Two male blackbirds amongst the cattails around the pond. Haven't actually seen them around before, but now that I know what they sound like, I have definitely heard them around.
I will be the first to admit that the lighting on my balcony is terrible, and that these are far from the best photographs. That being said, this cardinal was a very unusual black/brown color. It showed up with a standard red male and, naturally, flew off when I tried to get a decent pic.
Having not seen them all winter, it was good to see that flash of white out on the pond again.
My boss was looking out the window and asked me what this was. I knew it was a merganser, but I don't remember seeing this type before. Luckily, we have a whole collection of stuffed birds on the other side of the museum where we could ID it.
I believe this squirrel was actually an albino. Same size as a typical gray squirrel, but snow white. Didn't manage to get close enough to see if it had the red eyes, sadly. All I had on me was my phone, so the photos aren't so great.
I saw these sparrows flitting around in Kyushu and on Miyajima. This was the only time one stayed still enough for me to photograph. My best guess is it's a barn swallow.
This little bird looks like it might be a myna or other starling. My best guess right now is it's a grey starling or white-cheeked starling (both Sturnus cineraceus), seems to more or less fit the description.
The deer in Nara are not exactly a rare sight. They are for the most part domesticated, living in relative peace (though also considerable nuisance to tourists) in the parks of Nara. They have a distinct tendency to eat anything paper that you might have out, including money.
This was a decent sized beetle, maybe 2.5cm in length. Beautiful shiny iridescent blue.
I don't know too much about ladybugs and their ilk, but it did strike me that this one had inverse coloration to the normal ones found in northeast United States.
After some research, I think this is, in fact, the same species as that found in North America, only form conspicua.
A flock of well over a dozen kites descended on the river shore, scaring off a flock of pigeons. Apparently they were after the breadcrumbs the pigeons were eating.
I don't think I've ever noticed how oddly proportioned the neck of a swan is until I saw it stretched straight. It seems very top-heavy.
I had heard these guys (and gals) had appeared last week and was disappointed to have missed them, but they made an appearance today! Sadly the sun and the weird setup of our office and its windows put a ghost of my hand right in the shots I managed to get...
The common mergansers were clustered just off to the left of the hooded ones, like they didn't quite get along.
We spotted a group of mergansers outside our office window yesterday, but none of us knew what they were. Saw them again today and overheard some people (of some bird authority) saying they were common mergansers, and that hooded mergansers had also been seen hanging around last week.
Spotted the guy (or gal?) perched on a low branch of a tree by the Cambridgeside Galleria. It's breast was very white with black speckles and I didn't particularly notice a red tail on it, so it may have been a juvenile? Didn't see it in flight, so can't say for sure.
Typical of most of New England, the back yard is infested with grey squirrels. I think the record is 5 or 6 on the deck at a time.
