This post will just be a bit of a hodgepodge of photos I’ve been building up for the past week or so.

First, a slightly-oversized image, but it was the only way to crop it and have the width come out at my blog’s standard 450 pixels. It’s of a table-top stove setup. On the bottom is a mini-gas range, a portable unit that uses cans of gas fuel. The range cost about $17, and each can of fuel costs about a dollar. The first can has lasted two meals so far and seems to be good for a third, so that’s a pretty cheap setup. The grill on top is very nicely designed, rounded so the grease can drop into the gutters along the edge and fall into a water-holding trap below. Cooking with it creates almost no smoke, so it’s good for the tabletop. That part costs about $8, but already, the teflon or whatever coating it is seems to be wearing off after only a few good scrubs; still, it’s bound to be good enough so that the cost per meal will work out to only around a dollar a meal, at worst, and it’ll probably last somewhat longer than that.

Sachi and I agreed that the meal we had turned out even better than the ones we’ve had at yakiniku restaurants, which can run upwards of $40 or more; the food we got cost maybe $10 all told; factor in a few bucks for the per-meal cost of the tabletop grill, and it comes out to a big savings over going out to eat–and it’s an easy meal to prepare. What you see here is our second meal, where we cooked only meat, which we stuffed into tortillas to make fajitas, along with lettuce, black olives, peppers, green onions and a bit of cream cheese. With the yakiniku meal, we also cooked cabbage and onions on the grill.

Next up, from birdwatching, is a nice Black-eyed Bunting–one with brighter yellow coloring than any of the others I’ve snapped. They’re not the clearest photos I’ve snapped, but then you have to be incredibly quick to get some of these birds–first, you have to find them, and then in the few seconds they stay in one place, you have to zoom in with the camera and find a tiny camouflaged bird (Have you ever tried? It’s hard! This bunting may seem to stand out, but the image is cropped–the bird was only a tiny speck in the viewfinder), and then make sure/hope your settings are right, while trying to keep the camera stable enough because the low light won’t allow better than a 1/30th-second exposure. Yargh.

Out of a great many more attempts I was able to get this image of a female Bull-headed Shrike:

Above the birdwatching field that day: what appeared to be an AH-1 Cobra helicopter, without apparent markings identifying which government it belonged to. The thin body structure made it pretty danged noticeable.

And finally, on a coat hanger I bought today, a tag reading the same in Japanese (phonetically) as in English: Coating Hangar. Sounds like something else entirely, doesn’t it?

Well, I finally saw one. Several, in fact. I’ve wanted to see the Cedar Waxwing for some time now, and frankly had not even heard that they existed in my home town until recently. It’s as if every time I come home, I discover new species of birds that seem exciting, but when I mention them, everyone says, “Oh yeah, they’re everywhere and have been around for as long as I can remember.” A few years ago that included the Stellar’s Jay, a very nice crested Jay, one of the first subjects of my new camera (before the nosebleed hit).

This time my birdwatching is newly affected by the acquisition of a new video camera, one with 30x optical zoom (almost twice my digital camera’s range). That advantage, however, is mitigated by the small image size (720 x 480), making it roughly the same–and transferring to the blog has problems due to interlacing (the subject and camera shot must be still for a good part of a second for a clear shot to be delivered). So let’s begin with the two shots given by the video camera:

…and contrast those with the digital camera shots, which also come with enlargements if you click on them. The quality is much nicer:

One good point about the video camera: you get a much better selection of shots and angles due to the continuous filming.

In this particular case, I only had a clear shot of the birds for a minute or so before they flew off. I will try again tomorrow to see what I can get of them and what other birds may be viewable as early on as I can manage to drag myself out of bed…

I revisited Bayfront Park, but also went on to the Ravenswood Preserve and the Palo Alto Municipal Airport preserve. Tons and tons of birds, and some interesting ones today.

First, there was a Bufflehead at Bayfront. Not the most amazing-looking bird, but a really great name.

Here’s a bird from yesterday, but a nice shot of one: a Greater Yellowlegs:

Click for larger image

There were also more ordinary crows in attendance:

And among a flock of blackbirds, a Red-winged Blackbird:

Here is a neat new bird: a Cinnamon Teal:

There were quite a few sandpipers resting in groups, seen here along one Green-winged Teal who snuck in:

And a squirrel to break up the birds:

Here is a bird, possibly a flycatcher, which I could not definitely ID:

Here is a nice view of a White-crowned Sparrow:

And a sparrow I could not identify readily:

But one of the nicer birds I saw was at the Ravenswood Preserve near East Palo Alto, a lonely road out by the bay; a sharp burst of yellow, in the form of a Townsend’s Warbler:

There were a lot of interesting passerines out there; this one might be a Hutton’s Vireo:

And this might be a Field Sparrow:

A real surprise was a Ring-necked Pheasant that suddenly popped up as I was leaving:

That should do for now. There are more bird shots, but I’ll leave those for a bit later.

While I’m here in the Bay Area, I’m going to try to get around to different places to do some birdwatching. I went to Bayfront Park today, a park at the end of Marsh Road between 101 and the bay, near (what else ) a sanitation plant. The weather so far has not been too great, but was good enough to get some good birding in.

One of the first birds I saw was instantly recognizable as a Curlew, in this case a Long-billed Curlew.

Around that area, a marsh pond right near the park entrance, were a ton of birds, more than you could shake a stick at. There were a lot of Northern Shovelers:

Several Green-winged Teals:

And some American Coots:

There were many beautiful, elegant American Avocets:

Click for larger image

There were a great number of Black-necked Stilts, all over the place:

Click for larger image

There were also a few Canvasbacks:

Birds I am less sure about but think I identified correctly included a Willet:

And a Greater Yellowlegs:

Here are some birds I am less sure about, and will fill in later as I get IDs. What could be a dowitcher; it has a broad bill more reminiscent of an oystercatcher, and the bill and the bird’s size make it less likely a dowitcher, but….

This was some larger duck or even goose I could not nail down:

And there are so many of these little guys, I have problems telling them apart:

There was also a flock of Canada Geese that you could get fairly close to:

And around them, a good number of colorful Western Meadowlarks:

It also seems that the Black Phoebe I saw around my house the other day was no fluke. There were several that I saw in the park, and most of them had an interesting perch-fly-and-reperch action going on.

Another interesting passerine: the White-crowned Sparrow, of which many grouped in bushes near the paths.

Finally, I was walking back to my car when I heard a hummingbird very close-by in a patch of low trees. I ducked into the patch, and one Anna’s Hummingbird flew right up and perched just a few feet away, letting me get some lovely shots. Click on either for blow-ups.

A few better images of what are probably Anna’s Hummingbirds at the feeder. For those of you who have not seen these birds in person, keep in mind that from tail to bill they are just 4 inches (10 cm) in length. Their feathers tend toward iridescence, and the dark feathers on their chins appears iridescent red at the right angle.

By the way, I just arrived home for the holidays, in the southern peninsular area of the San Francisco Bay Area.

I didn’t even really try to go birdwatching, but this neighborhood is so filled with birds that you can catch sight of a dozen species without even trying. I missed some small species flitting around in trees and couldn’t identify, as well as a few mid-sized ones, but just by pointing the camera easily in a few directions I got these birds:

First, what is probably an Anna’s Hummingbird, but hard to tell because it stayed up in a tree and there was too much contrast to get many details. I asked my dad to put up a hummingbird feeder, and this one actually staked the feeder as his/her own, chasing off other hummers that tried to feed there–but he himself/she herself fed only infrequently.

Also on a wire nearby was a Mourning Dove, a bird I recall well from childhood. They often make a “mournful” hoo-hooting call when they take off in flight. I guess that they are kind of the equivalent of a Eurasian Turtledove in Japan, except this dove is more common to find.

From a treetop fairly far away I saw a bird take off and snapped this quick long-shot; it’s probably a red-tailed hawk, though it might be a bit small for that–but definitely a bird of prey of some sort.

And finally, a bird I don’t recall seeing before, a Black Phoebe, maybe not all that common in suburban neighborhoods like this one.

My dad tells me that Cedar Waxwings are around recently, feeding on pomegranate fruit. I’d sure love to get a few pictures of that bird–I’ve never seen it before.

Remember how the RIAA and the music labels are always whining about how the artists are the ones you’re hurting when you steal music? Despite, of course, the fact that the labels gouge the artists by forcing them to sign horribly unbalanced, labyrinthine, long-term contracts (how does 25 years strike you?) when the artists are starting out, and most artists have to earn their money through concerts because the labels rob them of nearly all the income from recordings.

Well, apparently the RIAA and the labels really do believe that their mammoth share for simply marketing what others create is not enough: now they are petitioning the courts to give them an even bigger share of the profits:

“Mechanical royalties currently are out of whack with historical and international rates,” RIAA executive VP and General Counsel Steven Marks said. “We hope the judges will restore the proper balance by reducing the rate and moving to a more flexible percentage rate structure so that record companies can continue to create the sound recordings that drive revenues for music publishers.”

In other words, they want to stop pirates from stealing from the musicians, so they can steal from the musicians instead. As if they’re not doing it enough already.

The park was a little uneven today. In a few places, birds were all over the place, practically flying right into view. Everywhere else, only crows and bulbuls, and a dearth of bird life. But I’ll take what I can get. And there were a few nice birds today.

Of the birds I did see, I saw a lot. Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers (Kogera • コゲラ) were visible in many areas.

I also spotted two Daurian Redstarts (Joubitaki • ジョウビタキ), or the same one in two different areas. This one is a female (I have yet to spot a gaudy male), but has stronger colors than the two I have spotted in the past. I saw the first bird in a gravestone plot as I rode by, and though it flew off, it paused on a few sticks so that I could get some nice shots. The bottom shot I got later on another street, and could have gotten some great shots as well, except for a common event at Tama Reien–some car or pedestrian with a dog would come by and make noise or movement, as they tend to do just as you’ve spotted a good bird.

In-between birds, I spotted a small cat colony–six cats (only three of which are shown below), resting lazily on a corner. You usually spot cats in birding areas. A few of them were a bit skittish, but one was of the variety that demands you pet it and give it a good, long scratching around the neck and ears. So was the one in the third picture below. As I squatted down to give the kitties a quick pet, this one jumped up on my knee and presented his neck for a good going-over. By holding the camera out at arm’s length, I got a great shot with the little guy’s tongue hanging out–in extreme pleasure, I presume. Kind of looks a little like Bill the Cat, though, doesn’t he?

Ack!

At the end of my stay at the park, just as I was getting ready to pack it in, I happened upon some nice, autumn-colored trees that were just bursting with birds–a few woodpeckers, a ton of tits, and some Japanese White-eyes (Mejiro • メジロ). I started getting some shots while balancing my bike between my legs, and then noticed that the flock actually started migrating to trees just a short distance away from me! Very rare for birds to get closer like that. And so I got some very, very nice shots.

Click on some for a larger view:

That’s all for today. But I hope that in the next two to three months, I’ll have some more nice pictures. December through February is supposed to be one of the best times for birding here, and last year, a broken foot kept me indoors. The year before, I had only started birding in mid-February. So we’ll see about this year.

It feels kind of strange to be walking down the street with tens of thousands of dollars in your bag. In the U.S., I have to admit, I’d feel like I had a huge target painted on my back, and I’d go to a big expense to avoid that risk. But in Japan, even in Shinjuku, which is close to some of the “more dangerous” neighborhoods in Tokyo, I felt only slightly odd. But certainly not at risk.

The purpose was to transfer money from my main bank to my other bank, a U.S. bank from where I transferred the money to a third location electronically. The two banks are only about a block apart, so it wasn’t such a big deal, and avoided the costs of having to use a cashier’s check, not a standard monetary device in Japan. Still, the money was given to me in several nicely wrapped bundles of one hundred ¥10,000 yen bills–more than I transferred the same way a few years ago, which I photographed at the time (see right–this time I didn’t have my camera).

I also am catching a break on the exchange rate; it had been up as high as ¥120 in mid-October, just a month ago, but today it fell to ¥116, saving me about $1700 in the transaction. Furthermore, although the usual exchange rate banks charge is three yen off the mid-rate (the one you see in reported–this moment, it is ¥115.92-95), when you issue traveler’s checks or make a bank transfer, they only charge you one yen off the mid-rate, saving me a further $850 on this transaction–but that’s standard, of course, so is not really a savings or anything.

The fact is, leaving the money here in Japan doesn’t make too much sense, since interest rates here are virtually zero (I think my main bank here offers 0.1% interest). I’ve left too much here for too long, not certain whether I would use it to make a down payment on a home at some point–but finally got around to realizing that it just didn’t make sense in the long run. Better to invest in the U.S., and bring the money back if I have to.

OK, I know, the “big fat” jokes concerning Rush Limbaugh are wearing thin. But he has so clearly crossed over the line from being a pompous, extremist windbag to being a complete joke that it’s hard not to take easy pot shots at him. I really, truly have to wonder at the character of any human being that accepts anything he says. Here is his latest on the Middle East:

Let’s just have the civil wars and let the crumbs crumble and the cookie crumble where — because I’m fed up with this. The Palestinian situation — for 50 years we’ve had the Palestinian situation, and it’s not going to be solved until the Limbaugh Doctrine is imposed or tried. And that is, this is a war, and until somebody loses it, it isn’t going to stop. And now, you know, we’ve done everything we can to make Lebanon a democracy, and it’s crumbling because Syria keeps killing the popular leaders there. Meanwhile, the Hezbos [Hezbollah] keep expanding their influence in Lebanon.

But what the hell! We’re going to bring Syria and Iran in to fix Iraq, why not let them just fix the whole region? If we’re heading to civil war — I mean, everybody comes to us: “You got to fix this and you got to fix that.” So we go and try to fix it, and our own people, Democrats and the left in our country do their best to sabotage our efforts, and then we get blamed for trying to clean up the messes that these people start. And then they come on our television show: “[Gibberish] George [gibberish] civil war [gibberish] we gotta do something. Palestinians it’s a must, it’s a must, we must [gibberish] right now [gibberish] war.”

Fine, just blow the place up. Just let these natural forces take place over there instead of trying to stop them, instead of trying to use — I just — sometimes natural force is going to happen. You’re going to have to let it take place. You can spend all the time you like with diplomacy, and you can spend all the time you want massaging these things with diplomatic — you’re just — you’re just delaying the inevitable.

I love that middle part, where he says that all the messes in the Middle East are the fault of Democrats and liberals, and that right-wingers get blamed for trying to clean up after them. Because Republicans over the past five years have done so much for peace in the Middle East. And Democrats and liberals, despite having no power over that time, somehow got in and sabotaged all they had accomplished! And now we’re blaming the Republicans for all that stuff which is so clearly the Democrats’ fault! Boo hoo!

Of course, the key statement in this tirade is the “Limbaugh Doctrine”: Just blow the place up. That ought to solve all their problems.

Sachi and I went to Kichijoji today for dinner, some shopping, and a walk in the park. The usual complement of ducks were there, which is to say the Spot-bills, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Tufteds, and Common Pochards–though Mandarins could not be found. Crows and Bulbuls were there in abundance, and a few Great Tits could be spotted. Even a Northern Goshawk was visible in a treetop.

In addition, Inogashira’s two common-yet-special visitors were in attendance:

A Black-Crowned Night Heron (click for larger image) can often be spotted lurking in dark areas at the water’s edge, usually perched low on a branch near the water.

Here’s a better view–again, click for a larger image, or click here for the jumbo-sized (1500 x 1000).

The other handsome attendee is a Common Moorhen, which usually can be found standing on a low post or swimming just beyond the ducks being fed by park visitors from the main bridge. Go to either end of the main bridge and look to the back of the groups of ducks, and you’ll probably spot one.

After Inogashira, we went shopping, and saw a nice dog-oriented pet store which sported a notably funny Engrish name. One has to imagine that this has been featured in many blogs, as the shop is on a prominent street corner in a popular shopping area, and has a huge sign. Someone must have pointed out the double-entendre to them already, or at least one would imagine so. (Update: And here it is on Engrish.com–hat tip to my sister.)

A US Air Force helicopter has been circling this apartment complex for the past twenty minutes, flying low and tight above this one specific building where I live. What the hell?

Yes, there is a U.S. military base in our backyard, but it is a recreational base, and this thing is circling my building, not the base.

As I noted on my entry of November 3, I went to Kasai Rinkai Park with Sachi to do some casual birdwatching. At that time, we just missed seeing a Eurasian Jay, by maybe 5 or 10 minutes. Assured that they were making frequent appearances, I went back the following weekend–and again missed the appearance by 5 or 10 minutes. Today, I was going to visit Sachi at her exhibition booth (she currently works for a firm in their Nailist division) at Tokyo Big Sight, which happens to be just between the Tokyo Minato Yacho Koen and Kasai Rinkai, two notable birding spots. So, after seeing Sachi off at the station in the morning, I went off to the two parks before meeting her for lunch. The following photos are a combination of the past two weekends of watching.

One bird that made an appearance both times was the Kasai Rinkai Kingfisher, who seems to be more and more visible–Sachi and I spotted him on November 3 as well.

Along with the common-as-dirt Brown-eared Bulbuls, a flock of Azure-winged Magpies commonly enjoys a bath at dusk at Rinkai.

And speaking of common, we got a trio of Common Snipes at Rinkai last week. They get four shots in this set, just because they turned out so well.

We sometimes see cats in the parks–I saw two at Rinkai this morning, and once saw a tanuki (raccoon dog) there–but this morning, the Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park had a canine visitor making a brief appearance to enjoy the birds.

This bird is a little hard to see:

It’s smack in the center of the image, but mostly you can see the black rump sticking out. It’s a Gadwall, sleeping among the reeds of the marsh. This is a first for me with the Gadwall.

Also a common sight everywhere nowadays is the Eurasian Coot; you can see a small bevy of them here feeding on the shore.

A Herring Gull also put in an appearance, picking at the carcass of a fish (eww) at the Wild Bird Park.

Meanwhile, this beautiful Grey Heron was apparently trying to coax some goodie out of this bit of detritus; from a distance, it appeared to be struggling with a handbag.

Today, this Daurian Redstart showed up at the east lake at Kasai Rinkai. This is the second Redstart I’ve spotted, but both times it’s been a female. Not to discriminate, but the male has striking colors.

Last week at Rinkai, this Eastern Marsh Harrier was what kept me from seeing the Eurasian Jay. When a bird of prey like this shows up, a lot of the smaller birds make themselves scarce. Nevertheless, the Harrier was another new bird for me. Note how crazily the leg plumage stands out in the second shot.

However, finally, I got a clear shot (well, except for that twig) of a Eurasian Jay. A beautiful bird, and I still wish he’d have turned so I could get a shot of the gorgeous blue-and-black striations on its wings. But for the time being, I was satisfied with this shot.

The landmark Kasai Rinkai Ferris Wheel, from the birding area of the park

So, with three new life birds, I guess I can’t complain. But then, over the next three months, I should be getting more new life birds under my belt. I started birding, though not too seriously, in mid-February 2005; the really good birding season is supposed to be December through February, and last year, I was laid up with a broken foot just during that time. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some good birding done this time.

This from MyDD:

Democrats took nine legislative chambers, and lost none. The gains came in Indiana (House), Iowa (House and Senate), Michigan (House), Minnesota (House), New Hampshire (House and Senate), Oregon (House), and Wisconsin (Senate).

My take: Republicans have been shameless and unapologetic in how they redistrict states in non-census years. If this is upheld by the courts, then Democrats should do the same. Indiana and Iowa would be important places to make such changes, as would be Michigan.

Frankly, I think that redistricting nationwide should follow a strictly random, mathematical formula designed to be geographic and not political in nature. But until that day arrives, Democrats would be fools not to be as vociferous about redistricting as the Republicans are. I am not one to advocate unilateral disarmament in a battle where the other side goes to the greatest lengths to bend and break laws, rules and traditions to their favor. If a strategy is legal, then we should also do it. With the GOP playing the cards, if they control most state houses, they will simply latch on to that control and run with it–as we have seen. But, when we have an advantage, the Republicans will cry foul and demand a fairness measure–then we can implement it. If it is incumbent upon us to sacrifice our control in order to make the change for fairness, then so be it. That’s how it has played before, and it likely will not change. But it must be bilateral, else the Republicans will never stop with the shenanigans.

A science and technology story: researchers have discovered a type of molecule that can detect glucose levels in human tears. They are working on a way to incorporate the substance into contact lenses. A small, translucent dot in the wearer’s field of vision would change colors depending on the glucose levels, creating a continuous monitor instantly accessible to the user. No more sticking yourself and using blood testing gear.

They are working on a way to check cholesterol levels in the same way. (But do cholesterol levels change quickly enough to merit including them in contact lenses?)

This just in:

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said yesterday that he will caucus with Senate Democrats in the new Congress, but he would not rule out switching to the Republican caucus if he starts to feel uncomfortable among Democrats.

At the very least, Lieberman is using this as a power play, telling the Democrats in no uncertain terms: treat me like a prince, or I’ll pull a Jeffords and hand control of Congress over to the Republicans. At the most, Lieberman is setting the stage for a defection he plans anyway at some point. Either way, Lieberman is playing this game for Lieberman, not for the Democrats and not for the people of Connecticut. You do have to admit, it’s a good setup for him: if he can blackmail the Democrats, he can steer the party like a tail wagging the dog; if he defects to the GOP, he could gain a position of power in the party and get almost as much from them.

Connecticut Republicans, who were Lieberman’s main voter base, will get the most from this. Connecticut Democrats come away looking like the dumbest fools on Earth.

Of course, there is one mitigating factor that Kos points out: in 2008, Democrats stand to pick up even more Senate seats; while this is not a foregone conclusion, it is a solid probability. If and when this indeed happens, Lieberman’s power suddenly evaporates. If he stayed with the Dems but blackmailed them for every last bit of power he could, then he’ll likely get an instant demotion and will be sent to the doghouse, where he can caucus with the Republicans all he wants. If he defected to the Republicans, he’ll be just as powerless. And if he does either one, he’ll probably alienate so many Connecticut Democrats that he’ll never be able to get elected there again, no matter what he runs as. So if Lieberman plays his hand too hard, he’ll have two years of glory and then his career essentially ends.

Wow.

Democrats take the House and maybe the Senate. No matter what happens from now, the Democrats have already exceeded expectations, especially in the Senate.

Before the election, the numbers were:

House

Senate

There are 435 seats in the House, so 218 is a controlling majority. The Democrats have pretty solidly won 227 at this time (Republicans have 191), and 17 seats are still in play. Some see the Dems as having 231 seats at least, which is more than the Republicans had before today. Democrats probably won’t have a rout; they will probably win with 5 or 10 more pickups than most people expected, so it’ll be a big victory, though not a huge one.

The real surprise is in the Senate. Very few, if any, expected the Democrats to win there–but now, it is still in play. The Democrats won key races in:

Pennsylvania (Casey beat Santorum, 60%-40%)
Ohio (Brown beat DeWine, 55%-45%)
Rhode Island (Whitehouse beat Chafee, 53%-47%), and
Missouri (McCaskill beat Talent, 50%-47%).

That gives Democrats 49 seats (assuming Lieberman doesn’t pull any funny stuff), with two more needed to win control of the Senate. Ford lost to the Republican Corker in Tennessee (that’s the one with the racist “call me, Harold” Playboy-party ad). Democratic long-shot Pederson did not win the Arizona seat from Kyl.

But two races are still in play. Virginia is neck-and-neck, with Democrat Jim Webb leading George “Macacca” Allen by a sliver, 49.56% to 49.24%. CNN reports that Webb has a 7,500-vote lead out of more than 2.3 million votes cast; we’ll probably see a recount there, which may string out the announcement of a winner for days. The second race in play is Montana, where Democrat Jon Tester leads Republican incumbent Conrad Burns 50%-48%, but only 74% of the vote is counted, and strongly Republican districts may swing the vote the other way.

So it’s a nail-biter for the Senate–but because a Democratic takeover was such a long-shot to begin with, the Dems will be counted as performing strongly even if both Virginia and Montana fall to the GOP.

But a full takeover of both houses of Congress would not only be a huge win for the Democrats, it would be a tremendous slap in the face for Bush. Right now Republicans can, at most, stem the damage by hanging on to a 51-seat majority, or at least retain a 50-50 Cheney tie-breaker in the Senate; anything less for them is a much greater loss. But anyone who calls anything from this point onward a Republican “victory” is blowing smoke–like Ann “I’ll say anything to piss Democrats off” Coulter claiming that anything less than a 67-seat pickup in the House and an 11-seat pickup in the Senate is a defeat for the Democratic Party. Talk about “lowering the bar.”

Other effects of what we’ve seen happen so far: Pelosi is the new Speaker, and gets credit for leading the Democratic Party to a win, and Howard Dean wins a lot of respect for his 50-state rebuilding effort, which will be credited with helping Democrats win where we frankly did not expect to do so strongly.

I haven’t been birdwatching much in the past three months–other things on my plate, as it were. But I had a chance to get back to it, a bit, with Sachi today, as we went to Kasai Rinkai Park. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my zoom lens, so the photos aren’t very good–but then again, today’s visit was less about photographing and more about enjoying.

However, I do think I might head back, maybe on Monday; there seemed to be a lot of good birds around. One blind was crowded with birders, as a Eurasian Jay had made an appearance; I’m sorry I missed it, but then again, without the telephoto, I wouldn’t have been able to get a good shot of it anyway. Other uncommon birds were in attendance as well, but even without hours of waiting and superior photographic equipment, Sachi and I still saw a long list of birds, including Snipes, Azure-winged Magpies, a Kingfisher, Coots, a variety of ducks (though they aren’t there in full numbers yet), as well as the usual Egrets, Herons, Bulbuls, Starlings and so forth. A good dozen and a half species that we could identify, at least.

A few I was able to get shots of: a Bull-headed Shrike…

That Kingfisher in action (lower right, see lower shot for detail)

And something I thought was a Goldeneye, until I saw the detail on my computer at home–and figured that it must be a female Greater Scaup, still not too common a sight (but a lot less rare than the Goldeneye).

Let me end with this unusually tall photo of an Egret on the shore at sunset.

I love stuff like this:

Click to see the whole image

From NASA, this photo struck me as interesting. I expected that it was a way zoomed-out photo of the moon, with some large, strange cloud formation mimicking its shape.

However, that large crescent in the photo is the moon. The small crescent is Venus, which can not only appear in the daytime sky, but even shows phases. Go ahead and click on it to see the full-sized image.

I came down to get my scooter to go shopping, and caught the little tykes in the act. The cats that have been using my scooter’s seat as a bed/toilet were sitting right there. The tabby was on my seat, and the black one was on the next scooter over. I shooed them away and rode off to go shopping, and when I came back, they were both on the neighboring bike–and stayed there while I got my camera and came back to shoot them, photographically speaking.

click to see larger image

In fact, a cat that’s probably their momma even dropped by–she’s usually absent. But it’s raining tonight, and the cats look for shelter.

To guard against the seat-sitting, I’ve taken a few measures. First, I bring my full-face helmet inside with me every day–if I don’t, the tabby will sleep in it, leaving it full of cat hair and what was probably cat slobber, inside the helmet where my head is supposed to snugly fit. Eww. Second, I drape a towel over my seat, and splash water all over it. This keeps the cats off overnight, though if left for any longer, it’ll dry off–like it had by tonight, when the tabby used it as a sleeping mat; I hadn’t used the bike for two days. But that’s OK–as a secondary protection, the towel at least keeps the paw prints, hair, and pee off the bike seat itself.

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I’m pretty sure by now that they’re strays. If they’re owned by anyone, that someone would hardly ever have them in their apartment. Possible–people can be that irresponsible, having temporary pets and then inflicting the hassle on the whole neighborhood–but I just get the impression that these are noraneko.