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

Rufous Night Heron in breeding plumage. I feel like sightings of Rufous Night Herons have been increasing in recent years.

The Glossy Ibis has moved to a paddy a little further away but is still present.

Whiskered Tern adult in breeding plumage (right) and first-summer.

Whiskered Tern adult. Some winter plumage remains, but it has mostly changed over to breeding plumage.

A first-summer Whiskered Tern, desperately trying to swallow a large fish. It couldn't manage it in the end.

Whiskered Tern adult. Transitioning from winter to breeding plumage.

This Ruddy Kingfisher fledgling had left the nest about a day before.

It had become quite good at flying and was perching neatly on branches.

The red of the body is duller than the adults', but the blue of the rump is already vivid at this stage.

A Glossy Ibis and a Pheasant-tailed Jacana are both staying in the same paddy field. You don't often see a scene like this.

A Glossy Ibis preening. It was a bit far away today.

A Pheasant-tailed Jacana, male in summer plumage. Another Pheasant-tailed Jacana is also lingering in the next paddy field over.

Whiskered Terns have been increasing in number. Flocks are flying around over paddies and pastures.

Crows were making a racket all around, but a parent was keeping a close watch nearby.

A Ryukyu Scops Owl crouching down, eyes fixed on something it is wary of. The black spot on its right eye should make individual identification possible.

It was calling with an unusual voice. Could there have been a far more dangerous predator around than crows or the like?

A Collared Scops Owl encountered in a dim secondary forest. Probably a female, but it was calling with a soft, low "hoo" rather than "myat, myat." I wonder if it was wary of me because fledglings were somewhere nearby.

A Collared Scops Owl that was with the individual above. This one is probably the male. It flew quietly up into the tree overhead.

A Brown Hawk-Owl fledgling found at a new spot. It looked to have been out of the nest for several days and was flying around freely. It was a little wary of people too.

The parent and a sibling of the individual above. The parent is probably the male.

The Brown Hawk-Owls in the neighbourhood have all fledged safely. Three siblings — there is one more nearby that didn't make it into the frame. Of the parents, the male is on the left and the female on the right.