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

For New Year's, you can't leave out a juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle — the bird celebrated in the Okinawan song "Washi nu Tui-bushi."

Lesser Kestrel, juvenile. Wintering in the same spot. An individual with no wariness at all — easy to watch.

Common Kestrel, juvenile. This one also showed no wariness whatsoever.

A Hen Harrier appeared while I was watching the Rosy Starling. It seemed to be eyeing the starling flock but failed. Please, just don't hunt the Rosy Starling… ^^;

Black-winged Kite, juvenile.

Grey-faced Buzzard, juvenile. It was catching grasshoppers in a mown pasture.

Three Chinese Pond Herons are staying at two locations.

A wintering Hooded Crane. Lately it has been moving from feeding site to feeding site almost every day.

Ruddy Shelduck, juvenile. Starting to come into first alternate plumage.

Marsh Sandpiper, first-winter plumage.

Northern Lapwing. A flock of about ten birds, all juveniles, currently staying in the area.

Swinhoe's White Wagtail, first-winter plumage. Two birds were among a flock of about twenty White Wagtails.

A different individual from the one above — Swinhoe's White Wagtail, first-winter plumage.

White Wagtail (leucopsis), adult male.

White Wagtail, adult male.

A wintering male European Stonechat.

A Common Starling associating with Common Mynas.

The Common Mynas were in a flock of a dozen or so birds. They were eating Ficus (gajumaru) berries.

Naumann's Thrush, adult. The tail feathers were almost completely missing.

Dusky Thrush, first-winter.

Blue Rock Thrush, male, first-winter.

An individual that looks distinctly odd — probably a Western Yellow Wagtail or an Eastern Yellow Wagtail. That said, there are cases where first-winter Citrine Wagtails moulting into summer plumage also show white below the eye.

Same individual as above. The bright blue-grey of the head and the white throat are striking.

Same individual as above, in the centre.

This one is a perfectly ordinary (Yellow-browed) Eastern Yellow Wagtail, first-winter.

Also a (Yellow-browed) Eastern Yellow Wagtail, first-winter. No Citrine Wagtails mixed in.

White Wagtail (ocularis), first-winter.

Also a White Wagtail (ocularis), first-winter.

A White Wagtail that caught my attention.

Also a White Wagtail.

White Wagtail (ocularis), first-winter.

White Wagtail (leucopsis), first-winter.

Around 20 Red-throated Pipits.

They tend to stay hidden in the grass like this, which makes observation tough.

Even when they come out onto the ridge, they're so far away…

The moult is progressing and the juvenile look is starting to fade from the face.

If it stays until March, I should get to see that beautiful rosy colour.

Around the end of the year I often saw large flocks of White-shouldered Starlings, but lately it's mostly groups of just a few birds. Maybe they've spread out across the island?

Female Siberian Stonechat. Small numbers are wintering here.

A pair of Black-winged Kites. These individuals showed little wariness.

Same individual as above.

A Crested Serpent Eagle foraging in a rice field. It was wandering about on foot.

It has become considerably less wary than when it first arrived.

Always together with the individual above.

Two adult and one juvenile Ruddy Shelducks. The juvenile has moulted considerably since arrival and now looks much like the adults.

Female Mallard.

A long-staying Tundra Swan. There are many unharvested rice plants this season, so food does not seem to be a problem.

A Eurasian Bittern appeared right in front of me. It noticed me but showed no alarm.

It kept coming closer. Seen head-on, it has quite a menacing look.

The Eurasian Bittern came within a few metres. Small fish were the main prey.

A wintering Chinese Pond Heron. Around four individuals are on the island.

Adult Purple Heron.

Not as many as last year, but several Yellow Bitterns are wintering again this season.

A Marsh Sandpiper wintering in the same rice field. First-winter plumage.

Common Greenshanks wintering in rice fields and along the coast. First-winter plumage.

Common Redshank, first-winter plumage. A small flock of Common Redshanks has been staying in the rice fields.

Common Redshank, first-winter plumage.

Wood Sandpiper, first-winter plumage.

Green Sandpiper, 1st-winter.

Common Snipe flock.

No Swinhoe's Snipe found.

The largest Common Snipe flock was around 40 birds.

Adult Black-throated Loon. Perhaps it rode the fierce northerly winds that had been blowing for several days all the way down to Ishigaki Island in the south.

Pacific Loon has been recorded in the prefecture, but I never expected a Black-throated Loon to turn up!!