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

They've grown quite a lot.

It brought the first food at 8 p.m. The prey looks like a Japanese drone beetle or something similar.

Next it brought a moth.

Another moth again. The Brown Hawk-Owls here bring a wide variety of prey — moths, grasshoppers, Hierodula mantises, cicadas and more. Never once a cockroach.

From around 9 p.m. it's the usual pattern: the two of them sit watching the nest hole for ages.

This is a Brown Hawk-Owl at a different location, photographed three days ago. I expect this one will be fledging soon as well.

A very small Kentish Plover chick. It appears to be a few days post-hatching. It was also running along the sandy beach.

A two-shot with the parent bird.

These two Kentish Plovers were doing distraction displays to protect their chicks, but are they both females? Don't male Kentish Plovers take part in raising the young?

p.s. Apparently at this time of year feather wear is so heavy that it becomes hard to tell males from females. I was told the individual on the left is a male. The distinguishing point is that the lateral breast band is black. A researcher from Bird Research explained this to me.

If I sit in the shade on the sandy beach, they come within five or six metres.

A Kentish Plover stretching its neck slightly in response to the sound of the camera shutter.

Even when an Osprey flew over the Kentish Plover nesting area, the adults ignored it completely. They know it won't attack them.

This appeared from a hole in the sandy beach. A horn-eyed ghost crab.

Okinawa has been having scorching summer days one after another, yet the Black-faced Spoonbill is still here. ^^;

This Black-faced Spoonbill has a leg ring marked S80. What appears to be a GPS logger is attached to its back.

The Grey Heron had made a clean catch of a mullet.

An individual, presumably the male, gazing at the tree cavity where they are nesting.

Same individual as above. Unlike the Oriental Scops Owl, Brown Hawk-Owls show a considerable size difference between male and female.

This is the female Brown Hawk-Owl. She looks noticeably larger than the male. She too is peering into the nest with what seems like keen interest.

The most developed chick. Looks like it will be a few more days before fledging.

This is the second one. The white down is still very prominent. Whether Brown Hawk-Owl or Oriental Scops Owl, they're at their cutest when covered in this white down. ^^

This is the aggressive male. He was terrifying… ^^;

This is how they come at you.

This is the most docile of the Brown Hawk-Owls. A male.

The Brown Hawk-Owl pair from above. Looking ragged, maybe worn out from incubation. ^^;

This Brown Hawk-Owl is also fine with people.

The female took a while to find, but she was in a strange spot. No good angle for a photo, but she was in plain sight. So completely out in the open that it was actually hard to spot her. ^^;

Remains found below the roost of the pair above. A Pale Thrush, perhaps?