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

Ryukyu Cinnamon Bittern, adult male in summer plumage.

The Chinese Pond Heron is also in full summer plumage. I've had many chances to see them this season.

A Red-throated Pipit in beautiful summer plumage.

A male White Wagtail in summer plumage, occasionally murmuring softly.

A Red-throated Pipit emerging from the green shadows.

A male Black-winged Stilt in breeding plumage, its breast tinged a pale pink.

Temminck's Stints moult late, so opportunities to see them in summer plumage are rare — but this one showed a little.

A White-breasted Waterhen pecking at grass seeds.

A male Zitting Cisticola coming into breeding plumage.

This Red-throated Pipit is in full moult.

Feeding in the rice paddies together with a flock of over ten Black-winged Stilts, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 3 Marsh Sandpipers, and others.

The metal ring is engraved with "P.O. BOX 96-216 TAIPEI M01093".

The two Spotted Redshanks that have been staying since the other day <https://shimasoba.com/blog/1562/>_. An adult in winter plumage and, on the right, a first-winter.

The Spotted Redshanks are relatively distant, but this time they came in close.

A wing-flap from a different individual than above.

A Wood Sandpiper transitioning from first-winter to summer plumage.

Same here.

A Common Greenshank moving into first-summer plumage.

A Wood Sandpiper was eating a frog.

Wood Sandpiper in summer plumage.

Temminck's Stint, adult.

A different individual from above. Also an adult.

A fight between two male Black-winged Stilts.

A Grey-headed Lapwing, a rare bird in the Yaeyamas.

The wintering Red-throated Pipit has come into full colour.

More and more Eastern Cattle Egrets are now showing birds transitioning into summer plumage.

A Garganey in the rice paddy. It was very wary — when I first spotted it, only its head was poking out of the grass — but after waiting a while it showed its full body. ^^

The female in the foreground doesn't appear to have changed into breeding plumage yet.

A male Garganey with females on either side.

A female Northern Shoveler in juvenile plumage, the only one mixed into a flock of Garganey.

A Eurasian Hoopoe standing alone by the roadside. Afterwards it was flushed by a bunch of noisy buggy riders. ^^;

Two Eurasian Hoopoes foraging together.

It seemed there were many insects hiding at the base of the tree — prime Hoopoe food.

A Eurasian Hoopoe glancing our way because my son was making noise.

There also seems to be plenty of food along the edge of the lawn.

A Chinese Pond Heron that suddenly appeared while I was watching a large flock of herons. Beautiful summer plumage. I rushed the shot and it came out blurry…. A total of three Chinese Pond Herons were recorded on the island.

Two Spotted Redshanks resting in the rice paddies. First-winter plumage.

Black-winged Stilts increased sharply; I saw several flocks of dozens of birds.

Herons gathered in the paddies: Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, and Eastern Cattle Egret. Great Egrets are only seen on Ishigaki Island at this time of year. This individual is notably large-bodied with pale tibiae, so it is presumably what is known as the Great White Egret subspecies.