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

Confirmed the first Swinhoe's Snipe of the season — two birds on a paddy bund. Several Common Snipe as well.

Six Pied Avocets arrived, which I believe is a record count for a flock here. The paddies also hold Common Redshank, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Oriental Pratincole, and Grey-headed Lapwing — a scarce species on Ishigaki.

A small group of four pond herons — Javan Pond Heron and Chinese Pond Heron combined — is also lingering.

In the farmland on the western side of the island, Daurian Redstarts have arrived in large numbers. Apparently the situation is similar on Iriomote.

The first Swinhoe's Snipe of the season. It's good to finally meet one again.

Visited my family home in Aichi and did some birdwatching on the side. I was targeting Latham's Snipe, but in spring they are far fewer in number and the timing was a little early, so I struck out…

Even so, I managed to see birds that are hard to come by in Okinawa or on Ishigaki, so it was a satisfying trip.

Common Snipe. I'm not sure of the situation in Aichi, but could this be a wintering bird?

One Javan Pond Heron and three Chinese Pond Herons are staying on — all four are always together.

Oriental Pratincoles are increasing. On this day, nine were resting in the paddies, taking a break from the rain.

A Siberian Yellow Wagtail was on a paddy bund. The distance and the grass obscuring the bird made observation difficult; getting a few photos was the best I could manage. A Siberian Pipit was nearby.

The wintering Common Snipe have all but disappeared, though migrants are trickling through. Swinhoe's Snipe should be arriving soon.

Four Garganey turned up. If there's a duck that says spring on Ishigaki, it's the Garganey.

A Javan Pond Heron in winter plumage. Probably a first-winter individual.

Common Hoopoes are being reported from all over the island. It looks like a decent start to the season.

The Rosy Starling that has been wintering since last year is gradually moulting. I'm hoping it will stay as long as possible, but I have a feeling it may move on soon…

Lately, a fairly large flock of Red-billed Starlings has been coming to the car park at my workplace. They appear to be feeding on the fruits of the planted ironwood trees.

A completely fearless White's Thrush turned up — spotted and pointed out to me by a friend visiting from Akita Prefecture. I had several encounters with White's Thrush from late last year into early January, but after that they vanished. This individual seems to have stopped in on spring passage.

Japanese Bush Warblers have increased sharply, just as the Manchurian Bush Warblers have completely disappeared. I'm hearing subsong frequently these days. Little Buntings and Red-throated Pipits — whether they're on passage or moving around within the island I can't say — are fluctuating, with numbers going up and down.

Eurasian Hoopoes at the reliable spot. There appeared to be around four of them.

The Chinese Pond Herons that have been wintering since last year — about four of them. One individual appears to be a Javan Pond Heron. When the tractors started turning over the paddies, they joined the Eastern Cattle Egrets and took part in the attendant feeding.

Purple Herons can be found as young birds from last year as well as adults. The adults are in nuptial colour and looking particularly fine.

Wader numbers in the paddies have dropped considerably; just scattered Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Green Sandpiper, and Black-winged Stilt. The wintering Common Snipe seem to have headed north, and almost none remain. Looking forward to the arrival of passage birds.

Chinese Pond Heron, winter plumage.

Chicks from a Black-winged Kite pair that entered breeding around the end of the year have now fledged. There were two this time. Black-winged Kites breed regardless of season, but a breeding attempt starting at year's end may be a first in my experience. Their reproductive drive is remarkable.

Two fledged successfully this time. After leaving the nest they practised flying — including receiving prey from their parents in mid-air — and have by now reached the point where they can hunt for themselves.

A Crested Serpent Eagle nearby was attacked by one of the adults and chased off somewhere. ^^;

A Black-winged Kite fledgling that has become quite a capable flier.

Japanese Bush Warblers are becoming noticeably more active. Along the coastal woodland, several seem to be gathering as if preparing for migration. I'm also hearing their clumsy subsong.

A Japanese Bush Warbler moving along the boundary between coastal woodland and farmland. It felt like several birds were moving together.

A few Chinese Pond Herons are wintering on Ishigaki Island. One individual is particularly unwary and has been useful for individual identification — it doesn't flee at all, which is almost worrying.

Common Redshank, Common Greenshank and Temminck's Stint are all wintering birds. Little Ringed Plovers have suddenly increased in number; I've confirmed several flocks of around 20 birds. Spring migration is under way.

A Chinese Pond Heron so tame it looked like it could perch on your hand. Winter plumage, but just a little summer plumage is starting to come in.

The Upland Buzzard that has been wintering on Ishigaki Island again this season — for some reason our timing kept missing each other, but I finally managed a close observation. It really does give off a different impression from the Eastern Buzzard. Its flight style is different too.

A pair of Black-winged Kite chicks fledged recently; they seem to breed regardless of the season. Even so, the warmer months appear to be their main breeding period, and like the Crested Serpent Eagle, they are active and in breeding mode.

A striking Upland Buzzard. The expression is particularly fierce.

Thinking it would soon be departing on migration, I went to look at the dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard for the first time in a while. It first arrived on Ishigaki Island as a juvenile in 2018, and has returned to the same rice field every year since — this is its fifth season. I hope it keeps coming back.

A Peregrine Falcon is wintering in the rice fields. Eurasian Coots and Eastern Cattle Egrets are being taken regularly.

The dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard, returning for the fifth consecutive year since it was a juvenile.

While driving through farmland I spotted an orange-coloured bird. Through binoculars it turned out to be a strikingly bright Naumann's Thrush. Eight Olive-backed Pipits came into the garden — a flock that has been wintering in the village. They have grown considerably more accustomed to people over the course of the winter.

White Wagtails and Eastern Yellow Wagtails, apparently moving through, can be seen on a day-by-day basis.

Oriental Greenfinch, scarce on Ishigaki Island, is staying on and feeding in unharvested rice.

A strikingly vivid Naumann's Thrush. It was conspicuous enough to catch the eye even at a distance.

A Eurasian Spoonbill and Common Shelduck are staying in the rice fields. The Ruddy Shelducks were startled by a hunting dog, flew off and have not returned — they may have taken refuge somewhere around the dam.

Wintering Common Snipe are everywhere, but a wintering Swinhoe's Snipe has not been found since the end of the year…

Two Eurasian Spoonbills, moving back and forth between Anparu wetland and the rice fields.

I went to see a Common Hoopoe that has been present for the past few days. It was a completely unwary bird.

The Ruddy Shelduck and Common Shelduck are also on a long stay. Rice planting has begun, so they may be moving on soon.

Eurasian Hoopoe. Judging by the arrival numbers so far, I have a feeling this spring will bring a lot of Hoopoes to Ishigaki.

A quick burst of birdwatching in a spare moment. Crested Serpent Eagles are active and encounters with both adults and juveniles are frequent. Common Kestrels are wintering all over the place.

Two Black-tailed Gulls were at the fishing harbour, apparently eyeing up bait from the anglers.

Northern Lapwing flocks have appeared in various locations. The largest was over ten birds. Red-billed Starlings and Dusky Thrushes come to the compost heaps in the sugarcane fields every day.

A Crested Serpent Eagle eating a habu.

Little Buntings are wintering here, but they bury themselves in the grass and are hard to photograph. Their call notes can be heard everywhere.

Red-throated Pipits also tend to stay hidden, but this flock came out into open ground and was easy to observe. The birds were in various stages of moult, which made for a good mix.

Wagtails included White Wagtail, Taiwanese White Wagtail, Eastern Yellow Wagtail and Grey Wagtail all together.

A fair number of Little Buntings are wintering in the rice paddies on the island, but they're difficult to photograph.

A family trip to eastern Hokkaido, 3–7 February, four of us. I seized the few spare moments to do just a little birdwatching. The Rock Sandpiper I had been hoping to see was extremely distant, but I did get to see it. It was scope-distance only, so no photographs. I'll try again someday.

Adult White-tailed Eagle with Kunashir Island in the background.

I finally photographed the Crested Serpent Eagle near home that I had kept missing. It appears regularly in the field right in front of the house. There were 42 Mallards at the dam — quite an unusual number for Ishigaki Island.

A Crested Serpent Eagle I often spotted from my living room. It's always being hassled by a Common Kestrel.

A Black-throated Loon has arrived — a first record for Okinawa Prefecture!! It was distant, so I pulled out the 2× teleconverter and shot at 1200mm. Even at that range the white on the breast was conspicuous.

Adult Black-throated Loon. Perhaps it rode the fierce northerly winds that had been blowing for several days all the way down to Ishigaki Island in the south.

The wintering Swinhoe's Snipe I found at year-end could not be relocated. Common Snipe were present in numbers exceeding 100.

Others included wintering Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, and Marsh Sandpiper.

A Marsh Sandpiper wintering in the same rice field. First-winter plumage.

A Eurasian Bittern that has been staying since last year. There are several individuals, but one of them shows no wariness at all and can be watched closely. It has been appearing reliably of late, and its behaviour — so utterly unlike the other herons — is a real pleasure to observe. ^^

A Eurasian Bittern appeared right in front of me. It noticed me but showed no alarm.