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"Little Grebe Parenting, Sequel" Part 26, Dad and Child, Mother and Child

Updated: Aug 12, 2022


This blog introduces the breeding and child-rearing struggle of little grebes that bred in Inokashira Park Tokyo Japan 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.

All three chicks are fine! July 2, gourd



The gourd bridge family whose nest has been washed away.


It's been many days since then, but are the chicks doing well?


 


I was a little worried about where I was because the nest was gone, but I was able to find it a little further away from the nest.


The chicks grew well and seemed to be okay without a nest.

All three chicks are doing well.

The place is about 100 meters away from the gourd bridge, and it seems that the activity is centered there.


As the chicks have grown significantly, the parent birds are relieved, and more and more chicks are left behind and go far away.


It seems that children alone can deal with foreign enemies such as turtles and snakes.

Or maybe in anticipation that such a foreign enemy is not nearby.

These chicks have begun to dive underwater like the chicks of the Bentenike family.



Two chicks are in the water, and one is watching the brothers swim with their heads in the water. July 2

Parent birds also take turns taking care of chicks.

Here, the gourd family does not have a neighbor's little grebe nearby, so it seems that both parents can concentrate on raising their children without worrying about it.

The chicks are terribly hungry because they dive and play many times, grow up and are active until their parents bring food.

The chicks dive into the water and try to hunt, but it is difficult to catch food.

Only small insects can be caught.

Most of them are drowning insects floating on the surface of the water.

Dad and mom Little Grebes catch mainly fish that are just about the size of a meal, and a great treat for chicks.

The nutrition, volume, and taste are completely different from those of small insects.


When a parent bird with prey appears on the surface of the water, the two hungry birds compete for food on July 2nd.



When the parents catch food from somewhere and the parents come, the children are competing with us.

One chick seems to be a little late.

 

About a week later, on July 9th,

Two chicks from the Gourd Bridge family are swimming together, but where is the other?


The biggest chick, one of them, seems to have gone out somewhere.

Despite my worries, after a while I came back out of nowhere and went somewhere again without joining my brother.

On this day, I witnessed a parent bird attacking the smallest chick.



Is the parent bird attacking the chicks and thinning them out? July 5th



Little chicks don't know what it is.

"How easy was it until now?"


She lowers her neck, raises her beak and feathers, and attacks her with a sweet attitude.


It also seems to attack more.

Hina "What should I do?"

The little chick scared her dad.

If you don't want to be attacked, you have to keep a distance.

The brothers who have been swimming with each other just tilt their heads.


"Dad, he gives me food and treats me kindly."

"Why do you attack your brother so much?"

"Brothers smaller than me, I can't grow up together unless I eat more."

Did Dad Grebe decide to drive away one of his brothers, a little chick?

Even so, I feel sorry to see it.

The chick attack by this parent bird has been observed many times last year.


Some chicks have survived and grown up even after being attacked, while others have disappeared.

Can this chick grow?

When the two chicks approached the parent bird, they were kind to one and very strict to one.

The parent bird suddenly attacks the chick, and so on.

This is the first time I've seen this behavior in this gourd family.

I haven't seen this behavior in Benten Pond.



The little chick stays with my dad on July 5th


The attacked chick keeps chasing after her dad and her brother.

When she gets too close to her dad, she looks scared and doesn't know when she will be attacked.

When one of them was lonely floating on the surface of the water, her mother, Little Grebe, came back.

As she approached her terrifyingly, she kindly fed her.

She doesn't spoil her very much, but if her mother feeds her, she seems to be okay for the time being.

How to efficiently leave offspring with limited food.

All children born to the same parents have different personalities and physiques.

The more children you give birth to, the more diverse your personality will be, but not all chicks will be able to grow.

Is it an action to thin out the weakest solids of some of these chicks?

Seen from the side, the cruel and poor behavior seems to have some meaning.

The aggression of chicks by parent birds, which can be seen in little grebes, probably has such implications.



to be continued

 

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