Not quite the bird post yet...

Well, it's been pretty crazy since I last posted. Work has just been ridiculously busy and I have not had any time to do much else really. As well as that, I have been pretty sick all week and not being able to take a day off to shake off the chest infection/fever/head cold/snot factory that is my nose. Life is just marvellous.

Last weekend I managed to get out for a few hours birding on Sunday morning, heading up to Tobakaido for some early morning bird calls and a walk in the forest. It was cold, bright and rather beautiful. The area is a just one massive shrine/temple complex nestled in amongst the trees. It is a very calm place and something that I needed after the week of work I had just put down (LM was away on hols for the week so there was more work to be done other than my own). I didn't see any new birds or anything out of the ordinary, just the usual woodland birds of this time of year...Daurian Redstarts, Red-flanked Bluetails, Pygmy Woodpeckers, Japanese White-eyes etc. However, they are always nice to look at. The area also enompasses Fushimi-inari and the temple of the fox. A place very popular with the Kansai folk in the new year as it is a place to go to pray for good fortune and wealth.

I also swapped all my Nikon gear for Canon...yes, sorry Dad, I went to the dark side. I am very pleased with my choice and the quality of the photos are superb. You can see a collection of such photos on my Flikr page. I didn't have to add too much to the trade-in and so it was worth it. I was going to go out to Phoenix near Amagasaki this morning but figured a sleep in was in order to try and shake this illness and it seems to have worked a bit as I feel so much better now. Instead, I went to Tsurumi park to see if I could take some shots of the American Wigeon there and sure enough, the fella obliged (see above). Lots of locals out for their walks and plenty of people there feeding the ducks. All in all a pleasant afternoon.

Tonight, Neil and I are heading off to Mie Prefecture in search of a Shore lark and hopefully some nice gulls. A couple of Saunder's gulls were also seen there last week. Fingers crossed we will have a successful trip. I will fill you all in the bird-dedicated post during the week. Bet you all can't wait...

Carmo's Diet: This week I have mostly been eating dried blueberries

Carmo's Birds: American Wigeon, Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon. JP List: 291

Carmo's Birds for Byrdy: Heidi Klum