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

When the Okinawa Rail was released from the cardboard box, it made a 90-degree turn right in front of the Ryukyu Shimpo reporter.

It ran past a Okinawa Times photography staff member who was lying on the ground.

And sprinted away like a startled rabbit.

You can see a metal ring on the right leg.

Apparently it had some paralysis in its legs when it was taken into care, but judging by the way it ran, it looks like it's doing just fine.

They also showed me the non-public breeding and rearing facility. This was its first public reveal to the press as well.

This chick hatched four days ago — a Okinawa Rail. The food is apparently a specially formulated mix of pellets made for ibis, combined with nutrients specific to Okinawa Rail.

A Black-naped Tern had come to the nesting site.

Last year no typhoon damage hit, and many chicks fledged. Hoping for many more chicks to fledge this year!!

I also came across a wild boar. The boars you encounter in Yanbaru are always slow and dopey, so you can get quite close.

A female Japanese Sparrowhawk flew down right to my feet and started sunning her wings. There's a limit to how comfortable a bird should be around people… ^^;

The male was incubating, so the female was resting in the shade of a tree.

The male on the nest.

The Brown Hawk-Owl in Naha city is still incubating as well. Last year, heavy rain that continued toward the end of June flooded the nest and the pair abandoned the attempt. I really hope they make it this year.

The Brown Hawk-Owl nesting just a few dozen metres from the Japanese Sparrowhawk's nest tree is also incubating.

The Light-vented Bulbul was carrying food to its chicks. What it has in its bill is an Iwasaki grass cicada.

The Ruff was still there.

I walked right under the nest without noticing and a Brown-eared Bulbul flushed out. Looks like it was incubating. Brown-eared Bulbul nests always seem to be tucked into this kind of messy spot.

I paid 100 yen to enter Hibiki-nada Biotope and was greeted by two Eastern Marsh Harriers.

One of the Eastern Marsh Harriers was gripping something in its talons — a mouse or similar prey. Could it be courtship feeding?

The Eastern Marsh Harriers flew reasonably close, but 400 mm wasn't quite enough.

Chestnut-eared Buntings were everywhere.

The Eurasian Skylarks looked to be starting the breeding season too. I saw males fighting with each other several times.

At Kuju Highlands, a Eurasian Skylark was walking right in front of my room.

An uncountable number of Oriental Reed Warblers had taken up residence there as well.

The Great Reed Warbler would hide in the reeds when I got close, but after waiting a while it came out and sang loudly.

While I was watching the Little Terns the sky turned threatening and I got caught in a downpour. Shot this Little Tern while holding an umbrella. ^^;

I figured something would be around the compost pile, and sure enough there was a male Bull-headed Shrike.

Is this a juvenile Bull-headed Shrike?

There were quite a few Common Pheasants around as well.

The mountain ridgeline visible in the distance from Kuju Plateau is known as the "Aso Nehan-zō" — the reclining Buddha of Aso. Now that it's pointed out, it does look a bit like Shakyamuni lying on his back.

On the way back from Kuju Plateau I stopped to see the waterfall that became famous from the Sokenbicha tea commercials. Quite an atmosphere.

A female Japanese Sparrowhawk preening in the shade to escape the midsummer-like sun.

The incubating male Japanese Sparrowhawk was panting in the heat — the high that day was 31 degrees.

This pair is also used to people, so they don't care at all even when children are running around making noise.

A male Okinawa Woodpecker feeding his chick.

An Okinawa Woodpecker chick peering out of the nest hole. The chick has a red head like the male.

The female brought something — hard to tell what kind of prey it was.

A male Okinawa Woodpecker. A beautiful woodpecker.

An Okinawa Woodpecker that landed on a tree right in front of me. The red on the head and back, and on the belly, is simply beautiful.

A male searching for prey on a dead tree.

A female Okinawa Woodpecker. More subdued coloring compared to the male.

I shot this standing with my feet in the stream. A very pleasant location.