We head North to search for the Rail; we being Tim, Mary and me.
The Okinawa Rail is a very rare bird that is only found in the dense forests of Yanbaru. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_rail Yanbaru was incidentally added to the Unesco World Heritage List just last week.
We drive up the coast and, against all the odds,we see three juvenile rail by the the road well South of their normal habitat. This is a good omen. In a state of great excitement we arrive at the Ada Garden Hotel in time for dinner. https://ada-hotel.net
Ichiro san our much revered friend, is to be our guide. Ichiro san is an amazing person, a world class nature artist and also a truly knowledgable birdwatcher.http://kikutaichiro.com Buy his art.
Off we go into the night, in Ichiro san’s car, looking for mischief.
We are looking for Rails that have clambered up into trees to roost, they are flightless. Ichiro san finds three! These birds are so rare but he manages to find three in the pitch dark, late at night.
We go to a waterfall; the ground is teeming with crabs and frogs.
We also find 3 Ryukyu Scops Owlets perching on a branch chirping away gleefully.
Such fun!
We start again at 5:30 the next morning. We see lots more rails. It is incredible!
Big success! I have found that for astonishing wildlife experiences that a guide helps.
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 
Only after reading on did I realise that Okinawa Rail referred not to your local SNCF but to a bird. Thanks for clearing that up.
Yay! Drole as ever Mike.
https://cds.cern.ch/record/2334260 on memory lane
Golly! I remember those photos. We were in some control room at the start up of an accelerator, can’t remember which one! Giorgio Brianti in the back ground. Who are you?
Have a wild guess ! 🙂
Wendy??