This blog introduces the breeding and child-rearing struggle of little grebes that bred in Inokashira Park in 2018.
The chicks who had been observing the previous year were wiped out. Let's see the whole story until the chicks grow up well this year! I started writing this blog.
The parent bird seems to be trying hard to collect aquatic plants and build a nest. June 21
On June 21, the Little Grebe family in Benten Pond, the chicks are not in the nest, but in the middle of the pond.
What happened?
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Parent birds are constantly collecting aquatic plants.
It seems that they are trying to build a nest by collecting them in one place.
If you collect it over there, you collect it here, and there is no fixed place there.
Before that, no matter how much aquatic plants are collected in one place, they will only sink.
Still, the parents desperately collected aquatic plants for hours.
It conveys the feelings of the parent bird that they want to build a nest for the chicks as soon as possible.
I often get so desperate that I put aquatic plants on the chick's head.
But why not return to the nest?
Did you have any dangerous eyes in the nest?
Occasionally stop collecting aquatic plants and summon chicks.
When the parent bird shouts in a short, high-pitched voice, the scattered chicks gather in the immediate vicinity of the parent bird all at once.
The parent bird spreads its wings lightly to create a gap, encouraging the chicks to enter the wings.
The chicks are already big and all four chicks are so cramped that they can't get into the feathers of their parents.
One bird leans against the parent bird to prepare for danger.
The chicks dive in an instant when they shout "Peep !!" in a higher voice.
Some chicks are late.
Even though it is small, I understand what the parent bird says, and although it is short, I can already dive.
Even if the spot-Billed turtle flew nearby, it issued a warning voice, and all the children were seen diving into the water all at once.
Is the parent bird a bird of prey that is wary of the sky?
It's heartwarming to see the chicks riding in the feathers of their parents.
However, at that time, most of the little grebes feel dangerous and are wary.
It is a system that can protect chicks in the event of an emergency.
It's a time when parents don't mind.
Foreign enemies are not only from the sky.
Snakes come from the surface of the water, and turtles come from the water.
You have to be prepared for any danger.
At that time, a snake passed by. June 21
On this day, the little grebe parent bird does not want to return to its original nest.
Perhaps this snake was sick even near the nest.
Not from the surface of the water, but along the branches of a tree.
A snake may have been lurking on a branch near the nest.
The nest of this little grebe family is a tree with foliage.
It's convenient for snakes to hide.
Looking back at it with that kind of eye, it's a place that seems to be very dangerous for chicks, the place of the former nest.
"Are there any dangerous things?" Reconnaissance of the nest, and then aquatic plants. June 21
In the end, I couldn't make a nest on this day, or it didn't take shape.
The parent bird went to the nest several times and went for reconnaissance.
Maybe he's thinking about going back.
However, I never brought the chicks back to the nest that day.
It seems that something is still lurking near the nest and it seems to be dangerous.
The parent bird kept the chicks away from the shore anyway.
So the chicks were always in the middle of the pond.
The middle of the pond seems to be easy to defend against snakes.
The approaching snake is completely visible, and there is plenty of room to turn it back.
On the contrary, the middle of the pond, which is completely visible from the sky, does not seem to be good for birds of prey.
Given that, is the foreign enemy still a snake?
Even if there is danger, we must answer the appetite of the chicks. June 21
This Benten Pond seems to be the most abundant food in Inokashira Park.
There are many types of food such as fish and shrimp.
However, it is troublesome to have the snake noticed.
I never returned to the nest on that day.
Will the original nest be abandoned as it is?
The chicks are still small.
Can we live without a nest?
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to be continued
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