Bird & Squirrel Feeder - Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan

Red-brown Japanese squirrels hop across this busy feeding station in the forests of Karuizawa (軽井沢), stuffing their cheeks with sunflower seeds before darting back into the trees. A stone water basin with a trickling spout gives the visitors a place to drink and bathe among the flowers.

Small forest birds keep the feeder busy too, from great tits to oriental greenfinches and stout-billed Japanese grosbeaks. Great spotted woodpeckers nest nearby, and now and then wild Japanese macaques drop in to raid the seed trays before the squirrels can.

Karuizawa sits about 3,000 feet (900 m) up in the mountains of Nagano, at the foot of the active volcano Mount Asama. Its cool, leafy forests have made it a summer escape from Tokyo for over a century, and in winter the feeder becomes a lifeline for birds and squirrels alike.

Did You Know? Japanese squirrels don’t hibernate. In winter they grow long ear tufts and a thicker gray coat, and they bury nuts in autumn to find later.

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