So I decided to try out one of the three major parks in the West Tokyo area with a bird sanctuary. First, I stopped by the ever-reliable Tama River, and got to see a few new species. The first was a gull, hard to identify since so many of them appear identical; nevertheless, I think this one is a Herring gull.

I caught it first in the water, and then later on a concrete ledge near a dam, about ten meters away from a cormorant sitting on the same ledge. As a side note, by the way, I first identified the cormorants I saw as Great Cormorants, and then later as Japanese Cormorants, noting my first ID as an error–but now I believe that I did indeed see both. More on that later, perhaps.

Next, I caught some wagtails. I thought they were the usual White Wagtails, but as is often the case, when I get home and take a closer look at the photos, more details become apparent. I didn’t get a really good look, but this one is unmistakably a Japanese Wagtail, from the mostly black feathers about the head.

In the same area, I caught sight of what I might from here on out call a “brown bird,” that is to say, a bird with a brown back and pale breast of medium or indeterminate size, which could be any one of many possible birds–unidentifiable because it was too far away to get the details. This one looks like it might be some sort of Pipit, maybe a Tree Pipit. Anyone have an ID on this one?

When I got to the sanctuary, I was a bit let down–as is with most places in Tokyo, the Jungle Crows absolutely dominated the place–and other species were quite a bit harder to spot. I did get lucky, though, and after seeing a Dusky Thrush (turns out that’s a pretty common bird), I spotted another bird nearby–which I thought might be a female Dusky, but turned out to be a different species–a Pale Thrush.

I did get to see some other birds I’ve snapped before, including some Great Tits (still elusive, though–no clear photos of them yet), but I did spot one bird that I haven’t cataloged a photo of yet–the Oriental Turtle Dove. I’d photographed one before, long ago, that had perched at my window, but couldn’t find the photo I’d saved. But there were several at the park. I was trying to get close enough to the one I had spotted in the brush to take a halfway decent photo when I heard a rustling behind me just off the jogging path. Oh no, I thought–some kid who’ll make noise and scare the bird away. But then I noted the quality of the sound, which was less human-like, and turned to see another dove right behind me.

So, not a bad day of birding, though the sanctuary was not exactly a treasure trove of birds. The gull, the new wagtail, the new thrush, and the dove, not counting the “brown bird” I couldn’t identify. Nevertheless, the coming spring will hopefully bring more species to the area.