There were lots of small birds at Onuma on Monday morning.............
In the small clearing where the tame tits and nuthatches come to be fed there were 3 Varied Tits, 4 Nuthatches and 4 or more Marsh Tits.
I haven't seen so many Varied Tits in this place this winter: a pity as they are the most photogenic of the bunch.
One of the three was tame and comes readily to the hand, the others not tame at all.
The 500mm f4 is not ideal for these types of situations (rather heavy and the MFD is not great) but I'd left the 100-400 at home.
There were 4 Nuthtaches, 2 squabbling pairs................it must be near the edge of their territories. The dominant pair do not come to the hand though.
The 'Marsh' Tits were also aggressive to each other. Could it have been a pair of Marsh and a pair of Willow? They look so similar, I really have to sit down and work out how to ID the latter. these will stay as 'Marsh' for now but any opinions/corrections would be gratefully received. Their caps don't look glossy but that could just be the light (it was dark and misty).
We also saw huge flocks of Redpoll and Hawfinch around, birds are on the move and spring is on the way.
So many cute bird pictures. Good job. I went out last weekend and just couldn't find anything.
ReplyDeleteHi Russell, I heard 2015 has been a slow year generally for birds in Japan, especially smaller birds. Something to do with weather patterns elsewhere in Asia.
DeleteA cracking set of images. I have never seen a Varied Tit and he is a really poser. Wonderful shots ofhim looking driectly at you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret, I think he (or she) was checking whether I had any more sunflower seeds
DeleteLovely shots as usual Stu, but as for the difference between Marsh and Willow tit that's even harder than Chiff Chaff and Willow Warbler. I remember reading about a bird taken in a net on Walney island and an expert went to great lengths to explain that "this willow warbler is easily identified by blah, blah, blah" however when it was released it flew to a nearby bush and emmited chiff chaff chiff chaff.
ReplyDeleteI can easily believe that Derek....................
DeleteNice to see the Varied Tits eyeing you up for a handout ! As for Willow/Marsh - good luck with the ID effort.
ReplyDeleteThanks John, yes it does have an intense stare.
DeleteYou could always attach a 12mm extension tube to improve the MFD. Although don't trust a third party one, I had one shear off with the weight of the lens. Thankfully no harm done.
ReplyDeleteMy wife has a set of kenko extension tubes.....................but TBH it is just another thing to fiddle about with (I can just about tolerate teleconverters).
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