1 Go winter birding in Japan
February on Hokkaido means a chance to spy the courtship dances of the tancho (red-crowned crane). These elegant birds perform a slow-boil ballet of Edwardian bows, gushing leaps and dandyish flourishes set against the frozen marshlands of Kushiro. It’s a thrilling sight. Early-morning stakeouts in the forests around Tsurui can yield glimpses in the wild, but an easier way is to visit the Akan International Crane Centre at feeding time. Afterwards, head north to Shiretoko for cruises (Jan-Mar) among the drift ice and up-close views of white-tailed and Steller’s sea eagles hunting among the broken floes.
What about… Japan’s snow monkeys? These hot-tubbing macaques can be seen year-round in Jigokudani, near Nagano City, but in winter the snow-backed onsen prove more tempting to these chilly monkeys.
2 Join an orca cruise in Iceland
To find a predator, first look for its prey. In winter, huge shoals of herring gather around Iceland’s coast, off the northern side of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Where they go, the orca that hunt in these waters year-round are not usually far off. Come December and January, spotting tours launch from Grundarfjordur, in the shadow of the looming Kirkjufell mountain, where sightings are common and, sometimes, you can spy the pods herding the fish into balls before ruthlessly darting in to strike.
What about… the penguins of the sub-Antarctic islands? Cruises to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands reward with visits to Salisbury Plain, where you can spy 200,000 king penguins shuffling flipper to flipper. Early winter is when the season’s first chicks hatch.
3 Spy elusive snow leopards in India
True, your chances of spotting a snow leopard aren’t great. Fewer than 8,000 live in the wild, yet the big cats of Ladakh’s Hemis NP, deep
