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

A Eurasian Hoopoe searching for prey in the planted shrubs at the edge of a park.

Shortly after this, a group with another guide approached carelessly and flushed it. Migratory birds are tired from their long journey — please watch them quietly from a distance.

Red-cheeked Starlings coming to the Machilus tree behind my house. White-cheeked Starlings and White-shouldered Starlings drop by occasionally as well.

A female Red-cheeked Starling with a large berry in her bill.

It seemed too big for the Red-cheeked Starling, and she had quite a struggle swallowing it.

Foraging together in the rice paddies. What appeared to be some kind of larva was the main course.

Sunlight catches the wing coverts of a Glossy Ibis, revealing a beautiful metallic sheen.

It looks nothing like Ishigaki Island — more like an African wetland somewhere.

I thought it might be going for a Golden Apple Snail, but aquatic insects made up most of what it caught.

Occasionally there were squabbles with a bit of calling, but on the whole they moved through the flock peacefully.

A female Greater Painted-snipe. With the breeding season under way, sightings have been increasing.

Hard to make out, but a male (left) and female Greater Painted-snipe.

Extremely distant, but two Common Snipe. Snipe in spring are a rare find.

A male Red Turtle Dove. Two birds confirmed today. A relatively long stay.

A male Red-flanked Bluetail. Beautiful and charming.

This Red-flanked Bluetail was moving around in low spots the whole time.

An adult Crested Serpent Eagle. It was somewhere I rarely see them.

A Far Eastern Curlew moulting from first-winter into summer plumage.

A red Spot-billed Duck. I was startled for a moment, wondering if it was a Red-necked Duck... ^^;

A Ryukyu Kingfisher on a forest road. This is a female.

I watched through binoculars thinking that silhouette had to be the one, but it never turned to face this way at all… ^^;

It went into the planted rice for a time, but for just a moment it showed me its profile. A White Wagtail (ocularis) as I'd suspected.

A (Yellow-browed) Yellow Wagtail almost fully in summer plumage.

A Red-throated Pipit with the evening sun on it, the red of the breast showing even more vividly.

A male Mandarin Duck turned up at this time of year. Better get to the breeding grounds soon or you'll miss your chance.

A Siberian Stonechat, a rare sight in Okinawa. A beautiful male.

A Chinese Pond Heron moulting from first-winter into summer plumage.

Grey-tailed Tattler also arrived. Catching crabs at the water's edge.

The individual whose transition to summer plumage was the most advanced in the flock.

Greater Sand Plover transitioning into summer plumage.

Pacific Golden Plover still largely in winter plumage.

Lesser Sand Plover and Red-necked Stint in close company.

A Red-necked Stint still in winter plumage.

I searched for Little Stints, but it was Red-necked Stints throughout.

A Kentish Plover almost fully in summer plumage.

A Grey-tailed Tattler resting on rocks.

A flock of Ruddy Turnstones resting on rocks during the high-tide period.