Common Merganser, カワアイサ and some more

A whole weekend without jobs and duties for both of us? Where did that suddenly come from? I felt like celebrating. So we did. With a luxurious relaxing bath at a scenic hot spring, a stroll along the sightly river and a visit to exotic curry place. The weather was reasonable, though we started off with rain. Good for some mysterious scenery

Locals cleaning the beautiful river, burning debris at intervals. They understand the value of their environment.

Halfway down the river, a male Common Merganser, カワアイサ

Among the wintering ducks were a number of Gadwalls, オカヨシガモ

The Merganser again

A Sparrowhawk, ハイタカ came to take a rest on the opposite river bank

What is it... she?.. doing?

A female Merganser, all by herself.

but not for long

Together now

Wintertrip - Hitoyoshi

The day we left Kagoshima, we drove to Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto, to check the Kuma River. It used to be a good place to see Crested Kingfishers, but big floods of some years ago resulted in many changes. I was wondering...

A wintery view of the river

Ducks, Egrets, Cormorants as expected

The low rainclouds made for pretty photography scenes

And yes! At the other bank of the river. One Crested Kingfisher, ヤマセミ!

Just one bird. We arrived a bit late in the morning... Would there be more on another day? 

Among several types of ducks: Falcated Duck, ヨシガモ

Common Merganser or Goosander, カワアイサ

Downtown Hitoyoshi, the Aoi Aso Shrine

初も出 (Hatsumode) Traditional first visit of the year to a temple or shrine.

Last view of the Kuma River

Chikugo River

This post is about a day trip with Billie, our RV, in the middle of March. Just the 2 of us to recover from the winter blues. I had heard about Mergansers and we decided to stay at a park near the river. In the morning, I walked up and down but didn't see any of my target birds. After lunch, when we continued upriver, I spotted 1 pair from the height of the RV, but the only place to stop and watch was a long way off..

They are there, Mr. and Ms Merganser, カワアイサ

A bit further east at a well-known checkpoint. A Buzzard perched in a tree was not a good sign. 

(I saw you there, Mr T, patrolling in your car)

Eastern Buzzard, ノスリ

When the left others flew in. White-bellied Green Pigeons, アオバト about 14 birds.

But not for long...

Eurasian Sparrowhawk, ハイタカ

 Crested Kingfisher, ヤマセミ

At the end of the afternoon: Female Common Merganser, カワアイサ

Sorry for the low quality of the birds in flight. I will practice more!

Last birds of the year 1

This winter started off with cold weather, but by the end of December the days got warmer. We didn't see much rain and one of the 2 lakes in Imazu turned into a big mud pool with just a little water left in the middle. Some birds liked it. The spoonbills had a ball. But the ducks weren't too keen.

That day 2 Mergansers, カワアイサ flew in, but left soon. There sure seem to be some around this winter

One bird looked real pretty, but the other one was all scruffy with brown feathers sticking out of its neck like it was some kind of skin disease. But I guess he was just moulting, changing from eclipse or something.

Watching the Spoonbills from this close by is nice for a change.

Behind me the Reed Buntings, オオジュリン came out briefly