Ichihara Shimin no Mori

Chiba (not the Chiba-city but the prefecture) is rather large and it's got an urban area which is like a band along the JR Sobu-line from Tokyo to Chiba. The rest of Chiba is ... quite different.

We were off to Ichihara Shimin no Mori on a local train called 'Kominato Tetsudo (Kominato Railway)'.

Only the one carriage!!! This line goes from Goi to Kazusa-nakano along the Yoro Valley in the middle of Boso Peninsula.

We got off at the Tsukizaki station and the view was like this...

Woods, rice fields, hills and a couple of houses...
It's hard to believe that this place is only 30 miles away from central Chiba, although it took us an hour on that little train:)

We heard at least 4 Japanese Bush Warblers (Uguisuウグイス) singing from every direction, but we weren't able to see any of them as usual... little buggers! Then, another song was coming from the top of a tree, which neither of us had ever heard before.

It was from a Lesser Cuckoo (Hototogisuホトトギス) - people say they sing like 'tok kyo kyo ka kyok!' He was singing while flying over the canopy quite close to us. It was our first encounter so we were so chuffed!

The Lesser Cuckoos' most common host nests in Japan are Japanese Bush Warblers,' which makes sense as we heard plenty of both species.

Three Black Kites (Tobiトビ) were circling above us:) 

and being mobbed by brave Barn Swallows (Tsubameツバメ):)

A shop by the Tsukizaki station had boards just below its eaves to support swallows' nests, which made us feel really happy. The swallows have been dramatically in decline but we saw a dozen or more swallows flying around the station.

A large flock of Oriental Greenfinches (Kawarahiwaカワラヒワ) were foraging on a field, which looked recently harvested. They must have been families with young ones, picking seeds of some sort in the stubble.

Grey Herons (Aosagiアオサギ) were hunting in the rice fields.

We had to walk for about a kilometre or so from the station to Ichihara Shimin no Mori and on the path through the rice fields there was lots to see:)

Our first Meadow Bunting (Hoojiroホオジロ) was calling while holding insects in his beak. There might have been fledglings around that area and he was calling to them? Pretty daddy:)

He had a long tail and distinctive white brows.

In the actual wood, we hoped to see Japanese Paradise Flycatchers (Sanko-choサンコウチョウ) but we had no luck. We heard Lesser Cuckoos again and our first Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Ooruriオオルリ) singing but unfortunately (for us!) the trees in the wood were so thick with leaves and so tall that we couldn't spot him. Oh well, that's what birding is all about. 

A male Grey Wagtail (Kisekireiキセキレイ) showed himself really well:)

A Japanese Five-lined Skink (Nihon-tokageニホントカゲ) had a really beautiful blue tail:)

Dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, fish and tadpoles were everywhere in that area and we do hope this kind of habitat will be kept and managed well for the future generations.

About Ichihara Shimin no Mori (in Japanese)
http://www.ichihara-forest.jp/

and Kominato Railway (in Japanese)
http://www.kominato.co.jp/

Chiba Koen 2

A Great Egret (Daisagiダイサギ) landed on the edge of the lake when we were about to have lunch. I sneaked behind a tree and took some photos of him:)

Great Egrets are a rather large bird so I had to step backwards to get his full figure in.

He'd successfully been hunting a couple of little fish until a little girl surprised him...

off he went...

and landed on an island then started preening.

Now lunch, then.

But the peaceful moment didn't last long because a pair of Azure-winged Magpies started screaming in a tree near us.

They were really agitated and we could see him puffed up!

I AM ANGRY!!!

Actually, they were angry at a crow family which landed in that tree. Maybe the magpies had their nest in the tree?

A Thick-billed Crow (Hashibutokarasuハシブトカラス) adult on the left and his/her young.

The pair of magpies seemed rather determined to get rid of the crow family, which finally flew into another tree. The magpies won!

The crow family with 4 fledglings:)

One of the fledglings was making a 'caw caw' call but it didn't sound quite right yet:) Nor did he have a thick bill like his mummy.

The young ones were following their mum/dad closely but I think they'd reached the point where they had to find their own food because their mum/dad didn't seem to give them any food, but maybe the adult was showing the youngsters how to find food? who knows. 

A Grey Starling (Mukudoriムクドリ) landed on a fence and instantly flew off.

An Eastern Great Tit (Shijuukaraシジュウカラ) was busy feeding his chicks in the nest. We could hear the chicks calling from the hole really clearly:)

The walk in Chiba Koen was a very pleasant one.

Chiba Koen

We went to check if the owl was still there but we had no luck, although the local people said they'd heard him/her call that morning. Anyway, we moved to Chiba Koen where the lotus flowers were in full bloom.

Lots of Barn Swallows (Tsubameツバメ) were flying around the lake, eating and drinking. We found these odd ones on the ground where some kids were practicing baseball...

We thought at first glance they were collecting mud to repair their nests or drinking water from the puddle, but actually-

they were fledglings:)

he heard his mum approaching...

I'm here! I'm here!

There she is!

Got it!

Hmmm...

yummy!

The adult didn't land at all while feeding the young. Absolutely amazing!

The one who got the food seemed determined to stay there. Even after his brother flew off when a man with a dog was coming quite close, he was still on the same spot.

Probably it was worth it.

We do hope the young ones will grow fast and be ready for their first long journey to their wintering grounds.

About Chiba Koen (Japanese)
http://www.city.chiba.jp/toshi/koenryokuchi/kanri/chuo-inage/chibakouen.html

Aoba no Mori Koen

Now is the best time to see fluffy little fledglings:) even though the weather is not welcoming... (either rainy or too hot!)

An Eastern Great Tit (Shijuukaraシジュウカラ)

A Long-tailed Tit (Enagaエナガ)

Two Japanese White-eyes (Mejiroメジロ)

We came across large mixed flocks of Eastern Great Tits and Japanese White-eyes a couple of times so we presume that they stay together foraging in the woods when the young ones are still with their parents.

Japanese Bayberries (Yamamomoヤマモモ) are in season:)

A looooong Japanese Rat Snake (Aodaishouアオダイショウ) was resting by the lake...

A White Wagtail (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ) was collecting insects, possibly for her young.

A summery blue sky...
It looks lovely but it was a really close day!

Brown Hawk Owl (Aobazukuアオバズク)

It's been proper rainy season weather for a week or so and finally the sun came out today. I just couldn't stay home so I wandered off...

Hoot hoot...

This was my first Brown Hawk Owl ever!

I've read some blogs talking about Brown Hawk Owls in a small park in Chiba-city and I was lucky I was able to get there as none of the blogs mentioned the name of the park specifically.

Some local elderly people, who have been watching the Brown Hawk Owls breed in the park for years and years, came up to me and kindly showed me their records (something like when the adults arrived, when they seemed to start sitting on their eggs, when the chicks made their first appearance from the nest hole, when they left the park for winter, etc.). These owls are really lucky ones, I bet! 

I only saw one but hopefully there will be another one somewhere and they can breed successfully.

It looked a little bit sleepy:)

Swifts (Amatsubameアマツバメ)

This morning when I was hanging the washing on the balcony, I thought I heard swifts screeching and I looked up into the glorious blue sky.

Yes!!!
A flock of Swifts - about 15 individuals - were flying high up and making such a noise.

Rushing to get my camera, I only managed to take a couple of photos before they flew south. I never thought I'd be able to come across the Swifts in this urban area. This unexpected encounter just cheered me up. Thanks guys!

I'm not sure what sort of Swifts can be seen in the area. They seemed to have a white rump but then I saw them only a couple of minutes through the 300mm lens so I can't be sure. Anyway, I'm glad to know some Swifts are around somewhere near us (although they fly incredibly far in order to reach a good feeding site). What a morning!

A Sunny Day in the Rainy Season

The sun was out from the early morning for a change and the temperature was rising minute by minute. Hooray!

I felt so lucky that I met some people who have been working for birds and the environment and more luckily I was taken to a beach where the Little Terns (Koasjisashiコアジサシ) breed:)

The Little Terns seen in Japan usually winter around New Zealand and Australia and come to Japan to breed. Such a long journey for a small bird like them!

Bathing in the shallow water:)

Males have to work hard to win the attention of would-be missuses. Good luck!

Little Terns are dramatically in decline and one of the reasons is that their prefered breeding grounds, which are pebbly and near water full of little fish, have been destroyed in the name of development. And also, their eggs and chicks are extremely vulnerable, being targeted by all sorts of threats especially by crows, raccoon dogs and cats.  Sadly, the idea of conserving the environment/wildlife is not wide-spread in this country, although lots of people 'believe' they live in harmony with nature so humans are not on their side either... Ignorant people could easily kill their priceless eggs or chicks by accidentally stepping on them. On the bright side, there are people who really care and those people have been doing what they can do to protect them. I'm going to give them a hand, tiny though it will be, and hope for the best.

A small flock of Great Knots (Obashigiオバシギ) were resting on the beach. They are passage migrants over Japan to their breeding sites in Siberia, so those seem quite late ones.

Those bright yellow legged birds are also passage migrants: Grey-tailed Tattlers (Kiashishigiキアシシギ）

Bathing Little Terns and a Bar-tailed Godwit (Oosorihashishigiオオソリハシシギ)

A Kentish Plover (Shirochidoriシロチドリ) was busy foraging this way and that:) Kentish Plovers breed in Japan and the chicks are already around.

Another sad fact regarding birding in Japan which I have been told recently is that we cannot mention openly where we have seen such wonderful creatures especially uncommon birds because there are some inconsiderate people out there who behave unbelievably selfishly, which could be the greatest threat for the wildlife. I'd like to believe that that kind of person is in the minority but, anyway, I feel really sad about not being able to share the joy with other bird-loving people...

Anyway, I had a fantastic day-out in the sun in the middle of the rainy season:)