Wordless Wednesday: Northern Shoveler

 

Great Cormorant Flying Over Kin Town, Okinawa

 Photographed Today with Pentax 560 MM Lens

There won't be a review of this new lens until it's been fully evaluated.

Lately, I've been backpacking the monster each morning, as I do my 10,000 daily steps.

Plenty of ducks migrate to Okinawa for winter. They were sort of avoiding me today.

All of a sudden, two strange-looking birds flew overhead and I wasn't sure what they were.

Here's a favorite image of one I used to get an identification. I'm not exactly a bird expert.

So, I wind up jumping through all sorts of Internet hoops, to get you this information.

English Name: Great Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax carbo

Japanese Name: Kawa-u (カワウ)

More of these birds may be seen in this 2012 post from the other side of this island. 

Wordless Wednesday: No Wesley But Here's A Snipe!

 

Happy Veterans Day Reflection

 

Day After Halloween - Sorry No Ghosts

A Juicy Ghost Story in the Making

Research continues on Okinawan Folklore with some ghosts.

Last month, we tried our best to get you a goosebumpy local legend and photos to go with it.

Things don't always turn out the way I want them to so, something else creepy will have to do.

Before sunup this morning I walked along the east coast, looked towards the west, and saw this.

The full moon was going down behind some vegetation lining a hillside behind me.

It's not really creepy, to me but, it could give someone the shivers.

It was going on 8 AM when this gnarly character stuck his big foot on top of the water.

If that big paw and red-eye don't give ya the creeps, you'll just have to wait.

Maybe, before next Halloween, we'll have a real ghost story to share with you.

For those interested in birds, this one's nomenclature would be: Eurasian Coot.

 Scientific Name: Fulica atra