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

Following last year, Ruddy Shelduck has arrived again this year. This season there are two birds and they are extremely wary.

The Red Collared Dove from the other day has now been here for 10 days. It's probably unable to move on due to bad weather.

The Pied Avocet present since 26 October is also still lingering — 10 days for that bird as well.

It was skittish, taking flight every time a rental car approached.

A Hair-crested Drongo appeared on Ishigaki Island, a first record for the island. In strong wind and rain it was catching insects flying — or being blown — past it. It is noticeably larger and more solidly built than a Black Drongo, and despite the overcast conditions the gloss on its plumage was quite striking.

The Hair-crested Drongo was first recorded in Japan on Yonaguni Island in 2000. Since then, a handful of records have followed from the Okinawa main island and surrounding islands.

With today's Hair-crested Drongo, all three species of the genus Dicrurus recorded in Japan are now on my list. Hopes are now turning to the possible arrival of the Bronzed Drongo, which has yet to be recorded in Japan.

While at work, a message came in through our group chat: "Greater Racket-tailed Drongo confirmed." I fidgeted through the rest of my shift, then rushed to the spot two hours after the alert — and managed to find the bird in driving rain and wind!!

Thanks to 石垣島BIRD観察, the first to find it, my life list got a new entry. ^^

House Sparrow has arrived on Ishigaki Island for the second consecutive year. Last year it was confirmed on 3 November in a pineapple field. This time the record is from a rice paddy.

As the rice harvest progresses, Red Collared Doves are becoming easier to see.

A Red Knot was in the rice paddies. It is most often seen on the coast, but it occasionally drops into paddies as well.

A House Sparrow, appearing again after last year. Within Okinawa Prefecture, in 2018 I found a male on Okinawa Island at Itoman City — the first island record — and last year (2021) I found a female in central Ishigaki Island. This time, unfortunately, it was not my own find; it was discovered by a birdwatcher visiting from outside the island.

Opportunities to see Red Collared Dove are increasing. Pied Avocet is also turning up at multiple sites.

Yellow Bittern appears to be numerous, as it was last year. As a side note, last November was a miraculous year in which all Japanese members of the bittern genus were seen within a single month — Black Bittern, Von Schrenck's Bittern, Yellow Bittern, and Cinnamon Bittern!!

The snipe remaining on Ishigaki Island are now almost entirely Common Snipe.

A male Pink-necked Green Pigeon.

The Common Crane observed on the 17th as a first island record by one of our newspaper's readers was still present. I managed to photograph it successfully. ^^

The Common Crane I saw at Izumi on the Kagoshima plain had a deep orange iris, but this individual's iris is pale yellow. I find myself wondering whether that reflects the bird's age, a subspecific difference, or simply individual variation.

Incidentally, this autumn this is the second first island record, following the Plaintive Cuckoo from the other day. Last year the Ishigaki birding scene went into an unprecedented frenzy from November onward, but this year, including these two species, things are getting even more remarkable!!

I stopped by on the way to work and the Little Curlew found three days ago was also still present and looking well.

A Common Crane on Ishigaki Island. Blown in by the northerly winds that had been raging until a few days ago, perhaps?

The Little Curlew found yesterday was walking actively around a wet grassland again today, rain and all.

A Little Whimbrel soaked by rain and turned completely black. Black enough to be mistaken for a dark morph… ^^;

Found a Little Curlew while travelling for work. I always keep a 600 mm lens in the company car for moments like this. The Little Curlew was foraging in a pasture among a flock of Pacific Golden Plovers. Two Oriental Pratincoles were nearby as well.

In a separate paddy field, a Lesser White-fronted Goose, a Taiga Bean Goose, and a Greater White-fronted Goose are still present. The first Northern Pintail of the season has also arrived.

Adult Little Whimbrel in late breeding plumage.

Found the sixth juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle of the season. It was relatively unwary and I was able to observe it at close range. With juveniles I keep the watch brief so as not to interfere with their foraging.

In the paddy fields, an Eastern Marsh Harrier appeared and startled the Pheasant-tailed Jacana. The Pheasant-tailed Jacana present since 12 October retreated into the rice and would not come back out…

A beautiful juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle.

A Red Collared Dove arrived, male and female, and were feeding on unharvested rice alongside Oriental Turtle Doves.

The first Amur Stonechat of the season confirmed in the paddy field area. In strong winds it appeared to be foraging, moving from branch to branch.

Geese and ducks are increasing. Garganey in particular seem numerous this season — they are being recorded all over the paddies. A Mallard also arrived, which is unusual for Okinawa. The two Lesser White-fronted Geese have now been here two weeks, joining up with Taiga Bean Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese to form a group of 26.

Adult male Eurasian Collared Dove. Going back and forth between the power lines and the paddies.

The Pectoral Sandpiper is still going strong in the paddy fields, though it occasionally gets flushed by raptors.

First Common Starling of the season. It was following a group of Common Snipe around — apparently that's not unusual. Quite a size difference though; why does it do that? Some affinity for the similar metallic sheen of the plumage, maybe?

A flock made up mainly of Red-throated Pipits had Richard's Pipits, Pechora Pipits, and Eurasian Skylarks mixed in, but two Common Kestrels were nearby and kept scattering everything. After three hours I managed photos of just three Red-throated Pipits!!

A Buff-breasted Sandpiper juvenile still present.

Following yesterday, I found the second Pectoral Sandpiper of the season. This time conditions were good for both observation and photography.

The first Northern Lapwings of the season — a group of around ten, all juveniles. On Ishigaki Island at this time of year, Northern Lapwings are almost always juveniles.

I couldn't get photographs, but Red Collared Doves, Pechora Pipits, and Eurasian Skylarks were also seen.

The second Buff-breasted Sandpiper of the season. Like yesterday's bird, this one was also a juvenile.

Found the first Pectoral Sandpiper of the season. Red-throated Pipits are also increasing but still difficult to photograph.

Garganey seem numerous this season — they are being recorded in paddies all over the area.

A strong north wind, almost typhoon-like, was blowing, and Barn Swallows had come down to rest on the farm tracks.

First Pectoral Sandpiper of the season — a juvenile.

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana found on 12 October is still present, six days on. A tractor came through to work the field but the bird seemed largely unbothered and kept foraging.

The two Lesser White-fronted Geese are also still here — today is day ten. They continue to associate with the Taiga Bean Goose as before. Twelve Greater White-fronted Geese also arrived and briefly joined the group, but they eventually parted ways and are keeping to themselves.

Juvenile Pheasant-tailed Jacana. It showed no fear of the tractor and was snatching prey turned up by the fieldwork.

Temperatures have dropped and ducks are increasing. First Northern Shovelers and Eurasian Wigeons of the season confirmed. Northern Shovelers also arrived in July, but this will be the first as proper migrants.

The peak of wader migration has passed, but the paddies still hold Temminck's Stints, Red-necked Stints, Long-toed Stints, Swinhoe's Snipes, Common Snipes, Wood Sandpipers, Common Greenshanks and others.

First Northern Shoveler of the season. Juvenile male.

A juvenile Pheasant-tailed Jacana dropped into a paddy field. It appeared to be feeding on small freshwater snails. In a normal year they turn up between late October and early November, so this one is a little early.

Pheasant-tailed Jacana moulting from juvenile into first-winter plumage.

Twelve Greater White-fronted Geese joined the group of two Lesser White-fronted Geese and one Taiga Bean Goose that arrived on 8 October, making for a lively gathering all at once. I forgot to photograph them, but several Northern Shovelers also arrived.

Two Lesser White-fronted Geese that have been present for four days.

The Grey-faced Buzzard migration has begun. It is still early days, but the movement is already well under way. On this day, by around 4:00 p.m. the entire sky within view was filled with Grey-faced Buzzards.

An adult female Grey-faced Buzzard flying over the city.

A Pechora Pipit has turned up!! It tends to hide deep in the grass, making it the hardest pipit to photograph. I heard its call, waited at the spot where it landed after flushing, and it came out for just a moment.

The Pied Avocet that arrived last month is still here — it has been in the same rice field for more than three weeks.

Managed to get a full-body shot of a Buff-bellied Pipit despite the obstructing grass. The primary projection beyond the coverts and the white stripes on the back are key features.

With a strong north wind blowing, two Lesser White-fronted Geese and one Taiga Bean Goose arrived. Lesser White-fronted Goose is quite rare on Ishigaki-jima, but following last year, this is the second consecutive year they have appeared.

Two Lesser White-fronted Geese arrived together. They looked tired, perhaps having just come in from migration.

I went to Nagoya for a post-operative check-up after cervical spine surgery and did some birding while I was there. After three years of trying, I finally got to see Western Sandpiper. I also observed Broad-billed Sandpiper, Great Knot, and Red-necked Stint.

Along with the Western Sandpiper, Baikal Teal and Japanese Wagtail were lifers for me.

The Little Stint was at first sitting and resting in a hollow, but there was something about it that felt slightly off. ^^ Still, once it mixes into a flock of Red-necked Stints it gets difficult.