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

A Bridled Tern in transition from juvenile to first-winter plumage. This is the first time I've managed to photograph a perched bird this close. ^^

A Bridled Tern bathing.

A Bridled Tern in flight. Backlit — a shame.

An adult Black-bellied Tern showed up too, but disappeared somewhere almost immediately.

Greater Sand Plover in flight. Unlike Lesser Sand Plover, when Greater Sand Plover flies the feet extend just slightly beyond the tail tip.

White-winged Tern juvenile in flight.

Adult Oriental Pratincole flying low.

A White-cheeked Tern juvenile that had caught a large Lesser Emperor dragonfly.

A White-winged Tern coming toward me.

The White-cheeked Tern's prey was so large it nearly dropped it several times.

A White-winged Tern that came down into the paddy. An individual in mid-moult from juvenile to first-winter plumage. I found another White-winged Tern in the same area.

White-winged Terns and Oriental Pratincoles are resting on the paddy bunds.

I thought it might take a bath, but it flew off just like that.

A juvenile White-winged Tern bathing.

An adult Oriental Pratincole bathing.

White-winged Tern flies differently from Black-bellied Tern, so you can tell them apart somehow even from a distance.

Pied Avocet, first-winter plumage.

It walked through the paddy swinging its bill side to side, picking up prey.

Both Common Snipe. There were four Common Snipe in this paddy.

Common Snipe juvenile (foreground) and Long-toed Stint juvenile.

The first Grey-streaked Flycatcher juvenile of the season.

Same individual as above. It appeared to be catching something in a flycatching sally.

Another Grey-streaked Flycatcher. Also a juvenile.

The fifth Crested Serpent Eagle juvenile of the season. Breeding seems to have gone smoothly, with no typhoon impact.

It was perched in a Chinese hackberry tree overlooking the rice paddies. The bill and tail feathers were muddy — it appears to be hunting on its own.

The Red-necked Phalarope is still present. It moves around between the rice stalks, making for tricky shooting.

Red-necked Phalarope, head-on.

There were several Swinhoe's Snipe on the paddy bunds.

Green Sandpiper adult, late summer plumage.

Ryukyu Scops Owl, adult male.

Ryukyu Hawk-Owl, adult male.