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

First Garganey of the season.

There were two Eurasian Curlews, but they were flushed every time visitors came.

The other Eurasian Curlew.

Marsh Sandpiper.

Common Greenshank. It was an accustomed individual.

The Black-bellied Tern was in a flock of eight.

Red-necked Stint.

Long-toed Stint.

A snipe thought to be a Pin-tailed Snipe.

While shooting the snipe above, a Eastern Spot-billed Duck dropped down in the foreground. First time posting a Eastern Spot-billed Duck photo on the blog. ^^;

Scaly-breasted Munia, an introduced species.

Common Snipe.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail.

The female Oriental Honey-buzzard that flew closest to me that day.

This male Oriental Honey-buzzard drifting leisurely past with Karatsu Bay in the background.

A female Oriental Honey-buzzard migrating over Niji-no-Matsubara.

Most of the Oriental Honey-buzzards on this migration were females.

Arriving at the observation deck just after 7 a.m., I watched fog roll down from the hills to the west and settle over Niji-no-Matsubara. An incredibly dreamlike scene — my wife and I were both delighted. ^^

When I found them, both had their heads tucked under their wings and were sleeping, but after watching for a while they roused themselves and began to preen.

No foraging behaviour observed. Neither Eurasian Spoonbills nor Black-faced Spoonbills have arrived in Okinawa yet.

An Eurasian Curlew probing its long bill into a crab burrow.

There had been a Far Eastern Curlew here a few days earlier, but only the Eurasian Curlew remained.

A few Eurasian Teals were floating in the paddies.

Black-bellied Tern.

A female Chinese Sparrowhawk. Apparently the autumn migration is running late this year.

A juvenile Chinese Sparrowhawk.

Another juvenile Chinese Sparrowhawk. It was a day dominated by juveniles.

This one is an adult female Chinese Sparrowhawk.

Several kettles formed, but they were too far away to count accurately…

Mixed in among the Chinese Sparrowhawks, the occasional Grey-faced Buzzard would cut through as well.

A disappointing Grey-faced Buzzard migration under overcast skies.

Grey-streaked Flycatchers also seemed to be moving through in good numbers. From the summit observation deck on Mount Nago, I watched a flock of over ten birds move past, and in total more than a hundred and-some individuals were observed flying south.

Five Bean Geese were standing in the paddies. Perhaps a little tired — they rested for a long time in a puddle. They have come quite far south.

White-winged Tern. It was flying around over the sweet potato fields, catching prey.

This one is a Black Tern. Transitioning from breeding to non-breeding plumage. The Black Terns and White-winged Terns were forming a mixed flock.

This one is also a Black Tern.

I thought this was a juvenile White-winged Tern, but it appears to be a juvenile Black Tern. Apparently in juvenile plumage the dark brown shaft-streak markings are more distinctly separated.

Bean Geese resting in the same paddy field as yesterday. Every individual had its bill half open, looking hot.

There were five Bean Geese in total.

Ten Eurasian Teal were split between two paddy fields.

An Oriental Pratincole with eyes half closed, looking tired.

Bill half open — presumably from the heat.

This one is worn out too. The pratincole facing away on the left also has its head feathers raised, in full tired mode.

I wonder whether these Oriental Pratincoles will push on even further south from here.

This Oriental Pratincole was dozing off from time to time.

A Grey-faced Buzzard — natural predator of the Barred Buttonquail. Three Grey-faced Buzzards were spotted on Ikei Island that day.

Rental cars passed back and forth beneath this Grey-faced Buzzard, but it didn't seem to mind.

This one may already have been full — when a large grasshopper flew up in the field right in front of it, the bird just watched.

Grey-faced Buzzard and Brown-eared Bulbul.

The Barred Buttonquails were foraging in the shade of trees to stay out of the Grey-faced Buzzard's sight. The male is in the foreground; the female can be seen faintly in the background.

An adult Grey-faced Buzzard passes directly overhead, but at considerable altitude.

A juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard. Juveniles hatched in Japan in spring set out in autumn on the long journey to their wintering grounds far to the south.

A female Chinese Sparrowhawk passing through as well. The Chinese Sparrowhawk migration peaked last month.

A flock too large to fit in the frame. It was a kettling column of around 60 raptors.

This one was high too. It flew off to the south in no time.

A Grey-faced Buzzard rendezvous.

When a flock of Grey-faced Buzzards appears, the individuals that had been resting in the Yanbaru forest climb frantically to catch up.

Two separate flocks merging into a single kettle.

Adult and juvenile Grey-faced Buzzards.

A Grey-faced Buzzard being attacked by a Japanese Sparrowhawk. The sparrowhawk has bitten onto the buzzard's tail feathers.

A Japanese Sparrowhawk getting behind a Grey-faced Buzzard and kicking it.

A Grey-faced Buzzard hunting for prey in the rice paddies of Kin Town. Both feet are caked in mud.

This Grey-faced Buzzard also hunting in the paddies. Some Grey-faced Buzzards winter on Okinawa Island and elsewhere in the Nansei Islands.

A White-winged Tern flying low over the water searching for prey.

When it spots prey, it wheels sharply and dives.

The bare 600mm f/4 is something else. The White-winged Tern looks so lively. ^^

A juvenile White-winged Tern.

This is also a juvenile White-winged Tern.

Another juvenile White-winged Tern. In the end, there didn't seem to be any Whiskered Terns after all. ^^;

Not an unusual bird by any means, but the light was wrapping around it beautifully — the Black-winged Stilt was glowing. ^^

A juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard circling over the rice paddies.

An adult Grey-faced Buzzard. It was preying on frogs and similar prey.

Juvenile Grey-faced Buzzards were being chased off whenever an adult spotted them. This juvenile was driven away by an adult and came directly overhead. It's keeping a wary eye on the adult in its line of sight. Handheld shooting was tough… ^^;

A kettle of Grey-faced Buzzards. When they're migrating, they fly together without squabbling.

A juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard.

A juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard.

Ospreys are passing through on migration too.

The island visible on the horizon in the middle is Yoron-jima. The weather was fine and it was a day of pleasant breezes.

The first Eurasian Wigeon of the season (right).

This one is a Northern Pintail. Looks tired.

Northern Shoveler (left) and Eurasian Wigeon.

A flock of Eurasian Teal in the irrigation channel.

I noticed a pale-looking plover and it turned out to be a partially leucistic Little Ringed Plover. ^^

The juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard that flew closest to me.

An adult and a juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard flying in tandem.

Killing time by photographing Varied Tits coming around the observation deck. Apparently the Varied Tit found on Okinawa-hontō is the Amami Varied Tit.

A Ryukyu Pygmy Woodpecker also visited several times.

The way the Long-billed Dowitcher was probing its bill into the mud searching for food looked just like a snipe.

The Long-billed Dowitcher wasn't particularly wary, so I was able to photograph and observe it at close range. For some reason it kept following along behind a flock of Black-winged Stilts.

A lifer Long-billed Dowitcher. A charming wader. ^^