Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com

Wild Boar

11th March 2026 - Somerset Levels and The Forest of Dean for @oriolebirding.bsky.social blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/11th...
Luck was with us for our final morning in the forest.

Common Crossbill

Anoplotrupes stercorosus - I think

Cladonia digitata ?

Exidia truncata

10th March 2026 - Somerset Levels and The Forest of Dean for @oriolebirding.bsky.social blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/10th...
The morning weather gods smiled on us and we were rewarded with Goshawks wherever we went in the Forest! There were of course other quality wildlife encounters too.

Rusty-backed Fern (Asplenium ceterach) and Wall Scalewort (Porella platyphylla) - I think!

Bank Vole

Dipper

Possibly Usnia sp & Evernia prunastri

9th March 2026 - Somerset Levels and The Forest of Dean for @oriolebirding.bsky.social
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/9th-...
We began the day at a dreary Steart before enjoying Mandarins, Dippers and woodland birds at Cannop Pond. Fingers crossed for a brighter day tomorrow.

And thanks to @andyfmears.bsky.social for the Ring-necked Duck and Firescrests!

Teal

Glossy Ibis

Cattle Egrets and Canada Geese

Scarlet Elf Cup

Somerset Levels and The Forest of Dean for @oriolebirding.bsky.social - 8th March 2026
The sun never made it through but must have been up there somewhere and it did not stop us eking the most out of our day on the Levels. blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/some...

And thank you Andy for the RND and Firecrests! Went to Ham Wall for the unexpected vast Starling roost. Distant but excellent. Had a 2cy female Goshawk freaking out the Marsh Harriers from main viewpoint at 520pm. 2 Ruff still present

Somerset Levels and The Forest of Dean for @oriolebirding.bsky.social Birding- 7th March 2026
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/some...
A murky but excellent first afternoon at Ham Wall.

Sable

Brandt's Jay - Garrulus glandarius brandtii

Marsh Tit - Poecile palustris hensoni

Asian Rosy Finch in the fog

Day 11 - Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 15th February 2026
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/day-...
The final day on this extraordinary adventure. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026

Blakiston's Fish Owl

Glaucous Winged Gull

Sika

Red Fox

Day 10 - Part 2: Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 14th February 2026
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/day-...
The Valentine's Day that kept on giving...
#BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social

White-tailed Eagle

Steller's taking out a White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle

Steller's Sea Eagle

Day 10 - Part 1: The Eagles: Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 14th February 2026
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/day-...

I am still lost for words...

#BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social

Thirty Years Ago - February 1996
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/thir...
Quality urban birding...

Red-crowned Cranes

White-backed Woodpecker

Pelagic Cormorants

Blakiston's Fish Owl mid fishing leap

Day 9 - Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 13th February 2026
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/day-...
Dawn to dusk with Hokkaido's dancing Cranes and fish hunting Owls. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026

White-bellied Green Pigeon

Masked Bunting

Meadow Bunting

Daurian Redstart

Day 8 - Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 12th February 2026
blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/day-...
Ostensibly a travel day to the far north from Kyushu to Hokkaido but there was as usual time for some Bunting Hunting before we left. #BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social

The colour ringed Black-faced Spoonbill 36K was ringed in the nest in June 2022 and this is its first sighting away from its Korean natal area.

Lesser White-fronted Goose and Crane duo

Japanese Skylark

Red-billed Starlings

Black-faced Spoonbill from Korea

Day 7 - Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 11th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/day-...
Cranes, Geese & rare Starlings on the fields of Arasaki & some crab-eating Gulls up the spectacular coast. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026

American and Eurasian Wigeon at Carlton Marshes

Common Cranes at Sea Palling

Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler Lowestoft

Shorelark - Kessingland

Lowestoft Life - 18th - 26th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/lowe...
I have made the most of my time since getting back from Japan.

American and Eurasian Wigeon
#suffolkbirding #ukbirding #NorfolkBirding

Sandhill Crane

Siberian White Crane

White-naped Crane

Hooded & Demoiselle Cranes. Common Crane also seen

Day 6 - Winter in Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 10th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/day-...
The perfect crane day. Arasaki at its very best. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026

Black-tailed & Vega Gulls

Japanese Murrelets

Japanese Cormorants

A selection of herony things

Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - Day 5 - 9th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/wint...
Bobbing with the Murrelets before before a cross country drive to Izumi. #BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social

Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker

Brown Dipper

Amazingly it is a Fern known as the Ussurian Scaly Polypody (Lepisorus ussuriensis)

Japanese Green Pheasant

Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - Day 3 & 4 - 7th & 8th February 2026. blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/wint...

Quality birding in the woods and fields around Karuizawa that gave us a Double Pheasant Day before the epic journey back to Tokyo and onto Kagoshima down south.

Japanese Macaque

Japanese Accentor

Japanese Mountain Hawk-Eagle

Varied Tit

Winter in #japan for Bird's Wildlife & Nature Tours - Day 2 - 6th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/wint...
Monkeys in the bath, ducks on a pond and furtive woodland passerines. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026

Japanese Waxwing

Coal Tit - Periparus ater insularis

Japanese Wagtail

Smew, Mallard, Falcated Duck, Pintail

Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - Day 1 - 5th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/wint...
The Shinkansen to Karuizawa with some quality birding between there and Yundanaka. #BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social

Warbling White-eye

Bull-headed Shrike

Oriental Turtle Dove

Eastern Blue Rock Thrush

Bloggage begins:
Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - Day 0 - a prelude.
A walk in the park... blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/wint... @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026

While snow collected on its head

A pleasure Chris. I think we were all at a loss for words at times.

White naped and Hooded Cranes

Siberian White Crane

Chinese Grosbeak

Meadow Bunting

Arasaki has been kind to our @bwntours.bsky.social adventure with not only 12000 Cranes of 6 species but singles of 3 rare Geese, various Buntings, Raptors, Rails & Gulls. We found vagrant flocks of 11 Chinese Grosbeaks & 22 Red-billed Starlings! Today is a two plane day way up to snowy Hokkaido+

#Japan #BirdsSeenIn2026

Dusky Thrush

Bull Headed Shrike

Oriental Turtle Dove

Warbling White-eye

So once again I have touched down in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social with @mr-shortwing.bsky.social. A pre-trip pop to the Tokyo Port Park got us Dusky & Brown-headed Thrushes, Japanese Bush Warbler, Masked Buntings & Bull-headed Shrikes.

I will post a few tantalising titbits as we go along

Thirty Years Ago - January 1996
A busy start to the year with some quality winter passerines lurking around. blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/01/thir... #UKBirding

I actually forgot to post the Crane pic! sorry

Quality winter duckage on Lesvos Tony! - we struggle to see a Mallard in the spring when Garganey and Ferruginous Duck are as likely. The winter Mallard there will have come just as far at the other migrant dabblers