Beach Hubbub

My morning walk took me out by the beach (as usual) but this morning there was quite a commotion. I’m assuming some kind of small fish washed up en masse, because there were rival gangs of ravens and black tailed kites tussling over *something* out there. But, to be honest, they weren’t tussling that hard. So there must have been a lot of whatever it was.

A black tailed kit swoops low over a gray, smooth sea. — Swoop

A few large brown raptors and black ravens are on a sandy, grassy beach. Mostly they are hidden by downward slope. In the foreground, a raven appears to be fleeing a raptor, flying toward the camera. — Hubbub

Two ravens and a black tailed kite are standing on a beach littered with driftwood. The ravens are staring at the kite, which is staring back. — Standoff

I drove two hours

Just to take pictures of birds in a park way on the other side of Honshu.

A daurian redstart with orange belly and black head perched at the tip of a thin twig. It is fanning one wing out for balance. Another twig growing nearby has a cluster of yellow-green leaves. — Stay balanced challenge

A mottled brown and beige bird with a pointed crest on its head is perched on a twig. — Stay sharp challenge

Birders birding

I’ve been venturing out to the river on my bike on various morning and evening trips the past couple of weeks to see if I can spot any kingfishers, but mostly to no avail.

I decided to try the middle of the afternoon today for a change, and from a good 100 meters away I figured I had made the right choice. Can anyone guess how I knew?

A small crowd of five photographers with varying massive lenses pointed down over a river. — Hunters

Yes, all those people and all that camera gear could only mean one thing: there was a kingfisher lurking.

We all took… Jeez, probably a couple hundred pictures each (burst shot on a digital camera really burns through a memory card), but hey, what else is several thousand dollars worth of camera and lens for?

A common kingfisher perched on a reed and illuminated in a beam of sunlight. — Hunted

Once our prey disappeared into the reeds, we all scattered without so much as a “See you.” Ah, such is life. Nice afternoon, though.

Little birds are back in style

A long tailed tit perched on a branch. Its tail is pointed this way to the left, and it is looking back at the camera over its shoulder. — T&A?

A long tailed tit perched on a branch looking down at the camera from above. — Long Tailed Titillation

A confusing span of brown reeds with a few small birds flitting around through it. — How many can you spot?

Across the sea

I stepped out of the gym and the sky was on fire. I had to race to the beach to get an unimpeded shot.

A shot over the sea of a brilliant red and orange sun setting over an island. There are clouds blotting out much of the sky. — Seto sunset