THE BIRDS OF JAPAN--MT. TAKAO AREA OF TOKIO AND OTHER PLACES

At the moment I, as all of you, have been very saddened by the sufferings of our brothers and sisters in the Northern Provinces of Japan, so devastated by the earthquake and tsumani, and of course ALL of the Japanese people. The picture below is of a beautiful place in the metropolitan area northwest of Tokio called Mt. Takao.  It is a beautiful wooded natural beauty of Japan, a site of temples and a truly holy and sacred place.  I have no exact information on what effect the natural disasters have wrecked on Mt. Takao.  But I am sure that it is accessible these days many Japanese people go there to pray, to mourn, to be healed by the untouched and undevasted beauties of nature.  Below I have a video done just this last January on the BIRDS OF JAPAN.  It begins on Mt. Takao and goes to different spots in Japan. Beginning with Mt. Takao, which is Northwest of Tokio the other places where Mr. Geraphty shot his video are all in the extreme south of Japan: Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima, OHARA, Uemo Koen, Nijo-jo and Jigokudami.

And I think that it is good at this moment to see a place where, at least a month ago in Mt. Takao, many Japanese children were laughing, enjoying the antics of many species of birds in this video done by  Rob Geraphty just last month . ENJOY AND PRAY TOO!!



RUBY CROWNED KINGLET

One of the first songbirds that I saw and learned to identify back in 1997 when I got into hawk watching and birding in Central Park was the Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  At the time I thought that it was a warbler.  But, of course, it is not.  The kinglet is "close" to the Neo Tropical warbler family or the, so called, "Old World Warblers".  Here in Esopus, where I have not had the abundance of time to search, watch and wait, I have never seen a Kinglet, nor this one nor the Golden Crowned Kinglet.  But there is always a first time.  In this video one can actually see the red crown.  But, with a fast moving kinglet, unless they are threatened or angry it is not easy to see. ENJOY!

HUDSON RIVER BIRDER...RED CROSS HELP FOR JAPAN

I just want to share this short video on the Red Cross's efforts to help the country of Japan after their earthquakes and tsumani....

EASTERN BLUEBIRDS AT "THE MOUNT"

One of my most consoling experiences, even during the toughest moments of this severe winter, are the gentle chirpings of the Eastern Bluebird.  Here on the grounds of Mt. St. Alphonsus, due to about 300 birdhouses placed by Cornell and some by our deceased Bro Charlie Summers, we have many, many Eastern Bluebirds. It is the "State Bird" of New York.  They are always here, even in winter. But as spring approaches they are "abundantly here".

Eastern Bluebird from Rob Lavoie on Vimeo.