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

The one Crested Serpent Eagle juvenile that's been reliably viewable was at it again today — foraging at its own pace in the rice fields, walking the bunds and catching what looked like small insects.

Malayan Night Heron adults are turning up more often. This day I had three adults and one juvenile.

The Pin-tailed Snipe is still present. The same paddy field held nearly 30 Common Snipe — presumably spring migrants passing through. New arrivals of Common Redshank, Common Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper were also noted. Migration is picking up pace.

The season's first Northern Lapwing and Grey-headed Lapwing have also arrived.

I was up in the northern part of Ishigaki for work, so I took the chance to do a bit of birding. I had a feeling Common Hoopoe and Chinese Blackbird might have arrived, so I made a short detour — and found them straight away. Two Common Hoopoes at two sites, and one Chinese Blackbird. Common Hoopoes are being seen in good numbers on Okinawa main island, Miyako-jima and Iriomote as well; this could be a bumper year.

Also present were Arctic Warbler, Kamchatka Leaf Warbler, Daurian Redstart and Mugimaki Flycatcher. White Wagtail numbers are up, but almost all of them are the leucopsis subspecies — the largest flock was close to 30 birds. In a typical year the leucopsis birds arrive first, followed by the nominate subspecies a while later.

In the paddies, Crested Serpent Eagle — both juvenile and adult — and Malayan Night Heron are being encountered frequently.

Four Spotted Redshanks dropped out of the sky into a rice field. They came in from the direction of the sea, so they may be the birds that were recorded on Iriomote a few days ago.

As on the previous day, Common Hoopoes were turning up all over the place — six birds at five sites over two days. I was only making brief detours while travelling for work, so there are likely quite a few more on the island than I've been finding.

I have no photos, but two Snow Geese appeared — a first record not just for Ishigaki but for all of Okinawa Prefecture. They were still being seen just before sunset, so I'm hoping they're still on the island. Getting a re-find and some photos is the goal. ^^

I also caught up with Dusky Thrush — numbers had been exceptionally low this season. Naumann's Thrush was noted at three sites, but the birds were either too wary, the conditions too poor, or I simply ran out of time during work, so I got no photos.

Daurian Redstarts on the move appear to be coming through, and I'm encountering them more frequently.

The Common Hoopoes on Ishigaki are rivalling the banner year of 2015 in numbers. In 2019, when I was posted to Okinawa main island, an exceptionally large influx of Common Hoopoes arrived as well. This year too, I'm guaranteed to encounter Common Hoopoes somewhere every single day. Every bird is remarkably tame and easy to watch. On this day they were confirmed across the southern, western and northern parts of Ishigaki.

Two Chinese Blackbirds are still present. These individuals are also quite unwary, making for relaxed photography. ^^ I've now found their feeding spot, so they should be even easier to see from here on.

I recorded Black-winged Kite in the northern part of Ishigaki for the first time. Breeding behaviour was first confirmed on the island in 2016, fledglings left the nest in 2017, and in the roughly seven years since, the species has spread across the entire island. There's a real possibility it could expand further to Miyako-jima and Okinawa main island in the future.

White Wagtails of the leucopsis subspecies are present in flocks of up to 50, and almost every White Wagtail I see anywhere on the island is of this subspecies — finding a nominate-type bird is the harder task. Good numbers of returning Red-throated Pipits are also arriving. Little Ringed Plovers are foraging alongside them.

I didn't bother photographing them, but White-shouldered Starling, Red-billed Starling, Common Starling and Eastern Yellow Wagtail are also around.

Five groups of birding acquaintances from the mainland are visiting the island this month — if things continue like this, they're in for a great trip. ^^

During a work break I counted four Common Hoopoes. Others were being seen elsewhere on the island — there were apparently at least seven birds present that day.

There was an odd thrush that looked like a Naumann's Thrush. The pattern on the breast and flanks wasn't quite right for Naumann's Thrush, and the bird gave an overall impression of Redwing. It seems quite likely to be a Naumann's Thrush × Redwing hybrid.

Eyebrowed Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush and Pale Thrush were all feeding on Machilus berries, but they disappeared into the branches and I couldn't get any photos.

The Arctic Warblers that have been wintering on Ishigaki are thinning out as the weather warms — they appear to be moving steadily northward. The individual that had been wintering around my house has quietly vanished.

The second wave of Common Hoopoes seems to be winding down. Somewhere between 40 and 50 Common Hoopoes have arrived on Ishigaki this season. While searching for them I came across several Malayan Night Herons whose nuptial colouring has deepened noticeably.

Red-throated Pipit and Siberian Pipit numbers are fluctuating wildly — flocks seem to be passing through one after another. The season's first Pacific Swift and Temminck's Stint also appeared. Little Ringed Plovers are fully in summer plumage and moving through. There was a beautiful male Common Ringed Plover in summer plumage too, but I missed the shot… ^^;

For snipe it's all Common Snipe. The Pin-tailed Snipe I found on 20 February and the Swinhoe's Snipe on 21 February remain the only records, with nothing since.

When it comes to spring ducks on Ishigaki, Garganey is the one. Two males were resting on a small settling pond. A Taiga Bean Goose arrived on its own — presumably a northbound bird. There were reports of nearly 100 geese passing over the island; this individual may be a straggler from that flock.

The overwintering Tufted Ducks are coming into breeding plumage. One female Northern Pintail — for some reason just the one — is moving around with a flock of Eastern Spot-billed Ducks. She seems to have missed her window to migrate.

I recorded Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe for the first time this season back in February, but since then I haven't been able to find either species at all — Common Snipe numbers just keep climbing. I expect both Pin-tailed and Swinhoe's Snipe to increase from mid-April, but until I actually see them I can't stop worrying….