Early morning cranes and Rooks

Early on January 8 I positioned myself under the flight path of the cranes moving from Higashi Kantaku to the crane centre. The light was poor, heavy clouds and rain hadn't been so much as a recurring theme during the trip as a fact of life, I hadn't seen the sun since its two-hour appearance through the fog four days earlier.


The cranes didn't disappoint though. Hundreds of them, thousands, streamed by to the left and right, filling the air with their bugling; could anything ever sound more wild than the sound of cranes, from near and far and every point of the compass. Yet even this maelstrom of sound couldn't drown out the swoosh of wings passing directly overhead.

It wasn't only cranes numbering in the thousands, flocks of Rooks were widespread and frequent throughout the area. You might notice birds strung along the wires behind the white buildings in the final shot of the cranes.



In Kansai and perhaps elsewhere in Japan you'd be pushed to find anyone who had a good word for crows; they're heartily disliked. Most people are unaware of the different species and I can imagine anyone from Kansai being horrified by the Hitchcock-like gatherings of Rooks around Arasaki.

The wires around this village were laden with Rooks; the odds aren't good for the residents.

My only Daurian Jackdaw of the trip. Chris Cook had about 20 at another nearby location.