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

Now that the migration of snipe, which began with Pin-tailed Snipe, is nearing its end, Common Snipe have come to make up the majority. Even so, there are still Pin-tailed and Swinhoe's Snipe in wintering mode, so I look forward to watching how their moult progresses.

The first Eurasian Teal of the season had arrived. It was quietly sitting in a rice field tucked away in the back, in the rain.

Several juvenile Ruff have come in this season, but today I confirmed the first first-winter bird of the season.

The southbound Whiskered Terns are increasing steadily in number, but the turnover looks rapid from day to day.

The Oriental Pratincoles also turn over quickly. There were about 100 at most, but now there are just over a dozen.

Pin-tailed Snipe are still around in good numbers, and it feels as if they may winter in a few places. Swinhoe's Snipe have decreased, and Common Snipe make up a considerable share.

For Red-necked Stint, I see flocks of a few birds here and there, but I have not been able to find a large flock this year. It is worrying.

Besides these, plenty of shorebirds typical of Ishigaki are staying, including Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Common Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper and Long-toed Stint.

Because of COVID-19 we can't leave the prefecture, so over Silver Week I took a family trip to Yonaguni Island for 2 nights and 3 days.

On the way I did a little birding along forest roads and the coastline. It was slightly early for the autumn migration, and the south wind kept blowing until the second day, so I couldn't turn up the birds Yonaguni is known for... ^^;

From the evening of the second day the wind shifted to the north, and Chinese Sparrowhawks, which had been completely absent until the day before, were seen in large numbers on the forest roads and elsewhere. While sightseeing at Irizaki, a lone Chinese Sparrowhawk flew in to the island from the sea to the south, at eye level. On the third day, when the north wind started blowing, I saw flocks of Eastern Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets arrive on Yonaguni from the sea again and again. They came in flocks of 40 up to about 100.

I confirmed one Oriental Dollarbird on the evening of the second day and another on the third day. Oriental Dollarbirds in Yaeyama are generally around at this time of year, and one had turned up on Ishigaki as well.

At this time of year the birds that stand out most on the island are Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Brown Shrike (シマアカモズ) and Eastern Yellow Wagtail; I lost count of how many I saw. I had hoped for a rare subspecies among the Eastern Yellow Wagtails, but they were all the Siberian-type taivana subspecies (マミジロツメナガセキレイ).

At Agarizaki there was a Swinhoe's Snipe on the tip of the cape that looked as if it had only just arrived.

I also confirmed a Eurasian Wryneck, a lifer for me. It is hard to see in Okinawa, and when I said, "I found something amazing," my son asked, "Did you find a nagaimo (yam)?" The cuteness of a 3-year-old in full force. ^^

Around the sterile-fly release cages for melon flies set up by Okinawa Prefecture, Black Paradise Flycatchers, Yellow-browed Warblers, Grey Wagtails, Grey-streaked Flycatchers, Barn Swallows, Styan's Bulbuls (タイワンヒヨドリ) and others were gathering.

On the forest road I saw 3 cuckoos (トケン), but all I got was their backs as they flew off, so I couldn't identify them... I saw a flock of a dozen or so White-shouldered Starlings, and several flocks of a few Ashy Minivets, more than once. Photographing warblers is tough with a child in tow... ^^;

And the best result of the Yonaguni trip was picking up a dead Pin-tailed Snipe. ^^ This Pin-tailed Snipe became a feather specimen (Exhibit #5698) on featherbase.

One Oriental Plover, the first of the season, was mixed in with a flock of Oriental Pratincoles. It seemed to have just arrived and looked tired.

The Oriental Pratincoles keep rising and falling in number; the flock reached nearly 100 at most, but today there were about 20. White-winged Terns are also staying at two places, 3 birds in all, whizzing around over the rice fields and farmland.

There are not many species, such as Ruff, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt and Long-toed Stint, but different birds come in day by day, which makes this an interesting rice field.

In my spare time I checked the nearby coast and rice fields. Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stint, Greater Sand Plover, Common Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Dunlin and others. Shorebirds and plovers are in the middle of their migration, and the turnover seems rapid every day, with numbers going up and down quite a bit.

The Gull-billed Tern from the other day is still staying, but it has a wide range and this time it was in a different place.

This season, for some reason, it's all Siberian-type taivana (マミジロツメナガセキレイ) wagtails, and I haven't met a single (yellow-browed) Eastern Yellow Wagtail. Strange.