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

Greater Sand Plover, juvenile. Adults had been trickling in from late June, but this is the first juvenile of the season.

Greater Sand Plover, juvenile. It was feeding on the tidal flat, picking up small worm-like creatures that looked like polychaetes.

Same individual as above. Moulting from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

Lesser Sand Plover, adult non-breeding plumage.

Greater Sand Plover, adult non-breeding plumage.

A stand-off between a Greater Sand Plover (right) and a Lesser Sand Plover.

A dispute between a Lesser Sand Plover (left) and a Greater Sand Plover.

The squabbling over feeding territory was being instigated by the Greater Sand Plover (left).

Greater Sand Plover, adult non-breeding plumage.

Grey-tailed Tattler that caught a shrimp, moulting from first-cycle breeding to second-cycle non-breeding plumage.

I feel like Ruddy Turnstones are here all year round.

Pacific Golden Plover, late first-cycle breeding plumage.

A Long-toed Stint juvenile — my first confirmed sighting of the season.

Long-toed Stint in late summer plumage.

Wood Sandpiper juveniles are increasing too.

Common Redshank, juvenile.

A Grey Plover in first-summer plumage. A single bird still present.

Pacific Golden Plover, adult. Moulting from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

Swinhoe's Snipe, late breeding plumage.

An individual that was most likely a Swinhoe's Snipe, but it stayed wary and never came out of the grass — left me feeling unsatisfied.

Oriental Pratincole that caught a grasshopper. Adult non-breeding plumage.

Black-winged Stilt, adult male. Moulting into non-breeding plumage.

A young Black-faced Spoonbill that has been wandering around Ishigaki Island since around June.

Ryukyu Striated Heron. Moulting from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

Intermediate Egret, adult. I like birds at this time of year the most.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipe, first-summer plumage.

Three Pin-tailed Snipe juveniles.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile. It was on the far side of the paddy field — too distant….

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipe, first-summer plumage.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile.

This one was also on the far side of the paddy field — too distant…. Pin-tailed Snipe, adult in late summer plumage.

A snipe tensing up at a crow. It flew off immediately afterwards, so I couldn't tell whether it was a Pin-tailed Snipe or a Swinhoe's Snipe, though the call sounded more like Swinhoe's.

A Black-bellied Tern floating on the paddy water.

Moult has started and it's looking quite ragged. Most Ruddy Kingfishers at this time of year are like this.

There were also individuals where moult had not yet begun.

Javan Pond Heron, appearing on Ishigaki-jima again this year. First-winter plumage?

Stretching up tall to check the surroundings.

The Javan Pond Heron was walking along a paddy bund, catching grasshoppers or something of the sort.