Cranes at Izumi Kagoshima Kyushu | 出水鹿児島

Each winter on the coastal reclaimed land of Arasaki village, near Izumi on the south west coast of Kyushu in Kagoshima Prefecture between 10,000 and 12,000 cranes of four species gather. Commonest by far is the diminutive, sooty grey and white Hooded Crane, with in the region of 9,000 birds or more each year, representing more than 80% of the world population of this species.

All photos by Mark Brazil