common kingfisher — Nature Blog

After several cold and windy days yesterday’s warm weather offered a welcomed change. I headed to a local garden and noticed that there was definitely spring in the air. Japanese apricot trees had started to bloom and I found long-tailed tits very active collecting feathers and other material for nest building. Japanese tits were playing around, chasing each other around merrily, at least that's how it looked like.

Soon after entering the garden a kingfisher let me know with his call that it was around. I followed the sound and was lucky to find it bathing diving into the pond for several times.

I strolled around the garden in search for a winter wren, a rare visitor to the garden, that I know had been there for some time. I had witnessed and photographed it once and I heard other photographers capturing it before. Unfortunately, I could not find a trace of it. Instead, I found a daurian redstart and a red-flanked bluetail having territory disputes. Unfortunately, I could not capture the chasing scene, but only the two birds separately.

There were also several pale thrushes around, one of which would not make much effort to escape from me and my camera and a flock of hawfinches that would not let me near at all. There was always one watching over the field and letting the others know of any approaching danger. I decided to sit down in a bench and let them come to me instead but had not much luck. Instead I heard a Japanese bush warbler in the bamboo grasses coming closer and closer. Eventually, I could see it coming out of the bushes and managed to capture it from afar.

昨日の小春日和に近所の庭園に行って来ました。エナガがとても賑やかで巣作りのための材料集めで忙しかったです。

カワセミの鳴き声を追ったら、水遊びを始めて、松の木から何回も池に飛び込みました。大サービスをしてくれました。

ちょっと前から庭園にいるミソサザイを探しましたが、姿が見えませんでした。その代わり、ルリビタキとジョウビタキの縄張り争いを目撃し、ウグイスが笹から出てくる瞬間を写真に納めました。

６−７羽ぐらいのシメの群れを見つめましたが、近づこうとしたら、見張り役が他の鳥に警告を発して、一斉に逃げている光景を何回か見ました。