A bridge too far: The Shimanami Kaidō

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).