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Cranes leave Japan for nesting grounds in Russia’s Siberia

TOKYO, February 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Thousands of cranes who spent winter at the famous Izumi reserve on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu have started their migration to nesting grounds in Russia’s Siberia.

The first 30-bird flock made a farewell circle over its winter quarters and flew northwest. They will fly through the Korean Peninsula and China’s northeast.

Most birds will nest at the Daurskii State Nature Reserve in Zabaikalye. Migration will last until early April.

Specialists at the Izumi reserve counted more than 12,500 cranes at their winter grounds. The birds' number has been exceeding 10,000 for the 17th year running, they say.

This year, probably, unfavourable weather delayed the birds’ migration to their homeland for approximately a week, Isamu Sumoto, director at the Crane Museum in Izumi, told reporters on Wednesday.