This blog introduces the breeding and child-rearing struggles of little grebes in Inokashira Park in 2017.
I can't find the nest that should be there. Bewildered chicks
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August 16 (2017) Rain
All three chicks of the Little Grebe in Nanai Bridge are growing safely.
The nest had completely disappeared because it had sunk or flowed due to the rain that had fallen from the previous day.
The smallest one is half sinking.
I have to dry the feathers quickly and warm them up.
The chicks seem to be very cold while floating on the surface of the water because the nests have disappeared in the rain.
To survive the cold, he constantly tries to get inside the feathers of his parent bird.
Plead for a piggyback ride on the parent bird to survive the cold, and ride one by one
I managed to fit three heads
I managed to fit three chicks, but the chicks are already big and do not fit well.
The legs and hips are still out, and the parent bird is Mokomoko.
A chick that doesn't fit in well will quickly spill.
If this didn't work, the parent bird shook off the chicks and began repairing the nest in a hurry to build it.
The parent bird identified a place where a nest could be built and began to build a nest.
I gathered the fallen leaves on the branch just beside the nest I made last time, and although it was a simple one, I built the nest in no time.
He immediately determined which place could efficiently create a nest for chicks to evacuate, and showed that he was a good parent bird.
The chicks managed to get up from the surface of the water, dry their feathers and become able to hang their feathers.
August 18 (2017) Cloudy
Of the three chicks, the smallest one is missing.
I don't know if it was killed by the cold or by a foreign enemy.
Only two chicks remain.
Introduced in "Grebe Observation Diary, 5" and "Grebe Observation Diary, 6". )
The two chicks of the exiled pair have already grown to the point where they start feeding themselves.
It may not have been necessary to protect the territory as it became possible to move freely over a wide area.
One of the parent birds carefully scouts the new territory and does not allow the chicks to go to the new territory yet.
The parent bird seems to be carefully scouting whether there are no foreign enemies around or whether it is okay to bring chicks.
Also, they may be aware of some danger.
The rat snake crosses the pond and the parent bird carefully drives it away
While scouting the shore, a rat snake appeared from nearby and swam across the pond.
The parent bird continued to scream to the chicks, "It's dangerous! Be careful!"
Snakes that swim freely, climb trees, and hide everywhere are a great threat to small chicks.
Once in the bush, it's hard to find.
The parent bird watched closely where the snake was hiding.
As the sun goes down, it's time to go to bed, not far from where the snakes have disappeared, and I'm looking for another ridge without trying to return to the quick-prepared nest.
He seems to be in danger of snakes in the rush nest and doesn't want to bring his chicks back.
I went back and forth in search of a ridge, I couldn't find a good ridge, and even when it got dark, I went back and forth many times.
I'm worried that the float attached to the trap for catching alien species can be used as a sword, so I try to climb it many times, but it doesn't work.
The float had a net and I was trying to climb there.
I give up and look for another place, but it seems that I can't find a good place, and I come back to the same float again.
While repeating such a thing many times, it became pitch black.
When it was pitch black, he seemed to find a good roost, and the parents took the chicks and disappeared into the shade of the grass.
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to be continued
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