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

Lesser Whistling Duck Short-eared Owl Black-winged Cuckooshrike Forest Wagtail Emerald dove

GUIDED BIRDWATCHING TOUR

Go where the birds are. The SHIMASOBA Tour launches.

We'll drive you around Ishigaki Island to wherever the birds are showing best that day. Observation is mostly from inside the vehicle, and we keep it to a maximum of 3 guests so everyone can take their time.

Max. 3 guests 4 hours in the morning Beginners welcome
Check availability and book

カタグロトビ2カ所で巣立ち(動画あり)

2カ所で合わせて4羽のカタグロトビの巣立ちを確認しました。自宅近くで巣立った2羽は、2日ほど前に姿を現すようになり、虹彩はまだ真っ黒です。

もう一カ所の2羽は、すでに親元を離れてきょうだい2羽で行動しています。虹彩の色も黒から少しだけ色が付いてきていました。

リュウキュウコノハズク、リュウキュウアオバズクはまだ抱卵中ですが、順調に進んでいるようです。

Black-winged Kite
Black-winged Kite

A Black-winged Kite juvenile that has left its parents.

Black-winged Kite
Black-winged Kite

Two Black-winged Kite juveniles. They will continue to move around together as siblings for a while.

Black-winged Kite
Black-winged Kite

Black-winged Kites near my home. Two fledged successfully. They are still being fed by the parents.

Black-winged Kite
Black-winged Kite

There is quite a distance between us, but I felt these birds were more wary than the two juveniles above.

Elegant Scops Owl
Elegant Scops Owl

Male Ryukyu Scops Owl. Breeding at the same site for three consecutive years.

Brown Hawk-Owl
Brown Hawk-Owl

Male Brown Hawk-Owl. It was perched next to an old crow's nest.

Categories: 野鳥

アカショウビン抱卵中、ベニバト滞在中

石垣島のリュウキュウアカショウビンはほとんどのペアが抱卵に入っています。7月中旬ごろには巣立ちラッシュとなります。

先日のベニバト は、2羽が滞在中でした。刈り取り後の落穂を拾っています。

クマゼミの鳴き声が島内各地で聞こえだし、石垣島はまもなく夏本番を迎えます。近年、台風が少なく暑い夏が続いていますが、今年はどうなることか今から心配です。

Ruddy Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher

Male Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher. The female is presumably incubating and hasn't been showing herself lately.

Ruddy Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher

A Ruddy Kingfisher incubating in a different area from the individual above.

Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove

The male Reddish Dove still in residence.

Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove

The female is also still in residence.

Large brown cicada
Large brown cicada

The season has arrived when the chorus of Suicida cicadas can be heard in parks and schoolyards.

Categories: 野鳥

ド派手なスズメとベニバト

雨で公園にも行けないし、新型コロナで人混みははばかられるということで行って来た 家族バードウオッチング の続き。

リュウキュウヨシゴイのバトルやオグロシギなどが見られて短時間鳥見にしては良かったかなと思っているとスズメの群れの中に何やらあやしい鳥影。大きさ形はスズメなんですが、明らかに赤い。オリイヤマガラをさらに赤くした感じの小鳥を双眼鏡に入れてみると赤褐色の色彩変異が見られるスズメでした。これまで バフ変の白っぽいスズメ部分白化のスズメ は見て来ましたが、こんな赤くてかっこいいスズメは初めてです。妻には「スズメまでチェックしてるの?」とか言われましたが、鳥屋なら当たり前ですよね?

同じエリアにはベニバトが3羽飛来。キジバトの群れに混じって稲刈り後の落穂を拾っていました。

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Adult Eurasian Tree Sparrow. The strikingly bright reddish-brown stood out even within the flock.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

The back looks like this. Red all over.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Resting in a leucaena grove.

Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove

Male Reddish Dove. Beautiful crimson colouring, but the impact of the reddish-brown sparrow was just too strong….

Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove

Female Reddish Dove. Comparing her with the Ryukyu Collared Dove behind gives a good sense of how small she is. Seeing a male and female together at this time of year makes me hope for breeding. In doves, signs of chick-rearing show up around the base of the bill during that period, but looking at the photos, it doesn't appear they are currently raising chicks. When incubating or when the chicks are small, one of the pair doesn't leave the nest anyway…. ^^;

Categories: 野鳥

リュウキュウヨシゴイの戦い、オグロシギ、タマシギほか

家族4人で1時間に満たない時間ですが、久しぶりに田んぼでのバードウオッチングをしてきました。息子は現れる鳥すべてを「鷲!!」と大喜びでした。

残念ながら石垣島唯一の鷲のカンムリワシには出会えませんでしたが、繁殖期を迎えているリュウキュウヨシゴイのオス2羽とメス1羽が入り乱れて繰り広げるバトルを観察できました。

きれいな婚姻色に染まったオレンジ色のリュウキュウヨシゴイたちがまもなく刈り取りが始まる黄金色の稲穂の上を飛び回っていました。

台風3号が通過して天候が荒れたのでオグロシギ2羽が入りました。飛翔能力の高い大型シギは、海上が荒れでもしないとなかなか石垣島には降りてくれません。セイタカシギも10羽程度いました。

この田んぼで繁殖しているタマシギのオスが一羽でいました。子育ては終わったのでしょうか。

ほかにも色彩変異で赤褐色になったスズメやベニバトのオスとメスに会えました。

Yellow Bittern
Yellow Bittern

Ryukyu Least Bittern, male. Breeding colours are showing.

Yellow Bittern
Yellow Bittern

While I was watching the Ryukyu Least Bittern above, a male and female Ryukyu Least Bittern landed nearby. The one in the middle is the female and the ones on either side are males. The two on the right are a pair.

Yellow Bittern
Yellow Bittern

The stand-off continued for a while, but finally the male on the right flew at the male on the left. The bird below is the female paired with the male who launched the first attack.

Yellow Bittern
Yellow Bittern

Ryukyu Least Bittern, female. Also showing breeding colours.

Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit

Two Bar-tailed Godwits. The one on the right is moulting from first-winter to summer plumage; the one on the left is moulting from winter to summer plumage.

Black-winged Stilt
Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt, adult female.

Greater Painted-snipe
Greater Painted-snipe

Adult male Greater Painted-snipe.

Categories: 野鳥

リュウキュウツミ、アオバズク抱卵中

夕方、リュウキュウツミとリュウキュウアオバズクの繁殖状況を確認。順調です。

Ryukyu Sparrowhawk
Ryukyu Sparrowhawk
Ryukyu Sparrowhawk
Ryukyu Sparrowhawk

A Ryukyu Sparrowhawk that has been nesting in the same spot since 2019. The healed fracture on the left leg is its trademark.

Brown Hawk-Owl
Brown Hawk-Owl

Brown Hawk-Owl, male. It was dark…

Categories: 野鳥