A Cold Morning

The night of Janaury 15th saw a minor snow storm hitting the little town of Beppu. By the morning of the 16th, the city was all covered with white sheet of snow, such a different view. It's not common for Beppu to have such scenery, and I was so excited and headed to Sekino-E to take some photos as soon as possible. I spent a few hours there taking photos of birds and scenery before going to the Mochi (rice cake) festival. My target for the day was actually to photograph the 2 Bean Geese in the snow, which would be something new to the collection, but unfortunately, they kept staying in the river and didn't come up to the snow covered field until the afternoon, when the snow has already melted.

A selection of shot photographed on the morning of Jan 16 and the night of Jan 15
A never before seen view of Sekino-E

Most part of the water in the field was frozen.

I was surprised to see the 2 Bean Geese flew up and circling around the area for about 3-4 times before landing down to the river again. They've never been active in flying before. Guess the spring migration is heating up and they feel the need to exercise... I tried to get some flight shots of them, but for some reasons I often couldn't catch up to them. They were really big, so when they came flying too close, I just couldn't fit them into the frame. Below are a few of the acceptable shots.

Tundra and Taiga Bean Goose

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

Geeese

The exam is over and I have 5 days off starting from today. I'm planning to go to Oita someday during this short vacation, but first, here's a set of photos of the geese at Sekino-E taken since November 6. The geese actually disappeared for a few days, which made me think that they might have already migrated further south. But in the morning of November 6, I arrived at the place and was so happy to see that both of them had shown up once again. They must have been hidden among the thick lotus fields, so I just couldn't see them. Now they're back walking around with farmers again!

Taiga Bean Goose (A.f.middendorffii)

Tundra Bean Goose (A.f.serrirostris)

I concentrated on taking photos of the Taiga Bean Goose more than the Tundra because I still hadn't got any shot of it in good light. As you have seen in this post, it was already dark when I first found the bird. After that day of discovery, both of them had shortly disappeared, so November 6 was my first time to photograph the Taiga properly. Both of them were tame as ever. The Tundra is a bit tamer, since it has been around here longer than the Taiga. Both of them didn't mind me and the farmers working nearby at all.

Here's how the place looks like (The geese are sitting behind the farmer.)

This set was taken in the morning.

Recent Sketch

It's exam period right now, so I can't go out taking photos of birds like usual. However, it will be over soon by the end of this week, and I've already planned for a trip to several new birding spots in Oita. Talking with Furuso-san gave me lots of information about birding spots within Oita Prefecture. She also told me about the website that updates the sightings of birds in Oita Prefecture, which is this website. When I first visited and checked out the sighting reports, I just couldn't believe how good the birds are in this city. A flock of Hooded Cranes was even found just upper stream of the Oita River where I visit occasionally. There are even Brent Geese, Copper Pheasants, Japanese Waxwings, and Baikal Teals, all the birds I wish to see once. I got to make the most out of the remaining time for me living in Japan. By the way, here's a recent sketch of the Bean Geese at Sekino-E I did last week. The pleasure of drawing and painting is coming back to me again! To see more of the recent sketches, visit my gallery here.

Friends For Winter

These are pretty old photos taken on October 27 at the very same place in Sekino-E. The same Tundra Bean Goose (Anser fabalis serrirostris) was still presenting very well as usual, and even tamer! The bird looked so healthy and stopped constantly closing its left eye, so the idea of it being an exhausted bird blown up to Beppu by the storm waiting to get back on its route was completely incorrect. It seemed to be very much enjoying the dried lotus roots on the side of the footpath. I could even use my 18-55mm lens to take photos of it! I swear it is wild!

See, it finally flew off, not because of disturbance, but annoyance instead, I think.... I also talked to a farmer who was working in the lotus field the other day about the goose, and he said that it's the first time for him to see a goose in his field. He even fed it with some lotus roots he dug up, he said! I revisited the place on October 31 evening to check the goose, and was surprised to see not just 1, but 2 geese in the field! The birding oba-san whom I met in spring was already sitting there with the geese as I walked in. What's better is that the new comer is not a Tundra, but a Taiga Bean Goose (Anser fabalis middendorffii) instead!