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

If you can still remember, I made a visit to Oita River earlier this month and found a small group of Baikal Teals around Onozuru area. This post will be about any other birds I found on that day. There was quite a good number of ducks, mainly Mallards and Common Teals. There were also a couple of Coots, a lone female Greater Scaup and a female Common Pochard, the 2 species I've never seen in Oita before. Apart from the ducks, the numbers of finches were also remarkable. There was quite a big flock of Eurasian Siskins feeding in a small grassy patch on the river side, as well as many dispersed flocks of the Grey-capped Greenfinches. This winter has proved to be good for Siskins.

A view of Oita River (大分川) from the bridge to Kaku (賀来)

It was the first time for me to catch a train from the South Exit of the Oita Station.

A flock of ducks in the river

I've got a few better flight shots of the Eurasian Siskins here.

There were several Little Grebes feeding in the water in front of my hiding place. These birds were too shy though. Even though I sat very still behind the bush waiting patiently, they never seemed to come any closer than 20-30 metres or so. Though the Little Grebes were a bit tamer than the ducks, they were still too small in size to fill in the frame. Hope next time I can get some better shots of them.

Beppu Park

It's been quite a long time since these photos were taken. The last few days of November saw me repeatedly visiting the local Beppu Park or Beppu Koen (別府公園) in Japanese. The main target for each visit was the large flock of Eurasian Siskins, a new species which seems to be so numerous this winter, as I've also seen a lot more in Oita. Last time I checked the park, which is on the last Wednesday, about 20+ birds were still around in the park. Though Furuso-san told me that there was also a Brambling in the park, I still couldn't find one. Bramblings are normally common in autumn, when a small number joins a flock of the commoner Grey-capped Greenfinches. I feel a bit weird not seeing Brambling this season. Apart from the finches, the number of thrushes were notable. Dusky and Pale Thrushes were all over the park. I wish this coming January brings in more Normann's and Dark-thraoted as it did earlier this year.

Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus)

It's always entertaining to watch them swirling through the air in a massive number over the park. I tried to capture them in flight but found it very difficult to get a decent shot. Above is the only acceptable one. When they come down to perch on the open treetops before coming down to drink, they also look like yellow autumn leaves ready to be blown away by winter breeze. New arrivals of the park were 3-4 Olive-backed Pipits (Anthus hodgsoni) which were feeding along the small stream where the siskins often came down to drink. Other birds like the usual tits and wagtails were all showing well. Below are some of the shots I did.

Japanese Tit (Parus minor)

Non-breeding male White Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens)