Owl, this huge owl is the hardest of the Hokkaido "Big Three" to see. Booking at one or two of key hotels necessary and even then you need a bit of persistence and or luck. This bird turned up at 05:14 after a blank evening and night.

Visit to eastern Hokkaido complete. The weather and temperatures were on the whole very kind. Seeing the eagles on the drift ice is one of THE wildlife spectacles of our amazing planet. Life is very tough up here in winter so the birding was all about quality rather than quantity.

Birders encouraged to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers with passive recorders During the last two years, The Woodpecker Network has successfully used passive acoustic monitors to detect the calling and drumming of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. The group has now written guidance protocol for Song Meters to provide more of the practical details for using the method with the devices.

The Woodpecker Network is encouraging birders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers by using passive acoustic sound recorders:

On a dedicated boat trip with a local fisherman, now turned conservationist, we enjoyed splendid views and vocalisations of at least 14 birds. They are just returning to the neighbouring island for the breeding season.

All around the town road signs raising awareness of the "Crowned Sea-Sparrow" were proudly displayed.

The local authority have produced an informative brochure explaining their life cycle and what local people can do to protect them. Printed in both Japanese and English. Another great example of a town and its officials getting behind conservation.

And my last Kyushu post goes to another town embracing & protecting "their" iconic species. Reminded me of home & the work done by @harbourbirds.bsky.social in making Poole & Osprey two words that lie expectedly in the same sentence. Kadogawa & Japanese Murrelet. This vulnerable alcid is celebrated.

Siberian Crane, critically endangered, my first sighting since I saw the now long gone birds at Bharatpur in 1990! An adult has been here for a few weeks.

White-naped Crane, arguably one of the most attractive cranes in the world. c3000 winter in southern Japan.

Hooded Crane, the commonest crane in the area. 10000 plus around Izumi.

Sandhill Crane, primarily a North American species. A small hand full feeding among the Hooded and White-naped.

The real draw in Kyushu for a birder are the Cranes, c14,000 of them wintering around Izumi alone. 6 species were possible, we found 5. Missing the single Demoiselle that is somewhere in the feeding flocks. In addition to a single figure number of Common here are the others.....

Saunders Gull. 2cy. Range restricted, vulnerable. We saw and heard a good number in the south west.

Black-faced Spoonbill. In the 90's thought to be down to 288 individuals and critically endangered. Thanks to conservation population now thought to have recovered to more than 7000.

Baikal Teal, pic showing gorgeous plumage of male and subtle facial pattern of female. Once uncommon in Japan the species is enjoying a real boom. We saw flocks of 500 and 1000 in Kyushu and were unable to visit a lake in Honshu where 50000+ were wintering!

Lesser White-fronted Goose, a rare straggler in Kyushu.

Our time in Kyushu, Japan has come to an end. Loved it all. Nagasaki memorial 😥,Great weather and some tremendous birding.

Fab morning @careyssecretgarden.bsky.social Migration Festival Part Two

Had a chance to learn more about bird ringing with @harbourbirds.bsky.social & hear from Chris Packham & Megan McGubbin about bird slaughter in Malta & Cyprus & recent work against North Dorset Hunt

www.operationdeadair.org

Japanese Macaque, easily seen at the very well organised and pretty authentic Snow Monkey Park nr Nagano

No wonder the Bewick's Swans we were watching started to get rather excited. This Japanese Raccoon Dog surprised us al by emerging from a frozen ditch.

In the same area that we had seen the Copper Pheasants on the previous day this attractive ungulate appeared in the forest on the bank above us.

Mammals in Honshu were thin on the ground but quality was high. The Japanese Macaque (aka Snow Monkeys) might be a tourist bun fight but they are unmissable and a lot of fun. Japanese Serow and Japanese Racoon Dog were more surprising and very welcome.

Asian Rosyfinch, a species I had hoped to see in Hokkaido but was surprised to see in Nagano.

(Baikal) Bullfinch very distinctive and attractive

Daurian Redstart, one of several tasty species on British birders minds which are frequently encountered in a Japanese winter trip.

Japanese Waxwing, longer black eye liner than Bohemian. Red tail band and rusty coverts.

End of Honshu (Japan) leg, part 1. Super enjoyable. Safe, friendly, clean, efficient, respectful country. Where did we go wrong? Birding has been lovely with lots of palearctic migrants. Almost all target species seen. Copper Pheasants (no pics 😥), Crested Ibis, Japanese Waxwings chief among them.

Of Time and Place, and People... In my head I am 25 years old, sometimes younger. A delusion, I am sure, that is common to most my age. However, life has a way of bring...

Rolling back the years...
#UKBirding

Lovely piece Gavin. Have only visited once. In 1997 I had a meeting in London but was travelling with a colleague who wasn't a birder. He wasn't impressed when I said we had to set off at dawn to see a Wilson's Phalarope at Staines on the way. He refused to get out of the car while I twitched it 🤣

Early days in Japan & wasn't expecting so much snow so soon. Special to seen this iconic species though. Well worth the trip out to Sado. #CrestedIbis now doing incredibly well having been rescued from Japanese extinction with re-introduction project. The whole island has embraced their return.

BREAKING: A Gamekeeper has pleaded guilty in England’s first-ever Hen Harrier persecution case.

Covert video and audio gathered lawfully by the RSPB Investigations team has helped expose the deliberate targeting of a Hen Harrier, leading to a landmark guilty plea:

www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen... 👈

There are few Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa 花脸鸭 Huāliǎn yā) wintering at the Yellow River estuary in Shandong Province. Photo by "菜小hua". #birds #china #yellowriver

The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Tears of joy! SCOTLAND HAS JUST PASSED SWIFT BRICKS INTO LAW unanimously!
4 years of asking England & Scotland sorts it in a month led by ACE ⁦‪ MARK RUSKELL MSP‬⁩ ♥️The RELIEF is unreal! Tell England to follow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿by emailing PlanningPolicyConsultation@communities.gov.uk now!WOOP!

Delighted to share the Lytchett Bay Bird and Wildlife Report for 2025. Thanks to @lytchettbirder.bsky.social for non-bird taxa, @harbourbirds.bsky.social for hosting & @markwright12002.bsky.social for cover pic. www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Raining so hard for the #Biggardenbirdwatch. Birds were heading for the Ark!! They came 2 by 2 😁 2x Blackcap, Firecrest, Bullfinch, Nuthatch, Great Spot Wood! Also more quality thanks to our regular Cettis 😁 #Dorsetbirds

A Red Fox walks past a Marsh Harrier which is sat on the ground, neither seemingly bothered by the other

We were at Lytchett Fields RLV on New Year's Eve and this Fox walked straight past the Marsh Harrier, feet away! They didn't seem interested in each other at all.
(Dodgy phone held up to scope photo)
@narwhalsh.bsky.social
@ianballam.bsky.social
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
#LytchettBay

Bearded Reedling in full splits position this morning at Lytchett Heath

A pair of Smew with 2 Wigeon, Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

A pair of Smew with a Goldeneye (left), Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

A pair of Smew with a Red-breasted Merganser (left), Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

A drake Greater Scaup (right) with a Red-breasted Merganser, Poole Harbour, 31 Dec 2025.

Pretty chuffed to find a drake Smew at Brand's Bay, Poole Harbour this morning. c 30 secs later @moorebirdsbybike.bsky.social picked up its redhead mate nearby! First drake in Dorset since one on this exact date in 2008, apparently 😯. Enjoyed/ticked by many local birders.
@harbourbirds.bsky.social

A group of Greater White-fronted Geese feeding in a grassy field

Three Tundra Bean Geese flying past a wood

Watching these beautiful Greater White-fronted Geese, hoping for the Tundra Bean Geese to arrive, and eventually they did! A lifer for me and 13th addition to my Dorset life list during 2025! Lytchett Bay WeBS on Sunday!
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
#DorsetBirds
#ukbirding

A belated Christmas present from @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social has just arrived. Something to keep me busy reading in the coming days
If you would like a copy, there are some good memberships from DBC

Happy Birthday. Bean Geese would be a fine present. 🤞

Viewable high tide roosts in Poole Harbour are relatively few. The new viewpoints on the south side of Lytchett Bay enable visitors to enjoy this one without disturbance.

Fine Christmas Eve on patch. Brilliant to see successful impact of partnership work to discourage recreational disturbance and protect roost on Turlin Point. 2 Spoonbill, 75 Avocet, 60 Oystercatcher, Wigeon and more benefiting. Merry Christmas to all followers, look forward to your nature stories 26

No. Buy the pictorial Poole Harbour tide tables from a chandler and remember to add 45 mins to Poole Quay tide time. Much more reliable. Just remember that rainfall, wind direction and air pressure can mean that predictions become meaningless. Especially on neap tides.

Juv Spanish Eagle

Greater Flamingos. Confirming that bridge cameras can take decent flight shots if light is good enough

Slender-billed Gull

Bird filled short break to Southern Portugal. Uplifting to see so much habitat being utilised by so many larks, buntings, sparrows, ducks, waders and gulls. If you wondered where our autumn Chiffchaff wave went...we found them in abundance. ebird.org/tripreport/4...

Membership subscriptions for 2025 are now due. Membership benefits include supporting local wildlife conservation. To join: www.chog.org.uk/join-chog-pa...

Front cover of the Dorset Bird Report 2024, showing a 1st winter 'Isabelline' Shrike perched on the top of a narrow branch, set against a blurred green. The report's title is in large white font in the top left of the image, & the club's logo (a Hoopoe overlaid on an outline of the county boundary) is in the bottom right.

Screengrab from the Dorset Bird Club website explaining the Christmas membership offer, with a photograph of a Hoopoe and the club name forming a narrow banner at the bottom of the image.

Support your county bird club! Dorset Bird Club is a fantastic organisation that funds conservation initiatives, collates ornithological data from across the county, & provides a social & focal hub for local birders. If you're not one already, DBC have a fab new membership offer for the next... 1/n