Quote Originally Posted by Gregoshi
...birds circling over a forest to hint at the presence of an ambush...
I saw the birds, but never put two and two together...

I shall have to bear that in mind as I start playing through for the second time; my first game was Shimazu, and by the time I got to Shinano everything was pretty much sewn up (I'd assassinated all the other daimyo and was busy bribing all the ronin to join me). I spent a lot of time defending the province where the Emperor's palace is located, after sending an emissary to bribe the ronin in charge of that region...