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

Common Emerald Doves are approaching the end of the breeding season, and encounters are becoming more frequent. Northern Boobooks, Ryukyu Scops Owls, and Ruddy Kingfishers are fledging one after another.

I recorded my first Cinnamon Bittern and Purple Heron of the season, along with a juvenile Little Egret.

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

The wader migration has started on Ishigaki Island. Along the coast, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Terek Sandpipers, Eurasian Whimbrels, and Greater Sand Plovers have appeared, while the paddyfields have received Common Greenshanks, Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpipers, Long-toed Stints, and Little Ringed Plovers. Numbers and species will keep building from here. With any luck, the snipe we have all been waiting for will show up in late August.

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

The Oriental Pratincole colony was ploughed up, but birds that were already flying apparently managed to escape. A few pairs were still carrying food to chicks.

The Japanese Sparrowhawk breeding is also going well, and chicks were confirmed at one nest. The Common Emerald Doves are probably getting along fine too. The local Ruddy Kingfisher was seen carrying a large cicada, and I assumed it was for large chicks — but it ate the cicada itself. Some nests have already hatched, and on hot days the chicks poke their heads out.

A Collared Pratincole chick that cannot yet fly, being fed by one of the parents.

A check on breeding Ryukyu Scops Owls, Northern Boobooks, Ruddy Kingfishers, and Black-naped Terns in a different area of Ishigaki Island from last time. Everything appears to be progressing well.

The female is incubating, the male standing watch — a pair of Ryukyu Scops Owls. They took over the tree hollow where a Brown Hawk-Owl had nested last year… ^^;

Migratory birds have all but disappeared from Ishigaki Island, but breeding by the Ruddy Kingfishers, Northern Boobooks, and Oriental Pratincoles seems to be going smoothly. Black-naped Terns have also arrived and are beginning to form colonies on the rocky reefs.

As every year, I worry about the effect of typhoons, but I hope the breeding season ends in success. ^^

A Ruddy Kingfisher in the shade of a tree at a ranch. After taking prey, it flew right over my head and off into the forest.

We made a family trip to Iriomote Island for one night and two days to take part in a University of the Ryukyus public lecture on making insect specimens.

At this time of year the fruits of the Macaranga tree ripen and fall, drawing Common Emerald Doves to the roadsides. Numbers are especially high on Iriomote — a short drive along the prefectural road is enough to turn up about ten birds. There were also Crested Serpent Eagles perched on utility poles, and I heard plenty of Black Paradise Flycatchers and Ryukyu Flycatchers calling.

After dark we drove around looking for Iriomote Cats. The kids were thrilled by the Coconut Crabs, Sakishima Green Snakes, Sakishima Rat Snakes, Sakishima Striped Snakes, and Ryukyu Wild Boar we came across. We did eventually spot an Iriomote Cat — but by then it was already 11 p.m. and the children had fallen asleep in the back seat...

A male Emerald Dove. It was eating fallen Macaranga fruit on the footpath.

Breeding is going well for the Ryukyu quartet: Ryukyu Scops Owl, Northern Boobook, Ruddy Kingfisher, and Black Paradise Flycatcher. Temperatures on Ishigaki Island have not been rising this season and insect activity has been sluggish, so I am a little worried about the effect this may have on chick-rearing.

I found a Ryukyu Scops Owl sitting motionless in the forest in the rain. A Brown Hawk-Owl was incubating right nearby. I wonder if there's no conflict between them.

The first Black-naped Terns of the season have arrived. I have been seeing them on the ferry route since last month, but toward late May they appear on coastal reefs to breed. Almost all of the birds are already paired up.

Ruddy Kingfishers seem to be particularly numerous this season. Nest-building has begun in all sorts of places, though I do wonder whether there are enough nest holes to go round.

A few Bridled Terns arrived. They have been seen on the ferry route since last month, and pairs already seem to have formed.

The island's resident birds have entered breeding season. The Ryukyu Scops Owl has already laid eggs and the female appears to be incubating. The male was standing guard nearby.

The Northern Boobook has not yet laid eggs, but the pair appears to have bonded.

The Japanese Sparrowhawk is breeding in the same location as previous years, though the female has been replaced.

The Black-winged Kite, which has been breeding near my home for several years now, looks set to begin incubating again this year.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl I've known for a long time. It seems incubation has begun again this season, with the male standing guard.

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana usually turns up in June, but this season it was confirmed a little earlier than usual. The individual was very wary of crows and flew off every time one passed nearby.

At the baseball field, every time the Malayan Night Heron caught prey, a young Crested Serpent Eagle would steal it. Moving to a different spot would seem the obvious solution, but the pair of Malayan Night Herons appeared determined to stay at that feeding spot — they kept returning to feed despite being robbed repeatedly.

A Pheasant-tailed Jacana startled into the air by a crow. It appeared to be a young bird in first-summer plumage.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle that had been rescued in a weakened state has been released back into the wild. It is the bird's first return to the wild since being taken into care on April 8 — about a month ago.

The finder gave it the nickname "Yo-chan." A silver ring bearing the number "5" for identification has been fitted to its left leg. This data is important for conservation records, so please get in touch if you spot it.

A Crested Serpent Eagle being held by a staff member. The T-shirt from "Shima no Nakama from IRIOMOTE," a designer based on Iriomote Island, is very stylish.

The Black Drongo arrived again this season to coincide with Golden Week. On Ishigaki Island it usually turns up around this time in spring. It perched on branch tips and caught dragonflies and horseflies in the air.

I also observed Ruddy Kingfisher, Crested Serpent Eagle, and Chinese Pond Heron, among others.

A Black Drongo perched at the tip of a thin branch, waiting for prey.

Black Paradise Flycatcher numbers have been increasing. I keep coming across pairs of Ruddy Kingfishers hard at work nest-building. Some Northern Boobooks have already paired up, showing that breeding is underway. An individual that appears to be a Gray-faced Buzzard was also found.

A Japanese Paradise Flycatcher pair moving around together. They will probably build a nest somewhere in this area.

A second Chinese Egret for the season flew in to the river mouth. Three Black-faced Spoonbills are also staying nearby. I counted five Cinnamon Bitterns, which are active at the start of their breeding season. In the rice paddies there were Eurasian Teal and Northern Shoveler that had been left behind by the northward migration.

The second Chinese Egret of the season. It was showing its familiar behaviour of chasing fish at the water's edge.

With shorebirds on the increase, I spent the entire day searching for waders. The result: starting with Asian Dowitcher, I recorded Pectoral Sandpiper, Little Stint, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Pin-tailed Snipe, Greater Sand Plover, and more — 21 species of waders in total. Seeing this many species in a single day is one of the great pleasures of this time of year. ^^

A Bar-tailed Godwit in summer plumage that suddenly dropped in alongside Black-winged Stilts and Black-tailed Godwits near the end of a shorebird search. Looking sharp in that summer plumage.

The pair of Ruddy Kingfishers that visits near my home has returned to breed again this year. They have already begun excavating a nest hole, so I am hoping for another successful breeding season. Last year three chicks fledged safely.

A male Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher. Its bill has wood chips on it from digging out a nest hole.

Ishigaki Island is lively with a mix of winter visitors that have not yet headed north, passage migrants stopping over, and resident birds active as breeding season gets underway.

Most conspicuous lately are Cinnamon Bitterns in full breeding season — I am encountering them in rice paddies all over the place. Tufted Duck and Eurasian Coot are among those that should have gone north but are still here; most have departed, but a few individuals appear to remain. I have also recorded snipe on passage.

A male Ryukyu Minivet— I often see it flying about actively.

We held the 4th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp again this year. Two participants came down from Hokkaido. That said, snipe numbers were already low during the pre-camp scouting the day before, and I had a bad feeling about it. Sure enough — poor results. It ended up being the worst outing yet: one Pin-tailed Snipe, a few Swinhoe's Snipe, and a few Common Snipe.

On the plus side, we managed to see around 50 species including Collared Kingfisher, Ryukyu Kingfisher, Crested Serpent Eagle, and various resident and migratory birds, which everyone was happy about, so I'll call it good. Years like this happen.

The only Pin-tailed Snipe of the day. A beautiful individual — I knew what it was the moment it came into the binoculars.

Little Curlews arrived again this year — a small flock of three. While watching them, 13 Oriental Pratincoles also came in.

A Little Whimbrel I noticed by its call while driving slowly through the sugarcane fields. It's a spot where Little Whimbrel turn up every year.

The three primary colors of light on Ishigaki Island: Ryukyu Kingfisher (Red), Common Emerald Dove (Green), and Collared Kingfisher (Blue). Right now you can see all three — RGB — in one go. ^^

A Ruddy Kingfisher near home. Looks like the same individual as last year.