In Photographic Pursuit of Hokkaidō’s Rare Owls (Photos)

An owl beats its wings a couple of times before diving toward the river below.

A fledgling shimafukurō huddles on a tree, partially lit by the morning sun.

A diving shimafukurō brakes just before grabbing a fish from the river.

The Ainu people of Hokkaidō worshiped these owls as guardian deities.

A juvenile born in the spring.

A young owl tests its wings.

A juvenile bathes in the spring sun.

A chick, still learning to move, touches claw to beak.

Even after leaving the nest, Shimafukurō chicks cannot yet fly. They hop down to the forest floor.

Sunlight strikes a floating feather.

An owl grabs a fish with its talons.

Gobbling down a small fish.

The owls’ eggs hatch when spring melts the snow and ice.

A male guards the nest.

This female dusted me with snow as she landed.

Owl tracks on a frozen river.

The first shimafukurō. I ever saw, one night in 1990.