Last week I was able to go to Kasai Rinkai for some birdwatching with a friend. I managed to get two more life birds, and spotted some old acquaintances. The two I got for the first time were the Dunlin and the Whimbrel.

There were a lot of Dunlins running around. Cute little buggers; I like the black patch on their bellies.

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The other new bird was the Whimbrel, similar in some ways to Curlews.

There may actually have been a third new species, but I am unsure–it’s so similar to several birds in the sandpiper family, it’s hard to tell. I’m going to have to get an outside opinion on this one:

Among those I’ve spotted before were Black-winged Stilts…

…Little Ringed Plovers–these two in the first photo almost seemed to be doing a courtship ritual…

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Then there were a few Terek Sandpipers…

…and a Ruddy Turnstone–in this shot presenting an interesting view, even if you can’t figure out where its head is…

There was also a Grey-tailed Tattler:

And I got an interesting shot of a Little Egret, with its cowlick looking funny (and note the purple coloring at the base of the bill):

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There were more that I didn’t get to photograph, including some Little Terns and Common Snipes. Then there were the more common birds, including Spot-billed Ducks, Great Egrets (though one lady claimed one was an Intermediate Egret), Grey Herons, Crows, Bulbuls, Starlings, Tree Sparrows, Cormorants, Little Grebes, Oriental Turtle Doves, Wagtails, and Barn Swallows.

So, more than 20 birds in one outing, even if more than half were commonplace. Not bad at all. Oh, and I got a special treat this morning–a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker was on a tree right in front of my work this morning, in the middle of Shinjuku, pretty far from any parkland. Interesting.