The three Ruddy Shelducks already on the island have joined up together. Two more have also arrived, bringing the total on Ishigaki to five — a record high.

While I was watching the Ruddy Shelducks, a Eurasian Spoonbill came down. It's likely the individual that has been moving around the island since last month.

I had just spotted a Von Schrenck's Bittern and was waiting at the edge of the rice field where it had vanished in an instant, when a Cinnamon Bittern walked over from the adjacent paddy. A little while later, just as the Cinnamon Bittern seemed to have entered the rice too, it flushed the Von Schrenck's Bittern out…

The Von Schrenck's Bittern dropped into a fallow field a short distance away, but the grass was too tall to see anything. I had to be somewhere else soon, so I left the rest to my friends. Apparently, once a farmer started working the field, both a Von Schrenck's Bittern and a Eurasian Bittern flushed!! All sorts of things are hiding out here — Ishigaki really is a joy to bird. ^^