Visitor Center Report

During a walk I came across a Vulpes vulpes schrencki.
As you can see in the photo, it was still wearing its fluffy winter coat.
The foxes will soon begin to shed to a summer coat, so this fluffy appearance will not be around for much longer.
Photo: A Vulpes vulpes schrencki at Sounkyo Apr. 19

The Nyctereutes procyonides albus have awakened from their winter hibernation.
I photographed them around the same time last year, so it seems this is generally the time that they end their winter sleep, although it’s likely the temperature and other factors have a role in determining the timing.
It may be because they’ve just awakened, but they seem to be moving slowly and have a somewhat vacant look in their eyes.
They will need to get sufficient nourishment, as their mating season will begin soon. However, they’ll probably have some difficulty finding food with the ground still covered with a lot of snow.
Photo: A Nyctereutes procyonides albus awakened from winter sleep Apr. 15

The Adonis ramose flowers have bloomed in our observation area (Kamikawa Park).
(The flowers began to bloom on April 3, but were subsequently covered by repeated snowfall.)
The forecast today predicts higher temperatures, so it’s likely the number of blooming flowers will gradually increase in places where the snow has melted.
Although not in our observation area, some blooming flowers were observed on March 30 of this year, which is earlier than most years.
I should mention that blooming started at the observation area on April 23 in 2013, April 15 in 2012, and April 6 in 2011, which means this year’s blooming is about 10 days earlier than last year’s.
As an indicator of the new season’s arrival, I’d like to see the blooming Adonis ramose lead the way to spring.
But, the mountains? Well, that’s another story…
Believe it or not, the snow at Mt. Kurodake’s 7th Station has reached a depth of 500 cm.
That is the most snow recorded there since 1997.
I’m a bit worried about the amount of snow that will remain this year.
Photo: Adonis ramose at Kamikawa Town Apr. 13

Yesterday the snow cleared up in the afternoon as I drove from Sounkyo to Kamikawa Town.
Before long the sun was out.
The entire gorge was a wintry landscape, and the trees had a thick covering of snow.
Just as was I was admiring the snow-covered trees, a Cervus nippon yesoensis appeared right in front of me.
This animal made no effort to get out of my way.
Even when I honked my horn and drove forward…
There was nothing I could do, so I decided to observe it. And when I looked closely, I saw that it had really beautiful legs.
Photo: Snow-covered scenery and a Cervus nippon yesoensis that refused to get out of the way Apr. 10

The sky has been very changeable recently.
We saw some lenticular clouds, and around midnight the rain changed to snow that accumulated on the ground.
According to 24-hour snowfall data issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency, as of 8:00 a.m.,
Sounkyo had received 13 cm of snow while Kamikawa Town had 11 cm. These amounts ranked Sounkyo and Kamikawa first and second nationally, which is a bit disappointing.
The gorge is once again completely covered with snow.
Although the forecast does not predict snow in the coming days, it’s hard to be sure…
Will we finally be on the way to spring?
In this blog, I keep repeating things like “spring is almost here” and “it’s snowing again.” I hope that this time, spring will actually arrive.
Photo: Snow-covered Eigetsu Peak, Sounkyo Apr. 10