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

A crow came close, so it raised its ear tufts in alarm.

A male Ryukyu Scops Owl calling

The male keeping watch over the nest. I could hear his calls from about 100 metres away but couldn't locate him.

This scops owl has a slightly balding head, which should make individual identification possible.

I could just barely make out the chicks' faces. They were scratching each other's faces and the like, but it will be a little while longer before they fledge.

The female Brown Hawk-Owl has moved out of the nest, which has become cramped as the chicks have grown larger.

Bridled Tern in flight. Shot handheld at 1200mm with a 600mm lens and 2× extender, so there's some camera shake. ^^;

Bridled Tern landing.

The Black-naped Terns were making a huge commotion over nesting sites.

They were engaged in aerial battles for nearly an hour.

This Black-naped Tern couple withdrew from the fray.

A few Little Terns also visited the shore.

There are breeding records from Akita, Kumamoto, and Chiba, and Iriomote Island has a habitat similar to the main breeding grounds, with a bamboo grove nearby as well.

It caught a large caterpillar. Herons store prey in the crop to some extent before returning to the nest to feed the chicks.

Chinese Pond-Heron in full breeding plumage.

Three Chinese Pond-Herons at this time of year. Hoping for breeding on Iriomote Island!!

Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove, adult male.

Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove, adult female.

Another adult female Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove.

Three Ruddy Cuckoo-Doves and an Oriental Turtle-Dove. Quite a size difference.

When Ruddy Cuckoo-Doves reach adulthood, the males take on this striking crimson color.

The Ruddy Cuckoo-Doves had been flushed once by a Japanese Sparrowhawk, but after a while they came back to the same paddy field. Once relaxed, they settled down and began sunbathing.

There was an out-of-season Eurasian Teal, for some reason.