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After our pre-dawn start at Otowa Bridge, we returned to the hotel for breakfast and then went to the Akan International Crane Centre, which opens at 9AM.

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The Sika fawn turned up again.  Here you can see the spots on the coat which are unobtrusive in the Japanese sub-species.

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Counting from an image I took the previous day, I was amongst about fifty photographers at the crane centre, behind a low fence on an L-shaped enclosure.   This is part of the conservation project because unrestricted access to the cranes is most undesirable.   A few years ago, someone climbed over the low fence to get a better view.  All the cranes left and didn’t return for another three months.

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With all this courtship display going on around them, a couple of whooper swans decided to get into the act as well.

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It’s one minute past three and in the image above, the swan and crane are waiting patiently for the 3PM feeding time.

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And when the fish arrives, the sea eagles turn up.

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