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

The first Little Stint of the season. It was a juvenile.

This Little Stint kept its distance from the flocks of Red-necked Stints and Long-toed Stints.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile. I wonder how long it will stay.

I have already recorded several White-winged Terns, but this was the first juvenile arrival of the season. It looked tired.

I expect juvenile arrivals to increase from here. Hoping for Whiskered Terns as well.

Among a small flock of Swinhoe's Snipe there was one that was strikingly white — white-faced too — and looked very out of place.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Every snipe I come across is a Swinhoe's Snipe.

I really wanted to see the tail feathers on this one… Tentatively Pin-tailed Snipe.

Dunlin moulting from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, late breeding plumage.

Red-necked Stint, juvenile.

Red-necked Stint, juvenile. Quite a different impression from the individual above.

Pacific Golden Plover preening.

Moulting from breeding to non-breeding plumage. The primaries appear to be replaced from the middle outward.

Black-winged Stilt, adult. Moulting from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

A Javan Pond Heron that caught two tadpoles.

A different individual from the one above. This one was also eating tadpoles.

The Chinese Pond Heron was walking along a paddy bund catching what appeared to be grasshoppers.

First Ruff of the season, a juvenile. Judging by the size, probably a female.

Most of the Long-toed Stints present this season are juveniles, though there are a few adults as well.

Black-winged Stilt, first-winter plumage.

Wood Sandpiper, late first-summer plumage.

An Eastern Spot-billed Duck whose bill doesn't close properly — perhaps it had some kind of accident. It did seem to be managing to feed.

Found a Pin-tailed Snipe juvenile among the many Swinhoe's Snipe.

Same individual as above. It was foraging on the slope of a paddy bund.

I was watching a Pin-tailed Snipe when a male Greater Painted-snipe came charging in.

Thanks to the Greater Painted-snipe, I got a shot of the tail feathers. Pin-tailed Snipe has the most tail feathers of any bird.

An adult male Greater Painted-snipe, looking proud after driving off the Pin-tailed Snipe.

A Pin-tailed Snipe showing off its trademark needle-like tail feathers to intimidate a Black-winged Stilt. This one is also a juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipe (right) and Swinhoe's Snipe — the same individual as above — both showing their tail feathers at the same time. Seeing two together like this is really quite rare.

The third Pin-tailed Snipe of the day. Also a juvenile. It barely came out of the grass, so this was the best I could do. ^^;

First Common Snipe of the season. It was a juvenile.

A typical juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe.

Also a juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe, but not the typical type.

Same individual as above.

This one is a typical juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe.

Same individual as above. An easygoing bird that didn't flinch even when a farmer walked right past it.

A rare case of a Javan Pond Heron (background) and a Chinese Pond Heron together in a single frame.

Javan Pond Heron, juvenile.

The Javan Pond Heron was always following the Chinese Pond Heron around.

Chinese Pond Heron in late breeding plumage, looking ragged.

First Common Greenshank juvenile of the season.

Common Greenshank moulting into winter plumage.

First Red-necked Stint juvenile of the season.

Also a first for the season — a Dunlin juvenile.

Little Ringed Plover juvenile also a first confirmed sighting of the season.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Also a Swinhoe's Snipe juvenile.

Same individual as above.

Male Greater Painted-snipe nest-building.

Red-necked Stint, adult. Transitioning from breeding to winter plumage.

Whiskered Tern moulting into winter plumage.

Whiskered Terns wheeling over the paddy fields.

Whiskered Tern.

A week after the adults arrived, juvenile Eastern Yellow Wagtails also turned up.

They were picking out fly pupae from compost spread on the farmland and eating them.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail, adult male, winter plumage.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail, adult female, winter plumage.

A few Yellow Wagtails were mixed in with the flock of Eastern Yellow Wagtails.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail juvenile. First-winter plumage.

This one is also a juvenile.

An individual with a broad, yellowish supercilium. It was among a flock of Eastern Yellow Wagtails, but it may be a juvenile (Sykes's) Citrine Wagtail.

Same individual as above.