August 12, 2017 This Obon holiday, I drove to Waita Mt. in Oita prefecture. It is what we call a “bald mountain” in English. This means there are no trees on top, so the view is fantastic. I wanted to photograph the night sky, and try to capture some meteors (shooting stars) in the photo. Unfortunately, the weather turned cloudy and foggy as I was climbing up Waita Mt. so I had to give up photographing the night sky. Fortunately, the view from halfway up was very beautiful, especially as the sun was setting. As I was coming down, I entered a stand of pine trees and cedars. I was here that I found four different species of birds foraging together. One of them was an Eurasian nuthatch, (gojuukara in Japanese). My first time to see this species!
Trailhead, (start of trail) to Waitasan.
View of sunset from the trail.
Hagenoyu, and Yutsubo Hotsprings at the base of Waita Mt.
Grove of red pine trees. Woodpecker heaven.
A varied tit or yamagara in Japanese.
A Japanese pygmy woodpecker or kogera in Japanese.
A Japanese green woodpecker or aogera in Japanese
A Eurasian nuthatch or gojuugara in Japanese. This is the only species of bird that I know of that can walk down a tree headfirst. (See photo below)
I will come back some day Waitasan, to see your bald head and photograph the stars. Thank you!
https://www.google.com/maps/search/waita+mountain,+oita+prefecture/@33.1401184,131.1467437,14z/data=!3m1!4b1?hl=en
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MOSTLY BIRDS 
What a beautiful place! Lushness all around. Beautiful photos, Tom! So nice to hear the woodpeckers, I bet.
Do they allow camping up in the hills?
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It was late in the day as I began climbing up Waitasan, and nary a sole was to be seen. I had the mountain all to myself. Sun going down, with a soft breeze blowing, lengthening shadows.
There are designated camping grounds. Can’t go off and camp in the woods wherever you like. Thanks for your comments!
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