Busy on the forest floor, a male chaffinch takes a moment of enquiry up into the tree tops above.
Being Britain's commonest finch I think it is sometimes easy to overlook its beauty despite the male possibly having more colours in its plumage than any other British bird.
14cm length
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Tags: Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs Bird British Birds England Arne Bokeh Dof Depth of Field Forest Woodland Arne Reserve Wareham Dorset Fringillidae Animal Creature Fauna Vertebrate Passerine Nature Nature Photography Wildlife Wildlife Photography Natural World Great Britain British Isles Wood Red Leaves Avian Birdwatching RSPB Arne Arne RSPB Reserve Who goes there? Forest floor Winter in England
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A sub-zero winter’s day just outside of Kushiro on the east coast of Japan’s most northern island of Hokkaido, and the time had come at last to see in person my beloved tancho. How many years I have wished and hoped to see these extremely rare birds, especially their courtship ballet set against a snowy stage. It was incredibly emotive for me.
The red-crowned crane is a potent icon for the people of Japan. In symbolic form, it is the bird of happiness and long life (in fable, it lives for a 1,000 years).
The population of red-crowned cranes in Japan is mostly non-migratory and currently consists of just a thousand or so birds. Hunting and land loss led to a near extinction in the late 1800s. Governments and citizens woke up to the plight of tancho in the 1950s...now protected, supported, and with a secure winter food supply, the population began a dramatic recovery that has made it the great success story of 20th century conservation in Japan.
Link to portrait image: www.flickr.com/photos/112623317@N03/49585651788/in/photol...
160 cm height
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Tags: bird red-crowned crane manchurian crane fauna vertebrate aves grus japonensis gruidae gruiformes japanese crane tanchozuru tancho east asian crane courtship display dance wings snow winter japan hokkaido kushiro god-of-the-wetland kushiro-shitsugen national park nihon nature outdoors choreography hop skip jump
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A sub-zero winter’s day just outside of Kushiro on the east coast of Japan’s most northern island of Hokkaido, and the time had come at last to see in person my beloved tancho. How many years I have wished and hoped to see these extremely rare birds, especially their courtship ballet set against a snowy stage. It was incredibly emotive for me.
The red-crowned crane is a potent icon for the people of Japan. In symbolic form, it is the bird of happiness and long life (in fable, it lives for a 1,000 years).
The population of red-crowned cranes in Japan is mostly non-migratory and currently consists of just a thousand or so birds. Hunting and land loss led to a near extinction in the late 1800s. Governments and citizens woke up to the plight of tancho in the 1950s...now protected, supported, and with a secure winter food supply, the population began a dramatic recovery that has made it the great success story of 20th century conservation in Japan.
Link to dancing image: www.flickr.com/photos/112623317@N03/49722465611
160 cm height
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Tags: tancho tanchozuru japan hokkaido bird red-crowned crane kushiro grus japonensis gruidae gruiformes crane snow portrait dof depth of field sar-or-un-kamuy god of the wetland nature winter red-headed crane japanese icon kushiro-shitsugen national park fauna vertebrate nihon red crowned crane portrait tancho portrait
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These dabbling ducks can be found in northern and central Eurasia; wintering to Africa and southern Asia.
Male 45 cm length
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Tags: dabbling duck water bird duck eurasian wigeon bird vertebrate fauna nature wildlife japan kyoto anatidae anseriformes anas penelope mareca penelope ripples soft light wigeon nihon
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A cold winter's day at Hampton Court Palace, Richmond-upon-Thames, England in the company of a graceful white swan.
I watched it weave its way along the river toward me creating gentle patterns on the water as it progressed. Elegant, proud. The whole scene a poetic winter swan song.
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Tags: mute swan white swan white swan on river black and white bird photography nature winter uk england january hampton court palace richmond upon thames aves fauna ornithology anseriformes anatidae large bird water bird cygnus olor cold winter day waterfowl river swan song
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