A daily record.
Featuring photos of wild birds and nature, mainly from Okinawa Main Island and Ishigaki Island

More flew than yesterday, but still not many.

It seems to dislike crows even more than people — when a crow came close, it fled into the forest. ^^;

It was quite a steep slope. After shooting, I was scared to climb back down... ^^;

A crow was chasing a Crested Serpent Eagle that had caught a Sakishima Rice Frog.

The male of the Crested Serpent Eagle pair above.

The crow keeps persistently trying to steal the prey.

A different pair of Crested Serpent Eagles. The female. She seems lethargic — perhaps old age, or perhaps not in good condition.

The toes are very thick relative to the body size. The fourth toe is flexible enough to rotate backward, giving it the look of a zygodactyl foot.

It has swallowed a whole flathead mullet, so the crop is bulging.

A reasonable number of fireflies were flying.

Red-flanked Bluetail, young male. First-winter plumage.

Ryukyu Flycatcher, adult female. It was singing vigorously.

Blue Rock Thrush, male. A nearby male was approaching its territory, so it perched at the top of a branch on alert.

Male Ryukyu Flannel Robin. The back has an olive tinge. Its appearance is beautiful, but its song is absolutely stunning as well.

It's a battle against camera shake in the dim conditions. ^^;

The lower ones still look like buds.

A Warbling White-eye came to feed on nectar. With a 100mm lens it's so far away. ^^;

A close-up of the flower. The shape is like a cat's claw.

Apparently this is the original colour, not a cultivated variety — remarkable!!

The sun setting behind Iriomote Island.

Female Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher. It seemed the two had already paired up.

The male believed to be paired with the Ruddy Kingfisher above.

A Ruddy Kingfisher I found after venturing a bit further out. It had already started digging a nest hole in a Chinese mahogany tree. ^^

Common species once in a while too... ^^;

Locking on target and diving straight for the prey!!

The lesser coverts flared up as it braked sharply.

It seemed to have claimed a small, compact clearing as its territory.

Female Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher.

A rice eel that was slippery and wouldn't come apart easily.

Searching for the next prey.

This is the same individual as yesterday.

A newly found individual. It was a bit more wary than usual. Photos came out blurry too. ^^;

Stepped into the shade for a big yawn. ^^

There's a spiderweb stuck to its head. ^^;

The Ruddy Kingfisher I had only managed to see as a silhouette in the dark yesterday evening was in the same spot.

Also hunting for prey in the shade to avoid the sun.

The purple on the back has come out nicely.

Our first reunion since a brief sighting on April 4. ^^

Even so, it's dark. Shutter speed 1/8…

The eye colour is striking. ^^

The numbers were reasonable tonight, but the flight paths were good. ^^

I rushed the shot and ended up about 2 stops overexposed. Fixed it in post…. ^^;

Dark and backlit. A record shot at least. ^^;

Left one has the upper mandible, right one has the lower.

The feathers had been plucked too.

Too good to leave behind, so I took it home. ^^

Individual no. 1. Dirty bill. Looks like it had been eating slugs or snails. ^^;

So cute. ^^

My green minivan is reflected in the eye. ^^

Second Ruddy Kingfisher.

Third individual. A male Ruddy Kingfisher, which is unusual.

Fourth individual. Calling to attract a male. This is the Ruddy Kingfisher singing in the video.

Closer to the entrance than usual. Hmm, the terrain isn't great here. ^^;

Scanning for prey from a branch swaying in the breeze. ^^

The individual least afraid of people.

This one is clearly nesting nearby. ^^

An individual I have been watching for several years. Last year four chicks fledged. This year nesting has already begun.

Quite heavy rain had started falling, but it seemed delighted to be bathing. ^^

A habituated individual.

The male is further back but I couldn't get a shot….

It was sheltering from the rain under a tree and searching for prey.

Lots of droplets on its head.

This one too is a habituated individual.

The pair taking turns digging the nest hole. ^^

It rained pretty hard, so the head is wet. ^^;

Eastern Cattle Egret. It has changed into beautiful breeding plumage.

Medium Egret.

An Eastern Cattle Egret that has caught a Sakishima Brown Frog.

The Yaeyama Firefly put on its biggest emergence of the season. ^^ The glowing periods were quite long too.

It was a muggy night, and on the way back a huge Japanese Giant Centipede — body length of around 20 cm — also appeared. ^^;

The green non-flashing lights are Kiirosujibotaru (Aquilonia pallida).

A different individual from the one that usually comes through every year has moved into this territory. I wonder what happened to the white-headed one….

First-ever shot. A male Ruddy Kingfisher.

A Ruddy Kingfisher that has caught a freshly eclosed Tsumagurozemi cicada.

Its bill is dirty, so it must be digging a nest hole somewhere.

The few green streaks in the upper left are Kiirosujibotaru (Aquilonia pallida).

I went with an ultra-wide angle, but the sense of space hasn't really come through… ^^;