The river near my apartment is a good place to see Night Herons in autumn.
Usually they just sit still hidden in the long grass but when one flies they all fly………….
This Large-billed Crow took exception to one of the juveniles;
There was a flock of 30 or so Black-crowned Night Herons at one of the local river mouths. They were all sitting around in a tree and I inadvertently disturbed them.
The more photogenic adults didn’t come as close…………….
Near my place there were a few migrants passing through last week: a Northern Hawk Cuckoo, several Asian Brown Flycatcher and a couple of Siberian Stonechat.
Another quiet week just gone by.
At Yakumo today there were a couple of interesting waders: a Teminck’s Stint and a Green Sandpiper. I don’t have any decent shots of either and they were both so jumpy I couldn’t get any today either.
On the beach there were a few Sanderlings and the ubiquitous Red-necked Stints.
The hot time is here. The start of August always sees Hakodate throwing a huge festival, but not this year for obvious reasons.
Not much around. The Chinese Pond Heron is still there but I only glimpsed it very briefly. Other stuff today included a large group of Black-crowned Night Herons, Sand Martin, Osprey, Pacific Swift, Common Kingfisher, Osprey and Blue Rock Thrush.
A mild last few days in town, surely the winter chill will come soon.
On the river near my apartment there were 3 species of Heron: the above Night Heron, and several each of Grey Heron and Great Egret. There were also 6 species of duck with the most interesting being a small group of Goosander and a lone drake Goldeneye.
Other stuff around included Hawfinch, Dusky Thrush, Winter Wren, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Brown Dipper and Varied Tit.
Sunday was a bit of a write-off because of the weather.
The Night Herons were still outside town as well as a few Pintail and a lone Osprey. In town last week near my apartment there were more Night Herons as well as Asian Brown Flycatcher, Brown Dipper, Varied Tit and Bull-headed Shrike.
Still warm, quite looking forward to the first chilly morning of the season…………
Summer is over, officially I guess. Heavy rain from the typhoon outside now but yesterday we were up in Yakumo/Oshamanbe. Lots of Great Egret around, Eastern Buzzards everywhere, small flocks of Common Teal and Pintail, the last flocks of hirundines at rivermouths: all signs of autumn.
Other stuff around included Peregrine, Osprey, Common Kingfisher and a handful of waders: 2 Red-necked Stint, 1 Whimbrel and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit.
The above Night Heron was near Hakodate, not a vintage day for photos.
In late summer Black-crowned Night Herons gather in the trees near one of the local rivermouths……….
In a few weeks they will be heading south…………..
These are all juvenile birds: the adults generally scoot off before I can get a shot.