{"id":31362,"date":"2017-12-15T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T23:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=31362"},"modified":"2024-11-25T22:22:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:22:31","slug":"eastern-hokkaido-bird-watching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/eastern-hokkaido-bird-watching\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird-Watching Mecca of Lake Tofutsu, Eastern Hokkaido"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sponsored by Koshimizu Tourism Association<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Lake Tofutsu,<\/strong> with an area of 900 hectares\u00a0and a circumference of over 27 km, is designated as a\u00a0Ramsar Site<\/strong> (a wetland of\u00a0international importance). Every year, towards the end of October when I visited, thousands of migratory birds<\/strong> use it as a resting point as they undertake\u00a0journeys between\u00a0Japan’s main island of Honshu<\/strong> and northland such as Russia,\u00a0over the\u00a0Sea of Okhotsk<\/strong>. The Lake\u00a0is\u00a0part of the Abashiri Quasi-National Park<\/strong> in e<\/strong>astern Hokkaido<\/strong>. It’s\u00a0less than 10 km away from the small town of Koshimizu-cho<\/strong>, and approximately\u00a0100 km west of Shiretoko National Park<\/strong>; one of Japan’s most famous, undisturbed, national parks.<\/p>\n

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Recently,\u00a0I was able to enjoy an\u00a0autumnal<\/strong>\u00a0bird-watching tour<\/strong>, where\u00a0experienced guides took us to one of the popular, bird hang-out spots around Lake<\/strong> Tofutsu<\/strong>.\u00a0Now, I must state that\u00a0even though I am a\u00a0complete<\/em> novice bird-watcher, and only have camera lenses between 18 mm and 70 mm, it didn’t matter. My guides tailored the tour to suit me and brought their own equipment. I used to live in South Africa,\u00a0and\u00a0have been on numerous self-drive safaris before, but this was my first nature-watching experience with a guide. It really<\/em> made a difference to\u00a0have someone explain everything to me!<\/p>\n

Which Birds Can We Spot\u00a0at Lake Tofutsu?<\/h2>\n

Like much of Hokkaido, Lake Tofutsu and its surrounding area falls within the same climate\u00a0as in\u00a0the Sea of Okhotsk. Hence, it observes cool summers and cold, icy winters. Lake Tofutsu enjoys an array of bird species<\/strong>\u00a0all year, even during the harsh winter months when the lake can freeze. Each season brings a new delight!<\/p>\n

Spring:<\/strong> Birds<\/strong> flying north, such as Eagles, Bean Geese, Whooper Swans<\/strong> and Wading Birds<\/strong>, start to arrive.<\/p>\n

Summer: <\/strong>As the temperature rises, song birds like the Siberian Rubythroat, Stonechat<\/strong> and Reed Bunting\u00a0flock<\/strong>, come to the lake to\u00a0breed.<\/p>\n

Autumn:<\/strong>\u00a0This is the season that I visited Lake Tofutsu. The decreasing temperature indicates to the summer birds that it’s time to leave. Meanwhile, the swans, geese<\/strong> and gulls<\/strong> that left after spring, start to return. At this time, I observed heron, scaup, cormorant, black kites <\/strong>and even\u00a0<\/strong>the rare Red-Crowned Cranes!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winter:\u00a0<\/strong>New guests such as the Steller’s Sea Eagle, Short-eared Owl<\/strong>\u00a0and Goosander<\/strong> start to arrive. You can find some of the more\u00a0permanent residents like the White-tailed Sea Eagle<\/strong>\u00a0easier to spot now\u00a0than in the other seasons.<\/p>\n

The Bird-watching Tour<\/h2>\n

The bird-watching tour<\/strong> was conducted by the Koshimizu Tourism Association and lasted for around three hours. The exact locations used during the tours may vary with the will of the birds, so\u00a0we must willingly follow! The starting point was at the Tofutsu-ko Waterfowl and Wetland Centre<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> which offered views across the lake from a wooden observation deck. There was also a wealth of information available there on the biodiversity of the area and\u00a0the\u00a0importance of sustaining\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>

Inside the Information Centre<\/p><\/div>\n

Bird-Watching Point:\u00a0The Wetlands Centre<\/h3>\n

We spent the best part of an hour at the main observation point watching the numerous Whooper Swans, Bean Geese<\/strong> and Black-Headed Gulls<\/strong> frolicking around the lake. My guides answered all of my (sometimes ridiculous) questions and\u00a0didn’t even laugh once! For example, did you know that adult black-headed gulls actually have white heads in winter? Or, that greater scaup can dive up to three metres and stay underwater for 60 seconds? \u00a0Or, that there are more than 1,000 Red-Crowned Cranes\u00a0existing in the wild today? And yes, swans really are the “romance bird”!
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Bird-Watching Point: On the Heiwa Bridge<\/h3>\n

The Heiwa Bridge<\/strong> intersects the eastern side of Lake Tofutsu,<\/strong> allowing you to access \u00a0the lake from different angles.\u00a0At this point, we saw mainly bean geese and greater scaups, but ducks are particularly anxious of humans, so they did their best to hide from us! We spotted some roosting sites in the\u00a0harvested field which we watched through the binoculars (my camera lens wasn’t quite up to the job though)!<\/p>\n

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Bean Geese Flying Overhead<\/p><\/div>\n

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And then, just as we were about to leave, my guides spotted a pair of Red-Crowned Cranes\u00a0flying overhead, so we followed them. We found the cranes (also called the Red-Crowned Crane) in a nearby field!<\/p>\n

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Can You See the Red-Crowned Cranes?<\/p><\/div>\n

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We Found Them in a Field Nearby!<\/p><\/div>\n

We had actually seen the cranes flying overhead before this but I was far too slow to get a picture! We were extremely lucky to see them more than once that day because there are only three pairs here!<\/p>\n

This may be cheating slightly, but I managed to get a closer\u00a0picture of \u00a0a pair the following day:<\/p>\n

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“Cheat Picture” from the Following Day<\/p><\/div>\n

Bird-Watching Point: Sunset at\u00a0the Lake<\/h3>\n

Our last (albeit unofficial) stop of the day was to watch the sunset<\/strong> across the lake. The temperature had really started to drop off by this point so the birds were returning to their roosting sites\u00a0for the evening.<\/p>\n

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Ducks Taking Flight (Flying Away from Us)<\/p><\/div>\n

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In the trees alongside the lake, many\u00a0Tobi (\u30c8\u30d3), or in English,\u00a0Black Kites, were settling down for the night.<\/p>\n

\"Tobi<\/a>

Tobi (\u30c8\u30d3), Black Kite<\/p><\/div>\n

What to Bring<\/h2>\n

Stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer by checking the temperature before you travel. After all, you don’t want your hands to be too cold to hold your binoculars!\u00a0Daytime in Hokkaido tends to be substantially warmer than in\u00a0the evening, but Hokkaido is still Japan’s coolest region so bring hats, scarves and all of your winter warmers if you’re coming here between autumn and spring.<\/p>\n

For the tour, you just need to bring yourself, something to keep you hydrated and, unlike me, ideally a camera<\/strong> with a zoom lens! \u00a0The guides can provide binoculars<\/strong> and all of the information you need.<\/p>\n

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Useful Information<\/h2>\n

If you’re looking for accommodation, Koshimizu-cho town is just around the corner from Lake Tofutsu. If you need help finding somewhere to stay, check out our other article “Where to Stay in Koshimizu-cho<\/a>“. We also have a guide “Where to Eat in Koshimizu-cho”<\/a> to make sure you stay well fed!<\/span><\/p>\n

Bookings\/Enquiries<\/h2>\n

To ensure that you get the most from your birdy experience, the tours are usually conducted in groups of up to five people. The tours can be conducted in Japanese or English. Please contact the Koshimizu Tourism Association<\/a>(in Japanese only) for more details.<\/p>\n

Access<\/h2>\n

By Car<\/h3>\n

From Memanbetsu Airport,<\/strong>\u00a0 take Route 39 north, and then jump onto Route 246<\/strong> until Koshimizu-cho.<\/strong> Duration: 45 minutes. Distance: 35 km.<\/p>\n

By Public Transport<\/h3>\n

The average journey time between Memanbetsu Airport<\/strong> and Lake Tofutsu\u00a0<\/strong>is approximately two hours including connections.\u00a0The nearest stations are Kitahama<\/strong>\u00a0(\u5317\u6d5c) and Hama-Koshimizu<\/strong> (\u6d5c\u5c0f\u6e05\u6c34), both on the JR Semmo Line. There isn’t a rail connection from Memanbetsu so you will need to take the Airport Limousine Bus<\/strong> to Abashiri City<\/strong> (\u7db2\u8d70\u5e02) and then take the train<\/strong> from there.<\/p>\n