Annan edasi info Jari Peltomäe soovist leida huvilisi järgmise aasta veebruaris toimuvale linnupildistamise retkele Hokkaido saarele Jaapanis. Eks me oleme kõik neid kuulsaid kurgede, kotkaste, luikede jpm. pilte näinud, nüüd on võimalus ka oma kätt proovida.


WINTER PHOTOGRAPHY IN HOKKAIDO, JAPAN 13th – 23rd FEBRUARY 2011

Target species includes Red-crowned Crane, Steller’s Sea Eagle, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, White-tailed Eagle etc. Amazing numbers of birds can be found on this arctic island. Black Kites are very common and in the harbours one can find lots of interesting duck species, such as Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander and Harlequin Ducks. Lots of different Gull species can also be found and photographed in the harbours. It’s also possible to get photos of some Japanese passerine species and woodpeckers as well. Red Fox and Sika Deer represent the mammals of wintery Hokkaido.

Weather in February is fairly arctic. The temperature may fall below -20 degrees celcius in the mornings. Occasionally there are strong winds near the coast. Heavy snowfalls are possible and there should be lots of snow on the ground. Some of the bays and lakes are frozen.

13th – 14th February: Flight Helsinki – Tokyo – Hokkaido, Kushiro Airport
We leave Helsinki on 13th and arrive in Tokyo on 14th, so we travel through the night. According to the schedule we reach Narita airport in Tokyo at ___. From here we take a bus (leaving every 15 minutes) to Haneda airport. The drive is 1-2 hours, depending on the traffic.

From Haneda we fly to Kushiro airport in Hokkaido, where we arrive at ___.
We will pick-up a rental minibus from the airport and drive approximately 30 minutes to Akan. There we stay in Akai-berey Hotel, which has been named after the Red-crowned Cranes. The hotel is about 20 kilometres from the airport, along the road number 240. Rooms are decorated in Japanese style. After a Japanese dinner it’s time for some well deserved sleep.

Akai-berey

15th FEBRUARY: TSURUI
Most of the day we will photograph Red-crowned Cranes in Akan’s feeding station. There are also some White-tailed Eagles visiting the site, especially during the afternoon feeding when the Cranes are fed with trouts. In the evening we drive to Tsurui where there are two more feeding sites for Red-crowned Cranes and the legendary Onnenai bridge for photographing the overnighting Cranes.

Hotel close to Tsurui


16th FEBRUARY TSURUI – LAKE KUSSHARO
During the morning and noon more Crane photography in Tsurui area in two different feeding stations. For the evening we drive to Lake Kussharo where we get to photograph Whooper Swans. Whooper Swans like to spend the winter here because of the hot springs that keep the water open.

Kussharo-ko Hotel

17th FEBRUARY LAKE KUSSHARO
Photographing Whooper Swans in Lake Kussharo. In February 2010 even the ”grand old Whooper Swan photographer” Hannu Hautala got very excited about the photography opportunities here! There are also photographable Sika Deer in the area. Possibility also for e.g. Falcated Duck.

Kussharo-ko Hotel


18th FEBRUARY LAKE KUSSHARO – RAUSU
We continue photographing Whooper Swans in morning light after which we drive to Rausu. Stopping is possible on the way, if necessary. In Rausu we stay in Rausu Daiichi Hotel.

After an early dinner we head to Washino-yado lodge. Here we try to get photos of the magnificent Blakiston’s Fish Owl. There is a river flowing through the yard with some natural looking snowy rocks. The owls use these rocks to catch fish from the river. The fishing site is enlightened but it’s also possible to use your own flash.

Rausu Daiichi Hotel

19th FEBRUARY: RAUSU
A boat trip from Rausu to photograph eagles among the drift ice at 5 – 9 am.
During the daytime it’s possible to photograph Scaups, Harlequin Ducks, Goosanders, Mergansers, Glaucous Gulls etc. in the harbours.

After dinner we go to Washino-yado lodge for the Blakiston’s Fish Owl again.

Rausu Daiichi Hotel

20th FEBRUARY: RAUSU – LAKE FUHREN
A boat trip from Rausu to photograph eagles among the drift ice at 5 – 9 am. After the boat trip we catch some breakfast and start our drive towards Lake Fuhren. On the way it’s possible to photograph in the harbours and visit a feeding site with tame and photographable Pintails.

We stay in a plain Japanese lodge Fuhren. The owner of this lodge is a knowledgeable ornithologist and an excellent cook!

Lodge Fuhren

21st FEBRUARY: LAKE FUHREN
Previous winters approximately 200 Steller’s Sea Eagles and White-tailed Eagles have gathered on the ice right next to a Lake Sunset restaurant. It’s only half a kilometer from our accommodation! It’s possible to photograph flying eagles and Black Kites from the restaurant’s parking place. Birds often pass the parking place at a very short distance! There is also a feeding station at the Fuhren lodge where we can photograph smaller birds before breakfast.

We also visit Cape Nemuro where it’s possible to photograph ducks and gulls in the harbours, and possibly also Steller’s Sea Eagles and White-tailed Eagles in beautiful landscapes.

Lodge Fuhren

22nd FEBRUARY: LAKE FUHREN – KUSSHIRO – TOKYO
We leave Lodge Fuhren after an early breakfast and photograph some more Cranes at one of the feeding sites. In the evening we fly from Kusshiro to Tokyo and spend the last night in Japan in Haneda airport Hotel
http://www.panpacific.com/Haneda/Overview.html

23rd FEBRUARY: TOKYO – HELSINKI

After an early breakfast we take a bus from Haneda to Narita where our flight to Finland leaves at ____.

Price: 3599 € (euros) – min 4 and max 8 photographers

Price includes:

-    Accommodation in Japanese hotels and lodges in double rooms
-    Japanese breakfast and dinner (lunch we by from the shops and it is not included to the trip price)
-    Transportations in Tokyo from Narita airport to Haneda airport and back
-    Transportations in Hokkaido with a 10 seater minivan
-    Boat trips mentioned in the program (2 mornings) and admission fees to Crane sites
-    Guiding throughout the trip


Price doesn’t include:

-    Flights (29th September 2010 Finnair’s return flight Helsinki – Hokkaido was around
-    1050 – 1300 €)
-    Lunches and alcoholic drinks

Photos from the 2008 trip: 

http://www.finnature.fi/photo_album.html.30.html