Slackanerney

Finally, I have a chance to sit down in quiet, unrushed surroundings (my apartment) for the first time in a few weeks. It's a nice feeling, not being rushed. I think I need more of this. I was supposed to go and see a spectacular firefly display last night outside Kyoto but the very violent thunder and lightening storms yesterday morning put a damper on that so it was cancelled. I went to Kyoto anyway and met Seiko for coffee, food and beer. It was a good laugh. It was great being away from work, away from all associated with it for the weekend. The place has been choking me lately and I feel like there's no escape at times. Not healthy to be honest. The last couple of weekends were also a great break.

The weekend before last, I headed up to Ashiu Forest, about 40km north of Kyoto city. It is one of the most beautiful forest I have ever been to. It stretches for miles and covers mountains, with rivers running through the area we were in, along the forest floor, was stunning. We drove around for a few hours at night trying to hear if any owls were calling. We head a couple of Collard (Japanese) Scops owls and probably a Ural owl but still not sure. Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo were singing at night, flying around noisly, as were Jungle Nightjars. A couple of Racoon Dogs were seen which were pretty cool. The following morning, after sleeping in the van, was stunning (see photo above), with Lesser Cuckoo, Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, Eurasian Cuckoo, Easter Crowned Warbler and Blue and White Flycatcher singing to greet the dawn. Plenty of birds were seen, highlights were Hodgon's Hawk Cuckoo, Crested Kingfisher, Japanese Grey Thrush, White-throated Needletail Swift, Green Woodpecker, and Japanese Green Pigeon. The bird of day, had we seen it(!), would have been Ruddy Kingfisher. We heard at least 7 singing birds but just could not find them. We shall return when the young have hatched and flying around. Amazing to hear Kingfishers singing in a forest. There were also plenty of Japanese fire-belled salamander to be seen, as well as Green Tree Frog "nests" (see below). The highlight of the trip though was seeing a Japanese Marten just a few metres away from us...stunning.

Last weekend I went to Tokyo to stay with Richard Carden, a British birder living in Japan. I arrived in Shibuya, Tokyo around 8pm and had a couple of hours to kill before meeting Richard and Kaori. Shibuya was just CRAZY!!! The busiest pedestrian crossing in the world is situated at Hachiko Square, with an estimated 1 million people crossing it per day. I was sitting in Starbucks which overlooks the crossing and took out my camera to take a photo. Just as I was getting ready for the green man to glow, a staff member came over and asked me to put my camera away and not take photos!! I was gobsmacked but he said it was a new rule now. I guess it prevents people from sitting there for an hour taking photos and only buying one cup of coffee. So, I sat there for one hour reading my book drinking one cup of coffee :) I will be going back to Tokyo in September for a wedding so I can take some photos then. I will probably go there again before that though. Here is a photo from someone else (Alexander Orstrom) showing the crossing...

The birding trip around the area was spectacular, with 7 new species for me, bringing my JP total to over 320 now. Highlights around Tokyo/Chiba areas were Great Sand Plover, Chinese Yellow Bittern, Japanese Reed Bunting, Japanese Marsh Warbler, and Great Bittern. We spent a night on Mt. Fuji which was brilliant. Singing Grey Nightjars, Serow deer, which resemble mountain goat than mountain deer, scrambling up the slopes when met with the car's lightbeams, the deafening silence of sitting outside at 2500m and the only noise is the buzz of the quietness ringing in one's ear. I love Mt. Fuji. It is such a peaceful place, no noise, clean air, clear skies, stars, planets, and satelites visible...simply beautiful. We were lucky that above 2000m the clouds had lifted and so we had a clear view of Fuji-san. Kaori-san was delighted and kept taking photos and catching energy from the sacred moutain. We could even see the summit of Fuji-san from across the lake at Hakone. The birds were great too, Nutcracker being the new bird for me on Fuji-san. Melodious Laughing Thrush was a new bird at Hakone. I had a great time with Richard and Kaori-san, and they made the weekend more enjoyable.

Since then, I've just been working and not working out. The belly expands while the buffness shrinks. Time to change the work times, and get the hell outta there by 9pm so I can get my fitness back. This weekend was nice, just realaxing, trying to get some sleep (still not happening). I hope this finds all well. No bird photos today, one can check out my Flikr page link on the left to see them...a collective sigh of relief is deafening...heathens

Carmo's Diet: This week, I have mostly been eating grapes of the sea and eel liver

Carmo's Birds: GREAT SAND PLOVER; CHINESE YELLOW BITTERN; JAPANESE REED BUNTING; JAPANESE MARSH WARBLER; NUTCRACKER; MELODIOUS LAUGHING THRUSH; Red-billed Leothrix; Black-winged Stilt; Oriental Reed Warbler; Great Bittern*

Carmo's birds for Byrdy: Angelina Jolie