April 6 around Imazu

The first Sunday in April, WBSJ day. We walked, talked and counted. There were not many surprises. The highlight was the Stonechat. 

On the mudflats, we saw 1 Black-winged Stilt, セイタカシギ

The American Wigeon, アメリカヒドリ with his black head was still there

In the afternoon a few waders flew in. Wood Sandpiper, タカブシギ

A Hawk landed in the mess of lotus stalks with what? A Snipe?

Female Eurasian Sparrowhawk, ハイタカ

Some of the White Wagtails seemed different. The big apron reaching up to the chin.

Taiwan or East Siberian White Wagtail, M.a.ocularis？

Buff-bellied Pipit, タヒバリ all by itself

Last bird of the afternoon, Swinhoe's Snipe, チュウジシギ

The mudflats of the Ariake Sea

I come here mainly to watch the birds flying in swooping flocks, rising and plummeting, twisting and turning, in tune with their calls. It never stops amazing me. I could watch it for hours. My mind relaxes and the worries about the declining bird population at home ease up a bit. Nature will survive!

The 1st of April was a cloudy day. High tide was not very high, but good enough to see the birds close to shore. A little sunshine every now and then would have been nice... The Little Terns made up for that in a big way. In this post I show some of the other birds.

オオソリハシシギ · Bar-tailed Godwit

Red Knot,コオバシギ 

 Great Knot, オバシギ 

Eurasian Curlew, ダイシャクシギ 

They look odd, standing in a line like this. As if they are practicing for a marching parade

Far Eastern Curlew, ホウロクシギ 

Other birds were Grey Plovers, Dunlins, Green Shanks, Kentish Plovers, Lesser or Siberian Plovers, 

Vega Gulls, Saunders's Gulls, Red-necked Stints, and some more maybe.

Terns in Saga, コアジサシ

I visited the mudflats of the Ariake Sea and found 7 of them resting on this log. Happy!

Little Tern, コアジサシ

Bathing time, 水浴び　among the Dunlins, ハマシギ

Other birds will be shown in the next post

Last birds of Q1 - and some small stuff

March is over - the cold days, too? I hope so. After the snow in the 3rd week of March everything happened at once. Suddenly the swallows arrived and the cherry trees were in bloom. 2 Little Ringed Plovers roamed on the grass next to the dock in the harbor. The Blue Rock Thrushes are singing their heart out, till late at night. Checking my various points in the west:

Juvenile Sparrowhawk, ハイタカ - gender unknown

A White Wagtail. Motacilla alba leucopsis, ホオジロハクセキレイ? or lugens, ハクセキレイ without an eye line? Looking at the bill and shape of the head, I think the latter 

A Rustic Bunting, カシラダカ in Imazu. 

The American Wigeon, アメリカヒドリ has been here all winter

A female Bull-headed Shrike, モズ waiting for her mate

Little Ringed Plovers, コチドリ in the harbor

At the damlake the Mandarin Ducks, オシドリ were very active - preparing to leave.

I didn't see these flowers last year, nor the year before. So I made an effort.

Tsukushi Shojobakama, ツクシショウジョウバカマ

Japanese Ophiorrhiza, サツマイナモリ 

Corylopsis (Witch Hazel family) トサミズキ

Japanese Knotweed Leaf Beetle, イタドリハムシ 

Not many butterflies yet. Sujiguro Shirocho, スジグロシロチョウ - Pieris melete

The first chicks, Brown Dipper, カワガラス

Walking along the river I could hear them calling, parent and child. I waited untill they came in view.  From a bridge, I could safely watch these 2.

A parent rushing in, bringing food

The baby blended perfectly in the background of the river. I saw it only when it moved

Getting some more

The chick could fly a little and hopped from stone to stone. It dipped its head in the water, but did not find much.

It heard the parent coming back. Mama, papa, I'm hungry!!!

I saw only 1 parent and 1 chick, but there seemed to be more around the bend.

At the same location: Amana flowers, アマナ