Hachijo-jima 1

Happy Christmas!!!


Well, it's not Chrismassy here in Chiba - no Christmas dinner! (People love fried chicken from KFC on Christmas Day...) so we were away to a small volcanic island, Hachijo-jima, about 180 miles south of Tokyo in the Pacific.

Basically, the island consists of two volcanos, Hachijo-fuji in the northwest & Miyara-yama in the southeast, and small towns and an airport in between. 

Hachijo-fuji and Hachijo-kojima (a tiny uninhabited island)

Mihara-yama and the runway at the airport

Bird-wise, there are several endemic species not only on Hachijo-jima but in the whole Izu Islands area.

In the Botanical Gardens by the airport, this gorgeous Izu Thrush (Akakokkoアカコッコ) posed for us.

He was eating Japanese Beautyberries (Murasakishikibuムラサキシキブ) and the heavy rain was on and off so he didn't really notice us watching him. Gorgeous!

The Japanese White-eye (Mejiroメジロ) on the island are sub-species of the ones we see in Chiba but we were not so sure of the differences...

The Brown-eared Bulbul (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ) on the island are darker than the ones on the mainland, we were told. We were not sure about that either, though.

The White-eye and the Bulbul were absolutely everywhere on the island, maybe because blossoms and berries are still abundant even at this time of year.

He was very acrobatic and got some kind of berry! 

the Hachijo-jima Visitor Centre in the Botanical Gardens

Spooky!
Fluorescent mushrooms are displayed in a dark room in the centre, which grow wild on the island in autumn.












Hachijo-jima Visitor Centre (in Japanese)
http://www.hachijo-vc.com/

Tokyo Travel Guide on Hachijo
http://www.gotokyo.org/en/tourists/topics_event/topics/110912/topics.html

Tateyama Yacho no Mori

In the middle of the Minami Boso National Park, Tateyama Yacho no Mori covers about 55 acres of forest and has a couple of nature trails within its borders.

The climate in the Boso Peninsula is mild all year round so most trees are broad-leaved evergreens.

The leaflet shows quite a lot of birds in the forest but we saw more birds in the open area by the visitor centre than in the thick forest;)

The birds we saw/heard: Spotbilled Ducks (Karugamoカルガモ), Oriental Turtle Doves (Kijibatoキジバト), Bull-headed Shrikes (Mozuモズ), Thick-billed Crows (Hashibutogarasuハシブトガラス), Carrion Crows (Hashibosogarasuハシボソガラス), Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (Kogeraコゲラ), Black-eared Kites (Tobiトビ), a House Swift (Himeamatsubameヒメアマツバメ), Eastern Great Tits (Shijukaraシジュウカラ), Varied Tits (Yamagaraヤマガラ), Japanese White-eyes (Mejiroメジロ), Long-tailed Tits (Enagaエナガ), Japanese Bush Warblers (Uguisuウグイス), Grey Starlings (Mukudoriムクドリ), Brown-eared Bulbuls (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ), White Wagtails (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ), Japanese Wagtails (Segurosekireiセグロセキレイ), Daurian Redstarts (Jobitakiジョウビタキ), Black-faced Buntings (Aojiアオジ), Oriental Greenfinches (Kawarahiwaカワラヒワ), Tree Sparrows (Suzumeスズメ)
& Peafowls in the enclosure (Kujakuクジャク)





an Oriental Greenfinch (Kawarahiwaカワラヒワ) by the visitor centre

a Praying Mantis (Kokamakiriコカマキリ)














　　　　

the common Puffball （Hokoritakeホコリタケ)?　　

the Sickener (Dokubenitakeドクベニタケ)?

A view from the hill - we spotted a house swift and a few black-eared kites from there.

Information about Tateyama Yacho no Mori (in Japanese)
http://www.chiba-forest.jp/yachou/info.html



After the walk in Yacho no Mori, we saw a Kestrel (Chogemboチョウゲンボウ) perching on a wire by a field.

and two female Greater Scaups (Suzugamoスズガモ) were floating on the choppy water, a bit far out in the sea. They were diving many times but it was too far for us to see if they caught anything at all.

Big flocks (sometimes as many as 50 birds) of Cormorants (Kawauカワウ) frequently flew over Tateyama. Wonder where they were heading to...