いつのまにか市民権を得たシマエナガ。確かに可愛くて、「あざとい」という言葉はエゾモモンガと同じくらい破壊力を感じます。ロッジラッキーフィールドの周辺は、そこそこの林や防風林、公園などの野生動物が生息できる自然がありますが、シマエナガもよくロッジの庭にやってきます。The Japanese long-tailed tit has somehow gained citizenship. It's strange how it became such a popular animal, but it's certainly cute, and the word "cunning" feels just as destructive as that of the Siberian flying squirrel. The area around Lodge Lucky Field is filled with nature, including forests, windbreaks, and parks, where wild animals can live, but the Japanese long-tailed tit often comes to the lodge's garden.
シマエナガは普段は、鳴き声はするけど、どこにいるか見えない。姿は見えるけど木の上の方で遠い、逆光で真っ黒。そんなのが当たり前。どこにでもいるけど、どこで遭遇するかわからないという鳥だからなかなか手強いのですが、このシマエナガが一番安定、再現性と精度が上がるのが2月、3月、そして巣作り。The Japanese long-tailed tit usually cries, but you can't see where it is. You can see it, but it's far away, high up in the trees, and it's pitch black against the light. That's normal. It's a bird that can be found anywhere, but you never know where you'll encounter it, so it's quite a challenge, but the most stable, repeatable and accurate times for this bird are February and March, and when it's raising its young.
「子育て」というのは、なかなかセンシティブで「子育てを覗きたい」、「赤ちゃんを見たい、「卵がいくつあるか見てみたい」。そんな衝動は、私が小学生の頃ゲージで買っていたシジュウカラの巣を覗き込んで何度も失敗して、うまくいかなかった幼い頃の日常だった。なので、動物で言う子育てと、魚でいう産卵は、「見ない」、「関与しない」が一番。というのが、私のモットーなのですが、、、"Raising a child" is a very sensitive subject, and people want to "peek into raising a child," "see the babies," and "see how many eggs there are." Such urges were part of my daily life as a child, when I tried to peek into the nest of a great tit that I had bought in a cage as an elementary school student, but failed many times. So, when it comes to raising children in animals and spawning in fish, it's best not to "see" and not to get involved. But...
4月だけは、ロッジの庭に毎日やってきます。できれば、冬の間も来てくれればと思うのですが、不思議なくらい4月限定なのです。このシマエナガの庭に来る理由は、巣材をとりにやってきます。In April, they come to the lodge garden every day. I wish they could come during the winter, but strangely enough, they only come in April. The reason they come to the garden is to get nesting materials.
シマエナガの巣は、シマエナガ自身でゼロから建設します。細い枝が3本くらい三股の枝をよく使いますが、枝とそっくりな色になるように、巣材を順序よく集めてきます。シラカンバの皮だったり、ハルニレの樹皮だったり、苔や地衣類をモザイク状に重ね合わせて作っていきます。その重ね合わせる、つなぎ合わせる接着剤の役目として蜘蛛の糸を利用します。蛾の繭の糸も上手に使います。The long-tailed tit's nests are built from scratch by the chickadee themselves. They often use three thin, trifurcated branches, and they collect nesting materials in an orderly fashion so that they are the same color as the branches. They build their nests by layering birch bark, Japanese elm bark, moss and lichen in a mosaic pattern. They use spider silk as an adhesive to layer and connect the layers together, and they also make good use of the silk from moth cocoons.
このシマエナガの巣の建設作業は、エゾモモンガの春の繁殖行動（通称：お祭り）を待っている時に、よくシマエナガの巣作りに遭遇しますが、巣材の総仕上げ、外装が終わると、最後に内装作業に取り掛かりますが、そこでよく利用するのが、鳥の羽を巣の中に運びこみ、巣の内装にします。We often encounter long-tailed tit nest construction when we are waiting for the Siberian flying squirrel's spring breeding behavior (commonly known as the festival).Once the final finishing touches to the nest materials and exterior are complete, the final work on the interior decoration begins.A common use of the birds' feathers is to bring them into the nest and use them for the interior decoration.
この作業、シマエナガがオスとメスのペアで一緒に巣材とっては巣に運び、糸で巧妙にくくりつける。この作業はシマエナガファンの方は一見の価値があります。ただ「可愛い、萌える」というシマエナガのイメージですが、彼らの自然との関わり、知恵、機密さ正確さを垣間見ると、あの可愛いさよりもややっぱり野生動物、厳しい自然の中で生きているものとして見えてきて、自然が多様であるからこそシマエナガがチヤホヤされることに気づくはず（まあ、どうでもいいかも知れませんね）。For this task, male and female long-tailed tits work together to gather nesting materials, carry them to the nest, and tie them together with thread. This task is worth seeing for fans of long-tailed tits. However, while the image of long-tailed tits is that they are "cute and adorable," when you get a glimpse of their relationship with nature, their wisdom, their sensitivity, and their precision, you will see them as wild animals living in a harsh natural environment, rather than just their cuteness, and you will realize that it is precisely because nature is so diverse that long-tailed tits are so pampered (well, maybe that doesn't really matter).
話は膨らみましたが、シマエナガがロッジの庭に来るのは、巣を作る時の巣材の総仕上げの内装のための鳥の羽を拾いにやってきます。ロッジの庭には猛禽に襲われた野鳥の羽や、マガモの羽が落ちているので、それをシマエナガが取りにきます。3枚ほどくわえては、道路の向こうの茂みへとます。それを１時間おきに2羽でやってくるので、カメラはもう持たない。と決めた私の心が動かされてしまいます。I've gotten a bit carried away, but the reason why the Japanese long-tailed tits come to the lodge garden is to pick up bird feathers to use as the finishing touch to the interior of the nesting materials they will be building. The lodge garden is littered with feathers from wild birds that have been attacked by raptors, as well as mallard feathers, so the Japanese long-tailed tits come to pick them up. They pick up about three feathers and take them to the bushes across the road. They come in pairs every hour, so I decided not to bring my camera anymore. But I was moved.
それでも、深追いはせずに、シマエナガの子育て、次の冬に可愛い姿がみれたらと心のなかで願うだけです。Still, I won't delve too deeply into it, and just hope in my heart that I will be able to see the cute little long-tailed tits raising their young next winter.
シマエナガの観察と撮影は、2月上旬のイタヤカエデやオニグルミの樹液が出る頃からがおすすめで、樹液が終わる3月上旬頃から、シマエナガたちは、群からペアへと行動を変えて、繁殖活動と巣作りが始まります。季節もだいぶ暖かくなって、手袋なしでものんびりと昼間の撮影ができる頃になると、シマエナガは巣作りを始めます。シマエナガが2羽で頻繁に時には10分おきに巣材を運んで飛んでくるので、その場所に居合わせることができたら、とてもラッキーで幸せのひとときです（シマエナガたちは必死ですが、、、）。The best time to observe and photograph long-tailed tits is in early February, when sap begins to flow from sugar maples and Japanese walnuts. When the sap stops flowing in early March, the tits change behavior from flocks to pairs, and breeding and nest-building begin. When the weather gets warm enough that you can take your time taking photos during the day without gloves, the tits start building their nests. Two tits fly over frequently, sometimes every 10 minutes, carrying nesting material, so if you happen to be there, you'll be very lucky and happy (although the tits are desperate...).
こちら側の距離と音、シマエナガにストレスを与えないようにガイドの指示に従えば必ずうまくいくことでしょう。As long as you follow your guide's instructions regarding distance, sound, and avoiding stressing the chickadee, you're sure to be successful.
この冬は、５箇所のシマエナガの巣を仲間のガイドと見つけました。２箇所はカラスやゴジュウカラの襲撃で、おっこちてしまい。３箇所で経過を気にしているところです。5月下旬から6月には、雛が巣立ってくれることを願うばかりです。巣立った雛が枝に団子になって並ぶ姿、見てみたいなぁ、、、This winter, my fellow guides and I found five Japanese long-tailed tit nests. Two were destroyed by attacks from crows and nuthatches. We are currently monitoring the progress of the other three. We hope that the chicks will leave the nest sometime between late May and June. I would love to see the chicks lined up in clusters on the branches after they leave the nest...