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

A fledgling Ryukyu Scops Owl. Already able to fly around.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl with a full moon.

The eldest of the three siblings.

This one is the second.

The third is the most easygoing of the three.

The mother of the three siblings above.

The Totoro of Ishigaki Island. You can only see Ryukyu Scops Owls like this at this time of year!!

They're so cute I'm posting lots of photos. ^^

They will live under their parents' protection for a while longer, learning how to hunt and other skills.

I managed to get a good shot of the underwing of a Glossy Ibis. Rather than bronze, it shimmered like tempered stainless steel.

The upperparts are gleaming beautifully too.

A Glossy Ibis preening. I willed a feather to fall, but unfortunately I wasn't able to pick one up.

The female Brown Hawk-Owl parent. Her plumage is quite worn and she looks exhausted.

The male Brown Hawk-Owl keeping watch higher up in the nest tree. Sexing the pair here is straightforward too.

The male on alert as a fledgling Rock Dove comes close.

It's my first time seeing a Eurasian Coot on Ishigaki Island in summer. On Okinawa Island as well, multiple individuals overwintering through the summer have been confirmed recently.

Juvenile Purple Heron. There were two juveniles in the same area.

A female Greater Painted-snipe preening. At this time of year I hear their calls often and encounter them frequently.

Eastern Spot-billed Duck with ducklings. Occasionally individuals breed at the dam, but this was my first time seeing a female with chicks in the rice paddies. This female had seven ducklings with her.

These chicks have grown quite large. The adult is in the middle. She had five chicks that had grown to nearly the same size as the parent.

Adorable Eastern Spot-billed Duck ducklings. Mandarin Duck also breeds on Okinawa Island, but among ducks, the Eastern Spot-billed Duck is the only one that breeds on Ishigaki Island. Though not in the family Anatidae, the Little Grebe also breeds on Ishigaki Island.

Three fledged Brown Hawk-Owl siblings. I've been watching this spot for six years, but this is the first time I've actually seen the fledging here. The timing has never worked out before… ^^;