Birds, Fish and Butterflies

A shoal of small fish and a big Grey Mullet (Boraボラ)

No wonder there were so many Grey Herons (Aosagiアオサギ) and Cormorants (Kawauカワウ) on the canal!

We saw at least 15 Cormorants on and around the bird island and a few flying over as well.


The quality of the canal water was appalling when I was a kid but clearly it has improved a lot since then, I mean, it has become ok enough to sustain these fish and the birds which eat the fish.

Little Egrets (Kosagiコサギ) and a Great Egret (Daisagiダイサギ) were on the island too.

A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron (Goisagiゴイサギ)

playing hide-and-seek?


In the bush by the footpath, Grey Starlings (Mukudoriムクドリ) were foraging.

Glad to see 3 different species of butterflies.

Asian Swallowtails (Namiagehaナミアゲハ)

Common Bluebottle (Aosujiagehaアオスジアゲハ）

Indian Fritillary (Tsumagurohyoumonツマグロヒョウモン♂)

Tokyo is still quite warm and sticky and the canal seemed to be teeming with tiny insects just like it would be in the summer, which must be good for some insect eating birds and other creatures. (it could be damaging for other creatures at the same time...)
We are desperately looking forward to the winter though!  

Autumnal Birds

My first Black-faced Bunting (Aojiアオジ) of the season:)

The Little Grebe (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ), which I think is one of the parents who raised a chick in Ecology Park this summer, has turned into the winter plumage.

Bull-headed Shrikes (Mozuモズ) seem to be doing well. I hear them call quite often.

The heads of male Mallards (Magamoマガモ) have become beautiful green.

Oops, I didn't think it was 'he' when I was taking this photo! Both of them are male and the one on the right, which I thought was female, was still in eclipse plumage.

There are still some dragonflies, bees and butterflies flying around the flowerbeds in the park.

a Painted Lady (Hime-akatatehaヒメアカタテハ)

a Long-tailed Blue (Uranami-shijimiウラナミシジミ)

Chiba Botanical Garden

I went to the Botanical Garden, not exactly to see birds but to see some insects today.

an immature female Common Skimmer (Ooshiokaratomboオオシオカラトンボ)

a male Common Skimmer (but a different subspecies from the one above)
(Shiokaratomboシオカラトンボ)

a female Sympetrum infuscatum (Noshimetomboノシメトンボ)

an Asian Comma (Kitatehaキタテハ)

a Potanthus flavum (Kimadaraseseriキマダラセセリ)

a Small Copper (Benishijimiベニシジミ)

a pair of Small Coppers, the one was chasing the other around and doing a courtship dance:)

I've read about their courtship dance in a book, in which it said the dance could last hours so I decided not to stay until the end. I don't know if it was a successful one. I hope it was:)


a Common Yellow Swallowtail (Kiagehaキアゲハ)

a young Crayfish (Zariganiザリガニ)

beautiful Hydrangea (Ajisaiアジサイ)

a busy Carpenter Bee (Kumabachiクマバチ)

a rather mysterious looking Japanese Five-lined Skink (Nihontokageニホントカゲ)

a type of Tiger Beetle Cylindera kaleea (Tokyo-himehammyouトウキョウヒメハンミョウ) moving like a ninja!

tiny (about an inch long) Japanese Ricefish (Medakaメダカ)

a Garden with a waterfall and a pond with huge carp

There were very few birds in the garden but lots of insects instead. It certainly didn't feel like the temperature was about 30 degrees in the woods with a gentle breeze blowing.