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

A juvenile female Ruff.

Juvenile Long-toed Stint.

A greyish Long-toed Stint.

There was a Swinhoe's Snipe on the paddy berm.

Marsh Sandpipers moving into winter plumage.

The Marsh Sandpipers were in a flock of eight.

Marsh Sandpiper in winter plumage.

Marsh Sandpipers ranging from juvenile to adult winter plumage — quite a variety.

Common Redshank, mostly in winter plumage.

Wood Sandpipers as numerous as ever.

An adult male Black-winged Stilt.

Pacific Golden Plover in late summer plumage.

Little Ringed Plover in winter plumage.

Whiskered Tern, from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

My first Yellow Wagtail of the season.

At the entrance to the village forestry road, a sign like this has been posted.

A Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle — a National Natural Monument — appeared on the rainy forest road.

Holst's Frog, designated a natural monument of Okinawa Prefecture, turns up here and there once it gets dark.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle I hadn't seen in about a month and a half. It seems to be getting along fine, learning to hunt and so on.

This is the Crested Serpent Eagle on my usual forest road. I spotted a juvenile on the same road — I wonder if it's this individual's offspring.

Ruff, juvenile female.

Little Stint, juvenile. It was associating with Long-toed Stints in the rice paddies.

Long-toed Stint, juvenile. These were the most numerous birds in the paddies.

I thought it was a Little Stint!! but it seems to be just a regular Red-necked Stint. Disappointing….

A Long-toed Stint bathing in the rain.

A Greater Sand Plover that caught a crab. A juvenile, perhaps? It crept up on tiptoe and snapped it up.

Terek Sandpipers were also dashing around the sandy beach catching crabs.

Whimbrels walked along the water's edge, finding crab burrows and probing them with their long bills in search of crabs.

When a Grey-tailed Tattler landed nearby, it let out a mournful-sounding call.

Snipe were also moving into paddies here and there in small groups of several birds, but they are very wary.

Eastern Yellow Wagtails were present in good numbers. I think the wintering birds will continue to increase from here.

My first-ever photograph of a Lesser Crested Tern. It was in winter plumage.

It was making passes at ultra-low altitude like this, catching crabs that poked their heads out of their burrows.

Small crabs were swallowed on the wing, but when it caught a larger crab like this, it would land on the ground, dismember it, and then eat it.

The sky was overcast, but the sun broke through occasionally and lit up the Lesser Crested Tern nicely. I'd love to see one in breeding plumage someday.

A first-winter White-winged Tern resting in a paddy field in the rain.

The downpour finally let up, and I managed my first-ever shot of a male Slaty-legged Crake. A handsome rail.

A juvenile Curlew Sandpiper had come into the paddy field.

It was plunging its bill into the mud to feed, so that prized bill was caked in mud… ^^;

In the same paddy field as the Curlew Sandpiper, one adult Common Redshank. Mostly in winter plumage.

An adult Common Redshank in winter plumage, preening.

There were two Pin-tailed Snipe. The Pin-tailed Snipe on Okinawa Island are relaxed and don't flush like the snipe on Ishigaki.

Temminck's Stint. Adult winter plumage?

Barred Buttonquail, female.

Barred Buttonquail, male.

A female Barred Buttonquail crossed the farm track.

Common Teal. Juvenile, perhaps?

Overall dark and with pointed flank feathers, so a juvenile Common Teal.

The flank feathers show a pointed "V" shape, so a juvenile Common Teal.

Same individual as above.

Barred Buttonquail, female. I was hit by a downpour right after arriving at the Barred Buttonquail spot, but once the rain eased off she came out from the grass. She was a bit too close, so I encouraged her to move a little further away. ^^;

I wonder why Barred Buttonquail almost always seem to turn up wherever there's a flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrows in a field…

Barred Buttonquail. I thought it was a male, but on reflection it might be a female in juvenile plumage transitioning to first-winter.

Pacific Golden Plover in winter plumage, after the rain.

Oriental Pratincole in winter plumage.

Oriental Pratincole, juvenile to first-winter. I expected it to cough up a pellet, but instead it disgorged a whole large grasshopper. Overate?

A few Whimbrels on the tidal mudflat at low tide.

First Pied Avocet of the season found. Spotted it on the very first look after arriving at the spot.

It was eating large numbers of small gastropods, aquatic insects and the like.

On the way back in the evening, it was still foraging in the same spot.

Female Barred Buttonquail. She had a male in tow behind her. As everyone knows, Barred Buttonquail are polyandrous.

A male Barred Buttonquail. He was trotting off away from me, so I used my secret technique to make the bird stop and turn this way. ^^ Most species will freeze for a moment and look over, but it doesn't work a second time on the same individual. ^^;

Another male Barred Buttonquail. His head feathers are in the middle of moulting.

Lately, Light-vented Bulbuls have often been moving around in flocks. A group of a dozen or so was feeding on grass seeds.

Ospreys are turning up more often too. Wintering birds may have started to arrive. During the wintering season on Okinawa Island, you can sometimes see a kettle of around ten Ospreys. ^^

Black-tailed Godwit, juvenile to first-winter.

It was repeatedly dipping its bill in the water and preening busily.

A juvenile Ruff in the same paddy field as the Black-tailed Godwit.

This juvenile Ruff was encountered in a field. Insects swarming in the compost seemed to be providing food for the birds, and a good number had gathered.

Pacific Golden Plovers showed up as well.

Ruddy Turnstones arrived in a flock of several dozen. Most were juveniles.

Eastern Yellow Wagtails had also gathered in large numbers.

A few Sanderlings on the coast. My first encounter with the species on the main island.

There were two Eurasian Teals.

I haven't had many chances to photograph Barred Buttonquail on Ishigaki Island, so I should get some shots while I can.

A pair of Barred Buttonquail. Nearly every Barred Buttonquail I encounter is in a pair.

A pair of male Barred Buttonquail, but they get along well.

White-faced Wagtail in summer plumage.

Another White-faced Wagtail.

A Ruff was still present too. With food this abundant, it will probably stick around for a while.

Ruddy Turnstone. The blurry shapes in the background are all Ruddy Turnstones too. There were an incredible number of them.

Grey-tailed Tattler.

Pacific Golden Plovers had increased since the other day, with over a dozen gathered together.

A Eurasian Curlew on the coast. Handheld at 1200mm is rough… ^^;

There were also 2 Far Eastern Curlews nearby, but a selfie-taking couple flushed them… I'll try again tomorrow.

The Eurasian Curlew was catching crabs one after another.

A Black-tailed Godwit busily foraging in the rice paddies.

I'm seeing Ruffs here and there. Is it a big year for them?

A juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. I was thinking it would have been nice if it were a Pectoral Sandpiper — then I found a Pectoral Sandpiper in the next paddy over!! That's the photo below.

A different individual from the one above. This is the one I photographed thinking "That's a Pectoral Sandpiper!!" But on closer look, could it be a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper? ^^;

Thought so, but after tips from SHORE BIRDS IN JAPAN and Eta, it turned out to be a Pectoral Sandpiper!! A lifer for me. ^^ Many thanks to you both!! Still, it's impressive that Eta could pick it out without ever having seen a Pectoral Sandpiper. ^^;

Marsh Sandpipers were present in a small flock. Lovely little birds.

Common Redshanks were also in a small group. They were squabbling frequently.

Wood Sandpiper.

Isabelline Shrike — a species that does migrate through Okinawa Island, though in small numbers.

The orange of the Isabelline Shrike glowed beautifully in the evening light.

The second Pied Avocet of the season. It was distant and the atmospheric conditions were poor — tough shooting all around. ^^;

A dozing Pied Avocet. When the tide came in it was resting together with Whimbrels and others.

A Common Redshank caught a Metaplax elegans.

A Whimbrel also got a Metaplax elegans.

A Common Sandpiper crossing right in front of me.

Metaplax elegans, prey for the shorebirds. Is this why they're so easy to catch? ^^;

There are also many mudskippers (Periophthalmus modestus) at Manko.

As the tide comes in, the sandpipers return to the shore. Common Redshanks rendezvousing.

At high tide, Whimbrels also return to the shore.

A female Common Kingfisher appeared right in front of me. Beautiful.