Big trees, shrines and pigeons

The best place to see old, big trees in Japan. Shrines. The Camphor trees are home to many birds. They often have orchids growing from the thick branches. Lots of insects live there. The rope made of rice, called Shimenawa, marks the tree as holy, or spiritually significant.   

Looking at the photos, people from Fukuoka would recognize this place right away.

May 23rd, the first Brown Hawk Owl of the season, アオバズク 

Rock Doves, カワラバト have splendid colors. When the light is right, their feathers get a metallic hue in blue, green and purple. They complement the curved branches of the ancient trees.

Sacred bathing

Brown Hawk Owl, アオバズク babies

From all the locations in West Fukuoka, I chose this one for the blog. The baby had just left the nest with one sibbling. The other chick was hidden in the back somewhere, but this one stayed in sight during the late afternoon. Boy? Girl?

One of the parents, keeping an eye on us

West Fukuoka, 1st week of July

The days are hot; it's not sensible to walk under the scorching sun. A bit of wind feels comfortable, but the sun burns even more. I often think: What am I doing here? Taking refuge in the cool safety of the car is not an option. When will I get air conditioning????

A young Falcon crossed our path, to the uttermost delight of novice birders.

Peregrine Falcon, ハヤブサ

A flock of Plovers, with youngsters screaming to keep up.

Little Ringed Plovers, コチドリ

Eastern Spot-billed Ducklings, カルガモ -  barely visible in the rice field

Zitting Cisticola, セッカ - perched on its favorite spot.

On to the shrines in the west: Brown Hawk Owl (Boobook), アオバズク

You are a little too close to the road, papa.

Safely high up in the tree

The ugly stumps of recently cut bamboo have become convenient drinking cups for the Pigeons

Oriental Turtle Dove, キジバト

 Yabumyoga, ヤブミョウガ  Pollia japonica

Fejervarya Rice Field Frog, ヌマガエル

Transverse Moth, フタトガリアオイガ   Xanthodes transversa

Japanese Giant Gecko, ニホンヤモリ

Boobook, or Brown Hawk Owl, アオバズク chicks have left the nest!

On July 7th 2 Chicks had left the nest. They were perched up high with parents nearby. Hooray!

The Samurai orchids are doing very well this year. Are there more flowers than last year? Or is it that I spent more time searching?

The next day I didn't see any birds in the Usual Kusu (Camphor) tree. I was told many visitors had come the previous day. Did they get scared? I looked carefully. Young birds cannot fly that far yet. It took a while in the darkish morning to locate them

2 Chicks and a parent. The other parent (way below) was not visible from where I stood.

Mother?

I was wondering if a 3rd chick was on the way...

3 shrines and 3 Boobooks, アオバズク３羽

At the first shrine I could not find the Aobazuku, Northern Boobook or Brown Hawk Owl during my initial visit.  It was raining solidly and I had to give up. The 2nd time was right. It was there at the usual place. Had it moved to take shelter on that rainy day?

At the R. Shrine

The Camphor tree, クスノキ  is huge, it takes a while to locate a small owl

At the Shi shrine, I saw another male watching the nest where his wife sits to keep their eggs warm. 

The caterpillars of Silk Moths love the trees here. This time of the year many are crawling around, looking for a place to wrap themselves up and spin their cocoon. クスサン 毛虫

The resident Geckos, ニホンヤモリ are standing guard

At the Sa Shrine

Last year I looked for orchids and found the Boobook. This year I looked for the bird, and found the flowers. 😀

Sekkoku Lan, セッコクラン