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

Rain began falling in earnest before noon today, and for a time the roads turned into rivers.

Visibility was poor and the weather allowed only about an hour of real birdwatching, but I went around the forest road and the park and saw Crested Serpent Eagle, Malayan Night Heron, Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher and others. The birds were all soaked, but the Crested Serpent Eagle on the forest road had turned into a thoroughly drenched rat... ^^;

In the park I counted six Ruddy Kingfishers and a Malayan Night Heron. I also came across a Asian box turtle and a snake crossing the road.

I went around the nest sites of the Ryukyu Northern Boobook that I found last year and the pair had come back again this year. There were two of them, resting at separate spots away from each other.

A male and female Ryukyu Scops Owl were also perched near a tree that looks like their nest tree. This is a new site, separate from the pair I saw the other day. Egg-laying and incubation seem not to have started here either.

A pair of Ryukyu White-eyes was busily carrying nest material. When I checked while they were away, it looked like they started building the nest today. I want to watch this one until fledging too.

Walking through the woods and the park, Ishigaki Brown-eared Bulbuls stand in my way. This is a sign that they are raising young nearby, but Brown-eared Bulbuls build nests in tangled places, so they are hard to find.

I recorded this while out driving with my family, so my son's voice is in it. ^^;

Behind the call of a Brown-eared Bulbul, the "koel, koel, koel, koel" you can hear is the call of the Asian Koel (English name Koel).

I heard an Asian Koel at another location a few days ago too, so that means at least three are hiding on Ishigaki Island this year, across two locations. Last year they were confirmed until around July, so during a stay of about two months I'd like to see one at least once.

The other day I went around three standard Ruddy Kingfisher spots and counted 20, but today I went around two spots, the forest road and the park, and counted 12. There seem to be no pairs incubating yet.

I don't know whether the numbers are high or low compared with other years, but with human activity reduced by the coronavirus stay-home requests, perhaps life is less stressful and easier for the Ruddy Kingfishers.

Ryukyu Scops Owls were nesting in a wooded area near my home. I contacted a birding friend and we were watching together when the other bird showed up too.

If all goes well, the cute chicks should appear in July. Last year three chicks fledged at the same spot.

Last year I also found an Oriental Scops Owl in the same area, but the nest tree is far from this pair's and calls could be heard at two places, so I think it is a different pair.