In The Reed

January 23 saw me wandering around Sekinoe for the last time before flying back to Thailand. It was a beautiful morning with clear blue sky and nice warm morning light. I initially wanted to get some better shots of the White-winged Scoter, but the bird was still hundred metres away in the sea as usual, so I failed to do so. I then walked along the reedbed and found that there were quite many Reed Buntings feeding in it. I still haven't managed to get a decent shot of this species so I spent time trying to photograph them. Some of the males have already possessed some of the breeding features like blackish feathers on its head and breast.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

I walked along a small road to the APU's dorm which is sided by a small area of reeds. I surprisingly came across a very tame Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis). It was feeding quietly in the undergrowth on the roadside. I frequently see the species during early spring, when it shows off its flight display over the grassland. Although a fairly common species, I've never been able to photograph it here in Japan before. This time, the bird was kind enough to let me grab a few shots before disappearing into the reeds. The subspecies C. j.brunniceps is the subspecies found in Japan and northern Philippines. It looks really different from the subspecies C.j.malaya which is found in Thailand.

Non-breeding Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis brunniceps)

Oriental Bush Warbler (Cettia diphone)

The geese were still doing well, here's the Tundra Bean (A.f.serrirostris)

This Black-eared Kite seemed to be collecting nesting materials.

I walked to the fish pond near the lotus field and was surprised by a large flock of the Japanese Grosbeaks (Eophona personata) feeding on the lawn on my left. I estimated more than 60 birds, the largest flock I've ever seen. The flock was joined by the Dusky and Pale Thrushes. I didn't know what they were feeding on, but it might be some kind of seeds or berries. However, the birds were extremely shy and never let me get close to them while they're on the ground. I, by the way, got some better shots of them while perching on the trees nearby.

Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)

Some more shots of them while feeding on the ground

Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)

Brown-eared Bulbul (Ixos amaurotis)

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)

Late Spring

It's been a busy week since the school has started. This semester I've become busier than before and the weather sucked all through seven days. Now I'm still trying to recover from my sickness I've got from the campus. Everyone seemed to be sick because of the weather and there were lots of coughs and sneezes in the bus. Today, miraculously, the weather became fine once again. So I went to Minami Tatte-Ishi koen in the morning and took a long walk back to my dorm.

Brown-eared Bulbul

A male Pale Thrush

Dusky Thrush

White-cheeked Starling

Grey-capped Greenfinch

Despite the brilliant weather, not so many birds were showing in the park. The most interesting one being a male Brown-headed Thrush, which I've been seeking for in the previous visits. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any decent shot of it. No matter how hard I tried, the bird was far too shy to getting close. Actually it seems like there's been an influx of this species going on around Beppu, since I later found several more along the way back to my dorm. However, the best I could get of this thrush was this extra crappy crappy photo below.

Brown-headed Thrush

More Brown-eared Bulbul

And Pale Thrush

Oriental Bush Warbler

Japanese Wagtail courtship display

And my attempt to photograph a flying bat

A single Japanese Grosbeak showed up briefly in the park and disappeared before I could get any photo. Lots of Oriental Bush Warblers began to sing their sweet warbling songs and so as the white-eyes, swallows and wagtails. Tomorrow I'll go check some more spring migrants at Furui-chi. Hope there'll be something interesting.