Author: vc-dev

With the rough weather continuing since the beginning of March, I am only now able to update my reports.
The last time we saw clear sky was March 1st.
We’re seeing the sun for the first time in 10 days…
A lot of snow has fallen. When I ventured into the forest for the first time in days, I found the snow so deep that I had trouble walking even on snowshoes. Conversely in other areas, the snow had become very hard due to the strong winds. The conditions are not very good.
But even so, I found many tracks of Sciurus vulgaris orientis during my walk.
When I looked up, I saw the Sciurus vulgaris orientis nest shown in the photos. There was even a honeycomb on the bottom of the nest.
It was located in a larch forest. The denseness of the trees appears to protect the nest from predators and suppresses the wind to a tolerable level. It seems these factors make the forest the perfect place for a nest.
Photos: Sciurus vulgaris orientis nest Mar. 10

While walking through the forest, I came upon a tree hollow that appeared to have something inside.
I took a closer look and first saw that Pteromys volans orii droppings were scattered about.
Then, when I peered inside, I found a honeycomb.
It was in the center of the hollow. When I studied it more closely, I saw that a beehive had been at the top of the hollow and its remains had fallen down.
Although the hollow was not a Pteromys volans orii nest, it did appear to be used by squirrels as a resting place.
Photo: A honeycomb made inside a tree hollow at Sounkyo Mar. 2

Martes zibellina brachyura has appeared again.
They are such adorable creatures.
Sables are highly wary animals. As can be seen in the photo, they stand on their two hind legs to view the area around them. This behavior is called makage in Japanese.
They have extremely soft bodies and are known for running around on tree branches in a weaving manner. However, their habit of standing on two legs is also quite cute.
Photo: Martes zibellina brachyura at Sounkyo Mar. 1

Yesterday was a comfortably warm day, with the thermometer outside the center reading +3°C.
However, today is a different story, as blizzard conditions have continued since early morning and over 10 cm of snow has fallen.
This pattern, repeated, marks the way that spring ordinarily arrives. But, of course, this area is not like others. Spring is still a long way off.
However, yesterday the Salix gracilistyla began to bud and Haliaeetus albicilla appeared to be sunning itself on a treetop.
I felt as if spring had arrived, even if only for a day.
Photos: Budding Salix gracilistyla (left) and Haliaeetus albicilla (right) Feb. 27

I left early this morning to photograph Pteromys volans orii.
But when I arrived at my planned spot, the squirrels had already departed from their nest.
Ordinarily, Pteromys volans orii are active at sunrise and sunset, but today they had left before sunrise.
The morning sun was only just starting to illuminate the area, so these squirrels were definitely early risers.
Photo: Pteromys volans orii Feb. 26