Ice-skating Mejiro

One morning we saw this pair of Japanese white-eyes (mejiroメジロ) trying to bathe in our pond😅

I broke the ice later on so that birds were able to have a drink and a proper bath 👍

Feeding Frenzy

The unexpected heavy snowfall was a bit of blessing for me because if I put out little something for the birds in the garden, say, even an apple, it'd definitely attract common but lovely garden birds as feeding birds in gardens is not a popular practice in Japan. It is not just an apple from me though, of course!

the Guard of the Apple😄💂 - Brown-eared bulbul (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ)

what a flexible neck!

Dusky Thrush (Tsugumiツグミ)

I had thought a Dusky thrush would choose an apple but found out they prefer raisins - this one ignored a piece of apple on the ground and went for the raisins.

Don't worry, I cracked ice in the basin so that birds can have access to the water👍

 

Japanese white-eye (Mejiroメジロ)

This is actually a satsuma-shaped feeder 😁 a birthday present from my husband🎁

It has sometimes strawberry jam and at other times chopped-up apple cores in it.

Japanese tit (Shijukaraシジュウカラ) 

They are the same as the Great tit in Britain, who'd eat sunflower seeds, peanuts, dried mealworms and suet. Suet is almost impossible to get hold of in Japan, so, I make my own fat balls from beef fat, which is handed out free in supermarkets in Japan.

Oriental turtle dove (Kijitaboキジバト)

It was not the second day of Christmas🎄 but a pair often visit our garden for seeds.

Grey (White-cheeked) starling (Mukudoriムクドリ)

A starling came to our apples for a couple of days in a row before Christmas but we haven't seen any since then.

I'm hoping the snow will melt quickly so that birds and other wildlife can have a better chance to survive the winter.

Miyake-jima

We stayed overnight on Miyake-jima between the ferry rides and while on the island, we spent some time, of course!, on birding.

Japanese White-eye (Mejiroメジロ) 

They are called Shichito-mejiro(シチトウメジロ), considered as a subspecies of the Japanese white-eye found in mainland Japan.

Varied tit (Yamagaraヤマガラ)

The lodging we stayed in had a bird friendly garden, which had a few feeders and a birdbath. Lovely!

The Varied tit is also a subspecies and called the Owston Yamagara(オーストンヤマガラ). Unlike the white-eye, the varied tit shows obvious differences. The ones we see in Chiba have a white forehead, nape and cheeks whereas the Owston's is orange-brown in those parts. I found the calls are a bit different too.

Oriental (Grey-capped) greenfinch (Kawarahiwaカワラヒワ)

Mr Minowa, our guide, said that these greenfinch are likely to be a subspecies called Oo-kawarahiwa (オオカワラヒワ), which are wintering here and soon going back to places like Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Oh dear, I don't think I could follow all of the subspecies!

Japanese Robin (Komadoriコマドリ)

The Japanese robin on mainland Japan is a summer bird but the subspecies found in the Izu Islands are residents and called Tane-komadori(タネコマドリ). The obvious difference is that Tane-komadori lacks a black band between its orange breast and pale grey belly. Their songs are beautiful and they start singing well before the dawn just like the European robin, although the Tane-komadori doesn't sing during the winter.

Japanese pygmy woodpecker (Kogeraコゲラ)

【Warning】 Another subspecies!😂

Miyake-kogera(ミヤケコゲラ) are a subspecies of the Japanese pygmy woodpecker only found in the Izu islands and Yaku-shima but it is almost impossible to tell the difference by sight.

 

Japanese Woodpigeon (Karasubatoカラスバト)

No more subspecies, phew.

The Japanese woodpigeon is only found in islands in the far eastern region. Its extremely secretive and nervous character makes it very difficult to spot them even though their calls are often heard. It would be lucky if you spot them flying very fast between hills or over the canopy but we were truly lucky to see one in a tree. 

We had 8 target birds to see on the island - Izu thrush, Ijima's leaf warbler, Japanese woodpigeon, Owston's varied tit, Wren (subspecies), Japanese robin, Japanese white-eye, Japanese pygmy woodpecker - and thanks to our wonderful guide, Mr Minowa, we had a great view of each of them.

Excellent!

The map shows the locations of the Izu Islands and ferry routes.

You can visit the page of our trip to Hachijo-jima in 2014 by clicking here ↓

Hachijo-jima 1

Hachijo-jima 2 

Hachijo-jima 3

Birds in the Southern Part of Boso II

a gorgeous morning of New Year's Eve 

 

a pretty good view of a Brown-headed Thrush (Akaharaアカハラ)

Japanese white-eye (Mejiroメジロ) - very common but hard to take a good photo of

Varied tit (Yamagaraヤマガラ) - wish it was in the light

Black-eared kite (Tobiトビ) again

 

 

not a bird - a lone Japanese Macaque on a field picking up some tiny stuff to eat

Amami Oshima 2

There were some of our target birds on the island and one of them was the Lidth's Jay (Rurikakesuルリカケス).

They were really beautiful with purple, brown, blue-ish feathers and a white beak.
We heard them call in many places and saw them flying over the roads we were driving on but it was hard to take a close-up photo.

And the other target bird was the Ryukyu Robin (Akahigeアカヒゲ).

The Ryukyu Robin sings tuneful songs like the Eurasian Robin and now is the best time to hear them as it is their breeding season. We happened to see one singing on the door of the visitor centre in a reserve. We had a great view of him singing but he was so close to us that the camera could not focus on him! Argh!

In the same forest reserve where we saw the robins, we spotted mixed flocks.
Great tit (Shijukaraシジュウカラ）

 Japanese White-eye（Mejiroメジロ）

 Varied Tit（Yamagaraヤマガラ)

 Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Kogeraコゲラ）

All of the four are Amami/Ryukyu subspecies. They look slightly different from the ones we usually see in Chiba but the differences are subtle and you'd need better pics.

Mr Nagae, our guide, told us that small birds move around in mixed flocks all through the year in Amami, which is very interesting.

Thick-billed Crow (Hashibutogarasuハシブトガラス)

Brown-eared Bulbul (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ)

The crow and the bulbul are also subspecies. Thick-billed crows in Amami are smaller and the bulbuls have a darker coloured back than the ones on the mainland.

Visitors to my Homemade Fat-cakes

Dusky Thrush (Tsugumiツグミ)

and Japanese White-eye (Mejiroメジロ)

Garden Visitors

Since the snowy day, I put out some satsuma in the garden and here they come!

A pair of Japanese White-eyes (Mejiroメジロ) found the fruit soon after I set them there and they have already become the regulars to our garden:)

Chiba

A flock of more than 30 Japanese White-eyes (Mejiroメジロ) were foraging in a big tree in a Shinto shrine in Chiba.

at Chiba Park in the late afternoon

Tufted Ducks (Kinkurohajiroキンクロハジロ)

Kingfisher (Kawasemiカワセミ)

Little Grebe (Kaitsuburiカイツブリ)

Little Egret (Kosagiコサギ）

three bird species in one shot:)

👀