Japan 04-06Mar13

From Yamane

4Mar

I visited Maioka Park in Yokohama between 2 business meetings. I report as follows; I attached the pictures of * species.

1. Oriental Turtle Dove
2. Japanese Green Woodpecker
3. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker
4. Common Snipe*
5. Jungle Crow
6. Bull-headed Shrike
7. Varied Tit*
8. Japanese Tit
9. Long-tailed Tit
10. Brown-eared Bulbul
11. Japanese Bush Warbler
12. Japanese White-eye
13. White-cheeked Starling
14. Red-flanked Bluetail*
15. Brown-headed Thrush*
16. Pale Thrush
17. Dusky Thrush*
18. Daurian Redstart* male, female
19. Hawfinch
20. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
21. Japanese Pied Wagtail
22. Black-faced Bunting* male & female

I could watch Red-flanked Bluetail, but I could not watch Bullfinch, & Common Kingfisher.

5Mar

Today, I visited the lower stream of Tama River, after the business meeting in Tokyo. Near Haneda Airport. Now Fieldfare, there. It’s very rare in Japan.

6Mar

Today, I visited the Tokyo University on my business. I found the garden with the pond in the campus. Luckily I could watch the birds, as follows:

1. Eastern Spot-billed Duck*
2. Oriental Turtle Dove
3. Common Kingfisher*
4. Jungle Crow
5. Varied Tit
6. Coal Tit
7. Japanese Tit
8. Brown-eared Bulbul
9. Japanese Bush Warbler
10. Japanese White-eye
11. White-cheeked Starling
12. Hawfinch
13. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
14. Grey Bunting*

Changi 16Aug08

From Con

I think the Pin-tailed Whydah at Changi already has a mate. See my photos at this link.

I wasn't focusing on the female (and she wasn't in the same plane of focus), and we all thought it was a pipit, but I think on closer examination, it really is a female pin-tailed whydah. Besides, if you follow the sequence of photos, she was responding to his display by wiggling her wings. If she was a pipit, you would think she would ignore the display. Other evidence that they are a breeding couple, is the male is in breeding colors, which I think he would lose if he didn't have a mate?

But the problem is the Whydah are brood parasites, so I wonder if they can find a suitable host, perhaps not. They lay their eggs in rather specific bird species, and mimic the call of these species. See these articles below.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin-tailed_Whydah
2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-4GV2NNR-8&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=fba71960e68a938afd9d77f4bcf62de1

Yamane has this to add

Regarding Whydah, I could check the records in Japan. Almost of the cases are ones that are getting out the cages. I introduce a website...

Now I send my photo that I took on last Monday 11Aug08 in Karuizawa. It's Spot-billed Duck. They bred there also in this season.

Khatib Bongsu, Japan, Kuwait 31Mar07

Khatib Bongsu

From KH

This week our destination was Khatib Bongsu, mainly because Straits Times reported that this area is to be closed for SAF use on April Fools' Day. We really wonder if this was an April Fools' joke. The other reason being that we missed both rare cuckoos - Large Hawk and Chestnut-winged. Today, we probably saw the Large Hawk-cuckoo, but it kept flying away before we could get a good view. The bird of the day though, is a Green-backed Flycatcher. Other birds of note are the resident CHE and a flock of >10 Ashy Minivets.

Japan

From Yamane

Spot-billed Ducks

Kuwait

From Robert

Today I stumbled across (and purchased) a beautiful book "Birds of Kuwait" containing 400 colour photos. I was surprised to learn that there are 380 recorded birds in Kuwait....the book also give details of 34 bird-watching sites in Kuwait....as soon as I get wheels (hopefully within 1 week) I will start active birding.

I have moved into a serviced apartment on the Arabian Gulf road. I look right across the beach to the sea. I have taken a few walks down the beach and also one boat trip to an off-shore island and have sighted:
- slender-billed gull
- black-headed gull
- yellow wagtail
- white-cheeked bulbul
- red-backed shrike
- collared dove
plus the common myna, stonechat and sandpiper.

Japan 02Jan07

From Yamane

Happy New Year! I send pictures of Japanese birds in winter. They're my presents of New Year to you.

Black-headed Gull (Winter Type (It's no black head!))

Panorama of the pond

Shoveler (Male). It's a kind of "Marsh Duck".

Spot-billed Duck. It's a kind of "Marsh Duck". It's a resident. Others are migrants in winter.

Tufted Duck (Male). It's a kind of "Bay Duck".

Tufted Duck (Female)