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

A Pomarine Skua attacking a Bulwer's Petrel.

Bulwer's Petrel.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

Streaked Shearwater.

Black-footed Albatross, juvenile.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

Red-footed Booby, subadult.

Laysan Albatross.

Laysan Albatross, juvenile.

Black-footed Albatross, juvenile.

Laysan Albatross, adult.

Red-footed Booby.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater. Something odd about the bill colour?

Bonin Petrel.

A clash between a Brown Booby and a Red-footed Booby.

Red-footed Booby — tail feathers are dark and the underwing is also dusky, so a young bird?

A Brown Booby catches a needlefish.

Bulwer's Petrel.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

Bulwer's Petrel.

Pale Thrush??

Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

The bird to the left of the Bonin White-eye is a fledgling.

Bonin White-eyes are everywhere. This one is eating papaya fruit at a private residence.

A Bonin White-eye after bathing.

Fledglings of the Long-billed Bush Warbler could also be seen here and there.

This one is a sibling of the Long-billed Bush Warbler above.

The Long-billed Bush Warbler was accompanied by several chicks.

Fledgling Blue Rock Thrushes are all over the place too.

The Japanese White-eye is apparently an introduced species. There were a lot of them.

Oriental Pratincoles on the playing field.

There were also a few Pacific Golden Plovers on the same field as the Oriental Pratincoles above.

Two Eurasian Coots at the dam.

When I went to the fishing port at night, there were fish absolutely everywhere. ^^;

This is what I came to see. Ryukyu Wood Pigeon. Beautiful.

The back is beautiful too.

There were two Bonin Grosbeak — I hadn't expected to encounter them at all.

A fledgling Long-billed Bush Warbler. It had just left the nest.

Bonin Blue-tailed Skinks were concentrated around the north harbor area.

On Chichijima I encountered many Bonin Buzzards, whereas I hadn't come across any on Hahajima.

Just like on Hahajima, Chichijima also had plenty of fledglings — Blue Rock Thrush, Japanese White-eye, Long-billed Bush Warbler and others.

There was one White-winged Tern at the dam.

A Great Egret was also at the same dam as the White-winged Tern.

From the EOS-1D X Mark II onward, all-point autofocus works at f/8, so I gave it a test. I photographed White-winged Terns flying around the coast. Conditions were good, but the tracking was spot-on.

The Osprey coming straight at me is also in sharp focus. This too is the 600mm with a 2× extender at f/8, autofocus. The EOS-1D X Mark II is feeling good.

At first I couldn't tell what it was, but a look through the binoculars revealed a Great Knot.

There was also one Pectoral Sandpiper.

About ten Marsh Sandpipers.

There were roughly as many Common Greenshanks as Marsh Sandpipers.

A few Little Terns as well.

Gray-tailed Tattler. It looks like winter plumage — what's going on?

A Japanese Paradise Flycatcher incubating. Shot with the EOS-1D X Mark II. You can see the improvement over the EOS-1D X.

Also a Japanese Paradise Flycatcher incubating. Shot with the EOS-1D X. The EOS-1D X Mark II renders brighter exposures, and noise appears improved as well. The silent shooting on the EOS-1D X Mark II is very quiet, making it ideal for nest situations. ^^ The standard shutter sound is also quieter than before.

A male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher brought in a large Joro Spider. The chicks are now able to handle prey this large.

A male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher waiting for a chick to produce a fecal sac.

At this Japanese Paradise Flycatcher nest, the ratio of food deliveries is roughly three males to one female. Nest construction was done almost entirely by the female, but the males appear to be quite cooperative when it comes to feeding.

A male Brown Hawk-Owl keeping watch over the nest in a belly-baring pose. Relaxed, but keeping a close eye on my movements.

It seems to react when it hears the calls of crows.

The combination of the 600mm f/4 and the 1D X Mark II with a handheld standing shot — no blur. Shutter speed was 1/200.

The image stabilizer on the 600mm is doing its job, but at the same time the new 1D X Mark II clearly has less mirror shock than the 1D X, and I think that's also contributing.

A male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher bringing in a moth.

Every prey item the female Japanese Paradise Flycatcher brought was a moth.

The male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher often brought Joro Spiders. The male and female are using different foraging areas.

This one is busy incubating.

The male was a hard worker again today. We humans could learn something from the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher… ^^;

Unlike yesterday, today the male brought mostly moths.

The female brought in a jet-black Giant Joro Spider.

Almost fledging time, yet parent and chick look like they belong to different species.

Stretching vigorously.

Dozing in the heat.

A fledgling. It was about three metres from the nest. Anyone who didn't know would never guess it was a Japanese Paradise Flycatcher chick.

This individual was flying around freely. ^^ Looks aside, it already has full flight capability and can fly up from low perches to higher ones.

This Japanese Paradise Flycatcher nest is in the incubation stage. Expected to hatch June 11; expected to fledge June 21.

It brought in a Giant Joro Spider.

The next prey item was a moth. These two species make up the main prey of the Japanese Paradise Flycatchers in this area.

A Brown Hawk-Owl in such an open spot. Perhaps because there are fewer crows — its natural enemy — here.

A Brown Hawk-Owl bathed in the evening sun.

This male Ryukyu Robin was still singing.

A male this year's juvenile. Juveniles are less wary and keep approaching closer and closer.

Today, they were seen perching on branches quite often, not just near the ground.

Today's Ryukyu Robins were all males. Where did the females go?

This is the aggressive male. He was terrifying… ^^;

This is how they come at you.

This is the most docile of the Brown Hawk-Owls. A male.

The Brown Hawk-Owl pair from above. Looking ragged, maybe worn out from incubation. ^^;

This Brown Hawk-Owl is also fine with people.

The female took a while to find, but she was in a strange spot. No good angle for a photo, but she was in plain sight. So completely out in the open that it was actually hard to spot her. ^^;

Remains found below the roost of the pair above. A Pale Thrush, perhaps?

An individual, presumably the male, gazing at the tree cavity where they are nesting.

Same individual as above. Unlike the Oriental Scops Owl, Brown Hawk-Owls show a considerable size difference between male and female.

This is the female Brown Hawk-Owl. She looks noticeably larger than the male. She too is peering into the nest with what seems like keen interest.

The most developed chick. Looks like it will be a few more days before fledging.

This is the second one. The white down is still very prominent. Whether Brown Hawk-Owl or Oriental Scops Owl, they're at their cutest when covered in this white down. ^^