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

White-winged Tern, juvenile. It has its bill open — must be the heat.

The colour of the hindcrown and back of a White-winged Tern.

It took flight in search of prey.

White-winged Tern in flight. It was airborne and circling for most of the time.

Oriental Pratincole, juvenile.

Oriental Pratincole, adult, non-breeding plumage.

Oriental Pratincoles, a Black Tern, and Pacific Golden Plovers resting on a paddy bund.

Black Tern, juvenile. To the right of the juvenile is the carcass of an adult Black Tern.

First Grey Plover of the season. Transitioning from breeding to non-breeding plumage. On Ishigaki-jima, it's quite rare to see one in full, jet-black breeding plumage.

A Whimbrel taking a running start before takeoff.

Whimbrel overwinter in large numbers on Okinawa-hontō, but they're scarce on Ishigaki-jima.

Greater Sand Plover, juvenile.

A flock of Black-winged Stilts. They seemed on edge — perhaps just arrived on migration.

Pacific Golden Plover, adult, non-breeding plumage.

The third Crested Serpent Eagle juvenile of the season. There is one individual that hasn't been photographed yet…

Something seemed to startle it and it raised its crest.

The juvenile had come out to the forest edge but was keeping an eye on a parent calling overhead. Its crop was puffed up tight, so it seems to be eating well.

A Crested Serpent Eagle adult at a different location.

Brown Shrike, first-winter plumage. It appeared to be watching for prey from the top of a cycad.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail (supercilium subspecies), moulting from juvenile into first-winter plumage.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail (supercilium subspecies), adult male.

A Javan Pond Heron that has been staying for quite a long time.

Preening. The wingtips are entirely white.

A Javan Pond Heron stepping down from its perch into a fallow field.

A Javan Pond Heron, 0.3 seconds before doing That.

A Ryukyu Least Bittern foraging in the usual irrigation channel.

It walks along the channel picking off mole crickets, grasshoppers and the like.

A Purple Heron had just its head poking out of the reeds. This one will eat anything — frogs, snakes, birds — a real glutton.

A beautiful Black-crowned Night Heron juvenile. Adults are lovely too, but this juvenile's patterning is something else.

An Intermediate Egret in the grass. They're not that common on Ishigaki-jima, but several are staying in this heron area.

A Medium Egret in a flooded rice paddy. Would love to see the subspecies alba as well.

Little Egret, present year-round. They don't appear to be breeding.

Common Tern drinking in a paddy field, moulting from first-summer to second-winter plumage.

White-winged Tern, juvenile. Moulting into first-winter plumage.

White-winged Tern, adult. Transitioning from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

Dragonflies flying over the rice paddies. They appeared to be prey for the White-winged Terns.