【Series】 Spirits of the Kamuy landscape
In this series, the transformation of four seasons will be introduced through articles on wild animals that are active in the deep forests, marshes, and ocean as if they were being cradled by “Kamui,” which means deity in the Ainu language. The first installment in the series is the Yezo sika deer of Notsuke Peninsula. (Text and photographs by Tadanobu Shigeru from the Kushiro Branch News Secti
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【Series】Spirits of the Kamuy landscape (42) Black-browed reed warbler chirping resounds amidst a wave of sound

Sea mist covers the Otanoshike area seashore in Eastern Hokkaido’s Kushiro City. Black-browed reed warblers tweet excitedly.
The beach stretching from Otanoshike to the neighboring town of Shiranuka is luxuriantly covered right up to the coastline with an array of seaside plants, sand dune plants, and marshland plants centering mainly on plants bearing the name “beach” like the beach rose, beach pea, and beach silvertop. With the exception of the violet beach roses, yellow Siberian lupin, and blue-purple bristle-pointed iris, most of the plants are not especially colorful. But because even the summers here are cool, a rich thrush of plants form the coastline, and many wild birds populate the area.
In a grassy plain, a black-browed reed warbler uses a tall reed stalk as a singing stage and chirps in a high pitch. In response to this radiating acoustic wave, summer birds like the African stonechat, Siberian rubythroat, and common reed bunting let out their own rivalling birdsong to be carried along the brisk beach breeze. I am engulfed in soothing music early in the morning.
After breeding in Hokkaido, when autumn comes black-browed reed warblers will head to their winter habitats in Southeast Asia.
(Words and photo: Shigeru Tadanobu)