GUIDED BIRDWATCHING TOUR
We'll drive you around Ishigaki Island to wherever the birds are showing best that day. Observation is mostly from inside the vehicle, and we keep it to a maximum of 3 guests so everyone can take their time.
今日は、たくさんのアカショウビンが見られました!!合計8羽。
写真はすべて別個体です。
I thought it had gone into the bushes, and then there it was with a stick insect. Incredibly sharp eyes.
Cropped.
Today I had the opportunity to photograph two pairs of Ruddy Kingfishers. There is another bird in the background.
Red right to the tips of its claws.
Cropped.
Beautiful.
昨日に引き続き、今日もアカショウビンを撮ってきました!天気が悪くてシャッタースピードがあがらんかったー。
Shooting in a dark environment brings out the distinctive reddish-purple of the Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher.
With -1/3 exposure compensation and a shutter speed of 1/4 sec, the light was quite dim — it looked almost black to the naked eye.
Cropped.
I forgot to level the tripod… It's tilting to the right.
Cropped.
It came out into a slightly brighter spot. Its favourite branch had broken off, so it was using the one next to it.
Cropped.
毎日飽きもせずにアカショウビン。
Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher in the light!!
Cropped.
Shooting from low underneath made it look like a two-head-tall figure…
Cropped.
So cute.
Cropped.
ナイトカヤックの月出きれいだったなー。
Full moon!!
夕方、沢登りがあったので昼間だけ。やっぱり少ない…。
A Ruddy Kingfisher calling kyorororo.
Cropped.
A Ruddy Kingfisher nest built inside a Formosan subterranean termite mound.
途中、雨と風に苛まれる…。
Missed focus….
いっとき、少なくなっていましたが、きゆうでした。
I wanted to frame it with some nice ferns, but it didn't fly around much. Other spots were buzzing with them though….
なかなか午前中に行けてませんでした。今日は、なんの用事もなかったので朝からアカショウビン!!
やっぱり、午前中は気持ちいいねー。
An individual I'd always only heard. It was singing loudly.
Got a clean audio recording too, so I'll post that later!!
たまにはシロハラクイナも。
As evening came on, White-breasted Waterhens appeared here and there.
Cropped.
夜になるとめちゃくちゃ湿度が上がりました。霧もでてきていいふんいきでしたー。
ホタルの数は過去最高でした。辺り一面ホタルだらけ…。
You can probably make out the mist hanging in the air.
I focused on the scenery, so there aren't many fireflies in the photo — but all around it was incredible!!
求愛給餌まではいかなかったけど、必死に甘え鳴きをしていました。まだ、オスがその気じゃないのかなー。
The male keeps coming close but isn't bringing any food. The female is ready and waiting, though.
A Ryukyu Besra is nesting nearby, and the Ruddy Kingfisher flinches every time the Besra flies overhead.
Since the male isn't bringing food, she's out hunting on her own.
今日もメスが甘え鳴きするもオスは餌を持ってこない…。
A Ruddy Kingfisher keeping a wary eye on the Besra.
Crop of the photo above. I wonder what it can see in those eyes….
It perched on a tree it never usually uses. What's going on?
今日は天気わるかったなー。明日は、金環日蝕なんだけど晴れるのだろうか…。
Together with last year's individual. Shutter speed 1.3 seconds!! Yes, I got the aperture wrong….
Caught a cicada larva!!
Waited over an hour, but the male never showed….
金環日蝕の観察できました。石垣島では部分日蝕ですが。
The clouds were in the way, but it peeked through for a moment.
Clouds in the way.
Toward the end the clouds cleared. The sunspots are visible too.
求愛給餌待ちなんだけど、最近このペアの縄張りにメスのアカショウビンが侵入してくるみたいで、ペアのメスが一生懸命追い払ってた。
ある学校の敷地では、求愛給餌してたけど、さすがに学校に600mmを向けるわけにはいかず…。
The colors are coming out nicely. Colors you only get in shade.
The 5D Mark II produces virtually no noise at around ISO400.
This red-purple is structural color, you know. The purple is considerably stronger than in Ruddy Kingfishers from the mainland.
Shutter speed 1/6. Pretty dark.
Head-on, it's not the most cute angle…
海岸で、シロチドリが孵化したと教えてもらいました。地表面の気温がかなり高いようで、ファインダーからのぞく像は、終止ゆらいでいました。
Two have hatched. Will the last egg hatch tomorrow?
悪食で有名なムラサキサギですが、こんなおおきなスッポンもひとのみ!
It tried again and again before finally swallowing it.
After swallowing the soft-shelled turtle, it headed back toward the river…
時間がなかったので、十数分の観察でした。
Caught a cicada larva.
Hot day — resting in the shade.
いつもは、3カ所まわるんだけど、残念ながら2カ所しかまわれず…。そろそろ、求愛給餌やるんだけどなー。
Female Ruddy Kingfisher.
The male of the Ruddy Kingfisher pair above. Darker than the female. Lately it's been looking like a bit of a love triangle…
The female has a more endearing face, don't you think?
1箇所回れず時間を持て余したので、初めての場所に行ってみたところ、アカショウビン、カンムリワシ、サンコウチョウと楽しめた。
そして、アカショウビンの子育てが始まっていました!
今日見つけた巣は、人が入ってこない割には開けた場所に有り、とても観察しやすいです。ブラインドを張る場所が確保できたら楽しめそうだ!!
The Ruddy Kingfisher at the usual spot. This individual is quite wary.
An easy-to-observe Ruddy Kingfisher nest. The male was several tens of metres away from here.
久しぶりのヤエヤマボタル。
The Yaeyama Fireflies still seem to be going strong.
今日は、キイロスジボタルがよく映り込んだなー。
Not to be outdone by the Yaeyama Fireflies, the Pale Evening Brown Firefly takes flight!!