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

As the tide came close to high, Grey-tailed Tattlers and Terek Sandpipers gathered on the coastal rocks.

The first Greenshank of the season appeared in the rice paddies.

Also the first Wood Sandpiper of the season. Considerable numbers had moved into rice paddies here and there.

Every year, Common Redshank is the first to arrive as a juvenile. It showed up again right away this season.

Little Stint also confirmed at multiple locations. First of the season.

Common Sandpipers have been increasing. Migrants appear to be moving through. One was competing with a Wood Sandpiper over a Cryptotympana cicada wing.

Black-winged Stilts have increased a little as well.

First Whimbrel of the season.

First juvenile Common Sandpiper (right) confirmed this season.

Greater Sand Plover migrants also seem to be arriving.

Little Ringed Plover confirmed for the first time this season.

Greater Painted-snipe is a resident breeder on Ishigaki Island. A female was at the usual paddy field.

The first Lesser Crested Tern of the season has also arrived. It appeared to be bleeding from the left wing.

There are plenty of crabs at the river mouth, so it was diving down and catching them repeatedly.

Black-naped Terns breeding on the offshore rocks come to bathe near the river mouth when the tide comes in.

A Emerald Dove near home. A few juvenile feathers remain. Perhaps a second-calendar-year female.

The Brown Hawk-Owl at the utaki. As happens every year, freshly fledged crows have shown up and are causing quite a commotion.

Male Malayan Night Heron. At this time of year the breeding plumage has almost completely faded.

A female Malayan Night Heron that was with the individual above. I wonder whether this season's breeding was successful.

A male Ryukyu Least Bittern peering out from an uncultivated paddy field.

First juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern confirmed this season.

A juvenile Purple Heron. From here on they will keep increasing, and I'll be seeing more and more of them being chased off by adults.

Juvenile Little Egrets have also started to arrive.

A juvenile White-breasted Waterhen. I often come across pairs with jet-black chicks in tow. They may be breeding multiple times in a single season.

A Eurasian Coot that summered on Ishigaki-jima. On Okinawa's main island, birds have been summering for several years now. Numbers on Ishigaki may increase in the future as well.