Birds in nature, landscape and others.
When I saw the nest of a little grebe on April 23rd, there were three eggs on the nest.
On April 25th, three turtles were on the little grebe’s nest. I don’t know the details, but the nest has been taken over by turtles. It looks like the eggs were eaten. What I was worried about happened.
Last year, the chicks hatched about a month earlier than this year.
The little grebes abandoned the nest, but it was carring the nest materials to a new location.
On April 16th
I found a little grebe nest. Here, the little grebes build the nest by piling up dead leaves, small twigs, algae (waterthyme), etc. on the stems of running reeds that have fallen into the river. It is called floating nest because it floats on the water. Objects that can be used as support include tree branches hanging down to the river, and running reeds growing in the water. This year, nest building is about a month later than last year.
There is a nest at the end of the arrow in the next image.
In the next image, there is a little grebe near the nest. It does not lay an egg. I’m concerned about the presence of a turtle. I once saw a turtle eating eggs of a little grebe.
On April 17th
There is a little grebe on the nest. It does not lay an egg.
On April 18th
A little grebe laid its first egg.
April 19th.
It is incubating an egg. Grebes begin incubating eggs immediately after laying eggs.
There is one egg laid on the 18th. No eggs laid today.
On April 20th.
We see one egg. No additional eggs are laid.
A little grebe is incubating an egg.
April 21st .
We see two eggs, but maybe there are three.
April 22nd .
There are three eggs. I hope all three hatch successfully.
One unhatched egg was left in the nest.
The chick was incubating the egg while the parents were away from the nest. The chick was 6 or 7 days old. We once observed children incubating eggs on June 7, 2021 (See website.). Only one of the three chicks incubated the egg. We would like to know the sex of the chick, but it was not possible. Unfortunately, this egg did not hatch.
It is too early to conclude from this observation alone that the chicks will incubate the eggs. More observations are needed.
The following site showed the other chick incubating the eggs (website).
See the video for the rest of the story. Please subscribe to my channel on YouTube. The name of account is “hachi ai“.
The parent caught a dragonfly. The chicks were puzzled because the food was so large, but it swallowed the dragonfly. See the video for details.
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Because of the heat, the little grebe was sending wind to the egg. It is interesting to see the movement of the wings in slow motion.
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A chick of little grebe dived while being piggybacked by its parent. I wonder if the chick will be safe.
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July 9 morning, 2022
The little grebe warms the eggs.
July 10 moring, 2022
Mom and Dad take turns warming the eggs
There are three eggs in the nest.
July 11 morning
The bird is holding the eggs still.
Sudden downpour of 120 mm per hour hit at around 8:00 p.m. on July 12.
July 13 evening
Torrents have brought down bushes and reeds.
Sudden downpour washed away the little grebe’s nest.
The little grebe lay eggs for the second time this year at the mouth of the Moro River. The male and female take turns warming their eggs. The floating nest must be constantly piled with fallen leaves or it will submerge. We hope the eggs hatch safely.
Mam of the little grebe caught the crayfish. Dad snatched it from mam. The children, looking a big food, chase after him, but he is on the run.
The chick of little grebe hatched on its own while mom was out. First, a small crack appeared in the shell, the crack gradually widened, and then the shell cracked. Finally, the chick opened the shell on its own and came out of the shell. After hatching, the chick crawl under its mom’s wings on its own. August 29, 2021.
Hatching scene
This is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after the shell cracks.
It took about 12 minutes and 30 seconds for the chick to fully emerge from the shell.
Summary
What the author can say from this observation is that the little grebe chicks may not be pecking at the eggshell. As their curled-up bodies stretch, stress is applied to the eggshells, causing the shells to crack.
The little grebes are so-called carnivores, and the chicks get the right food to eat from their parents. The chicks may not have the strength to peck at hard objects.
Timestamp of video
0:38 Small cracks in the surface of the shell.
1:28 The shell cracked.
1:44 The shell opened.
2:45 The head of the chick came out of the shell.
4:53 The body of the chicks came out of the shell.
6:00 The hatched chick entered under mom’s wings.
About of the hatching of little grebe (Nov 23, 2021).
When the little grebe lays an egg, it immediately begins to warm the egg. It lays one egg a day for several days. And, the eggs hatch one by one a day.
The spot-billed ducks and swallows begin to warm eggs all at once after they accumulate. I have not seen the hatching scene of spot-billed ducks, but all the chicks of spot-billed ducks are hatching on the same day.