Ospreys And More

Since the discovery of the White-winged Scoter, I've been going to Sekinoe beach much more often. However, the bird never came any closer to the shore, so I've still got zero better photo of it. While walking around the area, I spent my time photographing a small group of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) that were feeding in the harbour. I believe there were more than 3 different individuals. They came to the small harbour nearby to catch small fish at low tides along with a pair of Black-eared Kites and a small Common Kingfisher. I could get lots of their flight shots at close range as I was hiding behind a bush. Sometimes they even came too close for me to fit into the frame. Photographing birds in flight can surely be fun!

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Most of the catches were successful and I guessed that's why they liked to stay around in the area. There must be a very good number of fish near the harbour at low tides, when they become very easy to see from the sky. However, I still haven't managed to get a decent series of diving shots of the bird. It's always exciting and fun watching them stooping down into the sea and come flying up with a fish in their talons. Once they caught something, they always flew away really far. I just wished that they'd perch and eat the prey somewhere near, so I can also take photos of them while perching as well...

Male Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)

Not only big birds like Ospreys and Black-eared Kites that were taking advantages of the abundance of fish at low tides, a single male Common Kingfisher was hanging around in the area as well. But as any Common Kingfishers around here, it was wary and didn't let me get close to it. The above Great Crested Grebe was from the Spa Beach in front of my dorm. You can see that it was already moulting into a breeding plumage. This year doesn't seem to be good for this species, and this individual always stayed far in the sea as well. To finish this entry, below is a sequence of shots of an Osprey catching a fish. This was the best I could get, but the light was awful. It'd have been much better, if there were a little bit of sunshine.

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)

Oita River

These photos were all taken earlier in January at Oita River. I started my day by dropping out at Kaku Station, then made my way upstream along the river to Onozuru and Taromaru. The scenery of Mt. Yufu and Mt. Tsurumi was perfect in the warm morning light. I just wished there were more snow on the mountains. Along the reeds, there were many Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), but they mostly kept hiding inside the reeds and rarely popped out into the open. A small flock of Common Teals and Mallards were resting in the rivers, as well as a pair of Ruddy-breasted Crakes, which I heard them making weird sounds inside the reeds.

A view of Mt. Yufu (left) and Mt. Tsurumi (right)

Non-breeding Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus)
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone orientalis) calling

Around Kaku area, I spotted a single Northern Goshawk soaring high up in the sky. The bird later landed into a very thick bush on the river side. There was another female Common Kestrel flying around the area as well. Actually, the target of the visit was the Japanese Waxwing, of which a small flock was photographed a few days earlier. I searched through the area but found nothing but the common stuff, including a flock of Long-tailed Tits, Meadow Buntings, Japanese Grosbeaks and Oriental Turtle-Doves.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus trivirgatus)
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)