Dude! Meijiro! I was over in Meguro on the Meguro Sky Garden park when I saw these birds for the first time. I took a bunch of pictures and instantly felt and understood birdwatchers. But damn they were fast. As soon as I would get them in focus, they would see me and bam, fly away. Now I have a new found appreciation for bird photography. The ume blossoms add a wonderful addition to your pictures. Great shots. Here is one I took back in Dec.
Wow, those are some awesome shots. You got much closer than I managed. They are fast buggers. That's the main challenge there. You have to point, focus, get your settings in, and shoot, all before they move on. I typically shoot on manual, but with mejiro I have to change to aperture priority because I just can't keep up.
I have a 50x zoom on that camera so it helps.