Grey-faced Buzzard - Migratory Visitor to Okinawa

 

 

Spotted Today in Kin Town

They've been on the island for a few days now but, this morning was the first time I saw one. 

It's always nice to see these characters, they are raptors and eat bugs, snakes, and mice.

It would really be cool to see one grab a mongoose and fly off with it. Not gonna happen.

Crows don't appreciate these birds coming to vacation for the winter.

This one hopped around on the wire, yelling at the guest about being here.

The buzzard just stared at him like, "How'd you like your face shredded, knucklehead?"

The crow finished his little speech and flew off to be a nuisance somewhere else.

MORE ABOUT GREY-FACED BUZZARDS

Wordless Wednesday: Is It "Left Loose/Right Tight?"

12 Photos: Wordless Wednesday for the Birds

Wildlife Images: Crow vs Buzzard Eagle

Crows Are Permanent Residents on Okinawa

Grey-faced Buzzard Eagles, migrate from somewhere north and, spend the winters here.

The crows, sometimes harass, these out of town visitors.

Crows, are pretty good at mimicking other birds when they are flying.

This one was, buzzing around, trying to scare the eagle out of its territory.

As you can see, the crow is larger than, the bird it's chasing.

Crows are scavengers, good at pecking things but, not dumb enough to attack an eagle.

That little bird has a meat-shredding beak and strong, sharp talons, to kill things with.

So, when the crow, gets too close, it drops its legs and shows, the concealed weapons.

Then, the scavenger, goes looking for something else, to do.

Why Are Crows Such Nasty Birds ?

Answer Found in an Okinawan Folktale

 

 

Many years ago a hunter went up in the mountains of Miyako in search of food.

Armed with a bow and arrow, he wasn't having much success finding any game.

He spotted a beautiful golden bird but, didn't shoot it.

The bird, started speaking.

If the man would promise to not hunt  birds on this mountain again, he would be rewarded.

The golden bird would grant him any wish, he desired.

Back at home, he had a wife who was always complaining about the place they lived in.

So, the man requested a mansion for his wife.

Sure enough, when he got home, his wife was in their beautiful new home.

She said, a crew came and refurbished the whole place and she was surprised.

When the man told her it was because of the golden bird, she became angry.

She wished she could fly like a bird and, wanted that more than a fancy house.

The man felt like a fool but, went back to find the bird to make another request.

He thanked the bird for the new house.

But, he knew his complaining wife wouldn't stop until she had her wish granted.

She wanted to be able to fly.

The golden bird was a little ruffled over this request but, made an exception for this old man.

When he got home, his wife couldn't be found anywhere.

She had been turned into the ugliest bird the man had ever seen; a crow.

To this day, the people of Miyako have a saying about crows.

They say, "Look what another greedy person has been turned into."

Reference: Folktales of Okinawa

ISBN4-947654-05-8

Freak Wildlife Photo of the Month

An Osprey in Flight with Fish -- Chased by a Crow

 

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Pentax F4 300mm

Exposure: f/7.1   1/1250   ISO 200

Location: Okukubi Dam, Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time: MAR 19, 2015  9:31AM

Size of a Crow Compared to an Osprey -- Both in Flight

A Sense of Scale

 

 

It isn't often, you see these two birds posing together with their wings spread.

They were flying over a dam when this shot was taken.

For further reference, I researched the wingspans of these birds.

The  Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) has a greater wingspan.

According to National Geographic: 5-6 ft or, 1.5-1.8 meters.

The Crow (genus Corvus) has a wingspan of 39 inches or, 1 meter.

That's from the good folks at Britannica.

Crows May Be Confused with Ravens

 

 

 

 

 

For those who like to know everything about birds, I did some digging.

People sometimes argue, make bets or, just discuss ravens and crows.

If you get some of these birds in your yard and want to identify them, try this.

Visit Crow vs Raven 

Read about the birds, look at images, watch videos and, listen to the sounds they make.

Then, you will be an expert at, winning bets over crows and ravens.

That black bird flying below the Osprey is a Crow.

Wanna bet ?

Just a Crow Today and Recipes for Using Them

Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle Not Seen

 

 

It was a busy day at the office but, two hours were spent outdoors.

Before the sun went down, I thought shooting that buzzard eagle might be entertaining.

It never appeared, where I usually spot it but, a crow showed up.

Here it is, posing to the left.

Then, it posed to the right.

It was eating some sort of fruit probably, swiped out of a farmer's garden.

Enough photos were taken, to get this GIF made for you to view.

While waiting around the office for the GIF to get done, I did some research.

There Are Way Too Many Crows on this Island

 

 

Just for the heck of it, I decided to Google Search Crow Recipes.

If there was a big demand for crows maybe, we could get rid of them all and, turn a profit.

Hah.  I found some great material, over at Cooks (dot) Com.

They have a whole page of recipes that use crows and, even their nests.

You can make hash, pudding or, pies out of these birds.

The craziest recipe is the one called Famous Kentucky Crow.

All you need is one crow, 4 cups of cow manure and a pint of Old Crow Kentucky Bourbon.

After you're done mixing and baking, guess what you are supposed to do ?

Throw the bird away, eat the manure and, drink the bourbon !

Wildlife Shot on the Way to the Moon

An Angry Buzzard Eagle

 

 

It sure would be nice if, they would bury all phone lines and electric wires, underground.

Normally, I don't waste my time, taking photos of birds on wires.

While walking to do a night-before-the-full moon shoot, I saw this scene.

The Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle was on the wires first.

Then, a crow came along and, thought it would roost there.

Hopefully, I won't get a pile of hate mail from the crow lovers but, I don't like those varmints.

This eagle was smaller than a crow and, I have seen crows gang-up on them.

This time, the eagle, scared the crow away. YAY !

Off they went, in separate directions.

And, I continued my journey, to shoot the moon.

Photos above taken with a Pentax K3 and Sigma 50-500 at 500mm

Exposure:  f/6.7   1/1000   ISO 100