I count myself as fortunate that I can enjoy photographing Red-Crowned Cranes during my annual Hokkaido photo tour Wildlife Bird-spotting Expedition. Birding in Japan is becoming increasingly popular with international photographers. To date, Japan has documented over 600 bird species, which over 60% of which are migratory. The remaining 40% are either sub-regional or endemic. Japan is latitudinally long at over 3,000 kilometers, located in the Northwest Pacific Ocean; climates range from sub-arctic conditions in the north to subtropical in the south. There are two distinct ecological lines dividing Japan’s natural indigenous plant and animal life, “The Blakiston’s Line” and the “Watase’s Line.” Due to this uniquely rare ecological condition, Japan is abundantly rich in avifauna, making it the perfect location for wildlife and wildlife photographers. Species that are either endemic or sub-regional endemic include Blakiston’s Fish-owl, Pyer’s Woodpecker, Japanese White-eye, Black Kite, and the Shima Enaga; there are over 60 species in this category. However, the Red-crowned Cranes were also thought to be exclusively in this category, but because of extensive tagging, we now know that there are dozens that migrate from Russia and China to Hokkaido, Japan.
Beyond the sub-regional endemic Red-crowned Cranes that populate Japan, there are two other main migratory routes and smaller migratory capillaries that Red-crowned Cranes take to escape the harsh Siberian regions and their brutal winters, and it is from these routes that the Red-crowned Cranes visiting Hokkaido, Japan come from. The Red-crowned Cranes start their trip along the Russian/Chinese border in the Amur River valley from locations such as the Khingansky Nature Reserve or the Khanka Lake. Researchers and birders have used tagged cranes to identify these migratory routes. Red-crowned cranes migrate from 1,600 to 4,800 kilometers, flying over all different types of terrain to finally rest on the Korean Peninsula or in marshlands in South Central China, with some migrating as far as Hokkaido, Japan.
The Red-crowned Crane is on the IUCN’s red list as endangered, but the most progress in protecting their habitat is for the sub-regional endemic population in Hokkaido, and being a long-time Hokkaido resident, I understand the care with which the local residents have and continue to extend to their natural surroundings, especially the First Nations People, the Ainu who value the cranes as Kamuy or a divine being. Considering my Canadian First Nations People's upbringing and background, the Ainu’s appreciation of their natural surroundings resonates with the teachings I was introduced to in my childhood. Another force for preservation is the International Crane Foundation which is taking steps to protect common resting areas along the migratory Red-crowned Cranes routes by promoting sustainable farming methods that preserve more of the natural surroundings in which the cranes flourish.
2022 will be my 25th year photographing in Japan, and I hope to see as many of the Red-crowned Cranes as part of my Hokkaido birding photo workshop and introduce you to one of the most emblematic avian inhabitants of Hokkaido along with their other Hokkaido feathered companions, such as Shima Enaga, Steller’s Sea Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Pyer’s Woodpecker, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, and many more.