Tokachi River Swan Bridge
About the Tokachi River Swan Bridge Camera
This camera looks over a stretch of the Tokachi River known locally for its wintering whooper swans, which gather here thanks to warmer spring-fed water that keeps parts of the river from freezing over.
The bridge sits in the farmland around Otofuke, part of the wider Tokachi agricultural plain, giving the camera a practical use for checking river conditions alongside the seasonal swan-watching draw.
The swans are migrants rather than residents. Whooper swans arrive from breeding grounds in Siberia around October and November, hold through the coldest months on the stretches that stay open, and leave again by March, so the camera is empty of them for half the year. Feeding them is discouraged, since birds that come to rely on people tend to stay too long into spring.
Highlights & Nearby
- •Watch for: whooper swans on the water in winter, river water level, ice cover on colder sections
- •Nearby: downtown Obihiro, the Tokachi River, Otofuke's farmland
- •Note: swans tend to gather on the open, unfrozen stretches of the river through the coldest months
