Chasing "Kiji"

Talking to the old lady that day gave me a lot more information about birding spots in Beppu. She showed me her photo albums of birds taken only in and around Beppu. There were lots of species I've never seen before, and I really want to see as well. These species include Japanese Paradise-flycatcher, which she found a pair nesting, Falcated and Mandarin Duck, which both exist in Sekino-e where I often visit, Brown Dipper which again she also found a nest and Japanese Green Pheasant or race versicolor of the Common Pheasant. The place where she found the paradise-flycatcher, dipper and pheasant is called Asami Sanchou-me(朝見三丁目) which is quite near Beppu park. I visit the place very early this morning and searched for those 3 precious species but failed miserably. It was when I eventually gave up hoping for those birds, a very beautiful male Japanese Green Pheasant walked out of nowhere in front of me. Fortunately, I was quick enough to grab a few shots of the bird before it flew down to the bush below.

Too bad the original background of the photo includes typical Japanese house with electric pole and wires. Thanks to the technology, I could remove all those unwanted objects and replace them with a plain green background hehehe.

Oh and I almost forgot to tell you that the word "Kiji" in the title is the Japanese name for this pheasant. It is also the national bird of Japan. After that first few shots I got when the bird was surprised by my appearance, I couldn't get much better shot than that. It was very shy and I just had to walk up and down the hill chasing after it for the whole morning. Anyway, I can leave it for the next visit to getting some more shots of this beautiful bird.