Japan: Winter Wildlife Safari 2013: Day 3

Before travelling up to our next stop, we spent the morning back at the river where the red crowned cranes sleep and, with the conditions being even better than before, made for a brilliant morning of photography! Things got even better when a pair of red foxes ran out right in front of the birds, and started mating, much to the amusement of one of the cranes which came up to the bank to have a look at all the commotion. After the action from the river came to an end, we spent a very productive hour back at the crane sanctuary, where some smaller birds found their way into the cameras viewfinders, adding to our species list, as well as the prized cranes.

Major sightings of the day:

Red foxes mating
Japanese red crowned cranes
Whooper swan

Japan: Winter Wildlife Safari 2013: Day 2

There was as much clicking of the cameras on the second day as there was on the first! We started off with the very elegant whooper swans set against a spectacular backdrop, followed by a quick stop off at a smaller crane sanctuary, where the owner, an elderly lady has (now famously) been feeding the cranes for over fifty years! That is a great personal effort, and one which has certainly helped this rare species bounce back from the brink of extinction. We moved on through the marsh lands, and spent some time looking for and photographing Sika deer. Ending off another great day, was another crane sunset shoot, which delivered big time.

Major sightings of the day:

Many whooper swans
Many Japanese red crowned cranes
Sika deer
Red foxes
White-tailed eagle

Japan: Winter Wildlife Safari 2013: Day 1

A truly amazing start to an amazing safari! Starting early with the rare and endangered Japanese red crowned cranes in the river, we moved timeously to catch their arrival at a nearby crane sanctuary, before the real highlight of the day, the interaction between several white-tailed eagles and the cranes. We finished up with a sunset shoot, watching and photographing the cranes as they flew over the sunset.

Major sightings of the day:

Many Japanese red crowned cranes. (Great interaction between the cranes and the white-tailed eagles)
White-tailed eagles
Stellar sea eagle
Red foxes

The Polar Bear Safari 2012: Day 3

We woke up to beautiful clear skies, and it seems the good weather brought the bears out! We spent a solid four hours in the company of the great bears, which filled the memory cards in all the cameras. A red fox made a brief appearance, and a small flock of the elusive ptarmigans showed themselves after being flushed by one of the bears.

Major sightings of the day:

Five different polar bears. The real magic was spending four hours of the day with the bears close by.
Red fox
Ptarmigans

The Polar Bear Safari 2012: Day 2

Setting out in a light snowfall, we had another great day, which included 4 new bear sightings; one of the bears spent a good hour standing over a seal’s breathing hole waiting for his meal to pop out of the ice – hats off to his patience. We also spent some time checking out a wrecked ship, that now stands completely iced in, and made for some interesting images. The Northern lights were out again in full force, and we took a short trip out of town to maximise the photo opportunities – well worth it!

Major sightings of the day: