A weekend out.

On Saturday we drove to Mt Hiko, (2 and half hours and still in Fukuoka!) where a group of birders got together for a walk, a talk, another walk and drinkies. We stayed at some kind of student's camp house and slept in bunk beds. Had a few giggles about the lists of chores and sheet folding instructions. More secret giggles when one of the ladies told me it was her first time to sleep between sheets and she really would not have known what to do with them.
The cafeteria served reasonable meals and we had dinner, breakfast and a bento, all for a very low price! No complains. The more because the compulsory lecture by Mr. Hatano turned out to be quite entertaining and useful, so the 3 hours in a stuffy classroom actually flew by.

At the nearby Takasumi shrine a Wren, ミソサザエ was singing his (or her) heart out on top of the roof.

山いか　mountain squid

Singing from one of the cables (look well!)  オオルリ,  Blue-and-white Flycatcher

We heards lots of other birds, like Hodgson's Cuckoo and Ruddy Kingfishers, and were hoping to see that particular Kingfisher, but no such luck...