Dr. Wolverine
Well-Known Member
I shall kick this off with a birding trip from Tokyo!
Looking at the eBird Rare Bird Alerts from the last couple of days, I knew of the accidental migrants that had arrived at Kasai Rinkai Park, two Chinese (or Swinhoe's) Egrets. I couldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so my birding friends and I headed to the coast to find them. However, all the egrets I saw were either Great, Medium, or Little and there was no sign of the Chinese Egret.
Grey Heron
However, we continued to walk along the coastline, until we came across some photographers. They informed us that the Egret was sighted this morning, but there was no further info on it's whereabouts. I was starting to lose hope, and I scanned the tidal flats with my camera in desperation only to see a medium-sized white egret dashing around and lunging at its prey. The signature foraging behavior of the Chinese Egret. I jumped up, and started taking as many photos as possible. As I zoomed in, I could see it's beautiful white crest, blue lores, and the sharp, yellow, dagger-like bill as it stabbed the crustaceans hidden beneath the sand.
Sometimes, it would go right up to the Far Eastern Curlew foraging in the Tidal Flats.
As the day grew increasingly hotter, we decided to go back and check on the Kingfisher pond.
The two juveniles were perched on a branch in the middle of the pond and occasionally fished.
The temperature rose to 38°C (100.4°F) and so we decided to call it a day and head home. A short birding day, but with a mega rarity, I was ready to go home.
Looking at the eBird Rare Bird Alerts from the last couple of days, I knew of the accidental migrants that had arrived at Kasai Rinkai Park, two Chinese (or Swinhoe's) Egrets. I couldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so my birding friends and I headed to the coast to find them. However, all the egrets I saw were either Great, Medium, or Little and there was no sign of the Chinese Egret.
However, we continued to walk along the coastline, until we came across some photographers. They informed us that the Egret was sighted this morning, but there was no further info on it's whereabouts. I was starting to lose hope, and I scanned the tidal flats with my camera in desperation only to see a medium-sized white egret dashing around and lunging at its prey. The signature foraging behavior of the Chinese Egret. I jumped up, and started taking as many photos as possible. As I zoomed in, I could see it's beautiful white crest, blue lores, and the sharp, yellow, dagger-like bill as it stabbed the crustaceans hidden beneath the sand.
Sometimes, it would go right up to the Far Eastern Curlew foraging in the Tidal Flats.
As the day grew increasingly hotter, we decided to go back and check on the Kingfisher pond.
The two juveniles were perched on a branch in the middle of the pond and occasionally fished.
The temperature rose to 38°C (100.4°F) and so we decided to call it a day and head home. A short birding day, but with a mega rarity, I was ready to go home.
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