Birds of The Ai River (April 2021 Update)

The start of April coincided with the decline of the cherry blossom season.  By about two weeks into April, most of the Sakura trees were lush with green leaves and no remaining trace of the delicate pink blossoms.  The disappearance of the Sakura blossoms also coincided with a disappearance of the ducks along the river.  In the beginning of April, flocks of Eurasian Wigeons (Anas Penelope)  were still visible.

But, by the fourth week of April, there were only a few ducks of any species left to be seen.  In fact, there were few birds of any kind to be seen anywhere along the river.  Instead, there was a lot of green vegetation and flowers sprouting up along the riverside.

Below are photos of the few birds that I managed to photograph during the month of April.

Eurasian Wigeons (Anas Penelope)

Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)

Common Teal (Anas crecca)

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

White Wagtail (Motacella alba)

Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia)

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

I went upstream to check on the spot where last month I spotted a pair of gallinules.  This time, there was no sign of them.