Field Guide for Hokkaido recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Mono]

Hi

I'm off to Hokkaido in June for two weeks on a conservation project at a small wetland reserve at Chokubetsu. It is on the coast about 50km south west of Kushiro.

There will be little time to explore the wider area but there are planned trips to Kushiro wetland, Lake Akan and elsewhere. There is also lots to be seen on the reserve.

Any recommendations for a field guide I should take.

 

[Strandman]

Hi

I'm off to Hokkaido in June for two weeks on a conservation project at a small wetland reserve at Chokubetsu. It is on the coast about 50km south west of Kushiro.

There will be little time to explore the wider area but there are planned trips to Kushiro wetland, Lake Akan and elsewhere. There is also lots to be seen on the reserve.

Any recommendations for a field guide I should take.

Nice one- I would suggest Mark Brazil's Birds of East Asia (Helm Field Guides) rather than any of the Japan only guides.

 

[RJM]

Brazil's "Birds of East Asia" is a BIG HEAVY comprehensive book. For your short stay I recommend "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan (& NE Asia)" by Tadao Shimba.

have fun,
Rick

 

[HokkaidoStu]

Unless you have concerns about luggage space I second the Mark Brazil guide, it may be quite big and heavy but is much more useful than the English language photographic guide.

 

[RJM]

Both books are relatively cheap and I have both. They are pretty much the only updated guides in English available.

The Brazil book is actually only slightly larger and about the same number of pages (528 pages, 985 species) BUT half of it includes birds not seen in Japan and with the descriptions written in VERY SMALL PRINT.Great desk reference.

The Shimba book is not really a field guide per se but the taxonomy follows the Clements Checklist (504 pages, 554 species). Its main feature (besides using photo's instead drawings), is that it has a English/Japanese (in phonetic English) cross reference of bird names in the back. That can be very handy when mixing with the Japanese locals. On the otherhand, you can probably find this reference for free elsewhere.

 

[Mono]

Thanks for the comments, I've ordered the Mark Brazil book and will do some swotting up as to what I can expect to see.

Ta