金剛山で遊ブログ

１／２２日に月に一度の金剛山野鳥観察会が行われました。今回は、雪の心配もあってかやや少ない７人の参加。野鳥はウソ、ヒレンジャク、オオアカゲラなど１２種類でした。
・集合前にキャンプ場でウソがいました。ヤマツツジのタネを食べる久しぶりのウソの姿が青空を背景に綺麗でした。
Photo1.ヤマツツジの種を食べるウソの雄と雌
KTさん撮影



・今回の目玉はヒレンジャク。山頂ブナ林方面にヒレンジャク探しに出発。
・遊歩道でブナの枝ごと落ちてきたヤドリギの実を見つけてヒレンジャクのつもりで味見してみました。ほんの少し甘く悪くありませんが、タネを出そうとすると粘って糸を引きます。
ヒレンジャクはヤドリギの実が大好物。消化しないタネを糞として出すときにこの粘りのためにタネがお尻からぶら下がります。ぶら下がったタネはレンジャクが飛ぶと木の枝にくっついて新しい株になります。ヒレンジャクは食べ物が手に入り、ヤドリギは繁殖できます。
Photo2.ヤドリギの実の味見

・金剛山遊歩道沿いのブナ林でヒレンジャクと遭遇しました。ただ、斜面の上のブナの梢付近で飛び回っていて上を見続けて首が痛い、手がだるい等となかなかの難物でしたが、なんとか見ることができました。
Photo3.ブナの梢に止まるヒレンジャク
KTさん、ITさん撮影




・見上げ疲れてふと横を見ると、道のすぐ横でオオアカゲラの雄が盛んに木をつついているではありませんか。幹の裏側にいるからか遊歩道を人が通るのを全く気にしていません。
Photo4.遊歩道横にいた雄のオオアカゲラ




・ちはや園地に戻って食事後に四季の谷に行くと、今度は雌のオオアカゲラが木をつついていました。
Photo5.四季の谷にいた雌のオオアカゲラ
KTさん、ITさん撮影


鳥の種類は多くありませんでしたが、満足な一日でした。
※YKがお届けしました。

1/22 Mt. Kongo bird-watching event

On January 22nd, a mountain bird watching event was held once a month. This time, 7 people participated, which was a little less because of concerns about snow.
There were 12 types of wild birds, including bullfinches, Japanese waxwings, and white-backed woodpeckers.
・We found a bullfinch at the campsite before the meeting time. It was the first time in a while for us to see it eating the seeds of azalea.
Photo 1: Bullfinch male and female eating azalea seeds.
taken by KT

・The main feature of this time is Hirenjaku (Japanese waxwing). We departed for mountaintop beech forest in search of waxwings.
・We found mistletoe berries that had fallen along with the beech branches on the promenade and tasted them as if we were waxwings. It's a little sweet and doesn't taste bad, but when you try to get the seeds out of your mouth, they're sticky and stringy.
Waxwings love mistletoe berries. This stickiness causes the seeds to hang from the bottom when they are excreted as undigested seeds. The hanging seeds attach to tree branches and become new stocks. In this way waxwings can obtain food, and Mistletoe can reproduce.
Photo 2: Tasting a mistletoe berry

・We encountered waxwings in the beech forest along the promenade. They were flying around near the canopy of the beech trees on the slope, and I had a hard time looking up them because my neck hurt and my hands got tired, but we managed to take photos.
Photo 3: A waxwing perching on a beech treetop.
taken by KT and IT


・When I got tired of looking up and glanced to the side, I saw a male white-backed woodpecker actively poking a tree right next to the road. Because it was behind the trunk, it looked not to care about people passing by the promenade at all.
Photo 4: A male white-backed woodpecker next to the promenade


・We once returned to the Enchi and after lunch we went to Shiki-no-Tani (Four-Season Valley). There, we found a female white-backed woodpecker pecking at a tree.
Photo 5: A female white-backed woodpecker in the Four -Season Valley.
taken by KT and IT
There were not many kinds of birds, but it was a satisfying day.

*Delivered by YK