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

First Sharp-tailed Sandpiper of the season. Moulting into winter plumage.

Pectoral Sandpiper in late summer plumage. Two or three feathers are already showing winter plumage.

White-winged Tern numbers are increasing day by day.

White-winged Tern, transitioning from summer to winter plumage.

Ryukyu Yellow Bittern, juvenile.

Dunlin in late summer plumage.

A Rufous-necked Stint transitioning from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult, late summer plumage.

Swinhoe's Snipe in flight.

Latham's Snipe, juvenile (foreground), and Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

An individual that came down into the paddy and disappeared into the grass in an instant. Tentatively Swinhoe's Snipe.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Latham's Snipe, adult.

Latham's Snipe, juvenile. It had been with the adult above and I'd startled them, so I pulled the blind over and waited — then after all that, a Black-crowned Night Heron came looking for dinner and flushed it…

Latham's Snipe, adult, late summer plumage.

Latham's Snipe, juvenile. Many Latham's Snipe in Okinawa show characters leaning toward Swinhoe's, which makes identification tricky.

Latham's Snipe, juvenile.

Latham's Snipe, adult.

This one is also a Latham's Snipe.

Greater Painted-snipe, female.

Greater Painted-snipe, male. When you're searching for Gallinago snipe, the silhouette is similar enough to give you a start.

A flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrows hatched this year. Groups like this are forming here and there.

A Crested Serpent Eagle in flight. Magnificent. ^^

I wonder whether the chick was raised successfully.

A Crested Serpent Eagle watching a tractor ploughing a paddy field. It is waiting for frogs and other prey to leap out.

Ruddy Kingfisher, adult. Breeding season is over — probably waiting for migration time.

The wear on the primaries and tail feathers is noticeable, and the moult into winter plumage is progressing. I wish it a safe journey all the way to Southeast Asia, and hope it will come back again next year.

First Long-toed Stint juvenile of the season.

Also a first for the season — Long-toed Stint juvenile. Numbers of both adults and juveniles are increasing.

Oriental Pratincole, adult non-breeding plumage. Turned up at a rice field far from the known breeding sites on Ishigaki-jima. Likely a migrating individual.

Adult male Ryukyu Ruddy Crake. The usual zero-wariness individual.

Ryukyu Ruddy Crake juvenile. Quite good at camouflage, isn't it. ^^