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Birds in Snow!

Reflecting on the nature of the seasons, HIH Princess Takamado explores the theme of birds in snow with her photos.


“Through the Lens” Fujingahou Magazine, February, 2025

Photos and text by HIH Princess Takamado

Photo edited by Koichi Fujiwara(NATURE’S PLANET)

Edited by Yuki Masuda (Fujingahou)

I try to choose photos that fit the seasons, but sometimes I find it difficult. The seasons we experience on the western calendar are different from the ‘four seasons’ we learn based on the lunar calendar, and the discrepancy has become larger than ever before due to global warming. Therefore, there are some themes that are difficult to introduce in this series of articles, and one of them is ‘snow and birds’. In recent years, December is the season of autumn-coloured leaves. Meanwhile, January through March (the spring of the lunar calendar) has seemed out of season of snow, so I have felt a little sorry for those photos that have not appeared in this series for many years. This time, I will take the plunge and show you some photos of birds thriving in the snow.

Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
59cm Family: Anatidae
Mallard is distributed in the frigid and subarctic zones of Eurasia and most of North America, with those in the north migrating south during the winter.
In Japan, it breeds as a resident bird in Hokkaido. Some individuals breed in the mountains south of Honshu as well, but most are winter birds. The Mallard in the shade of the rock (see photo below) puffed up its feathers to keep from losing body heat and remained still until the weather recovered.
Mallard ducks in snow, Japan copyright HIH Princess Takamado

The first two photos show Mallards braving the cold as snow continues to fall. When I started photographing, the temperature was cool and overcast, and there were many ducks at the mouth of the river. What was interesting was that the ducks had continued to forage as if they ‘didn’t mind’ if a certain amount of snow fell, but when it started snowing heavily, they all started moving inland at once, as if by prior arrangement. I peeked along the shore and saw that they were taking shelter behind rocks and along the shore.

I never dare to go out to shoot in bad weather, so this is in fact a rare opportunity. Since there were several ducks to capture as subjects, I continued photographing them for quite a long time. Thanks to this, I discovered something that made me laugh a little: the Mallard’s beaks tend to accumulate snow due to their shape. The snow may have been a nuisance to the birds, but they were very cute!

Brambling
Fringilla montifringilla
16cm Family: Fringillidae
This smart finch breeds in the frigid zone of Eurasia from the Scandinavian Peninsula to the Kamchatka Peninsula, and migrates south to Europe and the Korean Peninsula in winter. In Japan, it is a winter bird that sometimes migrates across the country in large flocks.

The next photo shows a flock of Brambling. When the snow stops falling, the birds become active. This small flock seemed to circle regularly around a small area, appearing together from nowhere every hour or so and then flying away en-masse after a while. The sound of their wings as they took off in the snowy forest, the afterglow of their flight, and the silence of the scene at the end were impressive.

Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
23.5cm Family: Picidae
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a resident bird from Europe in central Eurasia to the Russian Primorsky Territory and China. In Japan, it is a resident bird in Hokkaido and Honshu. The photo shows a female of the subspecies Ezo Akagera (Dendrocopos major japonicus) in Hokkaido. The male of the Great Spotted Woodpecker has a red head.

The next photos are of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, two Great Tits, and a Varied Tit; all of these photos were taken in Hokkaido. The woodpecker is easy to focus on because of its clear black, white and red colours.

Great Tit
Parus major
14.5cm Family: Paridae
Distributed from Afghanistan in the central and southern parts of the Eurasian continent to China. In Japan, it is a common resident throughout the country except in the Ogasawara Islands. Because of its white cheeks, it is sometimes mistaken for Meadow Bunting.

The Great Tits were also in motion, making for a great ‘shutterbug’ opportunity. With food scarce, another Great Tit flew in while the first was foraging, and that first one was threatening the second, chasing it away.

Varied Tit
Sittiparus varius
14cm Family: Paridae
The distribution of Varied Tit is narrow, with resident birds found on the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan and Japan. In Japan, the species is common from Hokkaido to Okinawa Island. They can easily become familiar with people.

The last photo shows a plump and rounded Varied Tit. The snow piled up next to it has a similar shape, creating a nice atmosphere. We tend to focus on the cute roundness of the bird, but this ‘plumpness’ is a life-preserving cold protection measure. They store fat for the winter and when it is cold, they inflate their feathers to store air between them to prevent their body heat from being lost. Unlike me, who puts on a down coat over several layers of clothes for a photo shoot and returns to a warm room afterwards, birds are ‘little champions’ who efficiently survive the winter on their own.

As the environment changes due to climate change, humans only need to adjust room temperature and clothing, while other species, including birds, adapt their bodies. In 2024, I saw many flowers blooming out of season and insects hatching. Each year, it seems as if the number of birds I observe is decreasing. If it is not necessary for them to come to Japan, I can’t help but hope that they manage to survive somewhere these days.