I just published a new book through Blurb. Please check it out!
Category: Japanese Birds
Goshawk Takes a Bath
My friend Mr Honma visited a few weeks ago and advised me to go to Junsai-ike to see flycatchers. It took me a while to get there but I did today. I failed on the passerines, though I did see them fluttering about me. The highlight was when l looked back-over my shoulder and seeing this Northern Goshawk wading knee deep for quite a while. Eventually it went in deeper and splashed around for a bit. Birds do seem to find joy when taking a bath.
Drinking Fountain Sparrow
Male Sparrow in a drinking fountain.
We had a warm day last week and I saw some sparrows enjoying some bath time in a drinking fountain along side the Shinano River. Others were shy and took flight, except this guy. He seemed very happy and carefree. I nice condition for the moment. Please take a breath and enjoy the slideshow below:
The Springing of Spring
I often feel time isn’t moving but then I awaken in the middle of the year. Winter is long gone. I keep going out and taking photos, but I spend less time downloading and looking at them. It is more fun to take them. When I do download them I just quickly upload some to Instagram or, more recently, Flickr. There are millions of amazing images being uploaded every minute and they keep flowing by me. Here are some from March to present that I just edited for Instagram. It’s good to upload them here. I can find them again myself someday.
Above is a brief encounter with a Narcissus Flycatcher. I usually only get my best views of them during Golden week in Niigata. I also saw a Eurasian Spoonbill at the end of March but it flew away before I got close enough with my little 300mm lens. Also had a nice view of an Eastern Blue Rock Thrush along the Shinano River.
Companions in the Winter Sky
I’ve been out and about all winter but haven’t had many portrait photos of any special birds. I saw about 5 Merlins between November and December but none all January. I think I have been enjoying watching distant subjects through binoculars for the last year, thus missing any close, fleeting encounters. Here are some images from this winter. The snow wasn’t as deep as last year and the fields behind the wetland areas have been providing food for lots of swans and geese. When the snow is deep the birds cannot graze. The last weekend snow covered the fields enough to send most of the swans and geese into the water areas. I also haven’t seen any goshawks since December, but have had fairly regular encounters with peregrines. I stood and photographed a young one while standing in light snow flurries this last weekend, which was a nice experience. On Saturday, a lot of geese took to the skies and I thought someone in a boat must have disturbed them, but after they mostly cleared away, I realized two magnificent White-tailed Sea-eagles were stirring everything up. I’m slow to wake to things sometimes. Don’t know if I’ll ever get fully used to this birding thing.
The Wild Geese
After some wet weather, it fined up quickly and I took a couple of hours off to visit Fukushimagata. Lots of swans, and geese. Mainly Greater White-fronted Goose and Bean Goose, and the swan photos here are Whooper Swans. But the outdoor air and mountains really woke me up. It’s a slide-show so it may take time to load sometimes. Please hang around, and thanks for the visit!
Escape at Dusk
It was getting darker by the minute this evening when I saw a peregrine make a charge for a pigeon. It was almost too dark to follow the action through my optical viewfinder. Obviously I now need a Nikon Z9. (Doesn’t everyone?) Anyway, I watched the pigeon enter a falcon danger zone alone and thought its time was up, but after quite a struggle, it broke free and did escape. I watched the peregrine as it was joined by its mate and the two circled around looking for other targets. They both then had a go at lots of crows some way away, which I watched through binoculars. I reckon this peregrine is the japonisis, or japonicas, found throughout Japan.
They’re Coming 2021
I saw my first swans for the season on Saturday at Fukushimagata, so I went to Hyoko on Sunday. I took heaps of photos. Very bright and sunny. It won’t be that way for long. Must make hay.
I did see some geese the weekend before, but just got some so so pics. Here’s a sample from yesterday:
Pondering the Big Ones…
Western Osprey at Hyoko, Niigata, Japan last Sunday
I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted anything on this site. I have never let it go for so long before. I have been out taking photos and seeing lots of nice things, just procrastinating editing and posting stuff. I haven’t really gotten any good bird photos for a while.
Last Sunday I visited Hyoko and was photographing swans in long, summer grass. It will change colour in a few weeks time. I was looking through my view finder and a shadow went right across my face and I looked up to see a beautiful Western Osprey passing overhead. I think these photos capture its lovely, long wings.
Western Ospreys are found in Japan – A famous exotic country of the Far East. Not to be confused with Eastern Ospreys which are found in Australia – a western nation. Spending time finding wild birds helps me to find clarity.
Lily in the lake
Tundra Swan, Bewick’s Swan
Nikon Df for Birding in 2021
These days, I use three cameras, a little beaut, Sony RX100iii, a super Nikon D500, and a passionately stoic Nikon Df. They are all different, and I usually use them for different purposes. I have found though, more and more, in poor light, especially in dull Niigata winter days, I am very sensitive to the grain or noise in my D500 pics. It is a great camera to capture action, but I have been getting too disappointed with grain in the atmosphere of the photographs. More and more, I have been turning to the Df for everything. The Nikon Df is famous for not having high resolution, no video, average frames per second, one card slot, old fashioned dials, not such powerful autofocus. To conclude, it is such a great camera. The photos from it just capture a true, unclouded atmosphere, with an ambience you can walk into. I hope I can use it for a long time.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1619655932911_17314 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1619655932911_17314 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
From Winter to Spring
I have been out actively trying to get wildlife pics around Niigata. At the end of March I took a day off and had some good views of an eagle and I found another older individual a week later. Since then we’ve already had the cherry blossoms come out and go away, followed by some snow in the mountains. This weekend has been blown out by heavy rain and strong winds. Last weekend, I found some waders but I am poor with their identities, and even worse at photographing them. I hope to improve in my attempts next weekend.
In the meantime, I have seen some raptor action with a peregrine stoop about 300 metres towards a Great Egret, and a young goshawk, which landed in plain sight in front of some Eurasian Teal before deciding win a failed strike. I’m wanting a better, faster camera now. The Nikon D500 can take 10 shots in a second which sounds a lot until you have a peregrine at full speed. I see the Sony A1 has broken records for speed and quality. Dare I save and wait for the new Nikon Z9? I sold my D800, but miss it’s full frame sensor. It was too slow for action. Oh, birding woes.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1618735477491_20261 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1618735477491_20261 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
Osprey and the Eagle
I wasn’t needed anywhere today and took the day off. I headed to Fukushimagata and found lots of birds merging between winter and spring. I heard skylarks overhead, but Whooper Swans paddled in the ponds reserved in the summer for lotus plants. Lots of waterfowl including ducks, egrets, herons, coots and cormorants. A large flock of lapwings was often disturbed from their grazing on the empty ricefields behind me. I don’t know how many more eagles I can see before winter is totally gone but I was delighted to see the solid figure of a White-tailed Eagle appear, seemingly coming from the mountains. The eagle stirred us all up and I watched it circle high above me before turning into a stoop and all the birds began to storm in all directions. I realised an osprey was hovering about 20 metres above the water and the eagle gathered pace directly towards it. I’ve seen eagles chase ospreys for their fish but this osprey was yet to catch anything. It seemed the eagle was intent on the osprey itself. By the time the eagle had reached the osprey it was fairly far away and my photos are heavily cropped but then the two turned towards me and came hurriedly right to me. Mallard surrounded me and I lost focus for an instant, but there osprey baulked right out of the picture and the eagle became interested in the shoreline in front of me, before it was chased away by the single, large, agro, gull of the wetland. Moments later a peregrine disturbed the lapwings and rocketed by me then a young goshawk landed in a nearby tree. I tried to pack up my camera again and then an adult goshawk rushed along the water’s edge. A good day to be out.
Sunny Steller Sunday
Steller’s Sea-eagle, Fukushimagata, Niigata, Japan, January 24, 2021.
Don’t you just love it when you show up at one of your best birding spots and one of your favs is there? I could see it sitting up on the tree from a hundred million miles away. What a thrill! I was still struggling through deep snow to get to it when it took the fish. A wonderful Sunday in Niigata, even with just one bird.
The Frozen Lake 2
A few years ago, I remember visiting Hyoko, Niigata and finding it frozen. It seems a while ago now, but I returned today to find it frozen again. We’ve had heaps of snow recently and although a lot of it has melted away, there are still big piles around the city and it was chest height at some places around Hyoko. I didn’t stay long, but saw lots of lovely birds about the place, including a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a pair of Peregrines. Poor photos of the raptors however, so just some usual swan and duck photos for today.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1611394680870_43216 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1611394680870_43216 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1611394680870_73396 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1611394680870_73396 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
Some Birds in the Snow
Just some images from the weekend. We’re really bogged down with snow in Niigata this long weekend. I’m happy today is off. Coming of Age Day in Japan. I might go out again in the afternoon. Click on the images to bring them up in a Lightbox.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1610330311725_16739 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1610330311725_16739 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }