
There were lots of swans with the geese…

The weather was nasty on the second and thirds days: rain and fog.

Someone very kindly lent me his 600 f11 lens when he heard about my dodgy shoulder.
It was a nice sunny day today so I took it out for a spin. It might take a bit of getting used to but it seems pretty reasonable for a walk about lens…
No exciting birds around, the injured long-staying Whooper and a few common ducks and lots of Dusky Thrush.
I only saw 1 Bean Goose (Taiga I think) amongst the main flocks in Mukawa. There was a flock of them a few miles east but they were impossible to get close enough to photograph.
There were also quite a few swans. Not photogenic in the harsh spring sunshine. Mainly Whoopers but I found at least 1 Bewick’s.
The nearest I could get to a comparison shot:
I took a walk down the river this morning. A very mild sunny autumnal day with a few birds around. 7 (!) Great Egret were the most interesting and there was also this lone injured Whooper Swan. It’s probably been there all summer: I saw it in the spring.
Other stuff around included 4 species of duck including Pintail, a few buntings in the bushes, a briefly glimpsed Pale Thrush.
The ricefields near Onuma had some visitors stopping by on their way north……..
Bean and White-fronted Geese, Bewick’s and Whooper Swans……….
Terrible day for photos but some interesting species around: Smew, Grey-headed Woodpecker, White-tailed and Steller’s Sea Eagles as well as the usual common stuff.
Eagles weren’t the only birds on show. Also around were Great Egret, Little Grebe, Smew, Goosander, Goldeneye, Pochard, Whooper Swan, a lone Goshawk, Japanese Wagtail and a flock of Common Crossbill flying overhead.
The swans are difficult to photograph at 700mm……
Goosanders regularly flew back and forth too……..