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

A Japanese Bush Warbler moving along the boundary between coastal woodland and farmland. It felt like several birds were moving together.

It would often come down into the undergrowth.

An Isabelline Shrike that caught a bee. First-winter. It has something of a Brown or Red-tailed Shrike feel to it, but that's a hard call to make in first-winter plumage.

A Chinese Pond Heron so tame it looked like it could perch on your hand. Winter plumage, but just a little summer plumage is starting to come in.

Temminck's Stint, first-winter.

Chinese Pond Heron, first-winter.

Common Greenshank, first-winter.

Common Snipe, first-winter.

Little Ringed Plovers have suddenly increased in number. These are likely northbound spring migrants.

A striking Upland Buzzard. The expression is particularly fierce.

The Upland Buzzard came flying straight toward me.

Every year, Upland Buzzards winter on Ishigaki Island.

Upland Buzzard riding a thermal.

A Japanese Sparrowhawk and a Barn Swallow were mobbing the Upland Buzzard.

Black-winged Kite resting near the rice fields where it feeds.

The dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard, returning for the fifth consecutive year since it was a juvenile.

It appears to have caught some prey.

Year by year it has been letting its guard down.

The dark-morph Grey-faced Buzzard is really stunning.

This is a regular Grey-faced Buzzard. Adult male.

Peregrine Falcon, adult male. A threat to the birds wintering in the rice fields… ^^;

Osprey in the rain. It looked as though it had just finished a good meal.

Crested Serpent Eagle, adult. The breeding season has begun and it is very active.

A strikingly vivid Naumann's Thrush. It was conspicuous enough to catch the eye even at a distance.

A dull-plumaged Naumann's Thrush, first-winter.

Olive-backed Pipit, first-winter, that dropped into my garden.

Adult Olive-backed Pipit moulting into summer plumage.

Same individual as above.

(Yellow-browed) Eastern Yellow Wagtail, transitioning from first-winter to summer plumage.

White-faced Wagtail, male. Transitioning from first-winter to summer plumage.

White-faced Wagtail, male. This one also transitioning from first-winter to summer plumage.

The Japanese Bush Warbler calls loudly but rarely shows itself.

Seven Oriental Greenfinches on a long stay. The plumage is pale — perhaps a continental subspecies.

Brown Shrike, adult female.