Another weekend, another day I force myself outside because I could use the fresh air and exercise. This time, in Kyoto. Normally, I go to Kyoto for the temples and shrines, the markets, or the scenery. This time I would be trying to look for birds.
First stop: Kyoto Imperial Park
This is the location of the Imperial Palace (closed except for scheduled tours you must reserve) as well as a few other imperial buildings and other attractions. The park is fairly large, with some trees and green areas around the perimeter but also large gravel pathways surrounding the palace. At first, I didn’t see much because the birds were higher up in the trees and moving a little too fast for me to catch. Sparrows and pigeons of course were easy to see. Eventually, though, I found a small shrine where quite a few different birds were hanging out.
Shrines and temples in Japan can often be quiet havens of nature. They may have large mature trees protected as part of the shrine, inner gardens, and are almost always a lot quieter. This one had some shrubs and shorter trees where there were quite a lot of birds foraging among the leaf litter. Distracted by a crow gathering nest materials at first, I hung out here for a little while as I spotted more birds up in the branches and down in the leaves.
Large-billed Crow
This bird hopping across the entrance to the shrine is what first drew me in. It was collecting pine needles for nesting material and at one point, turning its head, reminded me of Nigel Thornberry with the way the needles stuck out on either side of its bill like a large mustache. After pulling at some paper litter, it eventually flew off to deliver its load to the nest.
Oriental Turtle Dove
I’m not sure I’ve ever noticed these doves before, maybe mistaking them for pigeons because of their size, or just not seeing them as often. The mourning doves we have back home are smaller and more vocal, but the turtle doves were quietly rustling around in the leaves. Flicking them out of the way looking for food, keeping one eye on the people walking past, but otherwise unconcerned.
Pale thrush
I have an image of thrushes being very spotty birds, so this one confused me at first. But I suppose its name fits because it had a pale unspotted belly and pretty solid coloring. It blended in well to the shadowy brown leaf litter. As it hopped around it kept stopping to look at me, warier of my presence than the dove.
Varied Tit
I believe this may have been a recently fledged young bird and its parents. It was easy to locate as it screeched for food, mouth open and wings fluttering in a familiar begging pose I had seen when caring for orphaned birds. After another bird deposited a sizable grub in its mouth, it quieted down and started hopping around in the branches, exploring on its own.
Japanese Tit
Quick as ever, this little bird wouldn’t sit still and quickly moved on, but I finally managed to get a full side view of it.
Brown-eared Bulbul
Briefly spotted this bird peeking out from the leaves of the camellia tree.
Dusky thrush
Got a better view of the dusky thrush away from the shrine in a more open grassy area beneath some taller pine trees. These thrushes had the more familiar speckled belly and were foraging in the grass.
Next stop: Kamogawa (Kamo River)
Not going to lie, I mainly just wanted to enjoy hanging out on the riverbank. Japan has a lot of rivers and they are often set up with walking paths and benches, so many people enjoy hanging out by the riverside. But water means wildlife, and there was no shortage of birds even at this popular river walkway.
Black kite
One of the first birds to catch my attention was the black kite. These raptors are incredibly common and are easy to spot circling above the rivers. They also call frequently and, to me, make up one of the distinct natural sounds of Japan. There was a pair hanging out in the top of a cherry blossoms tree, making for another great spring photo.
White-cheeked Starling
These birds might seem familiar to Pokemon fans because they resemble the pokemon Starly, with their brown bodies and white cheeks. These are also pretty common to see around local parks and were making their way along the bank in a little group.
Grey Heron
Another common sight near water, there were a couple of these wading around the bridge area and near the rocks.
Little Egret
On the other side of the river, this little egret was admiring its reflection in the water. Or maybe looking for food. One of those.
The big giveaway for this species is the black beak, most of the other egrets have a yellow beak.
Japanese Wagtail
This one was perched on some rocks in the middle of the river. This was another bird new to me, I didn’t know that white wagtails and Japanese wagtails were 2 different birds because they always move so fast! The Japanese wagtail has a smaller white mask above its eyes, while the white wagtail has a broader white mask across its face.
And now for some ducks.
Mallard
This male was hanging out in the shade of the bridge so he didn’t have the strong green sheen to his head and it was more of a dark blue, with a bit of green showing on the cheek. The female was not far behind, dipping below the water to dabble for food.
Green-winged teal
A pair hanging out in the middle of the river, enjoying the sun.
Eurasian Wigeon
This male was cruising with his girl around the bridge, enjoying the fine weather.
Baer’s Pochard
A pair of dark diving ducks, these two would quickly disappear under the water leaving only ripples. They were in the middle of the river where the water was deeper, going after aquatic insects maybe.
At first glance, the imperial park and the riverside didn’t seem to have that many birds (other than the usual pigeons, sparrows, and ducks), but once I slowed down and looked a little closer I began to notice more. Even in a city as large as Kyoto, there is plenty of nature and wildlife to be found.
Until next time. . .
Enjoy this pigeon photobomb!
