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

A juvenile Greater Sand Plover. It was found in a rice paddy — possibly due to the influence of the typhoon.

A juvenile Common Redshank. It was mixing alone into a flock of Wood Sandpipers.

My first Marsh Sandpiper of the season is transitioning from summer to winter plumage.

Some Common Greenshanks are also showing a little winter plumage.

Wood Sandpipers have been arriving in large numbers — I saw several hundred in half a day. Juveniles have not yet arrived.

Grey-tailed Tattler, first-summer transitioning to winter plumage.

The Ryukyu Yellow Bittern — a bird I encounter almost every day when searching for waders and plovers.

Once set on the ground, the Crested Serpent Eagle known as Kare took off without a moment's hesitation. A blue band engraved with the number "5" for individual identification is fitted on the left leg. This is a valuable record, so please let me know if you spot it in good health.

Strong wingbeats as those involved looked on. The flight path was exactly as hoped — heading straight toward me with my camera raised. ^^

The rescuer and their family with the Crested Serpent Eagle. The right eye cannot see.

Pin-tailed Snipe, adult.

Another Pin-tailed Snipe adult. There was one juvenile as well, but it slipped into the grass before I could get a shot… ^^;

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Dunlin with winter plumage beginning to show in patches.

Pacific Golden Plover in a flock of around ten.

Common Greenshank that appear to have just arrived on migration. The flock numbered a dozen or so and looked generally tired.

Common Sandpiper in late summer plumage.

Wood Sandpiper in late summer plumage.

Long-toed Stint in first-summer plumage.

Oriental Pratincole gradually changing into winter plumage as well.

Juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe. It was a plump, well-fed individual.

Juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern.

Juvenile Purple Heron.

Juvenile Malayan Night Heron.

Juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern.

Juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern.

Juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern in the rice paddies at dusk.

The first Grey Herons of the season — two birds.

This individual appears to have hatched this year. A Ministry of the Environment general-use ring is also fitted on the right leg.

Released from the ground. It managed to get airborne.

It perched in a tree about four metres up. After around thirty minutes it disappeared into the forest.

Spotted a Pin-tailed Snipe adult in the distance.

Same individual as above. After a while it began bathing.

The moult progress is clearly visible.

Preening after bathing.

And the answer confirmed. ^^

First Long-toed Stint juvenile of the season. Numbers will shoot up from here.

Also a first record this season — a Ruff juvenile.

Oriental Pratincole, adult. The moult into winter plumage is well under way.

Common Greenshank numbers are steadily increasing, but juveniles have yet to arrive.

Common Greenshank moving into winter plumage.

Long-toed Stint also in mid-moult to winter plumage.

Juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern. Encounters with both adults and juveniles have been frequent.

First Wood Sandpiper juveniles of the season. It seems they arrived all at once.

Juvenile Wood Sandpiper. Seeing juveniles is always reassuring — it means breeding went well.

First Common Sandpiper juvenile of the season.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in late summer plumage. Arrived as a pair.

Also the first Rufous-necked Stint of the season. A small flock, with various stages of moult.

Left to right: Greater Painted-snipe male juvenile, female juvenile, male subadult. Still moving around together as a family even at this size.

Little Ringed Plover adult.

Found a Broad-billed Sandpiper in a puddle in a sugarcane field. Was able to observe it right in front of me.

The Broad-billed Sandpiper is noticeably further into winter plumage now.

Found a Curlew Sandpiper in a pasture. First time I've seen one in a place like this.

Grey Plover in the pasture too. Seems out of place.

There were a dozen or so Pacific Golden Plovers in the pasture, but these don't feel out of place.

Oriental Pratincole mostly moulted from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

Oriental Pratincole adult. It was eating a large earthworm. Didn't know they'd take something like that.

A female Greater Painted-snipe appears as well.

The male paired with the female above.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in late summer plumage. Starting to see them here and there.

During the heavy rain, a Yellow Bittern took shelter in the pasture too.

Ruff juvenile. It was close, right in front of me.

Wood Sandpiper juvenile. Juveniles now make up close to half the flock.

Rufous-necked Stint in the rain. A little winter plumage is showing.

This Rufous-necked Stint is showing some winter plumage too.

Painted Snipe were at two locations — two males and two females. In this paddy it was one male and two females.

Once they drop into the paddy, the tiny Painted Snipe are almost completely hidden like this…

The first Grey Wagtail of the season. Spotted several individuals.

Common Myna, which breeds mainly around the airport. One caught a large Acrida grasshopper.

A Crested Serpent Eagle in a pineapple field. It was eating an Asian Common Toad.

Cinnamon Bitterns can be seen here and there every day. With both adults and juveniles around in good numbers, this is the easiest time of year to find them.

Whiskered Terns also confirmed at multiple locations.

The first Marsh Sandpiper juvenile of the season. Already in first-winter plumage.

Common Greenshank moulting into winter plumage.

Common Redshank in first-winter plumage. There were several individuals.

A Wood Sandpiper juvenile that looked quite large.

The first Black-winged Stilt juvenile of the season.

An adult and juvenile Black-winged Stilt were having a dispute. Whether they were parent and chick or strangers, I couldn't tell.

Little Stints are also increasing in number.

Small flocks of Little Stints have been moving into the paddies.

The moult stages vary widely — never gets old watching them.

Pacific Golden Plovers have also increased considerably in number.

A Crested Serpent Eagle released into the wild, beating its wings powerfully. A band is visible on the right leg.

The tail feathers are completely missing.

Pin-tailed Snipe juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

A Swinhoe's Snipe like this — only a handful of encounters in a whole season. A juvenile. Thrilling.

Same individual as above.

Same individual as above.

And then this Swinhoe's Snipe. An adult. Absolutely brilliant.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Same individual as above.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Both Swinhoe's Snipe, juveniles.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Same individual as above.

Western Yellow Wagtail (supercilium white), adult. Already in winter plumage.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail, first-winter plumage.

Ryukyu Dwarf Bittern, adult male. I see multiple birds every day.

Common Greenshank, juvenile. Still in full juvenile plumage.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

The colour looks different due to white balance, but this is the same individual as above.

This is actually an adult Swinhoe's Snipe. If you're not used to snipe in Okinawa, it could look like a Pin-tailed Snipe, couldn't it?

Same individual as above. The tail feathers are clearly those of Swinhoe's Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult. A bird with a distinctive facial expression.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile. A very beautiful bird — I wanted to see it in full, but it was extremely wary and didn't move at all.

I thought it was just a straightforward adult Swinhoe's Snipe, but….

Same individual as above. The outer tail feathers are quite narrow. However, they are considerably longer than those of Pin-tailed Snipe. An intriguing Swinhoe's Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Broad-billed Sandpiper, juvenile. It was far away…

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile. A dark individual — or rather, one with a strong brownish tone. Every now and then you get a Swinhoe's Snipe like this.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile in flight.

Two Swinhoe's Snipes. Both juveniles.

Broad-billed Sandpiper, juvenile. There were two of them.

Red-necked Stint, juvenile. Nearly ten birds confirmed.

Dunlin juveniles arrived in a flock of a dozen or so.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above. With Swinhoe's Snipe you usually can't see the outer tail feathers, which is what gives it that Swinhoe's feel — but on this individual I could just about make them out. After bathing, I fired off more than 700 frames in 2 minutes 30 seconds to get this shot. The tail feathers are visible like this, you can see.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

The same individual photographed two days ago.

The tail feathers are narrow, but long enough to be visible in this position. Could there be hybrids between Swinhoe's Snipe and Pin-tailed Snipe?

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Three Swinhoe's Snipes.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile. The next three photos are of the same individual. Use the spread of the tail to get a sense of what the outer feathers look like.

Same individual as above.

Same individual as above.

Same individual as above.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile. This is how the tail feathers look when they peek out slightly from beneath the primaries.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile. Depending on the angle, the outer tail feathers can look like needles. Note the length difference when comparing with Pin-tailed Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

The last photo from the camp. I was watching snipe when I noticed something noisy behind me. A Purple Heron eating a Wood Sandpiper.