I made a trip to Yanbaru while I was already in Naha on assignment for the House of Councillors election.

Results started coming in around 9:30 p.m. By 11 p.m. I had filed my story and taken a shower, then headed north. I reached Yanbaru around 1 a.m. Conditions were good after the rain, but the owls were uncooperative — one Japanese Scops Owl, two Ryukyu Scops Owls, and zero Northern Boobooks. On the other hand, I found six Okinawa Rails in total: four sleeping in trees and two walking along the road. I also ran into an Okinawa Spiny Rat along the way.