Smew, Tundra Swan and more
On the way home from visiting a friend's house in Kariya, I looked on Google Maps for a place to let my son play and found a nice-looking park with a pond. We walked the path around the pond collecting acorns and so on. I glanced at the pond and was thinking there were ducks but not many, when that black-and-white two-tone one swam right across in front of me!! I hurriedly got my camera from the car in the parking lot and shot it. Three Smews were floating on the pond.
Further along the path I was surprised to find six Smews resting. The Mallards, Great Crested Grebes, Eurasian Teal and Mandarin Ducks on the same pond also seemed unbothered by the joggers and dog walkers... ^^;
A Masked Bunting on the path came to within arm's reach.
On another river there were 27 Tundra Swans. One had a leg band and one had what looked like a GPS unit hanging from its neck, but they were far away and I could not make out details.
On the riverbank there were also Long-tailed Tits, buntings of the Meadow Bunting family, Dusky Thrushes and Pale Thrushes, so it was surprisingly lively.
Smew, adult male.
Smew, female (right) and male.
Six Smew at the far end of the pond. The bird in the middle might be a first-winter male.
A flock of Mallards, swimming around the pond while feeding.
Great Crested Grebe, adult winter plumage.
A Black-faced Bunting that didn't flinch whether people or dogs walked past.
Twenty-seven Tundra Swans. Near the centre there is one wearing a white leg ring and another with what looks like a data logger around its neck.
