cranes and scarecrows

cranescare
Originally uploaded by granimal.

Before visiting the volano, we went to Izumi where there's a crane reserve. There were thousands of them. It was wonderfully cold, very loud, and very enjoyable. Our guide book said that six species of crane's winter there, but we only saw two. The birds were somewhat shy and our camera lacks a telephoto so imagine something more impressive than you're currently seeing. Maybe open the doors and windows too to get a feel for the weather.