クイナ, Water Rail

When I checked this small field I noticed a rail scorching for food. Whenever he found a morsel, mostly worms, he would quickly take it to the water edge, where he washed it down. The birds around him, coots, hens, snipes and ducks took no notice and I realized how small he was. He was moving a lot faster than the others and maybe that’s why he got lucky with that frog.

so small... 小さいなあ

 A little smaller then the Moorhen, バン より小さい

(move on!)

Much smaller than the Coot, オオバンよりめっちゃ小ちゃい

And the Mallard, マガモも

Found a worm...　ミミズ


Run to the stream...　急いで

Wash it and eat!　洗って食べる

Wow, big frog!　大きな(・∀・)ｶｴﾙ!!

 Full... 　満腹

Better go take a nap now. (´-ω-`*) お休み

今日の勉強:　満腹　まんぷく　I'm full!

ディスプレイ - It’s that time of the year.

The Mergansers in the park that were drifting so quietly suddenly came into action.

Red-breasted Merganser, ウミアイサ    Too close!

Display

A Black Kite, トビ  on Noko performing some stunning acrobatics. Just got a glimpse of it.

My neighbors part 1, Blue Rock Thrush, イソヒヨド

I'm lucky to live in a place where I don't have to travel far to see birds.
Some days I have no car and the urge to go "out there" is irresitable. Then I just walk around the neighborhood, the harbor mainly, and look at the herons, the ducks, gulls and other shore birds that come to visit. I realize I tend to take too much for granted.  Let me introduce:

Our Blue Rock Thrushes, イソヒヨド January 25th

These 2 males have been chasing each other for a while, treating us to the most beautiful song contests.

molting    羽毛の抜け変わっている鳥

Much less colorful, but pretty nevertheless, this female lives in a nearby park.

Who will discover her first?

今日の勉強:　羽毛の抜け変わる = umoo no nuke kawaru,   moult

Common Starling, ホシムクドリ

I heard they visit Imazu every year, but this was the first time I actually saw them there.
4 birds among the 20+ White-cheeked Starlings.

今日の勉強 :  ホシ =  星 = ☆ star

Sometimes you get lucky: Long-tailed Rosefinch, ベニマシコ

It was cold and so windy! I had problems keeping my camera still, though it was firmly fixed on a tripod. I paused at a little niche where the wind couldn't blow and the sun shone through.
And I wasn't the only one seeking refuge in there.

pair

 

female

5 days around Kyushu, part 1

Our yearly trip to Ibusuki city in Kagoshima prefecture brought us to Hitoyoshi at first. We took the highway to Yatsushiro and followed the Kuma river from there.

Interesting buildings at the site of the Kyusendo caves (http://www.syonyudo.net)

The next day we got up early and payed a visit to the Aoi Aso Shrine, a very old shrine with a dramatic history that is well documented on the site.

 A gang of roosters hanging out at the back flew down from their roost in one of the old trees to greet us. One reminded me of its wild cousin, the shy Jungle Fowl we saw in Borneo.

5 days around Kyushu, part 2

That morning in Hitoyoshi we met up with a couple of local birders, who showed us around.

We saw a friendly Crested Kingfisher that can often be seen at the Kuma river near town. It was very windy and the bird didn’t fly much, nor did he catch anything. He just sat at the wires until we had to move on. And he gave me the chance to sneak up on him a bit.

Crested Kingfisher, ヤマセミ

Despite all the traffic on route 219 there are a number of Mandarin Ducks in the Kuma river, but they don’t like all that attention. Still a few photos:

 Mandarin Ducks, オシドリ

Wondering why the ducks had left? Look what came racing by!

 Thank you Yuki san and Masako-san, for giving us the chance to see the Kingfisher!

And Mr. Shinjo, thank you for your introduction.