These three little birds were waiting in anticipation for their nourishment from mom and dad, two little siblings were a millisecond late for their baby portrait. I took this shot of the three little songbirds using a 105mm lens at Lake Yamanaka, which is located in the village of Yamanakako in Yamanashi Prefecture at the base of Mount Fuji, Japan. This lake is the largest of the Fuji Five Lakes and is the highest of the Fuji Five Lakes in elevation; I was leading a (Japan Private Tour) for a family from the USA.
Most birds use a nest for a single season, then build a new one to breed once more. Most swallows return to the same colony with over half occupying the same bowl-shaped nest which is made from a mixture of mud with saliva and grass. This is truly incredible given the length of the swallow’s migration from its wintering grounds in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Micronesia. After the long flight to Japan they get busy making repairs to their once again summer home, typically males do around a quarter of the work, with the most attractive swallows being the least helpful to their mates, and the shorter-tailed males being more helpful. The females prefer the males with the longer tails, as they apparently have better genes, such males start breeding earlier and have more nestling. Long-tailed males have less parasitic mites and have a longer lifespan. A decently located and well-made nest can be reused for 10 years or more by a series of different mating swallows.
I am looking forward to 2018 and another baby songbirds portrait.