Second Record of Ring-necked Duck for Okinawa Prefecture!!
I tracked down the second-ever Ring-necked Duck for Okinawa Prefecture among a flock of 600 Tufted Ducks. The distance was over 200 metres and branches and leaves limited the view, but after searching for about an hour I managed to find it. Once I knew which area it was floating in, I didn't lose it again and was able to watch it for over an hour.
Ring-necked Duck, male breeding plumage. Following a record on Miyako Island in 2023, this became the second record in the prefecture — a valuable sighting.
It is sleeping, but the Ring-necked Duck is the one in the middle. All the others are Tufted Ducks. Once your eye adjusts, you can spot it straight away.
When it lifts its head, the difference between the Ring-necked Duck and the Tufted Ducks is immediately obvious.
Eastern Yellow Wagtail, first-winter plumage.
Long-toed Stint, first-winter plumage. Numbers have been increasing lately. Perhaps the return migration has begun.
A Striated Heron, unusual for Ishigaki Island. I was also able to hear its call.
The two Tundra Swans are still present.
An Osprey came to bathe. It seemed to be wary of me, so I left the area promptly.
A Brown Shrike that has wintered in my workplace car park every year since it was a juvenile. Several years on, it has grown into a fine adult male.
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