On January 1, 2019, I took an early afternoon walk to Yasugawa (野洲川) here in Ritto City (滋賀県 栗東市). Along the road many Eurasian tree sparrows (スズメ) appeared in trees and bushes.
Several white wagtails (ハクセキレイ) were in a field, and one was hopping along the river.
A beautiful grey wagtail (キセキレイ) appeared briefly and flew across the river before I could get close.
A pair of great cormorants (カワウ) took off downstream, flew over the Japan Route 8 bridge, Yasugawa Ohashi (野洲川大橋), circled back toward me, and then split up.
Several large uprooted trees lie in the dry riverbed, which becomes submerged at high water. Most are not very photogenic, but one older stump caught my attention.
The river is now very shallow, which is common in winter.
As the wind became stronger in mid-afternoon, a few people were flying kites at the closed ground golf course along the riverbank.
On my way back home another tree sparrow appeared, adding a final touch to a pleasant afternoon walk.
See more photos in my Flickr photostream or one of my Flickr albums.