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

Juvenile Terek Sandpiper.

Sanderling moulting from summer to winter plumage.

Greater Sand Plover in first-winter plumage.

Red-necked Stint moulting from summer to winter plumage.

Red-necked Stint in winter plumage.

Juvenile Long-toed Stint.

A Ruddy Kingfisher chick that fledged on the 12th. This was taken on the 13th, the second day after fledging, and it was already flying about fairly freely.

The parent of the chick above. It was perched in a nearby tree, encouraging the youngster to fly.

The nest is in the centre of the frame. It faces the road at about 1.5 metres above the ground.

A Ruddy Kingfisher that finished raising its young near my home. It is so used to people that it shows zero wariness.

The first Yellow Wagtail of the season. From here on, Citrine Wagtails, White Wagtails and Eastern Yellow Wagtails will be passing through Ishigaki-jima.

Crested Serpent Eagles are turning up more often. Three individuals on this day. It won't be long before juveniles start appearing too.

An extremely close Pin-tailed Snipe. Preying on a cricket.

Same individual as above.

Two Pin-tailed Snipes. The left is the same individual as above.

Same individual as the right bird above.

A Pin-tailed Snipe that caught a soldier fly larva.

A Pin-tailed Snipe swallowing a large earthworm.

A dark-morph Pin-tailed Snipe.

First Marsh Sandpiper of the season. Moulting from juvenile to first-winter plumage.

Marsh Sandpiper moulting from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

First Green Sandpiper of the season. Late breeding plumage.

Juvenile Wood Sandpipers have increased noticeably. When juveniles arrive in good numbers it means breeding went well — a relief.

Juvenile Common Greenshanks are still a little way off.

Common Redshank in late summer plumage.

White-winged Tern moulting from summer to winter plumage.

A young Crested Serpent Eagle. Around 3cy?

First Pin-tailed Snipe adult of the season.

Quite distant, but a running Pin-tailed Snipe.

Also a Pin-tailed Snipe. Three individuals confirmed on this day.

Greater Painted-snipe adult female.

A Greater Painted-snipe male accompanying the female above.

Another pair in the same paddy field as the Greater Painted-snipe pair above. I watched to see if a territorial dispute would break out, but nothing happened. Perhaps because the breeding season is over?

First Wood Sandpiper juvenile of the season. There were several dozen Wood Sandpipers, of which around 10% were juveniles.

First Red-necked Phalarope of the season. Moulting from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

A Long-toed Stint juvenile bathing.

A Ryukyu Dwarf Bittern juvenile. Beginning to transition into first-winter plumage.

Five Greater Crested Terns resting on the sandy beach. Around 100 were present at the shrimp farm.

Caspian Tern, first-summer plumage.

Roseate Terns were scarce this season.

The Black-naped Tern colony appeared to have come through the typhoon.