Today’s photo is a mejiro hiding out in the middle of some kawazu cherry blossoms.

I've talked about these for the past few days so you should know them, but if you have missed those posts, these are called kawazu cherry blossoms (河津桜, kawazu-zakura). They are a deeper pink than other kinds of cherry blossoms, and usually last longer (up to a few weeks). They are also the earliest cherry blossoms, usually starting to appear around February.

The bird is a mejiro (メジロ). The English name, Japanese White-Eye, comes from that white ring around their eyes. These guys are always moving to and fro, rarely pausing, so getting a photo of them is really tough.

I took this on a photowalk with a brilliant bird photographer, my buddy Mike Romani.

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

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