探鳥会をハシゴする

On Sunday, I joined a field trip for young birders at Sambanze mudflat in Chiba and then rushed off to another evening walk to watch swallow roosting.  It was a fabulous summer day.  



三番瀬のメダイチドリ（Lesser Sand Plovers）
ゴカイを引っぱり出して食べていた。群れのなかにはオオメダイチドリもいた。
Sambanze is one of the few mudflats left along the Tokyo Bay and it is the only place where you can actually walk on the mud in the closed-off section of the bay. All the other area are built up and became factory sites without a single natural feature. And even this Sambanze's coast is a man-maid shore on a reclaimed land. But we still have quite a good number and selection of waders here, such as these lesser sand plovers, greater sand plovers, little ringed plovers, kenish plovers, grey-tailed tattlers and ruddy turnstones.



ウミネコとハクセキレイの幼鳥（A black-tailed gull and a juvenile pied wagtail.）
炎天下の三番瀬では、ヒヨ吉さんにいただいたグレーのスケッチブックが大活躍だった。強い太陽の光の元、真っ白い紙にスケッチをするとまぶしくて目が痛くなる。そのためグレーや茶色など少し色のついた紙のほうがよいと教わった。いただいて使ってみていたのは、Museのデザインブックカラーシリーズのグレー。あまり色味を感じないほど薄いグレーだけれど、白い紙より確かに見やすい。



メダイチドリの足跡も観察した。さっきまで群れが餌を採っていた、その場所をリップルマークを踏みしめて、実際に歩けるところが三番瀬のよいところだ。


夕方からは境川遊水池のツバメのねぐら入り観察会に参加した。探鳥会をハシゴしたのは初めてかもしれない。





Waiting for the swallows to go to roost, I had a good time practicing to draw herons.



And at about ten min. before seven o'clock, I realised that the sky was becoming busier and busier with flying swallows. They appeared out of nowhere and gradually growing in number.  For several minutes they continued flying and dipping into the water for the day's last quick bath. Then suddenly, I saw none flying. They had gone into reed beds.  Such a magical show on a summer evening.