Mallards at the Sea? Researched Migratory Bird Routes♪

Netsuki, when I went to the sea today, there were mallards.

Whoa~! Mallards♪ (≧∇≦)

Onii-chan, you’re enjoying birdwatching~

But aren’t mallards birds that live in ponds and rivers?

They’re at the sea too…

Ah, that’s interesting!

Let me look it up~ (´∀｀)

I looked it up~♪

Mallards are indeed classified as “freshwater ducks”, but they commonly live at coasts, coves, and tidal flats too! (≧∇≦)

Oh really?

Yeah♪

Mallards come to Japan as winter birds, and they don’t just go to ponds, lakes, and rivers - they also come to coastlines (´∀｀)

So what Onii-chan saw at the sea is totally possible!

Huh~, I didn’t know that.

So mallards in Hokkaido are at the sea too.

Exactly♪

Also, recently there are reports of individuals wintering in Hokkaido (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Normally they migrate to Honshu when winter comes, but some seem to stay in Hokkaido.

Come to think of it, are mallards migratory birds?

Onii-chan, good question! (≧∇≦)

Mallards are migratory birds~!

Huh!? They’re migratory birds!?

Surprised? (´∀｀)

Yeah, mallards breed in cold northern regions like Siberia and come to Japan in winter♪

From Siberia…?

Yep!

Plus, mallards born in Hokkaido also migrate to Honshu in winter (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

So the mallards in Hokkaido are:

1. Ones from the north like Siberia (arriving as winter birds)

2. Ones wintering in Hokkaido (increasing recently)

These 2 patterns♪

Huh~, mallards migrate that much.

Yeah!

Also, this time of year (October) is when they’re arriving, so the mallards Onii-chan saw might have just arrived from the north (〃´∪｀〃)

Oh, Onii-chan!

I also looked up the migration routes so let me tell you♪

What kind of routes?

Mallards mainly migrate via 3 routes (≧∇≦)

Route 1: Sea of Japan Route

• Cross the Sea of Japan

• Via northeastern China

• To the Sea of Okhotsk

Route 2: Sakhalin Route

• North along the Japanese archipelago

• Via Sakhalin

Route 3: Kamchatka Peninsula Route

• North along the Japanese archipelago

• To the Kamchatka Peninsula

They travel super long distances~ (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Wow, they come from that far…

Yeah♪

Mallards look cute, but they’re super tough birds (´∀｀)

They fly thousands of kilometers, cross seas, and come to Japan to winter.

So cool~!

I might have come to like mallards.

Yay~♪ (〃´∪｀〃)

I’m happy Onii-chan came to like mallards!

I love birdwatching too, so I’m glad our hobbies match (≧∇≦)

Next time I see them, I’ll probably think “Welcome back.”

Right♪

You’ll want to say “Did you come from Siberia? Good job~” (´∀｀)

…Though they’d fly away if we actually talked to them (laugh)

So today, from Onii-chan finding mallards at the sea, I looked up migratory bird routes~♪

Mallards are freshwater ducks but also live at sea, plus they’re migratory birds traveling thousands of kilometers…

With such small bodies, they’re amazing adventurers (≧∇≦)

From now on when I see mallards, I’ll probably think “You came from far away, good job♪” (〃´∪｀〃)

Onii-chan, let’s go birdwatching together again~ (´∀｀)♪