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

A juvenile Black-winged Kite screaming and threatening a crow.

Of the two Black-winged Kites that fledged, one was apparently taken by crows. The survivor was also bullied considerably by crows, but has grown up well.

The crow is larger in body, but the Black-winged Kite holds its own.

A Ruddy Kingfisher in the park. The kingfishers, which had been so conspicuous, have become much less noticeable.

A juvenile Oriental Pratincole. Small numbers breed on the island as well.

An adult Oriental Pratincole, already in winter plumage.

A juvenile Oriental Pratincole in flight. It is now flying freely and with ease.

A Black-bellied Tern in flight.

In the process of transitioning from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

A Black-naped Tern incubating. Having started breeding late, it was on a rock considerably closer to shore than the main reef used for nesting each year.

Adult Wood Sandpipers fighting over a feeding territory.

An adult Long-toed Stint in late breeding plumage — looking quite ragged.

A juvenile Purple Heron in a rice paddy. Last year there was breeding at the sedimentation pond, but I wonder where they raised their young this year.

A Slaty-legged Crake with a mud-caked bill. An individual with a distinctive iris.

A fledgling Ryukyu Scops Owl.

The parent birds during the day. The upper bird is female, the lower is male.

It appears to be a different individual from the chick that fell from the nest the other day.

Based on its development, this individual appears to have hatched before the one above. This one also seems to be different from the chick that fell the other day, so there appear to be three chicks in this nest.

The father of the chicks above. When I stopped by on my way home from work, he was on alert against crows coming in to roost. His feathers are badly worn, giving a sense of how hard he is working to raise his young.

The mother of the chicks above. She too is constantly doing battle with the crows. Several crow feathers have fallen around the nest tree — traces of the fighting, perhaps?

A male Ruddy Kingfisher. He looks like he can finally relax now that the breeding season is over. Still a beautiful bird, but the Ruddy Kingfisher will soon begin its moult and start looking rather ragged.

A fledgling Slaty-legged Crake, several days out of the nest. The bill is still short and the iris still has a bluish tinge — a youngster through and through.

A female Oriental Scops Owl keeping watch in front of the nest. Fledging is expected in about another week.

This Brown Hawk-Owl is still incubating. The one keeping watch is the male.

A young Malayan Night Heron was resting on its usual branch.

There is still a lot of down, and it will likely take about a week before fledging. I got this record shot while getting a stepladder and other equipment ready.

Ishigakijima, where the temperature climbed to 34 degrees. Even the Oriental Scops Owl chick is panting in the heat.

A Ruddy Kingfisher a few days out of the nest. Still being fed by the parents, but it won't be long before it's on its own.

The Black-naped Tern colony. No typhoons so far this year, so things are going smoothly.

Roseate Tern. A metal ring was fitted on the right leg, but I couldn't read it.

Little Tern also breeds here, though in smaller numbers than Bridled Tern and Roseate Tern.

The heat had the Bridled Terns bathing too.

Lesser Sand Plover in flight.

Ruddy Turnstone in flight. The tail feathers are badly worn and the primaries are in moult — P5 growing in.

The Greater Sand Plover was close, but backlit….

I couldn't track down the flagged Grey-tailed Tattler.

A Lesser Sand Plover with a crab it had caught.

Lesser Sand Plovers were running all over the sandy beach going after crabs.

Kentish Plover also breeds on Ishigaki-jima.

The Red-necked Stint is almost in full winter plumage.

The Common Greenshank still has much of its summer plumage remaining, but is in the process of moulting into winter plumage.

A Pacific Reef Heron that landed right in front of me.