White-fronted geese cover the dawn sky as they fly in search of food, at Miyajima-numa lake in Bibai, Hokkaido, which is a stopover point for migratory birds.
The lake is registered as one of Japan's Ramsar sites for internationally important wetlands. White-fronted geese that have wintered in Honshu -- the largest of the country's four main islands -- come to the lake because there are many feeding areas nearby, before heading to the Russian Far East where they breed.
A 66-year-old-man watching the birds said, "The sound of flapping wings was so powerful that it felt scary."
The Environment Ministry's Miyajima-numa Wetland Center on Sunday confirmed there were about 56,000 birds at the lake. They will leave by the beginning of May and fly north.
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