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

It has been digging nest holes in several spots within its territory, and I could only guess which one it was using — but this Taiwanese termite mound appears to be the confirmed site.

A Ruddy Kingfisher that spotted prey and dropped to the ground.

The same individual as above. The pair had not been visible for a while, so they have likely begun incubating.

A Ruddy Kingfisher found inside Banna Park.

Brown Hawk-Owl nesting for the fifth consecutive year at Yaeyama Agriculture and Forestry High School. The female is incubating.

A Ryukyu Striated Heron on alert for crows. It seems to be nesting nearby and was standing guard.

When the crows were gone, the Ryukyu Striated Heron stayed relaxed the whole time — preening and the like.

A White-breasted Waterhen with chicks. A common sight this time of year, but they are very wary and hard to photograph.

A Black-winged Kite also appeared at the rice paddies.

A Black-winged Kite in a steep dive. What it caught is unknown.

A flagged Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. After a long journey of 7,000 kilometres from Australia, taking a rest on Ishigaki Island.

A Marsh Sandpiper that has fully come into summer plumage.

In the rain, I came across plenty of Ruddy Kingfishers in parks and similar spots.

A Ruddy Kingfisher that caught something unidentifiable. It was being mobbed by Brown-eared Bulbuls. Could there be a nest nearby?

An adult female Crested Serpent Eagle perched on its favourite Cyathea lepifera tree fern.

A juvenile Malayan Night Heron with no wariness at all on the forest road.

There was a Chinese Pond Heron in the rice paddies in the hills. My first Chinese Pond Heron since returning to Ishigaki Island.

A female Ruddy Kingfisher, or so it appears. This individual has white feathers mixed in around the lore and behind the eye.

The male paired with the female above. His bill has a few wood shavings on it — he may still have been in the middle of digging the nest hole.

A male Brown Hawk-Owl keeping watch over the incubating female. Brown Hawk-Owls will take prey that passes in front of them even during the day, but this individual is an odd one — it leaves its lookout perch and flies around inside the bright forest searching for food.

I was worried about flooding from the heavy rain, but she was still incubating.

A truly magnificent purple — this is the Ryukyu Kingfisher at its finest.

The Ruddy Kingfisher paired with the individual above. This one is believed to be the female.

Adult male Crested Serpent Eagle.

A second-calendar-year Crested Serpent Eagle. Compared to last month, you can see the moult has progressed. By around October it will look no different from an adult.

A Malayan Night Heron zeroing in on an earthworm.

Rain began falling in the early afternoon, and all the island's birds were completely soaked.

The Ashy Minivet chicks have grown large and are spilling out of the nest.

They already have the look of proper Ashy Minivets.