Rescued wild birds can provide useful information regarding the identity of individuals, as well as the causes of any injuries. We examined one Ural Owl Strix uralensis (Strigidae) rescued in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, in April 2020. Macroscopic examination of the owl’s beak and claws revealed that the owl had been previously managed. From evidence obtained from mtDNA of three, six and two individuals from Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu, Japan, respectively, and that in databases, the individual was identified as subspecies originating from Honshu or Kyushu.

A female with four juveniles and seven female-type birds of unknown age of the Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus were observed during the breeding seasons of 2015 and 2016, respectively, in the Zakko River, northeastern Nagano Prefecture. During the breeding season from 2017 to 2020, the present and breeding status of the Harlequin Duck population was investigated. In all the years surveyed, several Harlequin Ducks were observed, and flightless chicks with natal down were found in 2019 and 2020. Therefore, the study area is the southernmost breeding site of the Harlequin Duck in Japan.

In Hokkido, the Kamchatka Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus examinandus occurred mainly from late May to mid-June at low altitudes, and from late June to late July at altitudes over 1,000 m above sea level. They were recorded in Pinus pumila forests, mixed forests of evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved trees, deciduous broad-leaved forests and wooded areas in agricultural land and residential areas, but were not observed in evergreen forests and Larix plantations.