Birds of The Ai River (January 2021)

 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Japan, it has proved to be a strong deterrent to visiting zoos or traveling to natural areas.  Having not photographed any animals for almost the entirety of 2020, I decided that in 2021, I would attempt to document the birds that could be seen at my neighborhood urban river.  Since there was very little rain during the months of November and December, the water level was very low. 

The river primarily functions as a flood drainage, so its edges are lined with concrete and there are wide open areas and large earth berms on each side of the river.  The wide open area is designated as a park, and on most days you can see joggers, older people out for a walk, men playing baseball, young families, and the occasional fisherman.

Further upstream, there is a small area of what could be described as a tiny pocket of nature.

The following are birds that I spotted in January:

Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)

Common Teal (Anas crecca)

Eurasian Wigeon (Anas Penelope)

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

White-cheeked Starling (Sturnus cineraceus)

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Pipit (Anthus sp.) 

Crow (Corvus sp.)