Winter in Hokkaido

A male Yezo (Ezo) Ural Owl (Strix uralensis japonica) grooms his female partner in a tree hollow in Hokkaido, Japan. It is said that grooming (preening) is the way for owls to form stronger bonds.A Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) was holding on a branch on a windy snowy day in Hokkaido, Japan.A red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) landed on a snowy field at Akan International Crane Center in Hokkaido, Japan. Red-crowned cranes are among the largest cranes in the world. Their wingspan can reach 8 feet (2.4 meters).A juvenile whooper swan came to visit a hot spring in a lake with his mother in Hokkaido, Japan.A Steller's sea eagle was standing in the middle of a frozen lake in Hokkaido, Japan.A Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki) was in the middle of searchg for food by sticking its nose in the snow in Hokkaido, Japan. For a second, the fox lifted its head and its whiskers were powdered with snow.