Northern goshawk、オオタカ

Goshawks, which have been used for falconry as excellent hunters since ancient times, have seen extremely few hunting observations and flying sightings here since 2015. I speculate that one of them is due to the breakage of the food chain wedge. Until at least a few years ago, when large water paths in paddy fields were released in mid-September after rice harvesting, a large number of herons would come in search of the remaining small fishes and eat over them.

However, for several years, at least dozens of common cormorants came from the neighboring Tone River every day to eat up small fish at this time, However, several years ago, at least dozens of great cormorants have been coming from the neighboring Tone River every day to eat small fish at this time, and they ate up it almost of all.

There were no found almost no small fish eaten by herons, and eventually, herons have not come, and therefore goshawks, which feed on herons, also stopped coming.

Yesterday, when I was looking for Long-tailed Rose Finch, which I haven't photographed this season in the reed field of the usual field, I found that a few crows have been crying loudly in a nearby tree.

Then I moved nearby tree  opposite side and found something is moving in the reeds on the shore of the water path. At that moment, I knew immediately that the goshawk was eating its prey. What a male pheasant its prey, and I remembered that in 2013 it was catching a grey heron at this place.

 I will also upload images of the past when goshawks chased pheasant.

Countless number of herons several years ago, in search of small fish

Countless number of common cormorant eat up over small and medium fish

This was in 2013,near to hunting spot of this time. 

 

Bean goose、ヒシクイ

 It’s been in 64 years since the last watching of a bean goose here.

When I have been waiting to take a photo of an Osprey’s diving into the gap that is not frozen,

on the morning of January 31^st, I have confirmed a flock of dozens of swans swoop down in search of food to the paddy fields where rice ears that grew after harvesting.

And I confirmed that one brown bird was flying at the head of the formation, but it was not possible to find out what kind of wild bird it was because it was as far as about 800 m. In the afternoon, I waited for the osprey at the same place for about 3 hours, but there was no arrival and I went to the rice field where the swans were landing.

And when I looked for a brown-colored wild bird with binoculars and looked closely, it was a bean goose. The swans are whooper swan (It is said that flying from Kamchatka, Sakhalin).

The last time I saw a bean goose in this area was in 1959, so this is the first time I've seen it in 64 years.

It is said that bean geese are widely distributed and breed in the northern part of the Eurasian continent, and migrate to the south in winter. In Japan, it is a winter bird, and there are places of arrival each prefecture of in Miyagi, Akita, Niigata, Ibaraki, Shiga, Shimane, etc., and they come and overwinter every year.

 

Short-eared owl during in meal

The short-eared owl has been eating a mouse. These photos upload this time was taken three years ago.

Was why did you not upload it three years ago?

Anyhow, look at the images.

I am not able to find almost migrated birds around here.