Kasai Rinkai Koen 2

We were hoping to see Chestnut-cheeked Starlings in Kasai Rinkai Koen but apart from the waders (on the previous page), no birds in the woods or on the open grass were visible, presumably they were hiding from the scorching sun.

A Little Grebe family (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ) were preening, standing on a raft.

The young one stood up slowly as if he was saying I can stand up too!

but not for long:) 
He has lost the stripey patterns on his head and looked like an adult in winter plumage.

It was kind of a surprise that the Little Grebes stayed standing for so long.

A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron (Goisagiゴイサギ；Hoshigoiホシゴイ for juvs.) looked bored from hunting...

Let's play Hide and Seek with...

Ooooops! I can see you!

A White Wagtail (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ) accepted his loss. lol

Great Egrets (Daisagiダイサギ), Cormorants (Kawauカワウ), Spot-billed Ducks (Karugamoカルガモ), Black-winged Stilts (Seitakashigiセイタカシギ) and a Little Grebe were all at the other side of the freshwater lake.

The chorus of cicadas was overwhelming.  This species (Kumazemiクマゼミ), once found only in the western part of Japan, has been spreading eastwards and northwards and is now quite common here around the Tokyo Bay area. It won't be long before it will be spotted in Hokkaido as the global temperature keeps going up.

Kasai Rinkai Koen

Kasai Rinkai Koen is one of the best birdwatching places for people who genuinely appreciate watching birds in Tokyo or for those who want to see something new for the season or even rarities. It's worth a visit now that the migration season has started.

Our first Common Greenshank (Aoashishigiアオアシシギ). Hooray!

There were 5 or so individuals wading with other waders and their legs looked more green through the bins than on the photos.

Common Greenshanks breed in and around Siberia/Kamchatka and migrate through Japan to Southeast Asia or even to Australia.

A Common Redshank (Akaashishigiアカアシシギ) came quite close to the hide from which we were watching.

Their entire legs are bright orange. Gorgeous!

Our first Terek Sandpiper (Sorihashishigiソリハシシギ). Hooray again!!!

You won't miss this wader as they've got a long, upturned bill and short, yellowy legs.

What an odd-looking fellow! (sorry!)

A Black-backed Stilt (Seitakashigiセイタカシギ) was walking around as if showing off his loooong legs:) There were some juveniles around too.


The waders were quite active even though the temperature soared up to 35 degrees. We, on the other hand, were staggering and had to have a rest every now and then. Going there is highly recommended but don't forget to take loads of cold drinks!



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One thing which I have noticed since we moved in and which I think is really shameful as a human being is that some people with a huge camera sometimes occupy a good place or window in a hide and they don't seem to want to share with other people.

There was one in one of the hides in Kasai Rinkai Koen when we were there and even when people came into the hide, he just kept his ridiculously long digital scope sticking out from the window and didn't seem to care. Did he think it was HIS hide and HIS window? If he called himself a birder (I hope not but I'm sure he does!), it would be an insult for other sensible, bird-loving birders. Shame on him!

We were told, on another occasion, that some selfish people (normally with a huge camera) would sit right in front of a would-be nest for a whole day and day after day, which would definitely disturb the adult birds, and not surprisingly, as a result, the breeding birds, which were targeted by those immoral people, abandoned their nests. We didn't encounter such people in the UK so it's kind of culture shock for us, and really bad and sad one.

Gyotoku Bird Observatory

Oh my God...
It was the hottest day ever recorded... why did we decide to go on a bird-watching walk on such a day!?

Anyway, we met other keen birders (very few, no surprise!) at the station and headed for the Gyotoku Bird Observatory. I didn't think I'd enjoy the walk at all because it was sooooo hot! But it turned out to be a very enjoyable half-day, thanks to the people who led the walk, who were very knowledgeable about not only birds but also insects and plants.

50 odd Great Egrets (Daisagiダイサギ) were seen all over the reserve. We were told that some of them bred in the north of Japan and have stopped here for re-fuelling on their way southwards. 

The experienced birders spotted a couple of Intermediate Egrets (Chu-sagiチュウサギ) and they were our first I Egrets ever! (but no photo...)

Lots of them were flying this way and that...

Gyotoku is kind of famous for its breeding Cormorants (Kawauカワウ) and their roost. Poor cormorants are not loved by everyone (or, rather, some people hate them) and many parks around the Bay have been working hard to get rid of them... The saltwater lake in Gyotoku is surrounded by thick woods and some 3000+ Cormorants breed and roost there.

What a sight!

Why can't people share places with other creatures? A lot of Japanese people say (or believe) they live in harmony with nature and that they are animal lovers, but actually many of them only love fluffy, small animals and even haven't thought that there are other creatures around...

A species of Mudskipper (Tobihazeトビハゼ)
Loads of them were hopping on the mudflat:)

Crabs were busy foraging...

Some of them were quite big.

A huge grasshopper jumped out of our way.

Gyotoku Bird Observatory lies at the north end of Tokyo Bay. The whole bay area used to have different types of habitat for all sorts of creatures but sadly there's not a single square which has not been touched (destroyed in other words) by humans left. So some locals and conservationists started to keep some marshland and rebuild saltmarsh, mudflat, woodlands and a saltwater lake about 30 years ago. The staff and volunteers from the observatory still work very hard to keep the reserve, which used to be a natural landscape. The observatory also has a wild-bird hospital in it, which takes any sick or injured wild birds, from Ferrel Pigeons to Crows, to Gulls, to birds of prey. You can see the birds which have been treated and kept till they become ok.

It is an amazing place and worth a visit!


About the Observatory (in Japanese)
http://homepage2.nifty.com/suzugamo/top.html

Yokojukkengawa Canal Path

I had been wanting to see what happened to some herons and egrets on a small island in the Yokojukkengawa Canal, and finally, I got a chance to do so. At 4.50 in the morning, off I went with my dad.

There were several Black-capped Night Herons (Goisagiゴイサギ) on the island and most of them were juveniles. In Japanese, juveniles have a different name: Hoshigoiホシゴイ. Hoshi means stars, representing their speckled back.

Hoshigoi Number 1
He pretended that he didn't exist there:)

Hoshigoi Number 2
He was looking down at us, extending his long neck and raising his shabby crest! just like saying 'I've been watching you!'

Hoshigoi Number 3
He saw us and flew into the thicket but seemed stuck...
We can see your bottom! lol

Hoshigoi Number 4
He was born to be a real hunter! While we were there, he didn't even flinch.

There was one black-capped individual but his neck and underparts were not clear white so he might have been a third year bird. We didn't see any adults at all. Were they hatched and raised in a different place and flew here for hunting practice? We'll never know.

In the water, loads of small fish were swimming around even though the quality of water didn't seem appealing. Still, it must be a good place for young, fish-hunting birds.


Young Swallows (Tsubameツバメ) landed on a signpost on one of the bridges.

They still had yellow bits on both sides of their beaks and their body shape was a bit too plump for an elegant swallow!

I want food! I want food!

I want... what?!

That was YOU!
The one flying towards them appeared to be their brother or sister...

Argh!

The parents were busy catching food for their 3 hungry fledglings.
Insects are really active even that early in the morning as the temperature was already nearly 30 degrees. We were hoping that those swallow fledglings were well fed and would be soon ready for a long journey back.

Along the canal, the birds were quiet probably because of the heat and their moulting. We saw (or heard) BC N Herons, Swallows, Azure-winged Magpies (Onagaオナガ), Grey Starlings (Mukudoriムクドリ), Brown-eared Bulbuls (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ), Eastern Great Tits (Shijuukaraシジュウカラ), Spot-billed Ducks (Karugamoカルガモ), a Great Egret (Daisagiダイサギ), Tree Sparrows (Suzumeスズメ), Cormorants (Kawauカワウ). 

Little Grebes (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ) in the Ecology Park

The Little Grebe Chicks, which hatched about four weeks ago, have been doing really well, and all four of them seem hungry all the time!

The parent grebes were looking after two chicks each, who followed their mum or dad cheeping and chirping:)

 Mum (or Dad) caught a crayfish and...

smashing it,

and bashing it,

until it became claw-less and leg-less.

It didn't look so small for this tiny chick to swallow...

It took a while but finally it went down.

Both parents fed their chicks quite an amount of crayfish rather than fish, which is not what I expected. They have grown very quickly every day and we're sure it's going to be pretty soon that we can see the chicks dive and hunt for themselves. Can't wait!

Narashino Ryokuchi

Narashino Ryokuchi lies between the Minami-funabashi Station and Yatsu Higata Nature Observation Centre along one of the busiest motorways in Japan but once you are in it you can see the mudflat on one side and trees on the other and it gives you a rather nice walk.

A flock of Azure-winged Magpies (Onagaオナガ) were eating berries.

You can hear them well before you actually see them:)

A young White Wagtail (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ) was busy running up and down by a small stream.

A small snack, eh?

Noisy young Eastern Great Tits (Shiju-karaシジュウカラ) were foraging in group and one of them was pecking a tree like crazy!

Preening is important too!

 

The cicadas are absolutely deafening... 

and cicada skins are everywhere...