This blog introduces the breeding of little grebes in Inokashira Park and the struggle to raise children in 2017 with photos.
On June 29, this year, four little grebe chicks grow up vigorously around their parents.
Currently returning to Japan alone, Tokyo, Japan for the first time in half a year.
The manager usually shoots based in Africa and Nairobi.
Blog update after a long time
It's been a while since I returned to Japan in the summer, and my body is screaming because of the heat, even though the heat is yet to come. It was June 2017.
I am enjoying the heat with a fan to see how well my body adapts to this heat.
Africa is hot! Many people think that Nairobi in Kenya is close to the equator and has an altitude of 1700 meters, so it doesn't get hot like Tokyo and is cool and comfortable all year round.
The air is crisp and refreshing because it is 500 kilometers away from the sea.
Furthermore, July is the coldest time of the year, and even if it's cold, it's not a big deal, and you only need to wear thin long sleeves.
When it comes to Nairobi, the climate is so blessed that it doesn't require heating or cooling all year round.
Alright,
When I go back to Japan, I always bring back the minimum shooting equipment so that I can shoot all the way.
If you pick up your camera, you're just an old man.
The camera is an inseparable part of my body because I am a photographer. On the contrary, anyone who has a camera can be called a cameraman.
Anyway, I try to carry my camera with me so that I don't become just an old man.
I went to Inokashira Park in Tokyo, which is close to my house, thinking that the heat would be better if I went to the waterside.
In the pond of Inokashira Park, I found a little grebe in the middle of raising a child.
There were 4 chicks, and when I asked the observer, there were originally 6 chicks about a week after birth, but for some reason, 2 chicks died.
While praying that the remaining 4 birds will grow up safely, the location is convenient, so I decided to observe and photograph the child-rearing situation.
One of the parent birds is busy catching and feeding the chicks, and the other parent seems to be wary of foreign enemies around the chicks.
Which is the mother? I think that the one who snuggles up to the chicks is a mother, but since she is hermaphroditic, I don't know what it really is.
(After that, as I continued to observe, I realized the difference between males and females. The females were plump and slightly lighter in color, the males were firmer and darker in color. On the other hand, males are worried about their surroundings and feel uncomfortable, etc.
All the people who pass by call it "Mom!", And no one calls it "Dad!".
Well, I think it's okay to be called a mother because she's a female.
Parent bird busy feeding chicks
The transparency of the water in the pond of Inokashira Park was surprisingly better than it was a long time ago.
It is probably the effect of "Kaibori" that drains the pond and dries the bottom of the pond.
You can't see the depths, but the transparency is enough to see the little grebes diving underwater. A long time ago, it was a muddy brown water where you could only see the surface of the water, but it is a big change.
And it seems that this year (2017) will also be a sword.
I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Inokashira Park 10 years from now.
I hope various creatures will come back.
Is this transparency beneficial to the edible fish? Or is it better for the birds you catch? Fish will also have the advantage of being able to quickly find enemies and hide in the shadows, but in the end it will be better for birds that catch their prey with a visual focus.
Fish will adapt well while changing their habits.
A wild world where change never stops, both those who do and those who can do it are always cat-and-mouse.
A predator cannot exist without food only if there is a partner to feed it. On the contrary, if there are no predators, the number of species will increase as much as possible, but the number will settle down at an appropriate place due to the environmental deterioration caused by oneself.
Human beings are involved in this intricately, and the current ecosystem is established.
A brief introduction to Little Grebe
Little Grebes are birds commonly found all year round in freshwater lakes, wetlands and small ponds in East Africa.
I've seen a large flock of about 100 birds once, but that's a special case, usually living in a family like a pair and their children.
During the breeding season, territorial awareness is very strong.
The large webbed feet are attached to the back of the body and are very specialized for swimming.
So I'm not very good at walking.
Underwater, it efficiently generates powerful propulsive force, and you can swim while changing direction surprisingly quickly and quickly, and you can efficiently catch escaped fish.
Looking at it, it seems that you can dive for more than 20 seconds.
You can see the little grebe swimming in the water at the Aquatic Life House in Inokashira Park.
I don't show it flying so much, but I can fly properly.
A little grebe that had never existed suddenly appears in a pond one day, so it seems that it is flying a long distance without knowing it.
The flight ability is probably high regardless of appearance.
It seems that it is easier and faster to move in the water than on the surface of the water, and even a small movement often dives and moves.
By moving in the water, they may also be aiming for a chance to encounter prey fish and shrimp. It may also be a measure to prevent foreign enemies from noticing the location of the nest.
Due to its high mobility, even large cormorants do not touch the little grebe, whether in the water or on the surface of the water.
You can swim with tremendous momentum even when driving away foreign enemies on the surface of the water. It may be more appropriate to swim or run on the surface of the water.
Little Grebe that bows its head and rushes at the enemy at a tremendous speed
This specialization on the water and underwater is degenerate if turned inside out, and I am not very good at walking on the ground.
I can't walk properly on the ground, so I can't stand against foreign enemies.
It is a bird that cannot leave the surface of the water except to fly because it needs to slide on the surface of the water for a long distance and accelerate to fly.
Little Grebes specializing in water, foreign enemies approaching their nests, cormorants that are twice as big, and snakes are boldly attacked.
Breeding and raising children are carried out by building nests on the surface of the water.
Nests are made by entwining materials with tree branches that hang down on the surface of the water so that they will not be washed away.
A nest called a floating nest.
Here at Inokashira Park, we used aquatic plants, fallen leaves, and abandoned plastic bags as nest materials.
The little grebe family I observed this time, and then this nest caused a terrible disaster.
I will introduce what happened in the next blog.
Four chicks that have been settled until recently but want to be unable to survive on the back of their parent bird
"nice to meet you!"
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to be continued
This state of child-rearing of little grebes is summarized in the video "Child-rearing of little grebes, Chapter 2" Trials awaiting chicks ". If you are interested, please click it to see it.
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