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.