11 chicks of Spot-billed Duck walking and taking a nap in the park:11羽の雛鳥の散歩と昼寝／公園のカルガモ

The spot-billed duck is a duck with a total length of about 60 cm that is distributed from temperate to tropical regions of Asia. In Japan, it lives and breeds in waterside areas all over the country and can be observed all year round. However, in Hokkaido, it is a summer bird.
カルガモは全長約60cmのカモでアジアの温帯から熱帯に分布しており、日本では全国の水辺に住んで繁殖し、一年中観察することができます。ただし北海道では夏鳥です。
Females lay 10 to 14 eggs at a time, so in spring, you can see many cute groups of chicks accompanied by their mothers in parks with rivers and ponds. However, even in parks, chicks are targeted by many predators. For example, crows and snakes, as well as turtles and catfish in the water, are predators. So the number of siblings of chicks decreases day by day, and in many cases, all the chicks in a family are wiped out.
雌は一度に10～14個の卵を産むので、川や池がある公園で春に母鳥に連れられた沢山の可愛らしい雛鳥の集団を見ることができます。しかし公園でも雛鳥は多くの捕食者に狙われています。例えばカラスや蛇、そして水中からは亀やナマズからも狙われるため、雛鳥の兄弟姉妹は日に日に数を減らし、ついには雛が全滅してしまう家族も少なくありません。
However, since predators of chicks do not approach when there are humans around, the clever mother bird photographed this time took her chicks to a crowded area of ​​the park and guided them to a very shallow stream where there are no turtles or catfish, so that they could play and eat safely. While other mothers have only five or two chicks at the same time, she has 11 chicks, so she must be a great mother who protects her chicks from predators. I was impressed.
もっとも雛鳥の捕食者たちは人間がいると近付いてこないので、今回撮影した賢い母鳥は公園内の人が多い場所に雛達を連れて行き、水辺も亀やナマズがいない極めて浅い小川に雛を誘導してa安全に遊ばせたり食事をさせたりしていました。他の母鳥たちは同時期に5羽とか2羽の雛しか連れていないのに比べて、11羽の雛を連れているのですから雛達を捕食者から守る凄腕の母親に相違ありません。感動しました。
Even young children are interested in the group of chicks. While I was taking pictures of the group of chicks, a little boy came over with his mother. The boy was quietly watching the chicks, but he couldn't help but follow them and try to get closer. It was impressive to see the mother gently stop him and keep him at a distance from the chicks.
人間の幼い子供も雛の集団には興味津々です。私が雛の集団を撮影していたところ、母親に連れられた小さな男の子がやってきました。男の子はおとなしく雛を見ているのですが、どうしても雛の後を追って近付こうとしてしまいます。それを母親が優しく制止して雛との距離を保たせている姿が印象的でした。
After moving around for a while, the chicks must have gotten tired, because they gathered in one place next to their mother and started to take a nap. The sight of the chicks sleeping together like a dumpling was adorable and heartwarming.
雛達はしばらく動き回ると疲れたのか、母鳥の傍らで一箇所に集合して昼寝を始めました。団子のように重なり合って眠る雛達の姿も可愛らしく、微笑ましかったです。
Jun-ichi Shirokaze
城風 淳一
Photography Equipment:
SONY Alpha 1, SELP1635G
Video Editing Software:
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio 18
Music Production Software:
Steinberg Cubase Pro 12
Sampling Sound Library Software:
IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonik 2