Visitor Center Report

Spray icicles form when spray that hit stone surfaces and snow edges accumulates and grows with the force of gravity.
These icicles are not yet transparent. However, as they grow, they will become beautifully clear ice columns.
Their naturally shaped forms always seem somehow mysterious to me.
Photo: Spray icicles in Ishikari River Feb. 13

Today at Sounkyo, it is clear and sunny without a cloud in the sky.
The temperature early this morning was a rather cold -14°C; however, it has since climbed steadily and now sits at -5°C.
The gorge is truly beautiful today, appearing as if it is being bathed in light from the blue sky.
To enjoy the scenery, I began a walk along the river and almost immediately encountered Haliaeetus albicilla.
There were also a few crows about, so I’d guess it is still hanging around for the Cervus nippon yesoensis carcasses.
Photos: Sounkyo Gorge (left) and Haliaeetus albicilla (right) at Sounkyo Feb. 12

The Pyrrhula pyrrhula has lovely pink coloring on its throat and cheeks.
Today I saw some for the first time in quite a while.
They have a distinctive song that sounds like a mournful “fi-yo, fi-yo.”
Breeding pairs are known for always sticking close together.
The bird with the pink throat is the male. As always, this pair seemed to be enjoying feeding together.
In Japanese, the Pyrrhula pyrrhula has the rather strange name of uso. It is said this name comes from a Kyushu dialect in which the verb “to whistle” is “usobuku.” It seems the bird’s song sounded to those who named it like a person whistling.
Photos: Pyrrhula pyrrhula at Sounkyo (in the photo on the right, the bird on the left is the female) Feb. 12

Today I encountered Cervus nippon yesoensis, the first I’d seen in quite a while.
Although they can be seen if one ventures deep into the forest; there is something different about them this year.
It may be the lack of snow or the effects of hunting, but whenever I see them, they always stare at me for a few moments and then dash off.
Even though I never do anything…
Photo: A buck at Sounkyo Feb. 9

The low temperature outside the center this morning was -25°C, which set another new low for the season. The temperature at Kamikawa Town was -27.2°C, which is the second lowest temperature ever recorded there in February. In fact, it was the fourth coldest morning ever recorded there, regardless of the month.
Indeed, it was so cold that instead of being “like the inside of a freezer,” it felt “colder than a freezer.”
Nonetheless, the weather is exceptionally clear and sunny, for the winter. The rime-covered trees of Mt. Niseikaushuppe that are shown in the photo provided a gorgeous scene.
Photos: Mt. Niseikaushuppe and the Ishikari River (seen from the Kamikawa Town side) Feb. 8