Spectacular View! Rausu Drift Ice Cruise at Dawn (Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula)

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (2)

This is a report from our February 28th Rausu Drift Ice Cruise. We were told to be at the harbor at 4:45 in the morning, so we went straight from the “Washi no Yado”, where we were observing the Blakiston’s Owl up until 4:30am. Without a cloud in the sky, the stars were shining so brightly, in the crisp wintery air of Shiretoko. We headed to the harbor, filled with expectations thinking “Today might be a beautiful day.”

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (11)

As we departed, I took this shot looking back at the town of Rausu with the backdrop of mountains on the Shiretoko Peninsula.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (9)

The Kunashir Island blanketed with red. The captain announced, “Today the drift ice is very close.” Sure enough, we could soon make out the dark shadowy outline of the drift ice.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (10)

The drift ice in the foreground, with Kunashiri Island behind. It is beautifully silhouetted in the morning light. The captain let us know “The sun will come out soon.” Everyone was waiting on the deck.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (3)

Daybreak.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (5)

The Steller’s sea eagles on the drift ice with the morning sun.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (12)

The Steller’s sea eagles and White-tailed eagles started to gather around our boat (and the crows too!) Besides that, it was a really beautiful day today!

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ Rausu Steller's sea eagle (6)

There are endless shutter clicks on the deck of the ship. Many foreigner bird photographers are on board for the tour and it is not limited to just Japanese people. The early morning daybreak cruise is quite a “hard challenge” because we had just stayed up all night, for observing the Blakiston’s Fish Owls, but this scenery is a wonderful reward for our efforts.

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: February 2018, Rausu, Siretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido

*Contact  us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

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Beyond Cape Shiretoko: Mother and cub brown bears of Shiretoko Peninsula

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (4)

On a nice calm day, with no wind or waves, we cruised from Aidomari around Cape Shiretoko in search of brown bears just before Rusha river in Shari town.

天神さんの船で岬を越える

Now we are starting to see Cape Shiretoko! While on the cruise, depending on the location, the weather and conditions can change suddenly with wind and waves. On this day, Shiretoko was “stable”, but there was some waves along the way, since we were on an extended cruise.

知床岬の灯台

This is the Shiretoko Misaki lighthouse. After passing that point, we entered the Sea of Okhotsk where usually there is a significant difference in the sea conditions between the Rausu and Shari sides, which are separated by the Shiretoko mountain range. However, it was a calm and sunny day on both sides.

The Cape Shiretoko has a plateau at 30-40m high, but the vegetation there was cut in the pioneering days, has never returned. There is also a factor that the Ezo-sika deer population has increased too much and is ruining the vegetation. The area from the central part to the northern part of Shiretoko Peninsula became a national park in 1964 and was later designated as World Heritage Site in 2005. Currently power boats are not allowed on land, but you can observe the landscape and wildlife from boats along the coast.

廃屋となった番屋

Same as on the Rausu side, there are abandoned fishing houses “banya” along the coast on the Shari side as well. The terrain on the Shari side makes it much more challenging for humans to reach.

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (3)

Found them…the Brown bear mother and her cub.

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (5)

The cute scene of a baby bear trying to keep up with the mother bear.

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (2)

This little cub is just as curious about us. Since we perhaps were catching their attention too much, so we moved away from the coast and made our way towards the mountains.

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (6)

Another pair of bears. This mother had walking with her a very young cub.

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (7)

The mother bear makes her way up the slope while eating grass. And two little cubs trying to keep up.

知床半島のヒグマ Ezo-Brownbear Shiretoko 親子ヒグマ (9)

Looks like they are a bit worried about the boat, and I apologized to them for interrupting them.

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Aug 2020, Shiretoko Peninsula
Special Thanks : Mr.Koichi TENJIN, Mr.Shohei MORITA (Shiretoko Serai知床サライ)

*Contact  us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

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Pink Salmon Swimming Upstream : Autumn on the Shiretoko Peninsula

カラフトマス 知床半島 秋 遡上 Pink Salmon run Shiretoko Peninsula (3)

Pink Salmon, called “Kurafuto masu” in Japanese, return to the rivers on the Shiretoko Peninsula. These salmon came from the rivers and migrated out into the Northern seas for about two years; then return to their natal rivers to spawn.

These salmon just in front of me are on the verge of death. The Pink Salmon embody the very raw ‘act of living’ in their tattered appearance. We, who eat these salmon, must have gratitude in our hearts.

Salmon Run- Pink Salmon Going Upstream in the Fall in Shiretoko Peninsula

Compared to other salmon species, the Pink Salmon do not have a strong “Homing Instinct” and will swim upstream of any freshwater rivers nearby. In the year this video was filmed (2016), the peninsula had experienced 3 typhoons in mid-August. This had caused the salmon net that had been set along the coast to come loose, and it enabled a large number of salmon to make it upstream.

カラフトマス 知床半島 秋 遡上 Pink Salmon run Shiretoko Peninsula (1)

Pink Salmon that were caught in the net.

カラフトマス 知床半島 秋 遡上 Pink Salmon run Shiretoko Peninsula (4)

This is the mass of Pink salmon gathered at the bottom of a waterfall. Their dorsal fins are sticking out from the surface of the water.

カラフトマス 知床半島 秋 遡上 Pink Salmon run Shiretoko Peninsula (2)

A Pink salmon trying to swim up the waterfall.

知床半島 羅臼のヒグマ 秋  (2)

A Brown bear that has caught a salmon. This is the time of year that the brown bears are the thinnest and can be seen desperately chasing the Pink salmon.

 

Image & text: Mariko SAWADA
(Photos/video are from a trip in Aug 2016 & Sep 2017)
Location: Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido

Special Thanks : Shiretoko Diving Kikaku 知床ダイビング企画

*Contact  us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

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Bird Photography : Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Eagle (Rausu, Hokkaido)

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (3) Wildlife of Hokkaido

Winter 2021 Eastern Hokkaido Photography Tour Report

This time, for the Rausu Drift Ice Cruise, there was no drift ice out at sea, so the photography cruise took place in the fishing port.
Due to that situation, however, it proved to be challenging to get photos of the Steller’s sea eagle and White-tailed eagles without any buildings in the background. For the first half of the tour I was trying to get them with the ice and snow as the backdrop, and then for the second half I mainly took shots of them flying in the air. The staff on the ship assisted in this effort by expertly throwing the fish in the air.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (2) Wildlife of Hokkaido

A Steller’s sea eagle flying towards our boat.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (11) Wildlife of Hokkaido

Battling for food mid-air.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (9) Wildlife of Hokkaido

I wondered if it is just less risky to steal another eagle’s fish rather than grabbing the ones that have fallen on the ice surface?

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (8) Wildlife of Hokkaido

Fierce competition.

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (7) Wildlife of Hokkaido

Oh no! You dropped your fish!

羅臼 流氷クルーズ オオワシ オジロワシ Rausu Drift Ice Cruise Steller's Sea Eagle (5) Wildlife of Hokkaido

Perhaps the White-tailed eagles are a little more mature? I had the impression that the fights occurred more amongst the Steller’s sea eagles (maybe it just seemed that way for that particular morning tour).

Although I was taking photos in the fishing port (it’s hard to call it a ‘cruise’ since we didn’t get out to sea!) we were blessed with good weather where we could see the beautiful eagles flying in the skies above.

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Feb 2021, Rausu, Hokkaido
Special Thanks: The staff at Gojira-iwa Kanko

*Contact  us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

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A Hokkaido Sika Deer Carrying the Head of Another Deer (Entangled Antlers) in Notsuke Peninsula

絡み角のエゾシカ・野付半島 Ezo sika deer with dead deer head

In 2021, during the winter season, one of the trending topics in Eastern Hokkaido was the Notsuke Peninsula’s “Entangled Antlers” Ezo-Sika Deer. There was a male deer that, as they normally do, must have battled an opponent during the rutting season. However, the antlers got entwined in a way that one unlucky deer could not free itself and died. This resulted in the head of the loser being carried around like a trophy by the surviving deer.

Of course, this is the story we think has happened, but no one can really know. This is the kind of event that makes you feel what a ‘Wild Life’ these animals lead.

Hokkaido Sika Deer with dead deer head (絡み角のエゾシカ・野付半島)|西遊旅行

We observed it for two days, and it seemed the deer had a hard time raising its head compared to the other deer. Perhaps it was too heavy? Also during that time, it didn’t move around that much, possibly due to the poor visibility.

The deer’s antlers will fall in the spring. If this stag can wait a little longer, it will be free soon. It should be able to enjoy the spring with its newfound freedom, perhaps two deer’s worth!

 

Video & Text: Mariko SAWADA

Observation: Feb 2021, Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido, Sika Deer

*Contact  us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

*Youtube : Wildlife of Japan

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