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...🍁

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:

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.