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

Two Eurasian Spoonbills, moving back and forth between Anparu wetland and the rice fields.

Common Shelduck, adult male. An adult visiting Ishigaki is unusual.

A mixed flock of around 150 Northern Pintail and Eurasian Wigeon gleaning fallen grain in the rice fields.

A group of a dozen or so Wood Sandpipers — probably the first wave of spring migrants. Year after year, in both spring and autumn, Wood Sandpiper is the earliest to arrive.

Common Snipe, first-winter plumage.

A flock of about 20 Common Snipe. Up until the end of December there was a single Swinhoe's Snipe mixed in, but…

Common Snipe in a nearby rice field. A few birds are wintering here.

Eurasian Hoopoe. Judging by the arrival numbers so far, I have a feeling this spring will bring a lot of Hoopoes to Ishigaki.

A Eurasian Hoopoe that caught a cockroach. Cockroaches are the main food of Hoopoes on Ishigaki.

A relaxed Eurasian Hoopoe. Distance: a few metres.

A Ruddy Shelduck that has been staying since last year. There are around five individuals on the island.

Common Shelduck, adult male in breeding plumage. An adult male visiting Ishigaki is unusual.

A Crested Serpent Eagle eating a habu.

The familiar Common Kestrel.

Black-tailed Gulls at the fishing port. First-summer (left) and adult summer plumage. Black-tailed Gulls moult as fast as Kentish Plovers, don't they.

A Common Snipe in the grass. Someone was calling it a Swinhoe's Snipe, but it's a Common Snipe.

Northern Lapwing, male. Moulting into first-summer plumage.

Northern Lapwing, female. Also transitioning into first-summer plumage.

Rosy Starling on cattle dung. It has made this a favourite feeding spot and turns up almost every day.

Dusky Thrush, first-winter plumage.

A fair number of Little Buntings are wintering in the rice paddies on the island, but they're difficult to photograph.

A Red-throated Pipit moulting into summer plumage.

Red-throated Pipit, first-winter plumage.

Preening calmly.

(Yellow-browed) Yellow Wagtail.

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

Taiwan White Wagtail, first-winter to summer plumage.

White Wagtails were the most numerous.

A close flock of Red-throated Pipits. They were feeding on grass seeds.

Changing into summer plumage.

Red-throated Pipits offer plenty of variety in their moult — always interesting.

Adult White-tailed Eagle with Kunashir Island in the background.

Adult Steller's Sea Eagle at the Notsuke Peninsula.

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle on ice that had collected inside the harbour.

Young White-tailed Eagle. 4W perhaps.

Adult White-tailed Eagle.

Adult male Red-breasted Merganser.

It was out at sea, but a Common Merganser. Male, 1st-winter.

Adult male Harlequin Duck.

A female Harlequin Duck floating in the fishing harbour.

There were plenty of Greater Scaup too. They're in the rarity category for Okinawa.

I spotted a cormorant flock and thought I'd see if there were any Pelagic Cormorants among them — but they were all Pelagic Cormorants. They seem to be using it as a roost; there were nearly 200 birds.

A Whooper Swan on an unremarkable stretch of coast. It came right up to me, so it's probably been fed by people. ^^;

There were a few juveniles as well.

Hokkaido Sika Deer were everywhere. The males and females seemed to be in separate groups.