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

A Ruddy Kingfisher chick a few days after fledging. It was flying around freely.

The female bringing a centipede to the chick. Impossible to photograph the feeding — the chick was flying all over the place!!

This is the male.

There are two Malayan Night Heron chicks. They should fledge in another two weeks or so.

A female Japanese Sparrowhawk keeping watch from outside the nest.

The nest of the individual above. I could see the shadow of a chick moving.

Oriental Pratincole feeding a grasshopper to a chick.

This one is considerably more developed and was already catching prey on its own.

This chick practising flight.

Successful landing.

A parent bringing prey.

This juvenile already appears able to catch prey on its own.

Oriental Pratincole, adult.

It flew close by occasionally.

Landing. Moulting while raising chicks. I wonder if that isn't a strain?

Oriental Pratincole parent and chick. Compared to the sleek adults, the chicks are quite round.

A parent arriving with prey. Shortly after, it spotted its chick and ran over to it.

Once they've grown to about this size, they can fly a little.

The skies were surprisingly clear for the rainy season, ground temperatures rose, and the Oriental Pratincoles looked like they were struggling with the heat.

The female bringing in a gecko.

The male caught a Large Brown Cicada that had landed on the blind and carried it to the chick. The blind suddenly lurched with a loud thud and gave me a start… ^^; The blind is tough going, but it kills your presence, and it's fun when all sorts of creatures besides birds show up. ^^

Shooting at ISO 6400–12800 due to the low light!!

The male keeping watch in front of the nest.

Raising chicks in a Formosan subterranean termite mound that is practically at ground level. There appear to be about four chicks. When a parent brought food to the nest, sometimes three beaks were visible simultaneously.

This one is incubating in a spot with absolutely no cover — you can see the tip of the bill. I hope it escapes any crow attacks.

A Glaucous-winged Gull preening after a bath at the usual river mouth.

A Greater Crested Tern turning up for a bath.

Pale-capped Pigeon, adult male.

Pale-capped Pigeons are often found among flocks of Oriental Turtle-Doves, but this time it was Pale-capped Pigeons only.

First Long-toed Stint of the season. Late summer plumage.

Wood Sandpipers are increasing in number too. Probably first-summer plumage.

Common Greenshank, winter plumage.

Zitting Cisticola juvenile. Three birds, apparently siblings, were moving around together.

Still showing a lot of juvenile features.

The classic Zitting Cisticola perched shot. ^^

There are two Eurasian Coots summering here. Summering individuals have been recorded on Okinawa Island for several years now, and birds staying through the summer have started appearing on Ishigaki Island as well.

The second chick to fledge.

Photographed just a few minutes after fledging — looking quite dignified already.

Before fledging, it would poke its head out and pull it back in, as if taking in the outside world for the first time.

A juvenile Ryukyu Night Heron with down still remaining on the crown as a vestige of its chick days.

A this-year's Purple Heron. Its hunting skills still seem to have a long way to go.

A Common Moorhen parent and chick.

A Ruddy Kingfisher raising chicks. When a crow approached the nest it would drive it away.

A Cattle Egret with a broken right wing. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely to ever fly again.

A female Ryukyu Scops Owl.

A male Ryukyu Scops Owl.

A male Ryukyu Scops Owl. The female still appeared to be inside the tree hollow.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl, several days after fledging and now flying freely about.

Common Redshank, first-summer plumage.

Greater Sand Plover, first-summer plumage.

Also Greater Sand Plover, first-summer plumage. Common Greenshank behind.

Wood Sandpiper, first-summer plumage.

The number of Black-winged Stilts keeps going up and down.

White-winged Tern moulting into summer plumage.

A flock of Little Terns came to bathe at the river mouth.

A Brown Hawk-Owl chick three days after fledging. The sight of two nestled close together is truly endearing.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl chick climbing up the nest hole. It will fledge soon.

The female Ryukyu Scops Owl keeping watch over the chick above. The male was also nearby, a short distance away.

Male Ryukyu Scops Owl. The female here is still inside the nest, so it will be a little while longer before fledging.

Beautiful Hoya carnosa was blooming along the forest road.

A female Japanese Paradise Flycatcher with an Archineura incarnata it has caught.

Beating it against the branch.

It was beaten so hard the head came off.

Managed to pluck the wings.

Maybe because the prey was so large — after swallowing it, the bird stayed perched in this posture for some time.

Nearby, a Brown Hawk-Owl. The pupils are wide open in the very dim conditions. ^^

There were three Malayan Night Heron chicks, a few days after fledging. All three were close together, waiting for the parent to return with food.

Black-winged Kite, juvenile. In contrast to the vivid red eyes of the adult, the juvenile's eyes are grey-brown.

The white feather edges typical of juveniles are prominent on the back, wing coverts, and elsewhere.

After staying with the parents for about a month and growing to around this size, they become capable of hunting on their own.

Oriental Pratincole chick. It can barely fly yet.

At around this stage they become able to fly, and when crows or other birds approach they call out in alarm.

The parent bird. Temperatures on Ishigaki Island exceeded 33°C, and heat haze made everything hazy. ^^;

A female Crimson Dove, also blurry from heat shimmer in the atmosphere.

It was bathing in a puddle in the rice fields.

A male Ryukyu Dwarf Bittern coming out of the bushes.

It noticed my presence and stretched its neck to check me out.

A juvenile Purple Heron. It has a different kind of beauty from the adult.

An individual that appears to be the parent of the juvenile above.

A Whiskered Tern with prey caught.

You can clearly see the moult progressing into winter plumage.

It was flying back and forth over the rice fields, scooping up prey from the water.

A male Greater Painted-snipe. I was looking for snipe, so it got my hopes up for nothing. ^^;

A Wood Sandpiper just barely still in late summer plumage.

A Common Redshank moulting from summer to winter plumage.

A Common Greenshank also transitioning to winter plumage.

Only one Long-toed Stint confirmed. Numbers will keep increasing from here.

A Kentish Plover in the process of changing from summer to winter plumage.

A Common Sandpiper also changing into winter plumage.

Little Ringed Plovers — a dozen or so arrived. Late summer plumage.

Black-winged Stilts in a small flock of several birds. Numbers will increase going forward.

A Grey Heron caught a fish that looked like a conger eel.

The second chick to fledge.

The eldest chick, which had fledged the day before.

The female parent, wings spread, looking hot.

And the male parent. Looks hot… ^^;

A male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher. Paired with this female.

An Ishigaki Bulbul carrying food to the nest.

A Ruddy Kingfisher that has finished breeding. Taking it easy before migrating to its wintering grounds.

Crested Serpent Eagles have been turning up more often lately.

A Japanese Night Heron sunbathing in a peculiar pose.

It was striking all sorts of poses.

Two juvenile Japanese Night Herons competing for food from a parent.

A sibling of the two above. The chick that missed out on food was calling sadly. Hear the actual call in the video below.

A Greater Sand Plover holding a crab claw in its bill.

A Greater Sand Plover bathing. Moulting into winter plumage.

Another Greater Sand Plover.

A Greater Sand Plover moulting from summer to winter plumage.

This one also moulting from summer to winter plumage.

A Greater Sand Plover with winter plumage coming in.

A Greater Sand Plover moulting from first-summer to winter plumage.

A flock of around a dozen Greater Sand Plovers.

There were a few Lesser Sand Plovers mixed in with the Greater Sand Plover flock, but only three.

Lesser Sand Plover in late breeding plumage.

First Grey Plover of the season on the sandy beach stretching from the river mouth. Quite a distance away, and heat shimmer made the air waver — totally blurry. ^^;

Common Redshank in late breeding plumage.

Grey-tailed Tattler transitioning to winter plumage.

Common Greenshank in first-summer plumage.

Long-toed Stint in late breeding plumage.

Little Ringed Plover in late breeding plumage.

A colony of Black-naped Terns. Some chicks appear to have hatched, and birds were carrying food.

A Black-naped Tern carrying prey.

Whiskered Terns have been increasing in number too.

A Ruddy Kingfisher with little wariness.

A female Japanese Paradise Flycatcher.

While watching the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, some Warbling White-eyes started mating.

A Whimbrel that caught a crab. It is in the process of moulting into winter plumage.

A pair of Pacific Reef Herons — which should be living along the coast — had landed on a lawn.

July 8. The female incubating.

July 12. The female feeding a chick four days after hatching. The prey is a grasshopper.

July 13. The male parent also helps with chick-rearing by bringing food, though less frequently.

July 13. The female returning with a moth she caught.

Twelve Caspian Terns had taken refuge on the sandy beach.

A Greater Crested Tern startled into flight by a strong wave that suddenly surged in.

Handheld in a gale, so it's very blurry. ^^;

Greater Crested Terns flying in tandem.

Greater Sand Plover, 1st-year summer plumage moulting into winter plumage.

Greater Sand Plover, adult. In moult to winter plumage.

Red-necked Stint, 1st-year summer plumage moulting into winter plumage.

Red-necked Stint, adult. Almost in full winter plumage.

Grey Plover, 1st-year summer plumage. Appears to be the same individual as the other day.

An Osprey was eating a fish. There were two of them — a bit early for migration, so perhaps summering birds?

Common Redshank, juvenile plumage moulting into 1st-winter plumage.

Common Redshanks are increasing, with a dozen or so birds confirmed at multiple locations.

Common Greenshank, late summer plumage.

Terek Sandpiper, late summer plumage.

Greater Sand Plover, moulting into winter plumage.

Greater Sand Plover, winter plumage.

Whimbrel, winter plumage.

July 19 — chicks around 10 days after hatching. At this point it became apparent there were apparently about 5 chicks.

The mother.

A parent bringing a beetle.

Typhoon No. 6 snapped the nest tree and sent all 5 chicks tumbling out; they were rescued at 6:26 p.m. on the 23rd.

Five hours after the rescue. Warming and drying with two dehumidifiers had brought it around enough to sit up properly.

July 24, the day the artificial nest was installed. At first it was wary, but unable to hold out against the chicks' begging calls, it started bringing food.

The artificial nest in its full glory. Clearly suspicious-looking… ^^;

The nest box itself, up close.

A Ruddy Kingfisher carrying prey.

The prey looks like a large grasshopper.

The autofocus on the SONY α1 is remarkable. It doesn't miss focus even when a small bird is coming straight at the camera.

Day three after installing the artificial nest, one day before fledging. The chicks' feathers have filled in considerably.

I shoot with the car window open about 20 cm and a blind covering it.

Maybe the duct tape is slippery — mid-air feeding.

July 27. The Ruddy Kingfisher chicks are spending more and more time peering outside, looking ready to fledge any day now.

Five days since the rescue, four days since being returned to the parents — the Ruddy Kingfishers have finally fledged!! The first to go was neither of the two individuals shown with their heads out at the top.

It doesn't seem able to perch on branches yet and is moving around on foot. The four remaining in the nest also look healthy. It will probably take another two or three days for all of them to fledge.

A summer-plumaged Lesser Crested Tern flying around near the breakwater.

The Black-naped Tern is making a second breeding attempt.

The first Eurasian Coot of the season on migration.

Terek Sandpipers are gradually increasing along the shore. Adult in late summer plumage.

Long-toed Stint, first-summer plumage.

The chick that fledged on July 27, photographed on its third day out. The sheaths covering the feathers have come off and it's looking noticeably cuter. ^^

The second chick fledged around 4:30 p.m. on the 28th, the day after the first. The feathers on the head are still covered in white sheaths.

The first chick to fledge. It has started moving around little by little.

Same individual as above. It came out into a slightly open spot and called out to advertise its presence to the parent bringing food.

July 29. Only 2 remain in a nest that had 5 chicks. One fledged each day on the 27th, 28th, and 29th, but none fledged on the 30th. These last 2 finally fledged on the 31st.