アカショウビン、ハイイロオウチュウ、アカツクシガモ、ツバメチドリほか(動画あり)
リュウキュウアカショウビンの個体数が増えてきました。初鳴きは例年より少し早かったのですが、3月末に家族旅行で島を離れていたので、やっと写真に収めることができました。今では、自宅周りで早朝から大きな声で囀っており、午前6時ごろにアカショウビンの鳴き声で起こされます。
ハイイロオウチュウは正月ごろから同じ場所で越冬中で、滞在期間は4カ月ほどになります。石垣島のハイイロオウチュウの越冬記録としてはかなり長いです。
田んぼにはアカツクシガモが単独で飛来していました。昨年の冬には一瞬、ダムに現れましたがしっかり見ることができず、今回は久しぶりのアカツクシガモとなりました。やはり美しいかもですね。
ほかにはツバメチドリやタシギ、アオアシシギ、セイタカシギ、ソリハシセイタカシギなど春の渡りで野鳥たちが続々と現れています。
The Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher arrived about a week earlier than usual this season — calls were already audible around 23 March. Numbers picked up toward the end of March. My first photos weren't until 6 April, a little later than usual, partly because I was away from the island on a trip.
The Ashy Drongo that has been wintering on Ishigaki Island for a record-length stay. This photo was taken on 3 April, but it was still being seen on the 9th. Just how long will this Ashy Drongo stay?
The Ruddy Shelduck has nearly completed its moult from juvenile plumage into first breeding plumage. This was its third day of the stay.
A flock of a dozen or so Oriental Pratincoles is staying in a rice paddy. I expect breeding will be confirmed again this season.
A Chestnut-cheeked Starling that came to the car park at my workplace. They come to eat the fruit of Murraya paniculata. During the winter, White-shouldered Starlings, White-cheeked Starlings, and Asian Glossy Starlings also turned up regularly for the same berries. On Ishigaki, Chestnut-cheeked Starlings feel more like a spring bird than a wintering one.
There was also a pair of Northern Pintail. They are probably birds moving through on spring migration.
There was a flock of 25 Little Ringed Plovers. I heard there had been a White-rumped Sandpiper among them, but by the time I arrived it was Little Ringed Plovers only.
A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle. It looks like it managed to catch something — the crop is bulging.
A female Ryukyu Night Heron. She is hunting for earthworms on a lawn.
The male, paired with the individual above.