Wild Birds of Higashi-kurume Area
There are a lot of greens in the Higashi-kurume area and thus you can see various kinds of wild birds. Spotbill ducks can be seen everywhere in the Ochiai/Kurome Rivers. Japanese Bush-warbler sings in spring. Singing of Cukoo tells you that the summer will here be soon. Other kinds of ducks come in winter. I built a feeder under the cherry tree at the backyard of my house in the autumn of 1998 and had watched the wild birds until spring of 1999. I also watched the area around the Ochiai/Kurome Rivers. The following is a list of wild birds which I could identify during the period. I will add the birds to the list if I could watch new one.
１）Wild birds you can watch throughout the year（13 kinds）
- Azure-winged Magie・・・A bird the Higashi-kurume city designates as the city's bird. A group of birds always visit the cherry tree of my backyard. Their cries are not so good although their appearances are pretty.
- Tree Sparrow
- Great Tit・・・You can easily find the bird. They always visit my feeder. They like sunflower seeds very much. It's fun to see that they skillfully peel the seeds holding them with their legs and eat them.
- Grey Starling・・・You can see they flock together.
- Brown-eared Bulbul・・・They seem to eat everything. I watched that they ate cicada! Their cries are noisy!
- Rufous Turtle Dove・・・The pattern of feather resembles that of pheasant. They always visit my feeder and eat too much!
- Dove・・・Their droppings are nuisance!
- Henson's Marsh-Tit・・・Everybody dislikes them.
- White Wagtail・・・You can see they are wagging the tails at the Ochiai/Kurome Rivers.
- Grey Wagtail・・・They resemble White Wagtail. However, their tummies are yellow.
- Spotbill Duck・・・You can see at the Ochiai/Kurome Rivers. It is nice to see a mother duck with chicks during the breeding season.
- Little Egret・・・It's fun to see that the bird catches the food with a beak while stirring the water with his one leg.
- Mallard
２）Seasonally visible birds（10 kinds）
Spring
- Japanese Bush-warbler・・・It's very hard to see the bird even if you can listen to the song.
Summer
- Cuckoo
- House Swallow・・・Lots of birds build nests on the building of Higashi-kurume station. Their droppings are nuisance for the passenger.
From autumn to winter
- Blue-headed Shrike・・・You can identify them by their peculiar cries.
- Japanese Hawfinch
- Daurian Redstart・・・The bird has white spot on the wing.
- Pintail・・・They caome to the Ochiai/Kurome Rivers in winter. They have long tails.
- Teal・・・Small duck
- Dusky Thrush
- Japanese White-eye
３）Birds you can seldom watch（7 kinds）
- Common Cormorant・・・Bird good at swimming/diving. I once watched at the Ochiai River in January 1999.
- Black-headed Gull・・・I watched at the junction of Ochiai/Kurome Rivers in January 1999.
- Common Snipe・・・I watched at Kurome River in February 1999. The bird has long beak.
- Great White Heron・・・Big heron. Watched in February 1999.
- Kingfisher・・・I sometimes watched that the bird flew on the Ochiai River at the back of my house.
- Honshiu Pigmy Woodpecker・・・Small woodpecker. I watched on the tree of my backyard in December 1998.
- Night Heron・・・Refined-looking heron
４）Birds reported to be seen by other bird-watchers(I have never seen as yet.)・・・26 kinds
- Japanese Greenfinch
- Japanese Grosbeak
- Bamboo Partridge
- Japanese Green Woodpecker
- Japanese Wagtail
- Japanese House-Martin
- Skylark
- Temminck's Crowned Willow-Warbler
- Narcissus Flycatcher
- Japanese Blue Flycatcher
- Eastern Great Reed-Warbler
- Japanese Lesser Sparrow Hawk
- Brown Hawk Owl
- Himalayan Cuckoo
- Coal Tit
- Japanese Willow-Tit
- Japanese Bunting
- Siberian Blue-tail
- Japanese Brown-Thrush
- Pale Ouzel
- Chinese Tree-Pipit
- Japanese Water-Pipit
- Shoveler
- Wigeon
- Tufted Duck
- Moorhen
I will continue to try to find the birds which I have never watched.
Back