December tanjokai

Each first Sunday of the month is Imazu tanjokai day. Members of the Japanese Wild Bird Society get together in the field to exchange information and supply answers to us who know less and always have questions. During the 3hr walk we saw buntings like oojurin and hoaka (Common Reed and Chestnut-eared Bunting) in the reeds

オオジュリン、Common Reed Bunting

On an electrical wire sat the first Dusky Thrush of the season. Hooray!

ツグミ、Dusky Thrush



In the river a big flock of spoonbills was feeding on the in-coming tide.

クロツラヘラサギ、Black-faced Spoonbill,  ヘラサギ、Eurasian Spoonbill

Some Eurasian Spoonbills are living with their Black-faced cousins.

Note the yellow spot on the bill of the bird with the white face.

  

Amongst many ducks, gulls and cormorants were 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and a male Goosander.

カワアイさ、Goosander or Common Merganser. But not so common in Japan.

Kasasagi, Common Magpies are always around and always worth a picture.

  

カササギ、Common Magpie

Mr. and Mrs. Tundra Swan had taken a bath at the butagoya and just got up to move to an adjacent field.

コハクチョウ、Tundra Swan

PS: Yes, there are 2 of them now. 2 Big white blobs in the field. About a week after the first one the second arrived. Where had it come from? How do they find each other? Questions questions.

Lady Kestrel sat at her favorite spot and surprised us with a nose dive to grab a bite for lunch.

It was a good day.

チョウゲンボウ、Common Kestrel

今日の勉強 :  tanjokai. What is that in kanji? I will have to ask somebody.