Like many big cities, birds can be bothersome by crapping all over people, places and things below them. And like in many big cities Tokyo puts up nets, spikes, predator bird statues and bird chirping over speakers among other deterrences. At my local station though, the station has decided to celebrate some of it's local birds.
A pair of swallows built their nest on top of a station monitoring camera.
The sign says "beware of bird droppings" and "The swallows from last year have returned and built their nest again".
Last year they had built their next near the ticket gate behind where these phots were taken.
It's pretty nice to have the birds around, but 1 family is enough. If it was multiple families then they would definitely create some messy problems.
Having said that, bugs are a huge annoyance in Japan, especially mosquitos. Swallows are predators of those bugs so I'm all for more swallows, just not where people traverse.
These swallows are gone now and I wonder if they will return next year to the same place? Or will others move in for the good life? Regardless, I'll be there to find out next spring and let you know.
Thanks for reading!
