Last shots from the pool

The last batch of shots from the pool near Shikotsuko............


This is male Japanese Thrush.....................

And this is a female...............

I've been to this place several times over the last couple of years and this was the 4th time in spring. I saw all the spring species from previous years except Grey Bunting and Red-flanked Bluetail. Japanese White-eyes only made a fleeting appearance this time and I didn't get any shots. The common tits etc were regular visitors.............

This Eurasian Treecreeper was a pool tick for me.............

Most of the shots at the pool come at a cost: high ISO (not so good on Canon APS-C cameras), slow shutter speeds (so a monopod is essential and shots of the birds bathing are just a blur) and wide open apertures (not so bad on the 500 f4 but the narrow depth of field can result in a lot of out of focus shots). In mid to late afternoon the sunlight does briefly hit the pool at least and it's possible to drop the ISO and raise the shutter speeds a little. The lighting is still very uneven though as the birds flit around between the shade and the sunlit areas.

The campsite we were staying at was also good for birds: Siberian Blue Robin, Grays Grasshopper Warbler, lots of Kamchatka Leaf (Arctic) and Eastern-crowned Warbler, Asian Brown, Narcissus and Blue and White Flycatcher, Japanese and Brown Thrush, Grey Bunting, Japanese Green Pigeon, Russet Sparrow, Goosander, Grey-tailed tattler, Brown Hawk Owl calling at night, Japanese Grosbeak, Treecreeper. Black, Great-spotted and Grey-headed Woodpeckers as well as the usual common woodland species......................