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)

Pointless Bike

Today I actually wanted to take a look at the beach near Mochigahama, but there were so many constructions going on around the area so I just decided to ride further to Rokushou-en. No interesting bird at Rokushou-en either, only a flock of usual Black-headed Gull, a Black-eared Kite and that's quite it, so I rode further to Furui-chi. I left my bicycle next to the railway and walked across to the fields on the other side. Several pairs of Common Teal were feeding in the open fields along with a small group of Common Snipe. One dull male Daurian Redstart near the railway was quite approachable so I spent time taking photos of it for a while.

It didn't seem to care much about my presence.

A pair of Bull-headed Shrike was still showing well around the same area, and a flock of Brown-eared Bulbul and White-cheeked Starling was still gathering in the same fruiting tree next to the railway as usual. I found a strange pigeon feeding in the field. It has strange white wings and has been banded on both legs. I assumed that it must come from a pigeon farm somewhere around here. It soon flew out towards the village after I got some promising shots.

The strangest thing for today, a feral pigeon with leg bands...

And some shots of plum blossoms to end the entry. Chinese New Year is coming soon and lots of these flowers can be seen almost everywhere. If the weather continues to be fine like this, I think I'll go to Beppu Koen to get some more shots of the white-eyes with these flowers. These days the only thing that kept me busy is the visa extension. There are many things to do, and tomorrow I have to go to Oita city to get a new re-entry permit, another 6,000 yen will fly away for a tiny stamp in my passport.