Evanescent Light : Hokkaido

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Hokkaido - Red-Crowned Cranes

Three days with the red-crowned cranes in Hokkaido

Our first morning was an early one, as we departed our hotel well before dawn for the nearby Otowa bridge where the cranes roost in the shallow river overnight. I had wondered why such an early start was necessary, as it was completely dark when we arrived. The answer became clear on finding the bridge already teeming with photographers, necessitating an early arrival to stake out a tripod space. Our goal was to capture the cranes with the colors of the sunrise reflecting in the water and as they leave the river to feed. Unfortunately, the birds were not cooperating. Apparently photographers had disturbed them in the past by getting down to the riverbank, and the cranes were now roosting far down the river. The photographic conditions were otherwise excellent, withn ice rime coating the trees and mist rising from the river, but the cranes remained largely veiled in the mist, which only thickened as the sun rose.

Cranes in mist from Otowa bridge; Hokkaido

Mist at sunrise on the Otowa river; Hokkaido

The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis; Tancho in Japanese) is a potent icon, symbolic of Japan almost as much as images of Mt. Fuji, and is regarded as the bird of happiness, fidelity and long life. Paradoxically, however, the species was almost annihilated by hunting and erosion of its breeding grounds. At a time when its population was on the verge of extinction, more than 10 Japanese Cranes were discovered in the marshlands of Kushiro in 1924. Since that time, efforts have been made to protect and increase their population. The Japanese Crane was officially recognized as a natural monument in 1952, and in 1958 the first Japanese Crane Reserve was established. We visited two reserves, where the cranes are protected and fed during the Winter.

Visitors to the crane reserves are restricted by fences around the fields where the cranes gather, so my 800 mm F11 lens proved very useful to capture the birds at long distance. I had hoped for some fresh snowfall during our three days at the reserves, but we had unfailingly ‘good’ weather with clear skies and sunshine. Although there was a good depth of snow on the ground, this was heavily trampled by the cranes, making for a highly textured, distracting background across the main part of the fields, which lay below the viewing areas. Instead, I concentrated on birds that landed on a small rise that gave a more eye-level perspective against a background of trees. In the morning the view lay almost directly into the sun, backlighting the crane’s feathers and rim-lighting their outlines against the dark, shadowed trees in the distance.

The red-crowned cranes are named for the patch of red bare skin on the crown, which becomes brighter during the mating season. They must be among the most elegant of all birds, as much as 5 ft tall, snow white in color with black on the wing secondaries, which can appear almost like a black tail when they are standing. As illustrated here, the cranes exhibit an endearing and exceptionally photogenic behavior by dancing in duets that are thought to help form and maintain monogamous pair bonds. The main part of the duet begins with a long male call. The pair moves rhythmically until they are standing close, throwing their heads back and letting out a fluting call in unison, often triggering other pairs to start duetting, as well.