Mergansers at Expo 70 Commemorative Park

Yesterday I was amazed to see male and female Red-breasted Mergansers swimming in a pond in the north part of Expo 70 Commemorative Park. They were in their own cluster at a short distance from a group of about 20 European Wigeons there. The shape and the plumage of the Red- breasted Mergansers were so showy and distinctive,  but I wasn't carrying a field guide, so I had to wait  until I got home to consult one and identify the birds. I hadn't ever noticed them in a field guide before, and also they are generally found on coasts or in bays, I read, so I'm surprised they were in this park yesterday....

I also saw many Dusky Thrushes here and there running across the lawns at the park, and a small flock of Oriental Greenfinches.

Many crows were people- watching in the park, too.

I checked whether any plum trees were blooming yet. There were many buds, but I only saw a single blossom....

Unexpected Drama Among the Grey- headed Lapwings

Three Grey- headed Lapwings are back in the nearby rice fields this chilly (about 3 degrees C), sunny morning, but they are squabbling!

There is some kind of squabble between 2 of the Lapwings: one of them tries to stick with or nearby the other 2, but one of these 2 keeps scolding and  chasing this third bird away. This bird doesn't go far away, though, and keeps trying to rejoin the other two.

What is going on? I can't see the birds well enough to determine the sexes, and all the birds are about the same size.... Is this a parent trying to chase a grown chick away? Or is the third bird a mating rival?

These two birds are so busy fighting they aren't getting any eating done this morning.

A Weasel In Hattori Ryokuchi Koen Park

I have been hearing talk among birdwatchers for the past several months that a weasel has been seen running around in the daytime in Hattori Ryokuchi Koen near the "Kotori No Mori" ( " Small-birds Woods"), also called "Chikurin No  Mori".

Yesterday at around noon, I was in Kotori No Mori, watching sparrows, thrushes, and tits, and suddenly saw a bright orange cat- sized creature running slinkingly through the woods where all those birds were, right out in the open in front of a number of people.... I asked if that was a weasel, and those people said "yes".

Yuck. I guess it is eating little birds. Well, I guess it will kill off the birds that aren't alert.... Predators should be a part of an ecosystem. But, yuck.

Three Lapwings Came Today

Almost all of the snow that fell yesterday morning has melted.

Three Lapwings came together to eat in the grassy path between ricefields today. I had been assuming that the 2 Lapwings who came together so often this winter were a mated pair... I wonder who this third one was today.... They all came and landed in the field together, and foraged very close to each other.

First Snow of the Winter Didn't Deter a Visit From the Lapwings Today

It snowed overnight and early this morning. I guess a few centimeters accumulated by dawn. This is the first, and perhaps will be the only, snowfall here this winter. The Grey-headed Lapwings came and dug through the snow down into the dirt in their favorite rice field, though.... By noon, the snow had melted except in a few spots behind buildings that blocked the sunlight....

Two crows were digging the same way in a different rice field near here the other day. They glanced at me as I passed by, to make sure I wouldn't attack them, I suppose. I wonder what delicious, nutritious thing these birds are digging out from the soil....

Camellias and Japanese Grosbeaks in Hattori Ryokuchi Botanical Garden

A visit in January to see the camellias at Hattori Ryokuchi Botanical Garden is always splendidly rewarded, and so it was today. I saw more than 20 varieties of camellia blooming there. And many more species budding, with the promise of blooming in the next couple of months. The variations among camellias are dizzying....

Daffodils were blooming too.

And  the sweet, entreating voices of Japanese Grosbeaks could be heard from high in evergreen trees....

SenriChuo Koen Park Is a Fine Place to Watch Mandarin Ducks in January and February

It was sunny and balmy yesterday, so I walked around a few ponds in the afternoon at SenriChuo Koen Park, especially hoping to watch Mandarin Ducks there.

I saw a group of  about 4 males and 4 females, gliding and diving and preening in a pond, near a few Spot-billed Ducks and a Little Grebe. I've never before seen ducks put so much energy into making a little upward leap before each dive. I wonder why they were doing that: To get down deep enough to pick up sunken acorns from the bottom of the pond?... To impress the opposite sex? To clean some unwanted muck coating their feathers...? Just for fun?...I wonder....