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

Last spring, 29 May was the final record of Pin-tailed Snipe. This season, this sighting looks set to be the last as well.

This spring, waders in general were very scarce, with almost no encounters with Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe or Common Snipe. I am looking forward to the autumn snipe migration, which gets under way from mid-August.

And, following last year, I would like to hold the "3rd Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp" again around late August this autumn. Please do join us. You can also see reports from the 1st camp (autumn) and the 2nd camp (spring).

Both the Ryukyu Scops Owl and the Northern Boobook have entered their breeding season. Incubation has started at multiple sites for each species. Fledging should be observable around late June.

When I arrived at the paddies I was caught in a heavy downpour, but once it stopped, Cinnamon Bitterns began emerging from the grass.

Activity was high after the rain, and I was able to see two males and one female in the same area. The males had started calling, and I managed to get it on video. ^^

The Black Drongo that appeared near my home has been drifting slowly eastward and is now into its fourth day of stay. It is an unwary individual, always perched on the roadside wires. This season has been a bumper year for Black Drongo on Ishigaki Island — on peak days nearly 20 birds were recorded in a single day.

A small flock of Oriental Pratincoles had moved into the paddies. They were working the same area as the Whiskered Terns, but while the terns drifted low and picked insects off the rice plants, the pratincoles were up high, hawking incoming insects.

Black-faced Spoonbill, Eurasian Spoonbill and Chinese Pond Heron have also been dropping into the paddies one after another.

The Ruddy Kingfishers appear to be progressing well through the breeding season — I can watch them nest-building and courtship-feeding.

A Black-faced Spoonbill has been staying for several days. Chinese Pond Herons in breeding plumage are scattered across various paddies, with several individuals present.

In paddies with open water, Ruff, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper and Whiskered Tern were resting.

Working my way around the rice fields, I heard a Ryukyu Flycatcher calling from the forest edge. Searching for it, I found a male in song. For some reason it also moved into the shrubs at the edge of the paddies.

Visiting Banna Park for the first time in a while, I had good encounters with several Ruddy Kingfishers. Males were conspicuous, which may mean many pairs have already moved into incubation.

I also spotted one Red Collared Dove. Perhaps tired from the crossing, it perched on a wire and occasionally closed its eyes.

In the paddies towards evening, a Ryukyu Sparrowhawk came down onto a farm track and looked around. Watching it, I could see it was targeting a Eurasian Tree Sparrow that had ducked into a thicket.

Hearing an Asian Koel calling, I scanned with binoculars and spotted a male singing from the top of a she-oak. It looked approachable, so I eased the car forward carefully. Even at 100 metres it showed no sign of alarm. I kept closing in. The track ended about 20 metres short, so I continued on foot, using the undergrowth as cover, and managed to get right beneath the she-oak where the Asian Koel was singing. It seemed unaware of me, and I had a close, impressive view of both the bird and its call. Asian Koel have been recorded here before, but from around 2020 the number arriving on Ishigaki Island in May has increased considerably.

After about ten minutes of observation, a female Asian Koel called from a nearby thicket — there appeared to be two individuals. The male then disappeared, seemingly drawn by the female's call, so I searched the area. A Large-billed Crow, thought to be a likely host for Asian Koel brood parasitism, also appeared to be building a nest nearby. This could be a real chance to confirm breeding!!

Black Drongo have been turning up in good numbers across Ishigaki, Okinawa Main Island and elsewhere in the Nansei Islands this season. The peak has passed, but I counted two birds on this day. I think they will be wrapping up soon.

The Ryukyu Scops Owls that breed near my home every year appear to have started incubating again this year. The chicks should fledge in early July.

The Lesser Whistling Duck found on Ishigaki Island on 1 May has shown up again!! It has now been here for two weeks. I was able to get video as well. How long will it stay?

It turns out this Lesser Whistling Duck had been seen on Iriomote Island on 28 April, before it was photographed on Ishigaki. Apparently someone only realised what it was after it appeared in the newspaper. On top of that, a local resident says they saw two birds last year in the lower reaches of a certain river. The person is a farmer with a keen interest in wildlife, and from what they described, Lesser Whistling Duck seems very likely.

Furthermore, a blog post records that a bird — photographed unclearly — was seen on Kohama Island in late May to early June 2006.

Lesser Whistling Duck's northern breeding limit was Okinawa, but confirmed records had been absent since an observation in the Kerama Islands in 1963. A Yamashina Institute for Ornithology report noted two birds seen during a 1999 survey, but without photographs and with few details.

It sets the imagination going — could a small number be living somewhere along a river on Iriomote Island, much like the Mandarin Ducks of Yanbaru?

I confirmed incubation beginning at a fifth Ryukyu Scops Owl site. The Ruddy Kingfisher female near my home has not been seen much lately, so she may also be incubating.

The rescued Crested Serpent Eagle, Mitchan, keeps getting driven off by the territorial male in this area, but comes back undeterred and keeps searching for food. I hope she builds up her strength properly this summer, gets through the winter, and grows into a fine adult.

The Lesser Whistling Duck is still present. Its reactions to passing vehicles and crows have settled down and its daily routine has become predictable, so a long stay looks likely. If it summers over, it will be a treat for many birders.

Since the Lesser Whistling Duck on Ishigaki Island was relocated, it has been seen continuously. When anglers arrive it gets spooked and moves away, hiding in the grass. There seem to be a lot of anglers at weekends.

I covered the release of a juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle that had been taken into care after being found weak. It was banded with a red leg ring engraved with the number "6" on its left leg. The person who handled its rehabilitation named it "Mirai" (Future). With staff and press looking on, it flew off strongly.

The Lesser Whistling Duck, visible every day. On this day it was particularly wary — both in the morning and in the evening, only the top of its head and neck were visible above the vegetation…

Chinese Pond Heron had also arrived, along with Grey-headed Lapwing, a scarce visitor to Okinawa and the Yaeyamas.

The Lesser Whistling Duck that arrived on Ishigaki Island has now been here for three weeks. On this day it was active, and I was able to watch it feeding and in flight. Lesser Whistling Duck once ranged as far north as Okinawa, and with "Ryukyu" in the Japanese name, I hope records will increase and the range will recover here.

Four groups of acquaintances came to the island to see the Lesser Whistling Duck. Everyone is enjoying Ishigaki's birds, with Asian Koel as a bonus alongside the duck. Several more groups are due to come this week with the Lesser Whistling Duck as their target. Anyone wanting to see it, book a guide with Spotter-san!!

I had a close-range view of Lesser Cuckoo — an adult and a young bird, foraging in a pine grove. Around six Asian Koels were in the area too, making it a spot with a notably high concentration of cuckoos.

Despite the heavy rain, the Northern Boobook's incubation seems to be going smoothly; the male was keeping a steady watch. Year by year it has become less wary, and it shows no concern when walkers pass right in front of it.

Little Terns have arrived at the planned site of the cruise-terminal building — close to 30 birds, the same location as last year. Some individuals were already incubating. Last year the nest colony was completely wiped out by a PAC-3 deployment, so I wonder whether this season will go better. Kentish Plovers were running about — several chicks at various stages, from just-hatched to those that could manage a short flight.

White-breasted Waterhen are in full breeding mode; I often come across pairs with chicks. The breeding season is long, so for a while yet I expect to encounter families at all different stages of development.

In the paddies after the rice harvest, Purple Herons, Grey Herons, Intermediate Egrets, and Little Egrets are gathering to hunt.

I visited a scrubby woodland I rarely go to, and a pair of Black Paradise Flycatchers were moving about. They perched on the same branch at times, suggesting pairing is already done. I expect they will breed, and I will keep watching to see how things develop.

Ryukyu Scops Owls are incubating at several sites, but the chicks still appear to be small. Meanwhile, the pair that began breeding early already has well-grown chicks, and the female is out of the nest box. Fledging should be soon.

A recently fledged Ryukyu Minivet visited our garden. It appeared to be taking insects alongside Warbling White-eyes and Cinereous Tits.