イシチドリ
Stone Curlew is one of my favorite birds in England.
I learned that its population once declined down to 150-160 pairs in England. But due to careful protection collaborating with farmers, the number started to increase and recently nearly 400 pairs were recorded. It is still rare and difficult to see but my birdwatcher friend kindly took me to the secret place in early autumn to see them!
I heard an interesting story about how they have protected the birds when some pairs nested in the farm, such as onion and sugar beet field. They replace or remove the eggs while farmers spray crops with pesticides or operate heavy machine in the field so that the actual eggs will not get affected! Adult birds do not seem to care and return to their nest for incubation afterward.
I wish I could join this kind of conservation project, research about it and write a story about it! This could be a nice nature story book for children.
とても素敵な話ですね。保護活動と言うよりは、相手への思いやり活動って感じで、感銘しました！
ReplyDeleteイシチドリの成功はよく英国の野鳥雑誌でも取り上げられているので、いつか本物を見たいと思っている種類です。
ReplyDeleteノガンもうまくいくといいなと思っています！
ヤマセミさん、
ReplyDeleteイシチドリが渡来するメインの区域では、ボランティアが常に見回り、地域内で繁殖するすべてのペアの動向に目を光らせているようです。
ヒヨ吉さん、
こちらにいると、この種のおよその個体数の変動は、などという説明時に、生息数の数字が昔から今までしっかり記録として出てきて、びっくりしますね。