The Shimanami
Kaido (“kaido” - 海道 - literally means “sea road”) is an expressway which
links the main islands of Honshu and Shikoku through a series of bridges and
islands. It spans the 60km distance between Onomichi City, in Hiroshima
prefecture, and Imabari City, in Ehime prefecture. The total cycling distance
is 70km, including bridge access ramps. Thousands of people flock here annually
to enjoy a fun bicycle ride in a great environment. Some cyclists complete the
full trek in a matter of hours, and some take a more relaxed pace and spend the
night in one of the accommodations along the way. And while a few people
actually make the return trip by bicycle, many opt to make the trip back by bus
or ferry (http://www.city.onomichi.hiroshima.jp/english/kanko/shimanami/shimanami.html).
We rented two bikes for two days, but decided not to aim too high and not ride
the whole route to Onomichi, but go on a two day trip and take some time into account for some birding
and sightseeing. Hashihama train station was our starting point, from where we
walked up to the bike rental ‘Sunrise Itoyama’ at the west end of the Kurushima-Kaikyō
Bridge, which connects the island of Ōshima to the main part of Shikoku and is
the world's longest suspension bridge structure. On November 23 and 24 we were very lucky with the weather...
An Osprey Pandion
haliaetus and a Black-eared Kite Milvus lineatus, digiscoped from the Kurushima-Kaikyō
Bridge.
Black-eared Kites,
as well as the Ospreys, were a common sight on our trip. There have been some
suggestions that the Black-eared Kite (which is commonly regarded a subspecies
of the Black Kite and therefore named Milvus m. lineatus) should be elevated to
full species status as M. lineatus, but this is not well supported. In my
opinion, the kites I see around here look a lot different from the ones I
encounter in Europe, so that’s why I’ll stick to Milvus lineatus.
The Kurushima-Kaikyō Bridge, seen from Ōshima
Island.
I believe this is
one of many Blue Rock Thrushes Monticola solitarius that we noticed on boulders
and sea walls, though not as colorful as I expected them to be.
Yoshiumi Rose
Garden (by Fabiana)
Temminck's Cormorants
Phalacrocorax capillatus (based on the extensive white facial patch) on and around the tiny Kojōjima Island.
Little Egret Egretta garzetta on Kojōjima Island.
Osprey hunting unsuccessfully
around Kojōjima Island. The bird has a big crop from a previous meal,
so maybe its motivation wasn’t very big.
Kentish Plover
Charadrius alexandrinus at Sunset beach, where we spent the night in a very
nice place, offering traditional dinner and breakfast, as well as a hot tub.
Chōonzan Park. The
three-storied pagoda is a national treasure, our map says. But you’ll have to
take the right exit or drink coffee in the morning (not included in a traditional
Japanese breakfast) in order to find it (photos: Fabi).
A Japanese Silk Moth Antheraea yamamai, possibly? Found
on the bicycle trail.
The Ikuchi bashi Bridge; the last of the five bridges we crossed. Connecting Ikuchijima Island with Innoshima Island.
Surprisingly, we did not see many gulls on our trip. Thus far the only species of gull I managed to properly identify in Japan has been the Black-Tailed Gull Larus crassirostris, of which we saw only a few off the coast. This possibly is a Vega Gull Larus vegae, which appeared to be more common around the islands and near harbours. Still, it seems that gulls are by far not as common in fish-rich areas of the few coastal parts of Japan that I’ve seen thus far, as they are in Europe. Maybe the kites have something to with this? (In Portugal I noticed that a few Black Kites are capable of expelling thousands of gulls from a landfill, due to their kleptoparasitic behaviour). Or is the Japanese fishing fleet simply a lot ‘cleaner’ than the European, not allowing the gulls to thrive on any bycatch? In case you’re wondering; thus far I did not see any gulls in the larger cities. Any waste (which is rare here due to the country's extremely strict recycling program, which I love) would readily get eaten by two types of crows, which are as common there as some gull species in NW-European cities.
From Innoshima Island we took a ferry back to
Imabari City, where our journey started a day earlier.
Shortly before handing
in our rental bikes in the center of Imabari City, we visited the
Shimin-no-mori Flower Park. This gave is the opportunity to add a few more
fresh water birds to our list. These colorful Koi Carp occur in pretty much all
fresh water you’ll find, including the park’s pond.
Two of at least five Black-crowned Night Herons
Nycticorax nycticorax.
Several Eurasian
Teals Anas crecca, one Common Coot Fulica atra and a Common Moorhen Gallinula
chloropus. The only other duck species observed on our trip (on salt water)
were Mallards Anas platyrhynchos and Eurasian Wigeons Anas penelope.
Autumn colours of the Shimin-no-mori Flower Park (by Fabi).
