We drove
to the south of Fukuoka prefecture, to a place near the Ariake Sea that had a large gravel field which could very well have been some abandoned
parking lot. In fact a section of it was just that. There were only a few
clusters of greenish growth; the rest looked all grey and barren. However, a
number of Little Terns had their nest here, just on the open ground among the
stones. We could clearly see them from the road. There were nests
with eggs, but also fledglings. Chicks that seemed just a few days old were
running back and forth. Older ones were trying to fly. Parents were hurrying in with food: little fish or shrimps
from the shore. Some were still courting. In other words: Lots of
entertainment for a simple bird-lover.
Little
Tern, コアジサシ
Adult sitting on a nest
If
you look carefully you can see 2 eggs under this bird.
Flying
in and out in flocks
In the camouflage of same-colored stones the chicks can be hard to detect - until they move.
Babies
waiting to be fed, looking
up in the sky: Is that our mum or dad with that little morsel?
They seem to know who is who!
Some
are ugly, many are cute. Some are very cute!
Winner of the cutie pie contest
To be continued
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