Sado Wildlife in Focus | Dramatic Heron Clashes Erupt!

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As the intense summer heat eases, the rice harvest on Sado Island is in full swing. It is one of Niigata Prefecture's renowned rice-producing areas. The fields are turning into golden seas of ripening stalks. With ponds being drained, herons and crested ibises gather to take advantage of the abundant food. While the calm and graceful ibis quietly forages, the herons engage in fierce, dramatic battles over their next meal.

A Seasonal Bird Paradise

Sado Island has entered its rice harvest season. While daytime temperatures remain warm, mornings and evenings have cooled. Long sleeves are required, and the weather is much more pleasant. I've been busy helping with the harvest, spending my days on a combine harvester, leaving me with little time for photography.

However, there's one spot that's easy to capture during my limited free time — the farm ponds, which serve as water storage tanks. As irrigation needs wane and the ponds are drained, they expose an abundant feast of loaches and crayfish, favorites of the local birds. 

The ponds transform into a haven for wildlife, attracting crested ibises, cormorants, and other birds, making it a prime yet fleeting location for photography. Among them, the herons stand out, confidently asserting themselves amidst the gathering of crested ibises.

There's No Such Bird as a 'White Heron'

In Japan, egrets are often called shirasagi, or "white heron," due to their distinctive white plumage. However, there is no heron species officially named "white heron." The term "heron" is broad, encompassing various species classified by size: great egrets, medium egrets, and little egrets, all sharing their characteristic white color. 

Though they appear similar, great and medium egrets can be differentiated by their beaks, which turn black in summer and yellow in winter. In contrast, the little egret has yellow feet and a black beak year-round. Another distinguishing feature is their ornamental plumes—the little egret is the only "white heron" that showcases long crest feathers in summer.

The great egret, measuring about 90 cm from head to tail, is one of the largest herons, comparable in size to the gray heron. Unlike the great egret, the gray heron is not white but gray, with distinctive bluish-black wing feathers that set it apart.

Continue reading the full story on Japan 2 Earth to learn more about the unusual behavior of the crested ibis during the hot days of summer.

And find more great articles on the environment and the challenges of achieving the SDGs on our affiliated website Japan 2 Earth (J2E), sparking a transition to a sustainable future.

Read more Sado Wildlife in Focus photo essays by photojournalist Fumie Oyama.

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(Read the essay in Japanese.)

Author: Fumie Oyama, Photojournalist

Fumie Oyama is a two-time winner of the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association Award as a photographer for the Sankei Shimbun. After covering the reintroduction of the crested ibis to the wild for 11 years, Oyama left the company in 2020 to move to Sado Island. There, he continues to photograph the ibis and other wildlife while engaging in farming. He currently promotes the charms of Sado Island as a photojournalist. Follow Fumie Oyama on Instagram.