Shunkunitai

  Topics of winter

early spring   spring early summer summer
from summer to fall fall winter hard winter

A winter angel, The Snow Bunting comes

The Snow Bunting spends summer in the tundra near the Arctic Circle and a few come to Hokkaido.  As its name shows, the color of its body is white as snow.  For they are very pretty, they are the favorite of the birdwatchers.  Shunkunitai is a rare place where Snow Buntings spend winter and 30100 of them visit there every year.  They eat seeds of Elymus mollis and live there.  You can enjoy spotting them.

   

Seals wondering on the floats

In fall, seals start to gather to Lake Furan.  The number of them increases to the maximum in winter.  In December, the water of Lake Furen starts to freeze and when it goes to the sea with the ebb tide, seals wander around on it.  They can be seen from The Nature Center.  In January, the number of them reaches a maximum (about 150).  In February, when the floats return, because most of the seals move off the coast to give birth.  It is hard to spot them.  You can enjoy watching them playing on the floats.

   

Various kinds of ducks

Various kinds of ducks gather to the Lake Furen shore in winter.  The colors of their bodies are very different.  The males have more beautiful wings than the females.  The Goldeneye has white cheeks.  The face of Long-tailed Duck is very funny.  In addition, the Velvet Scoter has spots that look like a crescent moon around the eyes.  You can enjoy watching them.


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