Siberian rubythroat

 Every year when it comes in late September, I will wait for the arrival of the Siberian rubythroat here to the dried riverbed close to where I live.

Siberian ruby throat, one of the passing birds, when it comes to October every year, will be stopped by the area close to where I live, for a day or two on its way south.

Seven years have passed already since encountering the Siberian rubythroat.

This season, I think it took me half month.

Finally 14th of October, I confirmed three individual birds.

Instantly I took one shot after, and they disappeared!

After that, a lot of time every day has been spent trying to wait for them, almost daytime.

So, It was one shot that I took for it. When I look back on it now, it was really a lot of tired.

 

                                       2022:10:14 

Bird banding

 Even though into October, can see only a small number of migrating birds here as ever.

Around 2006, when I became passionate about wild bird photography, I often saw people doing something with fowling nets at the dried riverbed I frequented. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me he was doing a wild bird banding survey, catching wild birds with fowling nets, and then releasing them into the wild after attaching leg rings.

According to the Ministry of the Environment website and the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (located in my resident city), tagging surveys involve attaching “tags” such as leg rings and collars that can distinguish each bird and release them, and observing and recapturing them. It is said that it is a survey to clarify the movement and age of birds.

I'll upload pictures I took when I was enthusiastic about it, but I rarely see wild birds caught by researchers with fowling nets these days.

Blue Rock Thrush, Juvenile

 Blue Rock Thrush is a kind of rare wild bird here.

I find a Blue Rock Thrush here for the first time in ten months.

But, it seems to be one of the three hatched here this year.

Oh my god, even though I went through every time near the nesting place cycling until April, I could not find the fact.

Apparently, this individual seems to like the anemometer, which is a convenient stopping and waiting point for the getting insect.

Siberian stonechat

 The first batch of autumn migratory birds has arrived. The name of the bird is Siberian stonechat. It's already a grave winter feather color.

In Japan, as a summer bird, it migrates from central Honshu to the north and breeds there. In central Honshu and southwards, it can be seen during spring and autumn migration.( Cited from Wikipedia described in Japanese)

Many herons

 When it comes mid-September, as has been done in the past,

the drainage channel rubber weir for agriculture makes it goes down after the rice harvest. This September also was so.

Then, many herons that couldn't find this sight came to this drainage channel to take small fish for food.

However, as the water in the channel is so turbidity, the herons can not see any fish.

As a result, they were in leaving.

The targets I have been focused on are hunting Goshawk that aim at herons.　

A young goshawk stares intently at a flock of herons

　　　　　　　　　　A hunting practice of young goshawks, the other day

Cluster amaryllis：Higanbana、ヒガンバナ

 This flower, called "higanbana" in Japanese,has begun to bloom.

The word higan means "the other shore,"or, in Buddhism, nirvana. During higan, the spirits of ancestors are recalled, Buddhist rites carried out and family graves visited.

The periods: Two periods of seven days with the middle day falling on the spring or autumn equinox. Higanbana will begin to bloom about on the autumn equinox. 

By the way, even though we're into Mid-September, the temperature still goes up over thirty degrees centigrade in the afternoon. I think that's why any migratory birds do not come flying still here.

When it comes to September and March, I remember this saying in Japanese.

Atsusa mo samusamo higannmade.

This means in English, Neither summer heat nor winter cold goes beyond the equinox week.