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

Behold!! The adorableness of a Ryukyu Scops Owl chick!!

But when it relaxes, that face is a little scary… ^^;

A three-heads-tall Collared Scops Owl chick.

This one is a fledgling Oriental Scops Owl.

Hunting insects and other prey on the ground.

Most of the body is still covered in juvenile plumage, but a few adult feathers are visible around the breast.

I hope the chicks will visit again next year.

An adult Ruddy Kingfisher that has caught a crab.

The bird above dropped the crab's legs and other parts, then called out without eating it itself — I thought "there must be a recently fledged chick nearby," and sure enough a juvenile came flying out of the undergrowth. Even at this size they're still being fed by the parent.

The adult, now in molt and looking ragged. A grueling migration still awaits from here.

I hope to see them back in good shape next year.

Ruff, juvenile.

A Sharp-tailed Sandpiper raising its back feathers in the manner of a Ruff.

There were also moments when the Ruff struck this threatening pose to drive away a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that had come too close.

Black-tailed Godwit, adult. In transition from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

Two adults and one juvenile Whiskered Tern.

A strongly brown-tinged Swinhoe's Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

A Swinhoe's Snipe among a flock of Pacific Golden Plovers. A juvenile, perhaps?

Another Swinhoe's Snipe.

Yet another Swinhoe's Snipe.

Black-tailed Godwit, adult. Moulting from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

The first Eastern Yellow Wagtails of the season — a small flock of several birds.

The Eastern Yellow Wagtails were foraging among the rice seedlings. I could hear their calls, but they kept hiding in the shadow of the rice, making photography quite a challenge.

Oriental Pratincole, non-breeding plumage.

A Common Moorhen hatched this year.

A group of three Eastern Spot-billed Ducks had come into the paddies.