It’s probably the other things going on in my life, but I have not been strongly into birding recently. Still, from time to time, I drop by a birding spot and give things a whirl… but to be honest, now that I’ve gotten most of the species you’re bound to see without a big surprise, it’s a bit less exciting. All the same, the birds are nice to see, even when they’re nothing new. Here are some from today:

A Grebe (kaitsuburi):

A Cormorant (kawau) preening while drying its wings:

A pretty stilt (seitaka-shigi):

Various sandpipers (I’ve given up trying to differentiate them, to be honest):

This one is of a large Piper chasing a smaller one that caught a morsel it fancies:

Wagtails are always pretty, however common:

The return of the Tufted Ducks signals the beginning of the massive flocks soon to come:

And there were a few Kingfishers (kawasemi) also in attendance:

Flying off, the Kingfisher is such a pretty flash of red and blue-green:

A bull-headed Shrike made an elegant farewell from the park:

Spiders were everywhere, mostly of this variety–this one snacking an a slightly less-colorful bug:

And what bird park would be complete without a wishful cat?

And the crabs, of course:

I’m just throwing this last one in–you get to see Tokyo Tower down the street on the way back, on Route 1: