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

A neighbourhood Ryukyu Scops Owl that is completely habituated to people.

The pattern on this individual was so different from the Ryukyu Scops Owls I normally see that I tried whistling an imitation of the call to get a response, but there was none. I find myself wondering whether it is a Ryukyu Scops Owl, a mainland Eurasian Scops Owl, or perhaps some other subspecies.

Addendum, 25 January

Sharing information kindly provided by Mr. Haneya. Apparently the number of spots on the outer web of the primaries differs between Eurasian Scops Owl and Ryukyu Scops Owl. Checking the feather identification guide (Bun-ichi Sogo Shuppan), it is indeed the case that Ryukyu Scops Owl has the spots more densely arranged than Eurasian Scops Owl. This individual therefore appears to be one of the unusual variations within Ryukyu Scops Owl.

When I worked through some spots I don't usually cover on night walks, the density of Ryukyu Scops Owls was surprisingly high. I should add these to my night-walk route.

While searching for Eurasian Woodcock I found a Brown Hawk-Owl waiting for prey on the ground. I tried calling to check whether it was a Ryukyu Brown Hawk-Owl or a Brown Hawk-Owl, but got no response, so the subspecies remains unknown.

An adult female Grey-faced Buzzard flying over farmland.

An adult female Crested Serpent Eagle taking flight after finishing a meal.

At the river mouth, a Black-tailed Gull — a scarce bird on Ishigaki.

Adult Black-tailed Gull. The head is turning white and the moult into summer plumage is already under way. The moult in Black-tailed Gull seems to be early.

A Chinese Pond Heron in the same paddy field as yesterday.

Taiwan Wagtail, first-winter.

An adult male Brown Shrike.

A female Brown Shrike, first-winter.

Mallard is scarce in Okinawa, but this season it has been recorded regularly on both Okinawa Island and Ishigaki.

An unwarry adult male Naumann's Thrush.

The least wary Black-winged Kite on Ishigaki Island. Almost every evening it appears on this utility pole. It is targeting the mice that turn up in the fields.

A Chinese Pond Heron on a long wintering stay. There is another wintering individual in the same area, but that one is far more wary.

A Crested Serpent Eagle eating some small prey.

Common Blackbird, adult male. Hearing its call notes was a bonus.

A Common Blackbird perched in a mulberry tree. This individual is distinctive for the patch of leucistic feathers at the corner of the eye.

Buff-bellied Pipit. What a great bird. ^^

I managed to get what is currently my best and most endearing photo of a Buff-bellied Pipit.

It was moving through gaps in the grass and peering into cracks in the ground as it searched for small insects.

I thought I had a clean full-body shot, but grass was overlapping in the foreground. Still, the long, straight hind-claw — a key feature of the Buff-bellied Pipit — was visible. It helps with identification, though if you can see the claw clearly enough, you could probably identify the bird by other means too. ^^;

The majority of the flock is Red-throated Pipits.

A few Water Pipits were mixed in as well.

Yellow Wagtail (subspecies taivana), adult winter plumage. Around ten birds — juveniles and adults together — were moving as a group.