Aisatsu

Aisatsu

This blog is for family and friends, to share my feelings and photos with and for myself, to support my fading memory. Readers who have my site translated automatically, please refer to the original if necessary. Especially when it comes to identification. Any comments, anonymous or by email name are always welcome!.

Sunday, 30 November 2025

Oronoshima

The 1 night stay at Oronoshima resulted in 3 nights due to the weather. People ask: Why? It's sunny! It isn't even that windy... They can't see the waves here. So I filled in my time at school, but was allowed to come and go to walk around. The birds of 2 weeks before had nearly all left. What was still there?


Eurasian Wren, ミソサザイ I saw just once, after 4pm. 



A small flock of Yellow-throated Buntings, ミヤマホオジロ







Ms. Kestrel, チョウゲンボウ







A number of Eastern Buzzards, ノスリ. Often chased by a very fast and loud Falcon







The Peregrine Falcon, ハヤブサ at the very top of the island. Overlooking everything









The plunge dive



The usual Blue Rock Thrushes, イソヒヨドリ at their favorite places







These moths were seen along the road to school. Euonymus leaf notcher, ミノウスバ





Cat feeding time in the village. A strange cat from the mountains came down for the first time. He didn't get a chance to eat with the others. The rules are strict!



Brown Boobies, カツオドリ behind Genkaishima





One day in the middle of November

The weather is so unstable, I don't know what to wear. On a warm sunny day I drove around the west, stopping at some of my checkpoints, not particularly looking for anything, just enjoying the sights and the comfortable sunshine. There were lots of ducks in the various ponds. Though some ponds were frighteningly bare; I was happy to see a single Crested Grebe.


Great Crested Grebe, カンムリカイツブリ.



4 Chestnut-eared Buntings, ホオアカ were quickly moving in and out of the grasses





Zitting Cisticola, セッカ was there, too



The duck parade: 3 Common Pochards, ホシハジロ



3 Tufted Ducks, キンクロハジロ



Male and female Gadwalls, オカヨシガモ









Saunders's Gull, ズグロカモメ



In Itoshima a group of Grey Plovers, ダイゼン, who are not in a hurry to move south.



One of several Far-Eastern Curlews, ホオロクシギ


Are you all going to stay for the winter?

Starlings

While on the hunt for swans that appeared to be long gone, I ran into these Starlings on the wire. 2 Red-billed and around 12 Common Starlings were in a flock of 100+ White-cheeked at the end of a sunny afternoon. All lined up on wires in long rows. 


Red-billed Starlings, ギンムクドリ









In the big flock around 10 or 12 Common Starlings, ホシムクドリ



The next day, the Red-bills had moved on, but more Commons joined the crowd





Monday, 24 November 2025

No Mugimaki

From the end of October, I checked the Prickly Ash trees for Mugimaki Flycatchers, but all my yellow birds turned into Narcissus Flycatchers. 😆Hopefully next year.


Narcissus Flycatcher, キビタキ













There were many Angled Sunbeams, ウラギンシジミ - nearly all females. Trying to get rid of their last clutch of eggs?