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

The Little Stint was at first sitting and resting in a hollow, but there was something about it that felt slightly off. ^^ Still, once it mixes into a flock of Red-necked Stints it gets difficult.

Little Stint and Dunlin. The smaller Little Stint is flying at the front.

It gave me a stretch. Adult winter plumage — would that be right?

A Little Stint sandwiched between Dunlins. The size difference is so obvious there's no chance of confusing it with a Dunlin.

A Little Stint, slightly sleeked down in alarm.

A juvenile Broad-billed Sandpiper was also on the same mudflat as the Little Stint.

Likewise, a Red-necked Stint was on the same mudflat.

A Great Knot moving from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

A Great Knot coming into winter plumage.

A Baikal Teal in eclipse. I never expected a Baikal Teal to turn up on a mudflat.

Juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit. There were several.

Juvenile Grey Plover. Most were adults, but there were a few juveniles too.

Common Greenshank in winter plumage.

A Heuglin's Gull was bathing.

A juvenile Peregrine flushing the waders from the mudflat.

Juvenile Common Snipe. All the snipe were Common Snipe.

Juvenile Marsh Sandpiper.

Adult male Japanese Wagtail. It was great to hear a call completely different from Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, and White Wagtail. ^^

Adult female Japanese Wagtail.

Two Lesser White-fronted Geese arrived together. They looked tired, perhaps having just come in from migration.

A Bean Goose that came in with the Lesser White-fronted Geese.

Managed to get a full-body shot of a Buff-bellied Pipit despite the obstructing grass. The primary projection beyond the coverts and the white stripes on the back are key features.

A look at the face of the Buff-bellied Pipit. The bill is on the thick side.

Buff-bellied Pipit, head-on. The bold streaking on the breast and white belly are prominent.

A Pied Avocet on an extended stay.

An adult female Grey-faced Buzzard flying over the city.

Good numbers of juvenile Grey-faced Buzzards were also recorded.

I was able to see kettles forming repeatedly. The sky was unfortunately overcast, but it offered a glimpse of the Grey-faced Buzzards' spectacular migration.

A Grey-faced Buzzard flying against the backdrop of the Okinawa Electric Power Company chimney.

Two Lesser White-fronted Geese that have been present for four days.

Bean Goose (left) and Greater White-fronted Goose.

Juvenile Black-bellied Tern.

Pheasant-tailed Jacana moulting from juvenile into first-winter plumage.

It was walking around the paddies foraging.

After a while it disappeared into the grass. With bad weather likely to persist, it should stay around for some time.

Juvenile Common Snipe.

Almost all the snipe are Common Snipe. A few Swinhoe's Snipe remain but will depart before long.

First Northern Shoveler of the season. Juvenile male.

Adult male Eurasian Wigeon in eclipse plumage.

Female Eurasian Wigeon in non-breeding plumage.

Juvenile (right) and adult White-rumped Sandpiper.

Long-toed Stint numbers have dropped compared to the peak of migration.

Red-necked Stint numbers are also declining.

Dunlin in winter plumage. Dunlin are currently staying in the rice fields and along the coast.

Swinhoe's Snipe have become much less numerous. It seems almost all the Pin-tailed Snipe have also moved on.

Juvenile Pheasant-tailed Jacana. It showed no fear of the tractor and was snatching prey turned up by the fieldwork.

A Pheasant-tailed Jacana swimming in deep water.

The breeding season is over and chances to see Crested Serpent Eagles are increasing.

Two Lesser White-fronted Geese.

A Bean Goose associating with the Lesser White-fronted Geese. It seemed to be acting as lookout much of the time.

Greater White-fronted Geese in flight. A flock of twelve, adults and juveniles together.

Juvenile Yellow Bittern. Last year was an exceptionally good year for Yellow Bitterns, and this year I am also seeing them often.

A juvenile Common Snipe hiding along a paddy bund.

A flock of Black-winged Stilts was bathing in a rice field.

First Pectoral Sandpiper of the season — a juvenile.

Pectoral Sandpiper.

It was a triple handicap — dark, distant, and strong wind — but I managed to get a photograph somehow.

A Temminck's Stint in the same rice field as the Pectoral Sandpiper.

Juvenile Garganey.

A Red-throated Pipit I finally managed to photograph.

Female White Wagtail. Mid-moult into winter plumage.

Is it a White-faced Wagtail or a Siberian Wagtail?

A Red-rumped Swallow resting on the ground to escape the strong wind.

A Barn Swallow resting on a farm road.

A Grey-streaked Flycatcher in front of my house.

The second Buff-breasted Sandpiper of the season. Like yesterday's bird, this one was also a juvenile.

A front-on shot brings out the features of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper well.

Marsh Sandpiper in winter plumage.

Dunlin in winter plumage.

Little Stint in winter plumage.

There was a Wood Sandpiper with an injured left wing.

Black-bellied Tern, juvenile.

Northern Lapwing, juvenile.

This one also a juvenile.

A Crested Serpent Eagle in an elementary school playground. With the breeding season over, encounters with Crested Serpent Eagles have become more frequent.

A Crested Serpent Eagle on a forest road. This individual shows little wariness.

Common Kestrels and Peregrine Falcons have been increasing in number too. Every time a raptor flies through, the wagtail flocks get shuffled around. ^^;

A Buff-breasted Sandpiper juvenile still present.

Dunlin in winter plumage.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Dunlin.

The first Rosy Starling of the season. It was a juvenile.

Rosy Starling and Northern Lapwing.

Red-throated Pipits arrived in a flock of several tens of birds.

Hidden behind grass — barely got any shots.

The culprit that flushed the flock of small birds… ^^l

Adult male Eurasian Collared Dove. Going back and forth between the power lines and the paddies.

First Siberian Stonechat of the season.

Garganey are arriving in good numbers this season. There is almost always a Garganey mixed into the Eurasian Teal flocks.

A Lesser White-fronted Goose is also staying on. I have a feeling it will be a long visit.

Mallard — a rare bird for Okinawa. It was associating with Spot-billed Ducks.

Juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (left) and adult in late breeding plumage.

At this time of year, the snipe left in the paddies are almost all Common Snipe…

A beautiful juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle.

Female Crested Serpent Eagle.

A Crested Serpent Eagle paired with the individual above.

A Eastern Marsh Harrier quartering over the paddies.

There was some distance, but the birds in the paddy looked alarmed.

Adult Little Whimbrel in late breeding plumage.

The Little Whimbrel appeared to be catching insects for food.

Pacific Golden Plovers arrived in a flock of about ten. All were juveniles.

Adult Oriental Pratincole in winter plumage.

The two Lesser White-fronted Geese were keeping a slight distance from the Taiga Bean Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose flock.

A flock of Greater White-fronted Geese and Taiga Bean Geese.

Four Northern Pintails arrived.

A Little Whimbrel soaked by rain and turned completely black. Black enough to be mistaken for a dark morph… ^^;

The Pacific Golden Plovers in the same pasture showed almost no colour change even when wet, but why does the Little Whimbrel turn this colour? Less preen oil in the feathers, perhaps?

A Common Crane on Ishigaki Island. Blown in by the northerly winds that had been raging until a few days ago, perhaps?

A Common Crane in flight. I thought I might be able to read the age from the moult condition, but… I really can't tell. ^^

A male Pink-necked Green Pigeon.

Pied Avocets are not unusual in Okinawa or on Ishigaki Island, but whenever I spot one I find myself reaching for the camera.

A juvenile Yellow Bittern. Good numbers have arrived this season, but as with last year, every one of them is a juvenile.

A juvenile Common Snipe.

Both birds are Common Snipe.

A House Sparrow, appearing again after last year. Within Okinawa Prefecture, in 2018 I found a male on Okinawa Island at Itoman City — the first island record — and last year (2021) I found a female in central Ishigaki Island. This time, unfortunately, it was not my own find; it was discovered by a birdwatcher visiting from outside the island.

Size comparison between a female House Sparrow (centre) and Eurasian Tree Sparrows. It looks noticeably larger.

A House Sparrow bathing.

Seen head-on, the House Sparrow's pallor really stands out.

After bathing it perched on some pampas grass and relaxed.

An adult male Pink-necked Green Pigeon. It was mixed in with a flock of Oriental Turtle Doves.

A juvenile Red Knot. In the process of moulting into first-winter plumage.

Red Knots are more often seen on the coast, but they do appear in rice paddies from time to time.

An adult Dunlin. Summer plumage transitioning to winter plumage.

A flock of around ten Dunlins arrived in the rice paddies.

A small number of Red-necked Stints remain. Late juvenile plumage.