Red-breasted Flycatcher

February 23, 2019

I knew from many posts to social media that a female red-breasted flycatcher was wintering in some park in Tokyo and I was hoping to figure out where that was. Finally I got that information and headed to the park. Quite soon after arriving to the park I detected the beautiful bird. I was the first photographer to arrive on that day and I got to photograph her alone for about 10 minutes. She wasn’t very shy and seemed to look at me curiously. Little by little more photographers would follow and it got more difficult to find and capture her.

After some time she suddenly moved to a small Japanese apricot tree grove. The area was fenced and maybe she knew already from experience that no people would go over the fence so she could keep hunting insects without anyone coming too close. At that time the number of photographers was approximately 15-20 people. Many of them had captured her several times already but there were a few newcomers like me, too.

Red-breasted flycatchers are not very common in Japan and having to photograph one with apricot blossoms was a dream come true. Unlike males with their rusty-orange throat and breast, the females look somewhat modest with their brown backs and lighter underparts. I especially like this bird’s elegant posture and beautiful black eyes and I hope to be able to get another chance to photograph her. Hopefully on that day the light isn’t as harsh as it was this time.

ソーシャルメディア等で東京のどこかの公園でメスのニシオジロビタキがいると知っていました。やっと私もその情報をゲットし、公園に駆けつけました。着いたら直ぐにその可愛い鳥を発見しました。他のカメラマンが来るまで10分ぐらい一人だけで撮影できました。好奇心豊かな目で私を見つめたように見えました。

カメラマンが次第に増え、鳥は隠れたりして、撮るのは難しくなりましたが、しばらくしましたら、近くの梅林に移動してくれました。梅林はフェンスに囲まれて、人が入って来ないと経験から知ったかもしれません。人の存在をそれほど気にせずに梅林の中で長い間虫を探し続けました。

ニシオジロビタキのメスは少し地味ですが、綺麗な黒目に優雅なポーズでとても美しい鳥です。梅林の中で撮れたのは夢みたいでした。もう一度機会があれば、もっと柔らかい光線を願っています。

The Smallest Birds of Japan

February 20, 2019

The winter wren is the smallest bird in Japan along with the goldcrest. They are both about 10 cm in size. While goldcrest is often feeding high on trees, the winter wren is spending most of it's time on the ground moving dexterously in the cover of a dense undergrowth making it difficult to find. This week, I have tried to capture both of these tiny birds.

Earlier this week, I spent one afternoon in a garden close to my home where I was happy to encounter with a winter wren that has been living there for some weeks already. It is a rare visitor to the garden, so many photographers and bird enthusiasts have been searching for it and pointing their cameras and binoculars towards it. It is now fairly accustomed to humans and is somewhat easy to photograph, if you manage to find it in the big garden. The problem is light, though, or the lack of it to be correct, so one has to compromise on either shutter speed or ISO... or both! Still, I am happy with the captures I got!

While I have been lucky with the wren, I have been less lucky with the goldrcrest. I was tipped by acquaintances about a place where goldcrests often bade in a small pond. I spent two days waiting for the tiny birds to arrive to the pond. I detected them close by a few times, but unfortunately, they would not come down for a bath. It is possible that I will have to wait till the next winter before I can get another chance as they will leave Tokyo any day to return to cooler climates for nesting.

日本一小さい鳥

今週は日本一小さい鳥のミソサザイとキクイタダキの撮影に挑戦しました。

キクイタダキが高い木の枝で食事を探すのに対して、ミソサザイは暗い藪の中で天敵に気づかれないように動いているから、両方とも写真に収めるのは一苦労です。

運よく近所の公園にここ何週間か住み着いているミソサザイを見つけることが出来ました。多くのカメラマンのアイドルなので、人馴れしているから、簡単に近づく事が出来たのですが、暗い為、シャッター速度やISO感度を妥協しなければならなかったです。でも、撮れてとても嬉しいです。

キクイタダキに関しまして、頻繁に水浴びに来る場所の情報をゲットしました。珍しい光景なので丸２日間池のよこで粘りましたが、降りてこなかったです。そろそろ山に帰る時期なので、次のチャンスはまた今度の冬までに待たなければならないかもしれません。

Apricot Trees in Bloom

February 15, 2019

Japanese apricot trees are in bloom. Unlike cherry blossoms that bloom all at once for approximately a week, apricot trees bloom gradually and therefore one can enjoy the blossoms for a rather long time. Today I decided to take a stroll in Koishikawa Botanical Garden, that has a large apricot tree grove. I was hoping to capture some birds there. I thought I would at least find Japanese white-eyes enjoying nectar of the flowers. I could smell the sweet scent of the flowers from a distance and my hopes were getting high.

Despite of waiting for a long time the apricot trees didn’t seem to attract any birds. There were some Japanese white-eyes and Japanese tits nearby but they seemed to be more interested in the seeds of Chinese tallowtrees nearby. A flock of long-tailed tits arrived merrily chirping but they disappeared as quickly as they had arrived and I thought I would return home with photos of blossoms only. Luckily, my long wait was finally rewarded; I could find a male daurian redstart and a dusky thrush, both of which were after the seeds of the Chinese tallowtrees, too.

梅の花が咲く季節です。桜と違って梅の開花期間は長くて、２−３週間ぐらい楽しめます。今日は小石川植物園の梅林に野鳥を撮りに行って来ました。梅の蜜を好むのメジロを期待していましたが、寒いせいか、梅林は静かでした。長い間待っていても、小鳥の気配はありません。近くのナンキンハゼだけにはメジロやシジュウカラがたまに実を食べに来ました。梅だけの写真で帰らなければならないかと思いましたが、やっとオスのジョウビタキとツグミが現れました。両方ともやはりナンキンハゼの実が目当てででしたが、幸い梅の枝にも止まってくれてました。

Water Fowl in Mizumoto Park

February 9, 2019

Some time ago I spent a few days in Mizumoto Park. Even though my aim was to capture some passerines, I did photograph some of the water fowl in and around the big pond. I find it interesting how different species make one big flock. This time a flock of Eurasian wigeons drew my attention. It is not uncommon to find American wigeons in the flock as well as crossbreds of the two species. This time was not an exception. While watching the wigeons feeding ashore I found a beautiful duck that I couldn’t immediately name. Browsing my bird guide, I learned it was a female Baikal teal, which is somewhat rare visitor in Tokyo.

Also, there were a few great crested grebes among the flock of wigeons. I spotted three, but there could have been more. It seemed that while resting, which was most of the time, they enjoyed the safety of the flock. Only while diving for food they took distance of the flock and went their own ways.

I heard from other photographers that among common teals there was also one North American green-winged teal. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a decent capture of it, but I spent some time watching and photographing the beautifully colored feathers of teals.

Other than ducks, I saw egrets and herons, Eurasian Coots, common moorhens, kingfishers, long-tailed rosefinches to name a few.

最近何回か水元公園に行ってきました。目的は小鳥でしたが、大きな池の水鳥も少し観察し、撮っていました。特にヒドリガモとその群れと混じった鳥を観察していました。ヒドリガモの群れの中、アメリカヒドリガモとその二種の交雑種が混じっていました。陸に上がったら、綺麗なトモエガモ１羽もいるのに気づきました。

カンムリカイツブリも寝ている時ヒドリガモと一緒でしたが、餌を探し潜る時だけ群れと離れて行動していました。

他のフォトグラファーからアメリカコガモの情報も聞き、撮りに行きましたが、満足した写真を撮れていません。しかし、コガモのカラフルで綺麗な姿を見るだけで、嬉しかったです。

カモ類の他にはサギ類、バン、オオバン、カワセミやベニマシコなどを確認出来ました。

Crossbreed of Eurasian Wigeon and American wigeon ヒドリガモとアメリカヒドリガモの交雑種

In search for birds in Mizumoto Park

January 29, 2019

Instead of my usual parks in central Tokyo, in recent days I have taken the train to Mizumoto Park in Northern part of Tokyo in search for different bird species.

I came across with some new acquaintances such as Asian Brown Flycatcher, Winter Wren and Scaly Thrush as well as many species commonly found in central Tokyo, too; the Daurian Redstart, Red-flanked bluetail, Hawfinch and Bull-headed Shrike to name a few. I also found many ducks and other water fowl, which I intend to share later.

Local photographers feed some of the birds so they are rather used to photographers and are easily approachable. Otherwise, especially the winter wren, one of the smallest birds in Japan, would be very difficult to find and capture in the dense underbrushes if you don’t visit the park frequently enough to learn their usual routes.

I was very surprised to find Asian Brown Flycatcher as it usually migrates to warmer climates for winter. For some reason, it has decided to stay and I am hoping the weather doesn’t get too cold for many consecutive days so that it can survive the Tokyo winter.

Another happy encounter was the Dusky Thrush. For some reason they have been very few in numbers this year, so I was happy find one trying to camouflage among the grasses and fallen leaves.

最近はいつもの東京中心部の公園と違ってちょっと遠くの水元公園に野鳥を探しに行っています。自分はあまり縁がなかったトラツグミ、コサメビタキ（東京越冬中）、ミソサザイの他、馴染みのジョウビタキ、ルリビタキ、シメ、モズなどに出逢いました。カモ類や他の水鳥ももちろん沢山いました。今年数が少ないと感じているツグミも枯れ草や枯葉の中に隠れようとしていました。