Monday 31 March 2014

Oyumi-ike

As the sky was so blue, I decided to cycle to Oyumi-ike to see if the ducks I saw a few months earlier were still there.

It looks very much spring-like but the air was a bit chilly.

Teals (Kogamoコガモ) were still there, pairing up:)

Spot-billed Ducks (Karugamoカルガモ) are resident but I wonder if they are going to breed around this pond.



















A pair of Coots (Oobanオオバン), Little Grebes (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ) and Moorhens (Banバン) looked busy eating or were they collecting nest materials?




I heard a Kingfisher (Kawasemiカワセミ) calling and












there he was! He kept calling but his missus didn't turn up...

Actually, as I was walking past under one of the cherry trees a few minutes later, I acidentally flushed her...  and she flew into the wood. Where would she have gone?

Quite a few Dusky Thrushes (Tsugumiツグミ) were foraging here and there, fuelling up for the long trip back to their breeding ground:)



On a weir, a turtle, a White Wagtail (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ) and a Common Sandpiper (Isoshigiイソシギ) were sunbathing.










The Sandpiper looked rather sleepy but after a while I saw him moving up and down the weir:)



I'd like to go back soon to see if any of the birds I saw on that day breed there.

Saturday 29 March 2014

Gulls in Gyotoku Bird Observatory

I went to Gyotoku for a talk on Tracking Vega Gulls, which the people in Gytoku have been working on for the last 10 years or so. It was very interesting because gulls are not studied much in Japan and it had been a mystery where the gulls go to breed or which route they take to reach there. The research has shown a big part of the two GPS-tagged gulls' migration routes and it was amazing! The gulls we see in the Kanto area in winter fly to the far-eastern Siberia in the arctic circle for breeding. I hope there will be more to be revealed when the gulls come back next winter.

You can understand why Gyotoku is a great place for studying gulls!

During the winter, the people in Gyotoku feed the birds twice a day.

 When they spotted a person with a bucket, they just went crazy!

It's mine! mine! mine!

Out of the way!

He looked a bit taken back... You have to be very determined, you know...

Almost everyone else had gone, a Coot (Oobanオオバン) and a young Slaty-backed Gull (Oosegurokamomeオオセグロカモメ) were still scavenging:) Good for them!





There was a ship-collision accident in March at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, which left some crew missing and also caused an oil spill. Many birders have spotted birds with oil patches on their bodies all around Tokyo Bay and I found a few on that day too.

Sadly, people talk about the fishing and leisure industry in that area but there is not much news about the wildlife...

Sunday 16 March 2014

Aoba no Mori Koen

We went to Aoba no Mori Koen for the first time for a while taking our cameras.

It was a lovely day and early cherry blossoms were already out:)


A lot of Grey Starlings (Mukudoriムクドリ) were busily foraging on the ground.














So were Grey-faced Buntings (Aojiアオジ). They are wintering birds around here and soon we won't see them in the park.












A very shy Brown-headed Thrush (Akaharaアカハラ) came out into the open but seemed to notice us and went back in the bamboo bush.











On the other hand, this Pale Thrush (Shiroharaシロハラ) didn't seem to mind us and kept stirring the leaves vigorously.





























A Little Egret (Kosagiコサギ) was disturbing the water with his feet and picked up something small.

We had a squashed tangerine. As soon as we threw some of it on the ground, 
he found it, picked it up and flew up in a tree quickly.

Aren't you a bit greedy?!

A male Bull-headed Shrike (Mozuモズ) looked busy hunting some insects.

A pair of Little Grebes (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ) came back to the pond in the Ecology Park and were calling to each other quite often. We hope they'll breed there this year again.



Pond Sliders (Akamimigameアカミミガメ) have woken up from their hibernation. Looking like they were enjoying sunbathing:)

Saturday 15 March 2014

Scaly Thrush

Can you spot him?

Ta dah!
Our first sighting of a Scaly Thrush (Toratsugumiトラツグミ)
He really is scaly!

He seemed to prefer being in the shade rather than in the bright open area and we noticed he constantly shook his body back and forth.

His plumage is just like the fallen leaves in the area where he was foraging.

A cat scared him and he disappeared into the bushes...

The Scaly Thrush is the largest thrush (about 30cm) seen in Japan. It winters in the lowlands and breeds in the woods in the mountains. Because their song sounds like sad whistles and they sing even after dark, they were once thought to be spirits living in the woods.

Sunday 9 March 2014

Hanashima Koen

The Hanami River, actually a canal developed in the 18th century, is one of the best bird-watching places in Chiba, some part of which still has riverbanks covered with thicket.

a view from Hanami-bashi


Hanashima Koen is a park adjacent to the river and has ponds, a stream and woods.


An Eastern Great Tit (Shijukaraシジュウカラ) was holding a seed between its toes and pecking like crazy:)













An Oriental Greenfinch (Kawarahiwaカワラヒワ) was looking for seeds too.














A pair of Long-tailed Tits (Enagaエナガ) were busy collecting some spider webs for their nest:)

It's sticky!

Something was moving in the bush, making subtle calls. Grey-faced Buntings (Aojiアオジ)

A female Bull-headed Shrike (Mozuモズ) was hunting something among the fallen leaves and flew up in a tree, looking for the next prey...

A great season has come for the Japanese White-eye (Mejiroメジロ), sucking the nectar from Ume blossoms.


Hello?

A White Wagtail (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ) chasing up and down the lawn after insects.











 
 A Grey Starling (Mukudoriムクドリ) whose leg was missing... Poor thing.
















He seemed to have a good wash!















A pair of Spot-billed Ducks (Karugamoカルガモ) and Mallards (Magamoマガモ) and a silver carp under water:)


A inquisitive female Teal (Kogamoコガモ) came towards the bank and...













he followed her...
















Watching them never bores me:)















A Buzzard (Nosuriノスリ) and
a Black-eared Kite (Tobiトビ)


















I heard a Japanese Bush Warbler (Uguisuウグイス) and a Chinese Bamboo Partridge (Kojukeiコジュケイ) singing for the first time this season. It won't be long before the Swallows start arriving!