Herons and Egrets

May 6th, the day after Childrens' Day. We stopped at the colony to see the first kids. It was raining on and off. What a wet world! I hoped the rain would stop. It got down to a drizzle, but lasted the rest of the day...  Ah well. Better this than too much brightness and too much sunshine. 

The Great Egrets, ダイサギ were all in some stage of nesting. Many showed their beautiful feathers in display. 

Some were still cuddling

Others had very small chicks

And some had eggs, blueish white, 3 or 4

Guarding the nest is a stressful job. Raising the kids even more so.

Black-crowned Night Herons, ゴイサギ look pretty in their breeding colors. Several had nests, other seemed to just roam around a bit, often annoying parents.

Grey Herons, アオサギ

Their offspring seems rather ugly...

Last beauty

I want to go there again. Maybe I can see Little and Intermediate Egrets and Cattle Egrets. Who knows!

Winter has arrived

It's cold! After my stay with family in tropical Indonesia it's hard to get acclimated again. I left the colorful birds and butterflies of Bali and got a grey world in return. Brrr. First thing I realized is that I missed out on the geese, particularly the Snow Goose that came to Imazu. I drove around aimlessly to see what was left.

2 Eastern Buzzards, ノスリ hunting together

Great Crested Grebes, カンムリカイツブリ at the 2 ponds

2 Black-crowned Nightherons, ゴイサギ along the creek

A few Baikal Teals, トモエガモ hidden in the reeds

Black-necked Grebe, ハジロカイツブリ - Glad to see your red eyes.

2 (again!) Greenshanks, アオアシシギ chasing each other up and down the creek.

Smews, ミコアイサ  2 males and 5 females

3 more females at another pond.

At the entrance to M river, a decent sized flock of Lesser Scaups, スズガモ

Among the a group of Eurasian Coots, オオバン - 48 birds. Were there ever that many before?

Heron colony

Driving through Kumamoto's country side, I happened upon this place were many herons and egrets were nesting on top of each other on what looked like a small island-type bit of land. Mostly Great Egrets and some Grey herons, but also Nightherons and Little Grebes. Such a lively scene. I could just sit there and watch it all day long...

お久しぶりでした

Around Imazu in December 2

On wintery days there is little color and contrast in my photos. Light is important, the more so when it is reflected in water

Black-crowned Night Heron, ゴイサギ

At their usual place I found 5 adult birds. Juveniles could be seen through the branches, but I could not count them

Eurasian Spoonbills, ヘラサギ seem to like the fields.

They don't need to turn their head to see who is behind.

The thrushes arrived late and there are not as many as usual.

Dusky Thrush, ツグミ

A Sparrowhawk, ハイタカ flies across the 2 lakes very often.

Is that why I don't see Crakes and Rails?

The Ospreys, ミサゴ favor the creek right now. 

They usually perch on utility poles, but sometimes one sits in a tree

Our female Hen Harrier, ハイイロチュウヒ doing her rounds

Last: our Kestrel, チョウゲンボウ