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

A Eurasian Hoopoe foraging as it walks around a lawn with small flowers in bloom.

A particularly unwary Hoopoe came within a few metres of me.

Startled by a crow, it fanned out its crest.

It was using a rock on a steep slope as a perch.

Tossed a cockroach into the air and snapped it up.

A spring-like Eurasian Hoopoe surrounded by purple Ryukyu violets and yellow flowers.

A Tundra Swan that has been staying since January. Its face has grown to look much like an adult's.

An adult male Brown Shrike that has caught a locust. A wintering bird that has been holding the same paddy field as its territory since late last year.

The male Common Redstarts have nearly disappeared — perhaps they have already moved on to their breeding grounds — leaving only females behind.

Adult winter-plumage Long-toed Stint. A small number winter here, but this flock of eight was on migration.

First-winter Long-toed Stint.

An Izu Thrush that wintered in the rice paddies this season. It will probably disappear before long.

Adult male White Wagtail (leucopsis) in summer plumage.

Adult male White Wagtail (leucopsis). Moulting from winter into summer plumage.

Mallard, a relatively uncommon bird on Ishigaki Island.

Adult female Eurasian Teal.

Female Northern Shoveler in non-breeding plumage.

Spot-billed Duck is resident on Ishigaki year-round, but numbers temporarily surge during the spring and autumn migration seasons as birds passing through are added to the mix.

Adult male Pine Bunting. A beautiful individual. ^^

From the other side. The Pine Bunting was eating something that had fallen on the farm track or the ridge between paddies.

A Pine Bunting showing some wariness at my presence. This individual was quite alert, and getting this close took considerable effort. ^^;

The back of the Pine Bunting. In flight, the white outer tail feathers and the rufous-chestnut on the wings are very conspicuous. The bird in flight looked every bit an Emberiza. ^^

It poked its head out from the grass along the paddy ridge. It spent a lot of time tucked into the vegetation, and once lost it was quite a struggle to find again.

It landed on a distant paddy ridge.

The Pine Bunting was eating what appeared to be the dried stems of a grass plant visible in the photo.

On the farm track it was also eating dried grass stems.

How many years before I see one again? Could easily be ten or more years down the line… ^^;

A rather wary Eurasian Hoopoe. It was reluctant to come down from the branch.

An individual with weaker-than-usual wariness for a dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard.

The star of Ishigaki Island, a male Pine Bunting. Buntings other than Chestnut-eared Bunting are rarely encountered in Okinawa.

As its stay lengthened, the Pine Bunting relaxed its guard a little and became somewhat easier to photograph.

Adult male Ryukyu Pygmy Falcon. Astonishingly small when seen up close. And beautiful. ^^

A Ryukyu Night Heron hatched last year. It is frequently seen foraging along the prefectural road. Worried about traffic accidents.

Female Brown Shrike. It was catching insects appearing in the lawn.

Male Dusky Thrush in first-winter plumage. It will soon depart for its breeding grounds and be gone.

An individual on a forest road, believed to be a male Crested Serpent Eagle.

A pair with the individual above. Presumed to be a female.

Two Crested Serpent Eagles flying over farmland. The individual on the left is a female known as "Point." The one on the right is a male with dark eyes. They were actively engaged in display flight.

A Malayan Night Heron with its face turned blue in breeding plumage.

A Common Shelduck on a long stay. A Pied Avocet also on a long stay at the same location.

A male Common Kingfisher nearby.

Eurasian Hoopoe at the reliable spot. Another individual turned up as well.

Scaly Thrush found on a forest road. First of the season. I leaned out of the car and forced the shot. ^^;

Adult male Malayan Night Heron. Nuptial coloration has come in and the face has turned blue.

The female of the pair above. Also in nuptial color. Last year this pair successfully raised one chick.

Purple Heron in flight. The autofocus tracked the eye solidly.

A Cattle Egret in flight. Eye tracking locked on perfectly here too.

The perched Purple Heron responded solidly as well.

A Cattle Egret with a broken wing. Numbers have been building with the spring migration, but occasionally you come across an injured bird like this. Probably flew into a power line.

A Common Kingfisher on the coast. The kingfisher is the one exception where eye AF locks on even at this size.

My first Temminck's Stint of the season. There was just one, mixed in with a flock of Little Ringed Plovers and Long-toed Stints.

Long-toed Stint, first-winter plumage.

A flock of Black-winged Stilts. Eye AF didn't respond at all. Hoping for firmware support at some point.

Eastern Spot-billed Ducks on migration have arrived and numbers are up. Eye AF nailed these too.

The Ryukyu Bulbul isn't a bird I usually photograph, but I pressed it into service as a test subject for eye AF. Whether it was facing front or turning sideways, the AF kept right on the eye.

Far Eastern Curlew, first-winter plumage. Just a hint of summer plumage still showing.

Adult male (right) and adult female Garganey. Both in breeding plumage.

Three Garganey, all in breeding plumage.

Two Chinese Pond Herons in the same paddy field. First-winter plumage.

Adult winter Temminck's Stint. Three individuals were moving with a flock of Little Ringed Plovers.

A flock of Grey Herons apparently stopping over on migration. Their breeding colours are starting to show — very much a spring-passage feel.

A male (Yellow-browed) Yellow Wagtail, almost completely into summer plumage.

Common Greenshanks are gradually increasing in number. Still in winter plumage. Also on the shore were Ruddy Turnstones, Lesser Sand Plovers and Greater Sand Plovers.

A Tundra Swan eating freshly planted seedlings. Lucky it was a kind-hearted farmer.

An adult Iriomote Tit. Sex unknown.

A juvenile Iriomote Tit. You can't really tell it apart from the Japanese Tit or the Amami Tit until it reaches adult plumage.

The adults are constantly on alert for Large-billed Crows and Japanese Sparrowhawks.

The Iriomote Tit has a different kind of charm from the Ishigaki Tit.

It appeared to be hanging from a branch to catch a tiny insect.

A Pin-tailed Snipe that was relatively unguarded. Photographed from inside the car at a distance of a few metres.

About ten metres from the individual above, another bird — this one a Common Snipe.

Common Mynas have been increasing lately. Seven were at a ground golf course.

A Crested Serpent Eagle crossing a paddy field. They are very easy to spot at this time of year.

A male Ryukyu Scops Owl calling for a female from the nest tree used last year as well. Once the breeding season gets going the feathers become quite ragged, but at this point they're still looking neat. ^^

Same individual as above. Whenever another male appeared, it chased him off without hesitation.

A distant Pied Avocet.

A young Black-faced Spoonbill.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle on a sprinkler in a sugarcane field.

This juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle was found while I was checking on Ryukyu Scops Owl breeding.

A Western Osprey that comes to bathe in the same paddy field almost every evening.