10 April 2011

Spring 2011 continues..........


A male Crossbill this afternoon in a small patch of pine trees next to one of the harbours at Oshanambe. It was a productive stop, I got this shot of an Osprey there too.


My father-in-law informed me the fish is an 'akahara' (redbelly) which is apparently almost inedible to humans, I hope baby Ospreys are less fussy.

Another nice spring day saw us start off in Onuma. The Black Woodpeckers were active but difficult to get close to, it looks like they may be nesting in the middle of a swampy patch which should ensure privacy from prying lenses. This crappy record shot of the female was the best was the best I could manage.


There were still plenty of Whooper Swans plus all the usual residents, the Nuthatches are starting to look a bit scruffy............





Other stuff at Onuma included Siskin, Mandarin Duck, Goosander, Great Egret, Japanese Grosbeak etc.......

Lots of common ducks everywhere including large flocks of Pintail and Wigeon at Yakumo and Oshamanbe, Shoveler, Harlequin Duck and Black Scoter, lots of summer plumage Great Crested Grebes.

Today was definitely a BIF day. This Osprey was at Yakumo.


There seemed to be lots of raptors on the move, this was one of several Sparrowhawks.......


The 7D is a great BIF camera.........





The Crossbills were a nice find, they were sharing the trees with a flock of Siskin. They were very flighty although this male stuck around long enough for a few shots...........



We had a quick look at some of the wetlands but these don't really get interesting until mid to late May. The only birds here were lots of Skylark and a few Reed Bunting.

On Friday I went back to Goryokaku Park to see if the Crossbills were still there. They were but not close enough for a picture. The Brambling, Hawfinch and Siskin flocks were also around as were the 3 Pochard. A Peregrine was a good flyover bird. The only photos I took though were of this rather tame male Grey Headed Woodpecker.



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8 comments:

  1. Wow you got a great day... The nuthatches shot are splendid but one can say the same for the crossbill, the woodpeckers and the first osprey shot. Well done Stu....

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  2. Like you say Stu, the 7D is good for BIF but some of it is down to the user! Like the sprawk and Ospreys again. Good to see you having some spring too.

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  3. Great serie, love the osprey with the big fish! The last picture (the woodpecker) is also very nice ;)

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  4. REally wonderful shots today, Stu.

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  5. What brilliant photos,what enchanting birds!

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  6. Wonderful images Stu. When are you coming to Sydney to show me how to get good BIF shots with my 7D? I struggle with getting good BIF images. It might help if the birds flew a bit slower too! ;)

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  7. Looks like a great day out.... HUGE fish for the Osprey !

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  8. Thanks for all the comments, yes it was a pretty good day all in all.........

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