Varied Tit

Varied Tit or YAMAGARA in Japanese is quite common wild bird in Japan, Korea, and other SE Asia. This bird is quite friedly to humans and may soon comes on the palm of human to get his food. See photo above.

Japanese common toad (ヒキガエル）

On March16,2022,several numbers of Japanese common toad came around the small pond of my house. They were about 15 in total.
After playing all together for a while, they went into the pond to spawn. Next morning I saw many many spawns in the bottom of the pond. This happens every year in this season as it is their breeding season.

Gecko (ヤモリ）

Today, I found a tiny gecko at the entrance door of my house. It is about only 10cm long. This have been happened several times in a year. In Japan, the gecko is said to be a lucky animal(reptile) which would bring fortune to the house where the gecko was found. Thanks gecko to have come to my house. Stay in my house without hesitation as long as you like!

Chinese Hwamei(Gabi-cho )

Chinese Hwamei( or Garrulax canorus);
came to Japan in the Edo period from China as a cage bird. Then, it became wild.
It is about 20-25 cm long and mostly live in the eastern Asia and southern China.
Its loud and shrill song is special. People may be waked up when it start to sing in the morning.
Also its white distinct eyebrow marking around the bird's eyes is very special.

Feeding birds

As usual in every winter, the wild birds visit to our bird-feeder we prepared under the caves of the house. The big　one is a blown-eared bulbul and other are Japanese white-eyes. Two white-eyes look like a pair, as they always come together.

Tomato Stealer---Masked Palm Civet

I have a small tomato field in my gurden. In middle summer days, we can get many tomatoes from the field. One day, I saw someone stealing the tomatoes in the field.
It was a masked palm civet. " I saw you ,Masked palm vivet !"
I could take her picture as shown here.
Bad stealer but cute !

Japanese white-eye

Many Japanese white-eyes visit the feed basket we prepared in front of our dinning room (2nd floor) everyday starting from early December.
We can see the white-eyes in very close distance. They are one of the smallest kind of wild birds in Japan and very cute with beautiful chirp. Japanese white-eye has, as its name indicates, white circle line around the eye. The bird is being loved as a pet bird since Muromachi era of Japan (about 500 yeras ago).
(Generally, it is about 12 cm long and 18 cm between wings)
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Japanese Toad

In the middle of March, every year, 5 to 6 , even 9 to 10 in some years, Japanese toads come to a small pond of my house for bleeding. They call each other for mating through the night.

Blue Rock Thrush(Isohiyo-dori)

===Blue Rock Thrush or Isohiyo-dori in Japanese===
A city bird of Ito. Normally this bird lives near rocky sea-coast.
Because of its beautiful color, the bird is called as a jade of sea-coast. Length is about 25cm. The photo is a male bird. Female bird is a little dark brown colored.

Bulbul (or Blown-eared Bulbul)

A Brown-eared Bulbul.
This bird can be seen almost everywhere in Izu. It likes cherry blossoms and an orange.The size is about 27 cm in length. It chirps like " Hiiiii-Yo ! Hiiii-Yo !"and is called " Hi-Yo Dori(bird)" in Japanese.

Black-tailed gull

A black-tailed gull (scientific name:Larus crassirostris) can been seen almost everywhere around the seaside of Izu Peninsula. Especially at the mouth of Matsukawa river, the seaside of Ito, we can often see many black-tailed gulls walking on the beach or flying around, that are, perhaps, looking for their food.
The black-tailed gull, as you know, mews "MEW, MEW," like a cat.

Forest Geen Tree-frog

Forest Green Tree-frog (or PHACOPHORUS ARBOREUS) (モリアオガエル)
In the middle of May 2005, a forest green treefrog (Mori-ao-gaeru)came to the tiny pond in my garden (near Jogasaki-kaigan station, Ito city) and croaked in the night time. Three days later, I found her spawns like bubbles at the corner of the pond (above surface of the water). Since then, the forest green treefrog is keeping the watch on the spawns at the branch of a Japanese apricot tree growing by the pond. Today ( June 1st 2005) the forest green treefrog came down from the tree and appeared before me. How cute she is ! I lost no time in releasing the shutter of my camera.
The Forest Green Treefrog has been designated as a natural monument of Shizuoka Prefecture.

Spawns of Forest Green Tree-Frog

Spawns which Forest Green Treefrog laid.
Usually, a forest green tree-frog spawns on a branch of a tree above the pond, but these spawns were found at a corner of the pond.