TRAVEL DESCRIPTION

Duration                                            13-days

Type                                                   Birdwatching! Moderate pace. Roundtrip with                                                                ornithological experts & experienced                                                                                driver guides and max. four guests                                                                                    in each vehicle, English / Scandinavian speaking                                                            Miksture Tour Leader(s)  

Price                                                  4 and 5 pax: From 5.550 USD pr. person in shared                                                           DBL room, 6 pax: 5.460 USD pr. person in shared                                                           DBL room, 7 pax: 5.325 USD pr. person in shared                                                           DBL room, and 8 pax (max.): 4.925 USD pr.                                                                       person in shared DBL room 

Sngl room                                        Contact Miksture           

Deposit                                            675 USD pr. person

Visa                                                  Depending on country of origin. Information                                                                    when booking the tour

Vaccination                                     (Pr.01.03.2024; can change): Yes, against COVID-                                                             19 (If no vaccination PCR-test might be needed).                                                             Miksture will keep updating

Participans                                     Max.8! and 1 TL (up to 4 pax) and 2 TL (from 5-8) 

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Our Japan – Winter Birding tour explores the main islands of Kyushu and Hokkaido where more of the world’s most amazing and desirable birds can be found, whilst enjoying the wonderful winter landscapes, diverse scenery and splendid local cuisine. On Kyushu we will search for an array of specialties, including over 14,000 cranes congregate during the winter months migrating from the Siberian steppes. The majority consist of Hooded and White-naped Cranes, although a remarkable seven crane species have been recorded! Temperate broad-leaved forests harbor wintering Japan and Siberian species, whilst Baikal Teal is regular along the coast. Further north, of Japan's chain of islands, in Hokkaido, will open a amazing landscape of snow, frozen lakes and pine forests. This is the land of the Red-crowned Crane, hundreds of White-tailed Eagle and the world’s largest eagle, Steller’s Sea Eagle, while vast numbers of sea-ducks and gulls join loons and alcids in the Pacific Ocean. Another star bird here is the magnificent Blakiston’s Fish Owl. Around 150 species expected.

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KEY BIRDS

Pacific Diver (Stillehavslom) Gavia pacifica, Pelagic Cormorant  Phalacrocorax pelagicus, Red-faced Cormorant Phalacrocorax urile,  Sangsvane Cygnus Cygnus, Mandarinand Aix galericulata, Segland Anas falcate, Sibirisk Krikand Anas Formosa, Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha, Strømand Histrionicus histrionicus, Amerikansk Sortand Melanitta nigra, Black-eared Kite Milvus lineatus, Havørn) Haliaeetus albicilla, Steller's Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus, Japanese Buzzard Buteo japonicas, Spætmejse ssp. asiatica, Mountain Hawk Eagle Spizaetus nipalensis orinetalis, Sandhill Crane Grus Canadensis, White-naped Crane Grus vipio, Trane Grus grus, Hooded Crane Grus monarch, Red-crowned Crane Grus japonensis, Siberian White Crane Grus leucogeranus, Long-billed Plover Charladies placidus, Black-tailed Gull Lars crassirostris, Kamchatka Gull Larus Kamchatka, Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens, Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus, Heuglin's Gull Larus heuglini, East Siberian Gull Larus vegae, Slaty-backed Gull Larus schistisagus, Saunders' Gull Larus saundersi, Spectacled Guillemot Cepphus carbo, Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus Columba (likely ssp snowi; Kuril Guillemot, which may deserve separate specific status),  Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiquus, Least Auklet Aethia pusilla, Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis, White-bellied Green Pigeon Treron sieboldii, Blakiston's Fish Owl Ketupa blakistoni, Slagugle Strix uralensis, Crested Kingfisher Megaceryle lugubris, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos kizuki, Hvidrygget Spætte Dendrocopos leucotos, Japanese Green Woodpecker Picus awokera, Japanese Skylark Alauda arvensis japonica, House Martin Delichon urbicum, Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni, Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens japonicas, Black-backed Wagtail Motacilla alba lugens, Japanese Wagtail Motacilla grandis, Ryukyu Minivet Pericrocotus tegimae, Brown-eared Bulbul Ixos amaurotis, Japanese Waxwing Bombycilla japonica , Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii, Pale Thrush Turdus pallidus, Brown-headed Thrush Turdus chrysolaus, Dusky Thrush Turdus naumanni,  Japanese Bush Warbler Cettia diphone, Blåstjert Tarsiger cyanurus, Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus, Japanese Tit Parus minor, Varied Tit Sittiparus varius, Chinese Penduline Tit Remiz consobrinus, Japanese White-eye Zosterops japonicas, Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus, Sibirisk Allike Corvus dauuricus, Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius, Oriental Crow Corvus orientalis, Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos, White-cheeked Starling Sturnus cineraceus, Asian Rosy Finch Leucosticte arctoa, Oriental Greenfinch Carduelis sinica, Grey-bellied Bullfinch Pyrrhula [pyrrhula] griseiventris, Japanese Grosbeak Eophona personata, Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides, Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata, Pileværling Emberiza rustica, Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala, Grey Bunting Emberiza variabilis, Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus pyrrhulina, Yellow-throated Bunting Emberiza elegans, Russet Sparrow Passer rutilans etc.

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Habitats Covered

Temperate broad-leaf forest, and coniferous forest, frozen and open lakes, coastline and cultivated grasslands

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Expected Climate

Mild (Kyushu) to very cold (Hokkaido) 

 

Max Group Size

8 with 2 Miksture leaders 

 

Tour Pace & Walking

Moderate to easy

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Accommodation

Comfortable minshukus (guesthouses) and hotels

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Ease of Birding

Easy 

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Other Attractions

Spectacular scenery, hot baths in onsens at various accommodations, fabulous cuisine, interesting mammals 

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Photographic Opportunities

Excellent!