Tamagawa mizubenotori

For the last 2 years getting close enough to the egrets or heron along my part of the Tama River has been getting more and more difficult.

Not only are the birds very wary of both humans and their dogs, the habitat has changed. The river has been high enough that it almost always covers the small basalt island behind the homeless camp where many of both species---along with cormorants---would spend much of the day.

There are a few other "islands" which are slightly isolated from the majority of human/canine interlopers where the birds can get a little peace, but last summer one of those "sanctuaries" disappeared. It disappeared not because of nature, but because of man. I spotted a fellow damming up part of the river and thought perhaps he was doing it to catch fish. I wondered if it was legal to do so, but I suppose that it makes no difference.

The "dam" that he built has now been built up to the point that it has become a bridge to the island, resulting in it becoming a playground for parents, children, and dogs. Frankly, these folks appear to be either unaware of, or have absolutely zero concern for the pitiful remnants of wildlife there. Contrast that with some of the older guys I meet in the early morning who seem to know every species of bird along the river as well as the details---to the point of trivia---about the history of the river itself.

This egret was first one I have gotten within 30 meters of in over a year. Amazingly, it hung around as two families with dogs off-leash came down to where I was photographing and began running, screaming, and throwing rocks in the river. It wasn't until one of the dogs crossed the "bridge" to the island and came up behind the egret and started barking that the bird wisely left. So did I.

Some of the most relatively "tame" gulls I've seen are near Yokohama Bay

Horai Park karugamo/D300 focus

The herons and egrets on the Tamagawa River have become a bit more difficult to find and approach over the last month---caring for young ones perhaps. Horai Park in Denenchofu does have a resident population of spot-billed ducks, lots of turtles and an occasional out-of-place grey heron. Only the karugamo---spot-bills were there last Sunday, but the light was good and I could get close enough to spend an hour or more taking photos. My wife complained, "They're just ducks."

My D300 still has occasional focusing hiccups. When I switch focus to auto area focus, it will hang and refuse to focus for 2-3 attempts. I have had to switch it back to dynamic or single point, focus it, and then switch back and it works. I don't know if this is a problem with the camera, or if it is with the subject. It doesn't happen all the time and I have not been able to determine any patterns. It most often occurs with the Tamron 200-500 lens. Otherwise, I have had no further failures to focus like I did a few months ago.

Horai Park Denenchofu

I have actually seen grey herons in this park. After three solid days of rain, it was nice to get outside.
This is a male karugamo. Complete with redeye.

300,000 years old

The island that this heron (called a blue heron in Japanese, but looks like a grey heron) is said to be about 300,000 years old. Formed of lava, it is often underwater. According to an old guy I spoke to, it is believed to "have been the basis of the Tamagawa."

D300 problems

As noted below, I had one instance of the D300 temporarily refusing to autofocus. At the time I was using the Tamron 200-500mm. I have not had a recurrence of the problem as of yet. SInce that time, I have taken well over 120 photos.

I did clean the areas contacts on all lenses as well as the camera. We shall see...

Kosagi

Spring is near

And the plumage on egrets is nearing its most attractive for mating season. This one is hunting fish on the Tamagawa in Tokyo. They especially like to kick around the rocks in order to stir up something to eat.

This is directly from jpeg and is much grainier than it would have been from NEF. Tokina 200-500mm Nikon D300.

D300 problems start to appear?

Sunday evening after an afternoon of waterfowl photography on the Tama River. As you may notice in the upper photo, the birds were leaving at this time and so was I.

Unfortunately, I experienced an auto-focus failure with the D300. It stopped focusing with my Tamron 200-500mm while I was taking photos of an egret. First I noticed that the AE/L button suddenly started focusing my camera when I pushed it to lock exposure. I had turned off the auto-focus lock feature for this button in the menu. (It is possible that I accidentally hit the AF lock button)

Then the lens would try to focus---I could hear the motor---but nothing happened. I put in a fresh battery. Nothing. I removed and reattached the lens. Nothing. I put a Nikkor 18-70mm on and after failing for a few minutes it began to focus again. I tried with my Tokina 12-24 and it worked. I put the Tamron back on and it was working again.

There have been occasional reports on the internet of this problem. It doesn't seem to be widespread but it exists. I am hoping mine was just a one time fluke, but since I have been having a few other problems with it too, I wonder.

Early Saturday Morning

Kosagi in Japanese, Saturday morning on the Tamagawa bordering Tokyo. I see plenty of Little Egrets, Cormorants, Herons, and assorted ducks there, but I would like to see a wider variety of waterfowl---and wildlife---without traveling 5 hours to do so.

It is very tough to get close enough to any of these birds fo a decent photograph because I have to stalk close and set up and get photos before some noisy person or people and their dogs come by and scare everything away.

I especially enjoy it when some person sees me taking photos and throws a ball or something between my camera and the birds for his/her dogs to fetch. Afterward, the dog comes out of the river and shakes all over me. It has happened several times. Someday I may get an apology, but I won't hold my breathe. Nor will I hold my tongue much more.

Winter afternoon on the Tama River

Northern Shoveler on a winter afternoon

On the Tama River. Incidentally, this was taken at ISO 1600 with normal noise reduction with the Nikon D300. Nikon makes good cameras, but terrible software, and as noted below, less than helpful support. (Nikon would claim otherwise though which shows you what they consider good customer support on the software side.)
Nikon D300, Tamron 200-500mm@500mm. 1/200@f8. Tripod used.

Kosagi---little egrets

Kosagi

Little egret before Typhoon 9.

I'm outta here

Little egret (kosagi in Japanese) on the Tama River

Hard Right

About 2 weeks ago there was a very strong typhoon in the Tokyo area. The Tama river area was heavily affected with high water and flooding. The water is still a muddy brown, and the plants near the river have been damaged or destroyed. However, the waterfowl is back....

Little egret on the Tama River

kosagi in Japanese

Take off

Daisagi (Great Egret---egretta alba) on the Tamagawa

Saturday late afternoon