In search of dragons

A trip last Saturday morning to a beautiful part of Kansai called Kabutoyama Shinrin Koen where a forest park and ponds are situated, half-way between Osaka and Kobe. A long walk up the road from the train station in the morning heat and humidity took TM and I to the entrance of the park where we encountered our first dragonflies. This was the main reason for going there, particularly to get some photos of the dragons for JW back home, but also to get out and sample some fresh air. We came across a fantastic temple perched atop one of the hills with a spectacular view of Osaka and Kobe. Eventhough the cities are approx. 40km apart, it is nothing but a sprawling metropolis which join the two cities together. There is not much along the coast that resembles the area of old. It's just a mass of concrete. The light and air quality was so bad though, that you couldn't quite make out the view from the photos but I'll be going back there again in winter so I'll get some better shots then.
A walk through the hills and we came to the main pond areas where there were dragonflies flying around everywhere, at least 8-9 species. Amazing. The photo above is the Giant Spike-tailed Dragonfly which is Japan's largest dragon, at a whopping 4 inches in length. It was also a brave bastard, chasing swallows around the pond when they came down to drink. I spent some time there taking photos. This beast was the most impressive.

However, there were some other beautiful dragons present, such as the much smaller but just as striking red dragonfly species. Skimmers were also present, as were damselflies. We just chilled out here for a while, enjoying the sun and fresh air. It was great to taste vegetation and look at the colours around us after a week of staring at a computer screen and walking on and seeing nothing but concrete. Mind you, work was not that bad this week, our docket is somewhat quiet at the moment, primarily because the JPO are on holidays, or are certainly short-staffed right now. August is the time of year when a lot of people take holidays, it's a traditional Japanese thing to do.

So, I am following suit and heading off to Hokkaido on a ferry for a few days. Sailing from Nagoya (3 hours away by express train east-north-east of Osaka) to southern Hokkiado takes approx. 36 hours, so that will give you an idea of the size of the country, although we do stop off in Tokyo aswell on the way. After we get to Hokkaido, we will have a few hours, not sure how many, on dry land and then it's back on the boat for another 36 hours. Why I hear you ask? Seabirds. Oh yes folks, with a bit of luck, there could be another bird blog next week! My primary target on this trip is, not the Red-Rumped Swallow pictured below (just had to squeeze a bird shot in), but ALBATROSS.... the wanderer of the oceans. We have a good chance of seeing 3 species but if I see just one bird, I wil be so happy. I can't wait. I have been starved of seabirds for two years now so this is going to be exciting. I'm sure you all can't wait for the report :)

Carmo's Diet: This week, I have mostly been eating dates stuffed with almonds.
Carmo's Birds: not a lot...they've all decided to stay in the shade
Carmo's Birds for Byrdy: Rachel Nichols (from Alias)