C. c. Kamtschaticus, the Kamchatkan Raven, and Common Ravens (Corvus Corax) are often overlooked, but they are one of the most intelligent wildlife species on our planet. They are part of the melange of avifauna and wildlife such as the Hokkaido Sika Deer (Cervus Nippon) that I look forward to spotting and photographing on my annual Hokkaido Photography tour, which has now continued for decades. Hokkaido has so many compelling elements, and my time there takes me back to the days I explored the Canadian Yukon and Alaska. All three locations have the same feel, smell, and sights, untamed wildernesses where forest bathing (shinrin yoku) is a common part of life. The large herds of Porcupine Caribou that migrate in the Canadian Yukon and Alaska are similar to the Hokkaido Sika Deer of Japan, which are also migratory. Another reason Hokkaido and all of Japan is abundant in wildlife and is the perfect location for bird spotting and wildlife photography is the two distinct ecological lines which divide Japan’s natural indigenous plant and animal life, “The Blakiston’s Line” and the “Watase’s Line.” Due to this uniquely rare ecological condition, Japan is abundantly rich in avifauna. Birding in Japan is a dream come true for international photographers, with over 600 bird species recorded, over 60% of these are migratory. Part of the abundant avifauna, aside from the raven, is the Shima Enaga, one of my favorite birds to spot and photograph in Hokkaido, little sweethearts a “Bonnie of a Bird,” and they have a uniquely all-white face and is a sub-species of the long-tailed bushtit. Beyond the wildlife are the delicacies, dairy products, seafood, farmlands, and the hospitality of the kind and humble people of Japan’s most northern island, Hokkaido. Once you visit, you will never want to leave. If gastric delights are part of your goals for visiting Japan, there are two prefectures that constantly battle for the first and second position, Niigata and Hokkaido. Even the lunch boxes at supermarkets in those prefectures are better than most fine dining restaurants across the rest of Japan, including the flagship cities of Tokyo and Osaka. Hokkaido agriculture and fishing are also famous throughout Japan and all over the world; the flavor profile umami became more internationally recognized due to Hokkaido’s many exports of konbu or kelp contributing to dashi, a stock used in several soups and foods, a staple of Asian cuisine worldwide. The First Nations People of Hokkaido, the Ainu, have also influenced the flavors of Hokkaido, incorporating mountain vegetables, salmon, crab, enormous scallops, and delectable uni that live in the waters off the coast of Japan’s north island. The First Nations People are the first to cultivate kelp and konbu from the ocean as a dietary element. All of these elements and more contribute to me visiting Hokkaido annually and always perpetually finding a new fascination in my Hokkaido Photo Workshop adventures.

Returning to ravens, the common raven averages a touch more than 60 centimeters in length (approximately 25 inches) in length and weighs 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds). When compared to the White-tailed eagle, 7 kilograms (15 pounds), and the Steller’s Sea Eagles, 9 kilograms (20 pounds), on the pack ice, ravens have to be cautiously aggressive when prowling around the catches of the birds of prey they are sharing the pack ice with. In spite of the inherent dangers of Hokkaido’s pack ice, ravens have been known to live 20+ years in the wild. C. c. Kamtschaticus, the Kamchatkan Raven or Hokkaido Raven, is the largest of all passerine birds. Formerly a rare sight in Hokkaido, there has been an appreciable upswing in the amount of ravens visiting from the Kamchatka Peninsula. C. c. Kamtschaticus and the common raven visit locations that I frequent as part of my Hokkaido birding photo workshop, the Shiretoko peninsula, where they winter over, escaping from the bitter Russian winters like their fellow winter visitors to Hokkaido, the Steller’s Sea Eagle. They arrive as early November to Japan’s north island, and they sometimes stay as late as May. While in the region, they also frequent the same hunting ranges as the Steller’s Sea Eagles and White-tailed eagles as they are supremely opportunistic hunters. They are exceedingly clever and have been seen solving problems and making predictions about future events. During the autumn, the ravens are so ingenious that they leave chestnuts in the road for passing cars to crack them, so they don’t have to expend the energy to do it themselves. The ravens wait until the car is gone and swoop down onto the road and collect their cracked chestnut prize. I have even seen a clever raven wait for a battle to break out between Steller’s Sea Eagles and White-tailed Eagles over caught prey, waiting for an opportune moment to steal away the catch and then make itself scarce to enjoy its plunder. Ravens on the pack-ice squawk back at the Steller's Sea Eagles and take a stand but quickly and smartly back off for fear of incurring the prehistoric raptor’s wrath. In my 30 years leading my annual Hokkaido birding photo tours, I have never seen a Steller's Sea eagle catching and eating a raven, but I have seen the Steller's Sea eagle, an ice age relic that has survived three ice ages without the need to evolve, catch seagulls when the fishing is slow.