Summer in the grasslands

An Eastern Marsh Harrier near Oshamanbe on Sunday.

After Yakumo we were on the grasslands near Oshamanbe. All the common species were singing and there were also flocks of Sand Martin above.

Black Browed Reed Warblers are absolutely abundant in this place.................

I took a short video on a rickety old tripod..............



This was another individual which seems to have lost most of  its tail

Back at Yakumo I tried again for the Ospreys. One of them was sitting on some driftwood on the opposite bank..................too far away for a pic though.

Wish it had been as close as this Black Kite..............

On the way home we stopped at Onuma where I got my first mosquito bite of 2013.

There was a lone Whooper Swan sitting in the shade next to the lake. I guess this is an old or injured bird that couldn't make the spring trip back up north.

Or maybe it was just lazy.................

Thanks for clicking this link.......
人気ブログランキングへ

Linked to Wild Bird Wednesday.

Saunders Gull

An immature Saunders Gull at Yakumo today. Nothing special about the pictures but it was rather a nice find, my first lifer for over a year. There were only a handful of Black Tailed and Slaty Backed Gulls around and at first I dismissed this as a rather late Black Headed Gull (they sometimes hang on until June). I was trying (without success) to get some pics of the fishing Ospreys when it flew over making a noise like a Common Tern...............a big surprise to see this species so far north in Japan and at this time of year too.

June is a handy month for finding these kind of vagrants..................7 years ago I got a Caspian Tern and 4 years ago I got a Gull Billed Tern (the latter also at Yakumo).

It was a strange day, sunny for short periods and then foggy. All the summer stuff was in full voice at Yakumo. Lathams Snipe, Siberian Stonechat, Oriental Reed, Black Browed Reed, Japanese Bush and Grays Grasshopper Warbler, Oriental and Common Cuckoo, Skylark, Chestnut Eared and Black Faced Bunting and Long Tailed Rosefinch were all singing. Other birds around included 2 White Throated Needletail, 2 Intermediate Egret and Little Ringed Plover. A pair of Osprey were fishing, I guess that means the eggs have hatched..............

There were lots of Siberian Stonechat around..............

And lots of these too........................a singing Black Browed Reed Warbler..............

I was hoping to spend a mellow Sunday night drinking cold beer and listening to the cricket. Damn the weather in south Wales................well at least I still have the beer option.
Thanks for clicking this link.......
人気ブログランキングへ

Predictable...............

Well it is that time of year again. Summer is very predictable in town, only a few species, 3 of which you see above.....................

Not much to report. It hasn't rained for a couple of weeks. Really, that's all.

Thanks for clicking this link.......
人気ブログランキングへ

The other Reed Warbler

A Black Browed Reed Warbler at Oshamanbe this afternoon. This is one of my favourite summer visitors, I much prefer it to its noisier relative the Oriental Reed Warbler..............

They are abundant in the grasslands in summer, really they are incredibly common in the right habitat. You can see how they get their name..............

Most of the regular stuff was around including an Eastern Marsh Harrier that was very closse but still managed to drift away before I was ready to take a shot. I see this species pretty much every time I visit the right habitat but still haven't managed anything other than blurry record shots.

It was a very clear hot day, easily the warmest of the year so far. Despite visiting Kamiiso, Yakumo, Oshamabe and Onuma (and several other places en route) it was not a successful day with the camera, I must have used up all my luck for 2013 in those few days back in the middle of May.

England are going to bore Australia into submission in the Ashes.

Thanks for clicking this link.......
人気ブログランキングへ

Slow time

Some of the 7 or 8 singing Oriental Reed Warblers as I walk upstream from my apartment. For such a loud noisy bird they are pretty shy and drop down into the long grass as soon as they realize they are being watched.

Slow time in Hakodate is here. Just the dozen or so local breeders in town now. Other singing species included Black Faced and Chestnut Eared Bunting and  lots of Oriental Greenfinch. Lots of Red Cheeked Starlings around too as well as the common stuff like Bullheaded Shrike, Eastern Great Tit, Asian House Martin, Tree Sparrow, Brown Eared Bulbul, Spot Billed Duck and the 2 resident species of crow and gull.

Hopefully I can get out off town at the weekend, the weather has been great this week and the ricefields, grasslands and rivers should have a few more birds at least.................

Thanks for clicking this link.......
人気ブログランキングへ