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

I went looking for the Ryukyu Scops Owl chick that fledged last night. Searching the thickets where it might be hiding, I found the male parent. I looked where the parent was looking, but couldn't find it.

The parents here take no interest in people at all, so I searched a while longer, and the Scops Owl chick was perched lower than my chest. ^^ I also looked for its sibling, which fledged the day before yesterday, and the female parent, but couldn't find them. That chick can already fly, so it is probably hiding somewhere even more tangled.

After taking a few photos I contacted the spotter as usual. He was around Kabira with birdwatching clients and came right over. Lucky clients to see an Oriental Scops Owl chick in the daytime! ^^

I had been checking on a family of Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfishers for more than a week, but while I couldn't find time to photograph them, the juvenile Ruddy Kingfisher grew so big that it no longer needed feeding. ^^;

The parents aren't so bad, but the juvenile is very wary and hard to observe.

Two Ryukyu Scops Owl chicks fledged, over two days. ^^ In a few days the two will perch side by side and be fed by the parents.

I watched them almost every night for more than a month, so it is deeply moving. I hope they breed again next year.

Among the nests I am watching, those that have not yet fledged are one Crested Serpent Eagle nest and two Ruddy Kingfisher nests.

The Malayan Night Heron has fledged. A few days before fledging, the chick starts breaking up the nest, and by the time it leaves, no trace of it remains.

They are very wary, so I only went to look three times before it fledged. Like the Purple Heron, herons grow slowly.

The new comet NEOWISE, discovered in March 2020, is now at its best, so I went to see it with my family. It apparently won't come near Earth again for several thousand years. I can't be sure I'll still be alive then, so I'd like to see it at least once more this month. ^^

It was brighter and bigger than I expected, and I could pick it out at once with the naked eye by looking at the northwest sky. Through binoculars it was even clearer, and I could make out the long trailing tail and its bluish-white colour.

I had brought a camera just in case, so with my son on my lap I shot it without even setting the focus to infinity. I managed to get something that passably looks like the comet.

Next time I'd like to prepare properly, scouting the location beforehand, and try shooting it again.