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

A tired-looking Ruddy Kingfisher juvenile. The heat radiating off the concrete was causing heavy shimmer — everything came out hazy. ^^;

Bill, feathers, and feet all still so young, and yet it's already heading off on migration.

Crested Serpent Eagle, adult. It was hunting in a paddy field during farm work.

The moult cycle is long, so the feathers are quite ragged.

Prey caught. This style of hunting might be one of the reasons the feathers get so worn.

Okinawa Crow also gathered around the farm work.

Nictitating membrane closed — giving it a white-eye look. ^^;

Chinese Pond Heron arriving. Before 1970 it seems to have been a rare bird, turning up roughly once every twenty-odd years, but it apparently started increasing around the 1980s and breeding has been confirmed. Javan Pond Heron, said to be strongly sedentary, is also on the rise, so it might follow the same path. Maybe Indian Pond Heron will be next to increase. ^^;

The first Grey-tailed Tattler juvenile of the season.

Ruddy Turnstone juvenile, also making its first appearance here.

Black-winged Stilt juvenile has finally arrived as well.

Common Sandpiper juvenile confirmed at last, on the final day of August.

Common Redshank juvenile. The first juvenile Common Redshank was confirmed on July 27.

Greater Sand Plover juvenile. The first juvenile Greater Sand Plovers had already been confirmed a few days ago.

Lesser Sand Plover, adult winter plumage.

Kentish Plover, adult winter plumage.

Grey Plover, first-summer transitioning to winter plumage.

Terek Sandpiper, first-summer transitioning to winter plumage.

Red-necked Stint, summer plumage transitioning to winter.

Red-necked Stint, late summer plumage. A touch of winter plumage showing too.

A Grey-tailed Tattler that caught a small crab. Moulting from first-summer to second-winter plumage.

A Red-necked Stint that caught a goby.

Pacific Golden Plover, late summer plumage.

A flock of Pacific Golden Plovers flying over the rice paddies.

Pin-tailed Snipe juvenile. There was just one among a group of a dozen or so Swinhoe's Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe. Same individual as above.

Both are Swinhoe's Snipe juveniles.

Greater Painted-snipe, adult female.

Greater Painted-snipe, adult male. Paired with the individual above. They were mating — still breeding at this point?

Black-winged Stilt juvenile in flight.

Black-winged Stilt, transitioning from first-summer to second-winter plumage. A faint trace of the first-summer plumage is still visible.

Adult Black-winged Stilt that caught a dragonfly. It washed the prey in the water several times before eating it.

Brown Shrike, first-winter. Noticeable that the outermost tail feathers are shorter than the rest.

The distance was considerable, so the image is soft.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail, first-winter.

A flock of about 20 arrived in the paddies. All birds were juveniles.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipe juvenile, and in the background only the lower half of what appears to be a Swinhoe's Snipe juvenile.

Same individual as above. Flushed by a motorbike. The pin-like tail feathers are visible. From the side, the tail feathers of Swinhoe's Snipe also look narrow, but the pin-like feathers of Pin-tailed Snipe are a completely different length.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above. The short, pin-like tail feathers are visible here too.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above. The tail feathers are just about visible.

Same individual as above. The outer tail feathers are visible, but hard to make out…

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Same individual as above. It gave us a perfect view of the tail feathers.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Same individual as above. The tail feathers spread out perfectly.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Swinhoe's Snipe juvenile, spooked by a crow.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile. All juveniles — both Pin-tailed and Swinhoe's Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

A Common Moorhen that kept flushing the snipe whenever it found one. Thanks to it, I managed to get shots of the tail feathers. ^^

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

First Dunlin of the season. Adult, late breeding plumage.

A Greater Painted-snipe parent and chick bathing.

Pectoral Sandpiper, late breeding plumage.

Wood Sandpiper, juvenile.

Wood Sandpiper, late breeding plumage.

Wood Sandpiper moulting from first-summer to second-winter plumage.

Green Sandpiper, late breeding plumage.

Common Redshank, adult. Moulting into winter plumage.

Long-toed Stint, juvenile.

Common Sandpiper moulting from first-summer to second-winter plumage.

Little Ringed Plover.

A Common Moorhen family group.