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

Female Greater Painted-snipe. Observed from inside the car, it didn't flush even at close range.

It was eating large numbers of small gastropods.

Two Whimbrels came to the beach. It was dead low tide and the birds were several hundred metres away.

There was a small flock of Black-winged Stilts.

Wood Sandpipers were in every rice paddy.

The Kentish Plover in winter plumage was running back and forth across the sandy beach.

A juvenile Black-naped Tern.

Standing on the rim of the nest, practicing wing-flapping.

Four days after the photo above — August 9th, the day after the day after Typhoon No. 13 brought 50-metre-per-second winds on the 7th — I visited the site to find the Akagi trees where the nest had been in a sorry state, and the Japanese Sparrowhawk nest blown away. After searching for a while, I found signs that the Japanese Sparrowhawk chick had been eaten by something.

A few Common Greenshanks were in the paddies together.

I thought there was an unusual wader, and it turned out to be a Marsh Sandpiper.

Wood Sandpipers are everywhere in the paddies, in good numbers.

A White-breasted Waterhen was foraging with chicks in tow.

It appeared to be blind in the left eye. Even when I approached, it seemed to see nothing at all.

It was eating a small Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle.

The usual pair of Crested Serpent Eagles was on the Kadada forest road.

A Common Redshank looking exhausted. It sat down shortly after this. Perhaps it had only just arrived on migration.

A dozen or so Red-necked Stints were mixed in as well.

There was an oil-covered juvenile Black-winged Stilt.

Emerald Doves often come down to the road, but this one was perched on a branch. ^^

The metallic green wings change shade depending on the light.

This one is an Emerald Dove foraging on the ground. The plumage looked darker than the individual above, which had also been on the ground at the time.

This Ruddy Kingfisher is always in the same spot, shows little wariness, and is a very approachable bird.

The moult has progressed quite far and it looks rather scruffy. Even the bill, which had been so vivid, is now dull.

In intense heat with heat shimmer rising, a Pacific Golden Plover was preening.

Peering through binoculars, I could see a Greater Sand Plover scurrying back and forth along the sandy beach.

Two Common Greenshanks were chasing small fish around. The one on the right was still in summer plumage; the one on the left had almost fully moulted into winter plumage.

Today I saw three Ruddy Kingfishers.

A Crested Serpent Eagle waits in ambush for prey on its favourite branch.

The Eastern Cattle Egret seems to be feeling the heat too, holding its bill open. Heat haze is rising and the photos come out blurry… ^^;

The Greater Crested Tern is now in winter plumage, with the front of the crown white.

This individual still appears to be in summer plumage.

When it spots prey, a sharp banking turn and steep dive.

The other birds are chasing after the lead Greater Crested Tern, which has a shrimp in its bill.

It would have been nicer with a blue sky… ^^;

A Crested Serpent Eagle targeting prey in the rice paddies.

At Ohama Beach, a Whimbrel. I was able to observe it closer than the other day.

Lots of Little Ringed Plovers had come into the rice paddies as well. There were snipe too, but they were far off.

It was calling out persistently, begging the parent bird for food. The other chick was perched a short distance away.

Among a flock of six Whimbrels, there was one individual carrying a white flag on the right leg and a metal ring on the left leg. It had been banded on the North Island of New Zealand.

The Whimbrels were frequently catching crabs.

Rhizophora propagules and Pacific Golden Plovers. Because the Miyara River empties into Ohama Beach, propagules from mangrove species wash down. The Pacific Golden Plovers are in the process of changing into winter plumage.

When a Grey Plover (background) caught a small fish, the Pacific Golden Plovers nearby went after it to steal it. ^^;

Side by side, the Pacific Golden Plover is noticeably smaller than the Grey Plover. ^^

One Dunlin had come through. A first for the season. It still has a lot of summer plumage remaining.

A Ruddy Turnstone tried to flip over a large chunk of coral but it was too heavy and gave up. ^^;

There was a single Red-necked Stint on the sandy beach. Good numbers are coming into the rice paddies.

A Terek Sandpiper was racing across the sandy beach at full speed, catching small crabs.

A Common Greenshank was looking for small fish at the water's edge, but there didn't seem to be much prey today.

There were a dozen or so Greater Sand Plovers.

Whimbrel. The individual at the back was noticeably larger than the others in the flock.

A Whimbrel preening — it was slathering on oil from the uropygial gland. Getting ready for the typhoon, perhaps.

This large Whimbrel kept intimidating and chasing off the other Whimbrels. Why? ^^;

About 10 Pacific Golden Plovers in the rice paddies.

Here more than 20 Pacific Golden Plovers were flocking together. There were some snipe mixed in, but they were too far away. ^^;

There were at least a dozen Long-toed Stints as well.

A single Marsh Sandpiper had joined a group of Black-winged Stilts. Not the same individual as the other day.

Green Sandpipers have started turning up here and there.

Wood Sandpiper. Common from the early stages of the wader migration.

There are a lot of Grey-tailed Tattlers at Ohama Beach.

The Terek Sandpiper was playing chase with crabs again today. This individual was taking a short rest.

Just one Dunlin at Ohama Beach. Maybe the same individual as yesterday.

Little Tern juveniles and adults were sitting on the sandy beach, sheltering from the wind.

Greater Sand Plovers were also busy catching crabs.

What on earth is this Ryukyu Cinnamon Bittern doing in such a dry spot?

This Ryukyu Cinnamon Bittern had caught a tadpole.

A Little Grebe was floating alone in the middle of the pond. Quite charming.

A Ruddy Kingfisher in ragged condition from moulting.

A tired Dunlin was resting in the rice fields.

Pectoral Sandpipers were also visiting Hiratahara.

It seems even the tiny Long-toed Stint weathered the fierce typhoon.

Pectoral Sandpipers were visiting Ohama Beach as well.

Many Grey-tailed Tattlers were so tired they had settled down on the ground.

Black-winged Stilts, which are usually found in rice paddies, had gathered in large numbers at the river mouth.

A juvenile Nankeen Night Heron also appeared exhausted, resting with its eyes closed. I thought it might need rescuing and approached, but it threatened me vigorously so I left it alone.

The Oriental Turtle Dove was looking tired too.

A pair of white-morph Pacific Reef Herons — parent and chick — came to the river mouth. The juvenile was persistently begging the parent for food.

There was a Common Kingfisher at Ohama Beach. Since it's by the sea, I suppose that makes it a sea-kingfisher. ^^;

This is the Ruddy Kingfisher I believe is the regular individual seen along Takeda Forest Road.

A tiny, tiny Zitting Cisticola. When I stopped the car, it landed in the grass right in front of me. What a cute face-on look.

It's rare to get a shot of a Zitting Cisticola at this distance, so I'm pleased. Ishigaki Island has a remarkably large population of Zitting Cisticolas.

Red-necked Phalaropes show no fear of people at all. Perhaps because they normally live out on the open ocean and have no contact with humans?

The feathers are quite worn down — you can really see the harshness of the long, long migration.

It caught a snail. This snail appears to have an operculum — I wonder what species it is. Louse flies are embedded in the wing.

This Ruddy Kingfisher seemed to have injured its right wing and could only fly ten-odd metres. Perhaps Typhoon No. 15 was the cause. I intended to rescue it, but it disappeared into the undergrowth. I'll try looking for it again tomorrow.

A still relatively fresh-plumaged individual.

A Ruddy Kingfisher that was quite approachable.

It was up high. You rarely hear Ruddy Kingfishers singing this late in the season.

The left leg seemed to be injured — it was dragging it when it walked.

Took a shot with the wings spread just to be sure. Definitely a Far Eastern Curlew. ^^

A lovely juvenile Black-tailed Godwit.

The four birds were always moving together.

Still in the middle of their journey — they'll be heading on to Africa or Australia.

A Curlew Sandpiper had also come down to the same paddy field.

The Common Kingfisher here is very wary too — heavy crop required… ^^;

A juvenile Isabelline Shrike. First of the season for me.

It caught a grasshopper.

At high tide, three Far Eastern Curlews were resting in the paddy fields.

The Whimbrel was also taking a break in the paddy fields until the tide went out.

Once the tide started dropping, they moved to the coast and were already catching crabs. The paddy fields have no view of the sea — can they really sense the tides with an accurate internal clock?

The Whimbrel also moved to the coast as soon as the tide began to ebb.