Japan: Winter Wildlife Safari 2013: Day 7

The final morning of the safari had a very nice surprise in store for us.  We woke to an awesome snowfall, which added drastically to the atmosphere of the photos!  To make the morning a little more special, a japanese serow made an appearance midway through the snowfall.  This awkward looking antelope foraged on the cliffs above us for a solid hour before heading back into the hills.  The snow monkeys were as obliging as ever, and had all concentrated in the hot spring because of the cold weather.  All in all, it was the perfect way to end an amazing safari!

Major sightings of the day:

  • Snow monkeys
  • Japanese Serow

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