1/11/16  An update on the turtle dove nest, (post of December 20).      Happy news! The turtle dove pair successfully laid and hatched both  eggs!  The squabs, (what baby pigeons and doves are called) are both healthy and doing well. Here, they are about one week old. Now the major concern is if they will be able to avoid predators, (crows, magpies, and cats, etc.) and fledge successfully.  

 I often see the common kingfisher,(kawasemi in Japanese)  as I walk along the local river with my dog. They stay year round, as long as the river doesn’t freeze over. I have never seen that happen all the years I have lived in Fukuoka, Japan. This is a male.

These crows were harrassing a calico cat, (tobi mi-ke in Japanese) for about three minutes by approaching from behind and acting like they were going to peck it’s tail, but they never did. The cat just ignored them, but was propbably upset because all the mice and birds were alerted to it’s presence.