The Grey Herons Are Still At It

The low-nesting Grey Herons are still incubating their eggs at Shingu Ike lake in Hattori Ryokuchi Koen. Another birdwatcher told me today that 3 eggs had been laid: 1 broke, but 2 are still intact.... Will they hatch, I wonder...?

We Have 3 Pairs of Grey Herons Nesting Now

We have 3 ( perhaps 4) pairs of Grey Herons nesting at Shingu Ike pond in Hattori Ryokuchi Koen now. Including the low, low nesting pair. How will it all turn out, I wonder.

The Low-nesting Herons Are Not Giving Up

So curious.... The low- nesting Grey Herons I wrote about last time have laid egg(s) and are sitting on them this week.

Another curious thing: 2 or 3 additional pairs of Grey Herons are building nests in trees surrounding Shingu Ike lake, although in previous years I've seen only one pair nest at that lake....

Funny Grey Herons Building a Nest on a Lake's Surface

Two pairs of Grey Herons have been painstakingly constructing nests in trees bordering Shingu Ike Lake at Hattori Ryokuchi Koen park this week.

One pair is making their nest high in a treetop. That's typical of Grey Herons. But what is the other pair doing!? They have made their nest on a very low-hanging tree branch, right at the level of the lake's surface. In fact, they're using a spot where Little Grebes build their nest every spring....

What will happen to that low- level nest, I wonder.... I guess that the Grey Herons who built it are an immature pair who have a lot to learn.   :-)

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.