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

White-breasted Waterhen, adult male. What a beautiful rail.

White-breasted Waterhen, juvenile. Just a few adult feathers coming through.

Adult male White-breasted Waterhen (left) and juvenile White-breasted Waterhen. A rare scene.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl male that was near the White-breasted Waterhen.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl male from my neighbourhood. Breeding within the village.

Brown Hawk-Owl male. One chick fledged two days ago.

A pair with the individual above.

A nest of a Ruddy Kingfisher in the neighbourhood. Judging by the condition of the chicks, they look set to fledge in about another week.

The adult Black-winged Kites bring food to the young mainly in the morning and evening. Mice make up the bulk of the prey.

A Black-winged Kite bringing a large mouse to the young — half of it already eaten.

The adult was also doing a fluttering display flight.

They are breeding in a mixed stand of Ryukyu Pine and Casuarina, but the species of tree the nest is in is unknown.

A Ruddy Kingfisher bringing a fairly large grasshopper to the chicks in the nest. Perhaps about ten more days until fledging.

A Ruddy Kingfisher in the neighbourhood — also in the middle of raising chicks. It is breeding very close to where the Black-winged Kites and Japanese Sparrowhawk are nesting.

A Brown Hawk-Owl incubating. Breeding at the site of a Yaeyama Palm that fell some years ago — the same tree where a Ruddy Kingfisher used to breed.

The male paired with the female above.

A female Japanese Sparrowhawk near my home. She is spending a lot of time away from the nest — does that mean the chicks have grown large?

The partner of the Japanese Sparrowhawk above. There may be a second pair breeding in the same woodland.

A Brown Hawk-Owl male at a different location.

A pair with the individual above. It has not entered the nest during the day for about three days, so the chick's growth appears to be progressing well.

Female Pied Avocet, first-winter plumage.

A Pied Avocet preening. The primaries are tattered old feathers.

Male Black-winged Stilt in summer plumage. A few are staying on.

Female Pied Avocet, first-summer plumage.

Black-winged Stilts fighting. A first-summer (left) versus an adult summer — the adult summer won.

Male Black-winged Stilt. Same individual as above.

A few of the Black-winged Stilts that arrived with Typhoon No. 3 the other day are still lingering.

Black-naped Tern. Like the Black-winged Stilt, the pinkish flush on the breast during the breeding season — is that nuptial colouration?

Black-naped Tern colony. More than 20 birds had gathered on a small rocky reef and were making quite a racket. A few pairs were already incubating.

Grey-tailed Tattler, first-summer plumage. Grey-tailed Tattlers are about the only waders left on the shore.

Unusually for this time of year, three Whimbrels turned up. All three were in first-summer plumage. Perhaps they are wandering around here because they are not taking part in breeding.

31 May — nest construction begins. The male and female started building it together.

While one applies mud to the wall, the partner waits on the pipe with mud in its bill.

13 June. Day 14 since they started building the nest. It appears to be nearly complete.