My "Birding Buddy" met me at the apartment ay 6 AM. I had set an alarm but woke up early and so I was outside waiting for him. Bird Buddy is an organization that connects bird enthusiasts across the world. There are locals that are willing to guide visitors, without cost, to share their knowledge of birds. My guide is a cancer researcher during the and a birder on the weekend. As compensation for his time he only wanted to split the cost of gas and tolls with me . He only wanted $10 but I gave him more. An even 2000 yen was roughly $14 US. We drove about an hour and a half to a lake outside Tokyo. First we stopped at a Family Mart to get water and lunch. When we were leaving 20 or more motorcycles pulled up. Riding motorbikes must be a popular Sunday morning activity. We walked three miles over an hour and a half and saw some new lifebirds, exotic bugs, beautiful scenery. Off to the next spot.
Driving into the mountains
Bicycles
Motorcycles
Beautiful flowers
Stately groves of trees
It is a winding road to the lake
Deep green valleys
The colors of the trees change
We walked over this bridge
Fishermen below
A very scenic walk
Deep valleys
Spider webs
Some balls of new growth
A blue heron
Looking back at the bridge we crossed earlier
Reinforced hill sides
My first new bird
The Narcissus flycatcher
A Japanese pigmy woodpecker
My second Lifebird
The Blue-and-White flycatcher
We shared the road with many other birders
An Oriental Greenfinch
Hunting pheasants is a thing
We saw what appeared to be a man taking a photo of the ground and it was actually this bug.
Black Kite
Another bridge to cross
Rusty but still structurally sound
Long tailed Tit juveniles huddled together
They are called Dangos after the round rice cake treats
A pipeline
The bees are quite large
Busy gathering pollen
Walking through a wildlife region
Fungus
We walked along the edge of the lake
A tunnel of green
Little conifer balls
Many trees were in bloom
The Asian Giant Hornet lives hereabout
A patrol boat
It loudly called out a polite, "KONNICHIWA," but coming out of a bull horn, it did not sound so polite
Green valleys spreading out
More flowers
Another shiny beetle
Not sure how this is to be done
It is a famous Japanese frog named Pickles
