Imbanuma, July 12, 97.
Imbanuma is a not too large waterbody surrounded by
dykes not far from Narita airport in Chiba-ken. Before the Edo period it used to be a
wide and shallow turn in the major Tonogawa river, if I understand
things correctly. In the Edo period this Tonogawa was redirected as it
caused to many floods in Tokyo. The whole area must have been a large
marshland. More
and more of the marshland has been cultivated into ricepaddies. Almost nothing is left. From the former S curve only two lakes remain. The western
one has still some corners with reedland.
Eal and catfish, carp and bass belong to the specialities of freshwater
fish caught in the lake. Restaurants in the neighborhood serve sashimi
catfish and carp.
The large
number of herons and bitterns must be a faint echo of a glorious past.
Especially the Chinese little bitterns were a great delight: flying
over the reedbeds and traveling from the reedbeds to the rice paddies.
At one point an apparent family of two adult birds and one juvenile
was observed flying to a ricepaddy. Flight activity seemed unusual
high, perhaps due to the dark and rather rainy weather. There was hardly any
wind, temperature about 26 C and towards noon more and heavier rain.
Main attraction is, of course, the supposedly breeding Eurasian Bittern.
Participants: Ikenaga-san,
Honda-san and Fer-Jan de Vries.
-
Little grebe
Podiceps ruficollis
[Kaitsuburi] 2 ex.
-
Great cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo
[Kawa-u] 4 ex.
-
Mallard
Anas Platyrhynchos
[Ma-gamo] 1 ex.
-
Spot-billed duck
Anas poecilorhyncha
[Karu-gamo] 4 ex.
-
Little tern
Sterna albifrons
[Ko-ajisashi] 3 ex.
- Chinese Little Bittern
Ixobrychus sinensis
[Yoshi-goi] Between 15-20 flying individuals.
-
Black-crowned night-heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
[Goi-sagi] At least 10.
-
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
[Ko-sagi] At least 4.
-
Intermediate egret
Egretta intermedia
[Chuu-sagi] At least 5.
-
Great egret
Egretta alba
[Dai-sagi] At least 8. One with a yellow bill with a black tip.
-
Gray heron
Ardea cinerea
[Ao-sagi] At least 6.
- Coot
Fulica atra
[Ou-ban] 2 ex.
-
Common Gallinule
Gallinula chloropus
[Ban] 1 ex.
-
Rudy crake
Porzana fusca
[Hi-kunia] 1 ex seen by Ikanaga-san.
-
Rufous turtle dove
Streptopelia orientalis
[Kiji-bato] At least 3 ex.
- Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis [Kama-semi] 2 ex.
-
Skylark
Alauda arvensis
[Hibari] Many, >30.
-
Barn swallow
Hirundo rustica
[Tsubame] Many > 200.
-
Fan-tailed warbler
Cisticola juncidis
[Sekka] Many > 20.
-
Great reed warbler
Acrocephalus arundinaceus
[Ou-yoshikiri] Many > 40.
- Japanese reed bunting
Emberiza yessoensis
[Ko-jurin] Several > 5.
-
Oriental greenfinch
Carduelis sinica
[Kawarahiwa] 1 ex.
-
Tree sparrow
Passer montanus
[Suzume] At least 20.
-
Gray starling
Sturnus cineraceus
[Mukudori] At least 5.
-
Carrion crow
Corvus corone
[Hashiboso-garasu] At least 3, among which 1 juvenile.
-
Jungle crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
[Hashibuto-garasu] At least 2.
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Last modified: July 12, 1997.
ferjan@etl.go.jp