Hokkaido Photo Tour Spotlight: Shima-Enaga Bird Photography Adventure

The Shima-enaga (Aegithalidae caudatus japonicus) is an inviting addition to the JDS annual Hokkaido Birding photography workshop tour, and although it has won the hearts of birding enthusiasts worldwide, tracking these adorable little puffballs can be tricky even for the most skilled photographer.  Part of the reason the Shima Enaga is so challenging to spot and photograph is its diminutive size.  At 12-16 cm (5-6 inches) in length, including its 7-9 cm (3-3.5 inches) tail and weighing in at 7-9 grams (0.25-0.32 ounces) with a wingspan of only 16-19 cm (6.3-7.48 inches), in the glittering snowy landscapes of Hokkaido, they can be easy to miss unless you have a native photographer to help make sense of their flight patterns, feeding, and other important elements to their 2-3 year lifespan.

Shima Enaga may be difficult to spot in the field, but around Japan, you can see them in almost every form of souvenirs from cookies to phone cases to plush toys.  On one of our Hokkaido photo workshop leader’s many scouting trips to Hokkaido, he saw that a local confectioner in the town of Akan in Kushiro, Hokkaido had started selling white bean paste filled manju buns, the closest resemblance to western snacks being a filled donut.  Each of the buns has a hand-drawn face, so none of them are quite the same.  Our workshop leader is not much of a sweets man himself, but for the sake of research, he’s promised to try one during next year’s annual Hokkaido photo tour.

Just like the White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), the Shima Enaga are present in Hokkaido year round.  Their cute, puffball appearance is just as functional as it is enchanting.  Their dense feathers defend their little bodies from the harsh winter temperatures of Hokkaido, and the JDS Hokkaido photography workshop leader has even seen them huddled together to preserve warmth during particularly cold days.  That being said, these birds are notoriously fast movers, and during winter when they are hunting for seeds and small berries, our workshop leaders has photographed them hopping between branches or sometimes even hanging upside down to feed themselves.  Our teams looks forward to seeing them as part of the Hokkaido photography tour every year.