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Japanese Robin
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| I had never caught the appearances of Japanese
robins since I began birding over ten years before. Its clear call "
hyn-kalalala..." had come into my ear not a few times in the summer
mountains, while, as for its figure, anytime I had not find out where it
is. So I had sometime given the robins up as the latent bird. Generally it is difficult to find out summer birds, visiting summer forests in Japan for breeding. They secretly live in dark luxuriant forests. Actually you can easily see such birds at parks in the town. Early May, the holiday season for Japanese and the migrating season for birds, green lungs in the town are favorable places for them to give their wings a rest. The Japanese Robin is not the exception, so you can see it in the parks in this season. When I told that I had never seen Japanese robins, many kindly suggested my visiting green lungs. They said robins would come if you baiting. It was getting prevalent in Kansai area since a couple years ago. The baiting with milled worms. I was perverse. I did not want to see the robin pecking artificial foods. There was a gap that was simply unfillable between the robin I imaged in my mind and the one that indiscreetly comes up to milled worms some one put. Since then, I ceased going to green lungs in spring, and eager to meet the Japanese robin imaged in my mind. It was two years ago when I first went to Odaigahara to look for Japanese robins at a fine day during rainy season. Throughout the two years I have tried again and again, and that was the third trial in the season. Comet Hale-Bopp twinkling in the night sky, I waited day to break within a small car. Next morning, I was straining my ears in the cool woods before day broke entirely. The warble sounded across the ravine. Its volume got increased. The meeting under the natural light, I had stuck to. The same robin that was in my mind finally showed its figure to me. |
| (June 6, 1999) |