I was waiting for a Water Rail to appear. It didn’t. But there were plenty of Kingfishers….
Tag: Common Kingfisher
Not only waders
Not only waders on the beach this morning. Hundreds of hirundines of all 3 common species and some Kingfishers in a creek.
A grey Monday in October
A quiet day at Yakumo with a few slightly interesting species: 6 species of gull including Black-legged Kittiwake and Glaucous-winged Gull, several skuas way offshore (Pomarine I think), Great Egret, lots of Pintail and Wigeon, Stejneger’s Scoter………….
Among the gulls were lots of Vega Gull: a common passage migrant in Hokkaido.
The Kingfishers posed for the camera………………
At Onuma there was a big flock of swans in one corner of the lake but I couldn’t get a clear view from the car: they were probably Bewick’s on their way south.
A long one
This Kingfisher at Yakumo caught an odd-looking fish.
It took it a couple of minutes to swallow it………….
It was a dark, wet humid day. The wader passage has started at least: 1 Mongolian Plover, 1 Kentish Plover, 6 Grey-tailed Tattler, 2 Terek Sandpiper and 2 Red-necked Stint. The first Black-headed Gulls are passing through too.
Final Kingfishers
The last shots of Thursday’s Kingfisher………..
More of the Kingfisher
Some more shots of the tame Kingfisher from earlier in the week…………
Tiddlers
The Kingfisher was catching a lot of very small fish…………
A few other poses
A few more shots of the Kingfisher from yesterday…………….
A tame Kingfisher
Kingfishers are usually pretty jumpy. This one wasn’t………..
At first I thought it was a juvenile (there were at least 4 Kingfishers around) but I’m not so sure. This one caught multiple fish at least.
The second half begins
July begins………….and another dark overcast Sunday.
July is generally the worst birding month in south Hokkaido. Most stuff is still singing at least. These Kingfishers were the only notable shots from today. 2 Oystercatcher were in Kamiiso a couple of days ago. The terns were no longer at Yakumo but the Ospreys were diving and a few intersting species were around at various locales: Japanese Green Pigeon, Sand Martin, Japanese Grosbeak and the usual common stuff.
Back after a break
Haven’t done much birding or photography recently. The above Kingfisher was at Yakumo this morning.
The last couple of weeks were pretty quiet. Rustic Buntings and Black-crowned Night Heron on the river near my apartment, Glaucous-winged, Vega and Black-headed Gulls at Kamiiso as well as a variety of returning duck species.
Last week we went up to Shikotsuko but nasty weather meant no decent photos. The first Glaucous Gull and White-fronted Goose of the season at Yakumo on the way back were the only noteworthy species of the trip………