Katano Duck Pond

The greater white-fronted goose is a large goose with a white forehead and black bars on the belly, visiting Japan as a winter migrant. Flocks famously lift off together from their roosting marshes at dawn. Wintering sites such as Izunuma-Uchinuma in Miyagi and Katano-no-Kamoike in Ishikawa are designated Natural Monuments, and the species itself is protected.

Bean geese, including forms classified internationally as Taiga and Tundra Bean Geese, are large geese with an orange band near the bill tip that visit Japan in winter. They feed on roots and waste grain in paddies and marshes. They are protected as a national Natural Monument under the Japanese name Hishikui, and wintering sites such as Izunuma-Uchinuma and Katano-no-Kamoike are also protected.

A beautiful duck whose male has yellow and green crescent face markings, visiting Japan in winter. Katano Kamoike in Ishikawa is a wetland where many ducks winter, conserved together with its traditional net-hunting culture.

The Mallard is a classic duck, the male having a glossy green head. In winter it arrives across Japan and gathers in flocks at the waterside. Katano Kamoike Pond in Ishikawa Prefecture and Mishima Pond in Shiga Prefecture are protected as wintering and living sites for ducks.