I was told that there were many birding spots in Kyoto, but with my limited time, I could only make do with areas which were easily accessible! From the hotel where I stayed, I took an early morning stroll to the Imperial Palace Park, which was about 25 mins away!

the canal

As I walked along the canal, there were no shortage of mallards and black headed gulls and tufted ducks, who were happily taking their morning baths (brrr…!!). They were so close that I could almost touch them!!  It was a tough walk as the roads were iced and slippery…I made quite a few falls before I got the hang of it! >.< Anyway, that wasn’t the worst stunt I made that day…I saw some stepping stones that could get me across the canal, and without further looking, I headed for it…making huge strides for each stone. I managed to catch the attention of some locals, who watched my spectacular moves, and  pointed to me that there was a footbridge nearby…@_@” Embarrassing!!

Mallard

black headed gull in canal

When I arrived at the entrance of the park, I was greeted by a huge flock of Japanese Grosbeaks! I was taken by surprise by the quantity and their foraging behavior on leafy grounds! The Japanese grosbeak below obviously stayed away from its noisy friends and decided to roost on a tree! 😛

Japanese grosbeak at Imperial palace park entrance

In Winter, thrushes were no shortage here…!  I could easily see Scaly thrush, Pale Thrush and Dusky thrush…!

scaly thrush

Apart from Imperial Palace Park, I also visited Arashimaya, where I saw more cormorants and also the Japanese Wagtail!  I was hoping to see some buntings there, but I failed to find any! It was a great walk nonetheless… 😛

Arashiyama

comorants

japanese wagtail