Sashiba (サシバ) Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle - A Mirgatory Visitor

These Birds Leave Our Island Soon

 

 

Normally, our feathered friends visit from November through March.

Then, they head back up to northern climates in China, Japan and Russia.

Luckily, we spotted this guy perched in a tree, while it was raining.

The farthest, I could reach, with the lens being used, was 250MM.

The bird probably, didn't feel like flying and, getting its wings all wet.

So, I snapped a few good shots before he got riled and flew away.

Any bird that eats mice, snakes and rats, as well as bugs, has to be a favorite of mine.

It's too bad, they migrate away from here during the warmer months. 

Another thing, I hear these birds eat, is frogs and, that upsets some folks.

Well, people eat frogs, too.  Don't they ?  They shouldn't complain about birds, doing it then.

Try this sometime, when you go to a French restaurant.

Ask the waiter if, he has frog legs.  Then if, he says,  "Yes, of course," have some fun with him.

Say something like, "Great.  Hop in to the kitchen and get me a plate of French Fries."

More About the Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle (Butastur indicus) in previous posts.

Cultural Event: Abushibare (畦払い) Getting Fields Rid of Vermin

Send the Varmints Out to Sea

 

 

It was a few years in the making but, I finally attended an Abushibare, today.

The animated GIF above was the grand finale, you could say.

The toy boats are loaded with some snails that eat local crops.

Bon Voyage, little suckers !

Rituals started at this red shrine called a Kamiya or House of Spirits.

It is a special building located near the Igei community center.

Years ago, a woman priestess (Noro) led the prayers at all community events.

And, the house of the Noro is right next door to this building.

There is no longer a Noro in the village so, staff from the district office do the praying.

The District Chief, you could call him, leads in making offerings and prayers.

There are other people in this room praying but, I stayed outside the front door.

Having permission to photograph is one thing, being disruptive is another.

This is the kind of place, I don't want to be an annoyance at.

The white building is the house of the Noro.

Inside, at another altar similar prayers and offerings take place, led by a district official.

Once ceremonies at the shrine and Noro's house are complete, everyone goes to the ocean.

Look closely and, you can see men carrying small boats.

The tray contains a plate of uncooked rice.

There is an incense stick burning and a cup of awamori (sake) next to the rice.

The toy boats are loaded with Tanishi (mud snails) that eat our rice plants.

The senior village official leads prayers one last time.

And, everybody in attendance wishes for a good harvest of crops.

Things moved along fairly quickly here.

Whether he drank the alcohol or, gave some to the snails, I don't know.

They grabbed the boats and sent them off to see the world.

Revival of an Old Ritual

 

 

 

 

Abushibare hadn't been performed in Kin for many years, maybe centuries.

The custom was revived in 2011 due to destruction of crops by the pesky snails.

Abushi, translates as, the ridges of rice paddies.

The clearing and cutting of weeds, on these ridges was believed to ward off pests and plagues.

In Igei district of Kin, the pests were snails so, they were sent out to sea.

Other villages have mice problems. They get sent away on boats, too.

For arranging my visit to this event and, help with translation, I owe special thanks to:

 Kin Town Office, Koji Tamamoto

Kin Town Board of Education: Yoko Nakama 

Visit YouTube to view a video of this event:

Flower Photo: Yellow Alder, Yellow Buttercup or Sage Rose

Bright Yellow Flower in Okinawa

 

These little flowers are blooming everywhere and the color just jumps right out at you.

It took about a week to round up all the goodies on this plant.

If you like scientific stuff, call them Turnera ulmifolia.

They are asking for help expanding the stub of an article at Wikipedia.

But, I learned, over there, this plant may have some antibiotic value.

Lots of people at Dave's Garden have the plants, talk about them and post photos.

That's where, I saw, "Danger:  Parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested."

The flowers close-up at night and, new ones open the next day.

That's what I learned at the University of Florida 

Now Comes the Scary Stuff

 

 

Don't ask what led me to the next site, I checked for information.  It just happened.

Some how, I wound up at the US National Library of Medicine.

Some doctors or, scientists discovered this plant being used as folk medicine, in Brazil.

The locals use tea from this plant to cure things like ulcers.

Well, they decided to test it out on rats.  They probably had to get them drunk, to create ulcers.

What do rats have to worry about, so much, that they get ulcers ?

It seems like whatever concoction of tea they made, helped mice and rats with their ulcers.

So, if you have any vermin around your house, suffering from ulcers, you could help them.

You can get the recipe free, here.

If You Get These Yellow Flowers and an Ulcer

 

 

Listen to what Dave's Garden has to say.  Some of the stuff in these plants, is poison.

Go see a doctor.  Not a rat doctor, a human one !