Wednesday 17 October 2018

Murmuration

I saw a huge flock of White-cheeked(or Grey) Starlings (Mukudoriムクドリ) from a bus this week over an old woodland area where I had not thought to see them (in that number) and where I have not seen a single starling recently though they had used it for a roosting site for years. So, I decided to find where their new roosts were.

And it was not very hard...


When I was heading home from work by bike, I heard their familiar calls from somewhere close and of course I started to cycle towards the noises.

There they were. I was right under their murmuration!!

After a while, they started taking their pick of roosting locations and squabbling a lot!

What chaos! They did not settle down even after half an hour and it got too dark to film so unfortunately there is no picture or movie after this.

On the same evening, I came across each of the roosts for White Wagtails and Little Egrets. When birds begin getting together, autumn is really deepening...🍁

Tuesday 16 October 2018

Hamada-gawa, Makuhari

This pretty Blue Rock Thrush (Isohiyodoriイソヒヨドリ) was singing under a road on which there was heavy traffic.



She blended into the background...!

At the rivermouth, a lone Black-tailed Gull (Uminekoウミネコ) was on the concrete embankment and near him there were about 30 Thick-billed Crows (Hashibutogarasu ハシブトガラス) foraging on the grass.


I was expecting to see some diving ducks, which I heard have arrived in some places, but they were not yet around this harbour.

Many dragonflies flying over the thicket:

Monday 8 October 2018

Signs of Autumn in Ecology Park

So glad to see the first Teals (Kogamoコガモ) of the season in Funadaike Pond.



It is always exciting to spot the first wintering ducks in the pond and it is usually the teals who arrive first.
Who will be the next, I wonder.

In the woods, the number of Brown-eared Bulbuls (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ) is increasing day by day. Although these bulbuls are a resident bird in Chiba, some of them head south at this time of year - people often see them in a big flock flying over a narrow body of water like a strait between the mainland Japan and small off-shore islands, others arrive from somewhere else to winter here.


It is still quite warm every day but fun to look for little signs of autumn near ourselves.


Saturday 15 September 2018

Ho Chi Minh City 3

We were hoping to see the Purple Swamphen(セイケイ)in other countries but no luck till then. Now we couldn't believe how many of them were in one place!

a family of them - young ones haven't got a red beak yet.
 a chick was being fed:)


A curious one was taking a stroll on a path in the gardens.


Another type of big birds came out from the thicket of the island.
Black-headed Ibis(クロトキ)

There was a small (compared with the ibis and storks) heron-egret like bird standing on the log.

Chinese Pond Heron(アカガシラサギ)
We found more than one of them on the island, squabbling with each other for the better perch:)

An even smaller bird, but rather familiar to us, perched on a nearby lotus.
  a male Common Kingfisher(カワセミ)

It was a very good walk through the botanic gardens anyway but it turned out to be unexpectedly a great place for bird-watching in HCMC.


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views in HCMC

the Saigon River

Zebra (peaceful) Doves(チョウショウバト)in a park

Tree Sparrows(スズメ)were busy stuffing themselves with grains someone threw on the street.


History Museum (we didn't go inside)

It goes without saying that it was worth spending a few hours in the War Remnants Museum.

That's all from the holiday in Vietnam. We would like to go somewhere else in the country to see different culture and birds.

Friday 14 September 2018

Ho Chi Minh City 2

As we were walking through the botanic gardens, a large bird was flying down from the top of a tree in the distance and disappeared.

That was him!


A pond with an island in the middle was a paradise for some water-related birds (and for us, of course!).


The big bird which looks scary is the Lesser Adjutant(コハゲコウ) and there was not only one but several on the island and around.

They are about 110-120 cm tall and have a wingspan of 210 cm!
This one allowed me to take a close shot:)

The bird of similar profile to the adjutant but smaller than it was the Painted Stork(インドトキコウ)and they are about 93-102 tall.
The one with a bare head is an adult.

This one is still young with feathers on its head and he was, we thought, hunting(fishing?) for a fish or something in the water by waiting with its long beak open under water. We didn't see any success at all though!


Cattle Egrets(アマサギ)were among the large birds but they didn't stay in one place, sometimes here, sometimes there.
 
You can tell the size difference between a cattle egret and a painted stork.

The familiar (to us) Black-crowned Night Heron(ゴイサギ) looked rather hot and tried to cool down with its beak open wide.

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views in HCMC

the Central Post Office

Notre Dame Cathedral

swiftlets over the city

beers at Saigon Saigon Bar in the Caravelle Hotel - The hotel was for foreign correspondents during the American War(Vietnam War) and a bomb exploded on the 5th floor in 1964, in which no one was hurt.

Pho Binh - this little noodle shop was once the secret headquarters of the Viet Cong in Saigon.


Thursday 13 September 2018

Ho Chi Minh City 1

The Saigon Botanic Gardens were founded by the French in 1865 equipped with a zoo.


An endangered Nothern White-cheeked Gibbon
 female
male
There was no cage or net around them but somehow they were staying in trees on a small island surrounded by a narrow waterway.

And on the same island, there were amazing birds, which we had never imagined to see in the botanic gardens!

Oriental Darter(アジアヘビウ)


 Little Cormorant(アジアコビトウ)



Ruddy Shelduck(アカツクシガモ)





Spot-billed Duck(カルガモ)



Purple Swamphen(セイケイ)

None of them seemed to be captive and were free to go whenever they felt like:)


Something very small was running around on the ground.

Lesser Mouse-deer(マメジカの仲間、カンチール?)
the smallest known hoofed mammal according to wikipedia:)
They looked slightly bigger than rats, which were also residents on the island.

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views in HCMC

the statue of Ho Chi Minh and the People's Committee Building

the Municipal Theatre(left) and the Continental Hotel

the Majestic Hotel

chaotic traffic in the city