Daurian Redstart

A female Daurian Redstart (Jobitakiジョウビタキ) was very busy hunting tiny, tiny flying insects by the moat around the Imperial Palace, Tokyo.

The Moat of the Imperial Palace II

For some reason, the ducks were flushed and kept flying round and round above our heads.

And eventually this flock disappeared into the other side of the palace.

On the Hirakawa Bridge (Hirakawa-bashi平川橋), one of the bridges over the moat, a White Wagtail (Hakusekireiハクセキレイ) just landed.

Hirakawa Bridge

Quite a few Cormomrants (Kawauカワウ) were resting, fishing and flying in and around the moat.

Shimizu Gate (Shimizu-mon清水門) - one of the Edo Castle gates, which was built in 1658 and which people can walk through.

Behind the gate, the roof of Nippon Budokan (日本武道館) was dominating the view.

On the other side of Shimizu Bridge, the level of water looked higher and Tufted Ducks (Kinkurohajiroキンクロハジロ) were resting peacefully.

Towards the end of my walk, there was a lone Mute Swan (Kobuhakuchoコブハクチョウ) foraging amongst the dabbling ducks.

When I was just about to turn around towards the station, something caught my eye.
It was a lovely female Daurian Redstart (Jobitakiジョウビタキ), jumping up and down to catch tiny flying insects.

I delayed my leave (of course!) and enjoyed her company for a little longer.

The Moat of the Imperial Palace I

I took a little time to go alongside the moat around the Imperial Palace before meeting a friend of mine in Tokyo.

The moat, the stone walls, and office buildings in the central Tokyo area. 

There were quite a lot of aquatic plants seen in the water but it didn't matter for some ducks.

Gadwall (Okayoshigamoオカヨシガモ) - male

Shovelers (Hashibirogamoハシビロガモ) - male

Shoveler - female

 Wigeons (Hidorigamoヒドリガモ) - male

I heard at least 3 pairs of Little Grebes (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ) calling.
I wonder if they breed in the moat.

Tokyo Bankers Association Building (東京銀行協会ビルヂング), only 2 sides of the facade are the part of the original building built in 1916.

It was late afternoon so the sun was shining low and the water in the moat reflected the light, which was not great for watching/taking photos of birds, but still, it was a pleasant afternoon and I enjoyed the walk contently.

Ecology Park

Funada-ike (pond) in Ecology Park is a good place to go in winter and you can see ducks and some other winter visitors from the warm hide:)

There were more than 10 Mallard (Magamoマガモ), 4 Teal (Kogamoコガモ), 3 Little Grebe (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ), a Cormorant (Kawauカワウ), a Grey Heron (Aosagiアオサギ) and 2 Moorhen (Banバン) in the water, and a Kingfisher (Kawasemiカワセミ) flew in and caught a little fish later on.

A Moorhen was running along the water edge towards the reedbeds.

One of the Little Grebes caught rather a large fish and tried very hard to swallow it for a while.

He finally spat it out and left it floating there...


On the way back, a Japanese Bush Warbler (Uguisuウグイス) was busy moving around in the tree.

mmm... difficult to get a clear shot of them..

On the other hand, this Black-faced Bunting (Aojiアオジ) was easy to get a close shot of, when she was foraging right by the path. (She eventually came out onto the path later.)

Bird Bath

I put some water in a bowl for birds out in our garden and they often come and drink the water from it.

This morning, I managed to film an Eastern Great Tit (Shijukaraシジュウカラ) having a bath!

It is so nice to see birds feeding, bathing, even fighting each other in our tiny garden in this urbanised area. You could bring wildlife into your garden with small things like a bowl and a cup-cake lining and with a little bit of improvisation even if you live in the centre of a city!

a New Visitor to the Feeder

The fat-cakes are very popular and going very quickly when it is chilly! 


Brown-eared Bulbul (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ)

and

Dusky Thrush (Tsugumiツグミ)