A briding trip to Ibukiame...disappointing day off

Well I met up with 2 guys today and went birding in a place called Ibukiame, a very mountainous region near Lake Biwa (the largest lake in Japan). While the weather was terrible the scenery was amazing and the size and immensity of the mountains still blows me away. However, spending 14 hours out and 9 of that in the car, 2 on the train, it seems pointless to go on these excursions. Osaka is probably the worst place for birds in Japan so I think I have to accept that fact and bird what are now my local patches in and around the city area. I just can't enjoy sitting in the car for so long in slow traffic and ridiculous speed limits (50-70 kmh on the "main" roads!!!). It has made for quite a melancholic day and one that could have been spent on more interesting and time-efficient pursuits.

For that reason I am not writing anymore.

Here is the BIRD NOTE:
Ashy Minivet; Stub-tailed Warbler; Japanese Grosbeak; Oriental Cuckoo; Hodgkin's Cuckoo; Little Cuckoo; Common Cuckoo; Blue and White Flycatcher; Narcissus' Flycatcher; Meadow Bunting; Japanese Green Woodpecker; Pygmy Woodpecker; Fan-tailed Warbler; Grey Thrush; Black Kite; japanese Bush Warbler; Brown Dipper; Japanese Wagtail; Grey-headed Lapwing; Bull-headed shrike; Eastern Crowned Warbler; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Cattle Egret; Intermediate Egret and Pheasant sp.

An impressive list I know but you would have had to have been there to appreciate the frustration of not being able to bird properly!!

I leave you all now as I must cook some salmon...

Carmo, slightly melancholic