Shima fukurou ~ the largest living species of owl

ENDANGERED

Hokkaido, Japan

Update as of 18th Feb 2023:

The Bubo genus is now left with only six extant species: the European Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo), the West Asian Eagle Owl (Bubo turcomanus), the Central Asian Eagle Owl (Bubo hemachalanus), the Chinese Eagle Owl (Bubo kiautschensis), the Siberian Owl (Bubo sibiricus), and the Blakiston's Eagle Owl (Bubo blakistoni), which means many species are relocated to four distinct genera, Nyctea with only one extant species being the Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca), Neobubo with two extant species being the Great Horned Owl (Neobubo virginianus) and the Lesser Horned Owl (Neobubo magellanicus), Indobubo with six extant species being the Arabian Eagle Owl (Indobubo milesi), the Dusky Eagle Owl (Indobubo coromandus), the Forest Eagle Owl (Indobubo nipalensis), the Indian Eagle Owl (Indobubo bengalensis), the Barred Eagle Owl (Indobubo sumatranus), and the Philippine Eagle Owl (Indobubo philippensis), and Afrobubo with nine extant species being the Pharaoh Eagle Owl (Afrobubo ascalaphus), the Spotted Eagle Owl (Afrobubo africanus), the Greyish Eagle Owl (Afrobubo cinerascens), the Giant Eagle Owl (Afrobubo lacteus), the Shelley's Eagle Owl (Afrobubo shelleyi), the Akun Eagle Owl (Afrobubo leucostictus), the Usambara Eagle Owl (Afrobubo vosseleri), the Fraser's Eagle Owl (Afrobubo poensis), and the Cape Eagle Owl (Afrobubo capensis), while the genera Nyctea (Snowy Owl Lineage) and Neobubo (New World Eagle Owls) are allied with each other, the genus Indobubo (South Asian Eagle Owls) is more closely related to the Fish Owls (genus Ketupa) and the genus Afrobubo (African Eagle Owls) is more closely related to the Fishing Owls (genus Scotopelia), whereas the genus Bubo (Palearctic Eagle Owls) is more distantly related from all the other groups.

When the trip to Hokkaido was finalized one of my absolutely must have targets to photograph was the Blakiston’s fish owls, the largest living species of owls in the world, an endangered species that lives in some of the hardest-to-reach corners of northeast Asia. And winter was the best time to find these cryptic birds so we planned to get to Minshuku Washi no Yado (Facebook), on the banks of the Chitorai River and try and get some photos of this magnificent and endangered bird. Minshuku Washi no Yado, near Rausu, is the perfect set up for photographing these sumo wrestlers among owls. This is a typical Japanese Minshuku a family run guest house which has very limited capacity - 6 rooms, all looking out across the stream where the famed shima fukurou come to feed each evening. There is no public access to see the owls and one must either stay in the guest house for the best viewing opportunities or visit their non resident viewing area where one is welcome to stay as long as it takes for the owls to appear. These hides are at a perfect distance, with windows that can be opened (albeit I forgot to open mine in the excitement when the owl finally came), strobe lighting and a natural setting. The hide is well equipped with heaters to keep you warm, there is food, coffee and beer. For the more adventurous there is also an abandoned trailer which can be use but this has no heating. So if one is willing to spend 5-6 hours in sub zero temperatures one is more than welcome.

You might ask doesn’t all this light disturb the owl? The answer is no. Washi no Yado is a well controlled observing facility contributing to the conservation of this endangered species of fish owl, keeping birdwatchers and photographers out from other natural habitats. The lighting system here is specially developed, dark enough for the owls but can stop the motion blur of the wing beats. The lighting here is strobe and to the eye it appears constant but there is a pulse and with the right settings it acts as a flash. Ideal for action shots. And to make the whole thing easier the settings are pasted on the walls of the hide at regular intervals. Although these are the recommended settings I played around with them till I got the exposure I wanted.

A request here to all who intend to photograph the Shima Fukurou - have patience - it can be a long wait and usually is, cover up well as it can get quite cold if you have to sit through the entire night like we almost did. Respect the Minshuku, respect their few rules, respect the hide, respect the bird, maintain absolute silence all the way through even if you don’t see the bird. It might be perched just out of sight or It might have flown out of sight but that does not mean it has left the vicinity. For all you know it might return for seconds.

There are thought to be less than 1000 pairs of these birds remaining in the wild, with very few individuals held in captivity. Found only in northeast Asia, this secretive species has a fragmented distribution in the remote forests of Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Russian Far East, and northeastern China. In Russia this aquatic prey specialist manages to persist year-round in a climate frozen for months on end. Preservation of forest and river habitats in these regions will be crucial to the survival of this one-of-a-kind owl.

Everything I know about the Blakiston’s Fish Owl I have gleaned from Jonathan C. Slaght’s various articles and his website. Jonathan Slaght is a wildlife biologist and author working for the Wildlife Conservation Society as their Russia & Northeast Asia Coordinator, a task that includes owls, tigers, and migratory waterbirds across Asia. His work takes him from from the tundra of Alaska and northeast Russia to the coastal mudflats of Thailand and Cambodia and he is one of the world’s foremost experts on Blakiston’s fish owl. His writings, scientific research, and photographs have been featured by the BBC World Service, the New York Times, The Guardian, Smithsonian Magazine, The New Yorker, and Audubon Magazine, among others.

His Awards:

2017: Special Achievement Award, International Festival of Owls

2020: Early Career Alumni Award, University of Minnesota

His book “Owls of the Eastern Ice“ details his extensive field research into a wintry world inhabited by tigers and bears, poachers and mystics, and an enormous owl all but unknown to the outside world. Slaght’s account of his intrepid search for this elusive creature is matched only by his portraits of the humans who share that same forest. His language is vivid and tight and illuminates the delicate symbiosis of the natural world and sheds a welcome light on a magnificent, vulnerable creature.

The Blakiston’s Fish Owl Bubo blakistoni is a large, endangered, aquatic prey specialist distributed throughout Northeast Asia. They are one of four species of Typical Owls that specialize in eating fish. The island subspecies B. b. blakistoni is presently restricted to eastern Hokkaido Island and to Kunashir Island, with past records also from Sakhalin and Shikotan Islands. The mainland subspecies B. b. doerriesi is found along the western Sea of Japan coast and the western and northern coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk. The island population, at present, contains approximately 166–182 individuals, which represents an increase from a population low in the late 1980s. The size of the mainland population is more difficult to quantify given large expanses of un-surveyed potential habitat, but it is estimated within a range of 800–1600 individuals. Making the global population approximately 1000–1900 individuals (or 500–850 pairs) in the fish owl population.

Audio clip sourced from Bird Note

Watch as a visual story here.

The Blakiston’s Fish Owl is endangered due to widespread habitat destruction and a number of other human causes. Development along riverbanks, conversion of farmland and logging are all cited as factors responsible for habitat loss. In Russia and Japan, over-harvesting of fish as well as owls drowning in fishnets set for salmon have been reported as a cause of mortality.  Fish Owls are killed by fur-trappers and shot by hunters in Russia. In Japan, collisions  with power lines and cars are a factor. Its main diet consists of fish such as pike, catfish, trout and salmon; but it will also eat some other aquatic prey, amphibians and even small mammals. The species from Japan eat a greater variety of mammalian prey and this is a more important part of its diet in winter. Additionally, cases of exposure to lead or lead poisoning, possibly from bioaccumulation but also perhaps lead bullets in carrion, have been reported in these owls in at least Japan. Given their very small global population, ongoing deaths are unlikely to be sustainable. Local conservation efforts in Japan have been undertaken including education, installation of large nest-boxes and supplemental feeding. Biologists have found the presence of Blakiston's fish owls as good indicators of the health and disturbance level of a forest and of fish populations. Evidence has been found of a gradual recovery of the Blakiston's fish owl population in Hokkaido but Japanese conservationists are vexed by the lack of suitable habitat and recommend land use changes to encourage the growth of the population.

Blakiston's fish owl occurs in dense old-growth forest near waterways or wooded coastlines. The species requires cavernous old-growth tree cavities for suitable nest sites and stretches of productive rivers that remain at least partially unfrozen in winter. In the frigid northern winters, open water is found only where the current is sufficiently fast-flowing or there is an upwelling of warm spring water. Slower-moving streams are equally likely to support these owls as the main river channels and they only need a few meters of open water to survive a winter. To help it survive and cope with the extreme cold of its habitat in Northeast Asia, its feet are fully feathered and since fish (presumably) can’t hear the owls approaching, the Blakiston’s Fish Owl does not have silencing fringes on its flight feathers as is typical of other owls.

Blakiston's fish owl is revered by the Ainu peoples of Hokkaido, Japan as a Kamuy (divine being) called Kotan koru Kamuy (God that Protects the Village). The Ainu people have many myths about the kamuy, passed down through oral traditions and rituals. The stories of the kamuy were portrayed in chants and performances, which were often performed during sacred rituals. The Ainu believed that the owl watched over the moshir (country) and local kotan (villages), so Kotan Koru Kamuy came to be represented as the master of the domain. In some areas, his tears were said to be gold and silver. Today, Japan's largest and most dramatic owl is very rare indeed - making it one of the rarest breeding birds in the country, and given its restricted range, one of the rarest birds in the world.

Groggy with sleep and the freezing cold, I would have missed the bird completely, when it finally came around 4.30am after a 5 hour vigil, had it not been for my friend, Alagan, who shook me up. Thank you very much! The spots are on the window pane of the hide which, at the opportune moment, I forgot to open. And thank you Bing San for your insight into the Ainu.

Presenting the legendary shima fukurou.

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