リュウキュウガモ長逗留(動画あり)
石垣島に飛来したリュウキュウガモは滞在3週間の長逗留となっています。この日は活発に動き、採餌行動や飛翔する姿を確認することができました。昔は沖縄を北限として生息していたリュウキュウガモ。和名に琉球とついているので、今後、記録が増えて分布が復活することを期待します。
リュウキュウガモを一目見ようと知人が4組来島。みなさんオニカッコウとセットで石垣島の野鳥を楽しんでいます。今週も数組がリュウキュウガモ狙いでやってくる予定です。リュウキュウガモを見たい方は スポ ッターさんへガイドの予約 を!!
The Cotton Pygmy Goose was active on this day.
A Cotton Pygmy Goose burst out of the grass it had been resting in. It took off almost vertically.
It flies toward me. The long legs — a characteristic feature of the Cotton Pygmy Goose — catch the eye. Among duck species on record in Japan, the Cotton Pygmy Goose is the only one whose legs extend beyond the tail feathers in flight.
My α1 has been plagued by AF freezing since I updated the firmware to version 2, but this time it tracked reliably. I was able to produce a good number of valuable flight shots of the Cotton Pygmy Goose. ^^
A Cotton Pygmy Goose coming in to land on the water.
A Cotton Pygmy Goose moving through floating vegetation.
It was feeding on what appeared to be aquatic plants or algae beneath the surface.
Perhaps it's the eye-ring — reminiscent of a Lesser White-fronted Goose — that gives the Cotton Pygmy Goose its charm.