Tag: Blue-and-white Flycatcher

The Springing of Spring

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Japanese Birds

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.

0105_RJE6040
0105_RJE6110
0105_RJE6114

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.

birds-2846
birds-2832
birds-2859
birds-4731
merganser-3626
birds-4729
merganser-3639
birds-4732
merganser-3851
merganser-3833
merganser-3868
merganser-3718
merganser-3848
merganser-3952
birds-2866
birds-2874
Eastern Blue Rock Thrush
merganser-3833
merganser-3848
merganser-3851
merganser-3868

3 Spring Birds

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Japan, Japanese Birds

Blue-and-white Flycatcher (male)

Blue-and-white Flycatcher (male)

Golden Week 2019 is soon setting into history. My passerine photo collection still wains behind large easy to photograph raptors and here are my only successes. I tried hard but didn’t find many subjects other than these. These three are still excitement for tired eyes, a sore throat and blocked nose.

Red-flanked Bluetail (female)

Red-flanked Bluetail (female)

Narcissus Flycatcher (male)

Narcissus Flycatcher (male)

Some Golden Birds 2017

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized
Narcissus Flycatcher

Junsai-ike, Niigata, Japan

May 4, 2017
Golden Week Holidays now. I went to Junsai-ike for a few hours yesterday and again today. 

Patience pays off with some flycatcher encounters. I also saw the below heron catch a massive fish but dropped it when an excited family approached it. 
It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I’ll have to stay happy with these.
Grey Heron

Blue-and-white Flycatcher

May 3, 2017

Search for the Blue Blue-and-white Flycatcher

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized
Cyanoptila cyanomelana cyanomelana

Junsai-ike, Niigata, Japan

April 23, 2016

**UPDATE** as of Friday, May 6, 2016. I asked Mr Honma about this and he seems to think it is a common variety of young adult Blue-and-white Flycatcher as seen in Niigata. Also known here in English as Japanese Flycatcher, or in Japanese as “Oruri“.

I’m glad I got a number of pics of it and it was of interest. To be honest, I was curious but felt in my heart it is a typical specimen found here.

PREVIOUSLY:::
 May 3, 2016

I went to Junsai-ike today looking for this bird and I failed so here are left-over pics from last week.

I received an interesting observation from Matt Poll of Snowy Owl Lost that the above and below mentioned bird could possibly be a Zappey’s Flycatcher. To be honest I had never heard of a Zappey’s and just thought this to be a pre-adult Blue-and-white Flycatcher. The interesting features are the bluish throat and breast, unlike an adult male Blue-and-white Flycatcher which is predominantly black from the face to the chest. 
All of these photos have just been resized with no other editing other than converting them to web colour. The top pic has been intentionally saved in Adobe 1998 to keep the colours true. 
Today, I got to Junsai-ike just after 8am and stayed till noon. Just walking back-and-forth, where I’d seen this beauty last week. The photos here were taken on two separate visits last week, although I believe they are of the same bird.
I hope all of these edits shed some more light on what it truly is. Today I didn’t see any male Blue-and-whites although I saw a female drop into the covers. There were buckets of warblers, Oriental Goldfinches and Pygmy Woodpeckers. The latter chased any similar sized birds and ruined my only chance at a male Narcissus Flycatcher.
Today was the first of a three-day-Golden-week-holiday. Tomorrow will rain but hopefully Mr Honma and I will put on our armour for Thursday. Will keep you posted.
Thank you for keeping me on my toes, Matt. I will be aware of possible Zappey’s from now on!

Spring Flycatcher Time

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized

Blue-and-white Flycatcher

Junsai-ike, Niigata, Japan

April 29, 2015

Here are some flycatcher pics from this morning’s outing with Mr Honma to Junsai-ike. Today was the Showa holiday to kick off the Golden Week holidays. We didn’t really see much else but I was happy to see these. There seemed to be a few of these flycatchers about the place but they are becoming more wary. 
Still, a good morning. Back to work for a couple of days then 5 big days off for the real Golden Week!

Happiness

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized

Japanese Green Pheasant

Shinano River, Niigata City, Japan

Last week



My plan to photograph all the gull species along the Shinano River was totally missed as summer has arrived and the best time for gulls here is March/April. I wanted to especially have a closer look at the Black-headed Gulls that pass through at that time. I think the numbers vary year to year. I will have to wait until next year to see them again.

Other news was seeing the peregrines mating on a building near the prefectural office back in March.  I didn’t think much of it to be honest as I’ve seen them doing it in before but nothing came of it. I think they practice birth control. 

I had a heavy heart when listening to Mr Honma talk with his friend about the peregrines at the prefectural office. They seem to be expecting great things from the falcons this summer but I heard that both of them found kestrel remains beneath the peregrine eyrie. I was alerted to this as it’s just about kilometre away that I have been watching kestrels raise young every summer since 2005. I have been visiting the cement factory a couple of times a week since early April but found everything was quiet there. Last Saturday afternoon had a small change when I found a single kestrel sitting atop a rusty tower. It stayed for just a minute before flying off up river and out of sight. I thought it may have just been a visit of nostalgia. 

The next morning was fine so I went back. Everything was again very quiet for about 15 minutes until a crow arrived at a nearby factory. The radars must have been switched on out of my view as suddenly a pair a kestrel fighters emerged from the cement factory and bravely warded the menace away. The fighters returned to their base flurrying their wings down and proclaiming that this is their territory. “Ye, be warned!”

Maybe signs of happy days ahead.




Black-headed Gull

Shinano River

End of April, 2014

Peregrine Falcon

Niigata Prefectural Office

Japanese Bumble Bee

Junsai-ike, Niigata

* UPDATED* A new bird for me. I was told, this thrush was called “Akihara“.
I looked it up and found it was called, “Brown-headed Thrush” in English.
My pictures look different to my guides, however. >>
*Stu, from Hakodate Birding has identified it as an “Eyebrowed Thrush“
Thanks Stu!

Blue-and-white Flycatcher

Junsia-ike, Niigata

Eastern Crowned Leaf Warbler

Junsai-ike

Golden Week Birds Niigata 2014

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized

I guess this is a female Narcissus Flycatcher

Junsai-ike, Niigata, Japan

May 3, 2014
Don’t let these beautiful birds fool you, I’ve been rather miserable for the last week. We had a nice start to the four day Golden Week holidays last Saturday morning, arriving at Junsai-ike before 8:30am. It was nice sitting beneath the blooming trees but most of these photographs were taken in about a 20 minute period just after 1:30pm when I could see small insects coming out of the trees and bringing the birds. 
We went to a nice restaurant that evening and my nose began to run.
I don’t remember the two middle days of the holidays but I did lots of sneezing and couldn’t sleep well for a blocked nose. 
Tuesday was the last day of the holidays so we went back to Junsai-ike for more but I got only a single shot of the Blue-and-white Flycatcher sitting on a small waterfall just 5 minutes after we arrived – the final picture in this set, which I have framed for you.
We sat, walked and watched again to about 1:30, but no more birds appeared. In the meantime my cold was becoming unbearable with sneezing and shivers and running nose. I took off my glasses and gasped to see them coated in yellow, sticky, dusty, pollen. Time to call the holidays to an end. I realised, it wasn’t a cold.



Blue-and-white Flycatcher

female

Blue-and-white Flycatcher

male

Narcissus Flycatcher

male

Eastern Crowned Leaf-Warbler

Blue-and-white Flycatcher

male

May 6, 2014

Black-faced Bunting

May 6, 2014

“Oruri” – “The Colour Earth” Junsai-ike, May 6, 2014

Golden Week 2013 post 3

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized

Narcissus Flycatcher

Junsai-ike, Niigata, Japan

May 4, 2013

 This is the final installment for Golden Week 2013. It is raining now and I have to iron my socks for tomorrow. 
Actually we had nice weather the last few days and I saw some nice birds, animals and places. Also ate and drank heaps. There are quite a few flycatchers about at the moment, though shy for the camera most of the time. Saw quite a few Blue-and-Whites but they stayed higher up in the canopy than Narcissus. Both species seen at Junsai-ike and Toyanogata for the record.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Junsai-ike

May 5, 2013
Eastern Crowned Leaf-Warbler

Junsai-ike

May 4
Blue-and-White Flycatcher

Junsai-ike

May 4
Red-eared Sliders

Junsai-ike

May 4 and 5

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Toyanogata, Niigata, Japan

May 6
Children’s Day Celebrations

Kamo, Niigata

May 4
Siberian Chipmunk
Actually, this was at Lisu-Koen which is a fenced enclosure with lots and lots of Lisu running about the place.

“Lisu” = Squirrel, but I think they are chipmunks.

(Should have claimed it was wild)

Kamo-yama Park

May 4
Kamo-yama Koen (Park)
and below..

May 4

Golden Week 2013 post 2

by Russell Jenkins, posted in Uncategorized
Nagaoka Castle

Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan

Pentax K200D with Pentax 17-70mm – a nice kit for scenery, I think.

April 28, 2013

Part two of my Golden Week 2013 and we start off with views of Nagaoka Castle last Sunday afternoon. Don’t be fooled. There were many, many humans about the place.
The bird photos were all at Junsai-ike, Niigata City on Monday morning. There was a nice variety of species to seek but bundles of tripods and agile walkers made for speedy record shots only.

Blue-and-white Flycatcher
Junsai-ike, Niigata City, Japan

April 29, 2013

All winter I schemed getting stunning shots of one of these in the sakura with Mt Fuji in the background.

After the rain and blossoms have gone I have had to settle for this record shot. Seconds after I found it a nice old man came over to me and stirred up a conversation and the bird departed up into the canopy. It’s not that I’m a grumpy old birder, nor am I making excuses, it’s just that…

This Great Spotted Woodpecker was wary and flew away as passers-by passed by.
He returned often but was unapproachable.
I guess everyone deserves a holiday. 

Had to shoot it as soon as I saw it as someone was stomping up behind me.
I think it is a Grey Bunting.

Again, I let all good birders down identifying these guys. I believe it is some kind of leaf warbler….
Please help Stuart and Ayuwat!!!??

Oriental Greenfinch

Actually I had a nice three day holiday!!!