A Return to Japan: Birding in the Spring   Bernie and Chris Grossman 

Several years ago we traveled to Japan in winter to bird the residents and wintering migrants. While Japan's northern areas were suffering a difficult season, we experienced milder conditions in the south where even some fruit trees were blooming. We saw many of Japan's winter residents including several species of crane. Because of the snow and cold, the trip to Hokkaido required some changes in schedule and the missing of a few sought after species.

The present talk covers last year's spring trip with the goal of seeing returning migrants and the unusual endemic birds and mammals of the Ryukyu Islands to the south. Mt. Fuji, a national landmark, is surrounded by extensive forests and development. We sought migrating thrushes as well as summer residents. An overnight ferry trip took us to Miyaki-Jima, a small volcanic island south of Tokyo, for a 6 hour stay where we saw endemics and migrant Old World Warblers.  We then flew to Amani and Okinawa Islands in the Ryukyus. Both are sub-tropical and the home of unique endemic birds and mammals. The final part of this tour returned to Hokkaido in much nicer weather. Here we were thrilled to see a Blakiston's Fish Owl, the world's largest, that had been missed the first time. Winter residents like the Steller's Sea Eagle were gone, but we found many lovely summer residents and migrants.

Chris and Bernie Grossman lived in NY's Capital District for 42 years before moving to Tallahassee 3.5 years ago. During their time in the Capital District, they were active birders, and they held several leadership positions within HMBC. Bernie has given several talks concerning their worldwide birding travels to the Club.