Paldang, December 4

Bird News from Robin Newlin A return trip to Paldang found much of the same birds as last week's visit; waterfowl numbers seemed somewhat reduced, or perhaps just more spread out (today I covered a smaller area). The pair of Scaly-sided Mergansers was still present, as were scattered groups of Whooper Swans, good numbers of Common Goldeneyes, Goosanders, Spot-billed Ducks, Gadwalls, and Mallards; at various times, skeins of Bean Geese flew over.

Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus ©Robin Newlin

Welcoming committeeCanis lupus familiaris ©Robin Newlin Taking leave of the swans, I made it past the resident puppy gang (not without paying a toll of cracker bits) and down-river toward the channel islands. Two White-tailed Sea Eagles were present; usually sitting quietly on rocks, occasionally mobbed by magpies or crows, sometimes taking to the air. At one point the Steller's Sea Eagle flew in, raucously calling, to chase the White-tail; they both flew off and inland in an almost companionable manner.

White-tailed Sea EagleHaliaeetus albicilla ©Robin Newlin

Steller's Sea EagleHaliaeetus pelagicus ©Robin Newlin

Common GoldeneyeBucephela clangula ©Robin Newlin Passerines were represented by such quality as Japanese Wagtails, Grey-capped Greenfinches, two Bramblings, two Daurian Redstarts, Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Vinous-throated Parrotbills, and a couple of Buff-bellied Pipits.

Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser Montanus ©Robin Newlin