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

Javan pond heron Crested serpent eagle Pied Avocet Ruddy Kingfisher Collared Kingfisher

GUIDED BIRDWATCHING TOUR

Go where the birds are. The SHIMASOBA Tour launches.

We'll drive you around Ishigaki Island to wherever the birds are showing best that day. Observation is mostly from inside the vehicle, and we keep it to a maximum of 3 guests so everyone can take their time.

Max. 3 guests 4 hours in the morning Beginners welcome
Check availability and book

タマシギ、ベニバト、ルリビタキ、カンムリワシ、アカショウビンほか

留鳥、渡り鳥ともにぎやかな石垣島です。

タマシギは、あちこちでペアが形成されています。順調な繁殖を期待します。

ジシギはハリオシギ、チュウジシギ、タシギと初認しているのですが、今季はハリオシギが少ないようで、なかなか見つかりません。もともと春のジシギは少ないので難しいですね。タシギはぼちぼち通過しています。

牧場のベニバトはオスとメスを確認。たまに農地側に降りますが、牧場側に降りると敷地外からは見えません。^^;

美しいルリビタキのオスが飛来していました。アンパルでは今季初のホウロクシギを確認しました。

田んぼに赤いカルガモを発見。一瞬、アカノドカルガモかと思いましたが、ただ赤いだけのカルガモでした。鉄分が多い水場にでもつかっていたのでしょうか?

アカショウビンは数を順調に増やし、いつもの場所にいつものメンバーが帰ってきています。

Greater Painted-snipe
Greater Painted-snipe

A female Greater Painted-snipe. With the breeding season under way, sightings have been increasing.

Greater Painted-snipe
Greater Painted-snipe

Hard to make out, but a male (left) and female Greater Painted-snipe.

Common Snipe
Common Snipe

Extremely distant, but two Common Snipe. Snipe in spring are a rare find.

Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove

A male Red Turtle Dove. Two birds confirmed today. A relatively long stay.

Red-flanked Bluetail
Red-flanked Bluetail

A male Red-flanked Bluetail. Beautiful and charming.

Red-flanked Bluetail
Red-flanked Bluetail

This Red-flanked Bluetail was moving around in low spots the whole time.

Crested Serpent Eagle
Crested Serpent Eagle

An adult Crested Serpent Eagle. It was somewhere I rarely see them.

Far Eastern Curlew
Far Eastern Curlew

A Far Eastern Curlew moulting from first-winter into summer plumage.

Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Eastern Spot-billed Duck

A red Spot-billed Duck. I was startled for a moment, wondering if it was a Red-necked Duck... ^^;

Ruddy Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher

A Ryukyu Kingfisher on a forest road. This is a female.

Categories: 野鳥

滞在9日目のブロンズトキ(動画あり)

4月1日のエイプリルフールに19羽という信じられない数で飛来して、日本中のバードウオッチャーを混乱の渦に陥れたブロンズトキは1羽も欠けることなく石垣島に滞在中です。

Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis

Foraging together in the rice paddies. What appeared to be some kind of larva was the main course.

Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis

Sunlight catches the wing coverts of a Glossy Ibis, revealing a beautiful metallic sheen.

Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis

It looks nothing like Ishigaki Island — more like an African wetland somewhere.

Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis

I thought it might be going for a Golden Apple Snail, but aquatic insects made up most of what it caught.

Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis

Occasionally there were squabbles with a bit of calling, but on the whole they moved through the flock peacefully.

Categories: 野鳥

まだまだヤツガシラ コムクドリも滞在中

漁港近くの公園にヤツガシラが1羽。小さな公園ですが、たまにヤツガシラが観察されます。今季も2羽ほど飛来しています。

石垣島で越冬していたムクドリの仲間はだんだん数が減ってきていますが、私の勤務先と自宅裏のタブノキには熟れた実を食べにコムクドリやカラムクドリ、ムクドリが群れで毎日のようにやってきます。

Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Hoopoe

A Eurasian Hoopoe searching for prey in the planted shrubs at the edge of a park.

Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Hoopoe

Shortly after this, a group with another guide approached carelessly and flushed it. Migratory birds are tired from their long journey — please watch them quietly from a distance.

Chestnut-cheeked Starling
Chestnut-cheeked Starling

Red-cheeked Starlings coming to the Machilus tree behind my house. White-cheeked Starlings and White-shouldered Starlings drop by occasionally as well.

Chestnut-cheeked Starling
Chestnut-cheeked Starling

A female Red-cheeked Starling with a large berry in her bill.

Chestnut-cheeked Starling
Chestnut-cheeked Starling

It seemed too big for the Red-cheeked Starling, and she had quite a struggle swallowing it.

Categories: 野鳥