Mar 7, 2015 - 1 min read

Birdwatchers at Yakushiike Park

Competing with the mega lens brigade

By Cathy Cawood

Community writer

Snow protected pines and a wooden bridge make a pretty winter scene

An ingenious teepee of rope protects the pine branches from snow damage

Thatched roof of Nagai Residence with plum orchard in the foreground

These pink blossoms must be an early variety

Most of the plum trees had few or no blossoms

Machida's beautiful Yakushiike Park has a sizeable plum orchard next to a thatch roof house. I visited in late February but was a little disappointed to find the blossoms had barely started blooming. However there were other attractions that made the trip worthwhile. Pine trees around the pond with snow protection were elegantly photo-worthy. Then I saw a solitary blue heron on a small island. I wasn't the only photographer around - a group of birdwatchers equipped with decorated and intimidating super lenses appeared on the edge of the pond. Those lenses were big enough to see dust on the mites on the bird's feathers!