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Red-crested cranes move out of Kushiro wetlands as winter nears

KUSHIRO, Japan - Red-crested white cranes, the harbingers of winter, gather for food near the Tsurumidai crane observation post in Tsurui village on the outskirts of the Kushiro Wetland National Park in southeastern Hokkaido. The cranes, designated by the state as special national treasures, spend spring and summer breeding and raising chicks in the Kushiro Wetland National Park and fly to Tsurui, which literally means ''the habitat of cranes'' in late autumn and spend the winter there. According to officials at the Ito Red-Crested Cranes Sanctuary in Tsurui, more than 500 red-crested cranes are observed in Tsurui from December to January every year. (Kyodo)