A Thousand Cranes Take Flight

Japanese deer join the cranes in their feeding grounds.

A pair of cranes leap high into the air in an elegant mating dance.

The Tsurui village crane sanctuary is a popular Hokkaidō tourist attraction.

RCC Chair Momose Kunikazu (in pink coat) with volunteers before the census taking.

Counting the cranes at the feeding ground in front of the Akan International Crane Center annex.

Preparing to board a light plane for an aerial survey of nesting sites. (Courtesy Momose Kunikazu)

Utagawa Hiroshige’s 1857 print Minowa, Kanasugi, Mikawashima shows cranes along the bank of what is thought to be the Arakawa. (© Aflo)

The author conducts an interview at the Tsurui village feeding grounds.