In The Park

Photos taken from Beppu Park earlier this month. After the finding of the Ryukyu Minivet on January 12th, I went back again on the next morning hoping to get some better shots. The bird was nowhere to be found, by the way. So I spent time taking photos of other common birds around the park instead. I was surprise to see that a small flock of Eurasian Siskins was still lingering inside the park. I thought all of them have already moved further south. There were a few Hawfinches, as well as a pair of White-bellied Green Pigeons, of which I could almost take some nice photos while they were coming down to drink, but flew away just before I pressed the shutter button. Other stuff like Pale and Dusky Thrushes, Grey-capped Greenfinches and Daurian Redstarts were all presenting well as usual.

This male Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) was staying at the northeast gate of the park. It was so tame that I didn't have to crop all of the images above, well, simply because there's already no space to crop. It was foraging on fallen berries underneath a fruited tree. There were a few more individuals in the other areas of the park, but not as numerous as during the autumn passage.

Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

A flock of Eurasian Siskins (Carduelis spinus)

There seemed to be an influx of Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni) in the pine zones of the park. More than 10 birds were busy walking all over the ground looking for something to eat, not really sure what. I tried to photograph these birds and found it really difficult. They were all very energetic and didn't stop walking for even a second. I had to use flash to help make the photos sharper, since the area where they were feeding was very dark. Some of the birds looked really pale, while some looked much buffier. I wondered if a single or two Tree Pipits (Anthus trivialis) might have sneaked in, but after checking all of the photos, I found none.

Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni)

Oita River

January 2nd saw me catching a train to Oita since early morning. I wanted to take some photos of the tame ducks at the same spot I took last year. Unfortunately, the tide was too low and the ducks were all floating far in the middle of the river. A few Common Teals and Northern Shovelers were swimming around closely in the area though, but they happened to be so much shier than last year, so no photos taken. The weather was great, by the way. A bit windy, about 10km/hr, but not very cold, and the sun was shining brightly for most of the time too. There were lots of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) roosting on the rocks along the river. As the sun slowly rose up, even more of them came flying in from the sea direction.

Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo)

I remember seeing the description for the Great Cormorant in a Japanese Bird Guide, which I borrowed from my birding pal, noting Oita Prefecture as one of the well-known breeding sites of this species in Japan. I think that's the only line where the name Oita is mentioned in the book. Anyway, that's just me trying to feel good about having just a few other birds to photograph on that morning other than the cormorants.

Beppu Ropeway viewing from Oita River

Even more photos of the Great Cormorants

Male Baikal Teals (Anas formosa)

Hello 2011

So 2011 has officially arrived, and this blog is going to be 3 years old in just a few days. Still I find it hard to believe how fast time has gone by. It's my first post here in January 6, 2009 after my first solo trip to Arasaki in Kagoshima Prefecture for migratory crane watching. Those memories are still fresh in my mind. I still have no idea about my future after graduation. If I decide to leave Japan, 2011 will be my last full year here in this country. Anyway, let's start the year with these cheerful photos I took earlier in December at Asami. Of course, these brightly coloured Ginko leaves have already disappeared by now, but these photos somehow give a cool refreshing feeling which suits well to the New Year vacation.

Yatsusaka Shrine (八坂神社)

As I walked around the Yatsusaka Shrine, I came across a fruiting persimmon tree which attracted lots of thrushes and white-eyes. The thrushes were very shy, so I could only get a few photos of them. There were about 20 Dusky Thrushes and around 5 Pales Thrushes. The Japanese White-eyes were, on the other hand, very friendly and visited the tree almost in every 3 minutes. A few Brown-eared Bulbuls also came to the tree, but they were all too shy to stay for long. The brightly coloured persimmons contrast well to the clear blue sky of winter, making the photos look very bright and cheerful. I wished I could take more photos of the thrushes though.

Dusky Thrush (Turdus eunomus)

Brown-eared Bulbul (Ixos amaurotis)

Male Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus)

Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus japonicus)