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Curious Black-Headed Gulls at Shinobazu Pond
不忍池で出会った好奇心旺盛な百合鴎
The black-headed gull, yurikamome (百合鴎) in Japanese, is a relatively small bird that I have only seen in some of the larger parks in Tokyo and Yokohama. I don’t recall ever seeing them along the waterfront of Tokyo Bay, which makes sense given how much of the low-lying marshland has been filled in to make room for towering high-rise condominiums, large distribution centers, numerous docks, and petrochemical facilities.
These charming birds nest on the ground in large reedbeds or marshes, or on islands in lakes. Since Shinobazu-no-ike Bentendō Temple, where I captured this image, sits on a small island in the middle of a naturally formed pond with some marsh-like features, I assume that some of these birds may actually have nests nearby in the park.
Despite the English name, the black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) has a chocolate-brown head and a pale gray body during the breeding season. In winter, however, the brown hood disappears and only a dark ear-like mark remains. The three birds in my photo have orange legs and beaks, indicating that they are juveniles, as adults typically have red or bright red legs and beaks.
When photographing these three gulls, they did not seem intimidated by my presence. My camera is a rangefinder-style camera with a fixed 23mm lens, so the only way to “zoom in” on a subject is with my feet. I was quite surprised by how close I could get to capture this shot.
Fortunately, I didn’t have my border collie with me that day, as she would have gotten excited, tried to herd the birds, and ended up scaring them away.
- Location: Shinobazu-no-Ike Bentendō Temple, Taito Ward, Tokyo
- Timestamp: 2026/01/02・14:32
- Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter
- 23 mm ISO 400 for 1/1000 sec. at ƒ/4
- Velvia Vivid film simulation
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