The red-crowned or Japanese cranes are just extraordinary. It was in Hokkaido that we encountered these birds. Hokkaido is reachable from Tokio with a domestic flight. The island is in situated in the Nord of Japan and is rather big, about 84.000 km2.
The cranes of Hokkaido is a resident population and migrates only 150 km on the island while the red-crowned cranes in Russia and China are true migrators
They are huge and watching their arrival is breathtaking. The birds can be 160 cm heigh and have a wingspan of 250 cm.
They can start to dance in duets or begin a fight at any moment. Also the younger animals tend to imitate this behaviour and can be recognised by their brownish colour.
Watching them starting to run before they go for a flight is also sensational , look for the pictures at the bottom.
Watching them starting to run before they go for a flight is also sensational , look for the pictures at the bottom.
