Before checking into Saiseikai Shigaken Hospital (済生会滋賀県病院) on January 13, 2020, I took a photowalk in and near my neighborhood and saw a Japanese pied wagtail (ハクセキレイ), some people flying kites, a farmer in a field, and a little egret (コサギ) in a canal.
Category Archives: wildlife
Long-tailed tit (エナガ) with cocoon
On February 24, 2018, a long-tailed tit (エナガ) struggled to remove insect cocoon material from the left side of its head, neck, and wing. A sequence of photographs shows how the bird rubbed itself against a branch to escape from the material.
Winter Birds in Daikan (大寒)
The period from January 20th to February 3rd is Daikan (大寒), “Greater Cold” in English, in the Japanese traditional calendar of 24 seasons. In the cold weather I photographed quite a few species of birds within walking distance of my home. See more photos in my Flickr photostream or one of my albums.
Northern Shovelers
Winter brings more ducks to local ponds and wetlands. A shallow reservoir near Ono Ramp in Ritto City attracts northern shovelers (Anas clypeata, ハシビロガモ), which are conspicuous with their huge spatulate bills. They feed on aquatic invertebrates by shoveling water and mud and straining out their food. Their feeding can be very energetic, as we […]
Birds in Altered Habitats
In early January, 2019, I visited several of my favorite places to see wild birds. All of these locations have been heavily altered by human activity. Here in Ritto City farmers have been preparing fields for spring planting. Often we can see birds in freshly cultivated fields. Tree sparrows feed in and around fields and […]