Highlights from past Autumn

November 8, 2020

This Autumn Eurasian Jays have been seen in many parks in Tokyo. I have been lucky enough to capture it on several occasions in two different locations. The bird is very shy and usually escapes as soon as it has noticed you. In a cemetery close to my house, there were perhaps 5-6 Jays on and off. When a Japanese Sparrowhawk was there at the same time with the Jays, they were somewhat easier to be heard and seen as they were constantly chasing each other.

今年の秋東京周辺にカケスは多く見れれているみたいです。私も二箇所で何回かカケスを撮れました。あまりにもシャイな鳥で、人間の気配に気づくと直ぐに飛び出し、身を隠します。近所の霊園に５〜６羽の群れがいました。ツミも同時にいる時はお互い追いかけていた為、鳴き声と姿は少しだけ見つけやすくなっていました。

This Japanese Green Woodpecker is another bird that I have captured in the cemetery. It is another though subject and great in hiding. It can be more often heard than seen. It has been very popular among local photographers. I am not too satisfied my the shots but I keep trying.

アオゲラも近所の霊園でゲットしました。アオゲラも手強い相手ですが、近所のカメラマンの間で人気者です。自分の写真に満足していないですが、また挑戦します！

I find the Grey Wagtail very elegant with it’s slender body and long tail. In the captures below the bird is preening after taking a bath in shallow fountain.

キセキレイは細い体に尾羽が長い為、エレガントな鳥です。以下の写真は水浴びした後の毛づくろいの時のものです。

I found this Japanese Sparrowhawk in a corner of a busy park. It was finishing it’s meal on a tree branch about two meters from the ground. Even though I photographed it at close distance, it didn't seem to bothered by my presence at all but slowly finished it’s meal in front of me. It was a thrilling experience.

ある賑やかな公園の一角で地上２メートルの高さの枝の上ツミを発見しました。近い距離でシャッターをきっていたのに全然気にしない様子でした。普通にゆっくり餌を食べていました。スリリングの体験でした。

I got a hint from an acquaintance that there were two Brown Hawk-owls (or Brown Boobooks) in a certain park in Tokyo. During the Autumn, I have mainly kept to few locations close to my home, but since I had never seen this species, I decided to go to the park there immediately. As soon as I arrived another acquaintance lead me to the birds. The birds had been in that park for about two weeks already. In the evening they would get up and go hunting and in the morning they would be back to the very same tree.

友人からアオバズクの情報をゲットしました。この秋はだいたい近所にしか出かけていなかったですが、一度も見たことがない鳥なので、直ぐに逢いに行くのを決めました。公園に着いたら、別の友人がアオバズクのところに連れてくれました。既に２週間そこに暮らしていると教えてもらいました。夕方になると狩に行くが、次の朝はまた同じ木の同じ枝に寝ていました。

Autumn Migration

October 17, 2020

Almost two months passed without writing a blog. It’s high time I write an update. This autumn I have mainly been photographing in two locations: one of them is a cemetery only 10 minutes walk from my home and the other one a park half an hour train ride from my home. Since none of the locations have any interesting butterflies, I have concentrated in capturing birds, especially migratory birds.

Below are some of my favourites during the past months.

今年の秋は新型コロナの為、あちらこちらに行かずに撮影場所は近所の霊園ともう一箇所に絞っていました。蝶類は少ない為、野鳥をおメインに撮っていました。特に渡鳥を狙っていました。以下は気に入りの写真をアップしています。

September 12：It was dark and drizzling every now and then. I wanted however to check the cemetery for migratory birds before it would start pouring. I couldn’t believe my good luck when I spotted this Japanese Paradise Flycatcher. It wasn’t especially shy, perhaps because I was alone, and it let me photograph at close distance. Soon afterwards it started pouring and the following day the bird was already gone.

9月１２日：小雨は降ったり止んだりしていました。本降りの前に近所の霊園に渡鳥が来ていないか、確認に行きました。運良くサンコウチョウを見つけてました。1人だったせいか、警戒心強くなさそうで、近くまで来てくれました。撮影した少し後、雨が強くなり、帰ることにしました。次の日またに探しに行ったが、案の定もういなかったです。

September 19：Narcissus Flycatcher, female

9月19日：キビタキ、メス

September 27: There were several female Narcissus Flycatchers around. I could see some territorial disputes between the birds that were all interested in these berries.

9月27日：キビタキは３〜４羽がいたと思います。みんな同じ実を食べたがってて、縄張り争いをしていました。

September 28：I was lucky enough to see another Japanese Paradise Flycatcher. I have seen them only a few times before. The weather was good and there were many people in the park and the bird kept hiding first. However, there was a time when there weren’t other people around and I could see the bird catching butterflies and other insects in front of my eyes.

9月28日：この季節の二回目のサンコウチョウに出会いました。天気は良く公園は賑やかでした。最初は暗い所で隠れていましたが、食べ物を求めて動き出しました。人が少ない公園の一角で目の前で蝶や他の昆虫を取っているの見て、とても嬉しかったです。

September 30：I saw the male Narcissus Flycatcher hovering in the air in front of my eyes twice, but wasn’t prepared for it and missed the shot. I set my camera ready and was waiting for the third, but the show was already over.

9月３０日：キビタキのオスを撮っている時、急に目の前でホバリングをしてくれました。二回もホバリングをしたが、撮り損ねました。今度セッティングを変えて待っていましたが、三回目はなかったです。

October 6: It was my first time to capture a female Blue-and-White Flycatcher. Female of this species is brown unlike the name suggests.

10月6日：始めてメスのオオルリを撮れました。オスと違って瑠璃色ではなく茶色っぽく地味です。

September 15: I believe this is Eastern Crowned Warbler, but it is difficult to judge from the side image only as there are many very similar species.

9月15日：センダイムシクイでしょうか。横姿しか撮れていないですので、判断できません。

September 17：It was cold and raining. I dressed in rainwear and covered my camera also in plastic and went to the cemetery to see if I could find Eurasian Jays that have been there for some time. I did see a glimpse of one Jay. Today’s star was anyhow this lovely flycatcher, the Dark-sided Flycatcher. It was my first time ever to see it. It was moving around with a flock of Japanese Tits and Varied Tits. I must have looked clumsy and harmless with all my rain gear as it wasn’t even a bit shy. Once or twice it came so close to me that I could not focus anymore.

9月17日：寒くて雨が降っていました。自分もカメラもレインウェアをして、最近カケスが頻繁に確認されている近所の霊園に行きました。カケスも一瞬見ましたが、今日のスターは小さくて目がクリクリのサメビタキでした。始めての出逢いでした。サメビタキはシジュウカラとヤマガラの群と一生に動いていました。レインウェアーを着て、大きな荷物を背負っている私は恐らく不器用に見えたでしょう。サメビタキは警戒心なく自ら私の真近く、フォーカスが聞かない距離まできてくれました。

Under the scorching sun

August 27, 2020

It’s the hottest time of the year. I have been out photographing only a few times. Twice, I went to Hamarikyu Gardens to capture butterflies in the cosmos field. Since I go there every year, this time I tried something different: I tried to shoot from low angle and capture the butterflies against whitish buildings in the background. The temperature was around +35 degrees Celsius, and since I needed to do a lot of squatting for that low angle, I exhausted myself pretty badly . The rest of that day I spent in bed with a headache and feeling sick, typical symptoms of a heatstroke.

The second day I went to Hamarikyu, was supposed to be cloudy and slightly cooler, but the clouds cleared out pretty soon and the day got almost as hot as the first day. I had learned a lesson and spent only short time shooting. This time I took more conventional captures.

一番気温が高い季節です。毎日散歩に出かけていますが、写真を撮りに行くのはあまり多くなかったです。毎年浜離宮恩賜庭園のコスモス畑の蝶を撮りに行ったいます。今年も二回行ってきました。初日はいつもと違って低い角度から狙って遠くにある白っぽい構造ビルを背景に撮ってみました。３５度の暑さでしゃがんでいたら、やはり具合が悪くなり、午後は熱中症寝込んでいました。

二回目浜離宮に行った日の天気は曇りの予報でしたが、結局すぐに晴れて、気温も初日とほぼ同じに上がってしまいました。教訓から習って、写真は普通に立ってコスモス畑を背景に撮ることにしました。そして、具合が悪くならないうちに早く変えることにしました。

Kingfisher family

August 6, 2020

The last weeks of the unusually long rainy season I spent shooting kingfishers by a river just a short bicycle ride from my home. It is not a beautiful river but typical central Tokyo concrete-covered river with all kinds of garbage thrown in over the years. I wouldn’t usually photograph in a place like that but since the covid19 infections are rising again, I prefer not to take trains and risk getting infected.

There is one somewhat beautiful area by the river, a small cove with some lotus flowers growing in the water and a small green area where you can walk through. The cove fills with water when the water level is high and therefore on a rainy day, the gate to the cove is closed. I was hoping to capture kingfishers together with the lotuses.

On my first day to the river I searched for the kingfishers by the cove and found one male adult and two juveniles, who were already practicing on diving on their own. They were able to catch some tiny fish and shrimp but still relied on the adult bird for bigger catch.

After a long wait, the kingfishers coming and going, my efforts were rewarded and I was able to capture the adult male kingfisher with lotus, not with a flower but with the sea pod or “shower head” as they are often called.

On my second day, I was somewhat luckier and saw how the adult bird stopped to perch on a lotus bud for a moment. Despite of many visits to the river on the following days, I never saw a kingfisher getting on a blooming lotus flower. Now that the rainy season is over and there is no risk of flooding, the cove is kept open for people to enter and naturally the kingfishers have moved to other parts of the river. My chances of capturing these beautiful birds with lotuses are getting very slim.

The juveniles are getting better and better with diving. They are pretty active flying back and forth in the river. Sometimes they seem to be fighting with each other over territories, which is a skill that they will be needing when they are on their own.

長引いた梅雨の後半は近くの川でカワセミを追っていました。綺麗な川ではなく、東京で良くあるコンクリートで覆われたゴミも沢山入っている川です。普段でしたら、そんな川で撮影しないですが、新型コロナ感染者が再び増えている中、電車やバスに乗りたくないです。

川沿は一箇所だけ綺麗なところがあります。ハスの花が咲いている入江とちょっとした自然を楽しめる散歩道です。川が溢れる危険性がある雨の日などに入江への門が閉まっています。カワセミとハスのコラボを少し期待しました。

入江に着いたら、直ぐにオスの成鳥一羽と幼鳥二羽を発見しました。幼鳥はすでに自ら飛び込みの練習をして、小魚やエビをたまに取れたのですが、親からの餌にまだ大いに頼っていました。

カワセミが行ったり来たりの間、ずっと入江の周りに粘っていたら、運良く大人のカワセミをハスと一緒に撮れました。しかし花ではなく、タネがある『シャワーヘッド』の上に止まってくれました。

次の日も鳥運が良くて、オスのカワセミがハスの蕾に止まってくれるのを見て撮影できました。しかしその後、何回か川に通っても入江のところで粘っても再びハスとの共演はもうなかったです。梅雨が明け入江が人で賑やかになったから、カワセミは入江から消えてしまいました。『ハスカワ』を撮れる可能性もとてもわずかになりました。

幼鳥は次第に飛び込みが上手になってきています。あちこち活発に動き回っています。たまに縄張り争い見たいな行動も取っています。将来に向けて良い練習になるでしょう！

Juvenile and adult common kingfisher・カワセミ、幼鳥、成長

Pithecops fulgens tsushimanus

July 27, 2020

Once a year there is a chance to see the endangered butterfly species, the Pithecops fulgens tsushimanus in Adachi-ku Park of Living Things. They release a few butterflies in their butterfly house for one week for the general public to see. I visited the park again to see the tiny little creatures that can be naturally found only on a small island of Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture. This time, even though I knew the butterflies were there I had hard time finding them, which is no wonder as they are tiny with wingspan of only 2 cm and of plain color.

Japanese Sparrowhawk Chicks

July 14, 2020

I have been following the growing of the Japanese Sparrowhawk chicks I have written in past. I have, anyhow been too busy to write about them, so I am sharing a few images and lines from my visits to their nest.

以前も書いきましたツミの家族を引き続き観察しています。ブログを書く時間はなかったので、少し前の写真に何行かを書いてシェアします。

3 July: It turned out that there were five fledgelings, not three, as I and other photographers had thought. I was somewhat surprised how big a difference there was between the oldest and the youngest bird.

７月３日：雛は三羽ではなくて五羽もいました！一番子と末っ子の差は驚くほど大きかったです。まだ真っ白の子がいれば、ツミらしい色の子もいました。

5 July: I don’t know whether it was the hard wind, whether the nest was getting too small for the five siblings, or perhaps whether one of the chicks overestimated it’s flying skills, but it happened that one of the chicks fell from the nest and could not immediately return back. Possibly overwhelmed by the amount of people, it walked further and further away from the tree where the nest was with a result that some crows detected it and tried to attack it. With a little bit of help from humans such as chasing away the crows, the bird was eventually able to get back to it’s nest.

７日５日：風は強かったせいか、巣は五羽の成長する雛に小さすぎるせいか、もしくは一羽は自分の飛行力に過剰自身だったせいか、一羽は巣から落ちてしまいました。直ぐに巣に戻ることができなかったみたいです。多くの人に圧倒されて、巣のある木から遠ざかったしまいました。やがてカラスに見つかり、攻撃も受けました。ここまでの成長を見守ってもらった人にカラスを追い払ってもらうなどの助けがあって、最終的に巣に戻ることができました。

6 July: The chicks are spending more and more time outside the nest sometimes looking down to the photographers and other passers by with curious eyes. When the mother arrives to the nest with a catch, they would quickly return to the nest.

７月７日：雛は巣の外での時間が長くなっています。たまに興味津津にフォトグラファーや通りかかる人々を見つめています。しかし、親鳥が餌を持って帰ると、速やかに巣に戻ります。

7 July: The chicks are taking short flights in neighboring trees. Although grown a lot, they are still a bit clumsy. (Oops, there wasn't enough space for the tail). At other times, they return to their favourite tree branches and are sitting close to each other while preening or sleeping.

７月７日：雛は巣がある木から隣の木に飛んだりします。体が大きくなってもまだ不器用です。体が思ったより大きくて、尾羽が引っかかったりするシーンとかがありました。たまに巣の近くの気に入りの枝に戻って、並んで寝たり、毛づくろいをしたりします。

13 July: It seems that the oldest have already left the nest and are on their own. Presently, there are three chicks left. They were busy flying back and forth in the nest tree and neighboring trees. It happened that surprised by sudden noise of a leaf blower, all three chicks flew away from the nest tree at the same time.

It seems to me that they are soon ready to hunt and live on their own.

７月１３日：一部の雛はすでに巣立っているみたいです。確認できるは三羽のみです。活発に動いたり、遠くの木まで飛び交ったりします。園のスタッフが巣の近くにリーフブロワーを起動すると、大きな音に驚いて、三羽とも一気に飛び出すこともありました。

じかじか独立して完全に巣立つ時は近づいているだろう、と感じます。

Fryer's Purple Emperor

July 6, 2020

It’s the middle of the rainy season. There were many rainy and cloudy days during the past week, but luckily one beautiful sunny day, too. I headed to capture butterflies. As I arrived to a park in Katsushika City, I met a friend who told me there are many Fryer’s Purple Emperors and other butterflies enjoying sap on a old tree trunk. That was exactly what I had hoped for.

First I saw only a few hornets there but it didn't take a long time to see the first Fryer’s purple emperor. Soon a few more arrived. They fed on the sap slowly, disappeared, and came back again. At times there were four or five of them at the same time. At times they were all gone. After some searching I noticed some resting on nearby trees and on a hydrangea bush. I have never seen some many butterflies of this species before. My estimate is that there were maybe 10 of them.

I am happy I was able to get a few captures showing the purple color of the wings of male butterflies. Pending on the angle you look at them, you can see very modest brown colors, or if you are lucky you see that beautiful purple color that the name suggest.

The sap of the old tree trunk attracted also other butterflies. Red ring skirt butterflies came a few times and one Hestina persimilis japonica also for a very short time.

梅雨の真っ最中です。雨や曇りの日々が続いていますが、先週晴天の良い１日もありました。その日は葛飾区のある公園に蝶を撮りに行ってきました。公園に着いたら、友人に樹液が出るある木にコムラサキなどの蝶はよく訪れると言われました。それは正に私の目的でした。

最初はスズメバチだけでしたが、少し待てば、コムラサキも登場しました。やがて2−３頭が見えまして、ゆっくりと樹液を吸う始めました。蝶は行ったりきたりしていました。多い時4−５頭が同時に木の幹に着いて樹液を求めていました。一頭もいない時周りを探しましたら、木の葉や近くの紫陽花に休んでいるのを発見しました。その日に見つけたコムラサキの数は１０頭ぐらいだったかもしれません。

オスのコムラサキの翅が角度によって、茶色に見えたり、紫色に輝いたりします。嬉しいことに名前の通りの紫に輝く翅を写真に納めることができました。

樹液の匂いは他の蝶も引きつけています。アカボシゴマダラも何回が見えてまして、ゴマダラチョウも一回だけ見えてました。

Freyer's Purple Emperor・コムラサキRed Ring Skirt・アカボシゴマダラ — Freyer's Purple Emperor・コムラサキ
Red Ring Skirt・アカボシゴマダラ

Japanese Sparrowhawk Family

June 25, 2020

It’s a long time since I had captured the Japanese sparrowhawk couple nesting close to my house. They are actually a family of five now with three cute fledgelings. This week I have been photographing them on two days.

The female is watching over the nest and chasing away any intruders to their territory while the role of the male is to go hunting and bringing food to the female and the fledgelings. Unlike the couple I photographed last year, this sparrowhawk couple is often handing the food over from male to female in mid-air, which provides a nice spectacle.

The nest is pretty well hidden and difficult to capture. Sometimes, anyhow when the female is feeding the chicks one can see a glimpse of the chicks with beautiful big eyes.

近所に巣があるツミのカップルは長い間見に行ってなかったです。実は3羽のヒナが誕生して、今五羽家族になっています。今週2回も撮影に行ってきました。

メスは巣の近くに見張り役をやっていまして、縄張りに侵入している物を追いかけたりします。オスは狩りに出かけて、家族に餌を持って来る役割をしています。１年前撮影したツミと違って、今回のカップルは餌の引き渡しは空中でやるのが多いみたいで、スリリングな光景になっています。

巣はあいに良く隠れていて、とても撮りにくいです。たまにメスがヒナに餌をやるとき、ヒナの可愛い黒目が一瞬確認出来ます。

National Butterfly of Japan

June 23, 2020

The other day I went to a Cho-no-Sato Park (Butterfly Village Park) in Ranzan, Saitama Prefecture. I was hoping to find some zephyrus butterflies and possibly also see Japanese national butterfly, the Japanese Emperor, also called the Great Purple Emperor for it’s beautiful purple color.

It wasn’t the best day for zephyrus - I only detected one Neozephyrus Japonicus - but I was very lucky to see the emerging of the Japanese Emperor butterfly from pupa. The park staff kindly told me that one of the pupae was about to emerge. He removed a protective net tied around the pupa and few photographers gathered around to wait for the moment of emerging. For an hour and half there was very little change, the pupa got a bit longer and the color changed a little, but had I not been pointed out about those small changes by the staff, I would probably not have noticed them. Finally, the pupa broke and we could first see the head and the eye, then some of the wings and very soon the adult butterfly had totally emerged from the pupa. It then started the long process of straightening and drying the wings. I was told that it would still take a couple of hours until the butterfly would open it’s wings totally. Unfortunately, I had not chance to wait that long.

I was, anyhow, able to photograph another Japanese Emperor butterfly, one that had emerged one day earlier. For some reason that butterfly had not taken off even after opening it’s wings totally, so the staff had taken it into a net for a day and was to release it later. Again, few photographers gathered when the the staff released the butterfly from a cage to a branch of Chinese hackberry tree. Even after being released the butterfly would not take off for a long time and we all got to capture it with time.

It was a great experience to see the emerging of the butterfly and I am greatful for the staff who was kind enough to have the photographers to witness the moment.

先週埼玉県嵐山市にある蝶の里公園に行ってきました。目的はゼフィルスや日本の国蝶のオオムラサキでした。

ゼフィルスはミドリシジミ一体だけで期待はずれでしたが、運良くオオムラサキの羽化を見ることができました。スタッフの方にもう少しと羽化すると丁寧にお声かけを頂きました。スタッフの方は蛹の周りに保護の為に貼ってあったネットを外したら、周りに集まったフォトグラファーと一緒に観察を始めました。一時間半蛹にそれほどの変化はなかったです。『少し伸びている』、『ちょっと開いている』、『色が変わった』とかのスタッフの指摘がなければ、ゆっくりとした小さな変化に気付かなかったかもしれないです。

やっと蛹が割れ始めて、頭や目が少し見えてきました。それから羽、触角、足などが見えてきて、気付けば大人の蝶は完全に蛹の外に出ています。今度は枝にしっかりしがみ付いて、羽をゆっくりと伸ばし始めました。羽を完全に伸ばすには数時間かかると言われまました。残念ながら、待つ事が出来なかったです。

しかし、別の個体を撮ることができました。１日前羽化した個体はどうしてか、羽を開いても、飛ぼうとしなかったです。スタッフはその子を一旦捕獲し、次の日に飛ばす事にしていました。またフォトグラファーが集まり、スタッフの方は蝶をケージからエノキの枝に移動させました。そのままに枝に止まり、しばらく飛ぼうとしなかった為、皆さんはゆっくり写真を撮れました。

日本の国蝶のオオムラサキの羽化の観察は私にとってとても貴重な経験になりました。スタッフの方のお声かけに本当に感謝しています。ありがとうございます。

Two Beautiful Species

June 15, 2020

While I have been searching for zephyrus butterflies, I have captured other species as well. Below are two beautiful species from 6 June, The Japanese Flash (Rapala arata) and the Small Copper.

The Japanese Flash has two generations of adult butterflies a year. First generation is called spring type and second summer type (in pictures below) . They two types are of somewhat different colors. I had hoped to see this butterfly to open it’s wings and reveal beautiful blue color on the backside. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

Despite of being very common, the Small Copper is one of my favorites butterflies for it’s beautiful colors and wing patterns. They also have spring and summer types. Anyhow, they have more than two generations of adult butterflies a year.

Zephyrus Butterflies

June 8, 2020

It’s the season for zephyrys, a group of theclini butterflies that have only one generation of adult butterflies a year, often in the beginning of summer. I have been out to shoot these butterflies twice in one of my favourite gardens. (Three times, if you count the time when the garden was closed and I was photographing outside the fence.)

While there have been rather many Neozephyrus Japonicus butterflies, I am disappointed to have found so few Saepestriata japonica and Japonica lutea. Perhaps when the chestnut three in the garden will be in full bloom, it will be easier to find them as their nectar attract the butterflies.

I have counted various species as follows:

31 May: Saepestriata japonica 1, Japonica lutea 2 (Outside the garden)

2 June: Neozephyrus japonicus 10, Saepestriata japonica 1, Antigius attilia 2

6 June: Neozephyrus japonicus 4, Saepestriata japonica 2, Japonica lutea 1

ゼフィルスの季節がやってきました。この間２回気に入りな公園に撮りに行ってきました。（公園はまだ空いていない時外側だけ１回。）

ミドリシジミは比較的多く確認できましたが、アカシジミとウラナミアカシジミはあいにくとても少なかったです。栗の木は完全に咲いたら、見つけやすくなるかもしれません。ゼフィルスなどの蝶は蜜を吸うに来るからです。

確認出来た個体数は以下の通りです

５月３１日：　ウラナミアカシジミ１体、アカシジミ２体

６月２日：　ミドリシジミ１０体、ウラナミアカシジミ１体、ミズイロオナガシジミ２体

６月６日：　ミドリシジミ４体、ウラナミアカシジミ２体、アカシジミ１体

Thank You!

May 30, 2020

Yesterday, Blue Impulse, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force aerobatic demonstration team flew in the sky over Tokyo. The show was aimed to show gratitude and respect for the medical staff for their work and care during the covid-19 pandemic.

Thank you for your invaluable work!

My thoughts are with you.

医療従事者の皆さま、ブルーインパルスを楽しめたでしょうか？

ありがとうございます！

お身体を気をつけてください！

A few recent images of the Japanese Sparrowhawk couple

最近のツミのカップル

Gloomy weather

May 23, 2020

The past week the weather has been very gloomy, cold, cloudy and drizzling on and off. I don’t remember seeing the sun at all. I have been out in the mornings in the nearby park but haven’t come home with any great captures.

Despite of the weather the Japanese sparrowhawks keep on their daily business: taking turns in attending their nest and finding food, chasing away intruders to their territory, preening their feathers and so on.

In addition to chasing away crows, the sparrowhawks sometimes grow irritated by Oriental Magpies coming too close to their nest and chase them away, too. Once, very high in the sky, I saw the male sparrowhawk fighting with another bird, that a senior birder recognized as Grey-faced Buzzard.

この１週間どんよりとした天気が続いています。寒くて、暗くて、雨が降ったり止んだりしています。朝の散歩に出かけていますが、写真の収穫はそれほどありません。

ツミのカップルは相変わらず確認出来ています。交代で抱卵したり、狩りに行ったり、毛づくろいしたり、縄張りに侵入するものを追いかけたりしています。

カラスだけではなく、巣の近くに来るオナガまでいらついて、追いかけます。一度オズのツミは空高く別の鳥と戦っているのを撮りました。先輩のカメラマンに相手はサシバだと教えてもらいました。

Japanese sparrowhawk ＆　Grey-faced buzzard・ツミ＆サシバ — Japanese sparrowhawk ＆ Grey-faced buzzard・ツミ＆サシバ

Sparrowhawks and Flycatchers

May 13, 2020

I have continued to observe the Japanese sparrowhawks I mentioned in my previous post. I believe the female bird has laid eggs already and they are taking turns in warming the eggs. Even though one cannot see them coming and going as often anymore, they return to their favourite perches every now and then to observe the surroundings.

Besides the sparrowhawks I have been lucky to capture some flycatchers as well. On mothers day I decided to go to one of my favourite parks half an hour train ride from my home. I took the very first train in the morning and wore a mask tightly on my face. There were only a few other people on the train as I had expected so I was able to keep a decent social distance from other people.

In the park I detected a male flycatcher. He was shy and mostly kept hiding in a shady thicket. After three hours I had managed to get some captures anyhow. On the way home I didn’t dare to ride a train anymore as I believed it would be crowded so I walked home some 70 minutes and suddenly my camera gear felt heavier than ever.

This morning I was happy to find one more flycatcher, the Asian brown flycatcher. I followed beautiful singing that I could not recognize and it led me to this lovely bird with big eyes. It’s my third time to see and capture this bird so I was pretty exited.

前回のブログで書いたツミのカップルを引き続き観察しています。恐らくメスは既に卵を産んでいます。二羽は交代で巣に入っている様子から推測しています。前ほど頻繁に飛び交う事はありませんが、たまに好きな見張り枝に戻ったりします。

ツミ以外に好きなヒタキ類も撮れています。母の日に家から電車で30分で行ける気に入りな公園に行ってきました。マスクをして始発の電車に乗りました。案の定他の乗客は少なくて３つの密を避けることが出来ました。

公園では臆病なキビタキを見つけました。暗い茂みの中隠れていましたが、三時間粘って何とか撮れました。帰りは電車は混むだろうと思ったから、歩くことにしました。70分ほどの散歩中カメラバッグはいつもよりずっと重く感じました。

嬉しいことに今朝はコサメビタキにも出会いました。最初は鳴き声だけが聞こえて、それを追ったら、目がクリクリの可愛いコサメビタキを発見しました。今日まで２回しか会っていない鳥なので、とても興奮しました。

Two species

May 7, 2020

The corona virus outbreak has changed my daily life and routines. A few months has passed without hardly touching my camera. I have also totally neglected this blog. I considered uploading some old captures and writing a few lines, but since my son’s school closed and he has therefore been cut of his friends and hobbies, I decided to spend more time with him instead. Recently, however, I have taken a habit to wake up early in the morning while my family is still asleep and take a walk in nearby parks.

During one of those walks I found a Japanese sparrowhawk couple building a nest. In the mornings the sparrowhawks have been busy flying back and forth and bringing raw material for the nest. Later in the day they have not shown up much at all. Of course when they have detected crows too close to the nest they have vigorously chased them away.

I had been hoping to capture the sparrowhawks mating and therefore I kept getting up earlier and earlier for that. Today, I was finally early enough and was able to photograph them at the time when the first sun rays hit them. From where they were they must have seen a spectacular sunrise. I wonder if they appreciated the beauty of it?

Besides the sparrowhawks, I have been searching for migratory birds. On one morning I was happy to hear a narcissus flycatcher singing. For an hour and half, I could only hear the singing and I grew a bit frustrated thinking I would have to return home without any captures. Finally, 20 minutes before my self-imposed time limit to go home, my waiting was finally rewarded and I got a few captures of a young narcissus flycatcher.

新型コロナによって私も毎日の生活が一変しました。この２ヶ月間カメラを手に取る事はあまりなかったです。ブログも滞っています。過去の写真をアップして何行かを書くことを考えていましたが、学校休校によって息子はお友達や趣味のサッカーと離れ離れになった為、私はブログを書くよりなるべく遊びに付き添うことにしています。しかしながら、最近は朝早く家族はまだ寝ている間近所の公園で散歩するのは日課にしています。

ある散歩の時ツミのカップルは巣を作っているのを発見しました。朝を中心にあちこち飛び回って、巣の材料の枝などを運んで巣作りに励んでいます。その後姿を見せるのは少なくなります。しかし巣の近くにカラス発見したら、戻って激しく攻撃をすることがありました。

ツミの交尾を撮りたくて以前よりも早く起きて公園に行くことにしてたら、今朝はやっと太陽が登り始めるごろ木の天辺に交尾しているのを撮影できました。木の上からの日の出はきっと綺麗はずですが、鳥たちはその景色を享受していたかしら？

ツミの他渡り鳥も探しています。この間キビタキの泣き声が聞こえてきたが、姿が中々見つかりません。一時間半も探していまして、ガッカリして帰るしかないと思ったが、やっと若いオスの姿を発見出来ました。しかも比較的低いところでした。何枚かの写真を撮れて嬉しかったです。

Beginning of Cherry Blossom Season

March 9, 2020

The latter part of February I tried to avoid using public transportation to the extend possible due to the corona virus outbreak. Instead, I went to capture birds in a park just few minutes from my house. Luckily, the park has several kawazuzakura trees, an early blooming cherry variety.

The park is small with very few trees other than the sakura, so there are not many bird species around. You can only find Japanese tits, brown-eared bulbuls and rose-ringed parakeets. This year, on one day only, I also found a male daurian redstart and almost (!) captured him with blossoms.

Out of the three species I am most interested in the Japanese tits. This year there was a huge flock of them. The brown-cheeked bulbuls tried to chase away the tits, but since the tits outnumbered the bulbuls by far, the bulbuls didn’t do such a good work. After being chased away the tits kept coming back in no time. Sometimes they would just move to the next tree.

The bulbuls are very territorial and tend to chase away all other birds, but didn’t dare to chase away the rose-ringed parakeets. After all, the parakeets are bigger and they appeared in small flocks, too. I often saw 5-7 parakeets slowly moving from branch to branch enjoying the nectar of the blossoms.

新型コロナビルスの為２月の終わり頃からできる限り公共交通機関を使わないようにし始めました。野鳥撮影も近所の公園にしました。幸い家から5分もかからない公園に河津桜が１５本ぐらいが植えてあります。公園が小さく、桜以外の木が少なく、鳥の種類も限られています。毎年会えるのはメジロ、ヒヨドリとワカケホンセイインコの３種類です。今年は一回だけジョウビタキのオスも見えていましたが、お花と一緒に撮りそこねました。

いつもの三種類のうち可愛いメジロを狙っています。今年はとても大きな群れできています。ヒヨドリはメジロをずっと追っ払おうとしていますが、メジロの数に圧倒されている為、中々上手くいきません。メジロは追っ払れても、とすぐに戻ったり、次の木に移動したりします。

縄張り意識が強いヒヨドリは自分より大きなワカケホンセイインコとあまり戦う気がないです。インコは今年も群れできています。５〜７羽で当時に見えるのが多かったです。穏やかでゆっくりと枝から枝へ移って、花を切ったり、中の蜜を飲んだりしました。

Various Species

March 2, 2020

Last month I spent a lot time capturing songbirds on Japanese Apricot and Kawazuzakura, an early blooming cherry variety. Also, I am happy to have captured eurasian wren and scaly thrush, even though I am not happy with the quality. The two have a very good camouflage and had I not been told by another photographer where to look for them, I would probably not have found them. While the Eurasian wren is tiny and quick, it is still somewhat easier to my opinion as you can sometimes hear it squealing in the underbrushes. If I know it is there I have more patience to wait for it to appear.

Last month I also traveled one hour to explore a park in Saitama, that a friend of mine had recommended. The park itself did not provide any interesting birds, but a forest adjacent to it had many species that I rarely see in Tokyo. The Eurasian Jay was one of them. I first heard calling of a red-flanked bluetail and I was waiting for it to appear from the forest, when I noticed some movement above me high on trees. A quick check proved it to be Eurasian Jay. I took a few captures and waited it to move to better place. Soon, two of them landed in somewhat open field. They had probably not seen me yet and I tried to hide behind some bushes and capture them from afar. I hoped they would come closer, but unfortunately they went further away from me. When I tried to go closer to them, they noticed me and they were gone. After that I could see or hear them deep in the forest but I wasn’t able to capture them anymore. While searching for them I detected other birds such as Japanese green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, common kingfisher, and the red-flanked bluetail that I head heard before. It was pretty shy and would not come out from the forest.

For few hours alone in a totally new location, I think I scored pretty well, at least in sense that I found many species. I would definitely like to come back but with the corona virus spreading it is better to avoid crowded trains for a while.

先月梅や河津桜に来る小鳥をメインに写真を撮っていました。他にはミソサザイやトラツグミも何とか撮れましたが、満足した写真ではありません。両方とも保護色が良くて、他のフォトグラファーに居場所を教えてもらわなかったら、恐らく見つからなかったでしょう。ミソサザイは小さくて、動きが早いですが、茂みの中でたまに地鳴きをするから、トラツグミより少し撮りやすいと思います。近くにいると分かったら、我慢強く待てるからです。

先月一時間以上電車やバスに乗って友人に進められた埼玉のある公園に初めて行って来ました。公園内は特に興味深い鳥はいませんでしたが、隣接する森には東京では頻繁に見れない野鳥がいました。その中私は一番興奮したのはカケスでした。まずはルリビタキの鳴き声を聞いて、森の中から出てくるのを長時間じっと待っていましたら、真上に動に気づきました。確認しましたら、カケスでした。何枚かを撮って、もっと良い場所に移動してくれないかを待っていました。しばらくしたら、二羽は近くの開けたところに降りてくれました。まだ私のことを気づいていないみたいでした。茂みの後ろに隠れながら、遠くから写真を撮って、近くに来てくるのを願っていましたが、ドンドン遠くへ行ってしまします。私から近付こうとしたら、すぐに逃げてしまいました。その後、何回か森の中で鳴き声を聞いたり、姿を見たりしましたが、写真を撮ることができなかったです。カケスを探しているうちに、アオゲラ、アカゲラ、カワセミ、あの泣き声の持ち主のルリビタキなどを撮れました。ルリビタキはとてもシャイで森から出てくることはなかったです。

初めて一人で新しいロケに行った割には、収穫があって嬉しいです。時間をかけて再び行きたいですが、コロナビルス感染者があちこち出ているから、人混みや長時間の電車を避けた方が良いと思います。

Apricot Grove

February 19, 2020

The Japanese apricot flowers are in bloom providing nectar for various birds. I never get tired of capturing their beauty. Even though I would be happy to see and capture more different species, I am happy with even common subjects such as Japanese white-eyes or Japanese tits.

Recently the weather has been a little too good and I have struggled with harsh light. Therefore I have tried shooting towards light or shooting in the afternoon when the light gets slightly better. Luckily I had one cloudy day.

The garden where I go closes at 4.30 pm. The birds must have learned that people will disappear. Some 15 minutes before closing time, I suddenly see many birds around, even the shy ones that keep their distance during the day. They are busy finding food before the dusk.

梅の花の季節がやって来まして、小鳥などに甘い蜜を提供してくれます。あの美しい光景を撮影するを消して飽きることはありません。色々な種類の鳥を撮れたら嬉しいですが、みじかなメジロやシジュウカラだけでも撮りたいです。

最近天気が良さすぎて、光線が固くてとても撮りずらいです。脚光で撮ったり、午後の少し柔らかい光線を利用したりしています。

撮影ロケの梅林がある公園は午後4時30分閉門です。鳥達もその時間人間がいなくなるを分かっているみたいです。閉門15分前ぐらいから急に鳥の数が増えて来ます。シャイな物も近くに来ます。みんな日がくれる前に必死に餌を探しています。

Woodpeckers

February 12, 2020

Last week was a pretty good one for me. I encountered two woodpecker species that I have only seen one or two times before. First I was tipped by another photographer about a great spotted woodpecker. When I arrived to the scene it was feeding high on a tree and just finishing some big snack that it had trouble of swallowing. In just a few moments it found another big snack, larva of mantis. Unfortunately, I could only shoot towards the sun but at least I had time to adjust my settings as it took time to swallow the second snack as well. I followed the bird some time but lost it rather soon.

The following day in another location I spotted on my own the Japanese green woodpecker. A large-billed crow was chasing it and it was flying back and forward high in trees. I lost it for some time, but after some time found again and managed to capture it. There was a nice feeling of achievement.

先週は鳥運が良く、今まで１〜２回しか逢っていないキツツキの２種に逢いました。まずは他のフォトグラファーにアカゲラの居場所を教えてもらいました。発見した時大物の幼虫を食べるところでした。その次また大きなカマキリの幼虫をゲットしました。間逆光でしたが、アカゲラは飲み込むには時間がかかりましたから、露出の調整に余裕があってなんとか撮れました。飛び出したら、しばらく追っていましたが、その後見失いました。

次の日別の公園で自らアオゲラを発見しました。カラスの追われて、何回かあちこち飛び回ってて、写真を撮れずに一時的見失いましたが、運よく再び発見し写真も撮れました。ほとんどは枝かぶれの写真でしたか、最後に空抜けの写真も撮れて嬉しいです。達成感がありました。

Great Spotted Woodpecker・アカゲラ・Dendrocopos major

Japanese Green Woodpecker・アオゲラ・Picus awokera

Grey Wagtail

February 10, 2020

I have captured grey wagtails before but so far the individuals I have encountered have been pretty skittish so I haven’t been able to take any close ups. The other day when I noticed a grey wagtail I assumed it would be skittish too and fly away as soon as I point my camera at it, even from a distance. I decided to sit down on a riverbank and see if the bird would come my direction. It did, slowly but surely and and I started photographing it. The distance between me and the bird became shorter and shorter to the extend that I needed to back away. I was afraid I would scare the bird away when I stand up, but soon realized this individual was such more trusting than the ones I had seen before. I backed away again some five meters, the bird came close to me and we repeated the same again for a few times.

Today, I went to a different location and found another grey wagtail. It was somewhat shy but let me capture it from a distance. I am happy to have seen two of this beautiful species within one week.

キセキレイは過去に何回か撮りましたが、警戒心が強い個体で中々クロースアップの写真は撮れていませんでした。先週はキセキレイを発見した時、カメラを向けたらまた逃げるのではないかと思いました。川岸に座り、鳥は自ら近づいて来ないかと願って待つことにしました。ゆっくり私の方にテクテク歩いて来まして、距離がドンドン短くなりました。写真を撮り始めました。やがて距離が短すぎて、私は少し離れなければなりませんでした。起き上がったら、鳥は飛んで行くのを恐れましたが、人懐っこい個体でした。私は何回か距離を取って、鳥がまた近ついて来たのを何回か繰り返されました。

今日は別のところでまたキセキレイに逢いました。少しシャイな個体でしたが、少し離れたところから写真を撮らせてくれました。一週間以内に二回もこの綺麗な鳥に逢えて嬉しいです。