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

Black-winged Cuckooshrike Ruddy Kingfisher Ryukyu scops owl Forest Wagtail Pintail Snipe

GUIDED BIRDWATCHING TOUR

Go where the birds are. The SHIMASOBA Tour launches.

We'll drive you around Ishigaki Island to wherever the birds are showing best that day. Observation is mostly from inside the vehicle, and we keep it to a maximum of 3 guests so everyone can take their time.

Max. 3 guests 4 hours in the morning Beginners welcome
Check availability and book

Collared Kingfisher, Black-winged Kite, White Wagtail, and others

A friend was visiting Ishigaki Island, so I checked on the Collared Kingfisher. It was doing well at its usual stretch of coastline. There are some guys drinking there in the middle of the day, but the bird doesn't seem to mind much. It flushes when pedestrians approach, but quickly returns to its regular perch on the tetrapod or the windbreak branches.

I spotted the Black-winged Kite on the way back from the municipal office — it was perched on a phone line eating a mouse. The town birds have lost a lot of their wariness toward people and are easy to observe.

Collared Kingfisher
Collared Kingfisher

A Collared Kingfisher on a tetrapod. Perching on spots like this is probably why its tail feathers are so heavily worn.

Collared Kingfisher
Collared Kingfisher

It is quite close, but because I am watching through gaps in the vegetation it is relaxed.

Black-winged Kite
Black-winged Kite

Black-winged Kites on Ishigaki-jima breed multiple times a year, so I'm not sure what to call the season, but this individual is in the process of moulting out of juvenile plumage.

Grey-faced Buzzard
Grey-faced Buzzard

A wintering juvenile Grey-faced Buzzard. It will likely head north next month.

White Wagtail
White Wagtail

A male White Wagtail of the leucopsis type. The season has come when I start seeing White Wagtails passing through on migration as well.

Giant Mottled Eel
Giant Mottled Eel

While watching the Collared Kingfisher, a Giant Mottled Eel was eating what appeared to be a tilapia.

Categories: 野鳥