Japanese Sparrowhawk

A few moths back, a pair of Japanese sparrowhawks were building a nest in my nearby forest. I saw a glimpse of them in the adjacent cemetery and heard their calling every now and then but I was occupied with other subjects and therefore didn’t make effort to photograph them nor to see how their family making was progressing. Recently, when passing the same area without a camera, I detected the birds again. Today, I grabbed my camera and went to see how they were doing. I found two adults, a male and a female, but no fledgelings. To my surprise, the sparrowhawks were mating. Their usual nesting period is April to June. I don’t know whether their first nesting was successful. Perhaps not, and therefore they are making a second attempt somewhat late. I am just guessing.

I the cemetery there was also a flock of azure-winged magpies. I detected a group of juveniles hiding in the trees and waiting for their parents to feed them. They were cute. The Japanese name for these birds is Onaga, literally 'long tail’ but the juveniles will take some time to grow up to their name.

This particular cemetery has also a rather big population of rose-rings parakeets. Long time ago these parakeets were first brought to Japan as pets. Some escaped and some were probably released and now they have established big populations in various parts of Japan.

何ヶ月前近くの霊園でツミが巣を作っているのを気づきました。鳴き声や姿を何回か見ましたが、別の野鳥を追っていましたから、ツミを撮ろうとしなかったです。最近、同じ霊園を通る時、またツミが見えたから、今日はカメラを持って様子を見に行きました。大人のオスメスを発見しましたが、幼鳥は見当たらないです。交尾をしてるのに驚きました。普段４−6月に卵を産むからです。もしかして、１回目の子作りは失敗に終わってしまって、今２回目挑戦すると推測しています。

同じ霊園にオナガやワカケホンセイインコの群れも発見。オナガは尾羽がまだ短い可愛い子供もいました。