I heard that there is a rare habitat in Japan for seawater-drinking pigeons in Oiso, Shonan, and that it is possible to get rather close to them to observe and photograph them. As someone who rarely takes pictures of moving things, much less living creatures, I thought it might be reckless, but decided to go to give it a shot.
I apologize to those of you who were suddenly taken aback by the mention of pigeons. For more information about pigeons, please see, for example, this website.
One weekend in July, I got off at Oiso Station on the JR Tokaido Line.
The lightly overcast sky is not photogenic, but considering that we are about to spend some time on the unobstructed coast, it is rather convenient in that we will not be baked by the summer sun.
It takes less than 10 minutes on foot from the station to Terugasaki Beach. It was my first time in this area, but I followed the guidance of google map. Along the way, you will see manholes with the image of the Oiso seaside scenery everywhere.
This time, in addition to the PENTAX K-3III and HD DA55-300mm PLM, a combination that allows me to take telephoto shots with the longest focal length of all my equipment, I brought the SIGMA 17-70mm for snapshots in the city like the one shown above.
We arrived at Terugasaki Beach without much time loss, despite getting a little lost a few times. Here it is!
The peak time for green pigeons flight is from sunrise to about 10 am. It is now 9:00 am. The number of birds flying in and out varies depending on the weather and other factors.
There were some photographers ahead of me, but I could not see any birds on the rocky shore.
I went down to the beach and stood by, wondering if I had messed up the day. I was stunned when suddenly a flock of birds flew in from the land. They were fast!
In no time at all, they were swarming over the reef. Come like this,
It goes like this…
You can see the bright green color through the viewfinder. It is definitely a green pigeon!
How did I take this picture? Yes, as a Pentax user, I don’t chase after them with AF-C. I stopped down the lens and placed the focus on the head of the rock that I had decided on.
The waves were crashing quite violently, but the pigeons were brave enough to land on the rocks and occupy the reef without much care.
This shot was taken at a slightly different time and on a different reef, but this is how the flocks of green pigeons are spending their time there.
They can’t stay there for minutes, and when the wave comes with “zapaan”, they run away in a big hurry like this. ↓Some of the birds are completely covered by the tide, but are they OK?
They seem to stay on the rocks for only a short time to drink a little seawater, then fly off and pull back in toward land, only to return minutes later in large and small groups, repeating the process.
When I arrived just now, it was during the “interval” of a few minutes.
With my 55-300mm lens, I think this is the shot that I was able to get a large view of the pigeons. Unfortunately, they are all in the back.
In this photo, it looks like I got the “drinking seawater” shot. In that sense, this is still a successful shot.
I think that the blue-winged teal would have to look out toward the incoming waves in order to escape in a timely manner, so it would turn offshore. So, basically, if you try to take pictures from the shore, you tend to end up with only the buttocks of the pigeons like this.
I heard that the Oiso green pigeons are designated as a Natural Monument of Kanagawa Prefecture. On the breakwater, there was a board explaining where the pigeons come to fly, like this.
Here is a copy of the following, which is pulled from this sign,
In Oiso Terugasaki, there are many green pigeons flying in from the Tanzawa area, and a total of over 2,000 birds can be observed in one day from early summer to autumn. This is probably due to the favorable conditions of the area, such as the reefs that can drink seawater even at high tide, and the deep forests with the Oiso Hills approaching behind.
That’s what I read. Did you understand?
It seems that Oiso Town is also putting a lot of effort into the aojiki as a tourist resource. Here is a link to the town’s official page.
So, this is the story of how we saw the green pigeons in Oiso. Of course, you can come here by car, but it is only a 10-minute walk from Oiso Station, just an hour or so from Tokyo Station, so you can easily go there by train. If you are interested, please visit during the summer.
