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

A parent Ruddy Kingfisher bringing prey. Extremely wary — I shot from quite a distance, hidden in the undergrowth. On top of that, the backlight made conditions poor. ^^;

There were 4 chicks. Fledging is expected in 4–5 days.

The image quality is poor — distant, dark, and backlit, a triple handicap — so I can't make out what prey it has brought.

At the pond, a Common Kingfisher was moving back and forth in front of the Ruddy Kingfisher's nest hole. It may be nesting somewhere nearby as well.

While the chicks were still in the nest, I estimated today would be around fledging time, but from the look of things it seems a few more days are needed.

Hard to tell from the photo, but the second and third chicks were also rescued safely.

Just before fledging, these pin feathers burst open and the plumage emerges from inside. I wonder if it's a mechanism to keep the feathers clean while still in the nest.

A Ruddy Kingfisher chick that fell into the pond and climbed back out on its own. The water's edge is right at the bottom of the frame.

Just the other day a friend and I were saying, "If those chicks fledge, they'll probably fall straight into the pond" — "But they can swim, so it should be fine." I never imagined one would fall in before fledging at all… ^^;

The chick returned to the nest. Normally you can see the chicks poking out from the entrance, each trying to be first to get food from the parent, but they seemed quite shaken and were pressing themselves against the wall inside the nest.

A large hole gaping open on the opposite side from the entrance — straight through to the other side. I wonder what made a hole this big.

Watching from a distance, the parent landed on a tree right in front of me. Ruddy Kingfishers are so wary — it was over in an instant.

A Ruddy Kingfisher looking toward the nest. Female, maybe.

It feels like the first real shot of a Ruddy Kingfisher I've gotten in a while. That's how wary the Ruddy Kingfishers on the Okinawa mainland are. Completely different from the Yaeyamas.

A Ruddy Kingfisher chick that had fallen outside the nest.

If it stays still it blends right into the ground and is easy to miss. The breast feathers are quite well grown in already.

Of the three chicks returned to the nest yesterday, two were still inside.

The chick that has been outside since yesterday now has its feather sheaths split open and is starting to look like a proper Ruddy Kingfisher. ^^

There was a squall a little while ago, but it seems to be getting through safely on the slope.

The parent watching over the chicks from close by.

It's such a dark spot with dense trees that I can't get the shots I'd like.

This Ruddy Kingfisher would fly off whenever someone walked past, but after a while it would come back, perch on the same branch, and watch over the chicks.

After a while the rain stopped.

Next year, please find a nest tree that's a little harder to break apart. ^^;

A Land Crab heading toward the sea. It went in up to one or two metres offshore so I couldn't photograph it. Watching with a torch, a few seconds after entering the water it shook its body underwater and released its larvae. The water around the crab was blanketed in larvae, like a smokescreen.

Percnon guinotia.

Benkei crab.

Land hermit crabs were also heading to the sea to spawn.

A Sally-lightfoot crab releasing larvae at the water's edge, spreading its abdomen flap.

A Land Hermit Crab heading back to the hills after successfully releasing its larvae into the sea.

A Sesarma also making its way back to its burrow.

A young Zitting Cisticola, likely hatched this year.

A second bird perched on the same branch as the Zitting Cisticola above.

Afterward, the two flew off together.

A Pacific Golden Plover was on the tidal flat on the north side of Sankaku Pond.

There was 1 Grey-tailed Tattler at Sankaku Pond and 2 more on the nearby tidal flat.

Two Black-winged Stilts at Sankaku Pond.

Two Common Redshanks at Sankaku Pond as well.

About 30 Long-toed Stints.

A Swinhoe's Snipe on the far bank of the pond.

A Grey Heron was pecking at a red-eared slider.

A Common Moorhen incubating eggs in the heat.

Got to see a Greenshank still in partial breeding plumage. ^^

Dragonflies were gathering in large numbers in the drainage channel to lay eggs. I wonder if the Common Greenshank eats dragonfly eggs too?

A few Black-winged Stilts turned up.

Most of the Pacific Golden Plovers were resting on the paddy bunds. They looked tired — perhaps just arrived from migration?

A Little Tern chick begging food from a parent.

An adult Little Tern brought back what looked like a juvenile mullet.

I thought it was going to feed the chick, but it ate the fish itself. ^^;

Offshore, a Black-naped Tern parent and chick were flying together.

A juvenile Black-naped Tern. It was having a go at hunting.

An adult Black-naped Tern.

Adult Little Tern.

A Little Tern family.

Ruddy Turnstone.

A Red-necked Stint bathing.

Grey-tailed Tattler.

Long-toed Stint.

Wood Sandpiper.

Common Sandpiper.

Kentish Plover.

Little Ringed Plover.

A squabble between a Black-crowned Night Heron and a white-morph Pacific Reef Heron over fishing territory.

The white-morph Pacific Reef Heron making its escape.

This was the closest it got. I quickly removed the 2× extender and shot handheld at 600mm from the bridge, worrying the whole time about dropping my camera onto the mudflat below.

A Collared Kingfisher with a strikingly beautiful blue back.

A Collared Kingfisher perched on a mangrove branch. It seemed to be a favourite perch — the bird returned to it again and again.

The feet are muddy, probably from dropping down to the mudflat to catch crabs. I would love to see a feeding sequence someday.

The beautiful back of the Collared Kingfisher. I was shooting from the bridge, and every time a large vehicle passed the bridge shuddered up and down, making it extremely difficult to get a sharp shot. This image is blurred as well.

A Collared Kingfisher scratching its head.

I would have liked a better view of the back, but I am grateful to have seen the Collared Kingfisher at all — a first record for Okinawa Island.

Even at the closest point, the Collared Kingfisher was several tens of metres away.

Today it seemed to favour this particular tree, returning to it several times.

The Collared Kingfisher would drop to the mudflat and catch crabs. It was not the lightning-fast strike I expected — instead it would land on the ground and wait for a crab to emerge before grabbing it.

A Collared Kingfisher looking up at the sky. An Eurasian Sparrowhawk occasionally flies over Manko, which seems to make the bird nervous.

A Collared Kingfisher zeroing in on a crab.

The bird was far away and the light was poor, so I could not get the shutter speed up — but here is the Collared Kingfisher in flight.

As the tide began to come in toward high water, a Ryukyu Least Bittern appeared before I even noticed it.

Whimbrels and other waders that visit the Manko mudflat feed heavily on crabs.

Common Greenshanks — a few birds came in. They were strikingly white individuals, having almost completely moulted into winter plumage.

It was distant and in the shadow of the mangroves, but I got to see the Collared Kingfisher again.

The bill is caked with mud. It had probably been taking crabs from the mudflat.

Today's Collared Kingfisher was playing around, picking up mangrove leaves in its bill.

Perhaps the yellow leaves were getting in the way. It appeared to be picking them up and trying to tear them off.

The Collared Kingfisher showed itself in full from the top of a tree, then disappeared into the forest.

The Collared Kingfisher on the same tree as yesterday. I moved left and right along the Yomi Bridge to try to avoid branches getting in the way. ^^;

The Collared Kingfisher seems to dislike other birds such as Brown-eared Bulbuls — whenever one came close, it chased them off.

The Collared Kingfisher is this far away without cropping.

Oriental Pratincole in winter plumage.

It caught what looks like a grasshopper.

Oriental Pratincole in winter plumage?

Oriental Pratincole in winter plumage.

About 10 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were feeding in a ditch. They are in moult.

Red-necked Stint in winter plumage.

Long-toed Stint, first-winter plumage?

Oriental Pratincole, adult winter plumage.

Black-winged Stilt, adult.

A Swinhoe's Snipe on the embankment.

Same individual as above.

A female Yellow Bittern at Manko tidal flat. The Collared Kingfisher did not show up.