Some more spring migrants

An Eye Browed Thrush in the local park this morning. There were 2 or 3 of them as well as a few Dusky Thrush all on their way north. Quite a few nice birds in the park. A female Narcissus Flycatcher, a female Red Flanked Bluetail, lots of Japanese White-eye and this singing Eastern Crowned Warbler.



Not great pictures. I've hit a ceiling with the lens I currently have. It's ok for record shots or blog photos like these (that hardly anyone ever sees) but it's simply too soft. Well I suppose it was the cheapest 300mm lens I could find. I'll have to wait a few months for the cash to splash on a better one. Aaargh-before that I have to pay car tax/local tax/ticket back to England/new tent......here's a non too sharp male Red Cheeked Starling.



And here's a Turtle in the moat of the aforementioned local park. I don't know if it's wild or introduced (although I see turtles at Onuma and on the local river sometimes too). And god only knows where they go in winter when the moat is frozen.



The park was full of retirement age men cutting the grass. I'm not joking there must have been over 50 of them. What a racket. And why do they need so many? Oh yeah. Full employment.

We went to Menagawa in the afternoon looking for Red Necked Pharalopes. Every year arriving around May 15-17 tens or maybe hundreds of thousands congregate offshore from Hakodate eastwards to Esan. Today was May 14 and there weren't any. A few Harlequin Ducks were the only things of interest on the sea. Yesterday we went to Yakumo and Onuma but the rain was so heavy I couldn't do much birding. A few Osprey. some passage ducks, no waders at all...........